Sound

Centre:
Sound
frequencies
create this
radially
symmetrical
harmonic form
within a small
sample of vibrating
water. This pattern appears
frequently throughout nature, in
such diverse life forms as flowers
and small sea creatures.

n the beginning was the word – or in kaolin paste,‘animating’ it through

The amazing power of sound
to change and shape matter is
fundamental to all life and
I Sanskrit,‘Nada Brahma,’ the world is
sound.
For most of my life, I could only relate
various phases in a nearly perfect replica
of cellular division. Or watching as a pile
of sand is transformed into life-like
to these as abstract religious concepts flowing patterns, mirroring symmetrical
many spiritual technologies, until I actually had the opportunity to see geometric forms found in nature, simply
these principles in action. by audible vibration. Perhaps the most
according to expert Jeff Volk. I witnessed the formation of galaxies; striking image is that of a ‘snake’ slithering
watched coherent ‘organic’ forms arising along, as if its vertebrae were being
from the dust of the earth; viewed viewed by x-ray cinematography – the
delicate flower-petalled mandalas taking result of light reflecting off the wave
shape within a vibrating sample of water. trains created in a thin film of glycerin
No, I’m not describing a psychic spread upon a vibrating membrane (see
excursion to the lofty realms of cosmic fig. 2 bottom right).
consciousness. These are but a few of the These phenomena vividly reveal
fascinating experiments in the field of certain universal principles which lend
Cymatics, the study of wave phenomena, credence to the proliferation of sound
pioneered in the 1950s by the late Swiss therapies that are rapidly emerging at the
scientist, Dr Hans Jenny. Following the forefront of the holistic health
work of German physicist and movement. Might this be yet another
acoustician, Ernst F. F. Chladni, who, example of the blending of ancient
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY JEFF VOLK/MACROMEDIA PUBLISHING

towards the end of the 18th century, wisdom with the discoveries and
created intricate sand patterns by practical applications of modern science?
vibrating a steel plate with a violin bow, In the video Of Sound Mind and
Dr Jenny employed the modern Body: Music and Vibrational Healing,
technology of the day to carry out more biologist Rupert Sheldrake describes our
precisely replicable experiments. Using a bodies as ‘nested hierarchies of vibrational
sine wave generator and a speaker to frequencies’ which appear as discrete
vibrate various powders, pastes and systems functioning within larger more
liquids, Jenny succeeded in making visible complicated systems, which themselves
the subtle power through which sound are contained within even larger and
structures matter (see fig.1 left). more complex vibrational structures (see
Imagine hearing a tone, and watching fig. 3 p16 top left). In fact, you can view
as sound waves involute an inert blob of the whole universe in this way, from
fig.1

14 Kindred Spirit Issue 60 Autumn 2002

 Insights

Far left
and right:
Slight
changes in
the tone and
amplitude of
sound, together
with variations in
viscocity or materials used,
produces an astonishing
variety of forms, revealed
here using stroboscopic photography.

sub-atomic particles to the most intricate

life forms, to the nebulae and galaxies
themselves – all are resonating fields of
“Despite our distressed areas. Through a process called
sympathetic resonance, the tissues are
then guided back to their optimal
pulsating energy in constant interaction. discomfort with discord frequency patterns, while releasing the
If you accept this viewpoint, it tension which they had been holding.
becomes quite plausible that externally and disharmony, chaos With the advent of neurological
imposed vibration can have quite an
influence on our physiology. We’ve all
appears to play an monitoring devices such as EEG and EKG,
it became possible to examine the
experienced this phenomenon of essential role in the entraining potential of audible sound
entrainment, but we are usually unaware frequencies on brainwaves. In the 1960s
of it. Say you’re sitting in your kitchen process of growth Robert Monroe pioneered a process in
balancing your chequebook and you
begin to notice that your shoulders are and evolution. ” which he used specific sound frequencies
to modulate brainwave states. Through
hunched up and your back is tighter than headphones, he would introduce slightly
normal. Suddenly the refrigerator shuts experiments. He found that randomly different audible frequencies into each
off and you heave a sigh of relief.Your swinging pendulums of similar lengths ear. Subjects reported that as the
shoulders drop, your back loosens up, would begin to swing in unison after a frequencies converged, they no longer
and your whole breathing pattern period of time. After extensive heard separate tones, but rather an
changes. Well, what just happened? Could observation, he formulated the principle oscillation, like the sound heard when
it be that certain biological rhythms had of entrainment to describe this you tune a guitar. As the strings approach
unconsciously entrained to the 50 cycle phenomenon where weaker pulsations the same pitch you hear a ‘wawawawa‘
hum of the refrigerator motor? come under the influence of stronger pulsation, the ‘beat’ of which is the
This process was first articulated in ones. difference between the two frequencies.
1656 when Dutch mathematician, Some 300 years later, British The Monroe Institute in Faber,
physicist, and astronomer, Christian naturopath Dr Peter Guy Manners Virginia, spent many years experimenting
Huygens, performed an unusual series of applied this same principle to treat a with these binaural beat frequencies,
variety of physiological conditions. developing precise formulations to evoke
Positing that every form, with its unique a frequency following response, or an
shape, size and density, vibrates within its entraining effect, on brainwaves. An
own specific range of frequencies, extensive body of research documents the
Manners correlated the resonant ability of specific frequency differentials
frequencies of healthy tissues and organs. to entrain brainwaves in such a way that a
He devised a way to project these dynamic state of balance is achieved
vibrations via sound waves, directly into between the left and right hemispheres of
fig. 2

