Quest Magazine

By Radha Burnier

Originally printed in the JULY-AUGUST 2006 issue of Quest magazine. 
Citation: Burnier, Radha. "In Tune With the Universe." Quest  94.4 (JULY-AUGUST 2006):150-152.

The subject of attunement is of vital importance to humanity. Being out of tune with other people, with the environment, and with ourselves, we have done enormous damage to mutual relationships and to our own progress. The damage we do to ourselves can at no time be separated from the damage we do to others. We are responsible for the whole. Those who are inwardly well tuned and integrated, radiate harmony and happiness wherever they go and whatever they do. On the other hand, when there is discord inside, it breeds discord outside. Further, as The Voice of the Silence says: "Before the soul can see, the harmony within must be attained." All discord blinds the vision and human progress is retarded

The universe is not a chaos but a cosmos, so perfectly tuned that those who realize it through study and contemplation are left speechless in utter amazement. In his book, Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe, the author Sir Martin Rees writes about six numbers, some of them very small and some very large, which constitute the "recipe" for the universe. If any one of them were to be increased or decreased even minutely, there would be no stars and no life. For example, if the existing ratio between gravity and expansion energy had been even slightly different, the universe would have collapsed long ago, or no galaxies or stars would have been formed. He asks the question: "Is this tuning just a brute fact, a coincidence?"

According to ancient Indians the cosmic order was called rta. The unimaginably high level of tuning which maintains the cosmic order relates not only to the perceivable measurable facts of which scientists take cognizance; it exists in subtle dimensions with which science does not concern itself. Rta, for the ancients, was all-comprehensive harmony, the ground of all phenomena in the visible and the deep invisible fields and dimensions of existence. David Bohm might have had an insight into this aspect when he wrote, in Wholeness and the Implicate Order, about undivided wholeness in flowing movement and an implicate order which "constitutes a fundamental aspect of reality."

An expert musician's ear is so sensitive that he or she becomes aware of even the slightest deviation from the harmony of sounds. A musician hears fine distinctions the listeners may not notice, and every time there is need, adjusts the string to maintain perfect accord. Every musician in an orchestra also takes care to preserve musical excellence: Even slight nuances are important, for they are integral to the whole.

The cosmic order or rta, on a vast, almost inscrutable scale, may be similar. There is an intelligence and creative power (the master musician) that restores the harmony of the universe, if it is disturbed in even the slightest degree. This is the working of Karma or Karma-Nemesis as Madame Blavatsky calls it in The Secret Doctrine. She says that "the only decree of Karma—an eternal and immutable decree—is absolute Harmony in the world of Matter as it is in the world of Spirit. It is not, therefore, Karma that rewards or punishes, but it is we who reward or punish ourselves, according as we work with, through and along with Nature, abiding by the laws on which that harmony depends, or—breaking them" (11.368). HPB also says in this context that so long as the effect of having thrown into perturbation "even the smallest atom in the Infinite World of Harmony" has not been readjusted, the "evil-doer" suffers what he thinks is retribution. He experiences what we call pain and strives to escape it, and, being ignorant of what is happening, he acts in such a way as to create further perturbation.

Ancient tradition also affirms that invisible to our perception there exist many types of beings, endowed with intelligence in varying measure, who are in a state of unconscious harmony with Nature and spontaneously carry out the "Great Work." They joyously play their own scores in the cosmic symphony. So do all the subhuman creatures that we know. For the human being alone, the question arises of how to be in tune with the universe. We, who are so out of tune, feel the misery of strife and long for peace, love, and beauty.

But fortunately, the human consciousness has the power to observe, think over, and understand enough about the universe in which it finds itself to realize the responsibility of the individual in preserving the harmony. By our own effort to see and understand life, we must realize that the chaotic conditions in human society result from the contradictions within ourselves. Therefore the remedy is in our hands. If we give attention to understanding, our consciousness may make the transition into a new level of knowledge of the universal order, its meaning and beauty.

Evolution is not merely a development from lesser to greater degrees of complexity of form, but also a blossoming of consciousness into higher levels of awareness. This awareness includes an appreciation of the fundamental energies in the cosmos; it does not necessarily refer to knowledge of details. It is a vision of the pine principles which manifest themselves in every detail as well as in the general flow. The Buddha's omniscience, tradition says, consists of the power to know everything rather than knowledge of such details as how many hairs there are on a person's head!

The flow of manifestation reveals these pine principles in varying degrees through various phenomena and functions. In the flow of a waterfall, we see a steady movement although there is constant change. The sparkling changes against the background of a steady state cause us to experience a refreshing delight and a sense of newness at every instant. The shadow or phenomenal world is endless movement and never-ending change, but underlying the movement is immovable and everlasting Being—a paradox which is repeated in other ways. The order of the universe embraces an immense diversity of forms and patterns. The creative energy which upholds it constantly gives birth to new things; but nothing is repeated, not even one leaf of a tree being the same as another. Nature seems to abhor cloning and conformity. Yet amidst the astounding diversities of life, a mysterious bond exists uniting all things into a whole. The human being is like a drop in the vastness and depth of the ocean of existence, seemingly separate, but inseparable from it.

