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THE SCIENCE OF SOUND

For most of us, sound is a constant part of our lives. Some sounds inspire or uplift us, such as listening to a great symphony or a powerful gospel hymn. Other sounds may create anxiety or discomfort, like the sound of someone yelling in anger, or the squeak of chalk on a blackboard Sound also stimulates memory. Hearing a significant song from our past can bring back events and experiences with clarity that verbal remiencences cannot touch. Sound can also be used to change moods or foreshadow events. For example, the musical score of a play or a film usually sets the tone for the story and lets the audience know whether something frightening or exciting is about to happen. Similarly, playing certain kinds of music can help motivate people or cheer them up.

So what is sound? Why does sound affect human beings so profoundly? In order to answer these questions, we must take a closer look at the characteristics of sound and its relationship to healing and the human body.

1. SOUND IS A VIBRATORY WAVE OR PATTERN OF ENERGY

Physics tells us that everything is made up of energy. “Humans (as well as all mater on this planet) are composed of atoms. Atoms collect to form molecules which agglomerate into cells which coalesce into organ systems and body parts” (Trieschmann, 2001:29). ). This energy is what binds galaxies, stars, planets, plants, animals, and humans together. Physical matter is simply energy taking form. “This new perspective of human physiology is based on an understanding that the atomic structure of the body, at the quantum level is actually made up of particles of frozen light… Thus, rethinking the body in terms of interactive energy structures as opposed to moving cogs in a machine holds the beginnings of Einsteinian Medicine” (Gerber, 1996:xx). It is in this context, that Ruiz’s observer is perfectly correct when he says “I am made of light; I am made of stars”

2. SOUND HAS A RHYTHM OR A CYCLICAL BEAT.

Much of the power of sound lies in its rhythm or cyclical beat. The sound of one rhythm may invoke feelings of euphoria; the sound of another may provoke fear. By altering rhythms or beats, sound can effectively create or alter emotions. The physical body also seems to be sensitive to cyclical rhythms. For example, “there is evidence that some neurons in the brain “fire repetitively at a constant frequency, that is, they beat… Such neurons are also sometimes called pacing neurons. Although external stimulation can change the firing rate of the cell, or inhibit it altogether, the mechanisms that drive repetitive firing are often intrinsic to the neuron itself and do not require stimuli or external synaptic activation.” (Levitan and Kaczmark, 1997:59-60) Other neurons—called bursting neurons—fire in sustained rhythmic pulses that occur without any external stimulation. These are the neurons in the brain that are responsible for regulating automatic physiological processes like heartbeats. When this natural rhythm is disrupted, then the physiological and energetic imbalances occur which lead to disease. Heart arrhythmia is a good example

3. SOUND CAN CREATE, INTEGRATE, REGULATE, OR TRANSFORM AN EXISTING ENERGY PATTERN.

Sound has been used effectively by many of the world’s spiritual traditions to alter consciousness or heal the body. Mantras, prayers, and chants all generate a pattern of energy that calms the mind and rebalances the body. Studies show that repetitive sound transforms the alpha and beta wave patterns in the brain into theta. The theta brain wave pattern is conducive to relaxation and has been linked to a sense of heightened creativity. Sound has also been used as an effective tool for opening the body’s various energy meridians and charkas. As Margo Anand observes:

Just as the resonance of one high, operatic note can break a crystal glass, and the right words can open a mind or heart, the right sound can open your charkas. The word chakra means “vortex, center, or resonance”. If we direct a sound that resonates into the center of a chakra, it can open like a flower. Every mystery school from ancient times to the present uses sound for these purposes (1998:237)

The understanding that every process in the body has a distinct bioelectrical rhythm or beat, leads to the perception that when everything is working well—i.e. the physiological energy of the body is in balance and able to flow freely—then health and well-being exist. Conversely, when the bioelectrical rhythm of the body is disrupted or the natural frequencies altered, Then energetic blocks and imbalances start to occur, and disease is often the result. Restoring health means changing a disease producing energy pattern and replacing it with a health enhancing one. As Trieschmann Suggests:

Every cell in our body has a characteristic vibration. When these cells vibrate at a certain rate and in a certain pattern, the body functions well and the person feels good. When they vibrate at a different rate and pattern, the body functions less well and the person feels not so good. It is highly probable that assessment of the differential vibratory patterns associated with health and sickness will be a core feature of the research of the 21st century. (2001:29-30)

As these brief illustrations show, sound has a profound effect upon the physiology and emotions. Other articles available explore how traditional tribal groups use repetitive sound—such as drumming—to heal the mind and body.

