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The Power of Sound Therapy by Simon Emsley PhD

The Power of Sound Therapy by Simon Emsley PhD

The Power of Sound Therapy by Simon Emsley PhD

The historical, spiritual and therapeutic roots of sound are found in ancient cultures, providing a rich tapestry confirming the spiritual and social validity of sound and its curative effects. The scientific basis of sound examines philosophies from the early Greeks to quantum physics and emphasizes research theorizing the creative principle of sound and vibration.

In Greek Mythology Apollo was the God of many things including music, poetry and medicine. Although both medicine and healing are associated with Apollo it is thought that these were sometimes mediated through his son, Asclepius [Iaso’s father].

Greek physicians used flutes, lyres, and zitters to heal their patients. They used vibration to aid in digestion, treat mental disturbance and induce sleep. Aristotle wrote that flute music could arouse strong emotions and purify the soul. Ancient Egyptians describe musical incantations for healing the sick.

In ancient Egypt the priests of the Abidos Temple, the largest center for medicine, used the human voice, chanting, to treat disease. Papyrus scrolls are interpreted to show that epilepsy was treated using pipes.

The philosophers Plato and Aristotle both claimed that music affected the soul and the emotions. Hippocrates played music for his patients. Pythagoras saw music as being based on the laws of nature. Sound is defined as vibrational energy which takes the form of waves.

The specific vibrational rates affecting energy fields point to the potential for notes, tones and vibrations to promote healing and that the tone of a crystal bowl can have an effect on a subject’s emotional and physical state.

Aboriginal people throughout most of Australia use songs and the didgeridoo for healing the wounded and the sick. In biblical times, instruments were used to vanquish evil spirits from human souls. Native American culture used song, music and dance to heal the sick. Also think of the shaman of North, Central and South America. The instances of sound healing therapy are limitless.

There are many scientific studies that examine the effects of sound therapy. Let’s look at a few that examine the effects of singing bowls.

In the Journal of Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Tamara Goldsby and co-authors discuss the effects of singing bowl sound meditation on mood, tension and wellbeing in a paper published in 2016.

The authors state that poor mood and elevated anxiety are linked to increased incidence of disease. The study examined the effects of sound meditation, specifically Tibetan singing bowl meditation, on mood, anxiety, pain and spiritual well being.

The participants reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue and depressed mood following sound meditation. The authors indicate that Tibetan singing bowl meditation may be a feasible low-cost method of reducing feelings of tension, anxiety and depression while increasing spiritual well-being.

Similar result were reported by Landry (2014) in the American Journal of Health Promotion. who reported the effects of singing bowls that were incorporated into directed relaxation sessions. This study showed that there was a greater decline in systolic BP and Heart Rate with Tibetan Singing Bowls compared to silence prior to directed relaxation.

Changes in diastolic BP were greater with Tibetan singing bowls. Those subjects who suffered from hypertension had similar and significant blood pressure changes with Tibetan Singing bowls when compared with subjects who did not suffer from hypertension.

A discussion in the Yoga Journal suggests that whilst the sound of Tibetan Singing bowls is beneficial it does not penetrate our bodies in the same way as the sound generated by crystal singing bowls as there is, generally, very little metal in our bodies.

Our bodies are more receptive to the sounds that crystal bowls make as our bodies are primarily composed of water and that our bones are crystalline structures that creates an entrainment between the sound and our bodies. The combination of what the bowls are made out of and how the body receives the sound vibration is the basis of why the bowls so moving and therapeutic.

In the Journal Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine, Cowan and Nunley (2005) discuss the effects of crystal bowls on the chakras. The authors state that the use of vibroacoustic therapy, sound healing and music therapy are yielding positive results in healing practices and as therapeutic tools. The authors also stated that the study was the first of its kind to bring an esoteric, theoretical model into the field of science and energy medicine.

In the study there were two groups one received Crystal Bowl treatment where the bowl was tuned to the note C and the other group who formed a control group sat quietly. They used a gas discharge visualisation device to measure the energetic field of the body providing statistically significant data . The device has been clinically proven as an effective tool in measuring the energy field and chakra system. The statistical analysis of the findings indicated that vibrational waves emanating from the tones of the Crystal bowl changed the first, fifth and seventh chakras.

There are many other papers that indicate the power of sound therapy.

