Sacred Sound
Sound Healing
“Divine Sound is the cause of all manifestation. The knower of the mystery of sound, knows the mystery of the whole universe.” ~ Hazrat Inayat Kahn
Sacred sounds and Sound healing may be fairly new phrases to many of us, as these phrases and their use are currently gaining some traction in our mainstream Western culture. But the conception of sound as sacred, and therefore healing, has been around since, quite literally, the beginning of time! Take this quote for instance, “In the beginning was the Word…” from the New Testament, Gospel of John. While in the Old Testament we find this telling statement, “And God said, “Let there be Light,” indicating that God was creating through sound. We can even go back much further than this … The Vedas, the worlds oldest known scriptures, refer to the Divine sound current called Shabda Brahma - sounds or words of the Creator, which infuse everything and are therefore primary to creation.
Sound Healing is based on the scientific principal that all matter is vibrating at specific frequencies.
“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Science has proven that sound, or vibration, has a strong impact on any natural substance. An example of this is the study of Cymatics which has shown that sound creates geometric patterns in matter. Dr. Emoto has proven that sound changes the molecular structure of water. However, more importantly, sound changes CONSCIOUSNESS!
Sound has been utilized in various cultures for thousands of years as a tool for healing as well as accessing higher states of consciousness. Whether through the use of mantras stemming from the most ancient language of all - Sanskrit, the Icaros - medicine melodies of various Indigenous peoples from Central and South America, or even Pythagoras' use of interval and frequency, these various techniques all have the same intention: to move us from a place of disharrmony, or imbalance to a place of harmony, or balance.
There are many different methods that utilize sound as a modality for change. The most common use of sound healing today is music or mantra for meditation and relaxation. The word mantra is based on the Sanskrit roots man - mind and trai - liberation. Modern psychology understands that liberating one’s mind from destructive thought patterns is one of the most powerful things we can do to reduce stress and enhance self worth!
Other sound healing modalities include the following … Chanting and toning are some of the most powerful methods for resonating sound throughout the body. The use of nature sounds and natural instruments, such as crystal bowls and tuning forks, have specific healing frequencies and harmonics. Drumming and rhythm have their own healing properties, shamanic drumming takes people into altered states of consciousness, in which the recipient can relax, utilize guided imagery for healing, or in the shaman’s explanation, the altered states open portals or doorways in which he or she travels through various dimensions for healing purposes. Sound is currently being using by clinical psychologists to help children with certain learning disabilities. Binaural beat frequencies are used to entrain people into very specific states of consciousness, literally helping our brain shift frequencies for specific purposes such as altering brainwave states to help people to sleep, or focus, or facilitate creative expression.
Although sound healing may seem new to many of us in the West, it’s the oldest and perhaps the most powerful healing modality on earth. We appear to have just begun to scratch the surface of this amazing means of spontaneous healing, as living systems move from disharmony to harmony through the use of sound and it’s vibration!
We invite you to sink into healing sounds this month, be it soothing sounds of nature when you're feeling stressed to harmonize your energy field,, ancient mantra recitation as a daily practice to set your intention for healing and energy balance, wind chimes, Tibetan singing bowls, or meditation tracks for harmonizing to a higher frequency, or join us in our online meditation offered free each month at sacredhealingjourney.com/meditation-workshops-2/
Namaste, Lynn & Cheryl