|
|
SOUND, continuation of "The Unique Sound of the Tibetan Singing Bowls." [ Back to 1st page of SOUND ]
General Notes on the Healing
Over the centuries different cultures have used sounds and sound instruments for healing. The oldest are mantras, chants, various acoustic instruments and the human voice, which is perhaps the most powerful instrument. Music can also be beneficial, but may not be as advantageous as the fore mentioned instruments.
Music is an organized sound. Over the centuries the sound of music was used for entertainment. In recent years, we have become very much aware of the therapeutic benefits of music and individual sounds. Using music to evoke our relaxation response and to bring our body into a deep state of relaxation so that the body can heal itself is a simple therapy. But you must choose the right music, as the response to music is a complex issue. However, the particular sound of the singing bowls produces a unique sound for healing.
Some therapists relate the note "C" to the 1st Root Chakra, the note "D" to the 2nd Sacral Chakra, and so on up to note B for the crown [seven notes]. This may have been true for some instruments and for the voice but does not hold for the later more modern instruments.
As the complexity of music developed over time, composers began to explore with moving, or modulating, from one musical scale to another within the same piece. This was, however, problematic as they found that the difference in pitch between notes (the intervals) was not consistent from scale to scale. In order to accommodate modulation, composers altered, or tempered, the musical scales, so that all intervals across all scales were equal, giving us the equal temperament tuning, which we use to this day. The result of the equal tempered scale is that those intervals that should result in harmony are actually slightly dissonant. Hence, since Bach's time, the instruments were tuned to intervals that were artificially shortened from their natural frequencies.
Today we practically always listen to music in which all the intervals are just a little too short in relation to their natural wavelength. Rational thinking has placed restraint on sound! The singing bowls however, break through these artificial restraints. Their natural vibration of the intervals between the harmonies can be clearly heard. That is why they sound different and they affect us differently. Their sound is sometimes heard as unharmonious as it consists of various harmonics, and often they have 3 harmonics. The smaller bowls (6 inches and less) have a high pitch and 1-2 harmonics, the bigger bowls have a much deeper pitch and up to 7 harmonics. Hence, the sound of the singing bowls comprises a great deal more subtle outcome than that heard by the calculated intervals of the even tempered octaves.
We have seven main chakra points that regulate the energy system in our body. They vibrate respectively to the vibration of the half nodes of the wave vibration produced by the seven colours of the rainbow or the light spectrum. Or, equally, we can use the vibrations produced by the appropriate half nodes of sound waves. With today's instruments, we do not produce notes that conform to their unique natural frequencies, however the laws of the universe are precise.
To overcome this imbalance, "Intuitive Healers" have produced and used sound vowels with the tone of their voice for the balancing of our seven chakras. I have a tape of those sounds. If we listen to the tape we can hear that, the sacred sound for:
the Base Chakra is - "uh",
the Sacral Chakra is - "oe",
the Solar Plexus is - "oo",
the Heart is "ah" -
the Throat is - "ii"
the Brow is - "ei " or "ee",
the Crown is - "e'e' ".
The flow of the life force in our body will respond to our feelings and thoughts and will be weakened or blocked through any of our constant negative thoughts and feelings. This will adversely affect our organs and tissues, because over time our chakras will weaken and become unbalanced [blocked], after which they are not able to draw the necessary energy through our subtle bodies [aura]. [Or they could become overactive or under active]. This usually will be the start of physical problems beginning to manifest in our body. Through this imbalance we create mostly a body with a lowered electromagnetic energy vibration.
In order to correct this, we must first restore the balance to our subtle energy system and the flow to our physical body. In most instances, by restoring the proper balance of our chakras, we may have corrected the necessary life force flow in our etheric body. Consequently, we should now restore the affected areas in our physical body. Knowing that the imbalance in our energy field revealed itself as physical troubles, they nearly always include emotional, mental or spiritual problems. For this reason, it is important to balancing each chakra.
One of the most powerful ways to restore the balance in our chakras is the vibration of sound. The sounds of the singing bowls and the above sounds of the seven vowels are ideal for this. Other remedies such as colour, Reiki, aromatherapy, crystals and gemstones, may, or in some cases, should also be used. Well, the story does not end here. As mentioned earlier, our physical body would have been affected by the above imbalances. This would have affected our internal energy flow and the healthy state of our organs. Each of our organs vibrate at different frequencies and each should be balanced to their innate frequency for the body to be in harmony and producing our well being. Also, for the balancing of our internal energy flow, we may add Chinese massage, acupuncture, and the like to the above remedies.
As mentioned earlier, the singing bowls have a unique sound and they seem to overcome the above shortcomings of obtaining the true sound waves. Scientific studies have shown that certain sounds can produce changes in our autonomic, immune, endocrine and neuropeptide systems. Every atom, molecule, cell, gland, organ of the human body emits and absorbs sound.
The wavelength of our brainwaves depends on our state of consciousness. In the normal state we produce Beta waves of 14 cycles per second and above, which slow down to Alpha waves from 14 cps to 7 cps say, when we are in a relaxed state of meditation. Theta waves are produced in a state of half sleep and measure 7 cps down to 3 ½ cps.
From recordings of the sound produced by singing bowls, it was found that within the sound pattern of different singing bowls there was a measurable wave pattern that is equivalent to the alpha waves produced by our brain. Hence, various bowls instil a sense of deep relaxation and inner space opening up.
