Healing Sounds

In this video Jonathan Goldman shares his formula for the relation of sound and healing. Frequency + Intent = Healing

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Thus far, we have discussed various aspects of sound, including concepts such as “frequency”, “intent”, “vibrational resonance”, “visualization”, “vocalization” and other aspects of using sound to shift frequency.   Last issue, we mentioned the idea of a “harmonic language”.  It is time now to begin to deal with the subject of harmonics, or overtones, as they are also known.

You have heard the term “harmonics” used in many different areas–from the Harmonic Convergence to many sacred science writings.  I particularly like the reference to shifting the harmonic resonance of the Enterprises’s shield on “Star Trek: Next Generation”.  Yet how many of you really known what “harmonics” are?

Very simply put, harmonics are geometric multiples created by the singular vibrations of an object.  For example, if you set a string into motion–let us say that it resonates at a frequency of 440 hertz, that is, it vibrates up and down 440 times a second–this is known as it’s fundamental frequency.

Now, this fundamental frequency is what people pay most of their attention to.  If you were to hit this note of 440 hertz on a piano (or any instrument for the matter), you could call this note an “A”, and you would put most of your awareness on hearing this “A” note as it vibrated.

But in reality, this string that  produces a fundamental vibration of 440 hertz, is also producing many other tones, or overtones.  These harmonics are actually the result of other vibrations within the string created by that fundamental note–vibration that are quantum in nature and are geometric multiples of the fundamental note.

That “A” note of 440 hertz produces the first overtone by vibrating at a frequency that is twice as fast as the fundamental–at 880 hertz.  And this is what you call an octave.  The second overtones vibrates 3 times as fast as the fundamental, at 1,320 hertz.  And the next overtones vibrates 4 times as fast.  The next overtone vibrates 5 times as fast and so on.  Until–at least conceptually–infinity.   So you see that while what you may be perceiving as merely that “A” note vibrating at 440 hertz is actually a complex composite of that fundamental note and overtones, all vibrating together.

In reality, almost every sound that you hear (unless it is created by some electronic laboratory instrument) produces these complex tones–these harmonics.  They are, infact, responsible for creating the different sounds that we hear.  Harmonics contribute to what is called the “timbre” or tone color of an instrument.  When, in an electronics laboratory, the harmonics were removed from recordings of three different instruments, listeners could not tell them apart, yet in real life, it is easy to distinguish between a violin, a trumpet and a flute.  This is also true about the human voice–every voice is different, because every voice has a different harmonics pattern.  While harmonics always sound as geometric multiples of a fundamental tone, different harmonics will be more amplified in different instruments and in different people.

On a metaphoric level (still working within the guidelines of the physics of sound), when one talks about a harmonic of something, that person is talking about a higher frequency that is a geometric multiple.  A geometric multiple is simply a whole number (as opposed to a fraction), which therefore means that harmonics are quantum.    So, a harmonic of say 100  cycles per second (or hertz) can simply be that 100 hertz multiplied by any number (from 1 to infinity).   It could be 200 or 500 or 5,000.

Image by Paul Garland via Flickr

I would like to suggest that there may be some significant differences in people, from the vibrations of their physical body parts to the vibrations of their etheric fields. And I would like you to contemplate the importance of this as we delve more and more into the world of sound. Be aware that it is also possible to encode other frequencies onto the body and that it is possible for a person with the best intention, to encode a frequency of a certain rate that they deem correct and healing on to another person. And if those frequencies do not resonate with the person, it is possible for that person to be put into a state of imbalance by these frequencies. I have seen this happen.

A musician friend wanted to experience one of these sound treatments from a machine that are becoming so popular. They visited a practitioner who diagnosed them and found imbalances which would be treated by listening to certain frequencies. This friend had been perfectly fine. Then they listened to the frequencies and they got sick. They had to be vibrationally readjusted. They did this by listening to one of my tapes that worked very well for them. Then they called me.

“What should I do?” they asked. “I called and told the practitioner what happened to me after I listened to their sounds and I was told to come back and receive a different frequency.”

“Don’t go back” I told them. “Their frequencies weren’t correct for you. Maybe they work for someone else, but not you. Go on working with your dolphin sounds and other sounds that make you feel good.”

