Chakra
Five:
Sound
Opening Meditation
Before the beginning, all was darkness and all was void
The face of the cosmos was deep and unmanifest,
Indeed, not a face at all but endless nothing.
No light, no sound, no movement, no life, no time.
All was null and the universe was not yet created
Nor even conceived.
For there was no form in which to conceive or be conceived
In its emptiness the darkness fell upon itself
And became aware that it was nothing.
Alone and dark, unborn, unmanifest, silent.
Can you imagine this silence, the silence of nothing?
Can you quiet yourself enough to hear it?
Can you listen to the silence within you?
Breathe deeply, but slowly so the breath is silent in your lungs.
Feel your throat expand with the air coming in.
Listen for the nothing, listen for the quiet,
Listen deep within yourself for the place of stillness.
Slowly breathe into this void, a deep and peaceful breath.
In its infinite quiet, darkness fell upon itself
And in its emptiness, knew itself to be alone
And alone it desired another
In this desire, a ripple moved across the void
to fold and fold again upon itself
Until it was no longer empty and the void was full with birth.
In the beginning the great, unmanifest
became vibration in its own recognition of being.
And that vibration was a sound from which all other sounds were born.
It came from Brahma in his first emanation.
It came from Sarasvati, in her eternal answers.
In their union, the sound arose and spread through all the void and filled it.
And the sound became one, and the sound became many, and the sound became the wheel that turned and turned the worlds unto the dance of life, forever singing, always moving.
If you listen, you can hear it now. It is in your breath, it is in your heart, it is in the wind, the waters, the trees and the sky. It is in your own mind, in the rhythm of each and every thought.
From one sound does it all emerge and to one sound shall it return.
And the sound is
AUM . . . Aaa-ooo-uuu-mmmmmmmm . . . Aum . . .
Chant it now inside you quietly. Let it build within your breath.
Let the sacred sound escape you, moving on the wings of air.
Rhythm building, deep vibration, rising up from deep within.
Chant the sound of all creation, sound that makes the chakras spin.
Louder now the voice arises, joins with other sounds and chants.
Deeper now the rhythms weaving all into a sacred dance.
Rhythms pounding, voices growing, echoing the dance of life.
Sounds to words and words to music, riding on the wheels of life.
Guiding us along our journey, moving spirit deep within.
Chant the voice that is within you. This is where we must begin.
Up from silence, breath and body, calling now into the void.
Hear its answer in the darkness, fear and pain have been destroyed.
Brahma is the first vibration, Sarasvati is the flow.
Sound unites us in our vision, harmonizing all we know.
Soon the silence comes again, with echoes of primordial sound,
Purifying all vibration, echo of the truth profound.
CHAKRA FIVE
SYMBOLS AND CORRESPONDENCES
|
Sanskrit Name: |
Visuddha |
|
Meaning: |
Purification |
|
Location: |
Throat |
|
Element: |
Sound |
|
Function: |
Communication, creativity |
|
Inner State: |
Synthesis of ideas into symbols |
|
Outer Manifestation: |
Vibration |
|
Glands: |
Thyroid, parathyroid |
|
Other Body Parts: |
Neck, shoulders, arms, hands |
|
Malfunction: |
Sore throat, stiff neck, colds, thyroid |
|
problems, hearing problems |
|
|
Color: |
Bright blue |
|
Sense: |
Hearing |
|
Seed Sound: |
Ham |
|
Vowel Sound: |
Eee |
|
Petals: |
Sixteen, all the Sanskrit vowels |
|
Sephira: |
Geburah, Chesed |
|
Planet: |
Mercury |
|
Metal: |
Mercury |
|
Foods: |
Fruits |
|
Corresponding Verb: |
I speak |
|
Yoga Path: |
Mantra yoga |
|
Herbs for Incense: |
Frankincense, benzoin, mace |
|
Minerals: |
Turquoise, aquamarine, celestite |
|
Animals: |
Elephant, bull, lion |
|
Guna: |
Rajas |
|
Lotus Symbols: |
Downward triangle, within which is a white circle, thought to represent the full moon. In the circle is a white elephant, over which is the Bija symbol, ham. The deities in the lotus are Sadasiva, a three-eyed, five-faced, ten-armed form of Shiva, seated on a white bull, clothed in a tiger skin with garland of snakes. The Goddess is Gauri, shining one, consort of Shiva, thought by some to be a corn goddess. Gauri is also the name of a class of goddesses which includes Uma, Parvati, Rambha, Totala, and Tripura. |
|
Hindu Deities: |
Ganga (river goddess, related to purification), Sarasvati |
|
Other Pantheons: |
Hermes, the Muses, Apollo, Brigit, Seshat, Nabu |
|
Chief Operating Quality: |
Resonance |
GATEWAY TO CONSCIOUSNESS
Sound . . . rhythm . . . vibration . . . words. Powerful rulers of our lives, we take these things for granted. Using them, responding to them, creating them anew each day, we are the subjects of rhythm upon rhythm, endlessly interweaving the fabric of experience. From the first cries of a newborn child to the harmonies of a symphony, we are immersed in an infinite web of communication.
Communication is the connecting principle that makes life possible. From the DNA encoded messages of living cells to the spoken or written word, from the nerve impulses connecting mind and body to the broadcast waves connecting continent to continent, communication is the coordinating principle of all life. It is the means whereby consciousness extends itself from one place to another.
Within the body, communication is crucial. Without electrical communication between brain waves and muscle tissue, we couldn’t move. Without chemical communication of hormones to cells there would be no growth, no cues for cyclic changes, no defenses against disease. If it were not for the ability of DNA to communicate genetic information, life could not exist.
Our civilization is equally dependent on communication as the connecting fabric through which we coordinate the complex tasks of cooperative culture, much as the body’s cells work together to form one organism. Our communication networks are a cultural nervous system, connecting us all.
Chakra five is the center related to communication through sound, vibration, self-expression, and creativity. It is the realm of consciousness that controls, creates, transmits, and receives communication, both within ourselves and between each other. It is the center of dynamic creativity, of synthesizing old ideas into something new. Its attributes include listening, speaking, writing, chanting, telepathy, and any of the arts—especially those related to sound and language.
