'"Every illness is a musical problem-the healing, a musical solution…”  Novalis, (1772-1801)

 

How often has music or a particular song moved you or lifted your spirits?

Perhaps a particular song or piece of music brings forward a memory, and when you hear that sound you are almost transported back to that time. Sound is extremely powerful.  Healing through sound brings the physical body, mind and soul into a state of natural balance and harmony. This is achieved through the use of specific vibrational sound frequencies which can be created by the voice (chanting, singing or toning), Tibetan or Quartz crystal singing bowls, gongs or tuning forks, for example. The application of these sound frequencies along with the intention of healing, creates a space in which the health and wellbeing of a person can be supported.

 

How is this possible?

Sound in any form is essentially a source of energy and we know that the Universe and everything within it is energy or vibrating matter.  Every organism, object and every part of the human body is made up of vibrating particles, which vibrate at their own unique frequency. The frequency at which something most naturally vibrates is called resonance.  All the cells in our body are sound resonators so cells share resonance to form an organ, and every organ will respond as a group to particular sound vibrations just like all the different instruments which make up a beautiful sounding orchestra.

 

When we are experiencing dis-ease its like our bodies are “out of tune”. The good news is that the human body is made up of over 70% water, which makes it an excellent conductor of sound. Furthermore, it’s not only the physical body and it’s various systems that are affected by sound – emotional, mental and the spiritual states of consciousness can all be supported, strengthened and balanced through sound and resonance too.

 

The Science

Einstein’s law of energy attracting and connecting with energy in his famous E=mc2 equation describes exactly this, so if energy impacts on energy, this means that one object can actually set another object to vibrate at the same rate. This is called entrainment.  Whilst working on the design of pendulum clocks in 1665, Huygens discovered that when two were placed a short distance away from one another, their pendulums would eventually swing together at the same rate. Two vibrations had locked together as the stronger vibration had influenced the weaker one. It’s the same for the body; entrainment happens because, at a cellular level, the energy field of that matter has undergone a change, which the scientists call chaos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chaos can sometimes be felt during a sound treatment. Clients have talked about feeling “energy pops”, heat or cold transfers, shivers, tingling and “fizzing”. These sensations are caused by the application of the sound vibration to that area of the body and entrainment taking place. The sensations even out once the cells are vibrating at the same frequency and clients often talk about a sense of relief, relinquish or relaxation once that point is reached.

 

On a larger scale, and in everyday life, entrainment is demonstrated through women who live together and experience their periods at the same time.  This can also be experienced in a choir, when the stronger voice lifts you to a higher energy. Similarly, when a “middle C” tuning fork is struck and the lid of a piano is lifted, the corresponding piano wire begins to softly vibrate, even though the key on the piano had not been pressed.

 

Science has taken the concept of entrainment further with the introduction of specific sonic frequencies delivered through Sonic technology such as the Hemi-sync (developed from Robert Monroe’s findings into brainwave synchronization). The medium of sound is now routinely used by Health Providers to treat conditions such as kidney and gallstones, to promote soft tissue healing and scan babies in the womb. Cellular research by Fabien Maman has also shown that blasting cancer cells with specific frequencies of sound is an antiinvasive way of treating cancer (see also  www.thetruthaboutcancer.com).

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Universal force

Many believe in the Universal force and that our thoughts create our own reality. In sound healing the power of intention is so important when projecting out into the Universe. The sounds then formed will be of positive and beneficial energy which can promote deep relaxation, relief from stress and healing. Clients often comment on experiencing a sense of connectedness, not just with themselves but with all things present after a sound healing.

 

Rhythm

The use of rhythm in sound healing can restore a normal and natural pulse within a person. Native Indians use drumming to produce rhythm which they say represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Others say that rhythm is the pulse of life and that steady and directed rhythms can trigger a similar response within the body’s natural rhythm. Research has shown that listening to Baroque music has benefited those with heart conditions, as it balances and soothes the rate of the heartbeat. The heart beat is encouraged to pulse at around 60 beats per minute (a healthy heart beats at 57 beats per minute when rested).  Beethoven once said;

“He that divines the secret of my music is freed from the unhappiness that haunts the whole world of men.”

A recent study by cardiologist and researcher Professor Peter Sleight, from the University of Oxford, showed that hearing a repeated 10 second rhythm found in various music compositions, particularly by Verdi, coincided exactly with changes in blood pressure that reduce the heart rate.