These paradoxes are all part of the music of the spheres. The great symphony of Nature is played with perse instruments, musicians, melodies, rhythms, and so on. In a Sufi parable it is related that when the hoarse cawing of a crow irritated some persons and they drove it away in anger, the Lord summoned his assistants and asked why a member of his orchestra was missing. Each particular element derives its value from enriching the whole, but it is the whole which is the "music of the spheres." It is wonderful to be human, because we can rejoice in the beauty and the newness of all the different elements and also realize that they are not other than the wholeness. They are, in fact, the Whole displaying a part of its self-nature, just as Light displays the colors of the rainbow. Every unity has the potential for diversity, and all diversities merge with unity.

The human problem is that our internal contradictions have their base in the great paradox of manifestation, when the Supreme appears other than Itself. Pierre Lecomte de Nouy, in his book Human Destiny, as well as others have speculated on the aims underlying evolution and have suggested that they include harmony, freedom, and individuality. In the average human, the assertion of individuality destroys harmony and appears to establish freedom. The diversification of forms and species is a means to evolve more and more individual characteristics. There is a vast difference, for instance, between a mosquito and an elephant, not just because of size, but because in the former there is hardly any individuality, while the latter is markedly individual in looks, behavior, and intelligence. The human being has advanced even further in this direction. But through millennia, evolution of consciousness has also been developing freedom and a sense of harmony. Organically, there have been such developments: the animal is physically freer than the plant, and humankind is even freer. Inwardly also, progress is being made towards freedom. There is, however, the seeming contradiction between the need for harmony on the one hand, and individuality on the other in the lives of most human beings. This is resolved in the earlier pre-human stages by Nature's own adjustments. But in the self-conscious human being there is conflict and struggle. He wants relationships, and yet his egoism spoils the chances of experiencing them joyfully. Assertion of individuality, (which is egoism) is the prime cause of our disharmony. Similarly, we want freedom, but we also need order—this is not only an individuality, but also a social and national dilemma.

Hence our major problem is: Can we be free without creating chaotic and painful situations? Can we nourish the latent uniqueness within us, without being at war? Much depends on how we understand ourselves and those values which are of the basic substance of the universe.

The universal and timeless values of the cosmos are unconnected with and independent of external things. As the poet Richard Lovelace said:

"To Althea: From Prison"

Someone in prison is no less free than another so-called free man who is a slave to the passion of greed, anger, or envy. Similarly, true individuality is not a matter of asserting one's importance or exhibiting knowledge. What we call fundamental values—freedom, uniqueness, harmony, happiness, peace—are soul characteristics. They are not dependent on anything outside for their existence. Belief that we must find them outside by manipulating relationships, acquiring possessions, or changing circumstances is the cause of discord and suffering. These values are facets of our true nature and of universal consciousness. When we realize our true nature, we are absolutely in tune with the universe.

By Michael English 

Originally printed in the July - August 2006 issue of Quest magazine. 
Citation: English, Michael. "Music of the Spheres: Our Relationship with the Anonymous Dead." Quest  94.4 (JULY-AUGUST 2006):145-149.

The Music of the Spheres is an ancient Pythagorean concept, wherein Pythagoras was fascinated by the harmonics of a vibrating string on a Greek instrument-the lyre. He discovered an amazing correspondence between the order of musical intervals and the spacing of planets. For Pythagoras, there appeared to be a direct mathematical relationship between music's vibrational frequency and the corresponding position of planetary bodies; it seemed that the order of notes on vibrating strings were, somehow, an intrinsic property of the whole universe.

Interestingly, modern physics is now revisiting the concept of vibrational string harmonics as a much sought-after TOE-Theory of Everything. That may be considered as a grandiose claim unless taken in context, which I will qualify shortly. However, modern string theory asserts that, sub-atomically, all physical reality is made from the relationship between one phenomenon-tiny vibrating strings of energy'and the differing properties at this smallest of scales is due to the differing vibrational patterns the strings can perform. Brian Greene states, "far from being a collection of chaotic experimental facts, particle properties in string theory are the manifestation of one and the same physical feature: the resonant patterns of vibration'the music, so to speak'of fundamental loops of string" (Greene 15-16).

This becomes interesting from a metaphysical and theosophical perspective, due to some amazing conceptual correspondences between modern string theory and investigative research done in the early twentieth century by Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater. Yet, just as metaphysics postulates inner dimensions of being, string theory, too, relies on extra, hidden dimensions that may be equally real as the reality we experience here.

Exploring the re-emergence of the Pythagorean harmonics as a modern description of the basic structure of our Universe, and its metaphysical relevance, is worthwhile, especially considering the prophetic words of Madame Blavatsky: "'the hidden meaning of Apollo's HEPTACHORD'the lyre of the radiant god'whose shell only has now fallen into the hands of Modern Science '" (Blavatsky 167).