Communication is the process of transmitting and receiving information through symbols. As written or spoken words, as musical patterns, omens, or electrical impulses to the brain, the fifth chakra is the center that translates these symbols into information. Communication, due to its symbolic nature, is an essential key to accessing the inner planes. With symbols, we have the means to represent the world in a more efficient way—one that gives us infinite storage capacity in the brain. We can discuss things before we do them; we can absorb and store information in a concise form; we can synthesize thoughts into concrete images and store the images again as thoughts—all through the symbolic representation of perceived patterns.
As we climb to this fifth level, we are taking yet another step away from the physical. Communication is our first level of physical transcendence in that it enables us to transcend the ordinary limitations of the body. By telephoning New York, we can avoid going there physically. The call takes only minutes, costs little, yet the limitations of time and space have been transcended as nonchalantly as if we were crossing the street. We can record voices on tape, read diaries of the deceased, and decipher ancient patterns in the DNA of fossils, all through an interpretation of symbols.
As stated earlier, the lower chakras are highly individual. Our bodies, for example, are clearly separate, with our edges defined by our skin. As we climb up the chakra column, our boundaries become less defined. When we reach pure consciousness, the ideal of the seventh chakra, it becomes impossible to draw a border around this consciousness and say, “This is mine, and that is yours.” Information and ideas are like the breath we breathe—an invisible field surrounding us, from which we take what we need. There are no separations in this field. Each step upward decreases boundaries and separation and takes us closer to unity. We arrive at this unity through the ability of consciousness to make connections.
Communication is an act of connection. It is one of the uniting principles of the upper chakras. If I give a talk to a group of people on the subject of healing, I am uniting their consciousness, if only momentarily, around certain ideas. Due to the communication that has occurred, there is now a subset of information shared by all the people in the audience as they leave the hall. If I give the lecture several times, this subset of shared consciousness grows even larger. Previously diverging minds have information in common after communication has occurred.
Communication is a way of extending ourselves beyond our ordinary limitations. Through communication, information contained in your brain that is not in my brain becomes accessible to me. You may have never been to China, for example, but through the communication of books, movies, pictures, and conversations, you’re still able to have some knowledge of China’s customs and landscapes. As communication unites, it also expands, allowing our world to become larger. This expansion mirrors the pattern of the ascending current of consciousness.
In the descending direction of the chakras we are moving toward limitation and manifestation. We are taking patterns of thought and making them specific through the process of naming. Naming focuses consciousness by drawing limits around something, saying it is this and not that. To name a thing is to clarify it, to set its boundaries, to specify. Naming gives structure and meaning to our thoughts.
Communication shapes our reality and creates the future. If I say to you, “Bring me a glass of water,” I am creating a future for myself which contains a glass of water in my hand. If I say, “Please leave me alone,” I am creating a future without you. From presidential speeches and corporate board meetings to marital fights or children’s bedtime stories, communication is creating the world at each and every moment.
It is clear that communication can direct consciousness in both directions of the chakra spectrum. Communicaton can be seen as a symbolic system that mediates between the abstract and manifested idea. It formulates our thoughts into controlled physical vibrations, which in turn can create manifestations on the physical plane. With words, consciousness has a tool through which it can order or organize the universe around it, including itself! Therefore, this chakra occupies a crucial place in the gateway between mind and body. It is not a central place of balance like the heart; rather it mirrors the transformative properties of fire—a medium in the transition from one dimension to another.
In this chapter we will explore communication from the theoretical to the practical. We will examine the principles of vibration, sound, mantras, language, telepathy, creativity, and media as petals in the lotus of the fifth chakra.
God: Sad-a´siva / Goddess: Gaur-i (Eternal)
Vi´suddha Chakra.
(from Kundalini Yoga for the West)
VISUDDHA—THE PURIFIER
O Devi! O Sarasvati!
Reside Thou ever in my speech.
Reside Thou ever on my tongue tip.
O Divine Mother, giver of faultless poetry.
—Swami Sivananda Radha1
The chakra of communication, commonly called the throat chakra, is located in the region of the neck and shoulders. Its color is blue—a bright, cerulean blue, as opposed to the indigo blue of chakra six. It is a lotus with sixteen petals, which contains all the vowels of the Sanskrit language. In Sanskrit, vowels are typically thought to represent spirit, while consonants represent the harder stuff of matter.
This lotus is called Visuddha, which means “purification.” This implies two things about this center: 1) To successfully reach and open the fifth chakra, the body must attain a certain level of purification. The subtler aspects of the upper chakras require greater sensitivity, and purification of the body opens us to these subtleties. 2) Sound, as a vibration and a force inherent in all things, has a purifying nature. Sound can and does affect the cellular structure of matter. It also has the ability to harmonize otherwise dissonant frequencies both within and around us. We’ll examine these principles more closely a little further on.
Within the chakra we again see Airavata, the many tusked white elephant. He is within a circle inside a triangle pointing downward, symbolizing the manifestation of speech. The deities are the God Sadasiva (a version of Shiva, also known as Pancanana, the five-fold one) and the Goddess Gauri (an epithet meaning fair one, yellow, or brilliant one). Gauri is also the name of a class of Goddesses which includes Uma, Parvati, Rambha, Totala, and Tripura.2 Each of the deities in this chakra is shown with five faces. (See Figure 6.1.)
Figure 6.2
Chakra Five.
The associated element of the fifth chakra is ether, otherwise known as Akasha or spirit. It is in the fifth chakra that we refine our awareness enough to perceive the subtle field of vibrations known as the etheric plane. This plane is the vibrating field of subtle matter that functions as both a cause and a result of our thoughts, emotions, and physical states.
Few people, especially in light of modern parapsychological research, can deny that there exists some sort of plane through which phenomena, impossible to explain by the laws of ordinary reality, can and do occur quite regularly. Examples of remote viewing, telepathic communication, and distance healing are only a few of the types of phenomena that occur by supernormal means. Kirlian photography is a technology that can visually record the otherwise invisible field surrounding living things, showing how this field reveals states of health or disease. Richard Gerber, M.D., in his groundbreaking book, Vibrational Medicine, describes how “in reality, it is the organizing principle of the etheric body which maintains and sustains the growth of the physical body.”3 Diseases tend to show up first in the etheric body, before they manifest in the tissues. Likewise, healing can be brought about by techniques that primarily treat the subtle body, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and psychic healing.
The element ether represents a world of vibrations—the emanations of living things that we experience as the aura, as sound, and as the subtle plane of whispered impressions on the mind into which our more solid realities are enfolded.
