“In the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”.
This profound statement in the New Testament is the ultimate
basis for the power of harmonious vibration as a great
healing force in the world. The Word is still a mystery
but scientists are drawing closer to its reality. In a
recent article in The Independent (30 April 01) it was
reported that scientists have recorded the music of creation
using an instrument that can, in effect go back to the
origin of creation. They have detected harmonic notes,
minute ripples of sound that became the seeds of matter
forming stars, galaxies and solar systems. Thus the beginning
of our existence was through vibration. The very word
‘vibration’ begins with the symbol V which,
when repeated, actually represents sound waves. That a
fundamental vibration created our world is alluded to
in Genesis where God created through his voice –
“And God said, ‘Let there be light and there
was light.” The simplest definition of creation
is ‘movement’ but not just random movement
but vast multi-layered patterns of vibration which physicists
would call ‘frequencies’ or rates of vibration.
What is vibration which when made audible as in music
becomes sound? It is the pull of two opposing forces in
the universe for without opposites creation runs down.
On the one hand is the force we call ‘stillness’
as found in meditation, for example. Yet however deep
this stillness movement can still be detected. On the
other is the force that moves outward (as in e-motion)
and desires to take action and endlessly create new things.
This interplay is the source of all vibration which encompasses
both the audible and inaudible worlds.
On this basis every human being is the offspring of the
original Word which contains all possibilities. We are
riding on the crest of this fundamental vibration and
if we could feel its full impact at all times we could
be fully realized persons – person = per sonare
=through sound. There is a school of Indian philosophy
that, in fact, states that the nature of consciousness
is pulsation or throb. That is why the sound of AUM given
to us by the Hindus and pronounced as OM is such a sacred
vibration. It represents the beginning (Alpha) and the
end (Omega) and the many (the wide open mouth of O = the
universal self) and the one (the closed mouth of M = the
individual self). In Latin we have OMnes meaning ‘all’
and from ‘all’ we have the sacred sounds of
ALLah, ALLeluia and even ALLow.
If the universe is this finely tuned multitude of vibration
frequencies, then using the principle of ‘as above,
so below, each of us is the same. An example of this is
the propeller. When at rest we see four individual blades
but when it is at full speed we see what looks to be a
solid object. So to move to a higher dimension of existence
is to vibrate at ever higher frequencies. This is the
nature of the universe. Then the essence of sound healing
is the re-tuning of the human instrument, correcting at
whatever level those frequencies which have become weakened
or gone out of tune. This is done on the basis of resonance,
be it sympathetic vibrations or the power of forced resonance.
Basically, whatever part of us that is ailing can be awakened
by harmonious sound sources and remember at what frequency
it should be vibrating. This can occur at the physical
level (from cells to muscles to organs), the subtle level
(changing negative psychology) and the causal level (create
permanent positive changes in one’s nature). It
is no accident that doctors tell us that we are in ‘sound
health’ or ‘of sound mind.’ The medical
profession is, to some extent, using sound therapy. For
example, the application of ultrasound in the treatment
of sciatica. At a higher level spiritual teachers initiate
people into meditation through the sound of a mantra.
Here the creation of vibration works in reverse. First
there is the form (the mantra) which then it turns into
a wave and finally into a pulse.
What are the practical ways of using sound for healing?
Listening to music for there is no question that everyone
who does is practicing sound therapy. People’s choices
of listening depend on the very nature of their sound
frequencies. Music is not just something that goes into
the ear. It impinges on the entire bioenergetic field
(aura) and if there is incompatibility with the music
it will be rejected. Singing, best done collectively,
has positive transforming effects but it is not specifically
directed so its effects are not particularized. Natural
voice workshops are certainly on the increase as the desire
for the unity of community grows.
The deeper levels of sound therapy come through primarily
Eastern traditions using singing bowls, crystal bowls,
tuning forks and the human voice in the form of toning,
chanting and overtoning. There is also the controversial
field of cymatics , pioneered in the UK by Dr P G Manners,
which uses electronic sets of frequencies that correspond
to different parts of the body. Of all these approaches
the most practical is the use of the voice, an marvelous
instrument we have been given at birth. It was not given
just for communication but also for healing. Each vowel,
consonant, pitch, modulation and overtone can find its
place within us. There is a secret power in language such
that if all the world ceased speaking all our energy levels
would sink dramatically. Naturally, in speech it is all
fleeting and random as we move from syllable to syllable.
