"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God," we are told in the New Testament. The Hindu holy books, the Vedas, state: "In the beginning was Brahman with whom was the Word and the Word was Brahman." From Genesis in the Old Testament, we are told sound is the first creative act of God, preceding the manifestation of Light; it is the act of speaking that creates the energy of Light. "And the Lord said 'Let there be Light!' and there was Light!"

The Hopi legend tells the story of the spider Woman who sang the song of creation over all the inanimate forms on the planet and brought them to life. From the Mayan holy book, Popol vuh, the first men and women were created solely through the power of sound. In ancient Egypt, the god Thoth would think of an object, speak its name, and bring it into being. In the Hebrew mystical path of Kabbalah, an object and its true name are identical. In the East, gods and goddesses blow conch shells or hit giant gongs, bringing the universe into creation. Stories, legends, and myths about sound as the basic creative force are found in all the countries and cultures of this planet.

Sound is the web that connects all existence. Sound is the source of all being; vibration is the basis of all our reality. If you examine the basic tenets of the various religions and mystical paths on this planet, they all have awareness that sound is the principal creative force in the universe. This knowledge and understanding seems to be prevalent in most of the ancient spiritual teachings and centers throughout the world including Rome, Athens, Egypt, Tibet, and many other Mystery schools. To the Tibetan Buddhist, for example, the world is not only created through sound, it is constantly being recreated every moment of every day through the combination of thoughts and sounds. With this understanding comes awareness of the power of sound to heal and transform.

As far back as biblical times, music was understood to be an instrument of healing. According to the Book of First Samuel, when King Saul was beset by "an evil spirit from the Lord," his servants counseled him to find a harpist whose playing might mend his troubled soul. A young shepherd named David, reputed to be a skilled musician, was quickly summoned; David "took a harp and played with his hand so Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." (1 Sam. 16:23) David's performance may be the first recorded instance of music as therapy. But Joseph Moreno, a music therapist and longtime student of shamanic and other ancient healing cultures, has pointed out that modern music therapy -- in its very broadest definition and application -- is an outgrowth of the 30,000-year-old shamanic tradition of sound as healer.

Many of us know of Pythagoras as the father of geometry. However, how many are aware that in the 6th century B.C. in Greece, he had a school that taught, not only the magic of numbers, but the healing powers of music? The first level of students learned the secrets of acoustical proportions. Pythagoras believed that the "Music of the Spheres," the sounds of the heavenly bodies as they moved through space, could be realized and was reflected in the sounds of vibrating strings. The second level students learned further secrets of mathematics and numbers while they went through a stage of purification to receive this information. The third level of initiates was given direct knowledge of the transmuting and healing energies of sound and music.

Trust in the transformative power of sounds was also widespread in ancient China, where musical science was a part of the nobles' education. In Zen master Su ma T'sien's historic memoirs, which date back to the first century BC, we discover that certain notes have a beneficial manner on human conduct. He says, "Sounds and music agitate and animate the arteries and the veins. This generates life-giving breath and brings to the heart harmony and rectitude." His manuscript makes it clear that healing physical disorders through sound vibration was common in ancient China.

Throughout history, we have had great philosophers and scientists who have acknowledged the power of sound to heal and transform. Music was not an art form, but a way of using energy and power to be respected and studied as a sacred science. The principles of vibration, which are at the core of these ancient beliefs, are still as relevant and true today as they were thousands of years ago. Unfortunately, today, much of this ancient knowledge has been forgotten. Gratefully, we are on the cutting edge of a reemergence of the understanding about sound as a vehicle for self-transformation and healing.

Sound travels as a waveform, which, just like a wave in the ocean, goes up and down. These waves of sound are measured in cycles per second, called Hertz and abbreviates as Hz. This measurement is called the frequency of a sound. Slow-moving waves make bass sounds. Fast-moving waves make treble sounds. The lowest note on a piano makes a deep bass sound and has a frequency of 27.5 Hz. The highest note on a piano makes a treble sound and has a frequency of 4,186 Hz. We hear from around 16 Hz to around 16,000 Hz. Younger people whose hearing has not deteriorated due to auditory damage or age can hear up to 18,000 Hz or higher.

