SHAMANIC SOUND MEDITATIONS

ANCIENT TECHNOLOGIES, SACRED CYMATICS & THE MEDICINE OF VIBRATION

Mystics and medicine people have long known about the healing power of sound.

From toning, chanting, rhythmic drums and rattles, the earthy drone of didgeridoo, to lyres, guitars, harps and all manner of stringed instruments, flutes made of reed, bamboo and an assortment of timbers, to gongs, bowls, chimes and more…

It’s likely no surprise that for thousands of years, cultures and traditions all across this realm have implemented sound as a primordial medicine and powerful technology for a range of healing purposes.

As strange as it may seem, one might say that sound is infused with intelligence.

Vibration is one of the master forces that can travel through air, water, and solids, it’s produced by all matter, and although unseen to the typical human eye, inherent within the vibratory waveforms of sound lays the intelligence of geometry and it’s capacity to transform matter.

All life is vibrational in nature, and all beings vibrate at a specific frequency. Many wisdom keepers of sound have long known that just as there are certain frequencies that can bring upon healing and harmony, there are also destructive sounds that can lead to disorder and dis-ease, causing matter to disintegrate and decay.

While it might seem obvious that the instruments are the main focus during a sound healing meditation, any great sound healer knows that both stillness and silence make up the canvas upon which they paint their work.

It’s here that certain facilitators wield a myriad of instruments and curate spaces with the intention to assist others on the path of healing, wellbeing, exploration and an expansion of one’s awareness into the mystery of sound as medicine.

“You can look at disease as a form of disharmony. And there’s no organ system in the body that’s not affected by sound and music and vibration.”

— Mitchell Gaynor, M.D

While the ancient healing power of sound seems obvious to many, modern research continues to verify the many benefits of sound therapy.

From guided meditations, sound baths, binaural beats, and other neurologic music therapies, studies point to the distinct health and wellness benefits: stress reduction, decreased anxiety and depression, promoting relaxation, improved memory, regulating blood pressure, decreased risk of heart disease and stroke, and pain reduction.

Sound therapies have even been shown to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety before surgery, with a study finding that sound therapy combined with traditional care reduced pain after spinal surgery.

Another study looking at sound therapies and altered states of consciousness noted the differences between pre-recorded and live sound therapies, but overall the benefits were evident: significant muscle relaxation, physical tension draining from bodies, positive mood enhancements, emotionally moving experiences, introspective journeys, and a feeling of floatiness that often comes with deeper states of consciousness exploration.

Once again, we see modern science catching up and affirming that which has long been stated through ancestral prophetic wisdom…

Edgar Cayce, the great clairvoyant and mystic referred to sound as “The Medicine of the Future”. Rudolf Steiner, the great philosopher and esotericist predicted that “pure tones will be used for healing before the end of this century.”

No doubt, the studies and stories are many, yet it’s important to slow the whirrings cogs of the hyper-analyzing overthinking mind; out of the conceptual, and into the experiential, coming to know through lived experience that ultimately, for better or worse, sound affects the entirety of our body-mind-soul complex.

CYMATICS & SACRED GEOMETRY

Cymatics is the study of vibration made visible, demonstrating the geometric and harmonic patterns that can occur when sound transforms matter.

In the 18th century, German physicist Ernst Chladni, showcased how sound manifests into form by lightly coating sand on a vibrating metal plate. Strumming a violin bow vertically against the edge of the metal plate, the sand particles would vibrate into different geometric patterns depending on the frequency of sound being created.

The term cymatics was later coined by the Swiss physician, Hans Jenny, derived from the Greek work “kyma”, meaning “wave”, alluding to the vibratory effects that sound has on matter.

Hans Jenny went on to develop different devices that generated frequencies on a variety of mediums, and published Cymatics: A Study of Wave Phenomena and Vibration after completing his doctorate at the Rudolph Steiner School in Zürich. From this book, he concluded that cymatic frequencies aren’t part of unregulated chaos, but rather from a dynamic and balanced system.

Water Sound Images: Alexander Lauterwasser

Sound is made up of waves, patterns and frequencies, all of which help to determine the cymatic characteristics.

Eg: The lower the pitch, the slower the vibration, and the more simple the cymatic patterns. The higher the pitch, the faster the vibration, and the more complex the cymatic patterns.

With this awareness, it might spark some insight into the orchestration of sound meditations starting with the deep low frequencies of drum and yidaki, activating basic primal patterns, before increasing the pitch of instruments over the course of the journey to allow for more complex geometric patterns to form.

