Meditation on sounds is considered one of the most powerful and effective techniques. “anahat” (nada yoga). "An"- Not, "ahat"- impact, which means “sounds, the birth of which is not due to impact,” or simply to the contact of one with another.
The technique of meditation on the sounds of anahata was carefully hidden in ancient times. It exists in many well-known teachings, but, as a rule, only advanced practitioners are initiated into it. Sometimes only after enlightenment, to effectively clear residual impurities in the channels, in order to achieve a rainbow
body (saruba samadhi) - the highest level of evolution. They say that only a few enlightened people reach this level. And when this happens, the physical body burns or is cleared so much that a golden radiance emanates from it, accessible even to the gaze of the average person.
There are mentions of nada yoga in various sources, but it is hardly highlighted anywhere. For example, Swami Sivananda briefly described it along with a dozen other techniques, almost without explaining what exactly it is. As a result, most readers skip this technique.
There is an opinion among yogis that Maharishi Patanjali wrote about this technique. "Trusting in Ishvara Pro-nidhana" sounds several times in the sutras. The syllable “OM” is a symbol of the manifestation of the Absolute in sound form.
Sources of Indian religious tradition (such as the Vedanta Sutra or Brahma Sutra) say! that when the unmanifest God (Nirguna-Brahman) becomes manifest (Saguna-Brahman), then it takes a certain form, which is indicated by the symbol “OM”. Original form Saguna-Brahmana is sound, which is why it is also called Shabda-Brahman or Nada-Brahman ("Shabda" translated as a word, and "Necessary" like sound).
Yama in the Katha Upanishad said: “The goal of which all the Vedas speak so sublimely, which all renunciations proclaim and for which the life of a brahmacharin is led," I I'll name it briefly- this is "OM"! This Word belongs to Brahman. This Word is truly the highest. This is the highest support. This is the best support. He who knows about this support is worshiped in the world of Brahman<...>»
The Gospel says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us , full of grace and truth; and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father.”(John 1:14).
"OM" symbolizes the primordial vibration, which can be perceived through the practice of nada yoga. Inner sound meditation is more advanced and complex than the mantra technique.
Maybe you have noticed in complete silence, for example, before going to bed, a thin squeak, rustling or ringing in your ears, a feeling of noisy silence. At an advanced stage in nada yoga, the practitioner hears a ringing sound exactly the same as that produced when playing Tibetan singing bowls. In general, such sounds are heard not only by nada yogis, but also by any people in general whose upper centers are slightly open.
Sounds come from subtle planes and gradually, becoming more refined, lead to the higher “I”, Atman. At the advanced stages of nada yoga, it becomes possible to hear the music of the Gandharvas, which is spoken of as “the eternal music of nature.”
There is also a light passage (joti yoga), but light meditation techniques are more complex and are considered less effective.
Sound is the first manifestation of the absolute. "And the Word was God"(John 1:1). This word is a sound reminiscent of the syllable “OM”, which is quite naturally given such a meaning. The mantra "OM" was not invented, it can be heard. It, as already mentioned, is considered, in a way, the first form that the formless absolute “took.”
There are a lot of sounds, and you need to meditate on increasingly subtle, sonorous and melodic sounds. Starting thin, almost imperceptible, the new sound gradually grows, becomes louder, more powerful, becoming all-encompassing.
Ear perception is the most subtle among the five indriyas of perception, subtler than sight, and leads
to the subtlest levels of energy, right up to the unmanifested, highest causal plan.
There are coarser and more subtle sounds. By meditating on subtle astral sounds, attention will gradually catch the sound of new higher planes of existence, filling the consciousness with their energy, eliminating all blockages.
The secret of nada yoga is that complete attunement with sound during samadhi leads to a direct transfer of consciousness to that sublime plane from which the sound itself comes. That is, the transition occurs instantly, and not, as in most practices, with the gradual passage of all associated levels of consciousness.
At the very beginning, doubts may arise: “What if this is pressure, or this is what the blood flowing in the head sounds like?” The sounds change and you can quickly become convinced that they are not directly related to the material plane.
Everything sounds, but you need to learn to listen to the main, central energy channel - sushumnu. The entry of energy into sushumna over time opens the chakras, granting mystical experiences, clarity and enlightenment. If you cannot immediately listen to the sound coming from the center of your head, you can listen to sounds in your right ear until the central channel gradually opens. It is not recommended to listen to sounds in the left ear.
If you listen to the center channel, it fills with energy. Gradually, kundalini begins to rise - the energy of past karmas from the muladhara chakra in the coccyx area. Sound is energy, that is, where there is sound, there is energy. The sound gradually breaks through all the blocks in the nadis (channels), which is accompanied by the release of stress, cleansing, therefore periodic meditation
it will be more difficult, the general condition may temporarily worsen, as all the old wounds emerge.
In general, nada yoga is a monastic practice of transferring consciousness to sublime worlds and clearing subtle blockages; it is not safe to practice it on your own. If you have a sober mind and are inclined!* to this technique, you can try it, otherwise it is suitable the technique is mantras, prayer and self-contemplation, which is safe for the laity, already described briefly in the chapter on concentration and meditation.
This sound meditation is primarily intended for practitioners for whom meditation is given with great difficulty, for whom increased internal dialogue, endless self-arising uncontrollable desires during meditation, various distracting external and internal factors... make meditation impossible.
Of course, this meditation is not a panacea for this, but only one of the options for help, which is very likely to be very effective for many practitioners.
The essence of the practice is the ability of the brain to respond to specially constructed sounds with slight deviations of the right and left signals in amplitude, frequency and phase, which create an appropriate adjustment of the brain to the waves it produces. In this regard, it is obvious and imperative to listen to these sounds using two channels (stereo). To do this, you can simply put on headphones or be between the speakers, i.e. create conditions for listening to stereo sound in a way convenient for you (the easiest way is to listen with headphones).
- Download the first hyperactive sound meditation "Thunderstorm"(4.42 Mb - 4.4 min.)
