Quantum Vibrations: Does Sound Healing Really Work?
BY JLF Sullivan
There is so much our society is currently relearning about sound and the way vibrations work in the world around us. Take ASMR for example, how is it that we can feel vibrations and relaxation in our bodies when listening to these particular sounds from artists on Youtube? Why has zoning out to these healing sounds become so popular in the mainstream so quickly?
While to some it may seem like a new fad, sound healing has actually had its place amongst humans for centuries. It is believed sound was used for healing by the Aborigines of Australia as well as by Tibetan Monks, and in ancient Polynesian chanting to name a few. Additionally, instruments such as drums, gongs, tuning forks, and brass bowls have been attributed to these ancient healing ceremonies. The Ancient Egyptians even used a process called “toning” which saw a healer use accentuated vowel sounds to aid those in need.
It is believed that sound healing creates shifts in our brainwaves by using a process called entrainment. By using rhythm and frequency to provide a stable frequency for the brainwave to attune itself to, we can entrain our brains to shift from our normal waking Beta state to a more relaxed Alpha state or even progress into the meditative and healing Theta state.
A few months ago I was introduced to a specialist in this area. MARTÍN RIVERA is a Hypnotherapist, but also holds an array of certifications in Sound Vibrational Healing, Reiki healing, Emotional Release Therapy, Guided Meditation, and Visualization techniques.
I was curious about the effects of sound healing, so Rivera offered me some free recordings to try out. All I needed to do was spend 15 minutes a day listening to his hypnotic voice guide me to a relaxed state while his crystal bowls radiated a humming that would instantly change my mood and vibration. For one month I did this every day...and I was blown away with the results. Not only was I able to completely change my mood and stress levels in just a few minutes, but I also found through this that I was able to tap into a similar place in my mind I went to while I was being hypnotized and learned the material I put forth in my book “Child Of The Universe.” It was an amazing breakthrough for me to have the independence I was seeking in getting into this meditative state, and I was eager to learn more from Rivera about his mission.
Rivera has dedicated his life to the healing arts and has created an environment to empower those who seek multidimensional programs focusing on the mind, body, and spirit with his partner, Dr. Flor Zatarain. Quantum Balance is the name of their innovative enterprise that operates out of New York City. Rivera explained that: “Quantum Balance means a way to restore your body in order to elevate your vibrational frequency and allow it to heal by itself. Every symptom, discomfort, illness is an unbalanced result that originated whether from our thoughts, emotions, bad food choices or stress, etc Which are the equivalent of lower frequency vibration. But these can be stimulated to raise its frequency and this way can help to ease, boosting, cellular regeneration applying the right frequencies.”
Rivera also shared with me information about studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago showing how sound frequencies were healing wounds on diabetic people as well as studies from Stony Brook University that had done sound frequency experiments achieving successfully regenerating bone tissue.
Interestingly enough, the NY Times also published an article in 2005 called What's the Buzz? Sound Therapy. In the article, I found a fascinating story of one woman’s journey to health after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer.
“When Marisa Harris of Manhattan first saw Dr. Gaynor with one of his Tibetan bowls she thought he was going to prepare pasta. But when he began to play them, she said, it was the first time since she had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer that she could hear something other than the words "you're going to die."
"It was as if all of a sudden there was room for possibility," she said. The sound, Ms. Harris said, penetrated her body and made her feel as if it were not only her thoughts about death that were breaking up, "but these poisonous cells, these cancer cells, were breaking up and I experienced something very healing."
More than seven years later she plays her own singing bowls every day, often chanting the names of her three children, her husband and other loved ones. The bowls, she said, helped her express feelings she had bottled up inside. Sometimes, she said, she talks to the bowls about her fears. "The sound would take them away," she said, "out of my being, out of my existence."”
Some different forms of sound healing include specific sound patterns, with the most well-known being the Solfeggio Frequencies. Typically used for transformational purposes, listening to these mathematically based beats has been known to create stimulation in the brain that can awaken one’s intuition and help banish irrational fears. Tuning in to such frequencies as 528 Hz (Transformation), 639 Hz (Connecting Relationships), and 963 Hz (Enlightenment) might be helpful for some looking to try something different for inner work.
A similar practice is the use of binaural beats to help reduce anxiety, depression, insomnia, and stress. Using headphones, if you listen to a tone of 200 Hz in the left ear and a tone of 205 Hz in the right ear, your brain will produce a new frequency of 5 Hz. This third tone is called a binaural beat and it has been known to help listeners enter a meditative state that can help body and mind healing.
Here in Hawaii, I have seen many examples of sound healing that date back to ancient times. On the infamous 19.5 latitude line, also known as the Pathway Of The Gods, sits my favorite site on the Big Island of Hawaii, Napo'opo'o Beach. Located on this beach is the Hiki'au Heiau, an ancient Hawaiian temple dedicated to Lono, the god of agriculture and fertility of the land. When first contact was made with the Europeans through Captain Cook arrived here in 1779, the natives first believed he was Lono, but learned otherwise as Cook outstayed his welcome. When the surf is just right you can go to Napo’opo’o Beach and listen to the sound the rounded rocks make as they flow with the massive waves. It is an intense sound that is rhythmic and spine-tingling, and often, time will fly by at an astounding rate sitting on this beach. I often leave it feeling removed from myself but cleansed of my daily issues and stress.
Another interesting place I have come across in my travels is the legend of the crystal pyramid at Punaluu Beach. It is believed that a cinder cone created by ancient lava flow in the Ka’u district holds an ancient secret into trans dimensional travel. When the right tone is made by a chanting Kahuna, the doorway into a new world will open for those to travel into. It has been said that on clear days, the pyramid reveals itself to those who it calls to. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it, but it’s a good 10-hour hike into the woods, and I doubt my kids would make it a mile in. Another one for the bucket list.
All in all, what I have learned so far about sound healing, is that it truly does make a difference to those who are seeking healing in its many forms. The best way to find what form of sound healing will work for you is to begin experimenting with the different forms mentioned above and to see what feels right to you. You will know when you have found something that is attuned with you and your needs, it will feel remarkable. I highly suggest giving it a month, or an amount of time that works for you, to experience these new vibrations every day, and then to see how it has altered the way you deal and perceive stress or illness in your life.