Human beings
have been using sound to access deeper states of consciousness,
expanded awareness and physical healing for thousands
of years. Chanting, toning, the use of Tibetan singing
bowls, Chinese meditation gongs, and mantras, are just
a few examples of this process. Today, with highly sophisticated
technological equipment, we can not only observe the
functioning of the body and the brain in unprecedented
detail, we can also measure the changes that take place
in the mind and body in different states of consciousness
and health.
Research projects in major universities across the country
have explored the neurophysiology of meditation, deep
relaxation states and mind/body interactions during
healing. In one study a simple meditation technique
used for 20 minutes a day caused profound changes in
blood pressure, stress handling ability, immune response
and feelings of well being. Using high-tech approaches
can bring the subject's consciousness to very deep levels
of relaxation; using this technology as a daily tool
for mind/body integration and stress reduction can have
many positive benefits.
Present
Technology Allows us to Affect
the
Body/Mind in Parallel Ways
1.
Physical resonance with sound frequency vibrations.
2. Sympathetic resonance of brain-wave function and states
of consciousness using sound.
Physical resonance occurs during a process similar to
making a wine glass vibrate with the correct sound frequency.
In this case, we can resonate different parts of the body
with sound for healing. My first attempts with this were
chiropractic spinal adjustments using sound. Each vertebra
is a different size, density, and mass and, just like
a wineglass, can be resonated with the correct sound.
This causes the vertebra to vibrate right back into position
using only sound waves. Similarly, cranial bones and cerebro-spinal
fluid can be influenced with sound resonance. Each organ
has a different size, density and mass for each person
and also has a fundamental frequency, which causes a balancing
of the cellular function. These changes can be seen on
a blood chemistry-screening test.The brain itself is an
organ of unique size, density and mass. What would the
effect be of exposing the brain to its own fundamental
frequency vibration pattern? The normalizing of its function,
just as any other organ would respond. Since the brain's
function is to coordinate and direct the function of all
other systems, we should see a global balancing of all
the body's systems at the moment the brain is exposed
to this single fundamental sound frequency.Using sound,
it is possible to make profound changes in brainwave patterns
and states of consciousness, observable on brainwave mapping
equipment (EEG), as well as positive changes in the body
measurable with blood tests, bio-feedback equipment and
other sophisticated procedures.
Bio-tuning:
Using Vocal Sounds to Facilitate Self-Healing
My discovery
of this process and its potential for healing prompted
me to sell my Holistic Health Center in Virginia and move
to California to establish a Sound Research Center.
With modern electronic sound equipment, we can test
with frequencies accurate to 1/100th division of sharp
or flat between two notes on the piano. To raise the
accuracy and effect to a higher level, we must use a
person's own voice singing this fundamental note. This
causes a unique set of harmonics and overtones, which
only your own vocal cords can produce - a voice vibration
fingerprint. This is an exact pattern match of your
essential vibratory template - the one your "Biological
Organic Intelligence" used in the first place to
form your body from two cells and then to maintain it
moment by moment thereafter. There is also a profound
sense of recognition by the same part of the deep subconscious
of the vibration frequencies of your own voice.
I use this voice-tone-frequency, sounding the exact
tone for balancing and healing, through a special sound-therapy
table. This table has speakers built into it, so that
the person becomes the sound itself, making it difficult
to distinguish where the body ends and the sound begins.
There is a sense of melting into the vibration of your
own sound and your own voice.
To me, this is what the mantra really is - a means to
go to the great master who sees that all the world is
vibratory patterns. He sees that each of us is a unique
vibratory pattern in the universe. He sings the acoustic
octave of this sound to the patient, who sings it back
until they know it, memorize it, and can go off and
meditate and chant this sound to the self - resonating
the self from the inside out and balancing the self
right down to the core of one's consciousness.
The imbalances I may experience physically, emotionally,
or mentally are external projections of the only real
imbalance that can exist - in consciousness itself.
Reaching this place and coming into balance - me with
my self - is the only way I can heal the real cause
of my pain and suffering.