While most metaphysical systems postulate four elements (earth, water, fire, and air), ether, or spirit, is the generally universal element added when a system encompasses five elements. In some cases, it is called “space,” being the non-physical element beyond earth, air, fire, and water. In these systems, the four elements describe the physical world and the spirit is left for the unexplainable non-physical realm.
The fifth chakra is the last of the seven chakras to have any element associated with it according to classical associations, so the spirit realm is shared by the top three chakras. In my interpretation of the system, I have correlated sound to be the element associated with this chakra, as sound is the gross representation of an invisible field of vibrations, and operates in a similar way to subtle vibrations. As Arthur Avalon states in Serpent Power: “Sound . . . is that by which the existence of the ether is known.”4 I have then assigned light and thought to the sixth and seventh chakras respectively as progressively subtler vibrational phenomenon.
THE SUBTLE WORLD OF
VIBRATION
All things . . . are aggregations of atoms that dance and by their movements produce sounds. When the rhythm of the dance changes, the sound it produces also changes . . . Each atom perpetually sings its song, and the sound, at every moment, creates dense and subtle forms.
—Fritjof Capra5
Ether can be equated with the all-encompassing and unifying field of subtle vibrations found throughout the universe. Any vibration, be it a sound wave or a dancing particle, is in contact with other vibrations, and all vibrations can and do affect each other. To enter the fifth chakra is to tune our consciousness into the subtle vibrational field that is all around us.
Let’s take something we’re all familiar with: the automobile. We know that our cars are powered by an engine with numerous parts. We have solid matter in the form of pistons and valves, liquid gas and oil, spark plugs firing, and compressed air (the first four elements). Intricately timed movement allows all these parts to work together in precise relationships. When we open the hood, however, we see only vibration. Because we can’t see the small parts inside the motor, we see it only from a kind of macro-perspective. A running engine looks like a vibrating block of metal, emitting a whirring sound. We can tell if our car is running well by listening to the sound it makes. When the sound is different than what we know it should be, that tells us something is wrong.
In the same way, we experience the overall vibrations of a person or situation, even though we may not know the minute details. We can tell if something is off. The sum total of vibrations includes all the levels within it. In the fifth chakra, as we refine our consciousness, we begin to perceive these subtle vibrational messages. The etheric field is a kind of blueprint for the vibrational patterns of our tissues, organs, emotions, activities, experiences, memories, and thoughts.
Even the most solid aspects of matter are constantly vibrating at high speeds. In fact, it is only by this constant movement that we perceive the emptiness of matter as a solid field. The movement of atomic particles, bound to a very small space, becomes more like vibration or oscillation, vibrating at the rate of about 1015 Hz.6 (Hz = cycles per second) Vibration, even at our most fundamental units, exists throughout all forms of matter, energy, and consciousness.
Vibration is a manifestation of rhythm. Dion Fortune, in The Cosmic Doctrine, describes vibration as “the impact of the rhythm of one plane upon the substance of another.”7 As we climb up the chakra column, each plane is said to vibrate at a higher, faster, and more efficient level than the chakra below it. Light is a faster vibration than sound (by about forty octaves), and thought is a subtler vibration than light. Our consciousness vibrates upon the substance of our bodies, energy affecting movement and movement affecting matter.
In the 1800s, a scientist by the name of Ernst Chladni did some experiments demonstrating how vibration affects matter. Chladni put sand on a fixed steel plate and then rubbed a rosined violin bow along the edge of the plate. He found that the vibration that was “played” onto the disk “danced” the sand into beautiful mandala-like patterns. As the frequency of the vibration varied so did the pattern. (See Figure 6.3.) A plate of sand over a stereo speaker will also produce similar patterns if the tones are from a simple frequency.
The bacterium Arachnoidiscus (x600).
A Chladni figure formed by vibrating a sand-covered disc to specific frequencies.
This is a clear-cut example of the way sound affects matter—an example of the rhythm of one plane impacting the substance of another. It is not, however, a haphazard pattern that is created by these tones, but a mandala-like design, arranged geometrically around a center point—just like a pattern of a chakra. One can’t help asking what effect sound has on the minute cellular and atomic structures or on the less visible etheric field.
Subsequent experiments have shown that sound waves, projected into various mediums, such as water, powders, pastes, or oil, produce patterns with remarkable similarity to forms found in nature, such as spiral galaxies, cellular division in an embryo, or the iris and pupil of the human eye. Study of this phenomenon is called Cymatics and was largely developed by a swiss scientist named Hans Jenny.8
The Hindus believe that vibration, working through various levels of density from Brahma, the creator, to Vaikhari, audible sound, is the basic emanation from which matter was created. In fact, in Hindu scripture it is said, “OM—this whole world is that syllable! . . . For this, Brahma is the whole.”9 While Hinduism may differ greatly from Christianity in many aspects, one cannot deny the similarity to the statement in I John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”10 Both describe how sound, as an emanation of the divine, creates the manifested world.
All vibrations are characterized by rhythm, a repeated, regular pattern of movement through time and space. These rhythmical patterns are deeply ingrained functions of our consciousness. The turning of the seasons, the diurnal rhythms of day and night, the cycles of the moon, women’s menstruation, the movement of breath, and the constant beating of our hearts are a few examples. No living thing escapes these rhythms. Rhythm, like change, is a fundamental aspect of all life and consciousness.
Operating from the fifth chakra, a person becomes aware of things on a vibrational level. We may respond to the tone of a voice more than the actual words spoken. The effect of the more “abstract” plane upon our consciousness is subtler than that of the grosser actions, yet is no less profound. Unfortunately, most of us are not consciously aware of our actions and reactions on this plane.
Even our perceptions, through any of the senses, are a function of perceiving rhythm. Hearing sound waves and seeing light waves are only two. The very mechanism through which nerve fibers feed information to our brain is through rhythmic pulsations of energy. From the first contractions of our mother’s womb at birth to our last dying gasps we are rhythmic, dancing creatures, dancing in what Ram Dass calls “the only dance there is.”
George Leonard, in his wonderful book, The Silent Pulse, defines rhythm as “the play of patterned frequencies against the matrix of time.’’11 He states that the primary role of rhythm is to integrate various parts of a system. We are like a symphony orchestra. The various aspects of the system are the strings, the horns, the woodwinds, and the percussion, yet only through the uniting power of rhythm can we make music. The rhythm is the heartbeat of the system!
What many of us lack in our lives is this resonant rhythm, the integrating aspect that connects us from the very core of our being to the heartbeat of the universe. Consequently, we are at odds with the world and with ourselves. We lack coordination, cohesiveness, and grace.
