THAT
PROFOUND
SOUND
SOUND AS A
HEALING
VEHICLE
(And,
The Nature
of Thoughtforms,
Their Effect on
The Etheric
Bodies,
and The
Role of
Creative Will and Intent
In The Use
of Sound
Healing)
---Zacciah Blackburn
Historically,
sound has been used as a point of
focus and invocation in meditation,
prayer, healing, and ritual
throughout much of the world. As with so much that is
mystical,
our culture has lost touch with the nature of sound as a
healing
vehicle. Yet more and more healers and musicians are focusing on
the power sound has on our bodies and on our well-being. There
are
two principal aspects to sound, as I see them, in healing
and
ritual. One aspect of sound, like a chant or
mantra,
creates a point of focus for the mindforce,
through
which one's intent forms a basic structure, or
energetic
grid, through which energy may flow, be contained,
invoked
or built into a healing mechanism. The
other
aspect is the carrier force of the sound itself. This
is dual in nature. The sound becomes a river upon which, through
which, an energy may flow. The sound also
has an intention, a vibration, an essence, or resonance, which can be a
healing mechanism.
As one becomes involved with sound as a healing mechanism,
whether
through one's own intuitive guidance, or some
traditional
manner, one sees the power, which sound creates,
unfold.
We can see the traditional use of this power by looking
at
the Afrikan or Native American shaman invoking
celestial allies through chant, song, and prayer, drum or
rattle
in hand, healing the imbalances in one of his or her
people.
We can see it in an entire Native American village chanting
ancient
rites to the corn maiden at
planting
time, or an Israeli village granting blessings upon a newly
married couple through song and dance. We can
look
at an African-American gospel choir pouring out their
hearts
in song, reaching remarkable states of ecstasy and
joy.
Or we can look at an East Indian playing citar,
focusing
through power of meditation and specific ancient scales,
invoking
the balance and harmony of a specific deity (or energy stream)
into
the room. With any of these examples, and throughout most native
cultures, sound is and has been used as a point of focus of
creative
intent and invocation of divine energies. Sound
is a vehicle through which one may carry one's
message to the divine, and through which one
may
merge with, and express, the creative divine.
The path to sound as a
healing
vehicle begins within the self. By exploring
deep
inside ourself, we can easily tap into our own ancient mysteries,
unfelt
feelings, and creative energies through the use of sound. That
sound
may come out in the form of "unchained melodies",
improvisational
"noise"' or cries of an infant unborn, but by paying
attention
to the sounds a particular wave of energy within our
body wishes to make, we can create a truely healing process
for
ourself, and, eventually, for
others.
This process requires a certain degree of trust
and release of inhibition, yet that doubt or inhibition itself is
a form of fear keeping our creative, expressive powers at bay.
Whatever
form of release we wish to use, the nature of healing
and empowerment is to release the fear or limiting process within
the self, and walk into the creative impulse resonating deep within our
seat of being.
By sounding that creative impulse, which is our
expressive self, we can walk through all of our agony and
pain,
fears and prejudices, and all limiting thoughtforms we have
created within ourself, in this and other lifetimes, which bind
us
from our creative, expressive self. All of those devastating
habits
and self-agonizing behaviors, which have been
built
through years or lifetimes of reacting to traumatic
circumstances
or lack of nourishment, have embedded
themselves
in our fibers. They have been impacting on and diminishing the
very
core of our being, driving us in
involutive
spirals in upon, rather than expansive, expressive
spirals
out from, that core of being. The sound itself can
resonate
and discharge those emotional energies which have been
locked
so long in our bodies, within our
tissue,
within our cellular memories, our emotional and
energetic
bodies. Sound therapists can guide and nurture
us
on the path to self-healing through connecting with
our
own inner sound, our own inner child, and help us express it.
That inner child holds abundant energy,
abundant
love and grace. And, through letting the noise and confusion of
the
outer self, one can hear her/his deeper, more
intimate
self sounding, resonating, at first ever so timid and
quiet;
but with each breath, with each courageous expression of that child
self,
feel waves of joy and hope break through all
the
pain and doubt we have built around us. It may
be painful at first. But with courage and determination we can
break
through the pain and fear, and find unlimited oceans
of beauty and wisdom emerging from within ourself.
The Nature of
Thoughtforms, and
Their Effect Upon the Etheric Body
To help us understand this process
a little further, let us look more deeply at the nature of
our energetic bodies and the creation of limiting forms of energy
within them. We have often heard that we create our own
reality.
