Vocal harmonics

Creating vocal harmonics is the process of creating two or more notes at the same time-- an ancient technique used by various spiritual and shamanic traditions including Tibetan Buddhism and Mongolian shamanism.

Through sound it is possible to change the rhythms of our brainwaves, as well as our heartbeats and respiration. Jonathan Goldman states that "vocal harmonics can resonate the physical body and etheric fields; they can also vibrate different portions of the brain, which is quite extraordinary.
Esoterically, vocal harmonics may be used to attune with different spirits and deities."

Overtoning

Overtoning is another, more advanced, aspect of this in which we can learn to project these harmonics into another person with whom we are working. Just as one can project healing energy through touch, as in Reiki, the same can be done with the voice. This is a powerful aspect of overtoning-- learning to project sacred sounds for healing another.

Entrainment

Entrainment is defined by Jonathan Goldman as "the ability of the more powerful rhythmic vibrations of one object to change the less powerful rhythmic vibrations of another object and cause the second object to synchronize its rhythms with the first object."

Brain waves

The brain produces shifting frequencies of its own during normal operation. During sleep, we experience very slow waves called delta that fluctuate between 0.5 Hz and 3 Hz (cycles per second). Waking brain function creates waves from 14 to 20 Hz and are called beta waves. Alpha waves are created during periods of meditation and trance, and cycle between 8 and 13 Hz. Theta waves, at cycles of 4 to 7 Hz are created during gateways between sleep and rational activity.

Mantra and Chanting

Mantras are single words, syllables or phrases that are repeated or sung in a continuous, rhythmic way. This focuses the mind, eliminates other thoughts, and assists in integrating heightened awareness and consciousness.

The Chakra System

Chakras are a complex web of wheels of energy within the body that are outlined extensively in Eastern medicine. They have been associated with the endocrine system of the body, particularly in Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist practices, for thousands of years.

Although some systems of nomenclature correlate specific sounds with each of the energy centers, in truth each individual possesses a unique range of harmonics-- as unique as one's fingerprint-- that constantly shift and change from moment to moment, like an intricate and complex symphony.

Toning

Toning is a practice which refers to the intentional elongation of a vowel sound using the voice. In other contexts, it is a term used used to refer to stimulating health, invigorating the body, or as in a 'tonic'-- a medicine to balance the body. Toning is usually done with one tone, which differentiates it from chanting which involves multiple notes in sequence. This is a process of allowing one's own voice to find and produce notes needed by one's own body. Don Campbell states that when we do this for long periods "...we can stimulate the limbic area [of the brain] to reduce stress and give us a sense of well-being. Toning creates a deep sense of being bonded within ourselves. We can reach a state of contentment in a safe and fully aware state of mind." Stephen Halpern suggests singing in the shower: "The hard, reflective acoustical surfaces in the bathroom enhance the voice… Just toning certain vowels by hitting a low note and creating a gradual glissando to a high pitch will trigger some interesting responses in the body."

Toning in a group-- this creates a synergestic effect. When two or more people create separate harmonics, a third harmonic occurs. Barbara Marciniak in Bringers of the Dawn states, "When you tone with others, you have access to the group mind that you did not have prior to making the sound. It is a gigantic leap in consicousness. The key word is harmony. When the entire planet can create a harmonic of thought, the entire planet will change…a return to the power of the group mind and the simultaneous empowerment of the individual."

Tuning Forks

Dr. John Beaulieu, teacher and musician, writes that "When we listen to intervals produced by the tuning forks we stimulate our vestibular nerves, [which is] the basis of our sense of space, proportion, and balance. [This process] harmonically organizes the motion of the individual cranial bones with the sacrum and the sound of the central nervous system." For this reason, he states, the nervous system entrains to and re-aligns with the intervals created by tuning forks, and other instruments as well.

The Perfect Fifth

Dr. Beaulieu notes that the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu referred to the "Perfect Fifth" (the interval created by the tones C and G) as the sound of Universal harmony, balancing yin and yang. In India, this interval is believed to create a sound by which Shiva calls Shakti to the dance of life, initiating the creation of all form.

In the human body, the interval of the fifth is seen in the proportion of the ratio of the distance between the extended tow to the top of the sacrum relative to the distance from the top of the sacrum to the top of the head. These musical ratios exist throughout the body.

The Sri Yantra

This is an ancient symbol from the Hindu tradition called the yantra of creation. A yantra is a visual representation of resonant sound frequencies, used as a tool for developing a state of attunement between individual consciousness and universal consciousness.

It has only recently been found that the sacred Hindu syllable "OM," when correctly intoned into a modern device called a tonoscope (a machine that transforms sounds into their visual representations on a computer screen), produces a circle which is then filled with concentric squares and triangles, finally producing, when the last traces of the "m" have disappeared, an image of the Sri Yantra.