References Cited

Anand, M.
1998 The Art Of Everyday Ecstasy. Broadway Books

Gerber, R.
1996 “Introduction” From The Liquid Light Of Sex. Bear and Company

Levitan, I. And Kaczmark, L.
1997 The Neuron. Oxford University Press.

Ruiz, M.
1997 The Four Agreements

Trieschmann, R
“Spirituality and Energy Medicine”, In Journal of Rehabilitation. 2001:26-32

BEYOND BEVERLY HILLS: A ROUGH GUIDE TO ETHNIC SPA TREATMENTS IN LOS ANGELES
By Hillary Johnson

I remember back when anything exotic and luxurious had to be French. Spas had pink walls and Greek statues in alcoves and offered things Vichy and Parisienne: facials, massages, and whirlpool baths—the water flecked with glitter if you were at a really classy joint. These days, French manicures are about as exotic as french fries, and the simple townsfolk of Beverly Hills are flocking to spas around town that offer Balinese Lulur and Ayurvedic Shirodhara treatments. In Bali, the Royal Lulur is a forty day long ceremonial treatment reserved for royal brides to be, and involves multi-stage rice rubs and massages with spices, yogurt and frangipani. Presumably, this long ordeal of beauty is meant to traumatize and/or hypnotize the poor young thing into tolerating whatever royal pain in the side she’s being hitched to. When you go to the Beverly Hills spa called Lulur to get their version of the treatment, the authenticity of the experience is certainly open to question, and this is probably a good thing. At the very least, your Royal Lulur will be a merciful thirty-nine days shorter than the real thing.

But rather than indulging in the ersatz ethnicity on offer in Beverly Hills, you might try venturing into some of LA’s more authentically exotic venues, to experience some real multi-cultural healing at the hands of people who come from—or at the very least have been to—the mystical lands where hedonistic therapy is considered normal.

If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t blink at using your Thomas Guide to reach a mini-mall in Alhambra for a bowl of authentic Vietnamese Pho, then you might want to take yourself a few miles north to experience some authentic spa treatments in equally esoteric surroundings. Tucked away next to a freeway exit in downtown Ventura is the Lu Ross Academy, an ordinary beauty school whose students have become the spa world’s equivalent of Harvard Business School grads, under the direction and ownership of Chrys Huynh, a former Vietnamese refugee who piloted her own fishing boat out of Saigon in 1978.

You enter Hyynh’s spa through a rather bleak formica-encrusted beauty salon where students cater to senior citizen wash ‘n sets, but back in the treatment rooms, the atmosphere and the service are indistinguishable from any high-end day spa. Huynh has developed a signature service she calls the Tibetan Eye Treatment that is meant to reduce puffiness and rejuvenate the eye area, but the treatment itself is a whole-body experience. First warm stones are placed on your feet, then a warm, heavy, herb-infused pillow is lain across your stomach. An acupressure massage of the head, shoulders, hands and feet follows, and the face is massaged with a jade roller. “The treatment pulls heat away from the eyes, calms the stomach, and drains the lymphatic system,” Huynh explains. The only things to touch your eyes are a couple of slices of cucumber. Recent graduates are set to offer the Tibetan Eye Treatment at the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Ojai Valley Inn, but why go there when you can get it done at Lu Ross for thirty bucks and you may even get to meet the master?

If you want an Asian spa treatment that is obscenely luxurious and still authentic, you need go no farther than the Wilshire district. The Aroma Wilshire Center is a Korean American mini-metropolis, a complex with shopping, dining, and a multi-level rooftop driving range. For only $22,000, you can become a lifetime member, or for many many thousands of dollars less, you can get a day pass to the Aroma Spa and experience the Korean purification ritual known as the body scrub. After soaking in a series of tubs, pools, saunas and steam rooms designed with the austere elegance of a stone temple, you will be fetched into a brightly lit white-tiled room where spry, elderly Korean women dressed in black lace bras and panties work over their clients’ naked bodies, vigorously slapping, pummeling and scrubbing every inch of flesh. If you are not shy (shy people should never, ever go to Korea, and may want to avoid even driving down Wilshire Boulevard) then the Korean body scrub as performed at Aroma Spa is something like having every inch of your public and private skin worried until your naked soul shines through. If you’ve ever seen a mother cat lick a blind newborn kitten all over with her 80-grit sandpaper tongue, then you’ll have a general idea of the nature of this experience. It is rough, and comforting, and leaves you feeling as if you have just been born.

