043 - The Life Is Sound Podcast Returns

After years away from the microphone, James returns with a deeply personal episode sharing the journey behind Life Is Sound and everything that has unfolded since the podcast first paused.

From a studio leak, to personal loss, to a powerful moment in a hospital room that changed the direction of his life, James reflects on the experiences that shaped both him and the evolution of Life Is Sound.

In this episode, he shares how the project grew from a podcast into immersive sound bath experiences now attended by thousands, the lessons adversity has taught him, and the deeper purpose behind bringing together sound, wellbeing, music, mindset, and personal growth.

This is both a return and a new beginning, with reflections on what has been, what is here now, and what is still to come for Life Is Sound, including new tools, events, conversations, and guests ahead.

Whether you listened in the early days or are discovering the podcast for the first time, this is your invitation to slow down, settle in, and join a growing community of people committed to living with greater awareness, resilience, and intention.

Life is good. Life is Sound.

Transcript

Welcome Back And The Hiatus

James 0:08

Welcome to the Life is Sound Podcast. Some of you will be welcome back. And it's been a long time coming. The intention to get back to podcasting has never left. It's been something that I've been thinking about for a long time. The last time I did a podcast episode was years ago. And I'm gonna explain a bit about the journey of what's happened since then to now with Life Its Off.

The Studio Leak And A Turning Point

James 0:32

So the reason the podcast had a bit of a break was at the time the studio I was in had a leak, and in the wall you could see there was damp coming through the paintwork. And in that time, the landlord put the rent up, had the work done, and I just felt a pull that that wasn't the right place for me to stay. So in that time of me taking a break, the plan was to take a month or two out, find a new place, and I invested in some cameras, I had all the equipment ready to take the podcast to the next level, and life just kicked in. I went

Grief, Hospital Nights, Handpan Healing

James 1:11

through some big changes in my life. My dog was ill at the time, he passed away, and my grandma became really sick, and she was essentially on her deathbed. And all the family was told that we should say our goodbyes. And at the time I just bought my very first hampan and I decided that if she was in the final stage of her life, there's not much stimulation in a hospital room that I'd go and play her some music. So every night, 7 8 pm, I'd go and play the hampan to her for an hour, and my cousin Leah would massage her neck and her hands and her feet, and we just try and create some calm and just help her feel better than what she was doing. And after about two weeks, she made a full recovery, and she said it was the music, and in that moment I knew that was my calling to start doing that for other

Building Life Is Sound Sound Baths

James 2:14

people. So life is sound grew into something that I never really expected it would grow into. And I started doing my own soundbath sessions, I started playing crystal singing balls, hampan, and an array of instruments to help people relax and switch off from the noise of life. And for the past two and a half years, Life as Sound has grown into something so beautiful where we've had over 3,000 people attend our sound baths. And during that time, I've constantly been thinking about reintroducing the podcast. So finally today I'm here to do that. And in that time I've grown so much. The person that you're speaking the person that you're listening to today is not the same person you were listening to on the last episode. I have been holding space for people for years, running events and just really enjoying the space of delivering wellness experiences for people that truly help them in their lives. And just getting to witness how much sound can really help people on their journeys. And just being a facilitator of that from the hospital room to venues like Manchester Cathedral, where we we host up to 300 people is just unreal. So I've also my life completely has changed. I'm a dad. And now have my own beautiful family and that is the biggest blessing I could ask for. That in itself has changed me and shifted me and just put me into a new phase of life that I truly appreciate the path that I'm on. Everything that I'm getting to do with life is sound in the event side of things is just a a real pinch me moment that I get to help people in that way.