First, let's clarify the scientific concept of a TOE. Theoretical physics is often considered the essential science because, from a reductionist perspective'peeling away the external layers to find the most elementary constituent in nature'it deals with what are considered the basic building blocks and the glue that sticks them together. Everything is supposedly derivative from this level.

Knowing the elementary particles and the forces that operate between them, you should be able to understand how they combine to form atoms, molecules, and on to complex organisms. But theoretical physics has become bound within a self-referencing paradigm due to another principle, the doctrine of materialism. As Rupert Sheldrake indicates: "materialism starts from the assumption that only matter is real; hence everything that exists is either matter or entirely dependent on matter for its existence" (Sheldrake, 202).

Guided by the materialist doctrine, physics has advanced by leaps and bounds, discovering that everything is made of atoms, which are made of subatomic particles, and certain forces, operating between these fundamental particles, either stick them together or move them apart. It seemed only some fine details were required to put this together as a complete description of everything, or TOE. But here's the qualification'materialism only leads towards a complete theory of all possible physical interactions; it doesn't necessarily explain "everything."

For example, everything in this physical existence is made of energy, but what is energy and where does it come from? Materialism doesn't know; it appears from the Big Bang and then we only know it by the properties it conveys when it interacts: mass, charge and spin.

Or, at a different level: How do we explain the emergence of consciousness? Materialists can't adequately answer this, because they look at dead matter as the basis of consciousness, not as in metaphysics where consciousness is the basis of consciousness. The TOE physicists are working towards is a theory that accounts for all energetic, and therefore, they argue, all physical interactions. But this creates a "hermetic paradigm," wherein the outcome of the theory must, in some way, correspond with matter. Therefore, when physicists say a TOE, we should realize that there are definite limitations. (However, I applaud its description of physical nature.) 

That said, let's delve deeper: 

Pythagoras seems to have been so fascinated with the mystical abstraction of numbers that he experimented mathematically with the harmonics of the vibrating string and became impressed with the remarkable similarity between musical intervals and the spacing of the planets' (sub-atomically 67).

Or from the post-modern scientific perspective:

. . . since the Pythagoreans taught that the order of notes of a vibrating string pervades the whole universe, they would have been moved to learn, two thousand years later, of the work of Nambu, who was able to show that the hadrons, or strongly interacting particles, are also quantum manifestations of this Pythagorean ideal (Peat 53).

The question arises: Why are physicists exploring the idea that fundamental particles, such as hadrons (or photons, electrons, etc.) are vibrating strings? Isn't there already a suitable theory? This goes to the heart of a problem that's dogged physics for decades now. Yes, there is a very precise theory for the small-scale universe-quantum theory-and an incredibly precise theory for the large-scale universe'Einstein's general relativity. Yet, the enduring problem has been that these two theories have resisted all attempts to unify them into one description, negating any TOE. For a greater appreciation of why these two theories remain mutually exclusive, I'll outline each, to show how string theory resolves the problem.

In the early twentieth century, physicists discovered all matter was not made from solid billiard-ball atoms; rather, these atoms are actually composites'basically, a cloud of electrons orbiting a central dense nucleus. Later, they realized the central nucleus is not solid either, but made of even smaller parts'protons and neutrons'which in turn, are made of yet smaller components'quarks.

Really, at this most fundamental level, we should stop thinking of these so-called "particles" as being made of matter; they are fluctuating amounts of energy that display certain well defined properties; that's basically what "quantum" means. In fact, the current way of thinking about the elusive quantum is as an energetic excitation of its underlying field.

For example, the quantum known as a photon, or particle of light, is a vibrating excitation of the all-pervasive electromagnetic field. To make matters even more difficult, these quanta live in a world of their own which does not follow the rules of our classical world. They perform what seem impossible feats; including fluctuating in and out of existence, being in two places at once, and there's a quantifiable level of uncertainty in the quantum world.

Uncertainty is an inherent part of the quantum world. Because quanta are, in principle, incessantly energetic, it's impossible to know in the same moment, both the position and momentum of a quantum particle; the more you know the position, the less you know the momentum, and vice versa. Quantum physicists resolve this by dealing in a very precise way with the probabilities of where the particles might be.

If this all sounds a bit bizarre'well, it is. But quantum theory has been pursued due to its successes, and is the basis of all electronic equipment. Thus, as Greene indicates:

By 1928 or so, many of the mathematical formulas and rules of quantum mechanics had been put in place and, ever since, it has been used to make the most precise and successful numerical predictions in the history of science (Greene 87).

So, even though physicists themselves often refer to quantum theory as weird or bizarre, it has been relied on for an understanding of the microscopic world we can never see. In its mathematical formulation, quantum theory treats particles as dimensionless points; idealized points of no size, but being assigned certain values and properties. However, these rules don't apply to the macroscopic world. In the macroscopic world, we know where things are without any uncertainty (except car keys and teenage children), and at this, scale physicists rely on Einstein's general relativity.