Furthermore, rhythms, like chakra patterns, tend to perpetuate themselves. The person who starts each day from a calm, centered state of mind will find his interactions more calm and centered. On the other hand, the person who drives to work every morning during rush hour and works a high-pressure, fast-paced job is involved with different kinds of vibrations each day. This rhythm affects one down to the cellular level of his or her being, and necessarily affects one’s thoughts, actions, and emotions. After working all day, then driving home in rush hour traffic, one can’t help manifesting this rhythm in his or her home life, eating patterns and interactions with others. Spouse and children are subject to the bombardment of these rhythms and may be stimulated or irritated by it, either consciously or unconsciously. They may (and probably will) react on the same vibrational level, adding further aggravation. If the heartbeat is a conductor of our internal rhythms, no wonder so many executives suffer from heart failure!
We all affect each other, as well as everything around us, by the vibrations we carry within our minds and bodies. We don’t pay much attention to them—for the level is subtle, difficult to pinpoint or describe—but they affect us profoundly, nonetheless. Few people use conscious effort to temper these vibrations. There are many relatively simple techniques and principles that make this possible for anyone. Their use can be a great help to the development of our own consciousness, as well as the enhancement of the evolutionary well-being of everyone around us.
RESONANCE
At the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, a complex of wave forms and resonances, which is absolutely individual and unique and yet which connects us to everything in the universe. The act of getting in touch with this pulse can transform our personal experience and in some way alter the world around us.12
—George Leonard
All sounds can be described as wave-forms, vibrating at a particular frequency. Rhythm entrainment, also known as sympathetic vibration, or simply resonance, is where two wave-forms of similar frequency “lock into phase” with each other, meaning that the waves oscillate together at exactly the same rate. The resulting wave is a combination of the two original waves: it has the same frequency but increased amplitude (See Figure 6.4). Amplitude is the distance a wave travels from crest to trough. In sound waves increased amplitude means increased energy and volume, as in amplified music. In other words, power and depth are increased when the wave-forms are in resonance.
We can understand this by paying a visit to a shop that sells grandfather clocks. Suppose we walk in and none of the clocks have been wound. The shopkeeper, assuring us that the clocks do indeed work, goes around and winds each clock, setting the pendulums in motion. At first, these one-second tick-tock swings of the pendulum are not coordinated with each other, but may be off by a half or quarter second. As time passes, we notice that there are fewer ticks and tocks. Soon all the pendulums are swinging back and forth in unison. Their rhythms have become entrained.
Constructive interference of sound waves.
Two oscillating vibrations, if they are near enough to each other in frequency, will eventually entrain. Musical choirs, for example, will hold their last note until the voices reach resonance. If you have a trained ear, you can perceive these pulsations as subtle beats. It’s what gives that clean, clear ring that echoes through the auditorium when the note is cut off. The sound waves have locked into phase with each other, creating a resonance that is pleasant to experience.
This principle of rhythm entrainment also occurs with just one wave triggering a vibration in a resting source. If, for example, we both have violins tuned to concert pitch, I can set the D string on your violin vibrating merely by playing my own D string nearby. This is how tuning forks are used in remote control television units. When we push the button, it strikes a tone that is remotely activated in the TV set several feet away.
While similar waves will lock into phase with each other, creating resonance, waves of differing frequency may instead create dissonance. A pure tone of a flute, for example, is a coherent sine wave, which will tune to other flutes. The noise of a bus is many complex sound waves that are dissonant.
People who live in the same household become rhythm entrained to each other’s subtle vibrations. It has been long known that women who live together long enough will tend to menstruate at the same time of the month. Couples married for a long time often come to look alike, and their speech exhibits similar rhythms. As a culture, we become rhythm entrained to our neighbors, friends and peers. We are influenced by our environment, not only in visual, psychological, and physiological factors (e.g. billboards, social pressure, air pollution) but on a deep, subconscious level of inner vibrations.
The Transcendental Meditation Society, more commonly known as TM, has a meditational philosophy based on this principle. They believe that the brain-wave rhythms created by mantra meditation can positively influence the world of non-meditators. The more meditators there are, the more likely this rhythm entrainment is to occur. They have even put this assumption to a test in Atlanta, Georgia, where every night at a certain hour, meditators agreed to meditate. It was shown that there was a remarkable reduction in crime during that hour.13
All speech has rhythm. This means that conversation is also subject to the principles of rhythm entrainment, with some fascinating implications, as demonstrated by the work of Dr. William S. Condon, of Boston University School of Medicine, described below.
In order to more accurately see the subtler aspects of communication, Dr. Condon filmed numerous conversations, and then analyzed the films at very slow speeds (1/48 second). By breaking simple words into fundamental units of sound (such as the word “sound” being s— ah—oo—nnn—d), each lasting a fraction of a second, he found that the body movements of both the listener and the speaker were in precise synchrony with the voice at all times that communication was occurring. These movements might be a raising of the eyebrows, a tilt of the head, or a flexing of a finger. With each new set of sounds, a new set of movements would occur. What’s most amazing about this is that the listener’s movements were entrained to the speaker, rather than occurring as a delayed response. Dr. Condon makes this comment:
Listeners were observed to move in precise shared synchrony with the speaker’s speech. This appears to be a form of entrainment since there is no discernible lag even at 1/48 second . . . It also appears to be a universal characteristic of human communication, and perhaps characterizes much of animal behavior in general. Communication is thus like a dance, with everyone engaged in intricate and shared movements across many dimensions, yet all strangely oblivious that they are doing so. Even total strangers will display this synchronization . . . . 14
He further describes how the content of the message only seems to come across once entrainment occurs. Before that point, there is often misunderstanding. During the sixties, George Leonard and Dr. Price Cobbs, a black psychiatrist, conducted weekend interracial encounter groups, where black and white participants had marked variations in their speech rhythms. Participants were encouraged to pour out their resentments, fears, and anger. The beginnings of the marathon would be discouraging and painful, but at a certain point in the weekend they would find the rhythms approaching fever pitch, with everyone talking and shouting and stamping their feet, reaching a fevered crescendo. They descibe:
Near the end of the section, some of the shouts and curses began turning to laughter. Then a strange thing happens: the entire group suddenly stops, then begins again, then stops, then begins and more quietly—all in perfect rhythm. After this the encounter resumes with a new tone of tenderness and ease. It’s as if the pendulums of understanding are swinging together, the heart cells beating as one.15
It was not until the group entered resonance that communication really began to occur. Perhaps communication is really a rhythmic dance rather than a stimulus-response phenomenon, as we usually think of it. For we see that the listener is not reacting to the speaker but is instead resonating with the speaker when communication is truly occurring.