Just because we can't hear a sound doesn't mean it is not there. Dolphins can project and receive frequencies upwards of 180,000 cycles per second. That's more than ten times beyond our limit of hearing sound. So we can contemplate the idea that stems from the phrase "In the Beginning" -- that everything and anything is sound. From the electrons moving around the nucleus of an atom to planets in distant galaxies moving around stars, everything is in motion. And if something is in motion, it is (conceptually, at least) putting out a vibration that may be perceived as sound, whether audible or not. Interestingly, Dr. Hulda Clark, who I will talk about at more length later, discovered that the frequency at which microbes, bacteria, parasites, etc., vibrate, doesn't differ by more than a few Hz, whether dead or alive!

Everything that vibrates has its own resonant frequency -- that is, the frequency or vibration that is most natural and harmonious to it. We've all seen examples of resonance. When singers are able to shatter glass by making a sound, they've matched the resonance of the glass. An experiment that is frequently used to demonstrate resonance in science classes is to hit a tuning fork and watch as the sound wave travels to another tuning fork of the same frequency, setting it in motion. Everything in the universe vibrates and everything also has its own resonant frequency. This includes the chair you're sitting in, the pieces of paper I'm reading from, and, of course, your own body. Every organ, bone, tissue, and every part of your body is in a state of vibration and has its own resonance. Every part of your body is putting out a sound that is contributing to creating an overall harmonic of health.

Jonathan Goldman, a sound healer, author and recording artist from Boulder puts it this way. Our body is like a wonderful orchestra with each section playing the proper notes for what could be called the "Suite of the Self." This is analagous to a condition of health. In fact, when we are in a state of good health, we call this "sound" health.

However, what happens when the second-violin player loses his sheet music? He begins to play out of key, out of tune, out of rhythm and harmony with the rest of the orchestra. This is analagous to the condition of disease. Goldman continues the analogy. Modern medicine would likely treat the problem in the orchestra, not by getting the second violin player back in tune by providing him with the music, but, would more likely cut off his head.

The basic principle of sound healing can be applied in numerous ways to situation in our lives, whether the situation is that a portion of our body is vibrating out of harmony and manifesting disease, or a portion of our psyche is out of tune with ourselves or others and is manifesting dysfunctional relationships. Just as we can use sound to restore the sheet music to that violin player, we can use sound to heal all aspects of being.

Through the use of sound healing techniques it is possible to examine many aspects of our existence, and come to new understanding about the way we live. We can enhance our daily lives. The simple laws of physics such as resonance that dictate how sound waves operate can also mirror aspects of our lives. Ancient mystics who created the Hermetic philosophy encoded these principles of sound and vibration with statements like, "As above, so below.," realizing that the vibrations of a simple string mirrored many universal principles.

Entrainment
Another vitally important aspect of sound is called entrainment. Christian Huygens, a Dutch scientist, discovered this in the 17th century. He had a room full of grandfather clocks with pendulums. These pendulum clocks were different sizes and shapes. One day, he set them all in motion at different times and then left the room. When he returned the next day, he found that all the clocks were locked in step -- entrained -- with the movements of the largest of these pendulum clocks. Just as the pendulums of the clocks changed their rhythms to match the largest clock, so we are constantly being affected and changing our rhythms through encountering vibrations. Our bodies have many rhythms. Our heart rate, pulse rate, and breathing rate are all examples of this. In fact our brains have pulsations and rhythms that are measured in cycles per second, just like sound frequencies.

These principles of using resonance and entrainment are the fundamental concepts behind the use of sound to heal and transform. They are found in every practice that uses sound, regardless of the tradition, belief system or culture. Many times those utilizing sound for spiritual or magical purposes may not be aware of them, but examination of these practices, from the Hindu use of mantras to shamanic use of chanting and drumming, reveals a commonality in these principles of resonance and entrainment as the basis of sonic transformation and healing.

Healing can take many forms. Author Ted Andrews, in his book "Sacred Sounds," says that simply humming tunes from our childhood can have a healing effect.How many of us have picked a certain recording to listen to because it either matches our current mood, or we know it will change the mood to one we prefer? But what about the music we listen to today?

Some would argue that our musical scale, of equally spaced notes, is out of harmonic alignment with the earth and universe.