Sound
Frequency Patterns in Music Cause Positive
Changes in Brainwave Function
In
a series of recordings based on these principles, I have
used sound frequency patterns built into the music. These
frequencies have been shown clinically to cause positive
changes in consciousness and brainwave function.
By precisely altering the sound signals in the right and
left ears, a "frequency modulated pulse" appears
which causes a sympathetic response in the brain. This
leads to coordination of right/left brainwave activity
and a general slowing of brainwave activity, which is
associated with deep relaxation, stress reduction, creativity,
insight and problem solving. This phenomenon is called
"brainwave entrainment."
A good part of the stress we all experience in the twentieth
century is due to the advancements of our own technology.
This same technology, combined with our traditional techniques
for healing and achieving balance, may help neutralize
the stress we created.
In this series of recordings I have used three coordinated
methods for bringing the mind/body into a state of deep
relaxation and balance; "Primordial Sounds,"
"Brainwave Entrainment" and "Multi-layered
music" recorded in 3D.
Many of the sounds heard on these recordings are sounds
that the conscious mind doesn't notice. Certain sounds
have the power to awaken deep levels of recognition in
the subconscious mind. I call these "primordial sounds,"
i.e., sounds that are primordially recognizable to the
subconscious mind, regardless of race, sex or language.
Primordial sounds awaken our organic/biological intelligence.
Our first sensory experience in life as a fetus in the
womb is of sound and vibration. We float in body temperature
amniotic fluid, weight-less. We have fluid in our nose
and mouth, which eliminates the senses of smell and taste.
We have our eyes closed and are in the dark, with no sense
of sight. We have fluid in our ears pressed right up against
the eardrum, but sound travels through water fives times
more effectively than through air, amplifying our sense
of hearing. The symphony of sound patterns we experience
at this time will be deeply embedded in our subconscious
mind for the rest of our lives - the sound of water swishing,
arterial pulse sounds and voices. These are our first
experiences with primodial sounds.
These form some of the primordial sounds heard on my recordings.
Each of these sounds is intentionally altered and disguised
by slowing them down and speeding them up. By changing
the speed of these sounds we can side-step the rational/thinking
mind, which will no longer recognize the sounds, and tap
into the subconscious directly, with sounds to which it
deeply recognizes and responds. In one sense, the organic/biological
intelligence, the same intelligence which grew our entire
body out of two cells, will certainly be awakened with
a recognition of sounds recorded from this body.
Experiments
with Sound Lead to Startling Revelations
An interesting
thing happens when recordings of people speaking are
speeded up and slowed down. If these recordings are
doubled in speed three times (raising the pitch by three
octaves), human speech sounds remarkably like birds
chirping, When raised in speed by eight octaves, these
recordings sound just like crickets. Slowed down from
normal speed by three octaves they sound like dolphins
and at eight octaves slowed down, like the ebb and flow
of the ocean.
It's interesting that recordings from the human voice
should sound like nature sounds. What happens if we
take cricket sounds and slow them down? They sound like
nature sounds. They sound like birds chirping. Bird
sounds slowed down sound like dolphins, and dolphin
sounds slowed down sound like people speaking.
The famous Psychiatrist, Carl Jung, would have been
pleased, I believe. These findings seem to fall directly
in line with his theory of the "collective unconscious".
This is a level of the unconscious mind deeper than
personal consciousness. According to Jung, this collective
unconscious is shared by us all, and is populated with
universal archetypal images ("primordially recognizable"
images, just as these sounds seem to be primordially
recognizable sounds). It's as if the whole universe
is one organic being with many parts all designed from
variations of the same blueprint.
Awakening
Various Levels of the Subconscious Mind
In 1989 I came
into contact with an aerospace engineer with sound recordings
from the Voyager spacecraft. These recordings were taken
as Voyager passed by the outer planets of our Solar
System - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These
NASA recordings of charged electromagnetic particles
(ions) in the magnetic fields of planets vibrating within
the range of human hearing, sound remarkably like ocean
sounds, dolphins, choirs of voices singing, crickets
and birds. There are also other sounds too strange to
identify, but which seem very familiar. Interestingly
enough, the rings of Uranus produce sounds like Tibetan
bowl recordings that have been slowed to reflect their
subtle harmonics.
