The Song of the Soul

At the core we are all vibrations, musical compositions in motion, and that is why we resonate in communion with the world of music. The human voice is the only instrument that sounds from within, and our singing voice is deeply connected to heart and soul. In the timbre and tonal nuances of the voice we can perceive subtle soul messages - way beyond words. The sound of the voice mirrors the movements in the depths of psyche, and this touches us profoundly.

To liberate the voice is to liberate psyche. To free the sound is to free the soul. Singing requires deep listening, instinctual attention, pure vocal presence, and the song is a musical alchemical vessel for psychospiritual transformation. Music is a magical magnet, a sacred gift from the Muses, so that our songs may sound the mana of the Mysterion.

Lena Måndotter's lifelong voyage with soul and song can inspire us all to reclaim our instinctual singing voice. C.G. Jung wrote that "music should be an essential part of every analysis." This book shows why and is a testament to the healing power of song.

Table of Contents

The Song of the Soul - Prelude

Chapter 1 - The Transpersonal Dimension of Song and Sound

Angels and Spirits

Holy Spirit and Duende

The Prayer of the Heart

Chapter 2 - Sound and Psyche

Performance and Ritual

Jung and Music

Sounding and Wording

Chapter 3 - Hermes - Guide of Soul and Song

Chapter 4 - Serpent on the Soul's Horizon

Serpent Resonance

Serpent as Symbol

Tuning into the Serpent

Chapter 5 - Musical Mirror Neurons

Chapter 6 - Archetypal Musical Healers

Chiron, Asclepios, and Instinctual Musical Empathy

Orpheus - The Singing Shaman

Orpheus as Saviour

The Many Myths of Orpheus

The Orphic Hymns and Jung's Incantations

Chapter 7 - Song Therapy and Creativity

Let the Song in

Creative Song Writing

Sounding the Mana

The Song of the Soul - Postlude

Bibliography

Author Biography

Acknowledgements

Index

"Lena Måndotter's words are based securely on her experience as a singer, songwriter, song-therapist, and Jungian psychoanalyst. She knows whereof she speaks, from the depths of her being... She chants the soul alive like the great poets before her."

Murray Stein, Ph.D. Jungian psychoanalyst and training/supervising analyst at ISAP Zürich. Author of Jung's Map of the Soul, The Principle of Individuation and many more books.

"Lena Måndotter's Song of the Soul is characterized by the fact that, on the one hand, it is drawn from her personal experience as a singer, song-therapist and Jungian psychoanalyst and is thus touching and convincing, and that, on the other hand, it draws on a great deal of mythological amplification material and relevant literature, thus anchoring the subject in the larger whole of an archetypal reality and a scientific dialogue. The book is, as it were, a symphonic poem about sound and song as a numinous experience of the reality of the soul. The various mythological aspects that resonate in song are discussed in a broad arc. Hermes, Orpheus, the angels, the serpent. Music connects in both directions: upwards and downwards. Into the realm of the air and the spirit and into the realm of the earth and the underworld and the instincts. Thanks to their transpersonal dimension, song and sound can lead us into a realm that can expand the ego trapped in its rational perspective and anchor it both in its instinctual level and in the open horizon of archetypal experience.This richly documented book, which is full of fascinating insight, allows the reader to recognize in musical serpentines the astonishing dimensions of depth, mystery and soul that are inherent in sound and song. It will be of great use to vocal therapists, music therapists and singers, but also to lovers of sound and psychoanalysts in general who like and are able to listen."
Paul Brutsche, Ph.D. Jungian psychoanalyst, training/supervising analyst at ISAPZURICH. Author of Creativity: Patterns of Creative Imagination as Seen Through Art

"Lena Måndotter's Song of the Soul renews and deepens my vision of art healing. The ability of vocal expression to immediately access the range of emotion from the atavistic wilds, and the resulting fear of their power, to the most tender vibrations, and joyous play, requires the skill and care demonstrated in this book when working with others. The expressions are, in my experience, best released, and lovingly held, within the sacred spaces and world traditions presented here, all affirming Soul's ability to heal itself with song."

Shaun McNiff, Artist and University Professor Emeritus. Author of Art as Medicine, Art Heals, Integrating the Arts in Therapy, Trust the Process: An Artist's Guide to Letting Go and Imagination in Action: Secrets for Unleashing Creative Expression

Lena Måndotter is a singer, song-therapist (dipl. RSA London, IAVMT) and a Jungian psychoanalyst (dipl. ISAP Zürich, IAAP). She is also involved with photography, art, poetry, and film. Her performances and artistic works have been shown at large exhibition spaces of contemporary art and she has also released a series of music albums and toured extensively. Lena has given many photographic exhibitions and published travel books and poetry.Lena gives lectures, seminars, and individual sessions. She is a teacher at ISAP Zürich and in the past she has taught at The Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Arts & Communication at Malmö University, at Jungian organisations and many other events.

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