Light Therapy – Seeing the Light by Simon Emsley PhD

Light Therapy – Seeing the Light by Simon Emsley PhD

Light Therapy – Seeing the Light by Simon Emsley PhD
With the lengthening days and the greater power in the sun, temperatures rise. Energy Flows, buds break, flowers and new shoots appear.

In these latitudes and more so North of here, people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder [SAD}. This is probably the most well known effects of the lower light levels and shorter day lengths that accompany the Autumn and Winter seasons.

The Mayo Clinic uses light therapy to treat SAD and certain other conditions including Depression, that does not occur seasonally, Sleep disorders and Dementia. The treatment is conducted using a light therapy box and is also known as bright light therapy or phototherapy.

Light therapy is thought to affect brain chemicals linked to mood and sleep. Through a detailed study of chromotherapy, with patients exposed to sunlight through color filters, theories were developed to prove the relationship between melatonin, light and color. The studies investigated the hormonal changes that result from exposure to sunlight. Sunlight is of course a perfect blend of seven colors; different colors are responsible for the release of different kinds of hormones, which keeps us healthy.

Light therapy or chromotherapy is a centuries old concept, with the Egyptians and Greeks using light and color. In ancient Greece, color was used to restore balance using both direct exposure to sunlight and indirect methods where garments, oils, plasters, ointments and salves were used to treat disease. Avicenna (AD 980) advanced the idea that color is an observable symptom of disease. Today we see a yellowing of the skin, jaundice, as being an indication of liver disease.

Numerous books and scientific papers have been published on the application of colored light therapy, some look at the use for light and the biochemical reactions, other studies looked at psychophysiological influences, others looked at more everyday instances.

For example, chromotherapy has been used to improve the performance of athletes; red light appears to help athletes who need short, quick bursts of energy while blue light appears to assist in performances requiring a steadier energy output – the sprinter versus the marathoner. It is also suggested that pink light has a tranquilizing and calming effect within minutes of exposure. It suppresses hostile, aggressive and anxious behavior. In contrast, yellow should be avoided in such contexts because it is highly stimulating.

There is a large body of work supporting the use and benefits of light and color therapy. These include the use of single colors and also combinations of two or more colors for therapy.

As you know Merritt is a Certified Colorpuncturist using crystals and colored light and Simon uses colored lights with the Crystal Light Table. Sessions can be tailored to use a specific color palate to address specific issues.

The latest piece of information that supports the use of colored light, has just been published and shows that blue light can be used to weaken Superbugs such as MSRA so that it can be treated with a simple antiseptic.

Old Memories Recovered and Released by Ellen Rayner

Old Memories Recovered and Released by Ellen Rayner

Old Memories Recovered and Released by Ellen Rayner, Aromatherapist, Atherae Essential Oils Blends

One of the first essential oil blends I created was a companion for a meditation CD. This was for a corporation based in New York City, and most of our contact was by phone or email. One day I received a call asking if I was available to speak with a customer regarding this particular blend. Always curious about how the blends were impacting others, I was happy to make the phone call.

Upon talking with “Deborah” I discovered that initially she loved the blend, but after several days of using it in meditation with the CD, she found it annoying. I asked if she could describe what sense was associated with the annoyance. After a moment she stated “well, now it reminds me of turpentine”.  For me this was a huge clue. I explained the fact that scent was a powerful way to bring long-buried memories or emotions to the surface for releasing. This is because the sense of smell is the only one of the five senses linked directly to the limbic area of the brain where all our memories are stored. I asked if she was willing to work through a brief process to see what, if anything, could be changed assuring her that, regardless of the results, we would fully refund her money.

I quickly reviewed the individual essential oils in this blend and discovered that two of them had limonene as one of their chemical components. Limonene is also a chemical component in turpentine. In asking her what the aroma of turpentine reminded her of, she quickly said, “the back porch in my grandparents’ home. My grandfather was a house painter, and this is where he cleaned his brushes with turpentine.” When asked what was special in her memory about her grandparents’ home, she paused for quite a while and then revealed with much sadness in her voice that when she was about 3 years old, her mother, who was addicted to drugs, dropped her off at her grandparents’ house and never came back! There was the major memory resurfacing as a result of the blend. We talked at length, and she was able to express how much she loved her grandparents. They raised her with a great deal of love and support. In searching further, she also recognized that she never dealt in depth with the feelings of “not good enough, unloved, abandoned by her mother” and they had remained deeply buried in her memory over the years.