General relativity deals with the nature of space, time (as a four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime) and gravity. In simple terms'the presence of mass/matter/energy causes the spacetime fabric to curve, just like the mass of a bowling ball on a trampoline mat would cause that mat to curve. So for Einstein, gravity is not an attractive force, rather, it's the geometrical curvature of the spacetime fabric that causes spatial bodies to follow certain orbits. General relativity is so precise that, as Einstein predicted, even light would follow the spacetime curvature, and this was one of the first experiments performed to verify its accuracy.

General relativity sees spacetime as a smooth, continuous medium from one point to the next without any fluctuations. This presents the nub of the problem for physicists:

General relativity is a theory about the structure of space-time, curved geometry being determined by the amount of energy and matter present. But matter and energy are quantum mechanical in nature, so a complete account of space-time geometry cannot ignore the quantum nature of the matter and energy which creates its very form (Peat 17-18).

Thus, if quantum theory treats particles as transient fluctuating excitations of the field, but general relativity says the spacetime field is a smooth continuum, we see the crux of the problem. General relativity cannot account for these microscopic fluctuations in its formulation; and the fluctuations of the subatomic world do not appear in our macroscopic reality. This becomes an intractable problem if we imagine magnifying in on a region of space; as we reach the microscopic size of the quantum world, we encounter a wildly fluctuating "quantum foam" which defies general relativity. And this is why string theory is such a revelation. Rather than elementary particles being dimensionless points, in string theory they do have dimension, albeit incredibly small, at about the level where the uncertainty principle kicks in.

In string theory, the basic idea describes quanta as little loops of energetic string. So, if we could magnify a quantum particle, such as an electron, to an observable size, rather than being a point of energy, it would be a loop of energy, or vibrating string. Just as the string on a musical instrument, whether a lyre, heptachord, or violin can carry a certain vibrational frequency depending on its length, the microscopic strings have specific resonant frequencies. It is the frequency pattern that is then interpreted as the various particles that make up the real world (that is, real to us).

String theory took a while to gain momentum, because other critical developments had not been made at that time. One was the idea that there are many more spacetime dimensions than the three of space and one of time apparent to us! In string theory, the strings can be "open" like a small piece of thread, or "closed" like an elastic band, flat like a Frisbee, or assume even more complicated shapes, generically referred to as "branes." This alone could account for many, though not all, particles in the quantum world. However, if these various string shapes and other bits are assumed to move through extra, hidden spatial dimensions, then we can account for all the quantum particles of nature, both those that carry force (bosons) and the ones that act as matter (fermions).

As it turns out, the best description of nature, as we know it, could be derived from 10 spacetime dimensions, with 6 of them having curled up so tightly at the beginning of the universe that they're not apparent to our senses. As Michio Kaku states: ". . . and when strings move in 10-dimensional space-time, they warp the space-time surrounding them in precisely the way predicted by general relativity. So strings simply and elegantly unify the quantum theory of particles and general relativity (New Scientist 32-36).

Unfortunately, here we hit another snag: five competing string theories emerged out of this new paradigm; obviously about four too many, if we want one unified description of nature, or TOE. This is where the most acclaimed move in string theory was made. If the strings and other shapes are moving about in their 10-dimensional framework, but also wrapped around a tightly bound eleventh dimension, then specific relationships among the various string theories emerge; so called "dualities," or ways of linking the theories together. While difficult to grasp without going into a lengthy description, basically these dualities show that the nature of spaces smaller than that of the quantum uncertainty level are equivalent to our large spatial dimensions. Or as one of the key contributors to string theory says: "according to T-duality, universes with small scale factors are equivalent to ones with large scale factors" (Veneziano 37). Put another way, the five string theories turn out to be loose approximations of a superior theory, rather blandly named M-theory.

To summarize before launching into the metaphysics: string theory, or M-theory, unites general relativity and quantum theory by saying that at the elementary level, tiny strings and branes of energy vibrate around and through extra, hidden dimensions. The extra dimensions can only be curled up in very specific ways, but end up looking like bundles of twisted shapes. The way strings wind and vibrate about the multi-dimensional space gives rise to what we perceive as different particles, like electrons, quarks, photons, etc. and their properties. A way of thinking of this is like the way different musical notes are produced through a saxophone by pressing valves which modify the space through which the wind or energy passes; the shape of the inner dimensions gives rise to the outer vibration.

It is very interesting to compare this to the clairvoyant work of Besant and Leadbeater from their 1909 theosophical classic, Occult Chemistry. Almost a hundred years ago, they researched the most elementary level of physical nature, not with electron microscopes or particle accelerators as we do today, but with the power of the mind. They used special psychic techniques, they'd been trained in, to focus the inner vision of their minds in on the smallest scales of the physical world. (There are serious dangers to advancing psychic abilities prematurely, so don't try this at home.)

