A Sound Approach to Healing
From ancient Greek traditions, to Chinese and Ayurvedic Medicine, to sound therapy, music therapy and creative arts therapies today, there has always been an abiding belief in the power of sound and music to heal. Simultaneously, there has been a profound feeling that all life is connected and intertwined among seemingly invisible lines of energy that lie, not only within the physical body (meridians), but also within and beyond the earth into the realms of space. One system of healing, Acutonics, integrates these concepts.
Acutonics recognizes a connection between the microcosm (physical body) and the macrocosm (universe). They are not only connected to each other, but reflect many similarities and parallels between the electro-magnetic fabric of the universe and the invisible lines that conduct energy in the body, known as the twelve meridians. The meridians act like electrical currents that when activated via the “plug” or acupuncture point, activate the flow of Qi, blood and body fluids. In acupuncture, these currents of energy are stimulated through the process of inserting needles in a particular point or points, as well as deeper reservoirs of energy known as the Eight Extraordinary Vessels (EV). In Acutonics, the EV are activated by placing tuning forks on the points that open the channel, and through the process of resonance and sound waves, “charge up” the body, revitalizing the area associated with that channel physically, emotionally and spiritually. The combination of two tuning forks is what creates the musical intervals that vibrate with specific healing frequencies. Numerous combinations (intervals) can be created that address various symptomatic concerns.
The eight vessels are considered “extraordinary” because they regulate the flow of Qi among the internal organs and twelve meridians when ordinary methods fail. The physical body, containing at least 70% water, makes an excellent resonator for sound, responding quickly and naturally to the healing tones introduced via the Acutonics tuning forks. Water itself has some interesting properties associated with it. Through the process of covalent bonding, when two electrons “orbit” the nucleus of the cell, the water molecule is considered healthy and able to “memorize” and hold the frequency of the vibration. Although unhealthy water molecules will compromise health, vibration is an excellent medium for restoring harmony to the body. Specifically, the Acutonics tuning forks are calibrated to the frequencies known since antiquity as the music of the spheres. These connections are explored, for example, inThe Music of the Spheres: Music, Science and the Natural Order of the Universe, by Jamie James (New York, NY: Copernicus/Springer Verlag, 1993).
The concept that all life and matter are composed of the same substances, and that energy waves, such as sound, represent a universal and unifying principal of all life, is now gaining recognition in fundamental physics with respect to string theory and the unified field of consciousness. Recent studies that have analyzed material from an inter-stellar comet compared to the chemistry DNA are finding some intriguing similarities. Much like a bottle of wine retains the notes of the grapes within its content, each individual carries a signature of the four building blocks of the universe: fire, solids, liquids and gases, otherwise known as fire, earth, water and air. The Acutonics system brings together influences from Johannes Kepler’s historic work on the laws of planetary motion, and Hans Cousto’s work on transposing the music of the spheres from frequencies outside the range of human hearing into an octave and range the human ear can discern. But the body also percieves and interprets vibration with more than just the ears. It is constantly receiving, interpreting and transmitting vibration at every metabolic level such as cells, organ systems, the five sensory organs and at the level of emotion and spirit.
In an Acutonics session, there is simultaneously a calming, centering and grounded feeling of being utterly present in the body, of being safe, as well as the realization and expansion into subtle realms of spirit and cosmos. The individual literally becomes an instrument that resonates with the greater environment a little more each time: body, mind, spirit, earth and universe. The beauty and intelligence of this system can be genuinely experienced as a reflection of the elegant order of all life as it should be: in harmony.
About the Author:
Jennifer Gehl, BA, has been a Certified Acutonics® Practitioner since 2003. Now pursuing a Master’s in Health Science at St. Francis University, her report on Acutonics was accepted for publication in Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 5th Ed. by Marc S. Micozzi, M.D.