The nature of that reality is so complex it seems
difficult
to comprehend just how that might be. Yet, when we look at
the nature of thoughtform, and how it works as a
creative
force, it becomes apparent that the development of a
positive,
light-building field of energy around us, through our own
thoughts
and actions, with our own creative will and intent,
is
a major key to our continued well-being. For
that
energy field, built as "thoughtform", is an electromagnetic
grid that attracts or dispels other
energies around us, dependent upon the nature of its intent.
Thoughtform is the elemental nature of the creative
potential
of thought. It is the
energetic substance created by all thought,
desire, and action. On an energetic level, we
constantly tap into raw (pure) energy and
mold it with the resonance of our
thought/desires/actions.
We also tap into and "channel"
lifestreams
of energy which resonate with various qualities of
existence,
both creative (expansive), and diminishing
(contractive).
Intelligent forces work through these streams
of
energy, whether it is conscious or
unconscious interaction. This is a highly interactive
point for us with beings of the more subtle spirit
realm.
These interactions may take place in the
emotional, astral, or other fields of our
bodies. They may interact on a more tangible plane,
as
we invoke them (consciously or
unconsciously)
in saintly acts of kindness or generosity, or
in
debilitating acts of alcoholism or abuse.
Thoughtforms are the residual energetic effect of our
thoughts/desires/actions,
and of our interactions with these energetic
streams
of consciousness. These thoughtforms will create
illuminating
flames or blinding shrouds of energy within our
subtle
bodies, dependent upon their resonant quality. If the
residual effect of the thoughtform is of a
binding
or limiting nature, it can be removed only by a
compensatory
action, energetic in nature, which has a quality opposing
or
balancing it. Because the thoughtform's nature is of
vibration,
or resonance, the sound healer may find a resonant quality with
which
to heal, extract, or balance it,
through
the nature of sound itself. However, if the
nature
of the wound is related to these conscious negate-ive
streams
of energy, a more skillful approach is
required,
in which the healer must have a conscious
relationship
with healing energies of a divine nature. The
potential
for danger exists for the practitioner,
no
matter what the modality, who interacts with
these
negate-ive energies, without the conscious awareness of
these
processes, or the skills to complete them. Indeed,
these
energies interact in and complicate our lives
more
deeply than most of us can imagine. Because of
the nature of thoughtforms, and these negating streams of energy,
we each need to focus on
practices
of clarifying our thoughts and actions, and strengthening our energy
fields.
Through previous patterns of creative thought (energy), we
are attracted, through birth, to parents who
will
help develop a grid of energy that will provide a
maximum
for potential in our own growth. It is not until we begin to
take
responsibility for our lives and our choices that we can see this
clearly. But by focusing on the content of our daily
thoughts
and actions, and seeking to fill them with the highest and
most pure form of good we can imagine, we slowly gravitate toward
a more and more light-filled body of energy. We suddenly
see
new credence in the old adages
"love
thy neighbor..." or "judge not, lest ye...", etc.,
whether
it be of the Eastern, Western, or Native templates of
knowledge.
Why Heal The
Etheric Body/ The Nature
of Creative Will and Intent
The sound worker sees an
inextractible
link between sound, light, and creative intent. Once we
understand
the nature of our energetic self, we begin to see the importance
of the content and intent of our thoughts and actions, and how these
interact.
The physical body is but one level
of expression of our spirit-self. Beyond the physical
are primarily 6 etheric fields of energy which comprise our
expressive
self. These fields or energy bodies are
interwoven
through our 7 major chakras (energy centers) within the
body,
and are interconnected with the divine centers of heaven
and
earth through spirals of light energy which course through the
body(ies)
and these sacred centers. These centers resonate more and more
subtle
levels of energy which radiate through the body in our light field.
Thought is a tangible creative
field
of energy which interlaces our lightfield and
creates grids of energy resonating
through the chakral centers and about our
body.
When our thoughts resonate from a point
of
fear or inhibition, doubt or confusion, anger or jealousy, we
create
through our thought itself a limiting or
binding
grid of energy about our light body. We are not allowing
ourself
to resonate in expressive, expansive forms of creative joy or
love.
These grids, or patterns, are
magnetic
fields of energy and attract potential situations
to
us, to allow us to make choices to help us
grow.
I emphasize potential, for we work within a school of free
choice, and there is a high degree of fluidity
due to the interactions of all beings' free choices, which
create the ever-unfolding formation of reality.
Psychics can read this potential and give us a probability
based upon how definitively those grids are in place,
but
the concept of free choice is always in place, and
rules
our aspect of the universe.