- First of all, it must be said that this sound meditation works directly with your subconscious. It includes special sounds, superimposed on one another, which carry information directly to the subconscious. One sound is the phrase: “I easily perceive this information. I assimilate this self-hypnosis well,” which are recorded over time (they can be heard like the sound of whales under water or the purring of a cat). The second sound is the phrase: “My DNA is fully activated. My brain begins to work at one hundred percent. All hidden abilities are actively revealed in me. All my protective functions are enhanced many times over. My health comes to its highest maximum. The vibrations of my body increase sharply. Vibrations atoms of the body are approaching the vibration of light. My consciousness is constantly expanding and enlightening. I am completely open to the Higher Knowledge and Higher Powers. My mind is becoming stronger, I can understand and contain all the secrets of the Universe. I easily remember past lives. I am constantly aware of myself and find in the present moment. I see the past, present and future of any person, any event and any object. All programs aimed at self-destruction are destroyed in me. I think only positively, and think only about good things. I accumulate in myself a colossal amount of Energy, which increases every minute.Everything that I am at all levels instantly passes through all stages of evolution to the highest level. I become perfect, like my Creator. I will never grow old, get sick or die. I will live as long as I want", which are recorded accelerated in time (they will be barely audible, like the sound of raindrops). All voices are artificial - that is, generated by me using a computer program and practically no different from the human voice (this is done deliberately to exclude any personal influence through the voice).As a carrier of binaural beats in this sound meditation, I chose white noise, which will be perceived as the sound of rain ().
- Download the second hyperactive sound meditation "Awareness"(2.16 Mb - 4.1 min.)
- As the carrier of binaural beats in this sound meditation, I chose a calm neutral hum of 100 Hz, which can be perceived as a vibration of Energy (the tuning of brain waves using binaural beats is done at 3 Hz). In this meditation, only one word is repeated in different ways - “Be aware.” You will hear it like birdsong, like rumbles of thunder or the “conversation” of a mountain echo, an extended rumble or the voice of a giant, up to an understandable voice, but as if dancing somewhere in the back of your head. Just like in the upper sound meditation, the voice that says “Be aware” is generated by the program, i.e. it is artificial in order to completely exclude any personal influence. This sound meditation is very suitable for those who practice Lucid Dreaming and Astral Travel, when you need to be aware of yourself in everyday life in order to easily realize yourself in another state of consciousness, which is commonly called a dream. And also for the practice of “Constant self-awareness”.
- This meditation used brown noise (the carrier of binaural effects 3 Hz), also according to the principle already familiar from the sound meditations that I gave you earlier - sound phrases: “Open space”, “Infinity around” and “I am perfection”, they are also were created programmatically (i.e., it is a computer voice identical to a human one) with a strong slowdown, which makes them easily accessible to the subconscious. The music itself adjusts to the feeling of your consciousness being in the open space of space (since the sounds are truly cosmic, not artificial, real), enhancing this effect with the help of these phrases. It is recommended to listen to this sound meditation in a heavily darkened room, for example late in the evening with the lights off and the windows curtained (to protect from outside street lights) and with your eyes closed.
Questions and answers
- During the time I was writing my first sound meditation, which can be freely downloaded just above, I received all sorts of questions, so below I decided to publish them in some systematic order to help those practitioners who have only recently begun to study according to my methods and practices.
Q: Is it really possible that in sound meditations, the sound of rain or the quack of a duck (it seemed to me that it was a duck) is actually an encrypted voice that introduces an attitude into the subconscious? I just don't understand something about this...
A: Yes, that's true. With the help of programs now you can do a lot. In fact, there is nothing fantastic about this - you can simply stretch out these sound meditations in time (as if to slow down the movement of sound) - and then what you hear as the quack of a duck or the sound of rain will turn into a voice. But I explained this in a simplified way, because... I won’t tell you the full method for changing your voice, this is my own method.
Q: I would like to ask you a question, as the Author of the sound meditations posted on your wonderful website. Tell me, please, how long do you need to listen to them for the result to begin to manifest itself on the material level?
A: Conventionally, this period can be defined as 10 days. But again, we are talking about conveying the information you need to the subconscious, and its implementation is very individual for each person. For example, in one of my meditations there is the following phrase “My brain begins to work one hundred percent”, listening to this sound meditation - this desire of yours is recorded in the subconscious and it will work from the inside to manifest itself in reality, but there are conventions on the way to this Each person may have a different number. Therefore, accordingly, the implementation time will be different for everyone.
Q: I often listen to your sound meditations and often fall asleep listening to them. They calm me down a lot. Like. I wanted to ask if I’ve been listening to them for a long time, maybe I should set an alarm clock?
A: You can fall asleep while listening to these meditations. They really harmonize the brain waves and bring them into a state of meditation and deep relaxation, which is good.
Q: Can I listen to your sounds? meditation during regular meditation? Doesn't one interfere with the other? It would be more convenient for me, because now I have problems with time. Thank you!
A: It is possible. They are relaxing and quickly soothing, good for those who have little time to practice.
B: Great stuff! I finally began to enter into what is called meditation. My thoughts fade away, I almost don’t feel my body. Class! I was wondering, is it possible to “charge” all your sound meditations into the player at once, so that they all play at once, one after another? Or is it better to work with one day and then the next?
A: It’s better to work with just one first. Those. put one on auto repeat. It’s just the way the brain and our subconscious work - it’s better to let one thing “spun” and then it will become more invisible. Different compositions will seem to get out of this rut. But you can try, in fact, this is to some extent subtleties.
Q: If I ever want to delete the entered information from my subconscious, will it be possible to do so?
A: Perhaps you will succeed, but it will not be easy. Therefore, now watch what you enter into the subconscious. That is, write down information that is guaranteed to be necessary and useful, avoid dubious language, especially those related to business, money, etc.
Q: Will you do more such meditations? I like them very much!
A: Perhaps I will create a series of sound meditations, stay tuned for news on the site.
Q: Is it really that simple: I turned on the sound meditation and the meditation began? But what about the years of persistent practice, asceticism, asceticism?
A: No, sound meditations are not meditation as such. This is just help along the way.
Q: How do I know if my brain waves have dropped to 3 hertz or not? For some reason I don't think this has any effect on me...
A: You need to lie down quietly or sit down, relax, put on high-quality headphones and wait a little, without resisting and not think about anything particularly active (it’s better not to think about anything at all) - then your brain waves will inevitably begin to calm down and tend to 3 hertz. It doesn’t have to be exactly 3 Hz, it’s just that sound meditations create such an effect - but the fact that the brain waves will gradually begin to move in this direction is for sure, this is how the brain works, it cannot behave differently, unless, of course, it strongly resists.
