In the Creation
of Musical Scales, part 1 & 2, the general features of harmonics
has been described. The aim of this portion is devoted to the spiritual and the
psychological power of harmonics as well as the physical well being.
Tomatis himself discovered this when he was called to help a Benedictine
monastery, where the monks were suffering of fatigued and depression. He found
out, that they usually six to eight hours of chanting - due to a new decree
- has
been ceased, and within a short period of time the monks was unable to perform
their many duties. WhenTomatis re-established their daily chanting, the monks
were soon able to continue their rigorous schedule of work and prayers.
For Tomatis, a major aspect of the therapeutic affects of vocal harmonics
lies in the conduction of the bones, which are stimulated by resonance of around
2000 Hz. He says:
”The sound produced is not in the mouth, not in the body, but, in fact,
in the bones. It is all the bones in the body which are singing and it is like a
vibrator exciting the walls of the church, which also sing.”
Bone conduction’s actually amplifies the sound through resonance of the
cranium and the skull. According to Tomatis, bone conduction stimulates the
stapes muscle of the ear, which he believes is the key to stimulating and
charging the brain. Tomatis himself manages with a small amount of sleep, less
than four hours a night. He attributes this to his listening to sound, which are
rich in high harmonics.
Tomatis has described a phenomenon, which has been called ”The Tomatis
Effect”, that states that the voice can only create and duplicate those sounds,
which the ear is able to hear. This means that until you are able to hear
various overtones, you will not be able to create them in your voice.
In the Vedic language of Sanskrit, there is a differentiation between
inner and outer sound. There is audible sound, called ”ahata”, or struck sound
and is the result of vibration on the physical plane. There is also the
”anahata”, the inaudible, inner sound which are not the result of some physical
vibration, but rather are ”unstuck” which can ridden like a flying horse to
other planes of existence in meditation.
The American throat singer, Jonathan Goldman, formulates an
interesting statement in the book," Healing Sounds”, the power of harmonics:
”I have always wondered if harmonics might not somehow be the bridge
between ”ahata” and ”anahata”, the struck and the unstuck sound, but the
harmonics which are created do not occur themselves from having been physically
struck. Perhaps they are the bridge
between the physical and the meta-physical.” (p.78)
If we for a moment give up the common notion about sound as air waves the
ear can hear, and extend it to a member of the universal family of vibrations,
we will open up for the Hermetic Principles that tell us about the Universe is
nothing more or less than an endless number of vibrations and rhythms from the
atoms to the stars.
Hermes Trismegistus, Thrice Great Hermes, the scribe of the Gods, as the
ancient Greeks named the mystical Egyptian God Thoth, was said to create by the
sound of his voice alone. The sacred writings of the ancient mystery Schools
over the world, were attributed to him as mediator of divinely revealed wisdom.
In thus center of learning the knowledge of sound was a highly refined since
based upon an understanding of vibration as the primary causative form of the
universe. While there are many
mystical and spiritual paths, the Principles laid out by (the post atlantian?)
Hermes Thoth seem to be incorporated in all of these paths. There were Seven
Principles upon which the entire
Hermetic Philosophy was based. Describe in ”The Kyballium: a study of Hermetic
Philosophy” these are:
1. The
principle of Mentalisme: "All is mind"
2. The
principle of correspondence: "As Above, so Below".
3. The
principle of Vibration:" All is in vibration".
4. The
principle of Polarity: " Everything is dual".
5. The
principle of Rhythm: " Everything flows".
6. The
principle of Cause and Effect: " Everything happens according to Law".
7. The
principle of Gender: " Everything has its Masculine and Feminine
Principles"
Every organ, bone and tissue in the human body has
its own separate resonant frequency. Together they made up a composite
frequency, a harmonic that is your own personal vibratory signature. This
signature encircle the whole body with a field, which some gifted people can see as an aura, and can be recorded by means of
Kirlian
photography.