It is our intent and focus of that intent
(will) that are the creative tools of our expression of
self
(via our thoughts and actions, the choices that we
make).
Consciously or unconsciously, we use that focus (will) and intent
in the creation of the unfoldment of our
daily lives. And we can use it at any given moment,
to
alter the course of our previous choices within
our daily lives. If we do not,
these
thoughtforms, which have become embedded in our energetic field, will
eventually
effect our daily lives. For most of us, they already have,
effecting our clarity of consciousness, our emotional
well-being,
our relationships, our successes. Finally, they may emerge
as
physical symptomology... repetitive sore throats for those
afraid to speak up and express their feelings or
experiences,
chronic fatigue for those who have had
non-nurturing
relations with their parent of opposite gender,
ovarian
or breast cancer for those subjected to sexual trauma, are but a
few of the patterns which we may see emerge.
The Use of
Creative Will and Intent
in Sound Healing
The sound healer uses the focus of
intent,
to create a channel through which divine energies,
or
"higher resonances", may be poured
into
the recipient's energy field. The primary
focus of intent is on being a clear vessel, to
allow the greatest good to manifest for
this
individual's well-being. Once the
soundwork
has begun, the focus of intent may become more
specific. The healer, for instance,
may see an ingrained pattern of thought (energy) within the
energy field, which is constricting the recipient's energy flow,
and may call upon specific energetic tools to
remove
or transform it. That pattern may be
manifesting
in a limiting behavior or illness in the
recipient's
life. Or the focus may remain more general,
creating
the doorway through which divine energies may enter the more
tangible
planes and work within the recipient's field for the greatest good.
The sound healer may also be
working
with thoughtforms or elemental energies
which are not of
this
person's
making. These may be projections from other
individuals'
creative intentions (repressive parents, for instance, or
hostile,
or desirous relations), or
projections
from other streams of consciousness of a lesser
realm.
(Victims of alcohol or drug abuse, violence or sexual abuse
often have trauma linked to these diminishing patterns of energy,
which linger and eventually manifest through the energy body into
the emotional and physical.)
The recipient must be a willing participant, wanting to receive these
light
energies, and to release/heal these unwanted thoughtforms.
The greater level of focus and intent on
healing
which the recipient can manifest, the greater the potential for
positive
outcome will be. And the recipient may need to take some
tools
home with him or her to reinforce
these
new patterns of behavior, or energetic qualities
within
the self. Release and regeneration of energies are focuses
beneficial to the recipient:
release
of pain, memory of tragedy (through expression
or forgiveness), self-limiting thoughts of unworthiness or
confusion;
and regeneration of purity, of love of self and
others, joy, or a state of peacefulness, might
be examples of thoughtforms beneficial to the
recipient.
In my work, my point of focus is usually either
in the Ajna center (the third eye) or the eighth
chakra
(above the crown of the head). From the Ajna center I can
direct
specific light-energies into the body through the vehicle of
sound
(or, in some cases, through hands-on),
utilizing
specific tools. The eighth chakra is a powerful
interdimensional point linking the primal soul and divine
seat.
Within the eighth chakra, the focus is more
specifically
upon illumination, opening the doorway through which
conscious divine energies may more easily enter, with
greater
power and awareness than my more conscious self can
unfold.
This requires much more giving of self, more surrender,
thus
the quality of light pouring through becomes
more
bright and pure. I become more unconscious of the specific
interaction of energies with the recipient, but both of us are drawn to
a higher, clearer state.
The point of intention remains the
same. The intent of the healing practitioner
is
to focus on the most pure, most
worthy
energies for the recipient's needs. The intent opens the
doorway.
The sound becomes the vehicle through which the
light
moves. And it offers an extraordinary point of focus for
the
healer to place his or her intentions upon. In my work, the
sound may come with the use of an
instrument;
a crystal or brass bowl, a tingshaw (Tibetan
brass
cymbal), a flute, rattle, or Native ceremonial drum.
But more often I am the sole instrument, opening the voice to a
sacred
mantra, a chant, a sound or series of sounds, a song, a
prayer,
or what I like to call "dialects". These "dialects"
are
a form of divine invocation, or prayer, a sacred language, a speaking
in
tongues, in which the energy becomes most pronounced.