The friend promised they would take my advice. But, one week later there was another phone call. This person had gone back and received a different sound from the practitioner and had become even more imbalanced.

I tell that story merely to suggest to you the old adage of “let the buyer beware”. If a “sound medicine” is resonating with you in a positive manner, you will know it. You will feel healthy and aligned. If it isn’t, you will also know it. And if it is not, do not repeat your error. You must use you own discrimination when dealing with those who claim to have the correct resonant frequency for you. It may be correct. It may not be. Only you can know for sure.

At this point in our development, no one has yet come up with an instrument, tape or sound that will work specifically to heal an imbalance for everyone. Certainly some people are remarkably assisted by the specific sounds from instruments created by those who believe we are all vibrating at the same frequency. We know of miraculous experiences that have occurred–wondrous healings and the like–but we also know of people who have not received help through such sounds. And the question is why?

The most likely answer is that, indeed, there are those who will vibrate to specific frequencies that are the same and those that do not. This is very simply most close to the truth as we know it.

It would seem that even in our traditional medical fields, the different pharmaceuticals that are applied do not work specifically the same for all individuals. One person will get miraculous results from one drug, while another person will not have much effect at all and another person will have what is known as an allergic reaction and become sicker from the drug than before. If we were all of the same vibrational rate, would not the drug effect all people the same way? The same thought, of course, could be applied to the concept of organ transplants. There are many variables that go into the consideration of this. Not every organ is going to work for every individual. The same approach could be applied to sound.

In Ayuvedic Medicine, for example, there are three basic different types of people and what works well for one group will not work well for the other group. Could a similar situation exist with sound and help explain why one sound may work well for one person and may not work well for another?

With astrology, which is based upon the the vibrations of the planets and their effect upon an individual, we find that every individual has a unique birth chart, due to many different factors. No one is exactly the same. Even twins born only minutes apart will have different birth charts. This is another indication of the uniqueness of the individual and our own unique vibratory rate.

There is at present on our planet, a great schism in belief regarding resonant frequency. There are those who believe that yes, we all vibrate to the same frequency, whether it is the vibrational rate of the heart chakra or the vibrational rate of the liver. And many of these are people who believe they have indeed figured out the vibrational rate of the various organs, other bodily parts and etheric fields have invented instruments, made tapes or created machines which will somehow project the correct resonant frequency back in to the body to heal what ails you. Some of these people also work with using the voice, either to determine what frequency needs to be added or as a means of creating the correct resonant frequency.

Then, there are others who believe that we are all unique vibratory beings; that the frequencies of our organs, bodily systems and chakras, may be different and are not the same. And some of these people have also invented instruments and will make tapes or create machines which will somehow determine what the correct resonant frequency for you is, and then have that sound device project this frequency. And many of these other people work specifically with the voice because they believe it is easiest and more effective at determining the correct resonant frequency and to project it into an imbalanced area.

These are two main areas of contention in your sound healing arena today. I like to say that I am in the business of “Shifting Frequencies” and that if you believe you will resonant to only one frequency, you are not giving yourself the opportunity for vibratory change. I am among those who focus on the use of the voice as an instrument of transformation and I do this for several reasons. One reason in particular is that I have found the voice to be an extremely easy vehicle for effecting change in one’s vibratory rate or in the body and field of someone else. I (and my students work reinforces this) has found that the resonant sounds for different parts of the body and the chakras change and shift depending upon many parameters.

Do you believe you resonate to more than one frequency?

In a recent blog Frequency + Intent = Healing, I discussed the concepts of “frequency” and “intent”. “Frequency” is the rate at which an object vibrated and is also a way of measuring sound. “Intent” is the energy behind any created sound. Together, these two elements create how a sound may be used–it’s effect for healing, transformation or whatever.

When the human body is in a state of health, all bodily parts and associated fields, chakras, etc. are in “tune” and vibrating in a state of harmony with self. A concept of disease is one in which a counter frequency sets in and some body part begins to vibrate out of ease or harmony. A concept of using sound to heal is simply that it is possible to project the correct resonant frequency back into the part of the body (or associated field or chakra), causing it to vibrate back into its normal rate, restoring it to health. This is the basic principle of using sound to heal.