Just as it is possible to set an object into its own natural vibratory state through resonance, so it
is possible to restore the natural motion of an object, that may be out of tune
or in disharmony. We call this disease. When disease sets in, a different sound
pattern is established in that part of the body which is not vibrating in
harmony. Therefore, it is possible, through use of externally created sound that
is projected into the diseased area, to reintroduce the correct harmonic
pattern.
The different rhythms of the body may also be changed through
sound. This is known as entrainment and involves the ability of the more
powerful rhythmic vibrations of one object to change the less powerful rhythmic
vibration of another object and cause them to synchronize their rhythms with the
first object. Through sound, especially chanting or overtone singing, it is
possible to change the rhythmic pattern of our brain waves, as well as our heart beat and respiration.
Different brain wave rates have been equated to different state of
consciousness. There are four basic categories of brain waves:
1. Beta
waves, from 14 to 20 Hz, which are found in our normal waking state of
mind.
2. Alpha
waves, from 8 to 13 Hz, which occur
when we daydream or meditate.
3. Theta
waves, from 4 to 7 Hz, which are found in states of deep meditation and sleep,
as well in shamanic activity.
4. Delta
waves, from 0,5 to 3 Hz, which occur in deep sleep and have been found in very
propound states of meditation and healing.
In our age of science it has been verified that sound can be used to
effect and change our brain waves. In
The
Sound of Silence, I mentioned the American engineer, Robert Monroe, who has written books
about his out of body experiences and produced sound tapes for the purpose of
synchronizing the two brain hemispheres in order to create an altered state
where out of body or similar experience can emerge. (I have tested some of these
tapes myself, but I have to admit that I came in a state of flying - though not out
of my body. Maybe my intend was not strong enough!)
The changing of using resonance and entrainment are the fundamental
concepts behind the use of sound to heal and transform. They are found in every
practice that uses sound, regardless of tradition, belief system or
culture.
The psychic Edgar Cayce predicted, that sound would be the medicine of the
future. I surely pray to that and
the future is here. Within the last decades, however, the use of sound as a
healing modality is coming more into focus in both the scientific and the
medical communities. There now exist organizations such as the
International Society for Music in Medicine and the Arts Medicine Association,
which draw together doctors, scientists and other working with sound as a
therapeutic tool.
As Jonathan Goldman so keen has detected in his book ”Healing Sound”:
sometimes different people apparently used different frequencies or different
sounds to heal the same problem? A colleague and friend brought his attention to
the missing area in question:
”Sound is a
carrier wave of consciousness”
This means that depending upon where an individual’s awareness is placed
when he/she creates a certain sound, the sound will carry information on that
state to the person receiving it. It is the intent or the purpose behind the
sound, that matters. With the word intent, we are really talking about the
consciousness of the sound being created. This encompasses the overall state of
the person making the sound and involves the physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual aspects of that person.
The initial understanding of intention involves our conscious mind,
actually our whole being. A more profound understanding of intent involves what
may be understood as alignment with the purpose of our Higher Selves, or the
Divine Will. That is to be one with the Universal Spirit. It is that aspect of
consciousness that is able to align with the sacred energy of sound.
It is ”Thy will”, not ”my will”.
When we have reached this level of being, our intent is to become a
vehicle for the sacred sound and we
are – maybe - able to by-pass the lesser aspect of one self which is
selfish, inharmonious and unable to surrender to the Universal Will or God.
For most people, the initial understanding of intent is a major tumbling
block in using sound as a transformational and therapeutic tool, for most of us,
including healers, has not reached such a being and have never created sound
with conscious awareness and purpose. Maybe in our intent to be a vehicle for
our Supreme Creator, the tumbling block in a moment of grace becomes a stepping
stone and in that moment we are One with our Creator and therefore are able to
re-create and heal.
The concept of intent relates to the first Hermetic Principle that All is
Mind, for intent stems from the mind of the Creator of sound. All is vibrations
and rhythm. The key is the level of being, the degree of consciousness, the
development of the mind, the purity of emotions, the level of attention that
forms the intent or visualization.