Q: Could you do this sound meditation for weight loss? Thanks a lot.
A: If I do it for weight loss, then I will have to do it for a thousand other problems. Try to live in this mode - if you find your main problem, then you will solve all your problems stemming from it. Therefore, I help you solve your main problem - and you thereby get rid of those that exist thanks to its presence, and there can be a great many of them. Try it this way.
Q: I really like the after-effect after the sound. meditations. How to keep it longer?
A: Be calm and not develop mental dialogues within yourself. Also react less to various external manifestations. Those. walk calmly, speak calmly, think calmly.
After his first trip to India, Colonel Bradford seemed to all who knew him to be simply “the embodiment of perfection.” After many months, during which he strictly adhered to the recommendations received in Tibet, the colonel amazed everyone with even greater energy, liveliness and youth. The secret lies in the use of sound and voice, especially the male voice.
To those who know how to listen, the pitch, timbre and vibration pattern of a man's voice will tell a lot about his sexual energy; using these same indicators, one can determine the quantity and quality of a person’s vital energy - what Colonel Bradford calls “prana”, and the Chinese call “qi”. A large amount of prana makes a man’s voice booming, sonorous and deep, explains the colonel. The high-pitched, raspy voice of an elderly man is a sure sign of his physical decline.
To understand how voice, vital energy and decline in health relate to each other, you need to refer to the diagram of energy centers called chakras (). There is an inextricable connection between the fifth chakra - the throat center, where the larynx and vocal cords are located - and the first chakra, the human sexual center. Bradford argues that these centers responsible for speech and reproductive functions are interdependent. If something acts on one center, then it automatically becomes hooked; lenny and another, which creates a strong connection between a man’s sexuality and the characteristics of his voice. If a man has a high and squeaky voice, you can be almost sure that the energy of his first chakra is low; As a rule, in such people the energy of other centers is also low.
How can we help this? The Colonel says that you need to consciously try to pronounce all sounds as low, richly and fully as possible: “And soon the low vibration of your voice will accelerate the vortex in the throat center.” And this, in turn, will affect the speed of rotation of the vortex of the sexual center, “opening the way to the energy of life.” As a result, qi, or prana, will rise to the throat center, passing through all other centers, and breathe life into it. This will preserve potency for young people, and return it to older people.
Women's voices can also become high-pitched and raspy over time. The Colonel recommends the same treatment for women as for men. It is true that women should not lower their voice to the same extent as men. Women naturally have a higher voice - let it remain that way. "A woman whose voice has become thicker over the years may benefit from restoring its high pitch," says Bradford.
The Tibetan monks whom Bradford met during his travels used chanting to lower the tone of their voices. “They sing in unison, in a low register, sometimes for hours. The value of this singing is not in itself or the words of the songs. The vibration of the voices and the influence it has on all seven vortices is important,” notes the colonel. And in our time, Tibetan monks have become famous among Western Buddhists and musicologists for their amazing ability to reach incomprehensibly low notes with their voices. Their voices sound so deep that they seem to come from the very depths of the Earth.
The effect on the body of one of those sounds that monks sing is especially effective. “If intoned correctly,” says Bradford, “it is very effective in stimulating the pineal gland, which influences the seventh, highest vortex.” However, Bradford warns, unless a person is tuned to a higher level, the pineal gland should not be pushed too hard.
This sound is the sound "OM" ("O-o-o-o-u-u-mm-mm"). And, since he is very effective, the colonel asks “not to overdo a good thing.” It is enough to repeat it three or four times. What is important here is not the process of singing itself and not its semantic content, but the sound vibration of the voice, its energy.
In this chapter we will look at the very concept of vocal energy. From the previous chapters, we have already seen in the state of affairs outlined by Bradford that the Tibetan and Western traditions have accumulated a huge body of evidence, which finds its confirmation in Bradford's theses, adding its richness to them. We will see that the voice - whether male or female - is a serious instrument, regardless of the gender of its owner. We will discuss the very nature of sound, vibration and singing and how it relates to the chakras of the Eastern tradition. We will also look at the healing properties of the voice, manifested through special techniques of tonic and sound harmony. Let's talk about the unexpected connection between the throat center and the sexual chakra.
First of all, let's start with an exercise that will help you connect sounds and energy centers. We'll add colors later. After some time, we will get acquainted with the theoretical basis of the exercises.
How to voice energy centers
Buddhists and Hindu teachers have always known about the connection of sounds with energy centers. Recently, some Western researchers studying the healing properties of sound and music have presented them in an adapted form for practical use. One of them, musicologist and music therapist Jonathan Goldman, published the book Healing Sounds: The Power of Overtones. Goldman has an unshakable belief in the healing power of the human voice. In his seminars, he teaches how to use what he calls vocal overtones, pronouncing vowels and directing them into energy centers. This, he explains, will help you use your voice to achieve resonance in any part of the body. On top of that, Goldman says, when! you pronounce the vowels, the sound of your voice changes, which begins to create changes in your consciousness. Colonel Bradford would certainly agree with him.
The exercise below is based on using the voice and pronunciation of some vowels; it helps stimulate energy centers. It can be performed daily after five ritual actions to tonify the chakras. This exercise is extremely relaxing and energizing; it takes no more than 15 minutes:
- the room should be quiet and bright enough; Sit comfortably on a chair with a straight back, place your feet on the floor at a distance of a few centimeters from one another. It is better to take off your glasses (if you wear them), shoes and socks. Place your hands on your knees and, if desired, close your eyes;
- take 7 free breaths through your nose until you feel completely relaxed;
- repeat the exercise for each energy center.
Sound at the root center
- Make the first sound. As low as possible, while exhaling, say “uh” as you usually say, or even quieter;
- then concentrate on the root center located in the perineum. As you exhale, say “u” as if sitting at your root center. You will feel a resonance in your throat, but imagine that your root center area, located near the base of the spine, is vibrating;
- Repeat this sound as you exhale for one minute, then relax.
Sound in the sacral center
Now bring your attention higher up your spine to the sacral center, your second chakra. It is located at the level of the pubis or approximately 8 cm below the navel; exhaling air, just as rhythmically and slightly higher than “uh,” say “oooh.” As in the previous exercise, try to feel the sound vibrating in the second energy center in the pubic area.