So what did they find this world is made of at the smallest scale of physical reality? Tiny bundles of twisted string-like shapes! In his work Anima, Stephen Phillips, depicts their "Ultimate Physical Atom" (UPA), or the most elementary constituent of physical reality. Very few physicists have bothered looking at their work, but in doing so, Phillips realized they were actually viewing subatomic particles, or in our new understandings, the superstrings of string theory. And amazingly, their UPA is like a bundle of string that winds and vibrates as it spins on its axis and is wrapped around an inner cylindrical dimension. Here are all the elements of string theory, but Besant and Leadbeater proposed this at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The important features of string theory involve spin, charge, ten dimensions around a cylindrical eleventh, winding capacities and vibrational patterns. The UPA has similar features, like ten string-like bands that wind around an inner cylindrical dimension; it also has charge, spin and it vibrates-all fascinating correlations and, at least conceptually, the same.

However, in metaphysics, the UPA is only the elementary level of the densest plane/field of being'the physical. There are other subtle levels beyond the physical fields; other dimensions of being, where our Soul, or individualized consciousness, remains as a continuum in the after-death state, and this is the reason that the bulk of humanity has always intuited some form of after-life (such as heaven, nirvana, and so on.)

In metaphysics, these physical fields, which are the focus of our senses, have crystallized out higher vibrational fields or the extra, hidden dimensions. The nature and properties of some of those higher fields is that of mental properties, thus our consciousness can survive the inner dimensions, but our physical body cannot. As Madame Blavatsky states: "Being is an endless cycle within the one absolute eternity, wherein move numberless inner cycles finite and conditioned" (Blavatsky 221, emphasis added).

This concept involves one of the major principles in metaphysics and probably the most important paradigm shift for our understanding of human nature. In Eastern metaphysics, rather than our consciousness dying or stagnating in an "after-life," we are (or more correctly, our consciousness is) a reincarnating entity in its own right; one which focuses that consciousness into the physical world for a life-period by connecting with a suitably complex brain and body. Then, before withdrawing consciousness at death of the physical body and withdrawing to the hidden inner dimensions (the "inner being"), it assimilates earthly experiences before being karmically, or magnetically, drawn back to the physical fields; the Buddhist "samsara," or wheel of birth and death, from which Gautama Buddha released himself.

This is a whole new science, involving the processes of psycho-magnetism rather than electromagnetism, and a metaphysical understanding of the inner dimensions. So, does string theory, or M-theory, in any way support this axiom of metaphysics? Is it possible that there are "inner dimensions" where consciousness descends, or emerges from and returns to?

Perhaps the post-modern M-theory is just on the cusp of uncovering this. Consider these fascinating comments from one of the leaders in this field, Michael J. Duff who, in his article "The Theory Formerly Known as Strings," states:

We have always supposed that the laws of nature break down at smaller distances. What T-duality suggests, however, is at these scales, the universe looks just the same as it does at large scales. One may even imagine that if the universe were to shrink to less than the Planck length [minimum meaningful length in quantum theory], it would transform into a dual universe that grows bigger as the original one collapses. (15)

It may take centuries for our understandings to evolve to the metaphysical view of our consciousness as a continuum that can be liberated from its subtle magnetic attraction to matter (as at death) and shift its focus to other inner dimensions. But perhaps theoretical physics has just begun to discover the science of how this could be.

I particularly like Blavatsky's quote with respect to this concept:

Maya or illusion is an element which enters into all finite things, for everything that exists has only a relative, not an absolute reality'Whatever plane our consciousness may be acting in, both we and the things belonging to that plane are, for the time being, our only realities. (39-40)

Finally, I wonder if the discovery of microscopic string harmonics was what Blavatsky was alluding to when stating:

Do not attempt to unveil the secret of being and non-being to those unable to see the hidden meaning of Apollo's HEPTACHORD-the lyre of the radiant god, in each of the seven strings of which dwelleth the Spirit, Soul and Astral body of the Kosmos, whose shell only has now fallen into the hands of Modern Science ' (167)

Blavatsky, Helena P. The Secret Doctrine, 7th ed. vol. 1. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979.

Greene, Brian. The Elegant Universe. London: Jonathan Cape, 1999.

Duff, Michael J. "The Theory Formerly Known As Strings." Scientific American, vol.13:1, 2003.

Kaku, Michio. New Scientist, January 18, 1997 [PF: Contact author.We need name of article here]

Smith, E. Lester (Ed.) Intelligence Came First. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1990.

Murchie, Guy. The Music of the Spheres: The Material Universe from Atom to Quasars, Simply Explained. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1967.

Phillips, Stephen M. Anima: Evidence of a Yogic Siddhi. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House, 1996.

Peat, David, F. Superstrings and the Search For the Theory of Everything. Chicago,IL: Contemporary Books, 1988.

Sheldrake, Rupert. A New Science of Life. Rochester, NY: Park Street Press, 1995.

Veneziano, G. "The Myth of the Beginning of Time." Scientific American, vol. 290:5, 2004.