Many believe that historically, back to at least the time of Pythagoras, A was tuned to 432 Hz, which was in tune with nature. One might think that the difference between 440, today's pitch standard, and 432 would be minimal, but it is actually almost a half step, or the distance from one note to the next note lower on the piano. Standard pitch fluctuated greatly within the last 500 years. Churches were guilty of tuning instruments high, with the thought that the higher tuning brought worshippers closer to God. Opera houses also pushed pitches higher, much to the chagrin of sopranos and tenors! The most recent push to 440 happened in the late 1930s by, among others, jazz musicians in the US. The Schiller Institute in Washington, DC, has been amassing signatures for a petition to have the pitch lowered to 432. But the music machine is huge; instruments are manufactured to tune to 440. Ancient instruments, including Stradivarius violins, were meant to tune to 432. I can't help but wonder how music that is not tuned correctly has affected society over the years. Cheryl and I are experimenting with this tuning when possible. And we continue to search for CDs recorded at A 432, but it is challenging.

According to Len Horowitz's book Healing Codes, the Bible gives us the optimum frequencies for Healing in Music. They are the original hexatonic tones, or six-tone scale, used in the late middle ages, as in the Hymn to St. John the Baptist,and later used by Haydn in his 96th Symphony called the Miracle. It is alleged that they are the original (lost) tones used in early biblical times. The frequencies are derived from calculations of verse placement and repetitions in Numbers 7:12-83. The frequencies are: 396,417,528,639,741,852 (G3,G#3,C4,E4,F#4, and Ab4 ???) The optimum scale is hexatonic, not the 5-not pentatonic scale or our current 7-tone scale and that is why late-middle-age musical instruments were hexachords. According to this, the 5-scale and 7-scale octaves resonate disharmonically to our organisms.

Other researchers have created music around "The Lost Chord," which they've apparently re-discovered. Professor Arnold Keyserling, Academy of Art, University of Vienna, Austria, discovered a new scale in 1971. Over the next 25 years his American student, Ralph Losey, J.D. perfected the use of these chakra resonating tones to create PrimaSounds music.

Many eastern philosophies believe that if our chakras are in balance, our physical body will follow suit.

What are chakras?
As the universe is composed of spinning wheels of energy, we too, at the inner core, spin seven wheel-like energy centers called chakras. They are measurable patterns of electromagnetic activity, centers for the reception, assimilation and transmission of life energies. Each chakra reflects essential aspects of consciousness, forming the master programs that govern our lives, loves, learning and illumination. Anodea Judith, in her book Wheels of Life, delivers a comprehensive treatise that is scientific, cultural, psychological, and esoteric. She writes:

"Chakras can be open, closed or any of the various stages in between. These states may be basic aspects of someoneąs personality throughout most of their life, or something that changes from moment to moment, in response to a situation. An ailing chakra may be unable to change its state easily, being "stuck" in either an open or a closed state. Then the chakra needs healing, by uncovering and removing whatever is blocking it." p. 23

"Šthe seven major chakras are all inseparably interrelated. A block in the functioning of one chakra may affect the activity of the one above or below it. For example, one may have trouble with personal power (third chakra) because of a block in communication (fifth chakra) or vice versa. Or perhaps the real problem may lie in their heart (fourth chakra) and only manifests in these other areas because it is buried so deeply. In examining the theoretical System as a wholeŠand applying it to your system (lower case) as it uniquely occurs within you, one learns to sort out these subtleties and patterns and make self-improvements according to their goals." p.25

Two of the ways to balance the chakras are toning and chanting.

Many sound healers suggest that we all carry our optimum tool for sound healing wherever we go, and that is our own voice. "Toning" was the name given to the use of the voice as an instrument for healing by Laurel Elizabeth Keyes in her book, Toning, which has now become something of a classic in the field of sound healing. She said of toning in the early 1960s that it is "an ancient method of healing...the idea is simply to restore people to their harmonic patterns."

An additional definition that Goldman uses is the use of the voice to express sounds for the purpose of release or relief, or to resonate the physical body and the etheric fields. It is non-verbal sound, relying primarily on vowels, though it may incorporate the use of consonants to create syllables as long as they are not utilized to create coherent meaning. Sighing, moaning and humming may also be recognized as forms of toning.