Could these sounds be deeply recognizable at a deeper
level of the "collective unconscious"? Yes.
It is these three classes of sound (primordial sounds,
brainwave entrainment, and multi-layered mystical music)
which are embedded in the sound track of some of my
recordings to awaken the various levels of the subconscious
mind.
It is at this inner level that our bodies are self-organized
from two cells. This is accomplished in the same way
that the daily functions of our body are coordinated
and directed. It is from here that the knowledge of
our problems and the answers and solutions to them reside.
This is what I mean by the use of "Primordial
Sounds" to access a deep level of ourselves for
healing, relaxation and balance: These sounds are mixed
into the soundtracks I've recorded in such a way that
they can be heard but not necessarily recognized for
what they are by the rational-thinking mind. Some of
the nature sounds on these recordings are actually space-sound
recordings or human body sounds.
Entrain
Your Brain
Brainwaves
can be controlled with soundwaves using a technique
called "brainwave entrainment." This involves
creating special pulse rates in the recording which
cause a sympathetic response in the brain.
Brain entrainment is part of a larger biological function
called "biological sympathetic oscillation".
Our biological "clock" sets itself to external
cosmic events; day length cycles, full moon cycles and
seasonal cycles to name a few. The body will set itself
to the most powerful external pulse cycle it is exposed
to. In this case we can create powerful sound frequencies
pulsing at exact brainwave speeds and cause the brainwaves
to alter themselves to match the sound frequencies -
that is, entrain themselves to the sound pulses.
We know from many research endeavors that certain deeply
relaxed states of consciousness are associated with
specific brainwave patterns on an EEG brain monitor.
We also know that with brainwave entrainment we can
cause brainwaves to sympathetically "lock on"
to an external sound-pulse at a brainwave speed. This
gives us the tools to gently guide brainwave function
and states of consciousness into deeply relaxed and
balanced states.
On all of my soundtracks these pulse frequencies are
built into every sound you hear, including each instrument
sound, voice sound, nature sound and NASA space sound
on the recording. The frequencies used mostly are low
Alpha and Theta brain frequencies. The brain states
associated with these frequencies are peaceful relaxation,
heightened visualization/images, problem solving, insight
and intense creativity.
When I compose and create these musical soundtracks,
the brain-wave entrainment pulses built into the instrument
sounds entrain my own brainwaves and state of consciousness
into intense creativity. The music the listener hears
originates from this creative state.
Certain types of sounds and music have a proven effect
in creating states of relaxation, balance, healing and
visualization. Generally these include certain types
of lyrical, flowing melodies and chord arrangements.
Certain of these arrangements can create an atmosphere
of peace, mystery, awe and openness.
To get the full effects of the 3-D sound and brainwave
pulse-wave information, which requires the right/left
sound images to be completely separated from one another,
it is best to listen to these recordings with headphones
on, eyes closed, and lights out. The listener will hear
the sounds moving around you in three-dimensional space.
A similar effect is obtained with speakers placed directly
to the right and left of the body. The listener feels
certain parts of the body resonate with certain sound
tones in the music.
MORE
INFORMATION
Dr. Thompson is recognized
as a worldwide expert in the field of brainwave entrainment
frequencies incorporated into musical sound tracks. A
consummate musician and composer in his own right, he
has established a method for using modulated sound-pulses
for Brainwave Entrainment for changing states of consciousness
for optimal "Mind-Body" healing. He continues
to compose music and soundscapes, to treat patients, to
further the use of sound in a scientific manner through
on-going research, and to develop scientific sound delivery
systems for maximum results. Dr. Thompson's Center for
Neuroacoustic Research is located in Encinitas, California.
Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation.
Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound. — Kabir
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