If you’ve ever wondered why the Polynesian Sumo wrestlers are so much suppler yet tougher than the Japanese guys, you should pay a visit to Wesley Sen, a practitioner of authentic Polynesian Lomi Lomi, a form of therapeutic massage that is a carefully guarded secret passed on from master to apprentice. Sen, who lives half the year in Hawaii, demonstrates his art at the Burke Williams Day Spa in Sherman Oaks, alongside his master, a round, jolly 60 year-old named Uncle Freddy who has a velvety singing voice and legs like tree trunks. Freddy is a crown prince of the Cook Islands, but he chose to spend the 60’s in Vegas, hanging out with Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra instead of assuming the throne. Now he is working on a project to bring cellular service to Polynesia, in addition to coaching Wesley in the art of Lomi Lomi. Freddy claims that he can make me an inch taller, then he and Wesley walk up and down on my spine, expertly kneading my muscles with their powerful toes. It’s wonderful. Brutal, but wonderful. And worth it, afterwards, when Uncle Freddy shares his secret of how to stay in shape the Cook Islands way by jumping across the floor like a frog twice a day.

Still, by far the most ground-trembling, body-altering treatment I’ve ever had is one where the practitioner never so much as laid a finger on my person, and it comes via Africa. Travelling drummer Toby Christiansen, who books sessions locally through Yoruba House, has developed an African-inspired technique he calls Sound Attunement Therapy. Toby is a handsome blond guy with surfer-dude looks, but he has studied African drumming and shamanic healing for twenty five years, and has come up with what I can only describe as a sound wave body massage that is as ecstatically pleasurable as it is therapeutic. Toby begins a typical healing session with a native American hoop drum, which he plays close over your supine form. It functions almost like a shamanic stethoscope: the reverberating tone of the drum indicates where your problem areas may be. Once he has ready your body’s particular form of rhythmic impairment, Toby stands over you, with the base of his African djembe drum centered over your heart and begins to play. What follows is the most shockingly sensual full-contact concert experience one could possibly imagine.

Though Toby never touches your body save with the waves of sound emanating from his drum, the sensation is extremely physical. The drum beat seems to paralyze, then liquify, then vaporize your flesh. And then it melts your bones. Toby carries around a sheaf of research studies on the healing properties of sound, and drumming in particular, especially for people suffering from chronic illnesses, but the proof is in the experience, as you feel the song of the djembe literally calling your body’s cells to fall in step with the heartbeat of the universe.

The song Toby plays for each client is unique. “Everyone has their own rhythm, and part of my job is to find it and bring it out,” Toby explains. During both the sessions I had with him over a two day period, I experienced almost hallucinatory dream-like imagery, and after each hour-long session, I walked away with a pleasant buzzing sensation coursing through my body, a feeling that lasted literally for days. And though I went to Toby mainly out of curiosity, I found after two sessions with him that the PMS I’d been struggling with for years completely disappeared.

So unless I’m suddenly invited to marry into the Balinese Royal Family, you’ll find me spending my spa dollars in the global village’s raucous marketplace, where a little sense of adventure goes a long way, where crown princes do turn into frogs, and where miracle cures do happen.

WHITE SKIN, AFRICAN HEART:
Finding my Life’s Purpose through the Power of Drum Healing
By Toby Christensen

Among the Dagara people of Burkina Faso in West Africa it is a common and well-accepted belief that every child is born with a definite goal and purpose. “As a result, tribal practices emphasize the discovery, before birth, of the business of the soul that has come into the world. A person’s purpose is thus embodied in their name, thus constituting an inseparable reminder of why the person walks with us in this world.” (Some’, 1999:3)

Here in the West, figuring out who we are and what our soul’s mission is, is not so simple. In my own case I was nearly two before I announced my life’s purpose by beating on a windowsill in my parent’s home with a pair of can openers. Unfortunately, my mother was not appreciative of my natural sense of rhythm. Her outraged reaction tamped down my emerging talents for a few more years. I reconnected with the drum at the age of six and found it to be a place of peace in a very tumultuous world. I felt as the Dagara say, like “a ship adrift in a hostile sea” (Some’ 1999:3) As I grew up my life took a series of strange twists and turns. I entered seminary and served as a minister at a large church in California and then resigned when I became disenchanted with Christianity. I had many relationships but none of them lasted. I made sex and money my personal gods while abusing alcohol and cocaine. Yet nothing I did filled the sense of emptiness that I felt inside.