Toning is not chanting as we normally perceive it, although toning may sound like chanting. Chanting uses words as either liturgical texts or incantations for a specific purpose with meaning. Mantras which use predetermined sounds are also a form off chanting, such as 'Om Na Ma Shiva Ya' or "Om Mani Padme Hum,', though the single elongation of a seed syllable such as 'Om" or "Ra" can be considered a form of toning. However, as soon as words are utilized to create meaning and are repeated in recitation they become chant.

There are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of schools of thought when it comes to toning the chakras. Jonathan Goldman prefers a method using vowel sounds created with our own voice in different parts of our own range. For example, he uses "UH" in the lowest part of one's range for the base chakra. The vowels continue higher until you get to "EE" in the highest part of your range. Others believe that a certain prescribed pitch is necessary to tone a specific chakra.

There are a number of reasons why toning may be the most effective use of sound as a healing instrument. Frist, we can learn to use our voice to resonate different areas of our body and bring them into balance. This is based upon the principle of resonance. Every organ, bone and tissue in the body has a healthy frequency at which it normally vibrates. When disease sets in, the vibrations in that portion of the body become different. By creating sounds which are harmonious with the resonant frequency of the healthy organ, it is possible to change the vibrational rate of the diseased portion of the body back to its natural frequency.

Some schools of thought, including ancient shamanism, believe that rhythm, expressed through drums, rattles, bells, gongs, etc., can energize and stimulate our basic primal energies. Rhythms, especially through percussion instruments, activate the spleen and base chakra centers of the body. These centers are linked to the functions of the circulatory system, the adrenals, and our basic life force. Like its mate the drum, the rattle is one of the oldest healing instruments and part of the percussion family. Unfortunately, its healing aspect are often ignored except by those who are interested in shamanism or traditional native healing processes. It has a versatility of healing through rhythms that other instruments do not. Also, because of its size, it is easily carried and transported. The rattle is a rhythmic instrument that can shake loose any energy debris that has settled within our natural filters and mediators. It shakes loose the negative energy patterns, so they can be more easily cleansed from our entire energy field, physical and subtle. Cheryl and I have been experimenting with rattles on a daily basis and do sense a shift, even if subtle, after our rattlings.

Other instruments used in sound healing include singing bowls, made of both metal and crystal, specially tuned tuning forks, and harps!

A recent program called "Beyond Chance", featured a woman with MS (Multiple Sclerosis).  Though her body was failing quickly, she decided to learn how to play the harp.  In a very short period of time, she  regained the total use of her limbs.  A doctor was interviewed and asked how he thought this was possible.  His theory was that the harp was stimulating her Thymus Gland. He believed it was increasing the body's natural healing ability.  The Thymus Gland is also involved in our body's immune system.

A number of scientists, including Dr. Peter Guy Manners, who are working with specific frequencies that are applied through instrumentation to the body for just this purpose. Manners has created a company and product line called Cymatherapy, named for Dr. Hans Jenny, who made the invisible visible through what he called Cymatics experiments. Cymatics, the study of wave phenomena, is a science pioneered by Swiss medical doctor and natural scientist, Hans Jenny (1904-1972). For 14 years he conducted experiments animating inert powders, pastes, and liquids into life-like, flowing forms, which mirrored patterns found throughout nature, art and architecture. What's more, all of these patterns were created using simple sine wave vibrations (pure tones) within the audible range. So what you see is a physical representation of vibration, or how sound manifests into form through the medium of various materials.

Others are experimenting with creating music that utilizes specific resonant frequencies for specific healing purposes. For example, Cheryl found a person on the Internet that has created "sinus music." I have found frequencies for all the muscles in the body, and am anxious to explore how muscles can be relaxed through sound.

Now granted, it's much more of a romantic notion to think that we could listen to a CD and be healed of our physical ailments, but if we take a step back to the building blocks of music, we get basic frequencies.

And then there's the man named Royal Rife.