Further studies by Dr. Condon examined the behavior of disturbed and autistic children in regard to this auditory rhythm entrainment. The children showed a time-lag response between the listener and the speaker, and acted as if they were responding to an echo of the original sounds. Their micromovements put them out of harmony with the world around them, hence the feeling of alienation and confusion that characterizes their condition. George Leonard, in his analysis of this data, concludes that “Our ability to have a world depends on our ability to entrain with it.”16
This is a very important concept for understanding the fifth chakra. If we are unable to entrain with the vibratory frequencies around us, we cannot experience our connection with the world. If we cannot entrain, we cannot communicate. Without communication we are isolated, separate, and cut off from the nourishing energy so vital to health. Just as the Hindus believe that sound creates all matter, communication—be it oral, chemical, mental, or electrical—creates and maintains life. Without it we die, both spiritually and physically.
Perhaps our concept of verbal interchange as comprising the most significant aspects of communication is merely another manifestation of the great Maya, which veils the nature of its underlying reality. Perhaps communication is nothing but rhythmic interchange. Yet, language is the tip of the iceberg of communication, and our prime indication of just what and where that iceberg is.
If simple vibration can move matter into coherent, harmonic patterns, resonant vibrations can only deepen that effect. When we truly resonate with something, it affects us deeply. We can play our own part in the evolution of our environment by being aware of this principle of sympathetic vibration. Our own vibrations may trigger a new thought or vibration in a resting source, awakening consciousness in another. We can choose to contribute “good” vibrations or “bad”: those in harmony with the vibrations around us, or those out of phase, in disharmony.
Chakras also exhibit vibrational patterns, spanning from the slower, grosser vibrations of solid matter in the first chakra to the highest and fastest vibrations of pure consciousness. An active chakra in one person can, through its vibrations, trigger the opening of an inactive chakra in another.
In San Francisco there is a place called “Exploratorium” which is filled with scientific exhibits that teach by involving the observer. There is one exhibit there, created by Tom Tompkin, called “Resonant Rings,” that illustrates sympathetic vibration. The exhibit is a beautiful example of how chakras vibrate in the body.17
Fastened to a rubber plate over a speaker chamber are several circular bands of metal, each describing a circle varying in size from approximately two inches to six inches. (See Figure 6.5.) The observer can then turn a knob that emits sound through the speaker and vibrates the plate at a particular frequency. Adjusting the knob adjusts the frequency.
At low frequencies only the large circles vibrate with a slow, undulating motion, emitting a low-pitched sound. At higher frequencies only the smaller circles vibrate with a smooth, high-pitched whir. Intermediate frequencies vibrate the middle circles. You can control which circles vibrate by adjusting the knob to different pitches.
Our bodies are the “plate” that vibrates the chakras. The general vibrational pattern of our life—our actions, thoughts, emotions, eating patterns, and environment—sets off the vibrations of our chakras. We can activate different chakras by changing the vibrational rhythm of our lives. That which is slow allows the first chakra to open. Higher frequencies stimulate the third chakra. Beyond that it must be remembered that we deal with subtler vibrations—moving the physical body faster won’t open up the higher chakras, but meditation may allow the brain to process “higher” vibrations. As we get out of the limitations of time and space, our vibrations are less hindered. On a vibration level, enlightenment could be thought of as the omnipresence of a wave-form with infinite frequency and infinite amplitude.
Rubber plate over speaker chamber
Resonant Rings.
MANTRAS
The essence of all beings is earth, the essence of earth is water, the essence of water is plants, the essence of plants is man, the essence of man is speech, the essence of speech is the Holy Knowledge (Veda) the essence of Veda is Sama-Veda (word, tone, sound), the essence of Sama-Veda is OM.
—Chandogya Upanishad
The Chladni disk and the principles of rhythm entrainment show us that sound waves can and do affect matter. It is not surprising that they would affect consciousness as well.
This is the basic idea behind sacred sounds used in meditation and chanting, called mantras. The word comes from “man,” meaning mind, and “tra,” which means protection or instrument. Thus, a mantra is a tool for protecting our minds from the traps of non-productive cycles of thought and action. Mantras serve as focusing devices for making the mind one-pointed and calm. The vibration of the mantra has been likened to the vibration of someone shaking your shoulders to wake you up from sleep.18 A mantra is designed to awaken the mind from its habitual sleep of ignorance.
Just as a particular vibration on the Chladni disk created a mandala out of a pile of sand, so can the chanting of a simple mantra, such as OM, change our random pile of thoughts and emotions into a cohesive and graceful pattern. It is not necessary to intellectualize the meaning or symbology of a mantra for the sound to have this effect upon us. The rhythm of the sound will work on a subconscious level and permeate our inner rhythms. In fact, it is part of the mantra’s magic that one not think about the meaning, for then we transcend the fragmented aspects of the conscious mind and perceive an underlying wholeness.
If, however, meaning is ascribed to a particular sound, as in the use of an affirmation that we repeat to ourselves every day, such as: “I am love” the rhythm of the repetition helps to infuse that meaning into our consciousness.
Spoken aloud for a few minutes in the morning, an effective mantra can reverberate silently in the mind all day long, carrying with it the imprints of its vibration, image, and meaning. With each reverberation, it is believed that the mantra is working its magic on the fabric of both mind and body, creating greater order and harmony. Actions may take on a new rhythm, dancing to the drumbeat of the mantra. If a fast mantra is chosen, it can be used to generate energy and overcome inertia. If a slow, peaceful mantra is used, it can help bring a state of relaxation and calm throughout the day.