Now, the whole concept of healing is one which deserves its own discourse and I do not wish to create confusion regarding this. However, I will suggest that while the above principle of healing with sound is true, there are other principles which also apply and will be discussed in the future. For the moment, let us concentrate on the above very simple aspect of using sound to heal–that of the resonant frequency–and let us ask you another very simple question: Do you think that everyone vibrates at the same frequency. Or put another way, do you think that everyone’s liver has the same resonant frequency? Do you think everyone’s heart chakra resonates to the same vibration?

I ask these questions, because they are important ones, particularly in regard to sound. At this point in development on the planet, there are many different professionals, who deal with sound, and who all have different answers to these questions. And the truth of it is that on our Earth plane, no one knows what the correct answers to the above questions are. Many may think they know, but we are still in your infancy regarding sound and our knowledge is limited.

One of the great mysteries of humankind, particularly one which has manifested in the last century (though it has been in existence since the beginning) was the need for humans to qualify and quantify everything. We need to know everything and explain everything. And put everything very nicely in a box. Then we are satisfied that we have figured out the answers to the Universe. We now know the Great Mystery and we can rest easily.

We insist on putting everything into boxes and then we are happy. But the truth of the matter may be that things change. Concepts change. Ideas change. Reality changes. And because of this, by putting things into boxes we are doing ourselves a great disservice. Because sooner or later we may find that that which we have qualified and quantified has changed. And what we believe is no longer valid. We need to be fluid in your consciousness and thought. This is something that sound can teach us all.

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“FREQUENCY + INTENT = HEALING”.   Frequency of course, is the actual sound used.  Healing was a term used to describe the process of putting something into its healthy resonance.  Today I use the term “Frequency Shifting”.   Intent, in this formula, is the important ingredient.  Intent is the energy  behind the sound.  It is the consciousness that is encoded into the sound.  Intent is very important.

I began to realize that it might be possible for two people to make the same sound and have a very different response, depending upon the energy that was put into the sound.   Have you ever had someone you were not particularly fond of see you at a party and say in a snake-like tone “Good to see you” and felt as though you immediately wanted to leave the party.  While the words (or the frequency) may have been one thing, the intention (or energy behind the words) said quite another.  And the effect was not one of welcoming, but rather something very different.  This is an illustration of how intentionality affects the outcome of the sound.

I found that even specific mantras would resonate different chakras, depending upon the intentionality of the person giving them.  The “Om” might resonate the heart chakra, or the belly chakra or the third eye–it all depended upon what  a spiritual master might be teaching to a person.  As I began to realize the importance of intention, I began to spend considerable time in my teachings stressing the important of this.  And at the time, it was necessary to do this.  However, I admit that I went a little overboard.  Initially I began by talking with scientists and medical doctors who were so interested in examining only the frequency of the sound that the idea of intention was a new (and somewhat ridiculous idea to them).  Nevertheless, I continued sharing the importance of intention in my workshops, lectures and writing.  And as usual, things got a little out of alignment.  People began to think “Well, it doesn’t matter what sound I make as long as my intention is there”.

On one level, this is true.  On another level, it is not.  The formula which I was given was “FREQUENCY + INTENT = HEALING”.   This formula was created for the 3rd Dimensional Earth plane as it is currently evolved in your time and space.  While it is true that in higher dimensionalities, Intent (and consciousness) does create all, very few beings on this planet have reached the level of development,  where the actual sound they create is unimportant and the intention is everything.

Now undoubtedly, there are spiritual masters on this planet who can belch or create any such sound and produce miraculous results.  However, a majority of you (while you may perceive you are spiritual masters, and you may be) have not reached the state of development where you can do this.    I illustrate this point by saying that if you wish to calm someone down with a sound and then you shout in their ear, the result will be that your shouting will undoubtedly produce severe reactions of agitation in the individuals.  Their heart beat, respiration and brain waves will all escalate and they will probably not enjoy your shouting in their ear, regardless of your intent.  So I say that until you can levitate or dematerialize or do any of a number of frequency shifting exercises that you will ultimately be able to do, we urge you to pay attention to the frequencies that you are using.  As well as the intentionality that you are putting into these frequencies.