Sound at the center of the solar plexus
- Feel the third energy center, which occupies the area from the beginning of the sternum to the navel;
- focus on it and as you exhale, say the sound “oh” - even higher than “o-o-o”. You will get to about half the range possible for you.
- Repeat for a minute, then relax.
Sound at the Heart Center
- Focus on your heart center, your fourth chakra, located between your inner rib cage and shoulder blades;
- a little higher than "oh", say "ah". Feel the sound resonate in the chest cavity.
- Repeat for one minute; relax.
Sound in the throat center
- The throat center, the fifth chakra of the body, is located in the center of the throat. In essence, the entire neck can be considered the throat center.
- Concentrating your attention on this area, say “ai”, the tone of which should be even higher than the “ah” just pronounced.
- Feel how, under the influence of vocal vibration, as if from a breeze, the petals of the chakra sway.
- After a minute of repetitions, relax.
Sound in the frontal chakra
- The name of the next energy center comes from its location on the forehead between the eyebrows (also known as the “third eye”). Concentrate on it and exhale, say “hey.”
- Do the exercise for a minute, imagining the frontal chakra vibrating inside, then relax.
Sound in the parietal center
And finally, it was the turn of the parietal center, located at the very top of the head. Make the “ee” sound. Experts say that this chakra is like a lotus flower with a thousand petals. Imagine how the sound you pronounce vibrates inside this flower, causing all the thousand petals to tremble.
After a minute of repetitions, relax.
This is what a cycle of exercises on voicing energy centers looks like. You may feel slightly dizzy. This is completely normal and will pass soon. Breathe evenly through your nose. If desired, you can repeat the entire cycle, but in the reverse order - from the parietal center to the root. Or open your eyes, look around, rub your hands together and stand up.
Goldman emphasizes that your healing mindset, which is conscious and positive, is critical to achieving results. “Frequent repetition combined with attitude ultimately heals the body,” Goldman is one of the first to present this short but convincing postulate to his students.
To ensure you get the maximum benefit from exercise, try to be mindful of the vibrational effect - both physically and mentally.
Tonic: A quick way to energize your body with your voice
Tonic is an even simpler, although no less effective, way of directing energy into the chakras using the voice. This is one way to use voice. When Laurel Elizabeth Case, a teacher from Denver, Colorado, discovered the “innate voice of the body” during a spontaneous, cleansing tonic process in the 1960s, after a workshop with Laurel Elizabeth Case, tonics began to be used for therapeutic purposes.
Case was alone in the room where a recent seminar was held when she felt something in her throat and chest - “as if some force was rising up, wanting to be released through sound.” This force had a will of its own; erupting with a myriad of sounds, it soared upward like a bird that had spent its entire life in a cage, and soared, “unrestrained, without the slightest effort, just as artesian water penetrates through the aquifers of the soil,” Case testifies. It was not so much her voice as the voice of her body, breaking through the cordons of reason and feelings for the first time. “As the sounds poured out of my throat,” Case says, “I felt my body incredibly alert and full of life. They cleansed it, relieving tension and dispersing the blood.” The psychic told Case that these sounds, reminiscent of rotational movements in the area of the uterus, were magnetic currents of the earth, a spiral of light through the feet and the whole body rising up to come out with the voice.
Tonics heal the body from the inside out, says Case, who devoted her entire life until her death in 1983 to teaching people how to heal themselves through tonics. To have good health, you need to take a “shower of sounds” every day, allowing your voice to “flow freely.”
Self-healing through tonic
The tonic can be practiced daily after completing the Five Rituals. This exercise can be done after the previous one (“Stimulation of energy centers”) or instead of it, alternating them every other day. It is best to practice alone: you need to feel completely safe as you will make unusual and involuntary sounds. Follow these guidelines:
- stand straight with your feet a few centimeters apart. Close your eyes, but don't focus;
- feel the air filling and then leaving your lungs;
- realize that your body wants to make some sounds, that it wants to speak with their help. Trust yourself that this is not stupid or shameful. Consider this an experiment;
- your body may want to moan. Try to make a moan that starts from your feet and goes up through your whole body. Let the voice tremble or strengthen, become higher or lower - let everything happen as it turns out - there are no clear rules in the tonic;
- the voice can be anything: loud or quiet, rough or soft, euphonious or unpleasant. These free sounds will energetically clear your chakras and have a healing effect on the sound level. Most likely, after a few minutes of tonic you will feel a light whiff.
- stand straight, spread your feet slightly and close your eyes;
- start with low notes and gradually raise your voice to as high as possible
- gradually return to the lowest notes available to you. Imagine that the sound cleanses the energy centers and the whole body. Having reached the lowest note, it comes out through the lower part of the body and through the root center;
- make your voice thinner and thinner until the sounds reach the parietal chakra, sequentially passing through all other energy centers - this is where you need to hit the highest note;
- again gradually lowering your voice, imagine that the sounds are passing through the whole body and are directed to the feet;
- After completing the exercise, sit down and rest for a few minutes.
In addition to using tonics for self-healing, Case also developed the “siren voice exploration” method, which is now practiced in music therapy, where therapists use their own voice to identify a patient’s diagnosis. To discover a person’s energetic potential, the therapist, starting from the client’s feet, “probes” him with his voice, modeling it in different ways. Given that each type of pain has a specific sound, Case says, “When the sound bounces off the area, I feel it.” She characterizes the resulting sensation as “viscous and sticky.”
The patient focuses on this area, and the therapist rhythmically pronounces the sound that she felt. This continues until, as Case says, she “sighs” - this means that the internal tension has been relieved. The voice examination session ends with a high-pitched sound directed at the patient's head.
Colonel Bradford would undoubtedly agree with Laurel Case's basic idea: “The voice is the most important indicator of a person’s condition, not only the state of health, but also the state of affairs. By the way we speak, we model our lives.”
How to open chakras using the energy of mantras
In his discussion of mantras, Colonel Bradford - the word he used to designate spoken prayers - speaks of these sounds and phrases as personal tonics. In the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, mantras are carefully selected sound combinations that, during the process of teaching meditation, teachers tell students so that they repeat them as often as possible. In the West, one of the most famous is the Buddhist mantra “Om mani padme hum.” As mentioned, Bradford witnessed Tibetan monks repeating the same sounds at extremely low frequencies, including the sound "OM" (pronounced "O-o-oo-M-mm-mm"). .