Resonance is the basis of every sound therapy that I have examined. As
you may recall, resonance is the basic vibratory rate of an object. Everything
in the universe is in a state of vibration. This includes the human body. Every
organ, bone, tissue and other part of the body has a healthy resonant frequency.
When that frequency alters, that part of the body vibrates out of harmony and
this is what is termed disease. If it were possible to determine the correct
resonant frequency for a healthy organ and then project it into that part which
is diseased, the organ should return to its normal frequency and a healing
should occur.
Dr. Hans Jenny, a Swiss scientist, spent ten years of his life observing
and photographing the effects of sound upon inorganic matter. He would put water
and other liquids, plastics, paste and dust on steel plates and then vibrate
these plates with different frequencies. Much of this work was originally
inspired by the work of Ernst Chaldni, an eighteenth-century scientist who put
grains of sand on glass and vibrated them with a violin bow. The sand would take
on the most beautiful and symmetrical shapes. The experiments of Jenny took this
understanding of the relationship between sound and form a quantum leap ahead.
Dr. Jenny spent thousands of hours experimenting with the effects of
different frequencies upon the different inorganic substances he was using.
Within the hundreds of photo- graphs which he and his staff took are pictures
that look like starfish, human organs, microscopic bacteria and underwater life.
In reality, these shapes are nothing more or less than lifeless mounds of
plastic, dust and other inorganic material that had been exposed to sound.
Dr. Jenny, in Volume II of Cymatics wrote:
”Now it is beyond doubt that where organization is concerned, the
harmonic figures of physics are in fact essentially similar to the harmonic
patterns of organic nature.... In the first place, we have the certain
experience that harmonic systems such as we have visualized in our experiments
arise from oscillations in the form of intervals and harmonic frequencies. That
is indisputable. ... If biological rhythms operate as generative factors at the
interval-like frequencies appropriate to them, then harmonic patterns must be
necessarily forthcoming.”
Barbara Hero has demonstrated a similar effect of harmonics using a laser
and scanner system. Barbara placed a mirror under a speaker system which
vibrated the mirror when two different frequencies were created. She then
projected a laser at the mirror and
the laser was reflected on to a screen, revealing the images created by the
sounds. Barbara found that those intervals which were created by the harmonic
series created shapes which were geometrically perfect. These shapes, such as a
circle, remained stationary as long as the intervals were sounding. Intervals
which were not harmonically related created shapes that were not geometrically
perfect and their shapes decayed.
Barbara experimented with the human voice using this laser and scanner
system. The results were the same. When two people sang notes that were
harmonically related, the perfectly symmetrical geometric shapes appeared. This
was especially true when the people created vocal harmonics. When the voices
created sounds that were not harmonically related, the shapes were not
symmetrical.
”But the real work on what might be called melos, or speech, is still to
be done. This brings the larynx and its action in the scope of our studies. And
at the same time, we are confronted with origination of vibrations effects, the
generative element; we must learn about the larynx as a creative organ which
displays a kind of omnipotent nature”.
One of the pioneers in using sound to heal is Dr. Peter Guy Manners, MD.
An English osteopath, Dr. Manners became aware of Dr. Jenny's cymatics
experiments and learned of the extraordinary ability of sound to affect form.
Since 1961 he has been engaged in research into the effects of sound upon the
structure and chemistry of the human body.
Dr. Manners is the creator of cymatics therapy which utilizes the Cymatics
Instrument. For over twenty years, he has been treating various illnesses with
sound. Working under the premise that disease is an 'out of tuneless' of some
aspect of the body, Dr. Manners has correlated different harmonic frequencies,
which are the healthy resonant frequencies of different parts of the body. He
states:
”A healthy organ will have its molecules working together in a harmonious
relationship with each other and will all be of the same pattern. If different
sound patterns enter into the organ, the harmonious re1ationship could be upset.