Image by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton via Flickr

Many new spiritual scientists, discoverers and therapists are working with the concept of resonant frequency healing to create balance.  Many are successful.   They have developed different instruments, machines, tapes and other sound devices which project the healthy resonant frequency of a body part, (or, for the matter, of the chakras) into a person.

While some of these devices may be very effective for restoring resonance back to that which is vibrating out of harmony, you all have within yourselves the most powerful, effective and wondrous device for healing that you can imagine.  It is free, extremely efficient and it does not require batteries or electricity.  It is your own voice.  Your own, if we may, God given instrument for sound healing.  It requires only a little training to use,  does not require another operator to be applied, and it allows you to find the exact frequencies for resonance.  This does not happen with many of sound healing devices which are “locked into” specific sounds for specific parts.  This does not allow for frequency shifting, which is the change of the vibratory rate of either a part of the body, or the whole body and its associated energy centers as well.

Hospitals and medical centers are full of many devices that project sound and other vibrations.  We now have catalogs full of devices that you can use in your home to induce meditation and what not.  Many of new researchers have developed sound devices that project different frequencies into you for different effects.  They are useful and sometimes very fun and we encourage them.  However, it is important to realize that they are merely tools producing an effect.  And this effect can be achieved without them if you are interested in doing a little work on yourself.  What is most interesting, however,  is that while many of these sound devices and recordings do create positive change, the actual frequencies or notes that they use are not the same.

To illustrate this, let us discuss your chakras for the moment.  They are these spinning discs  that feed energy into what becomes the physical body.    When I was first researching this area many years ago, I came across a simple system that worked with the 7 chakras using the seven notes of the C major scale.  In this system, your root chakra was vibrating to the note “C”.  The next chakra resonated to the note “D”.  The next chakra to the note “E” and so on,  with the crown chakra vibrating to the note “B”.  It was a very easy system and I was quite pleased to find this.  However, as I continued with my investigation into this, I found many other systems that worked with many different notes besides these.

The variety of different notes that was used was quite extraordinary.  And none of them was in agreement.  This caused me some perplexity as he could not understand how all the different systems were not in agreement with each other and yet all of them seemed to work to some degree.  Then I developed a formula which he first put forth in his book HEALING SOUNDS.

The formula is this: FREQUENCY + INTENT = HEALING.

In my next post I will talk more about this formula.

Image by Maruku San via Flickr

Everything is vibration. From the chair that you may be sitting in to the computer you are reading this on, everything is in a state of vibration. This is not a new idea. Our ancient mystics have known this for many a millennium, but now our scientists are beginning to understand this and agree with this. It is a wonderful start.

From the electrons spinning around the nucleus of an atom, to the planets spinning around suns in the galaxy, everything is in movement. Everything is in vibration. And if it is in vibration, it is putting out a sound.

Now, whether or not we can hear this sound is a different matter. Sound travels as a wave form. First, let us say that one way of measuring sound is how fast or slow this wave form is moving. These waves are measured as cycles and sound is measured in cycles per second. This is called its frequency. Very slow waves make very low sounds. Very fast waves make very high sounds. The lowest note on a piano is about 24 cycles per second. The highest note on a piano is about 4,000 cycles per second.

Now, we hear from around 16 to about 16,000 cycles per second. Yet just because we can’t hear something does not mean it is not vibrating, nor creating a sound. Dolphins can project and receive information upwards of 180,000 cycles per second, more than 10 times that of humans. And this to them is sound. Do not let the notion that if you can not hear an object it is not vibrating or making a sound. There–we have solved the old Zen Koen asking about a tree falling in the forest.

For more information about vibration and Sound Healing visit Healing Sounds

by Jonathan Goldman

Many of you who have read my books and other writings, or found yourself listening to or reading an interview with me know that I believe “Intent” is a truly important aspect with regard to the power of sound.  You may know that over 20 years ago, I created a formula in my first book HEALING SOUNDS : “Frequency + Intent = Healing”. By this I mean that the actual sound that manifests coupled with the consciousness that is encoded upon the sound creates the ultimate effect of the sound.  I also included another formula in the book: “Vocalization + Visualization = Manifestation” which pretty much echoed this same concept in a slightly different way.  In my latest book THE 7 SECRETS OF SOUND HEALING , I have created yet another formula—one which again is very similar to the other two and seems to encompass even more. It is this: “Sound + Belief = Outcome”.

