Sound Healing–Raising Our Voices

Human beings raised voices and vibrations of hearts and minds–the government took notice to begin to heal its egregious wrongs to children and families at the border. The Executive Order is not the solution,  so we keep our voices speaking up for justice and compassion. Voices, sounds, vibrations are powerful. They are much needed to heal bodies, minds, spirits, nations and worlds.

As we are learning in our Wisdom Healing Qigong Sound Healing class, ancient sounds and vibrations can heal from the inside out. As we heal ourselves, we heal the world. Wenamaste heal the world because we come to realize and to experience the true oneness of all beings. When we know we are connected, we treat each other with dignity, respect, and love. We bow to the divine in each other (Namaste).

Below is a summary of the two organ systems we introduced last week (from Sound Healing Technologies by Mingtong Gu, The Chi Center):

Kidney System: includes kidneys, bladder, adrenal glands, reproductive organs, bone marrow, cells, ears, teeth, bones and stem cells. When chi is flowing, we are cautious (but not fearful), alert, mindful, gentle, determined and kind. Blockages appear as fear, shock, fright, hatred and ignorance. The energetic pattern is visualized as going from stuck or frozen, like ice, to beautiful, flowing water. We act instead of react, creativity abounds. These sounds are are effective for healing hormonal, reproductive and skeletal issues.

Digestive System (Pancreas): includes stomach, pancreas, intestine, colon, mouth, skin, flesh. When chi is flowing, we are thoughtful, open, centered and grounded. We embody equanimity. Worry, pride, and arrogance are results of blockages of this system. We may have difficulty digesting food, energy, and/or information. These may either be symptoms of or the cause of blockages. The energy pattern of this system is spiral movement, in and out. When making the third sound, feel as though you are singing a song.

This Wednesday we’ll discuss the Liver/Purification System and Lungs/Respiratory System, and engage in the full Sound Healing practice. As mentioned in class, it’s best to practice the whole 5 Organ Sounds together, as they all work together as a system. If you only have time to do a few, at least acknowledge in gratitude and light each of the other systems. Or, if you want to spend more time focusing on one system, that’s great, and also do the sounds for the others. The order is important, the handout in class has information about that. Haola!

Opening Our Hearts

Few would argue that sound and vibration have a significant affect on our emotions. Media people know this with expert precision. Think of sound tracks and Foley effects in movies and commercials. If you take away scary music and just watch the scene, usually5 organs not so scary! And we put on music at home to give us energy, to quiet us down, to feel groovy and centered, etc. So it makes perfect sense that sound and vibration can impact our emotions. Wisdom Healing Qigong (WHQ) Sound Healing uses the sound and vibration from our own voices to focus directly into our organs to heal on many levels, among them the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual layers of our organ energy systems.

This WHQ Sound Healing practice comes from ancient Taoist texts. We don’t

heart yeti
theawkwardyeti.com

know how Taoist monks came up with these specific sounds for the 5 organ systems, but we do know they didn’t have TV, movies and the Internet. 🙂 They had time to practice and study and experience their bodies, hearts and souls, consciousness and sometimes enlightenment. As we strive in our busy lives to keep stress at bay, make a living, parent our kids, keep relationships healthy, etc., most of us don’t have the same laser focus on consciousness that Taoist monks did.  But we can use the gift of these teachings from the ancient ones to heal ourselves, others and the world.

In our first Sound Healing class (6/13/18), we focused on the Heart. As we make the sounds, we visualize the heart as a red rose, or any kind of flower, opening, allowing energy to flow deeper, clearing blockages. We visualize the energy pattern of the heart as expansion and gathering. Easy to imagine, as the heart is rosecontinuously pumping, contracting and expanding. The emotional qualities of the heart are things we know–love, happiness, joy, connection, fulfillment, wisdom, sincerity, openness, peace. The secret to happiness is not to try to do things to get happy, but to allow energy blockages in the heart to release and transform. Blockages in the heart can manifest as anxiety, depression, cruelty (sometimes especially to self), hatred, and greed. How do we heal? We open and allow transformation through sound healing, inner smile, and other qigong and healing practices. It’s not easy to just “let go” of blockages. It takes commitment and time.

Healing and transformation are most effective with a daily practice. If time is limited and you only have time for the heart sounds in a day, do briefly acknowledge all the organ systems after you sing with the heart because they all work together–a simple internal smile and gratitude to our beautiful, hard working systems is all it takes in a pinch.

This coming week (June 20th), we’ll study the Kidney and Digestive Energy systems and then practice the sounds for all 3 organ systems we will have learned so far.