Why The Podcast Matters Again

James 4:34

And the reason I'm introducing the podcast again into the Life is Sound world is because one side of Life is Sound can help you relax and switch off and help settle your nervous system and just really help you find stillness in a world which is designed to create overstimulation. And that's one side that is is working really well. The podcast was a great tool for people who might be struggling mentally, or people that were connecting to the podcast were just enjoying people's life stories of what they'd gone through, the moments of adversity and and what they did to get through difficult times in their life. Now those two things can bridge a gap where whatever you may need at whichever point, there's going to be something that you can find. And you know what? I've really missed podcasting. There's never been a week where I've not thought about getting back to it. The intention never went away. Life just got really busy. I have a family, I'm juggling a lot, and podcasting takes a lot of time and energy and dedication. But I know that this side of life is sound and the other side of life is sound in the wellness space, are only going to complement each other. So this is me saying hello, maybe for the first time, if you've never heard the podcast before, there is, I think, 42 or 43 episodes to go back through if you want to have a listen. If this is the very first time you are tuning in to the Life is Sound Podcast, welcome. There'll be solo episodes like this for myself where I just talk about things I might be experiencing, processes that I'm going through, perceptions, things that happened to me, and just being an open book of sharing of things that happen on my journey in life, and then things that I might witness from the beautiful experiences I have in my sound baths with people and people sharing their experiences with me, and then returning with the guest episodes where I will have a guest opposite me and we'll delve into their story, what they're about, things that they've been through, the magic of life, the ups, the downs, how they got through moments of adversity and how they use their mindset and tools to get them through their life. All of us are carrying different things, all of us are experiencing different things. We all live on the same planet, but we are experiencing life in our own worlds. We are all here doing life, but we all have an individual experience of our own world. So when we share perceptions, ways of doing things, toolkits, helpful things when we meet in the place of conversation. This is a very powerful art form which we've done for millennia. So to reintroduce the Life is Sound Podcast, this is it. I'm

Mindset Tools, Spiritual Growth, NLP

James 8:11

back, we're back, and I promise you that I will bring you nothing but goodness and just tools to help you through life and check into just a good, fun, loving, educational, spiritual conversations based around well-being, mental health, and just becoming and getting to design the best versions of of who we want to be. Now we're all gonna go through difficult times, but those things come and go, they ebb and they flow. And it's just having those those things in place to know that no matter what we go through, there is always a light on the other side. So thank you for being here. I'm super excited to be back recording. This has been years in the making to relaunch the podcast. So if you are on this journey with me, thank you so much. If you've been to one of the sound baths over the past couple of years, thank you so much for being a part of the journey that I'm on and the sessions I get to hold for you have been life-changing for me. They've really put me on a path where I know my true calling in this life is in that world of everything I've ever known, which is being a musician since 15 years old to now. And all my spiritual evolution, which started when I was about 24, 25. I lost my partner at the time to cancer. That put me on a different path where I saw life in a in a completely different way, and that was the start of my spiritual journey. Now the spirituality is meeting the music, which is now also mixing with all the language learning through the magic of NLP. All these worlds are starting to weave together from the soundbath to the podcast. We're gonna create an amazing space where we we have magic happening in all areas to help you relax, to help you mind settle, to help you just be the best version you want to be in life, and look at how you can design that in the best way.

Maureen, Guests, Release Plans And Where To Find Us

James 10:50

So one person who started this journey with me was Maureen, who started as a mentor and now she's become one of my best friends in life. She is there through everything for me. Soundbath events, she's there. You'll see her, she's been a big part of that, helping just welcome people. And she is one of life's amazing people, and obviously a great behavioural and emotional therapist. So we'll be recording a lot of episodes with Maureen, and then we've got a lot of guests lined up, so I can't wait to get back to the sessions. We're going to be dropping these every other week, and I hope you enjoy. If you haven't been to a sound bath or you want to look for one of our online sound baths, make sure you go and visit www.lifeissound.com. And you can also find us on Instagram at this life is sound. On our website, you can find everything that we do from podcasts to sound baths, everything that we're about, all the guided sound relaxation recordings, the Life is Sound Daily Wellness Journal, which is something that I've I've created around a year and a half ago. And this is a really powerful tool just to help you through life. So there's lots that's happened with Life is Sound. There's a lot of things I've got to create and bring into fruition, like the journal, like the recordings, and the sound bass are just a world of their own. So make sure you check out the website. You can see everything that we're doing there. Thank you for being here again, or maybe for the first time. Thank you for checking in. Remember, no matter what you go through, life is good, life is sound.