Friday, January 12, 2007

The Basics of Sound Healing

By Vera Gadman

Have you ever been to a live concert or any type of performance and felt totally invigorated, or maybe even inspired, during and after the performance? Have you ever heard some music that aggravates you or maybe even angers you and makes you feel tense?

How do you feel when you hear your favourite singer? Or how do you feel when you hear one of your favourite songs with your favourite lyrics? It’s just a wonderful feeling isn’t it? That’s because there is a congruency that you feel when you identify with the words and listen to the music.

Well then, why do we get so aggravated when we hear the same song performed in a way we strongly dislike? It’s usually the tone or the melody, or both, that are different.

That is, it is the sound that is different. The words are the same.

Sound is a frequency.

Sound is a frequency, or a combination of frequencies. The application of sound frequencies to the mind/body of a person results in a reaction within us that subconsciously translates to how we feel about receiving those frequencies (that is, how we feel about the music we hear).

Sound, including music, can take many forms, and each of these forms has a different effect on us. It can arouse or amuse us, invigorate or calm us. It can even call us to arms, inspire us and lift up our spirits.

This is why we like one type of music over another type of music. And it is why somebody may not like what we like.

So What Is Sound Healing?

Sound Healing then, is the therapeutic application of sound frequencies directed to a person with the specific intention of bringing them into a congruent state of harmony and health.

Every cell in the body has its own frequency. Cells make up the organs of the body. When one organ is sick or diseased (out of tune) the entire body is affected.

There is evidence that sound has been used as a healing force for thousands of years. All ancient civilisations used sound for healing. There are many traditional cultures still surviving today that understand the remarkable healing power resulting from sound.

David in the Bible, Egyptian papyri, the Ancient Greeks, Alexander the Great and Pythagoras all used special songs and incantations, with particular melodies and rhythms, to cure diseases of the body and mind.

As other articles of mine address the many issues of scientific research and the understanding of resonance, I will not elaborate on that here, however it is interesting to note that sound is currently used in a vast range of medical circumstances:

  • Modern medicine now uses sound to break up kidney stones and gall stones.
  • Music is now used to reduce the pain and anxiety of patients undergoing dental treatment and surgical operations.
  • The foetus reacts to Mozart and Vivaldi by steadying its heart rate and its kicking declined. Rock music made them kick violently.
  • Slow tempo music slows our breathing rate.
  • Mothers sing a lullaby to their child, and the child feels the love in the mothers voice and goes to sleep.
  • Music therapists work in a variety of clinical settings. The following is a sample of where you might find a music therapist:
  • Hospitals
  • Day treatment programs
  • Community programs
  • Correctional Centres
  • Long term care centres
  • Substance abuse and addictions centres
  • Schools
  • Hospices
  • Private Practice

There is a wide range of sound healing techniques and instruments to treat all conditions. Many of these are in existence because of the work of some extraordinary individuals such as Ernest Chladni, Hans Jenny, Fabien Maman, Don Campbell, Dr. Alfred Tomatis and others, that spent decades researching the effects of sound.

It is thanks to their work and dedication that we are able to use sound, and revolutionary sound equipment to the benefit of our total wellbeing.

Vera Gadman

www.SoundHealingResource.com

1 comment:

  1. Healing with sounds was practiced since ages which comprised of sounds of flute, bowls, chanting of mantras etc. But Sound therapy is more precise in the field of natural therapies. Healing with sounds improves and transforms a range of physical and emotional states. There are certain sounds of the nature which relieves and rejuvenate human mind and soul like sounds of river or sea waves, waterfalls, chanting of “OM” and mantras, wind chimes and bells. Healing sounds can be incorporated into many types of healing methods, such as meditation.

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