If these frequencies are weak in their vibration, they will be overcome by the
stronger vibrations of the native ones. If the foreign ones prove to be the
stronger on the other hand, they may establish their disharmonious pattern in
the organ, bone, tissue, etc. and this is what we call disease.
If, therefore a treatment contains a harmonic frequency pattern which
will reinforce the organs, the vibrations of the intruder will be neutralized
and the correct pattern for that organ re-established. This should constitute a
curative reaction”.
The harmonics of the Cymatics Instrument are tabulated and reconstructed
by computers and the corrected frequency is then projected directly into the
affected area. The harmonics from the Cymatics Instrument are a composite of five
different frequencies that Dr. Manners has found most effective for creating
sounds that heal the human body. These sounds from the Cymatics Instrument are
very different from the vocal harmonics we have been discussing in this site.
They are electronically created and are really single tones. Yet they are
harmonics of the calibrated frequency of the human body. They are usually
octaves of this frequency, brought up many, many times in order to put the sound
into the audible level, or brought down many, many times. Nevertheless, as tones
that are octaves of a tone (whether this fundamental is in the ELF range or
ultra-sonic), these tones can technically be called 'harmonics'.
In the Cymatics Instrument are calculated literally thousands of different
composite harmonics designed to place the body back into alignment and health.
There are the frequencies for every organ in the body and for specific diseases.
There are also frequencies for the emotional and mental problems. Some
imbalances treated with cymatic therapy include: anemia, asthma, colitis,
constipation, diabetes, eczema, glaucoma, heart disease, hernias, kidney
disease, multiple sclerosis, sciatica, sleeping sickness, syphilis and
tonsillitis. If the theory of resonant frequency healing is correct, there would
be few, if any, illnesses that could not be effectively treated with sound.
A reason for this is, that the proper research needed to collect data that
is suitable for the traditional scientific and medical communities, requires a
lengthy and costly process. Many times grants and funding are needed and sadly
most organizations that give grants will not extend their finances to unproven
methods - which is a case of Catch 22, for how can one prove a method if the
funding is not available?
Nevertheless, though adequate research is not presently available, this
does not mean the various sound therapies do not work. There are an increasing
number of people,
who have experienced extraordinary
transformations and healings through the use of different sound
therapies.
Radionics works with the premise that all matter radiates energy. This
energy, which is not simply 'magnetic' or 'electric', operates at very subtle
and refined levels of vibration. Using devices such as pendulums which seem to
swing back and forth in response to this energy, radionic practitioners have
been able to determine frequencies for various parts of the body.
Dr. Manners stated that in actual laboratory tests the frequencies found
for the liver, for example, match the frequencies given by radionic devices. The
laboratory tests take several hours while the use of radionic device may take a few minutes.
Lambdoma Diagram also called 'The Pythagorean Table' or the 'Lambdoma'
has been the subject of much discourse among scientists, The Lambdoma is
credited with having been discovered by Pythagoras and was passed on by the
neo-Pythagorean Iamblichus. The Lambdoma is an ancient musical mathematical
theory which relates music to ratios. Mathematicians and scientists have studied
the Lambdoma since its discovery. It is said to hold the many esoteric secrets
of the relationship between matter and spirit, including being a numerical
representation of the World Soul.
The Lambdoma is composed of two series, One represents the division of a
string which indicates frequencies. The other series represents the
multiplication of it or the harmonic series.
In the 1920s Hans Kayser, a German scientist, developed a theory of world
harmonics based upon the Lambdoma. He found that the principles of harmonious
structure in nature and the fundamentals of harmonics were essentially the same.
Kayser called himself and others who adhered to this philosophy 'harmonicists'.