In the Hindu tradition, "aum" - the written equivalent of the Tibetan "om" ("from") - has a colossal resonance that can inspire awe. This deeply sacred sound lies at the core of the Universe. Since the penetration of Buddhism through India into Tibet, the concept of “aum” has been central to the study of Tibetan mysticism. Its three elements (a-u-m) represent the three basic states of consciousness: awakening, daydreaming, and deep sleep. In general, “aum” represents cosmic consciousness, encompassing the entire universe. As the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore put it, “Aum is a symbol of infinity, perfection, eternity.” From this point of view, it becomes clear why Colonel Bradford advised members of his Himalayan Club to use the sound "om" to achieve higher levels of consciousness.
Using mantras to stimulate energy centers
Below is a simple exercise that puts mantras at the service of a person. It can be done every day after performing the Five Rituals, as part of other voice exercises:
- sit comfortably on a chair with a straight back, spreading your feet flat on the floor a few centimeters;
- place your hands on your knees; You can close your eyes if you wish;
- take a few calm breaths through your nose until you feel relaxed;
- focus your attention on the root center. As you exhale, pronounce the sound “l-a-a-m”; let it come out of the throat freely along with the exhaled air;
- now move your attention to the pubic bone, the second energy center. As you exhale, say “v-a-a-m”; repeat 12 times;
- concentrating on the solar plexus, say “r-a-a-m”; repeat 12 times. The same thing with the frontal center (sound “o-o-o-mm-mm”).
Petal sounds and Sanskrit alphabet
You are clearly surprised that sound can affect energy centers. The voice is able to have a healing, even transformative effect on the chakras, and with them on the entire body as a whole. The reason for this is the Sanskrit alphabet.
As we remember, all seven chakras have a different number of petals: 4 at the root chakra, 6 at the sacral chakra, 10 at the solar plexus, 12 at the heart, 16 at the throat, 2 at the frontal center (each of these two petals has another 48 - total 96) and 1000 in the parietal (see Chapter 4). On any standard diagram of chakras, each petal has a letter of the Sanskrit alphabet written on it. What does it mean?
Sanskrit is known as one of the oldest languages in the world; this is an extraordinary, sacred language that laid the foundation for digital mantras. The Sanskrit alphabet consists of fifty letters, each of which represents a sound. The number of petals of the first six chakras is also fifty; Each petal corresponds to a specific letter/sound. According to Vias Huston, director of the American Sanskrit Institute in Warwick (New York), a teacher of Sanskrit for twenty years, this means that the fifty letters/sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet create, shape and activate the fifty petals of the first six chakras, from the root to the frontal chakras. . This lifts the veil of mystery and explains why the sounds of Sanskrit are inscribed on the petals of the energy centers. Chakras are made of sounds.
In the vibrating alphabet, which is Sanskrit, sounds are both petals and chakras. For example, the Sanskrit sounds corresponding to the petals of the root chakra are: vang, shang, kshang, sang; The sacral chakra corresponds to bang, bhang, mang, yang, rang, lang. This means that when you pronounce these sounds - of course, more carefully than usual, and intonate them correctly - the sound actually creates the petals of a particular chakra. At the energetic level, when wang, shang, kshang, sang are pronounced, the four-petalled structure of the root chakra is recreated. Obviously, those who want to have a stimulating effect on the chakras will find it useful to repeat the corresponding Sanskrit sounds.
Of course, these remarkable insights will help to understand why Colonel Bradford assured his students of the exceptional importance of an energetic, deep, well-trained voice. Now it is clear what influence the throat chakra has on the rotation of vortexes and the energy potential of those centers of the human body that are located below.
Rainbow chakras: Characteristics of energy centers through color
In addition to specific sounds, each chakra has its own color. The root center is red or scarlet, the sacral center is orange, the solar plexus is yellow, the heart center is green, the throat center is blue, the frontal center is indigo, and the parietal center is violet. By mentally imagining different colors, you can feel your energy centers.
Below is a meditation exercise that touches the chakras, this time through color. It can be performed daily after five ritual actions. It takes 10 minutes and can be both calming and invigorating.
Follow the same “scenario” as before in the exercises of the “How to Voice Energy Centers” series. Start with the following:
- Find a quiet room with suitable lighting;
- sit comfortably on a chair with a straight back, place your feet on the floor, spreading them a few centimeters; it is advisable to take off your shoes and socks, as well as glasses if you wear them;
- put your hands on your knees; you can close your eyes;
- Take a few free breaths through your nose until you feel relaxed;
- perform all stages of the exercise sequentially.
COLORING THE ROOT CENTER
- Imagine the first color. Imagine that the air you exhale is scarlet. Focus your attention on the perineum, where the root center is located. Mentally imagine that your body from the groin to the feet is also red.
- With each exhalation, imagine that you are splashing scarlet paint into the chakra. Feel the warmth of this vibrant color.
- In the same way, breathe the color into the root center for one minute, then stop and relax.
STAINING OF THE SACRAL CENTER
- Move your attention upward to the second energy center, which is located in the pubic area or a few centimeters below the navel.
- Imagine an orange color in the area of the pubic bone, which seems to encircle the body with a ribbon.
- As you exhale, draw it into your energy center. Feel the warmth of the color.
- Breathe this color into your sacral center for one minute, then stop and relax.
SOLAR PLEXUS STAINING
- Find the location of the third center on the body. It is called the solar plexus and occupies the area from the base of the sternum to the navel. Focus your attention here and imagine the color bright yellow. You can imagine that you have captured the Sun, it is in the middle of your diaphragm and emits a radiant color from within, illuminating all the insides both from the back and from the stomach. Feel the energy of this color.
- After exhaling, take it in for one minute, then stop and relax.
COLORING THE HEART CENTER
- Focus your attention on the heart center, located exactly between your shoulder blades and the center of your chest, and imagine the color green. Draw in your imagination how during each exhalation the upper part of the chest cavity, both front and back, is filled with it. Feel the warm balance of this color.
- As you exhale, let this greenery flow into your heart chakra for one minute, then relax.