In 1991 I hit bottom. I got clean and sober through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. This is when the search for my true self began. I was year into recovery and was finally feeling a sense of stability when fire swept through my residence and destroyed everything I owned. Devastated and discouraged I realized, like it or not, I had to start fresh. A few days later my life was transformed when I was introduced to a man from Africa. This man was Malidoma Some’ a shaman from Burkina Faso. Malidoma means, “to make friends with the enemy/stranger” and he had come to America to teach the people in the west the ways of his culture and tribal spirituality. With his care and guidance I gradually began to rebuild my life by embracing shamanic practices and principles. Through Malidoma I was reintroduced to my first love, the drum. I had not played my drum kit in years but when I heard the sound of the Djembe (an African drum) I felt reborn. Nothing could distract me from mastering my newfound expression of my soul. Beating the Djembe with my hands I experienced the same sense of delight, power, and freedom I first felt on that windowsill so many years ago. I realized that it was through the drum that my life’s purpose would be fulfilled. Malidoma used to say, “ you look like a white man, but you play like an African”.

While dedicating one’s life to drumming might sound like an odd career choice to some people in the West, in Africa, it is a well-respected profession. Drumming is an ever-present part of nearly every ritual among the Dagara and many other indigenous cultures. People drum when a baby is born, when someone is sick, when there is marital or family discord or when someone dies. There is always a very good reason for this practice. As Sobonfu Some’ suggests, “The sound of the drum is the tuning of the soul”. In the tribal context it draws people together by removing or smoothing out conflicting energies that threaten family or village unity. Drumming also helps restore or reaffirm a person’s energetic sense of self. As a result they are better protected and less susceptible to disease. By the same token if illness is already present in a person, drumming can help drive it out. As Malidoma explains,

…in the mind of the indigenous, illness is like an unwelcome guest that wants the place it has taken over to remain the same so that it can be comfortable. Certain healing practices ...involve altering the energy structure of the person. By doing this, the illness, if there is any, becomes ”irritated” at the rude hospitality and moves away in search of another place (Some’ 1999:26)

In my own practice I have seen ample evidence of the drum’s healing power. For example, a client of mine who is a nurse practitioner had suffered for years from low energy and poor health due to adrenal gland failure and a thyroid imbalance. Doctors were able to control the condition with medication, but they were able to offer no permanent cure. After only three healing drum sessions with me, her adrenal system was completely regenerated and the thyroid imbalance had been corrected. She was able to go off her medication and resume a normal life, much to the amazement of her doctors. Another client who is stricken with AIDS was so weak that he could hardly get out of bed when he first came to see me. After two months of weekly treatments his energy level was to the point he could cut back on his medications, return to full time employment, and resume an active social schedule. I have also successfully treated people suffering from psychological problems such as stress disorders and chronic depression. For example, I recently worked with a woman who had battled mental illness for several years. Depression had kept her immobilized. After just a few sessions her mental outlook improved so much that she was able to return to work full-time, cut back on seeing her counselor, and reconnect with family and friends.

These stories and many others inspire me because they are eloquent proof of the power of the drum. To heal is to reshift, reshape, or rebalance energy. The body, mind, emotions, and spirit, are more than just connected; they are one. As practicing plastic surgeon and shaman Eve Bruce notes:

At their first interview with me, most people speak very literally about changing their bodies surgically, detaching the physical changes from any effect on their inner selves—on their emotional, mental, or spiritual bodies. But this detachment is an illusion—we cannot separate our physical bodies from our thoughts, our emotions, or our spirituality… I have seen numerous cases in both allopathic and “alternative” medicine of “cured” being followed by a relapse of the same disease or the development of another disease—cancer being followed by a different cancer, a shapeshift into a younger, thinner, more beautiful body followed by aging or weight gain; chronic pain relief followed by another chronic disease. These experiences seem to indicate that without addressing the whole person, permanent “cures” cannot succeed. Could it be that there isn’t as we have long assumed, a separation between our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies? Could it be that we can adjust the alignment between these bodies, remove blockages and enhance energy flow? (2002:127-128)For me, the drum is an especially potent tool to accomplish all these things. Its sound penetrates deeply into our physical tissues, clearing away negative emotions, improving mental clarity and strengthening our connection to Spirit. The first time a person comes to see me I rarely ask them what their issues or physical problems are. Rather, I suggest they lie down and relax. Then I let the spirit of the drum guide me in determining what is wrong. I use a hoop drum or “shamans drum” for this diagnostic work, moving it sequentially around the body in a counter-clockwise direction. In this process I note the presence of energy blockages and intrusions. Next, I move to a larger, more powerful drum called a Djembe. I stand directly over the client with the drum pointing at the center of their chest at first, and then I move to areas of blocked or unbalanced energy and apply the healing rhythms. Most people find this process extremely soothing and drift off to sleep as their body releases. Other individuals shake or move physically to the changing beat of the drum. Some people also experience a sense of heat or rising power as the drum works away blocks. Occasionally the heat radiated by the client’s body is so intense that I feel like I’m standing in a sauna!