He devoted much of his life to restoring to the sciences, knowledge of the
importance of harmonics. He believed that through understanding the connection
between music and mathematics, it would be possible to create an understanding
of the relationship between tone and numbers. Thus qualities (tonal sensations)
could be derived from quantities (numbers) and quantities could be derived
through qualities. In his book Akroasis (from the Greek word for 'hearing'), he
wrote:
”With the discovery of the relation between pitch and string length,
which could be established numerically, western science was born. Qualities
(tones) were derived from quantities (string or wave lengths) in an exact way.”
Kayser believed that this knowledge of harmonics had become lost and had
created a major schism between science and the spirit. He hoped that a true
understanding of this relationship would create a bridge between the matter and
soul. According to Kayser, the whole number ratios of musical harmonics
corresponds to an underlying framework existing in chemistry, physics,
crystallography, astronomy, architecture, spectroanalysis, botany and the study
of other natural sciences. The relationship expressed in the periodic table of
elements, an understanding of the formation of matter, resembles the overtone
structure in music.
Another frequency-based healing modality that utilizes harmonics is
Barbara Hero's Lambdoma frequencies.
Barbara Hero is a mathematician and artist who has been working with the
Lambdoma for over twenty years. She believes that the Lambdoma is actually a
formula for hea1ing with sound and she has created a series of tapes designed to
balance and resonate the chakras based upon these frequencies. Related
websites by Barbara Hero.
The chakras are subtle centers of energy located along the center of the
body. They align with the spinal column. Different esoteric traditions believe
that the energy that affects the physical body comes from the chakras.
Scientists are now attempting to validate the existence of the chakras, as well
as the other subtle energy system of the meridians, the basis of acupuncture.
Imbalances in chakras are said to affect the physical body. Balancing the
chakras may therefore balance and heal problems in the physical body.
Investigating the Lambdoma frequencies, it is found that they were all
harmonically related. In fact, the Lambdoma Diagram is nothing more or less than
a table of ratios based upon the overtones. The sounds which Barbara had put on
her tape were simply harmonically related frequencies. It seems quite possible
that the chakras are harmonically related and that they do respond to
harmonically related frequencies.
Many scientists, including Izthak Bentov, author of Stalking the Wild Pendulum, believe that the etheric fields of the body, such as the astral and mental, are all harmonically related to each other. The chakras and the physical body are also understood to have had this harmonic relationship,
The use of the voice to balance and align chakras has been part of Hindu Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. This application of sound is usually practiced through recitation of mantras. However, there are in the West developed systems using harmonically related vocal sounds which also should work on the chakras. There are differences but basically the seven chakras correspond with sound and color in this way:
Another potential healing use of harmonics involves the resonation of the brain with these sounds. Many people report being aware of vibrations in their heads when they create vocal harmonics. Sometimes they see light when their eyes are closed. Others indicate they can actually feel different parts of their brain being resonated by the harmonics.
A pioneer in Western overtone singing is the German avant-garde composer, Karlheinz Stockhausen. He was able to
produce something like 28 overtones as clear as a bell. He said that he
concentrates on a particular point in the brain above the palate for each
overtone and that each overtone is placed higher up in an area within the
brain.
Stockhausen was the first to compose music created entirely for overtone singers. His
influence in the growth of vocal harmonics has been great. Among his students
were British overtone singer, Jill Purce, and German overtone singer, Michael
Vetter.
Stockhausen had these comments to make about his
overtone composision, "Stimmung" (meaning 'tuning'):
”You will hear
my work Stimmung as one seventy-five minutes long chord. It never changes.There
are only partials or natural
harmonics on a fundamental, the fundamental itself isn't there. The second, the
third, fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth harmonics and nothing but that ... The
singers needed six months just in order to learn precisely how to hit the ninth
harmonic, or the tenth, eleventh, thirteenth, up to the twenty-fourth...
It's a wonderful technique to learn because you become so conscious of the
different parts of the skull which are vibrating, If you met the singers, you'd
see how as human beings, they've changed. They're completely transformed now
that they've sung it more than a hundred times since the World's Fair in Osaka”.