Seed Sounds of the Chakras
Hindu metaphysics states that everything in the universe is made of sound. Within each thing there is a symbolic representation of the energy patterns that compose it, known as a seed sound, or bija mantra. These mantras are designed to set the chanting person into resonance with the object of the seed sound. Through knowledge of bija mantras, one gains control over the essence of that thing, and can therefore create, destroy, or otherwise alter it. Hazrat Inayat Khan has said, “He who knows the secret of the sounds knows the mystery of the whole universe.”19
Each chakra has its own associated seed sound which is said to contain the essence, and therefore the secrets, of that chakra. As each chakra has its own associated element, we find that the seed sounds are believed to give access to the qualities of that element. The seed sounds or bija mantras for each chakra are as follows:
|
Chakra One |
Earth, Muladhara |
LAM |
|
Chakra Two |
Water, Swadhisthana |
VAM |
|
Chakra Three |
Fire, Manipura |
RAM |
|
Chakra Four |
Air, Anahata |
YAM (or SAM) |
|
Chakra Five |
Ether, Visuddha |
HAM |
|
Chakra Six |
Ajna (light) |
OM |
|
Chakra Seven |
Sahasrara (thought) |
(no mantra) |
The M in each of these sounds is said to represent the maternal and material aspect of the universe. The A sound in turn represents the Father, the nonmaterial. L (lam, earth) is a heavy, closing sound, while H in HAM (ether) is a light, airy, ethereal sound, and R (ram, fire) is an energetic, fiery sound. In addition to the seed sounds, each chakra has a particular number of petals, each of which is named by a letter of the Sanskrit alphabet. Typically, consonants have come to reflect the hard, material aspects of the world, while vowels represent the spiritual or etheric aspects. Chakra five, then, is the carrier of the vowel sounds, as only vowels appear on its petals. Control of these letters is said to be in the hands of the Goddess Kali, whose name means “time.” Kali is the destructive aspect of the Hindu goddesses, who destroys the world by removing the letters from the petals of the chakras, hence removing sound or speech.20 Without the sound that is the essence of all things, nothing can exist.
We are not helpless victims of disharmonious vibrations, and we can send out vibrations of our own. The uttering of mantras is a way of taking control of our rhythms and guiding the development of our minds and bodies at the fundamental etheric level.
The following table lists a few commonly used mantras and their purposes. This list is minute in comparison to the possibilities that exist for effective mantras. The importance of a mantra lies in its rhythm and overall vibration. Mantras are experienced within—you can perceive which ones are effective for you as you try them out. It does, however, take some time for a mantra to become fully effective. Take one on for a week or a month to fully assess the real benefit.
OM or AUM: The great primordial sound, the original sound from which the universe was created, the sound of all sounds together.
(For Christians, the mantra AMEN is similar to AUM.)
OM AH HUM: Three syllables of great power used for the following purposes: to purify an atmosphere prior to embarking upon a ritual or meditation; or to transmute material offerings to their spiritual counterparts.
OM MANI PADME HUM: “The jewel of the lotus resides within.” Mani Padme represents the jewel in the lotus, the essential wisdom lying at the heart of Buddhist doctrine, the divine essence, while Hum represents the limitless reality embodied within the limits of the individual being. Hum unites the individual with the universal.
GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAM GATE BODHI SWAHA: Tibetan Smaller Heart Sutra.
I AM THAT I AM: An English version also designed to unite the individual with the universal.
OM NAMA SHIVAYA: “In the name of Shiva.” One of the many mantras uttering god names. Any god or goddess name may be used to create a mantra.
ISIS, ASTARTE, DIANA, HECATE, DEMETER, KALI— INANNA: A popular Pagan chant of Goddess names, from Charlie Murphy’s record “The Burning Times.” Subsequent verses can be added to this, for the God: NEPTUNE, OSIRIS, MERLIN, MANANON, HELIOS, SHIVA—HORNED ONE. (The dash indicates a slight pause.)
THE EARTH, THE WATER, THE FIRE, AND THE AIR—RETURN, RETURN, RETURN, RETURN: Along the same lines as the Goddess mantra above, this is also a ritual chant for acknowledging the elements.
There are thousands of chants and mantras from different cultures and religions around the world. Some have similarities of tone and rhythm while others do not. The deepest value of a mantra has to do with how much we invest in it—how much we use the sound in our meditations, in our work, in our thoughts throughout the day. If many people use a common mantra, then the sound collects resonance on the subtle planes and becomes more potent. Each time we use a mantra we become more entrained with it.
While there are mantras that have been used for centuries to create particular effects, there is nothing wrong with making up your own mantras. Affirmations, put into the form of a mantra, have a more powerful effect, for in any language, words are a form of the object’s internal structure. Thus, the affirmation, “I will be strong” carries within it the particular aspects of strength we are seeking. However, the affirmation, “I am strong!” creates even more strength by only a slight change of words. Mantras must be chosen carefully to create the effects we want. Mantras have long been a secret esoteric tradition in most mystical schools. Their power is subtle and is usually not even detected by the insensitive or uninitiated. Their power is felt through experience only. Their use employs only the simple “idiot-proof “ technique of repetition, and their benefits can be felt by any sincere seeker. They are a basic, fundamental key allowing human beings to unlock some of the mysteries of our own inner harmony.
Vowel Sounds and the Chakras
The seed sounds for each chakra listed previously only differ in their consonants, so the sustained sound of the vowel of each seed sound is the same (except chakra six). What I have found to be far more effective for resonating the chakras is working with various vowel sounds. While research has shown differences from one system to another, the following list represents the most common correlation of different systems. You can best validate this by chanting the sounds yourself, and experiencing which chakras seem to vibrate with which sounds. Feel free to experiment. Your own chakras may resonate to slightly different tones.
These sounds are equally effective, if not more so, when used as a silent mantra or as a meditation device. Pick the chakra or chakras you want to work on most and use the vowel sounds to help awaken them.
|
Muladhara: |
O as in Om |
|
Svadhisthana: |
U as in Cool |
|
Manipura: |
A as in Father |
|
Anahata: |
E as in Play |
|
isuddha: |
I as in Seed |
|
Ajna: |
mm |
|
Sahasrara: |
nng as in sing, or just silence |
TELEPATHY
The key to the mastery is always silence, at all levels, because in the silence we discern the vibrations and to discern them is to be able to capture them.
—Sri Aurobindo21
Telepathy is the art of communicating across time and space without using any of the “normal” five senses. There are relatively few people adept at this form of communication, yet it is something we all respond to on a subliminal level. With a well-developed fifth chakra this type of communication becomes accessible.
As we learn to refine our chakras, calm our minds, and quiet our thoughts, the fabric of our consciousness becomes smoother and smoother. Our vibrations become steadier and our perceptions more direct. In this state it is far easier to become aware of the subtler ripples of vibrations in our energy field. The quieter levels of telepathic communication become apparent when the grosser vibrations of our lives are no longer creating interference.