COLORING THE THROAT CENTER
- The throat chakra is located in the center of the larynx. By and large, the entire neck area can be attributed to this center. Focus your attention there and imagine that the blue color, like a ribbon, completely envelops your neck, from the shoulders to the base of the skull. Let it be a rich dark blue.
- After each exhalation, fill the throat center with this warm and calm color.
- Hold the blue color in your throat for a minute, then relax.
COLORING THE FRONTAL CENTER
- The next center is between the eyebrows, which is why it has become known as the “third eye.” With each exhalation, imagine that the space between your eyebrows is filled with indigo color.
- Then inhale this color into the frontal center for a minute, then relax.
COLORING THE PARIETAL CENTER
- Finally, imagine that you are filling your parietal center at the very top of your head with deep purple color. Exhale it into the thousand petals of the parietal center.
- After a minute of repetitions, stop and relax.
This is what a cycle of exercises for coloring energy centers looks like. Perhaps after it there will be a slight dizziness or a feeling of a vertical rainbow. Perhaps you now have a more direct experiential connection to each of your seven chakras.
Continue to breathe calmly through your nose. If you want, you can do the whole cycle again, in reverse order, starting with the crown chakra. Or open your eyes, look around, rub your hands together and stand up.
Performing the exercises described above enriches the practice of the Five Rituals and brings additional health benefits.
Meditation on energy figures of long life
In the West, many new mentors encourage students to conduct a “dialogue” with their energy centers through sound, color, and mental images. We have selected some of the results that can be expected when concentrating on the sound or color image of each chakra. Let us now develop them by taking other factors into account.
Let's take the root center for example. According to Indian beliefs, it has four petals and is associated with the color red, smell and the Sanskrit sound “lam” (located in the center). Its geometric figure is a yellow square or cube, and its animal is an elephant with seven trunks.
This also includes several deities, including Bala Brahma with Dakini Shakti, depicting the lower plane of the great gods Brahma, the Creator of all things, and Shakti, the Mother of universal energy. All together represents a certain type of chakra mandala and the characteristics of the energy of a given area of the body and a given state of consciousness.
Sound, color and mental image of the chakras
These elements, in whole or in part, can be used to concentrate attention during meditation. For example, You can imagine a cube existing at the root center. By focusing your breath and attention on the elements of the center, you can give it additional energy. During this exercise, it must be borne in mind that the components of the mental image may represent an entrance into the energetic reality of this Center. Although it is difficult to understand exactly what is meant, the texts on the chakras say that when the energy and life force of a center is subordinated to a person, he rediscovers these aspects of being. He begins to appreciate them as cosmic centers of divine existence, high states of spirit, accessible to both men and women.
“During meditation, the body itself turns into a mandala,” says Lama Anagarika Govinda, a student of Tibetan Buddhism. “Each energy center is also a mandala, so there are a number of other mandalas within the body.” Govinda recommends that during meditation on the chakra mandala, imagine yourself in the center of this image, the embodiment of the ethereal divine face. Such incarnations are the greatest states of higher consciousness, or “perfect Buddha,” attainable by humans.
Thus, inside your body, in the field of your attention - in the chakras and their images-mandalas - there is a kind of spiritual sanctuary. And it is natural that the more you identify yourself with the eternal divine existence and with the forces that determine your development, allowing all this to enter your life, the greater the amount of subtle energy will penetrate into you, into every cell of your body. How can you not feel rejuvenated and full of energy if you know that you have a long and bright life ahead - exactly the kind that Colonel Bradford promised?!
MEDITATION OVER THE MANDALA CHAKRA
All of the above can be brought to life through meditation, which should be done daily after performing the Five Rituals as a quick warm-up for the chakras. Consistently move from stage to stage so that all energy centers are covered by the exercise. It will take 10 minutes to complete, after which you will feel that it can be both relaxing and invigorating.
- Find a quiet room with appropriate lighting.
- Sit comfortably on a chair with a straight back, place your feet on the floor, slightly spreading them; It is advisable to remove shoes and socks. If you wear glasses, take them off too.
- Place your hands on your knees. You can close your eyes if you wish.
- Until you feel relaxed, take calm breaths through your nose.
MEDITATION FOR THE ROOT CENTER
- As you exhale, imagine a yellow cube. The cube has six sides, each of them is a square, all yellow. Can you fit inside the cube? Breathe yellow into it. The cube symbolizes the element of earth.
- Now imagine an elephant with your yellow cube on its back. Feel the power coming from the bishop and the cube.
- Hold everything in your imagination for a minute, emphasizing this image with each exhalation. Then relax, forget about it and breathe calmly without doing anything else.
MEDITATION FOR THE SACRAL CENTER
- Now let's move our attention up the chakra totem pole to the pubic bone area. As you exhale the air from your lungs, imagine that you are sitting on an upside-down white crescent, reminiscent of a semicircular hammock. This color and shape symbolize water, which embodies all kinds of feelings, family relationships, and changes.
- Now imagine that a crocodile is swimming under this crescent moon. Not at all dangerous, it symbolizes the eternal flow of water. During meditation, Hindus imagine a makara, a semi-mythical aquatic animal, the ancestor of the crocodile. Feel the flow of water under the white crescent moon.
- Hold this image in your mind for a minute, then relax, forget about it and just sit, breathing evenly and doing nothing.
MEDITATION FOR THE SOLAR PLEXUS
- Imagine a red triangle pointing upward - a symbol of the element of fire. As you exhale, increase this meditative image to the size of a pyramid.
- Next, conjure up the image of a ram or buck, the animals traditionally representing the solar plexus chakra. The quarrelsome, strong, even pugnacious ram symbolizes the solar energy of this center, as well as the living play of flame.
- For a minute, do not let all this out of your consciousness, strengthening the imaginary image with each exhalation. Then forget it, relax and, without doing anything, just breathe evenly.
MEDITATION FOR THE HEART CENTER
Now let's turn to the heart. As you exhale, imagine a green pentagram or what is called the Star of David - a hexagonal figure consisting of two triangles, the apex of one pointing up and the other pointing down. As a symbol of the Jewish people, the Star of David also signifies the balance of cardiac functions. Try to imagine yourself inside this pentagram, as if you were looking up and down at the same time. One triangle is a pyramid, the top of which rises above your head, the second triangle is a pyramid with the top below you. Now imagine a deer. This light-footed creature symbolizes the element of air. Thoughts flash through your head like deer running headlong through the forest.