I talked her through a releasing meditation to do with the blend for the next few days. This involves performing a ritual by placing a few drops in the palm of one hand and rubbing both hands together giving the molecules of the oils the opportunity to expand. Then placing her hands in an open prayer position, covering her nose and inhaling deeply. Next, she would open her hands and blow forcefully with her mouth open and across her open palms while thanking and releasing the memory. I suggested that once completing this process, she sit quietly and contemplate the memories of her mom and her grandparents that would come forward.

I was very pleased to talk with her after a few days. Her demeanor was very different, and she was happy to report that she felt the love and support of her grandparents through those years and held to the best memories of her mother. She was able to admit that the action taken was not because she wasn’t good enough for her mother to love and care for, but that her mother had problems that were never dealt with adequately. Not only this, but the blend was again pleasing for her, and she was using it regularly.

Chakras by Simon Emsley PhD

Chakras by Simon Emsley PhD

Chakras by Simon Emsley PhD

At the Iaso Wellness Center we use Energy Modalities in order to heal the past so that the body can heal itself in the present day. We talk a lot about Chakras and Meridians and raising your energetic vibrations.

These are all bound up in the aura surrounding our bodies. Some talk about the aura as being a New Age concept; but it is clear that our bodies generate electromagnetic fields and that these can be demonstrated to exist not just by scientific experiments but with the use of a simple children’s toy and dowsing rods. To look at the way in which the body produces an electric current or an electromagnetic field we need to look at quantum physics, but more of this another time.

If we accept that our bodies can generate these fields the question is not one of do they exist but how some people can see them and also detect or even determine the state of someone’s health but observing the aura. We can also show with the use of dowsing rods the effects of thinking negative thoughts as opposed to positive thoughts and holding positive emotions. It can be demonstrated that when someone thinks negative thoughts the field around that person shrinks, becomes smaller and closer to the body. Conversely, positive thoughts are shown to increase the size of the aura.

This brings us back to the Chakras and Meridian systems. It is generally accepted that the word chakra is derived from a Sanskrit root and translates as wheel, a circle or cycle. One of the Veda, Hindu scriptures, Rigveda mentions Chakra with the meaning of “wheel”, with ara (spokes). In Sanskrit texts the word is also used to describe the “wheel of time” or “wheel of dharma”. The term Chakra is also reported from Buddhist and other religious texts.

Chakra is a part of the esoteric medieval era theories about physiology and psychic centers that emerged across Indian traditions between 1500 and 1000 BC. The theory stated that human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions, one the “physical body” and the other the “psychological, emotional, mind, non-physical” which is called the “subtle body”.

This subtle body is energy, while the physical body is mass. It is also thought that the subtle body can be subdivided into seven layers and so the subtle body can also be termed a multi-dimensional body. This subtle body or energy body can be broken down further into three physical plane bodies; the etheric body, the emotional body and the mental body.

There are also three spiritual plane bodies, the causal body or free will body; the celestial body or body of love and the Ketheric template or Spiritual Body. These two sets are connected by the Astral Body that forms a bridge between the two. sets. It is considered that the physical plane bodies closest to the body process the energies dealing with the physical planes whereas the outer three process the energies from the spiritual planes. It is said that the energies from the outer planes must pass through the “fire of the heart” or the Heart Chakra in order to access the planes closest to the body.

It is also considered that each body or layer has its own seven Chakras which are nested within the other auric and etheric body chakras. As each layer or body extends outwards the Chakras vibrate at higher rates. The chakras in the etheric body vibrate at a lower rate than those in the causal body. This allows energy to be transmuted between all bodies to all chakras.

Atlantean Healing Explained by Simon Emsley PhD

Atlantean Healing Explained by Simon Emsley PhD

Atlantean Healing Explained by Simon Emsley PhD

Atlantean Healing™ is a high vibrational energy that was used in the healing temples of Atlantis by the priests and priestesses. The attunement and the system was channeled by Birkan Tore and is taught internationally..

Atlantean Healing™ sessions are designed to balance the energy field as Atlanteans believed dis-ease was a manifestation of the imbalance in the energy field. We also focus on listening to the body and its messages to find out the root causes of the conditions. In this modality we do not focus on dis-ease but simply acknowledge it and instead focus on perfect health. The energy is very high vibrational and powerful, yet it feels gentle when channeling or receiving it. Each session is conducted by a certified Atlantean Healing Practitioner™ and Atlantean Angels, who will be assisting with the application of the energy and healing process.