As those familiar with my work know, the original “Frequency + Intent = Healing” formula came to me while trying to deal with a collection of papers that stacked a foot high. These papers were different systems I’d been collecting for several years from scientists, spiritual teachers, musicians, sound therapists and just about anyone else imaginable who had been working with using frequencies for healing.  I had hundreds of different systems for the organs, for the chakras, for just about anything you can conceive. It was all quite wondrous, except for the fact that a majority of the systems didn’t agree with each other—to put it musically, they were not harmonious. Scientist X would be using one frequency for a condition. Scientist Y would be using a totally unrelated frequency for the same condition. Both claiming success. Spiritual Master A would use one mantra for a chakra. Spiritual Master B would use a different mantra for the same chakra or even more confusing, the same mantra for a different chakra.  I remember being in a state of great intellectual angst and confusion.  I asked : How could this be?:

I remember sitting in front of my computer with my head in my heads trying to figure out some sort clarity, when I distinctly heard a voice which said: “It is not only the frequency of the sound which creates the effect, it is also the intention of the person projecting and receiving the sound.”  I wrote down the formula: “Frequency + Intent = Healing”. To this day, I am a firm believer in the validity of this and all the other formulas that have manifested.

This is not to say that I am not a seeker of knowledge with regard to the physiological effects of sound, whether it’s the binaural beat frequency phenomenon or anything else that might manifest. Certainly there is validity in this. And it is something that any student of sound healing needs to be aware of. Do you understand how sound effects of nervous systems? Do you understand the different chemicals that are released in the extraordinary pharmacy that is our body due to the effects of different sounds?

There’s a reason that sound is so powerful and some of it is due to its frequency (which is truly a metaphor for the physical counterpart of sound—we could be talking about vocal tones or harmonics or mantras or anything that creates a resonance). But from my knowledge and experience, something else is also occurring with regard to sound.

Call it “intent”, or “visualization” or “feeling” or “belief”—there is another component to sound that is also responsible for its effect.  I’ve written extensively on this subject and would ask those interested to check out my various writings. From my understanding when dealing with life on the Earth plane, it is the combination of both the “Frequency” + the “Intent” that creates the “Healing” (or whatever outcome you desire for the sound). I think it’s a 50/50% equation here for most of us.

But I also perceive that for some highly advanced individuals, the frequency—the actual sound—may be less important than the consciousness they project into the sound.  As an example, there may be saints in various places throughout the world who can make a tone in a less that mellifluous voice and achieve all sorts of miracles. But I think these may be highly evolved individuals. Unless you can walk thought walls, levitate and do all sorts of other “siddhis”, it probably is best to utilize the 50/50% equation of the formula using equally both “frequency + intent”.

I would very much like to engage you in a discussion—with you sharing your experiences and stories with regard to the importance of intent—visualization, belief, feeling—whatever you want to call that special energy that is encoded upon the sounds we make and the sounds we receive.

I could share pages of stories with you, but this is not my purpose. It is simply to open up this blog to comments on “The Power of Intent”.  Please share you stories with us—whether they affirm the validity of intent or not. I believe it’s important.

With regard to your stories I ask that for those who have encountered the miraculous (and no doubt many have—that seems to be the nature of sound and why we are so drawn to working with it), I’d love to hear your experiences about this. But I’m hopeful we can disassociate ourselves from whatever experiences we may have had, realizing that being part of the experience does not make us the creator of the experience. Remember, the Prayer of St. Francis that asks: “Lord, make me an instrument….”. Being a conduit for the divine is not the same as being the Divine. It’s important that we honor this so that we can truly honor the power of sound and “The Power of Intent”.

In conclusion, I’d like to quote my dear friend Sarah “Saruah” Benson, who many years ago when we were looking for a logo for the Sound Healers Associations, told me: “The true sound of healing is Love”. I couldn’t agree more.

Looking forward to hearing from you.