Perhaps of interest to some, is the resemblance to the mandalas created in eastern spiritual traditions, and similarly, to the patterns found in Shipibo ayahuasca artistry, stemming from the icaros -healing songs- used, seen and experienced during these plant-induced visionary states of consciousness.

As Eva Rudy Jansen puts it in her book, Singing Bowls:

“Anyone who becomes so intensely involved with sound could, after a time, develop an inner experience of the relationship between form and sound, and, even see visions of geometric shapes: the shape of the sound imprints itself directly on the inner retina, without the intervention of a medium such as water, or sand on a sheet of glass…”

When we consider that the human body is composed of roughly 70% water, the implications of bio-cymatics and intentional healing becomes profound.

Dr Masaru Emoto’s photographic experiments on the effect of positive vs negative intentions on water structure are generally quite well known.

Using verbal affirmations, thoughts, music, and prayers from a priest, it was documented through microscopic imagery that positive energies impacted the crystalline structure of frozen water more harmoniously, while negative energies led to more chaotic formations.

To make-up for the inadequacies from a scientific perspective, meaning there was a lack of control conditions, Dean Radin from the IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences) conducted a double-blind study version of the experiment together with Masaru Emoto, Gail Hayssen, and Takashige Kizu.

The consensus was that the ice crystals from the intentionally treated water were assessed as significantly more beautiful than the control crystals. Extrapolate that into the realms of human biology and our water-terrain, and it infers that both sound and intention have great potential to harmonize and heal.

One might say, sound is a carrier wave of intention.

Through our minds, we channel thought forms into the vibration of sound, whether with our voice, or various instrumentation, and direct these intentions to create changes in energy and matter, whether for healing or harming. The science of intention implies that mind does indeed impact matter, and positive intention seems to harmonize molecular structures through subtle energetic forces.

Sympathetic resonance also comes into play, where the vibrational state of a being (or object) can cause a second being to start vibrating in resonant mimicry with the first.

It’s evident why the natural frequencies of rivers, waterfalls, unspoiled wilderness areas, nature in general, and even the frequencies of other animals, such as the ultrasound frequencies of whales and dolphins, can induce such powerful healings; allowing us to return to our own natural harmonic frequencies enmeshed within the healthy rhythms of nature.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN A SESSION

ACTIVE VS PASSIVE SESSIONS

Shamanic sound meditations are always dynamic and involve active participation, however some sessions can be more active than others. After settling into the space with a brief introduction to explore intentions and potential healing needs, we first prime the body to relax and receive sound via various breathwork techniques.

Using a combination of live instruments and digital backing -with the primary emphasis on the shamanic instruments themselves- we begin to flood the space with a blanket of vibration conducive to slipping into altered states of consciousness.

Listening is a dynamic process, and participants are encouraged to listen not only with ears, but with their entire body.

As we progress through the varying instrumentation and their signature frequencies over the course of the 1-1.5 hour journey, one may have any number of experiences, from riding the psycho-emotional waves of tension and release, shifting energetic blockages via muscular tremors, breathing, and varying sensations, reflections and insights into one’s life, states of tranquility and relaxation, an expansion of spiritual connection, and more.

The place where active sessions differ from passive sessions is that participants involvement in the journey can be a lot more dynamic and directed during an active session. Depending on the nature of the session, you may be guided into various breathing exercises, visualization and energetic embodiment techniques, or guided into exploring your own acoustic temple via chanting and toning.

While the use of the instruments are designed to disrupt stagnant energies and recode matter towards our natural healing frequencies, there is arguably no sonic instrument more powerful for healing than our very own voice.

Toning, chanting and singing can activate and recalibrate the different energy centres in the body. It can catalyze soul retrievals; calling home parts of ourselves that have long been shamed, hidden or suppressed. It can help to awaken the truth of who we really are.

Truth is a frequency that can be heard in our voice.

For many, there is a clear discrepancy and energetic mismatch between what one is intending to say and how one is intending to say it, and what is actually being transmitted. The atmospheric fog of dogma and conditioning is a barrier to a clean transmission from our heart, our soul, our power.

Exploring the voice and the range of tones, timbres, sounds, overtones, and undertones can illuminate areas of ourselves that are out of balance, and activate the resonance of ones spiritually rooted individuated truth; of who we’re here to become and who we’re meant to be.

Shamanic sound meditations can help decondition the mind, recode the cellular matrix, and open the senses to new levels of awareness, and whether passive or active sessions, there’s no doubting the vibrational healing technology of our very own voice coupled with our sincerest of intentions.