Unless the client becomes uncomfortable, I usually continue drumming until I sense full release of all energy ready to move at that time. I then sit with the client and discuss the locations of energy blockages or intrusions I was working on. I also ask the clients to convey their own experience and reactions with the process. I inform the client that even though the drum has stopped playing, the effects of the treatment may continue for several days. In fact, some people report that their most profound healing takes place hours or even weeks after they have left my office.

Doing this work is a very humbling experience. I am constantly reminded during every session that my job is to listen to the drum and follow where it leads. If I don’t, then no healing happens. I feel an immense sense of gratitude to the drum for this teaching. I am also thankful for the heartfelt support I have received from friends and family to walk my path and be true to myself. With this sentiment in mind I have called my method of healing Soul Attunement Therapy or SAT. This name was inspired by the words of Sobonfu Some’ when she said “...the sound of the drum is the tuning of the soul.”

In closing I would also like to say a few words about my ethnicity. Some people are frankly put off by the fact that I am a white man and wonder how someone of Scandinavian descent can deem himself qualified to speak about drumming and other shamanic practices of indigenous Africa. I have no defense except to say that shamanism, like energy is universal. It cannot be owned exclusively by an individual or a particular culture. That is why Malidoma and Sobonfu have traveled to the West. The knowledge they and other teachers such as Michael Harner and many staff members from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies can benefit everybody—young or old, male or female, American or African. These teachers sometimes draw criticism for spreading culturally specific traditions too indiscriminately. But it is not the elders, or the teachers in the villages. When I traveled to Africa with Malidoma and Sobonfu I was not judged by the color of my skin but by the strength and integrity of my connection with Spirit. I was included in all the rituals and made to feel a part of the community regardless of the tribe we were working with. My skin color was such a non issue that the only time I remember it being referred to was one night after we drummed for the village elders an old man came up to me and started rubbing the skin on my arm. He was saying something as he did it. I asked Malidoma to translate. Malidoma began to laugh as he said, “the elder is wondering why the white does not rub off, you are in a white body but you have an African heart”.

HISTORY OF MUSIC-BRAIN AND WELLNESS RESEARCH

The connection between active music making and the functioning of the brain and the body has been the subject of intense scientific investigation – some of it supported directly by the American Music Conference, all of it exciting. Researchers have uncovered evidence that making music helps young people develop their brains, helps students perform better in a variety of academic areas and promotes wellness in older people. Now, the study from the Mind-Body Wellness Center adds the prospect of disease-fighting to the mix. Here is a summary of some of the most important music-brain research.

In 1985, Gordon Shaw, Dennis Silverman and John Pearson presented the trion model of the brain’s neuronal structure (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 82 [1985]: 2364-2368).

In 1989, experiments in which musicians performed mental rehearsals of music indicated that music and other creative skills, such as mathematics and chess, may involve extremely precise firing patterns by billions of brain neurons (Leslie Brothers and Gordon Shaw, Models of Brain Function, edited by R. Cotterill. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).

In 1990, computer experiments revealed that trion firing patterns could be mapped onto pitches and instrument timbres to produce music. This suggested that the trion model is a viable model for the coding of certain aspects of musical structure in human composition and perception, and that the trion model is relevant for examining creativity in higher cognitive functions, such as mathematics and chess, that are similar to music (Xiaodan Leng, Gordon Shaw and Eric Wright, Music Perception, Vol. 8, No.1 [Fall 1990]: 49-62).

In 1991, Xiaodan Leng and Gordon Shaw proposed that music may be considered a "pre- language," and that early music training may be useful in "exercising" the brain for certain higher cognitive functions (Concepts in Neuroscience, Vol. 2, No. 2 [1991]: 229-258).

In 1993, a pilot study found that preschool children given music training displayed significant improvement in spatial reasoning ability. (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw) An experiment with college students found that, after listening to a Mozart sonata, they experienced a significant although temporary gain in spatial reasoning skills (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky, Nature, Vol. 365 [1993]: 611).

In 1994, a Stage II follow-up to the pilot study again found that music training improved spatial reasoning in preschool children. This gain did not occur in those without music training (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw, Linda Levine and Katherine Ky, Paper presented at the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles [August 1994]).

In 1995, a follow up to the first Mozart study confirmed that listening to Mozart improved spatial reasoning, and that this effect can increase with repeated testing over days. However, the effect may not occur when music lacks sufficient complexity. (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky, Neuroscience Letters, Vol. 185 [1995]: 44-47.)

In 1997, a study found that keyboard training caused long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw, Linda Levine et al, Neurological Research, Volume 19 [1997], 2-8).