VOLUME 94, NUMBER 4

Contents

In Tune
By Betty Bland

In Tune with the Universe
By Radha Burnier

Music of the Spheres:Our Relationship with the Anonymous Dead
By Michael English

The Living Well
By By Sherry Pelton

Therapeutic Touch: Healing Based on Theosophy and Science
By Nelda Samarel

Therapeutic Touch: The Healing Journey
By Sue Wright

By Sherry Pelton

Originally printed in the July - August 2006 issue of Quest magazine. 
Citation: Pelton, Sherry. "The Living Well." Quest  94.4 (JULY-AUGUST 2006):139-143.

---Sherry Pelton

What is this wellspring that is always available to us, and how do we find it? This deep well restores our powers. It gives us the ability to heal, grow, and transform. Its source is our inner divinity. To find it and dip into its replenishing waters, we need only be still and listen to our inner voice. We may imagine it in any way. The knowledge that it is there, and that we can find our own way to dip into it, is what gives us comfort and strength.

Most of the ancient teachings of the world's religions provide clues to understanding this powerful source by identifying sound and vibration as inherent in all that exists. Without vibration (or the "big bang," as scientists call it) our world would not have come into existence. In the Bible, the Gospel of John reads: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). The word is sound which is produced by vibration. The Book of Genesis begins: "And God said, Let there be light; and there was light" implying that word, i.e., sound or vibration, existed first in order for God to give this command (Genesis 1:3). The whole system of Hindu religion and philosophy is based on the science of vibration, and is called Nada Brahma, meaning "all the world is sound," or "God is sound." Lao-tzu spoke of the Great Tone, "the tone that goes beyond all usual imagination" (Berendt 171). Ancient Indian wisdom reads: "First song; then Vedas or wisdom" (Khan 17). In the Qur'an, we are told "Our word for a thing when We intend it, is only that We say to it, Be, and it is" (Koran 16:40). A centuries old Eastern legend relates that when God made man out of clay and asked the soul to enter, the soul refused to enter this "prison-house" until God commanded the angels to sing. As the angels sang, the soul entered, drawn by the music.

In Cosmogenesis of Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine, stanza 3 begins, "THE LAST VIBRATION OF THE SEVENTH ETERNITY THRILLS THROUGH INFINITUDE. THE MOTHER SWELLS, EXPANDING FROM WITHIN WITHOUT, LIKE THE BUD OF THE LOTUS," and stanza 3 continues, THE VIBRATION SWEEPS ALONG, TOUCHING WITH ITS SWIFT WING (simultaneously), THE WHOLE UNIVERSE AND THE GERM THAT DWELLETH IN DARKNESS: THE DARKNESS THAT BREATHES (moves) OVER THE SLUMBERING WATERS OF LIFE.

There is an I Ching hexagram, "The Well," and it "represents the deep, inexhaustible divinely centered source of nourishment and meaning" (Wingbook 48). The Living Well is another representation of this same source.

The Mystery of Entrainment

The teachings of Hermes Trismegistus were central to the spiritual work of Hermetic societies in late antique Alexandria. They are still considered important inspirational writings, and have greatly affected modern day theologies. The teachings of Hermes Trismegistus aim to awaken gnosis, the direct realization of unity between the individual and the Supreme.

Hermetic philosophy is based on seven principles, one of which is that, "all is in vibration" (Goldman 28-31). This is the first premise toward understanding the power of sound. "All" includes objects that we normally think of as inanimate or non-vibrating such as rocks, water, thoughts, colors, light, words, and actions. Since everything has a vibration, it is important to know that one vibrational field, if it is stronger, can pull another vibration into it. For example, if one holds two tuning forks and strikes one of them, the vibrating fork will pull the other into an equal vibrational level. Since we are all vibrating bodies, just as tuning forks are, the different rhythms and frequencies of our bodies may be changed through entrainment.

Entrainment is the ability of one object's powerful rhythmic vibrations to change the less powerful vibration of another object, causing the object with the less powerful rhythms to synchronize with it. If we believe that all is a part of an interdependent whole, then we know that our tonal level not only affects those who are in our immediate surroundings, but also all that exists. Any thought, word, or action affecting our vibrational level reaches out to the vibrational level of others. Vibrations are both sent and received. A beautiful statement about this interdependence is attributed to Chief Seattle in famous speech of 1854: "Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."

Negative vibrations pull to the negative, but positive vibrations can deflect them by pulling to the positive. Sometimes it may be necessary to move away from the field of a destructive, negative force. News heard on television or the radio over and over again can often pull the listener into a negative field. This is not being informed. It is more like being sucked into a black hole. On the other hand, if we find ourselves uplifted by certain music, poetry, scenery, or just the presence of another, the vibrational field resonates with us, is a positive and healthy force, and can be used for our own well-being.

Music is a great source to help us to tap into this positive vibrational field. Plants that receive a daily dose of classical music to grow stronger, students who increase their test scores by listening to Mozart, cows that give more milk when serenaded, and cowboys who sing their gentle songs at round-up time to keep the herds calm, are all using music as a resource for tapping into this great power. In 1892, when Oliver Wendall Holmes wrote Over the Teacups, he advised: "Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body" (Holmes 47).