Let us make an analogy of telepathic communication by amplifying our phenomenon. If you’re at a noisy party where everyone is talking at once, music is playing loudly, and people are dancing, you’ll have to raise your voice considerably to have any kind of conversation. If, for some strange reason, your partner is only whispering, you won’t hear her at all. In order to hear her whispering, you’d have to be in a silent room, where there were few or no interference patterns to your communication.
Telepathy could be defined as the art of hearing the whispers of another’s mind. In order to do this, we must be quiet within our own minds. Most of us, by nature, have a party going on inside our own heads. We’re always conversing with ourselves or running tapes through our heads. When added to the usual din around us, this dulls the receptivity of the fifth chakra. We’re accustomed to using technological devices to send our messages beyond the limits of our voices. We’re not accustomed to listening for the subtle stirs in the ether that can bring us communication across time and space.
And why should we be? Isn’t gross, physical communication more accurate, more specific, and less subject to loss or error? If you send a telepathic message, how can you be sure it’s received? Or received accurately?
Consciousness is not really a verbal process. In order to communicate, we must translate our consciousness into a symbolic structure. In order to receive the communication, we must translate symbols back into consciousness. While this may seem instantaneous, we are down-grading consciousness from its purer form. As any linguist knows, the essence of a communication is often distorted in translation.
Seen in this light, telepathic communication can be more precise and immediate than verbal communication, which can often contain lies and omissions.
While few people are really adept at this form of communication, there are even fewer people who have never experienced it at all. Two people saying the same thing at the same time, finding a busy signal because your friend is simultaneously calling you, or getting the psychic hit that a family member is in danger are a few examples of the common ways telepathy can occur.
If we accept the ether as a connective field of gross and subtle vibrations, then communication occurs through a perceptible alteration in that field. Telepathic communication is merely a subtler alteration, perceptible only when the grosser vibrations are quieted. Telepathy may result when two or more minds are rhythm-entrained such that a variation in the pattern of one rhythm results in a similar variation in the other. Entrained rhythms increase the amplitude of the wave. A wave of higher amplitude has more potency, more chance of being heard.
Whatever the explanation, examples of telepathic communication indicate a kind of mental connectivity floating through the ether that permits an exchange of information on a non-physical plane. As thoughts become more and more dense, they begin to manifest—they are recognized by one mind, then two, and become denser and denser until they are real. The old adage that “thoughts are things” becomes believable.
Whether we are initiators or receivers, there is little doubt that there exists some medium through which we can tap into a realm where the vibrations of minds converge. Through the refinement of our chakras and attention to the vibrational world that surrounds and creates us, we can gain access to this unifying level of consciousness. As we approach the upper chakras, we approach a universality of mind transcending the physical limitations of time and space that keep us separate. We need not create it. We need only to quiet our minds and listen. It is already there, and we are already playing a part in it. We can choose to make that part conscious.
CREATIVITY
Communication is a creative process. The more adept we are at this art, the more creative the process becomes. A young child, when first learning to speak, merely mimics his parents’ words. Soon, however, the child understands that certain words bring particular results and he begins to experiment. As his vocabulary grows, the child has more and more elements with which he can become creative. He begins to use words, sounds, and gestures to create his reality— as he will for the rest of his life.
While many people have associated creativity with the second chakra, (since that’s where we create babies) I believe creativity is ultimately a form of expression, related to chakra five. Creating life in the womb is not a conscious process. We do not decide to make fingers or toes, blue eyes or brown. While the emotional states of the second chakra may fuel creative impulses, it takes will (chakra three)22 and abstract consciousness (upper chakras in general) to create.
The arts have always existed on the turning edge of culture. Be they visual, auditory, kinesthetic, dramatic, or even literary, the arts, precisely by their nonregimented, nonconformist character are able to reach into the vast uncharted realm of the future and illustrate ideas and concepts in a way that affects consciousness on an immediate and whole brain level.
In the words of Marshall McLuhan, master analyst of media:
I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange one’s psyche in order to anticipate the next blow from our own extended faculties . . . . The artist is always engaged in writing a detailed history of the future because he is the only person aware of the nature of the present.23
Art forms are generally more abstract than any other forms of communication. Leaving room for the imagination, they invite participation of the most innovative components of our consciousness. Saying less, perhaps we can hear more. As we approach the more abstract planes of consciousness, it is only fitting that we turn to our more abstract means of communication in order to embrace these planes.
The process of creation is a process of inner discovery. In creating a work of art, we open ourselves to the very mysteries of the universe. We become channels for spiritual information, learning a language more universal than human tongues.
The process of creativity is a delicate one. Regimented lives do not lend themselves to it, and are instead threatened by it. Creativity releases our inner power much as language “releases the unknown from limbo, making it so the whole brain can know it.”24
Presently there is a new birth of therapies utilizing the creative process. Using visual art, psychodrama, movement, dance, and the calming effect of music, one can access the deeper and generally healthier regions of the mind and body while releasing the inner frustrations that fragment our wholeness.
Survival and health in the twenty-first century will require innovation and flexibility. Creativity is the key to unlocking these qualities. We must honor it in ourselves and in each other. We must honor the means which make it possible and protect ourselves from those phenomena which threaten to shut down this basic life force. Our very future depends upon it.
MEDIA
Television, radio, newspapers, and other public forms of communication can be seen as the cultural expression of the fifth chakra, acting as a connecting nervous system for us all. If communication is the passage of knowledge and understanding, the mass content of our collective consciousness is, for better or worse, heavily influenced by the media and those who control it. Whether we are forced to hear about a politician’s private sex life, made to look at countless murders on television, or hear honest data about the environment, the media directs the public attention to archetypal themes that they deem to be of concern to public consciousness. Media directs our attention, and where the attention goes, the rest of the energy generally follows. If media feels violence is more appropriate for our children to watch than lovemaking, they are setting cultural values for us all.
Media is also the most potent means we have of cultural transformation. Media can be a potent feedback system, allowing us to see ourselves as we are—in our beauty and our ignorance. It was the pictures on the news of the Vietnam war that allowed people to get it touch with its atrocities, while it was still going on, and create the anti-war protests. Media lets us know the state of the planet’s ecology, the condition of people in other places, and helps wire up the global brain.
Media can also show us ways of being different. A movie can make a hypothetical reality seem so real that our imagination is filled with new possibilites. Media can express creativity, communicating from the depths of the collective unconscious. Media can show us the fronts of cultural transformation by bringing the hidden innovators to light and letting their voices be heard.