In 1999, a field experiment supported the earlier finding by demonstrating that classroom keyboard instruction improved kindergarten children's spatial-temporal performance (Frances Rauscher, Mary Anne Zupan, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 1999).

Also in 1999, a research group led by Dr. Frederick Tims, Chair of Music Therapy at Michigan State University, found that group keyboard lessons given to older Americans reduced stress, loneliness and anxiety while increasing levels of human growth hormone (hGH). Human growth hormone is implicated in such aging phenomena as osteoporosis, energy levels, wrinkling, sexual function, muscle mass, and aches and pains (Frederick Tims, Alicia Ann Clair, Donna Cohen, Carl Eisdorfer, Midori Koga, Adarsh Kumar, Mahendra Kumar, Cathy McKinney, Áke Seiger, presented at symposium Music Medicine: Enhancing Health Through Music, April 23, 1999, Miami, FL).

A second 1999 study led by Dr. Tims quantified a link between structured music therapy and subjects’ levels of melatonin, a neurohormone linked with sleep regulation and believed to influence the immune system (Adarsh Kumar, David Lowenstein, J. B. Fernandez, Gail Ironson, Carl Eisdorfer, Dean G. Cruess, Michael J. Mintzer, Rogelio Cattan, Alternative Therapies, vol. 5 no. 6, Nov. 1999).

Later in 1999, a study examined enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training. Children given piano keyboard training along with a specially designed Math Video Game training scored significantly higher on proportional math and fractions than children given a control training along with the same video game (Amy Graziano, Matthew Peterson and Gordon Shaw, Neurological Research, Volume 21 [1999], pp. 139-152).

In early 2000, a study found that a curriculum combining piano lessons, educational math software and fun math problems helped second graders achieve scores on advanced math concepts and Stanford 9 math scores comparable to those of fourth graders (Matthew Peterson, Mark Bodner, Stephen Cook, Tina Earl, Jill Hansen, Michael Martinez, Linda Rodgers, Sydni Vuong, Gordon Shaw, 2000, submitted for publication).

In Fall 2000, a team led by Dr. Barry Bittman of the Mind-Body Wellness Center finds that a particular type of group drumming activity appears to boost the function of Natural Killer cells that seek out and destroy cancer cells and virally-infected cells in normal subjects. (Barry Bittman, Lee S. Berk, David L. Felten, O. Carl Simonton, James Pappas, Melissa Ninehouser, Alternative Therapies, January 2001, accepted for publication).

HISTORY-THE LIFE OF THE DRUM
By Toby Christensen

The Drum has a place in the lives of many people throughout the world. It can manifest energy or represent gods. The Drum holds ancient energy, which beckons to the soul and calls for indigenous remembrance. The Menomini, Native American from Wisconsin, believe the Drum is a strong force in the world that should always be treated with great respect.

“The drum (te-we-hekan) is the most sacred object in the Drum Dance powwow for a variety of reasons. It is the most important material embodiment of power. It is believed that the Great Spirit, and all the good spirits he created, put some of their power into the original Drum given to the Sioux women who believed to have introduced the

Ritual to the Menomini” (Slotkin 1975:35).

The Dobe/hoansi are a hunter and gathering society in middle Africa. These people eat the bounty of the land and live in groups of twenty to thirty people. They practice a form of drumming and dancing to harness their energies. “Women dance and enter trances, and men play a supporting role, beating complex rhythms on the long drum that is the central symbol of the dance.” (Richard B Lee. 1993:119-120). In this culture, the drumbeats allow the energy or nu/m within the dancer to rise. An interesting fact is that the drummers of tradition are the women. Recently, a dance and particular drum beat called the Giraffe dance has begun. This dance involves women and some men to enter trance through dancing. Medicine men and women of the bands perform these ceremonies. Many of the participants in this ritual are of varying levels of experience. Participating aids in exposing beginners to their personal nu/m while surrounded by experienced people or for others to learn to control their personal nu/m (energy). Often overwhelmed by the intense trance state, individual may collapse. Others around will care for the individual by freshening them up and helping them to regain a level of recognition where they can either rejoin the ritual or participate in any way they desire. The ceremonial energy is used to summon the healing needed to handle illnesses that inflict the Dobe people. Through additional methods, such as hands on and vocal exclamation, the energy of the healers are shared with the sick of the tribe.