Whatever the instrument or modality, the
sound itself, through its own vibration or resonance,
rearranges
the molecular structure of cells, lifts thought
and energy into an elevated dimension (through
pure resonance), and invokes/carries a higher
energy
(intelligence, or quality) through it, which interacts in
the
energy field in a variety of ways. The sound
resonance
may function like a set of tuning forks, in which the
pure resonance of one tuning fork, once set in motion, will carry
waves of energy to the other, which, by its like nature,
will
begin resonating. Or the sound may act upon the crystallized
blockage
of energies in the energetic body as a pure tone might upon
a crystal glass, causing it to shatter, or
quicken
and release. The resonance of sound may be sensed as a pure
stream of energy, like a waterfall, cleansing the energy field, and
re-energizing
it, in a shower, or in waves, of peacefull light.
Coupled
with the intent of the sound resonator (healer), specific qualities
of
light, or
specific energetic streams
may be
called
upon, or invoked, to aid the practitioner in removing
binding
or shrouding energies, and to recharge the energy field with light.
Again, the interplay of sound and light
are
important to the conscious user. In modern physics,
we
find that the principal difference in sound, light and matter is
one of vibrational frequency, or resonance. The interrelationship
of these is more like a broad spectrum of energy than three separate
forms.
In so many tales of Creation, it is sound which is the first and
elemental form of Creation, and the vehicle which moves energy from the
potential realm to the manifest world. In Hinduism, it is the
sound
of "Om" which resonates as the elemental causal form
of all creative manifestation. In Australian Aboriginal
culture,
perhaps the oldest continual culture on the planet, the "Ancestors",
defined
as "fathomless, luminous beings of light and energy", dreamed of all
forms
of life in Creation, and "sung" them into existence through templates
of
thought energy, along "songlines", which are comparable to the ley
lines,
or electromagnetic grid, of the Earth. In Judaism, the ancient
mystical
Cabalistic roots of the culture teach us that each of the
22
letters of the alphabet not only
symbolizes,
but carries and emits through its
enunciation,
with pure intent, one of the principal aspects
of the universal energy. Their interaction in letter
configurations
(words) is significant as to their interaction in
universal
flow and unfoldment. This was so clearly
understood that it was considered sacrilege to
enunciate the cryptic word for "God", the Anglicization of which is
Jehovah,
or Yahweh. In its cryptic verse, understanding of the meaning of
the one word itself, in all its depth, potency, and purity, was a path
to enlightenment.
In Christianity, many sources indicate Jesus taught esoteric thought to
his disciples in far greater detail, in
private
settings, than his more popular metaphorical stories
to
the public would indicate. Many of these sources also say
he
was an initiate in the ancient mystery schools of the
East, receiving teachings in the great temples
of Egypt, and travelling to India, where tales still exist
of "Saint Issa", who returned to his people in Jerusalem 2000 years
ago,
only to be crucified. The Book of John, written by
one
of his principal disciples, opens with the
verse,
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God." (John I:1-2).
To me, the nature of this verse is extremely
specific.
The "word", the sound, is the first manifestation of creative
vibration,
or intent, and holds in its resonance, the very essence of the
Divine.
In Greek, from which we get much of the New Testament
script,
and from which we get the origin of "word", "word" means
"to
say". This implies, further, an innate understanding
that the very resonance of sound, of "the word", draws
power
to it, and carries power through it. We have often heard of
"the power of the spoken word," but we may not have given much
credence
to it. It is our thought, our will, and intentions
that
give power to the spoken word, and to sound in all of its forms
and
uses. Sound is a profoundly powerful tool. The
nature of its power rests in the conscious, and unconscious, intent of
its initiator.
C 1991,
2001 R. Zacciah
Blackburn, The Center of Light
This article may be reproduced and distributed, as long as the following
resource and contact information is intact.
Zacciah Blackburn is a sound healer trained in
classical healing and shamanic traditions, and sacred sound cultures, and is
practicing in Ascutney, VT, USA. Zacciah is Director of Education for the
Sound Healing Network, an international community of healing practitioners
broadening the awareness of sound healing through networking, education, and
scientific research. He is also Co-Founder of the World
Sound Healing Organization, & All One Now Network, a non-profit organization
joining the efforts of numerous individuals and organizations world wide,
dedicated to service to this planet, to its healing and growth, and to the
elevation of human consciousness, embracing the use of sound as a healing
catalyst in simple ceremony throughout the world.
Contact information:
Zacciah Blackburn,
The
Center of
Light Institute of Sound Healing
and Shamanic Studies
PO Box 389,
Ascutney, VT 05030 USA
Phone and
Fax: 802.674.9585
E-mail
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Also: www.worldsoundhealing.org , www.allonenow.org, www.sunreed.com
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