It is important to demand integrity of those who control the media. If it is the cultural nervous system most influential to the ways we live our collective reality, then it is imperative that we keep our media from being polluted with mindless garbage, sensational gossip, propaganda, and lies. Otherwise we risk being collectively manipulated by those who, in actuality, have more power than most of our elected representatives. If the fifth chakra name Vissudha means purification, then our collective fifth chakras must be purified with the resonance of truth that can enlighten us all.
CHAKRA FIVE EXERCISES
Playing Charades
Spend an hour with someone in total silence, yet engaged in active communication. Pick challenging things to communicate about. Notice what methods you use to communicate, such as gestures, hand symbols, physical manipulation, eye movements. Notice how much easier it gets toward the end of the hour. Notice what points are especially difficult. This exercise can actually help build communication between two or more parties.
Vow of Silence
Listening is an essential and too-often-overlooked component of communication. Yogis often take vows of silence for extended periods of time to purify their vibrations of audible sound and better tune into subtle sounds. By avoiding verbal communication, one can open up other avenues of communication, namely communication with higher consciousness. Begin with a few hours, then try a whole day or longer.
Voice Recording
Make a recording of your voice during ordinary conversation. See how much you talk and how much you listen, whether you interrupt, or falter in your speech. Notice your tone of voice. If you didn’t know this person, what would you intuit about them from the voice?
Neck Rolls
The neck is the narrowest part of the torso. Much of the time it acts as a filter between the abundant flow of energy between the mind and the body. This causes it to be extremely subject to tension and stiffness. Loosening the neck is an essential beginning for any work on the fifth chakra.
Lift your head up away from your shoulders, and then slowly roll your head in a circular motion, stretching your neck. Stop at any point that feels tense or uncomfortable, and massage with your fingers. Pause in the tight places until it relaxes some, Then move on. Go both clockwise and counterclockwise. (See Figure 6.6.)
Neck Rolls.
Head Lift
This stimulates the thyroid gland and helps strengthen the neck.
Lie flat on your back and relax. Slowly lift your head, leaving your shoulders on the floor, so that you are looking at your toes. (See Figure 6.7.) Hold this position until you feel the energy move into your neck.
Head Lift.
Shoulder Stand
To make this pose easier on the neck, it is helpful to first fold a blanket or towel (about 2-3 inches thick) so that when you lie flat, your head touches the floor, but your upper thoracic vertebrae lie on the blanket.
Lie flat on your back, arms at your sides, and relax. Bend your knees and lift your legs toward the chest, rounding the back.
As your hips rise, allow your arms to bend at the elbows, so that the heel of your hand can support your waist.
Slowly straighten the legs above you, using your arms for support. Hold for as long as is comfortable. (See Figure 6.8.)
Shoulder Stand.
The Plough
If the shoulder stand was successful, you might want to try the plough.
Return to the shoulder stand.
Lower your legs behind your head, touching your feet to the ground, keeping your knees as straight as possible. (See Figure 6.9.)
For less flexible bodies, you can have a chair behind your head and lay your thighs on it.
Plough.
Fish Pose
This often follows the shoulder stand or plough as it gives the neck and back a complementary stretch. This also helps open the chest cavity and stimulates the thyroid.
Lie flat on your back. With hands on hips, prop your upper body up on your elbows, lifting your chest toward the ceiling and arching your neck backward until your head touches the floor. (See Figure 6.10.)
Fish Pose.
ENDNOTES
1. Swami Sivananda Radha, Kundalini Yoga for the West, 231.
2. Stutley, Margaret and James, Harper’s Dictionary of Hinduism, 96.
3. Richard Gerber, Vibrational Medicine, 302.
4. Arthur Avalon, from his discussion on the bhutas, or elements, The Serpent Power, 71. Further on he quotes the Hatha-yoga-pradipika, “Whatever is heard in the the form of sound is Sakti . . . So long as there is the notion of Ether, so long is sound heard.” Ch. IV, vv 101, 102, quoted in The Serpent Power, 99.
5. Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics, (NY: Bantam Books, 1975), 229.
6. Itzhak Bentov, Stalking the Wild Pendulum, 68.
7. Dion Fortune, The Cosmic Doctrine, 57.
8. For a visual feast of this phenomenon, see the video Cymatics: The Healing Nature of Sound, put out by MACROmedia, P.O. Box 279, Epping, NH, 03042.
9. Patrick Olivelle, The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation, From the Mandukya Upanishad, (NY: Oxford University Press, 1998), 475.
10. I John, King James Bible.
11. George Leonard, The Silent Pulse, 10.
12. Ibid., xii.
13. Arthur Aron, in a paper available through Center for Scientific Research, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa.
14. William S. Condon, “Multiple Response to Sound in Dysfunctional Children.” Journal of Autism and Schizophrenia 5:1 (1975), 43.
15. George Leonard, The Silent Pulse, 23.
16. Ibid, 18.
17. Tom Tompkin, Exploratorium, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA, 1986.
18. Arthur Avalon, The Serpent Power, 97.
19. Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Sufi Message, Vol. 2, (London: Barrie and Rockcliff, 2nd ed. 1972.)
20. Arthur Avalon, The Serpent Power, 100.
21. As quoted by Satprem in Sri Aurobindo, or the Adventure of Consciousness, 71.
22. Some people, such as Edgar Cayce and Carolyn Myss, place will in the fifth chakra. I believe that will occurs much sooner, or we don’t even get to the fifth chakra. Furthermore, it leaves communication entirely out of the chakra system. We may express our will in this chakra, but inner power and will are initially a silent process.
23. Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, 70–71.
24. Marilyn Ferguson, The Aquarian Conspiracy, 80.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTAL READING FOR CHAKRA FIVE
Gardner, Kay. Sounding the Inner Landscape: Music as Medicine. Stonington, ME: Caduceus Publications, 1990.
Gardner-Gordon, Joy. The Healing Voice. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1993.
Gerber, Richard, M.D. Vibrational Medicine. Santa Fe, NM: Bear & Co., 1988.
Hamel, Peter Michael. Through Music to the Self. Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 1979.
Leonard, George. The Silent Pulse. NY: E.P. Dutton, 1978.
CHAKRA SIX
Light
Color
Seeing
Intuition
Visualization
Imagination
Clairvoyance
Vision