The rhythmic energy created by drumming often has a meditative response on individuals listening. As if swept into oneself, the comfortable sound of the drumbeat opens the minds eye to the divinity within. “Nature, in fact, is such a complex organism that only the intelligence of Spirit can manage it” (Malidoma Patrice Some’, 1999:66). The Dagara people of Burkina Faso, West Africa, are well known for their spiritual practice. They believe that if there is a problem with the physical, one must look to the spiritual for a solution. “That is, in the mind of the indigenous, illness is like an unwelcome guest that wants the place it has taken over to remain the same so that is can be comfortable. Certain healing practices, such as this one, involve altering the energy structure of the person. By doing this, the illness, if there is any, becomes ‘irritated’ at the rude hospitality and moves away in search of another place” (Malidoma Patrice Some’, 1999:262).

The ceremonies of the Dagara people often involve the people of the community, as well as the spiritual leaders, and may also utilize physical representations of elements. They feel that the Spirit is fused with the physical form and that addressing one is addressing both. When addressing the physical the five elements (fire, water, earth, mineral, and nature) correspond with particular areas of the body.

The elements also adhere to the behavior of an individual. Fire associates with the heart and behaviorally tends to have passion and vitality. Water associates with the blood and behaviorally tends to seek peace and harmony. Mineral associates with the skeletal structure, in particular the spine, and behaviorally tends to be the communicator of ancestral, indigenous and ordinary ideals. Nature associates with the lungs and breath and behaviorally encourages easy transformation or change. Earth associates with the stomach and behaviorally tends to be the hub of the wheel providing nurturing and the basic resources that sustain life. The Dagara have particular ceremonies that relate to the five elements.

Often drumming, dancing and singing accompany the ceremony. The presence of the community often provides security and support to the ceremony whether it is being held for an individual or for any other reason. The structure and activities included can vary depending on the elements called upon. To the Dagara people the elements are a vital part of our existence. When healing is needed one must seek the help of the elements and the spiritual leaders of their communities.

One must seek to create a balanced energy in sinc with nature and with Spirit and to create a healthy home for the personal spirit. Only then can we tune in to the divine energy around us and begin our harmonic journey. Toby Christensen’s Sound Attunement Therapy (SAT) builds the bridge between the spirit and the individual to aid in the healing of the self.

Healer Or Facilitator?

I was talking to a friend of mine who works with people to clear their karma. As we talked about the work I do he explained to me that if someone is suffering it does not necessarily mean that there is something “wrong” with them. He said something to the effect that by engaging in “healing” someone, we are making the assumption that #1 there is something “wrong” that needs to be healed, and #2 we are assuming that we (the healer) can do it. He said that by engaging in “healing” someone, we are actually creating karma with that person. This really got me thinking! What he said has been working it’s way into my understanding for the last few months. He asked, “Are you a healer?” I replied, “Of course NOT, I’m just the drummer!” He looked puzzled and smiled. As we continued to talk the conversation was directed to clearly defining our mission when we are called to work in a capacity to help others.

The truth is, healing occurs with Sound Attunement Therapy and the shamanic work I do. I have seen amazing miracles with people and animals. I have had people come to me who have HIV/aids, cancer, people who suffer from substance abuse, depression, and many other maladies. I have seen them miraculously change before my very eyes. The results are clear, The sound of the drum is the tuning of the soul. As a physician from OHSU put it, “This stuff works. It’s a stretch for me, but I can feel the shift. It works” The thing I remember however, is that I am not the one doing the healing. I am holding space with sound to allow the person I am working on to find the healer within themselves. I make the distinction to call myself a facilitator of change and transformation. I am one who holds space for empowerment. This is the place of helpfulness.

As we move into a time in our world where we are seeing humanity at war on all fronts, political and corporate corruption at an unprecedented level, and the tragic loss of over a hundred thousand people in South Asia from the Tsunami. It is more critical than ever that we who have been called to bring healing space into the world do it with power and integrity. We need to bring our gifts to the world and hold the space for those who suffer so they can get through what ever they need to get through and be in peace. I challenge each of you who is called to bring healing to the world to dedicate just one hour per week to hold the earth and it’s inhabitance in the energy of love and empowerment. We can change the world!!!

The Shamanic Journey

As I travel throughout the country I run into many people who are in search of answers to important life questions. In helping them find what they are looking for from a reliable source it is imperative to know a few critical things:

1. Where can we access accurate information?
2. Does this method we use to access this information have a track record of success?
3. Where is this information coming from?
4. Does the practitioner (if one is used/ or if it is you, ask this to yourself) have grounded training to acquire this information and teach how to apply it with wisdom?

Some people I talk to receive guidance in a very frightening way. They simply open them selves to the information waves of the cosmic realm and begin regurgitating anything that comes to them. When asked Where did this information come from? Who gave you the information? How do you know you can trust this information? What was your intention when asking for this information? What specific question did you ask that this information is directed to? And Where did you go to get it? The answer is almost always the same, “I don’t know, the information just comes in. I have had no training at all, one day I just started receiving information.” Well I don’t know about you, but this sounds a little shaky to me. I want to know where my information comes from and who is bringing it to me and how to use it helpfully.