Working with vowels and consonants in a conscious and
deliberate way in the form of single sounds, mantras,
chants and overtones (which are the vitamins and minerals
of the sound) will empower them to do healing work. For
example, we use the word ‘who’ quite frequently
but who would ever think it was a so-called sacred sound.
Yet the Sufis describe this sound spelled HUU as sacred
and regularly intone it in their ceremonies. It is a name
of God and a sound of purification, especially when the
H breath sound is emphasized. It subtly expresses our
divinity in the expression ‘Who am I? – I
am HUU.
One area of vocal sound therapy taken for granted is natural,
emotional sounds. When we release our emotions in sounds,
we are sending vibrations to particular parts of the body
and also to the psyche. Laughing, groaning, keening, sighing
and humming. The greatest of these is laughter. Everyone
likes and needs to laugh otherwise comedy would have no
point in the world. Why is it contributing to positive
health? Primarily because it consists of the spiritual
H sound – the power of the breath and some sort
of vowel depending on the personality of the individual.
Often you can see where people experience themselves by
the type of laughter. Just make a vigorous HUH sound from
your belly over and over again and you should find that
a burning sensation appears in the head. That is a powerful
energy, one that stimulates the glands, particularly the
thymus, as it rises upwards. And the medical establishment
has confirmed that laughter can boost the immune system
among other things.
Toning can be directed to specific organs of the body
and to the chakra system itself. An effective system for
the organs has been brought to the West by Mantak Chia
and it employs movement with the simplest of sounds. Movement
in a similar form to Tai Chi and Chi Kung is always complementary
to healing vibrations because it encourages the release
of the sound and can even direct it to particular places.
This Taoist system uses SSSS for the lungs, WOH for the
kidneys, SSHHH for the liver, HAW for the heart and WOO
for the spleen, all done sub-vocally. Within the Tantra
Yoga tradition is found a profound method for harmonizing
the chakras through toning. Its basis is the sound of
AM. In English it is the equivalent to beingness in I
AM. What directs the power of this sound are the consonants
of L.,V, R, Y and H for the first five chakras. Thereafter
OM is intoned for the sixth and the seventh is considered
to be beyond sound but not beyond vibration.
The power of the resonating voice is a gateway to opening
up higher mind, the source of what is called ‘channeling.’
All creative work is channeling because the person realizes
that the ideas are arising from some special source. It
seems like an act of transcription, just listening and
then doing. There are all sorts of negative tendencies
in the mental sphere that are blocking clarity of thought
and they filter down and affect the physical body. Mantras
are the antidotes for this as they cut a pathway through
the dark side and actually dissipate what undermines our
true self and its potential. The structure (vowel/consonant
combinations) and repetition of the mantra, whether intoned
out loud are like the tools that polish diamonds. In this
case the diamond is the soul.
Using sound as the medium for healing is within the grasp
of anyone who wants to open up through the voice. There
is no need to become a trained singer. It has nothing
to do with a beauty of tone and everything to do with
vibratory power. There are special singers whose sound
is not cultivated but who lift us up with great emotion
– singers like Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday. So
much about healing lies in intent, that desire to transcend
what limits us at every level. Vibrational medicine in
whatever form is the future. Never mind mapping out all
our genes. Let science find a way of determining all our
frequencies. Just as the overtone patterns of the voice
are unique to each person, just like fingerprints, so
too are the overall frequencies. The practice of sound
health is literally under our nose – in our vocal
cords, etc. In the use of the secret magic of vowels and
consonants, applied with intent and knowledge, we have
a tremendous force for healing body, mind and spirit.
MORE
INFORMATION
Since 1994 James D’Angelo,
the author of the book and CD "The
Healing Power of the Human Voice",
has developed and led therapeutic sound and movement workshops
in England, Scotland, Italy, Spain and the USA and is
considered an authority on the subject of sound healing
therapies. His study of breath work, overtone singing,
tuning forks, self-actualising psychology, his practice
of sacred Sufi movements and his initiation into Reiki
healing form the basis of his work and its continuing
evolution. James is a member of the Healing Music Organization.
Learn
more...
Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation.
Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound. — Kabir
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