Try this the next time you want to pray for someone who is in pain or sick or worried, or just suffering through some troublesome period in life. Sit down, use a small rattle or drum if you have one, and visualize the face of the person in pain. Then softly begin to hum, letting the hum become a sound, a word, an expression of sorrow that allows you to participate with that person in his or her suffering. Sing or chant this for awhile, then let it turn into a happier melody of words or sounds, and see that person's face begin to smile, laugh, and rejoice. Share in these happier feelings while you continue to sing. Then watch the person fall peacefully asleep, and allow your singing to become restful, like a lullaby. Sing your friend into that state of perfect bliss where no opposites exist, where we can be one with our own souls, with the universe, with God. . . .

The reason you felt so good after singing a song of healing for another person is that you immersed yourself in the power of the world. Even if you simply hummed, or merely sang simple vocables, your voice, your breath, and your unique spirit have the power to heal. Your enspirited voice can heal you as well as others.

Tom Cowan in Yearning for the Wind