As is above, so is below, as is within so is without, as is in the seen, so is in the unseen. In our ordinary world we have radio waves and microwaves and short waves and many other kinds of unseen communication energy bombarding us. If we are an unregulated receiver we can get allot of mixed and contradicting signals. It is the same when we open ourselves to the realm of non-ordinary reality. So as we seek a method of helpful healing power it is useful to know how to connect to the source that takes us where we need to go to get what we are looking for. If we are just an ''open channel'', anything can come through. Just think if we as a receiver were ''just open'' and received a message from Air America and from the FOX network at the same time! What a mess that would be! What if we did not know where a message came from and we hooked into the George Bush frequency instead of the Dali Lama because we, “…just let the information come in.” If this occurred, we could have a bunch of Buddhist monks fighting middle eastern countries for their oil reserves. Figure that one out! We must know where information comes from and how to differentiate one source from another. One reason this is such an important issue is that many people are waking up to the world of Spirit, and in their sensitivity and vulnerability they are often lead along a very deceptive path by those who wish to lead and control. The wonder and beauty of Spirit is our ability to access our own information and the openness to know where and how to get it. The other wonderful gift we have are people like Sobonfu Some’, Michael Harner, The Foundation For Shamanic Studies, Ancient Wellspring and others who have dedicated their lives to bringing the time tested methods of indigenous people to those of us in the west so that we can benefit from it. The most profound and effective method of accessing the wisdom and help of the Spiritual world is a method that transcends culture and time. It has been used in cultures all over the world and its history can be traced back over 25,000 years. The process is the Shamanic Journey.

I have been studying for over 13 years with both indigenous teachers and anthropologists learning the ways of divination, healing and shamanism. I have been to Africa and have experienced divinations, healings and ceremonies by elders from many tribes. I have assisted a Lakota medicine man for several years in the Inipi ceremony, the Yuwipi ceremony, and the Hanblecheyapi. I have studied with several teachers from the Foundation For Shamanic Studies including the founder, Anthropologist Michael Harner Ph.D author of the book “The Way of the Shaman”. In every case each practitioner regardless of the modality connects with specific intent to the spirit or helper they are connecting to and have a specific intention for that connection. Not once in all my experiences have I ever felt unsafe or that the practitioner was out of control or unable to become aware of the ordinary world. The work of Spirit through the shamanic journey is a time tested wisdom technology that transcends faith, belief and the assimilation of information. It is KNOWING, and it works. As Michael himself puts it when asked about this work, “The shamanic journey is a method of soul or spirit travel, moving from the Middle World (the world we live in that has both ordinary and non-ordinary reality; both spiritual and non-spiritual aspects) to the Upper World or Lower World, both of which are entirely spiritual. The journey of the shaman is a method of traveling to these worlds for the purpose of healing, divination, and other serious missions.''

I always tell my students to develop a relationship with the spirit world in the same way you would develop a relationship in this world. Ask questions and spend time with those who you know can help you. Find out how they work and defer your tasks of the spirit world to those of the spirit world. The shamanic world consists of four basic realms. Middle World Ordinary reality which is the physical, three dimensional world we live in. Middle World Non-ordinary reality which is the spiritual dimension of the Middle World, the Upper World which is entirely spiritual and the Lower World which is also entirely spiritual. To enter these realms most cultures use the drum. The Shamanic journey rhythm is 5-7 beats per second which transports one into the altered state necessary to move into the spiritual realm. The practice of the shamanic journey is a powerful one. It is a place not only of information but of wisdom. When asked about this in a recent interview in Seattle Washington Michael Harner responded:

“We need a lot of wisdom. We have a lot of information, but that is not the same as wisdom, and there is incredible wisdom available from the spirits outside of time, ancestral spirits, animal spirits, and other helping spirits. Also, in this Information Age, which is an outgrowth of technology and science, we’ve come to a crisis of confidence in the concept of faith. People want information that they can trust, and are somewhat dubious that they can trust information developed in another culture, thousands of years ago, to guide them in their lives today about spiritual matters. This provides a direct method for the shamanic practitioner, whose information is not based on faith, because the shaman is a person of knowledge. He or she interacts directly with the spiritual realms and does not engage in faith. The proof is the accuracy of the information received.”

By embracing this wonderful and powerful technique our world can become a place of healing and empowerment. We can move into a place of helpfulness to others and get what we need in a safe and solution oriented wisdom way. To order "The Shaman's Journey" CD to assist with your journeying skills click on Products to the left.