Nexus - 0401 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

that almost any ‘neutral’ word repeated silently to oneself gener- could not put pressure on her leg. During the course of the train- ates some of the benefits documented with meditative mantras. It ing, I instructed almost 50 people in how to use sound for physi- may actually be the repetitive nature of mantras that is partially cal healing, and this woman received healing sounds from the responsible for slowing down EEG in the first place. Repetitive group. Excited, she called me the next morning to report that she sensory patterns affect the reticular activating system (RAS)—a was without pain for the first time in months, that she could put network of nerve fibres in the brain that searches for novel stim- weight upon her leg and that she was now walking without her uli. When a sensory pattern is repeated long enough, the RAS cast! slows down neocortical activity and, when a new sensory pattern It has been documented by some trained observers that mantras is introduced, the RAS stimulates the neocortex into heightened or chants can affect external events, especially weather. Tibetan activity. yogis have been noted to produce hailstorms and fair or inclement However, meditative mantras may have more subtle effects on weather just by using specific mantras. In America, some indige- human physiology than those created by the repetition of sound. nous tribes have been observed to affect rain through communal New technologies for monitoring the actual energy fields of the dancing and chanting, even into this century. body hold promise in this area. I personally suspect that the The ethnobiologist and researcher Terence McKenna has vibratory nature of certain languages, such as Sanskrit (the lan- reported how sound can seemingly alter DNA activity during guage of ancient India), will be documented to have numerous trance states produced by plant hallucinogens. I personally have subtle effects—as distinct from Benson's 'neutral' words. no doubt that this is possible, though I don't think that hallucino- For the last decade or so I have focused on the use of sound to genic substances are a requirement. What is required is that con- produce altered states of consciousness. sciousness be more fluid in the individual. It is in these states, characterised by Our day-to-day patterns of perception and heightened alpha and theta activity, that action tend to be rigid and, with that, we have access to the more creative individual consciousness becomes limit- aspects of awareness. With the normal It has been documented by ed. Methods for freeing up our attention day-to-day censors suspended, non- some trained observers that or perception exist that do not rely upon ordinary experiences can occur. Such hallucinogens, and this has become a experiences often have physically-heal- mantras or chants can affect research interest for me. ing, emotionally-transformative and A It is a natural next step to study the even spiritual effects. external events, especially effects of shamanic sound in the laborato- In much of my previous work I weather. ry, and this is what I am presently under- focused on the use of electronically- generated tonal patterns (as with tone taking. It is an observable fact, based on hard data and clinical observation, that generators) to affect both brain process- shamanic sound can profoundly alter ing and awareness. Laboratory studies brainwave activity and awareness. What clearly showed that this method of working measurably affected is most compelling for me is the possible scientific documentation the brain state. In other words, we could create a window of brain of shamanic sound and its effects on actual physical- and micro- activity by directing specific pulsating sounds to the auditory sys- processes (such as genetic and neurotransmitter alterations). tem of the brain. If, for instance, I pulsed a 7-Hz signal to a sub- Here, the essential question is, "Can the purported changes in ject, his or her brain activity would tend to move towards mid- physical and neurological structure, as a result of shamanic sound, theta. be measured—or are these changes more in the order of a mythol- Subsequent research has shown that ‘entrainment’ moves a sub- ogy?" I think this question will become answerable from a scien- ject's brainwave activity towards the same hertz (Hz, the number _ tific measurement perspective over the next 10 years. of cycles per second) as the entrainment frequency, but there is Even as I continue to conduct and co-ordinate research into the not necessarily an exact match. effects of shamanic sound, I often use it clinically or in group It was in the course of this technical work that I stumbled upon training sessions for I have found it unsurpassed as a doorway to a study that showed that shamanic drumming produced strong altered states and other dimensions of consciousn I often wit- theta activity in the brain. This intrigued me, and I began to ness profound emotional and physical healings occurring when explore indigenous methods and instruments for altering con- people enter these non-ordinary dimensions of awareness. sciousness. Touching the depth of one's nature through sound seems to have a Ihave found the use of shamanic sound to be a most interesting universally transformative effect. As a researcher I continue to be and complex system whereby consciousness itself can be directly intrigued by the neurological effects of sound, and as a practition- affected. While shamanic drumming is an effective tool to alter © er 1 am continually awed by the power of sound to touch, to brainwave patterns, I have found that this is greatly enhanced by inspire and to heal. oo using the human voice. Noted researcher Barbara Hero (MIT) has stated that the two purest forms of sound come from a pure tone = About the Author: generator and the human voice. Tom Kenyon, M.A., set up Acoustic Brain Research in 1983 What I have found most intriguing is the ability of modulated in order to document scientifically the effects of sound and sound, as in overtone chanting, to affect a subject's physiological music on the human nervous system. He is also the author of processes while he or she is in an altered state of consciousness Brain States (US Publishing), a critically acclaimed practical (trance). guide to the brain and its unused potentials. Thad a dramatic experience in this regard while teaching a class Tom Kenyon can be contacted at: in Atlanta, Georgia, a few years ago. There was a woman who Acoustic Brain Research had been suffering from a compound fracture of the femur for 640 Oceanview Drive several months. She reported that she was in constant pain and Friday Harbor, WA 98250, USA. It has been documented by some trained observers that external events, especially weather. About the Author: Tom Kenyon, M.A., set up Acoustic Brain Research in 1983 in order to document scientifically the effects of sound and music on the human nervous system. He is also the author of Brain States (US Publishing), a critically acclaimed practical guide to the brain and its unused potentials. Tom Kenyon can be contacted at: Acoustic Brain Research 640 Oceanview Drive Friday Harbor, WA 98250, USA. 48 - NEXUS DECEMBER 1996 - JANUARY 1997