I’ve been working with the Safe and Sound Protocol for seven years now - both professionally and personally. I’ve listened to many rounds of SSP Core, across many different playlists. Over time, my nervous system has become very familiar with the experience. These days, I don’t usually notice a great deal during listening which makes a lot of sense - much of the work has already been done in many ways so it's become more subtle.
So I was surprised by my response to Visions.
I want to say upfront that I don’t usually rank SSP playlists. In my experience, they are all effective, and people resonate with different music for different reasons. This isn’t about one playlist being “better.” But Visions felt… different. Not louder. Not more activating. Just deeper - and in a way I hadn’t experienced before with SSP.
The music in Visions is layered - very layered. There’s a lot happening at once. At first, I wondered whether it might be too much, especially for neurodivergent listeners or people with sensory sensitivity. It felt dense, rich, almost immersive in a way that asked something of me. At first it was a bit overwhelming.
What I noticed fairly quickly was that I couldn’t “half-listen.”
With other playlists, I can often let the music sit in the background of my awareness while my system does what it needs to do. With Visions, that wasn’t really possible. I had to surrender to it. I had to let it take me where it wanted to go.
The closest comparison I can make is to certain non-ordinary state experiences - like working with plant medicine, or the altered awareness that happened for me once during a medical procedure done under ketamine. Not because the experience was dramatic or overwhelming, but because it required yielding. Letting go of control. Allowing my nervous system to lead.
What surprised me most was how physical the experience became.
From the very first listening session, I noticed sensations I don’t usually feel anymore with SSP. At one point, I became aware of tight vertebrae releasing - clearly and distinctly. I both felt and heard the releases happen. A few times now I have felt the rhythm of the music quite literally drumming on the top of my head, as if the sound had found a direct route into my body rather than passing through my ears in the usual way.
During one session, for a few minutes, I experienced something entirely new for me: I perceived the musical notes as colored lights. I’ve never had that happen before. I know that Chris Redding, who created this playlist in collaboration with Unyte Health, experiences sound this way himself, so that moment felt strangely intimate - as if I was briefly borrowing his perceptual world.
What’s interesting is that this is not music I would normally choose to listen to. I don’t consider myself particularly musical, and ambient soundscapes aren’t something I typically seek out. And yet, even with that, I could feel the quality of the music.
It’s beautifully constructed. Thoughtful. Spacious and complex without feeling chaotic. There’s a kind of craftsmanship to it that comes through even if you don’t have musical language for it. I’m comfortable saying that, for me, the Visions playlist represents the highest-quality musical experience I’ve personally had within any Unyte product to date.
I was also deeply touched by the vocals woven throughout the playlist - especially moments where you can hear Chris’s son’s voice. Knowing the personal story behind this music, those moments felt tender and real rather than performative. They brought a human warmth to the sound that landed straight in my chest.
While everyone’s nervous system responds differently to SSP music, Visions may be particularly resonant for people who:
For me, Visions offered a quiet but profound reminder that even after many rounds of SSP, there are still new layers of experience available when safety is present and the nervous system feels free to explore.
And that, more than anything, is what made this playlist stand out.
If you would learn more about the Visions playlist and listen to a brief sample of it, you can do so on the Unyte website, here.