Royal Rife, born in 1888, was one of the greatest scientific geniuses of the 20th century. He began researching a cure for cancer in 1920, and by 1932 he had isolated the cancer virus. He learned how to destroy it in laboratory cultures and went on to cure cancer in animals. In 1934, he opened a clinic which successfully cured 16 of 16 cases within three months time. Working with some of the most respected researchers in America along with leading doctors from southern California, he electronically destroyed the cancer virus in patients, allowing their own immune systems to restore health. A special research committee of the University of Southern California oversaw the laboratory research and the experimental treatments until the end of the 1930s. Follow-up clinics conducted in 1935 through 1937 by the head of the USC Medical Committee verified the results of the 1934 clinic. Independent physicians utilizing the equipment successfully treated as many as 40 people per day during these years. In addition to curing cancer and other deadly diseases, degenerative conditions such as cataracts were reversed. Rife had been able to determine the precise electrical frequency which destroyed individual micro-organisms responsible for cancer, herpes, tuberculosis, and other illnesses. his work was described in Science magazine, medical journals, and later the Smithsonian Institution's annual report.

Unfortunately, Rife's scientific theories and method of treatment conflicted with orthodox views. His work was stopped and both the research and the treatments were forced underground. Doctors secretly continued curing cancer patients for 22 years after the original success of the 1934 clinic, but always with opposition from medical and governmental authorities. However, from 1950 to the mid-1980s, a number of research scientists, working independently, have slowly been verifying the scientific principles upon which Rife's clinical cures of the 1930s were based. A body of recognized scientific evidence now overwhelmingly supports the original cancer theories articulated and demonstrated by Rife 50 years ago. This includes modern AIDS researchers.

John Crane, born in 1915, came to work for Royal Rife in 1950. Crane was a draftsman and designer, and became very interested in Rife's work. He reasoned that the radio transmitter type Plasma Lamp Ray Machine would be difficult to get licensed as a health device, and thought that a machine using contact electrodes, or pads, instead of the plasma lamp, would be possible.  After performing tests and finding some results, Crane began making frequency generator "Pad Machines" and called them Rife Machines.  Later, Crane would resell standard audio function generators, but with their dial marked for particular conditions or diseases, and one report says that he added an amplifier to the output stage so that it would have sufficient drive. 

Enter the Internet and inexpensive personal computers. For under $200, one can buy software that generates frequencies, an amplifier to pump up the intensity that is output by the computer, and various cables and hand-holds. Carolyn Smith, a woman from our congregation who recently moved to Arizona, first showed me the system she had assembled. Within the last six weeks I have put together such a system and used it with amazing results. For years I have taken four pills every night to keep me asleep. The first night I used frequencies touted for their relaxing effects, including 7.83 hz, the earth's resonant frequency. And with no pills I slept solidly through the night. And for the first time in many years, I remembered a dream when I woke up! Next, I tackled a fungus-caused skin rash that the dermatologist had diagnosed, but just couldn't bring myself to take the pills she had prescribed. So I found frequencies on the Internet, and the rash was gone within two or three treatments. Then there was the spot on my face. Though I didn't have a diagnosis for it, I reasoned that it could possibly be carcinoma, since my Mom has had many spots removed from her face. With probably three treatments over a week's time, the spot was gone! Cheryl and I watched as it got lighter and disappeared, without side effects, without drugs, for just the cost of electricity.

Dr. Hulda Clark, PhD scientist and Naturopath, did similar research on disease frequencies, and found commonality among all cancer patients...they all had a particular parasite in their system. In fact, she says that there are only two health problems -- parasites and pollution. She uses the word pollution broadly, from chemicals that we ingest to the metal in our mouths. She has discovered that 30,000 hz, delivered in a special way, is a frequency that kills not only parasites, but bacteria and other microorganisms. Her zapper, as she calls the device which delivers the 30,000 hz, is available over the internet for under $100. Or, her books "The Cure for all Diseases," The Cure for all Cancers", "The Cure for Advanced Cancer," The Prevention of All Cancers" and The Cure for HIV and AIDS" show how to make the zapper from parts available at Radio Shack. She also gives herbal cleanse recipes and instructions on removing toxic elements from our environments. The thing that struck me most after reading just a bit of one of Dr. Clarks' books was that control of our health can truly be back in our own hands.

In the interest of science, your church staff will continue to explore these healing methods, and, if interest warrants, we may create some workshops around them. Please let me know if you are interested in such a workshop, or have questions or are curious about any of the resources I've been exploring. Feel free to call or email me. And a HUGE thank you to Cheryl, for her interest and research assistance!