You can't categorize them because their sacred music is beyond everything.
Therapies with sacred sounds are very grounding. The sound of the bowls stills the noises and clutter around us and brings us back to our deeper center that gives us peace. Their sound makes you feel calmer and you can see things clearer. It is like a wave of calmness washing over you and it gives you a feeling of well being. The subtle vibrations of the sound seem to penetrate not only the body, but also go right to your inner core.
A very important fact is using the bowls greatly assists in arresting the mind.
Sound often succeeds where other therapies fail to relax a stubborn state of mind. The Witch Doctor with his rattles and drums knew subconsciously what he was doing! When the mind is arrested it allows other healing processes to go on, and stimulating our most important natural gift, the body's natural self-healing ability. Even when the sound is physically finished, one must remember that the created sound has also been created on a subtle plane and is felt throughout the universe. As the late Mr. Bede Griffith once said "When a butterfly spread its wings it is felt throughout the universe". The subtle effects of the sound lingering on throughout the universe makes the therapeutic healing long lasting.
Half of our battle with therapy is to still the mind. We live in our five senses and become externalized. The bowls help us to internalize, reflect and contemplate. The bowls will bring us to the present. Using a sound bath will arrest our mind so that other processes can occur.
The use of singing bowels will rebalance us at both the emotional and cellular level. For some the singing bowls do not work and their vibrations are irritating to them. Always, tell your client to have no expectation of the singing bowls when they are used for a treatment on them.
Benefits
A therapy carried out by an experienced practitioner with the use of singing bowls is a natural form of traditional treatment that in general:
Brings about relaxation and reduces stress / Increases creativity / Relieves stress-related disorders / Improves respiration / Relieves Insomnia / Normalizes blood pressure / Assists in gastric disorders / Improves the immune system / Reduces headaches and migraines / Stimulates our life energy
Treatment
General Points
During the treatment the bowls may be placed around the body using sacred geometry, which is not part of this presentation. They may be placed around you to give you a sound bath. Or they may be placed directly on the body, which is very effective because we are largely made up of water and water is a good conductor for vibration of waves. They are also used hovering over the body so that the sound waves can rectify the etheric body and penetrate the client's body, or to locate any blockages in their energy system.
When diagnosing and treating a client's energy field and you are passing the bowl over a person as you play it, any disharmony in their chakras or in their entire energy field will indicate itself through a change in the pitch of the sound when you get to a spot where there's a problem. It takes some practice at first, you have to develop an 'ear' for the changes in pitch and harmonics, but it makes a wonderful diagnostic and healing tool, and most of the clients say they feel a profound sense of well being when the bowl is being played over them. They also like the sensation of the strong vibration that goes through the body.
Before Treatment Starts
1- Mostly there are no quick fixes. It may require four treatments to reverse each year of
cumulative trauma.
2- Discuss with your client sound healing; how the sound vibrations are used to balance the etheric [1st layer of the aura] and physical body energies
3- The treatment is non verbal, work in silence with great intent. The client has to respond to arresting the intellect and open up the imagination to self-expression, and give the ego a chance to go for a walk.
However, at times, you have to be in constant dialogue with the client concerning their experiences such as colours, feelings, discomforts, good feelings, where the vibrations traveled to, etc. so that you can monitor their progress and decide on the ongoing treatments.
4- Observe the client and watch for signals from their body.
For example:-
Showing distress, - Some clients cannot tolerate the sound vibrations. If it is absolutely unbearable, stop the treatment and revert to other methods. If it is bearable for the client, the irritations felt are working to break down the blockages.
People who "are in the head" may feel threatened or uncomfortable.
Serious or depressed people will probably benefit from high and clear
sounds - as their blocked spiritual side needs vitality and clarity. -
these sounds will break down resistance after a short time.
Pale and holding their breath - Begin treatment with some deep breathing and relaxation exercises. Or work up the body with singing bowls that produce a low sound, to create relaxation.
5- Higher, bright sounds usually open the upper body and evoke light and spirituality.
6- Lower, dark sounds influence the lower body with their restful, earthy tones.
7- Balance can be restored by a sound bath. Old patterns of behavior that cause
problems are revised, because the sound vibrations break up all of the old associations. From this chaos the blueprint of your Spiritual Self emerges.
8- Therapists will often use several other sound instruments in addition to the singing bowls. Such as various types of drums, gongs, cymbals, rain sticks, bells, as well as toning with the voice.
Treatment
Treatment using mainly the sound of singing bowls has been kept a secret and very little has been revealed. Some masters have taught students but they are few and far between. In the well known book "Singing Bowls, a Practical Handbook of Instruction and Use", tenth printing, by Eva Rudy Jansen, she suggests that sound therapists provide workshops in which sound phenomenon are examined in great depth. Those like minded people can meet and work together on a path of learning. They can use each other as subjects after the workshop to discover and try out further events. They should practice on family and friends to study the feedback before treating real patients'. She wrote, "that is why exploration and practice are just as important in sound therapy as in other therapeutic techniques". So the following suggested treatment procedure, which I have arrived at, is only the beginning and will undergo some changes in time to come. I would like to thank Lindy Florimo, a sound therapist near Morisset, NSW, for her suggested practices and views on sound healing.
TOP
|
|