Kindred Spirit Issue 60 Autumn 2002 15

 SOUNDFORMS

fig.3 fig.4

the neocortex. Specific HemiSync™ beat be rung, an instrument to be played. Over time, as one masters the ability
frequencies can be encoded into musical Throughout the ages, various esoteric to sustain focused attention at the third
compositions which are further traditions known as the Light and Sound eye, the sounds become clearer and more
engineered to assist the listener to reach teachings, have proffered a simple powerful: a resounding bell being struck,
desired ‘brain states’ ranging from relaxed contemplative process of ‘deep listening’, a conch shell being blown, the beating of
or meditative states, to those of increased where one may actually begin to hear the a large drum, the playing of harps, the
mental clarity and alertness. subtle ‘inner sounds’ at play within our flute, and finally a sound similar to
There are also well-established nervous system. bagpipes. It is interesting to note that
practices which require no sophisticated In our normal active (Beta) state, the human cultures the world over have
equipment other than our own nervous sensory currents flow throughout our created musical instruments which mimic
system. For example, the beat frequencies body and out into the world gathering these subtle sounds, perhaps as
associated with states of deep meditation perceptions. We process these physical, archetypal echoes reminding us from
are quite prevalent in such ancient ritual mental, and emotional sensations and whence we have come, and as guideposts
instruments as Tibetan singing bowls. navigate our environment accordingly, for our long journey back home.
These pulsations tend to quiet brainwave totally unaware of this subtle energy This is the same path that has been
activity from our more normally active outflow.Yet these sensory currents are navigated by the great masters, saints and
Beta states (around 14 – 20Hz) to the the very avenues through which most of teachers from all sacred traditions
Theta and Delta states where our life force is diffused into the outer throughout the ages. In the Sufi lineage, it
predominant brainwave activity may drop world. The Light and Sound paths teach has been described in detail in the poems
to a range from 8Hz to as low as 0.5Hz in that through controlling the play of the of Rumi, and the writings of Kabir and
the deepest meditative states. sensory currents, rather than trying to Hafiz. In the Western mystery schools it
dominate the kundalini energy, one may was revealed by Pythagoras, Socrates and
Listening to the world within begin to reclaim this spiritual elixir and Plato, to name but a few. These teachings
From time immemorial, spiritual consolidate these energies at the third describe a ‘souljourn’ that is laid out
traditions have imparted various esoteric eye centre. When sufficient energy has within the template of our own bodies,
disciplines to help the student achieve accumulated therein, it begins to rise into and is therefore universal. It is a true
these profound states of mental stillness. the higher chakras. It is through these science of sacred sound which is precise
While modulating one’s brainwaves may centres that one may begin to hear these in its application, yet non-denominational
provide a momentary sensation or subtle sounds. in approach. It can direct the courageous
experience, I believe that real, lasting Yet hearing the sounds is not the soul on a step-by-step process of
effects will only take hold when such objective, nor is simply stilling the mind. emancipating one’s own consciousness!
qualities as self-knowledge, dedication These are but effects of concentralising
and devotion to inner unfoldment, a one’s sensory currents and allowing the Dancing with disorder
strong yearning for transcendence over energy to ascend to the higher, non- Now if this sounds a bit too good to be
one’s conditioning, and the desire for physical energetic vortices within the true, there may be good reason for that –
liberation from the tyranny of one’s own cranium. The sounds are very particular, things don’t ever seem to progress quite
mind, are assiduously cultivated. each one denoting the level of so smoothly! We usually, nay, always, meet
It is a very humbling experience to consciousness to which one has ‘tuned-in’. up with a bit of resistance, and frequently
try to subjugate one’s mind. This is At first, faint buzzing or electrical-sounding disorder ensues. Unfortunately, most of us
where the power and skill of a teacher is noises may be heard, analogous to the
paramount. In a sense, the teacher static received when tuning a radio or
provides the entraining frequency, the when going online with your computer
‘perfect pitch’ through which one may modem. If your attention remains focused,
allow oneself to be drawn into perhaps through chanting a mantra to
harmonisation with the ‘universal tone’. help entrain the mind, you might begin to
So this is not a simple process of hear the humming of bees, then the
entrainment, so much as true chirping of crickets. These are the various
individuation – with the objective not ‘elemental sounds‘ produced as the Nada
merely to be drawn like an iron filing to a (or Audible Life Stream or Sound Current)
magnet, but to offer oneself as a bell to interacts with our nervous system.
fig.7 fig.8