Stockhausen was able to observe physiological changes in the skulls of
the singers he had trained to create vocal harmonics. The question remains: what
exactly are these physiological changes? Are these changes restricted to the
bones of the cranium or are there actual changes in the brain as well? If it is
possible to resonate different portions of the brain through self-created sounds
such as vocal harmonics, this seems a great deal safer than drilling a hole
through the cranium and then attaching electrodes to the brain. This latter
method is the one which is currently the only available way modern science can
stimulate and directly affect the brain.
In
interviews, overtone singer Jill Purce has stated:
”Overtone chanting is extremely healing... When you're doing overtone
chanting you're beginning to differentiate mental and physiological processes
that are not normally differentiated. This requires incredible
concentration - you use parts of
the brain that you don't normally use -
and when you do that something else happens and you enter into the world
of spirit”
Jonathan Goldman tells in
his book, Healing Sound, about a mind shaking experience in a completely dark cave
in Palenque in Mexico, where his guide asked him to perform harmonious singing.
When he began to tone harmonics towards the area the guide has indicated before
the lights went out, the cave began to become illuminated, but it was not
ordinarily light. It was more subtle, but it was definitely lighter in the room.
The outline and figures of the people there could be seen and everyone was aware
of it.
This experience was one of the more dramatic episodes in his life. It was
only later that he began to process the experience and try to understand what
had gone on: "I had been able to use sound to create light".
His conclusion was: by use of vocally created harmonics, it is possible to resonate
and stimulate the pineal gland.
The pineal gland is a small, pine-cone-shaped gland located in the middle
of the head. Esoterically, the pineal is often associated with the 'third eye'
and was believed by Descartes to be the 'Seat of the Soul'. lt was once thought
to be a vestigial organ and is now known to be a light sensitive clock affecting
sleep and the sex glands.
Research by scientists such as Robert Beck suggest that the pineal is an
organic device which is tuned towards magnetic north to give both humans and
animals their sense of direction, Other scientists believe that the pineal is a
bio-luminescent organ which has the ability to create light.
The pineal is rich in neuromelanin, which, according to scientist Frank
Barr, is a phase-timing, information processing interface molecule which is a photo transducer. This is a substance which has the ability, among other traits,
of absorbing and converting light energy to sound.
It also has the ability to turn sound energy into light. Barr believes that melanin
and its brain counterpart, neuromelanin, may be the key link between the mind
and the brain.
Through stimulation of the pineal gland, neuromelanin is produced.
Neuromelanin, a light-sensitive compound triggers the release of a substance
which contains phosphorus, a light-producing chemical. By stimulating the pineal
gland through vocal harmonics, it may be possible that actual fields of light
around the body are enhanced.
While this phenomenon is not too widely known, there does seem to be some
reference to it in certain texts.
Dhyani Ywahoo, a Native American medicine
woman, writes in "Voices of Our Ancestors", that in the Ancient Mystery Schools the
initiations were held in total darkness. The initiates had to be able to produce
their own light.
May be this was done through the creation of vocal
harmonics. Spiritual scientist J. J. Hurtak writes of the phenomenon of creating
light through the pineal gland in The Keys of Enoch:
”The 'light' which activates the pineal gland is not the conventional
light of the sun... the brain produces its own light field on a molecular
level... our neurocircuitry can produce its own light field”.
Jonathan Goldman discussed with Dr. Tomatis his experience of producing
light through sound and suggested the hypothesis of the pineal creating this
light. Dr. Tomatis knew of this phenomenon of creating light through sound, but
believed that this light was created not through the pineal (the third eye) but
through the heart.
It is interesting to note that the heart is an organ which is also
extremely rich in melanin. What would be the healing benefits of creating light
in this manner? The possibilities seem limitless. We would be enhancing and
adding energy to the fields around our bodies, creating or restoring health and
balance to areas of imbalance and disease. These possibilities of resonating the
pineal through sound are yet another example of the potential use of harmonics to influence and affect the
brain for health and well-being
Edited by Thomas Hightower 2001.