According to David Bohm (the Aharonov–Bohm effect), when exciting metal by playing the gong, electrons become highly charged electromagnetically and form an energy field in which the client is included. Metal is the only material known where electrons leave their atoms and join other atoms, so when the activity of the gong ends, the electrons go back to their original atoms. This is a contributing factor to why clients often feel a buzz when they walk away following a sound healing.

Music can calm the nervous system but equally a faster rhythm can serve to energise and increase blood flow in the body.  A slower tempo impacts on our breath, as well as the heart pulsations, and is also known to affect all organs in the human body, through entrainment. 

The whole body is made up of different rhythms, pulses and waves; heart rate, breath, brainwaves and stomach contractions to name a few. Drum rhythms can trigger resonance within our own biological rhythms. A repetitive drumming rhythm, for example used by Shamans during spiritual journeying, will slow our brain rhythm down, encouraging a meditative and trance like state. During a state of heighten consciousness, the body’s self-healing system can kick in to restore balance and harmony.

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Harmonics

All sounds that are produced are a mix of pure tone frequencies known as harmonics. There is a fundamental tone but also overtones or a “higher” sound, which creates the “character” of the sound. You can experience this when you sing a note in the shower; somehow the sound seems to have more character/depth to it. This happens because the acoustics in the shower are different and accentuate the harmonic sound. That is why singing in a space like a church feels so magical. Harmonics were first explained through science and mathematical ratios discovered by Pythagoras around 500 BC in Greece. This concept was later expanded by Hans Kayser in the 1920s to explain how musical harmonic ratios exist as basic law in all forms of natural science.  More recently in his article “The Power of Harmonics and Chanting”, Jonathan Goldman (Sound Healing expert in USA) explained that harmonics;

“are responsible for the tone colour or the timbre of different instruments and our voices. Just as you can hold a prism to white light and refract the different colours of the rainbow, it is possible to learn how to use your voice to break up these harmonics into specific sound frequencies.”

An interval in music is the space between two notes, played separately or together, and music is packed full of intervals. Typically we can start with the fundamental note as a C then progress from the second interval (C/D) to the third interval (C/E) and so on until we reach the eighth interval (C/C) or the Octave.

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Musical Intervals

Each interval brings about a different mood; from melancholy to uplifting and even explorative and challenging, helping us to reconnect with our Self. The science of sound healing explains why people undergo energy shifts and healing after listening to musical intervals.

Each interval emits a frequency that resonates with a specific part of our being and the space between this sound allows the absorption of the vibration and healing to take place. The energy shift, or healing that occurs as entrainment takes place, can be experienced in so many different ways; a sensation, an image, a colour, a memory, energy release or pain, emotions…the list is endless.

The reaction to sound will vary from person to person and dependant on what they are experiencing in life at that moment in time. This is why we are sometimes attracted to a specific piece of music, as it contains the musical intervals that link into whatever healing we need at that time.

For the mathematician, the intervals can be described as ratios which also crop up in basic atomic structures in our natural world, from plants to buildings and all things Universal!

Hazrat Inyat Khan (Sufi Master) knew this;

“What makes us feel drawn to music is that our whole being is music: our mind and body, the nature in which we live, the nature which has made us, all that is beneath and around us, it is all music.”

Mantra is a Sanskrit word meaning “any sacred word or syllable used as an object of concentration and embodying some aspect of spiritual power” (Collins Dictionary).

 

Mantra

Chanting or toning a mantra in a particular frequency, and with rhythm, can be an extremely powerful form of sound healing. Chanting over the body is an effective way of activating and balancing the chakras (energy centres in the body).  Read more about the chakras here.

In Tibetan belief system the human voice is said to be the most

important instrument. Chanting a Mantra helps not only to focus the mind, but also to relax, find joy, maybe even inner peace.

See the treatment page for more information.

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Prayer

The history of prayer is as old as humankind itself and encompasses every form of religion, faith and way of life. In sound healing it is essential to open the session and close the session with a prayer or intention. This together with the sound is a very powerful tool for healing.

 

The  Shunyata

One of the most fundamental aspects of sound healing is to ensure that the client also experiences a period of silence or "the Shunyata". It is essential for the body to rest and absorb the healing sounds.

The saying “silence is golden” is true!

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​​“What makes us feel drawn to music is that our whole being is music: our mind and body, the nature in which we live, the nature which has made us, all that is beneath and around us, it is all music.”

Hazrat Inyat Khan (Sufi Master)

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