True cardiovascular health is not just about physical fitness, it’s about deep contentment with one’s life and destiny.  Happiness and love are often associated with the Heart representing a state of peacefulness. Stress or lack of self-expression can directly impact this organ’s function. TCM World website

heart anatomy

To study WHQ Sound Healing, contact the Chi Center for online courses or purchase the Sound Healing booklet and DVD/download from the Chi Center store. Or come to my classes in Bishop, CA. Both would be extra great! Click on the Classes tab of this website to see when offered.

Intro to Healing with Sound

sound healingThe physical effect of sound has a great influence upon the human body. The whole mechanism, the muscles, the blood circulation, the nerves are all moved by the power of vibration. As there is resonance for every sound, so the human body is a living resonator for sound.
Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi Master

One of the three main practices of Wisdom Healing Qigong (WHQ) is a sound healing practice. When WHQ was developed by Dr. Pang  (known as Zhineng Qigong in China), Sound Healing was an advanced practice (Level 3). Master Mingtong Gu’s experience has shown him that many of us in the West are in immediate need of this deep emotional healing, and so he is offering sound healing to beginners (Level 1).

WHQ cultivates the mind’s capacity to direct chi (energy) toward an uplifting of the whole human energy system–one mind/body/heart/spirit. As we practice and consciously choose to transform, we shift from automatic responses to life’s challenges to wisdom responses.  These work together in a holistic pattern–as we learn to make healthier responses, we further integrate our mind, body, heart and spirit. As we integrate, we build our capacity to change our responses. This gets into the whole 3 A teaching (accept, appreciate, activate) that is at the heart of qigong practice. But I can tell you from personal experience, transformation from automatic responses to autonomous wisdom takes time and practice! I’ve had a qigong practice for four years, and a similar Pema Chodron practice for many years prior to that, and it’s still hard. You have to make a conscious choice to be on this path, and Sound Healing is a practice that can help you hold true to this commitment.

For example, the other day I was in a “bad” mood. Okay, part of our journey is to not label things as “bad” or “good,” but simply to see them as part of our journey. We choose how to respond.  Anyway, I was in a bad mood. I considered the 3 A’s, but it’s so hard to accept when I feel that way. I wanted to resist the “bad” feeling, to somehow get into a better mood. So I quasi-accepted and then tried to figure out a chi-ful response. I tried Haola chanting to myself. When you are with another person and on vacation, it’s hard to just go into isolation and practice. At least, that was my excuse, and I stuck to it! I gave up pretty quickly on the internal chanting and chose instead to eat a bunch of chips and drank some red wine. Not a very chi-ful response! But guess what? I didn’t totally fail the lesson. Later, I took a look at my response and said, “Hmm, I think I need to get back to Sound Healing.” So I made a commitment to a Sound Healing gong: daily practice for 100 days. I’m now well into my second week! The air will be starting to cool in September when I finish, and it will be a solid habit in my day.

Sound Healing is my anchor, my grounding practice, that bridle when my emotional well-being is a runaway horse. I think the next time I am challenged by a “teaching mood,” I can say to my beloved, “Dear, my body/mind/heart/spirit needs some Sound Healing. I’ll be back with you in 30 minutes.”

So what is it about Sound Healing that is so powerful? As a part of cultivating our minds to direct our energy, we need to be on the path toward emotional grounding. The Taoist, traditional Chinese Medicine, and Qigong teachings all say that our organs are not just physical entities, but also organs of energy. As energy systems, each absorbs and transforms our emotions. Energy can get stuck in these systems. For example, we often live in chronic stress. Stress that is not dissipated or transformed gets buried until there is a conscious unblocking or transformation of this energy. Sound Healing for the Five Organ Systems is a practice that uses sound and vibration from our own voices to allow chi/energy to flow freely throughout our body/mind/heart/spirit. We can let go of stress– or whatever emotion has been affecting our internal alchemy. Powerful!

In our Sound Healing classes over the next 3 weeks, we will be learning the simple practice of healing with the sound of Haola. In addition, we will chant the Essence Mantra and learn the three sacred sounds for each of the five organ systems. These sounds access the deep energy within and help us create new, healthy and stable emotional patterns. We’ll start with sounds for the heart–such a beautiful place to start! We’ll send love, hugs, light, smiles, and gratitude to our hearts through our own voices and the ancient sounds from Taoist texts. We will learn which organ systems relate to specific emotions. If you choose this path of transformation, you will take with you a daily practice that will allow you to choose a chi-ful response when life sends you lessons. If you eat chips and drink wine instead, you can make a different choice next time! We learn. We practice. And we keep learning.

Wisdom Healing Qigong Sound Healing
Wednesdays June 13, 20, 27
9:00 – 10:00 AM
Imagination Lab, Bishop, CA
621 West Line Street Suite 204
Donations accepted

If you cannot make these classes or desire more in-depth Qigong Sound Healing, check out The Chi Center online classes and store (for an e-book and audio downloads).