Pythagoras and Modern Physics

Modern physics and the ancient wisdom teachings are moving closer together to unveil the secrets of how the universe was formed (and continues to change) by exploring the power of sound and vibration. String theory, for example, explains that the basic ingredients of the universe are not point-like particles, but tiny strings vibrating in ten (or more) dimensional space.

The cosmic acoustic theory of Dr. Wayne Hu and Dr. Martin White offers evidence supporting the idea that,

inflation, in the first moments after the big bang, triggered sound waves that alternately compressed and rarefied regions of the primordial plasma. After the universe had cooled enough to allow the formation of neutral atoms, the pattern of density variations, caused by sound waves, was frozen into the cosmic microwave background radiation. The sound spectrum of the early universe had overtones much like a musical instrument. If one blows into a pipe, the sound corresponds to a wave with maximum compression at the mouthpiece and maximum rarefaction at the end piece. But the sound also has a series of overtones with shorter wavelengths that are integer fractions of the fundamental wavelength. The wavelengths of the first, second and third overtones are one half, one third, and one fourth as long (Hu and White 44-53).

Interestingly enough, their study with its concentration on overtones that affect the formation of the universe is similar to Pythagorean teaching. What is an overtone? Every musical tone you hear is not just one tone, but is made up of several tones. These are in mathematical proportions, and are very easy to hear on a piano if you strike a very low note, immediately release it, and then listen to the sounds above it in the moments that follow. Some musicians who play certain musical instruments have to learn how to produce the sounds of the overtones.

Pythagoras developed a whole mathematical system governed by overtones. He also taught about the Music of the Spheres (Campbell 98). Pythagoras proposed that just as all the planets and everything in space relate to sound vibration, so do we, each with our tonal or natural vibrational level. When we are not in that healthy, natural tonal level, illness occurs. Pythagoras also thought that one could be cured by using certain tones to bring one's vibrational level back into balance. Today, medical researchers are studying the possibility that vibration may be used to heal diseased parts of the body—i.e., changing unhealthy vibrations to those of a healthy one. This notion does not seem so far fetched when we consider that ultrasound is commonly used for diagnosis or treatment. We often use the word sound to indicate health and wholeness. The word "health" comes from the Old English, hal, a root word signifying "whole, healing, hale, and inhaling." Health in Middle English means "to make sound."

Unlocking the Secrets of Resonance

Resonance is the increasing intensity of sounds by sympathetic vibration. Through resonance, one vibrating body can reach out and set another body into motion—just like tuning forks. It is because of resonance that a singer with a powerful voice is able to shatter a glass. When the singer's voice matches the resonant frequency of the glass, it causes the glass to vibrate. Too much sound energy causes the glass to break. The Biblical story of Joshua tells us that he marched his troops around the wall of the enemy seven times, then they gave a powerful shout, causing the walls to come tumbling down. This story relates how Joshua knew about the power of sound and vibration. The physical phenomena of resonance forms an integral part of our lives, but we rarely pay attention to it.

When searching for a specific program on the radio, we hear static until the broadcast waves meet the waves of the radio transmitter and resonate with them. F.P. Journe, a watchmaker, applied the phenomenon of resonance in his invention of a unique wristwatch chronometer which uses two entirely independent movements interoperating in harmony with each other. If one is set for one time, and the other is set for another, they eventually come together and show the same time. Napoleon once forbade his troops to march over a bridge, fearing it would collapse from the effects of resonance. The highly precise pressure regulators of the Bureau International de l'Heaure, at the Observatory of Paris, as well as the radio broadcast time signal sent from the Eiffel Tower, were fitted less than forty years ago in separate rooms of catacombs, at a depth of twenty-six meters, in order to eliminate fluctuations in temperature and atmospheric pressure from resonance interference.

Resonance and its effects are all around us, affecting our daily lives on a routine basis. In our own bodies, every organ, bone, and tissue has its own separate frequency, just as the instruments of an orchestra have their own frequencies. Together they resonate, making up a composite frequency, a harmonic that is each person's own personal vibratory rate. This is similar to the total sound that an orchestra makes when all of the individual instruments are played together. If all of the instruments are in tune, and playing "in harmony", the result is a pleasing sound. If not, it is discordant. In our physical bodies, we call this disease or say we feel unwell.

Our surrounding vibrations can help us reach a state of harmony or discord. So what is harmony? It is agreement, accord, right proportion, and right rhythm—a pleasing arrangement of the parts, and it is beauty and order. The use of music is the easiest and most direct route to bring us to a level of beauty and harmony. Once we bring ourselves into harmony, we also come into a state of healing. There are many stories of those who have healed themselves of disease through the use of music, and of those who have made great strides by listening to music before or after surgery. There is data to suggest that those with learning problems can be helped by listening to music, and that babies who listen to Mozart (specifically) are not only calmed, particularly if the music has been played in utero, but also that their developing brains are helped. Listening to music, especially classical music, helps one to come into a sense of harmony. however, one must be careful about music choices. For example, listening to overly romantic music, day after day, may create a feeling of sadness or longing. And you certainly would not choose a requiem to help you get energized for a day of housecleaning!