16 Kindred Spirit Issue 60 Autumn 2002

fig.5 fig.6

have a strong aversion to this, fearing a (sine waves) to which it was subjected. principle of sound, these fascinating
loss of self-control.Yet despite our The frequency (pitch or tone) and the experiments graphically depict phases of
discomfort with discord and disharmony, amplitude (volume) can be varied dissolution and re-integration.
chaos appears to play an essential role in independently, with characteristic results. These universal principles may be
the process of growth and evolution. Just At a low frequency, a very stable looking found in all of creation, from the macro
think how much discord is involved in pattern emerges, that of concentric (formation and dissolution of galaxies, fig.
learning to play the violin, and how much waves. These waves do not move 5) to the micro (snow crystals, fig. 6) right
disharmony occurs in a choir rehearsal. outward, like the ripples in a pond. As down to subatomic oscillations. But we
The crucial role of chaos is long as the pitch is sustained, and not are most interested in how they manifest
demonstrated in one of Dr Jenny’s altered, this pattern appears static, just in our lives. A sudden illness, the loss of a
cymatic experiments with such grace and like the photograph (see fig. 4, p16). But loved one – or one’s job for that matter –
elegance that it completely changes the as soon as the frequency changes, guess and chaos and disorder appear unex-
way one views disorder, beckoning you to what happens? This stable structure pectedly. How we view these things has a
accept disintegration as an ally, instead of dissolves into chaos. The end of the lot to do with how they impact on us.
resisting or fearing it. world? Hardly! As the frequency steadily Being universal, these phenomena
The experiment is actually quite increases, a remarkable thing occurs. At a reside within our consciousness as well.
simple, though ingenious, yielding a wealth certain frequency the water sample Once we become aware of this, we can
of insight into processes which are spontaneously re-organises into a more access the tremendous equanimity that
normally invisible. A small wooden ring intricately structured form. Even though arises from ‘what the opposites have in
containing about 20cc of water is placed the frequency is steadily rising, the new common’. We need not be swept up in
on top of a magnifying lens. A small crystal figure doesn’t emerge gradually. Rather at the daily dramas, the cycles of creation
is attached to the lens which, when an a given moment it transforms into a new and dissolution which are constantly
electric current is applied, creates a harmonic structure, reminiscent of the occurring about us. From the still centre
specific vibration depending upon the quantum leap seen in sub-atomic physics. of our being, we know that we are a part
frequency of the current. Just as a speaker So after a short chaotic phase, a new of that which animates all of this, the
vibrates, displacing air and creating stable structure emerges which is more sound, and not just the substance, in its
specific sound waves according to the intricate and which also has a greater constant state of agitation.
frequencies it is subjected to, so the degree of ‘interconnectedness’ between I am greatly heartened by the
vibrating crystal transmits its oscillations its elements. Instead of ‘isolated’ burgeoning interest in the various fields
from the electrical frequencies through the concentric rings, we see rays coming out of sound therapy, and in the more
lens and directly into the water sample. from the centre, penetrating and re- esoteric practices of ‘sacred sound’. To
In order to observe this phenomenon, shaping these rings into pentagonal me, this is a clear indication of the
light is projected up from beneath this forms (see fig. 7, below). As the spiritual renaissance which is accelerating
lens, through the water sample, and into a frequency increases, the same process as humankind moves through this
camera lens looking down from above. In recurs – chaos, and then re-integration – millennial portal in our evolution. KS

this way, Dr Jenny was able to with a higher order of intricacy and
photograph the disturbances (standing harmonic coherency reflecting the MORE INFORMATION
wave patterns) created in the water as it higher vibration, or frequency. We begin •Jeff Volk has produced a series of videos on
vibrated in response to the pure tones to see elements that look like flower Cymatics, including Of Sound Mind and Body:
petals, mandalas and stained glass Music and Vibrational Healing. He recently
windows (see figs. 8, 9 and 10). republished Hans Jenny’s two books on Cymatics,
There is much more to say about and is currently completing Sounding the Psyche:
Attuning the Bodymind, a video which examines
these experiments than space allows, and many of the themes outlined in this article. He can
seeing this phenomenon in motion be reached c/o Lumina Productions, 219 Grant
speaks volumes – but suffice to say that Road, Newmarket, NH 03857, USA. Further
as the frequency continues to increase, information is at www.cymaticsource.com
the resulting forms become more •The book Cymatics and related videos in the
intricate, more delicate, more VHS PAL format (the UK’s regular video format)
symmetrically balanced. So in addition to are available from the Kindred Spirit Mail Order
Collection.
demonstrating the inherent organising
fig.9 fig.10

Kindred Spirit Issue 60 Autumn 2002 17