Hold this picture in your brain for a minute, then relax, forget about it. Breathe evenly without doing anything.
MEDITATION FOR THE THROAT CENTER
- Turning to the throat center, we touch the domains of space, ether. As you exhale, imagine a close-up of a pale blue drop. Mentally place yourself inside this drop; There is incredible space and emptiness inside it.
- Hold this image for one minute, then relax, throw it out of your head. Don't do anything, just breathe evenly.
This is what a chakra totem pole of the five elements looks like. As for the frontal and parietal centers, which are not identified with any element, they represent states of energy that lie beyond the world consisting of five elements. In a sense, the guesses and observations that allow us to imagine this entire sequence of chakra incarnations are contained in the frontal center.
The correlation of geometric figures and elements with chakras is different in different traditions. Tibetans, for example, deal only with five chakras: they do not distinguish between the second and third chakras, and also connect the frontal and parietal centers. Hindus in India recognize seven chakras. This chapter contains exercises that also cover the seven chakras. This was done partly because the cradle of Tibetan Buddhism was Indian civilization, and partly because in the West most teachers work with the seven chakras.
Sound as a source of matter
Let me conclude this article with thoughts about the nature of sound and vibrations as such. Everything is vibration, or as the ancient Hindus would say, Nada Brahma: the whole world is sound. The entire universe, even emptiness, is vibrating sound. “God, or Brahma, the primary force of the Cosmos and its Creator, represents the flow of sounds and the inner essence of man and all living things,” says musicologist Joachim-Ernest Behrendt. “The unique sound underlies all existence: existence itself is Nada Brahma.”
There is a lot that can be heard. Photoacoustic spectroscopy data indicate that a blooming rose produces a sound similar to the muffled hum of an organ. You can also record the sound of a cereal stem. The resonating tones emanating from each atom or molecule together form a harmony; an atom is a subtle musical note, and even a stone contains frozen music.
All nature exists in some huge vibrational range of sounds. “Mostly, it is a song of life, a colossal choir, a myriad of sounds merging into a grandiose polyphony, into such a harmony that it is impossible to even imagine,” says Behrendt.
Music not only spiritualizes matter - it can influence its development. The fact that sound shapes and structures objects in the material world was proven in the 60s of the 20th century by the Swedish scientist Hans Jenny. Using a sound vibration generator and high-precision photographic equipment, he showed that sound waves are the basis of matter. He called the new branch of science “cymatics.” He filmed the instant reaction to sounds and music of various physical substances (sand, metal filings, lypodium powder, mercury) placed on a metal plate.
Jenny carefully described the symmetrical, geometrically regular structures and subtle sound mandalas obtained by exposing a metal plate to hundreds of frequency and rhythmic combinations, ranging from single sounds to entire musical compositions.
The higher the frequency of sounds, the more complex the figures on the plate turned out. Jenny's amazing images are similar to yantras - geometric symbols used during meditation, which are often depicted in diagrams next to the chakras. They also bear a certain resemblance to the outlines of the continents and to the intricate structure of the liver cell. The substance held this unusual shape on the metal plate exactly as long as the corresponding sound lasted.
According to Jenny, this speaks of a deep connection that exists between the organic structures of nature, including human organs, tissues and cells, and the frequency of sound waves. Jenny showed that cymatics opens the way to curing diseases with the help of sound.
In the 70s, this idea was picked up by the English osteopath Dr. Peter Guy Manners. He created his own unique cymatic device, which allows the doctor, holding an applicator in his hands touching the patient’s skin, to send a sound signal with a frequency of sixty to thirty thousand hertz inside the patient’s body. According to Manners' theory, diseases arise from an imbalance in the overall vibration of the body. The general vibration of the body consists of individual vibrations of all interdependent organs, tissues and molecules. This means that the human body is a large multi-level resonator, consisting of numerous octaves of biological systems, which initially contain the possibility of harmonious musical interaction. This is also an indicator of health.
Health is maintained by regulating the harmonic harmonies of the body, says Manners. When the tones of the heart, liver, spleen, bones and muscles are harmonized with each other, a person is in good health. “But when an organ is out of tune or out of rhythm, we will feel discomfort until we use a cymatic device to return that organ to its natural sound,” explains Manners.
He and a handful of other cymatotherapists have successfully treated bone fractures, arthritis, sprains, neck injuries, slipped discs, fibrosis, paralysis and rheumatism. And, despite twenty years of experience, Manners believes that the possibilities of cymatics are practically unexplored. When dealing with sound, voice, vibration, we are faced with one of the greatest mysteries of this world.
All this helps to understand the importance of Colonel Bradford's teachings about vocal energy, the stimulating effect the voice can have on the chakras and how to increase the effectiveness of the Five Rituals by working with voice, color and some other elements.
Meditation
Listening to the inner sound, Anahata Nada, is a higher level of meditation. It is thin, ringing and similar to the sound that you can hear when you put a sea shell to your ear. Or it may vaguely resemble the quiet hum of wires in electrical networks (I’ve already talked about it).
The word "Anahata" in Sanskrit means the heart chakra (you can read about chakras). The word “Nada” is translated from Sanskrit as sound, vibration. That is, "Anahata-Nada" is the sound of the heart chakra.
Listening to it helps you progress in your meditation practice. Thanks to him, you rise to a higher level. When you listen to the inner sound, all other sensations are eliminated and the consciousness becomes pure, unclouded. Thoughts go away, you are in the “here and now” moment.
The ability to hear inner sound does not appear immediately. Sometimes it comes quickly, and sometimes not soon. If, as you practice meditation, you find that you begin to hear it, rejoice. This means that your ability to concentrate has noticeably improved. The ability to hear the inner sound indicates the advancement of the meditator.
At first these moments will be short: the sound will disappear and then appear again. Over time, the moments of hearing the sound will become longer and longer. Many years will pass, and you will gain the ability to do ordinary things and at the same time remain deep within yourself. For example, now I am writing this article and at the same time I am hearing Anahata-Nadu. But such an ability does not come immediately.
So, sit in a meditative position. Calm down, relax, disconnect from the outside world. Enter a meditative state by counting your breath, repeating a mantra, watching a candle flame, etc.