How to Tap into the Healing Power of the Living Well

To tap into the healing powers of the Living Well, it is helpful to fully understand the four concepts discussed:

Another factor to consider is that not only does everything have vibration; it also has harmonic relationship to a musical note. When an inharmonious sound is produced, the disturbing vibrations will upset all of the vibration in the object and the field. The reverse occurs when a harmonious note is produced. The resulting vibration is peaceful, calm, and harmonious. What happens in a symphony orchestra if the various instruments are not tuned to the concertmeister? The resulting sound is discordant—not in harmony.

The Living Well allows us to find our own musical notes or frequencies and be in harmony on all levels. In this way, we stay happy, healthy, creative, and productive. But most importantly, we stay in tune with the grand concertmeister; the one of which we are all a part. We all have the ability to create our own harmony, by surrounding ourselves with harmonious vibrations, and with all that is beautiful and orderly. One can learn to see beauty in all things, but there are definitely certain colors, sounds, smells, and textures that are more pleasing to us than others. Even the snake charmer knows this as he mesmerizes the cobra with his music.

Vibration also creates light, but what we often see is a distorted impression that it makes upon our mind. Our minds are not "ourselves"—not the knower or the self—but rather a material reflection of the self that knows, is conditioned by past thinking, and modified by the present. Since thoughts have their own vibrations, each mind has its own rate and range of vibration. Whenever consciousness vibrates, it changes the mind's vibrational level. In a state of perpetual motion, the pictures are forever changing. Waking or sleeping, we are constantly building our mental bodies. Even a passing thought draws some particles of mind stuff into the mental body and shakes other particles from it. When the mind is attracted to certain thoughts, feelings, or sensations it reproduces in itself the vibrations of the attractive thing, and so becomes like it. When repelled, however, the mind reasserts itself by rejecting the not-self's vibrations and reinforcing its own.

Either way, the mental body is thrown into waves, as is the matter in the field, and therefore affects the consciousness of others. The finesse or coarseness of mental matter stirred into vibration depends on the quality of these vibrations: When a lofty thought causes the mental body to vibrate, then particles of denser matter are shaken out, and particles of finer matter take their place. In this way, vibrations of consciousness are always shaking out one kind of matter and building another. It does not always follow immediately, but works as a seed. For this reason, we need be concerned about the music, television, and films that that we expose ourselves and our children to, as well as the language that we use and hear. The vibrations that they produce have effects. If we want to have a strong, well-vitalized mental body, then we must work at thinking well. We are our own builders, and fashion our minds for ourselves, while simultaneously affecting the vibrations of others.

If we set out to make each day harmonious, each day can be a day of beauty. Beauty is not just the province of artists, it is necessary for all beings. By creating harmony and order in all actions, discordant notes can be eliminated. Even the most mundane tasks can be made beautiful by the way we approach them and think about them. Negative vibrations pull to the negative, positive pull to the positive. Remembering this, we can make better choices, and choose vibrations that will make us well instead of sick. This knowledge is our Living Well; it is always available to nurture us.

Here is some sound advice on how to tap into it:

Choose appropriate music to energize your activities, and to get in touch with your own wellspring. Identify music that speeds up or slows down the pulse rate, music that is better for digestion, music that is better for relaxation, music that charges you up and shifts into a more active gear. For healing or stimulating the mind, classical music or Indian ragas are wise choices

Remember that you are an instrument. Sing vowel sounds on a variety of tones, and with a variety of rhythms, to exercise your internal organs. Notice, as you go from low tones to high tones, where you feel the vibration within your body

Sit quietly in your home while listening for all of the sounds that are around you, and then eliminate the negative ones that invade your space. That includes general noise, chatter, and dissonance.

When asking that age-old question, "Why are we here?" the answer may well be that we are here to bring harmony and unity to ourselves, to others, to the universe, and finally to harmonize ourselves with the infinitely pine. Happiness is being in harmony with the universe.

Sherry Pelton is a former teacher and business owner and today, works as a composer. A member and co-founder of the Phoenix Study Group, she and her husband, Del, pide their time between Scottsdale, Arizona, and Port Orford, Oregon.

Berendt, Joachim-Ernst. Nada Brahma: The World is Sound., Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 1987.

H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine vol. 1 (Quest edition). Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1978.

Campbell, Don. Music Physician for Times to Come. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1991.

Goldman, Jonathan. Healing Sounds: Power of Harmonics. Boston, MA: Element Books, 1992.

Holmes, Oliver Wendall. Over the Teacups. New York: Houghton Mifflin,1891

Hu, Wayne and Martin White. "The Cosmic Symphony," Scientific American (February 2004).

Khan, Hazrat Inayat. The Mysticism of Sound, Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 1991.

The King James Holy Bible.

The Holy Koran.

Wingbook, R.L. The I Ching Workbook, New York: Double Day, 1979.