When you feel that you have gone deeper into yourself, begin to listen to the sounds within. You may be able to catch Anahata Nadu. If it doesn't work out the first time, don't worry. This means that the ability to hear this sound will come later.
One way to hear Anahata Nada is to meditate on sounds. I have already . Enter into meditation. Concentrate on listening to sounds and nothing else. You will begin to pick up multiple sounds around you and outside the house: you will hear the movement of a distant tram, a car braking, a dog barking, passers-by talking under the windows, a TV behind the wall, a car horn, a gust of wind, etc.
This time, deepen this practice. Perceive sounds from the outside world, then cut them off as extraneous interference. Gradually you will be able to detach yourself from everyone and identify among them a sound that is not external. You will understand that it is not coming from outside, but is located inside. This is Anahata-Nada.
The ability to hear this sound indicates the degree of purification of the astral channels. If you have them clean, you will be able to hear a clear, subtle sound and easily pick it up.
But if you can’t hear it yet, don’t worry. This means that this is still to come. Therefore, there is no need to “puff up” and try to hear something by force. In meditation there should be no violence against oneself. Everything should happen naturally, in its own way.
What does listening to Anahata Nada give? Going beyond ordinary consciousness. You rise to a higher level: ordinary consciousness remains below, and you are above, where there are no thoughts, but only a feeling of being, the moment “here and now.” Thoughts float somewhere below, like clouds under the wing of an airplane. You can be an observer if you want. But you exist separately from them, your essence is pure and silent.
In yoga there is a comparison of the meditative mind to a lake. The meditative mind becomes calm, like a lake whose water is still.
For comparison: ordinary consciousness jumps all the time. It is constantly seething, like a lake into which pebbles are constantly being thrown. Every thought is like a thrown pebble that creates ripples in the water. So is the surface of everyday consciousness - it is restless, agitated and can constantly be disturbed from the outside.
And the surface of the meditative mind is calm, smooth. The meditative mind is not disturbed by extraneous influences, it only contemplates them.
Listening to Anahata Nada is one of the ways to achieve peace of mind.
I am talking about all these phenomena so that you will already know about them when you encounter them. My articles on meditation are like road signs along the path you are moving on.
Here you will find healing audio meditations for independent practice of Reiki. These audio meditation Can free listen online or also free download to your computer or player. Just relax, breathe, listen to the music and follow the words I say during the meditation. I hope these audio meditations will enrich your practice, bring you pleasure and guide you in the right direction.
I also invite you to take an online initiation into , if you don’t already have one, or get the next level.
There is traditional healing meditations and Usui Reiki techniques and also mine themed Reiki meditations. These audio meditations and techniques are suitable for both beginners and experienced Reiki practitioners.
Kotodama Reiki Sound Meditation
Kotodama Reiki is the central link of the Reiki system from its founder Mikao Usui. As you know, he did not draw symbols, he sang them. In total, there are 4 kotodamas in the Reiki system, corresponding to the four Reiki symbols. We invite you to feel the power of these sacred sounds.
Each kotodama recording lasts 15 minutes - this is the optimal time for regular practice.
Relaxing Autotraining with Reiki Music
With this audio meditation, you can learn to deeply relax your entire body in a matter of minutes and under any circumstances and effectively manage your attention. Relaxing Autotraining with Reiki Music is 15 minutes of total relaxation for the mind and body.
Gassho Meditation
Gassho literally means “two hands clasped together.” The founder of the Reiki system, Mikao Usui, recommended practicing this meditation daily for 20-30 minutes.
Take a comfortable position on a chair, on the floor, maybe in a lotus or half-lotus position, so that you are comfortable and your back is as straight as possible, but without tension. Close your eyes. Your breathing is deep and even.
Place your palms together in front of your chest, invoke Reiki and concentrate all your attention on the tips of your middle fingers and forget about everything else. If any thoughts appear, do not banish them. Look at them, become aware of them, and then return your attention to the tips of your middle fingers.
When you feel enough, thank Reiki and open your eyes.
Hatsurei Ho Meditation
Hatsurei Ho is a technique for awakening the power of Reiki. This is the most important meditation of Mikao Usui's system. Technique:
- Sit on the floor on your knees or on a chair. Relax and close your eyes. Focus your breath on the tanden. Place your hands on your hips, palms down. Say in your mind: “I begin Hatsurei Ho.”
- Make Ken Yoku.
- Reconnecting with Reiki. Raise your hands high above your head and tune into Reiki, feel the Reiki flowing through your hands and throughout your body. After this, slowly lower your hands.
- Joshin Kokyu Ho - breath that cleanses the soul.
- Place your hands on your hips, palms up, and breathe naturally through your nose. Focus on the tanden. As you inhale, imagine white light entering your crown chakra and your palms. It descends and accumulates in the tanden, from where it spreads throughout the body, dissolving all tension. As you exhale, imagine white light filling your entire body radiating out from the tanden and through the skin outward in all directions. Repeat the exercise for several minutes or as long as you want.
- The main thing in “gaining” energy is relaxation, an easy flow of thought, minimal participation of consciousness, concentration on the sensations that accompany the soft and easy flow of energy into the body through the crown and its exit out.
- Place your hands in Gassho. Now imagine that you are breathing through your hands. As you inhale, imagine Reiki light flowing through your hands, filling the tanden and your entire body, calming the mind, relieving any tension. As you exhale, imagine the accumulated Reiki energy radiating outward through your hands. They become very hot, you can even feel the vibration. Repeat the exercise for several minutes or as long as you want.
- Place your hands on your hips, palms down. Say in your mind “I have completed Hatsurei Ho.” Sit like that for a little longer.
Meditation Balancing for Reiki 1st stage
This technique requires 15-20 minutes and can be used both for self-treatment and for treating a patient when you do not have enough time for a full session.
Hold your hands in each position for 3 to 5 minutes, or as you feel the energy flow. Balancing can be done while sitting or lying down.
- Place your hands in Gassho, invoking Reiki.
- Place one hand on the sacrum and the other on the solar plexus, no matter which hand is higher or lower.
- Then place your top hand on the center of your chest and your bottom hand on your solar plexus.
- Then place your top hand on your throat and your bottom hand on the center of your chest.
- Then place your top hand on your forehead and your bottom hand on your throat.
- Place your hands in Gassho to end the session.
Energy balancing technique for the second stage of Reiki