The energy can be used as a hands-on healing technique but also without laying on of the hands or can also be sent from distance. An Atlantean Healing™ session can take 15 to 40 minutes depending on the needs of the client and practitioner’s inner guidance. Atlantean Healing Energy though, will continue working and balancing the energy field of the client for several hours. This way there will be no sudden shifts or energy release caused by the treatment. The highest good of the client is always the core intention for each session. The practitioners respect the soul path and soul lessons of the client and support the clients on their path. The individual is provided with intuitive guidance received during the session.

Transitioning the Seasons with Essential Oil Blends by Ellen Rayner

Transitioning the Seasons with Essential Oil Blends by Ellen Rayner

Transitioning the Seasons with Essential Oil Blends by Ellen Rayner, Aromatherapist, Atherae Essential Oils Blends

My partners, Merritt and Simon, and I agreed some time ago that Atherae Essential Oil Blends  should introduce seasonal blends for each solstice and equinox. I was delighted with this project mainly  because I love exploring the many different aspects of the hundreds of essential oils available with a specific goal to achieve. The process involves research, exploration and trusting my intuition.

The first was the Fall equinox which would be called Demeter. She is the Greek goddess of harvest and fertility of the earth. Gradually the blend appeared and ultimately consisted of essential oils of tea tree, grapefruit, marjoram, Himalayan cedarwood, cardamon, and ylang-ylang. Once I completed the formula and mixed the blend, I worked with it before introducing to Simon and Merritt for feedback. Next step would be to write up a description.

After a couple of days of using the blend in time set aside for meditation, I went outside to my storage shed for some cleaning equipment when suddenly I had a compelling urge to get all of the “stuff” collected over 20 years out of there! I started this project immediately and over the next week made several trips to GoodWill, the recycle center and the dump. The result was that I had clean shelves and storage space to newly organize. For the first time since downsizing and moving to my meadow cottage, I could shop at Costco for bargains and have sufficient space to store paper towels, toilet paper, kleenex, soaps and cleaning material.

Now it was time to prepare a description of the purpose of Demeter and here is what I learned:

The Fall Equinox is a season of transition. Energetically it is a time to let go of those things that no longer contribute to our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Just as the trees naturally let go of their leaves in the Fall, getting rid of that which no longer serves us helps create “breathing room” that strengthens our lives.

To me it was obvious that this cleansing blend assisted me in starting this process and provided the strength, focus and support to make the changes in a calm, revitalizing and uplifting manner.

Next project was the Winter solstice blend, and I had little idea what to expect though I eagerly anticipated the process. I was in for a surprise. This blend would be named after the Celtic goddess, Beira. She is the personification of winter and mother to all the gods and goddesses in the mythology of Scotland.

I followed the same procedure to create a blend of orange, frankincense, bay laurel, Texas cedarwood, peppermint, cinnamon, clove and rosemary. Again I used it in my meditations before introducing it to my partners. What happened next is very personal and difficult for me to describe.

I started to acknowledge the fact that I had withdrawn to my cottage after retiring and began a slow, steady, sure process of  isolation that contributed to darkness and loneliness. I read an article stating that 1 in ll Americans age 50 and older lacks a spouse, partner or living child, the main sources of companionship in old age! Research has discovered that loneliness takes a physical toll and is worse for longevity than being obese or physically inactive!! I started to realize that being over 70 I needed to take action to dispel the dark  thoughts surrounding my excuses for “not getting involved”. I ceased listening to all the political news that is so foremost in the media and began a process of appreciating all the positive people and circumstances in my life.

Gradually and surely, the dark negative thoughts that haunted me daily and I was careful to hide  began to lighten. To quiet my mind, especially during the wee hours of the morning, I created a new mantra: I am here in this moment and in this place with a quiet mind, grateful heart and healthy body.

Now it was time to prepare a description of the benefits of Beira. Here are the results:

The winter solstice carries a metaphor for life. Darkness exists around us, this may be in ourselves, family, friends, career or the world. We must recognize and accept the darkness that exists during our lifetime while recognizing and holding on to the past experience that the light will always shine once again.

Once again, a blend of essential oils revealed in no uncertain terms where I was mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Having this clarity and using the blend with clear intentions, I am letting go of those limiting beliefs and dark emotions that no longer serve me. Namaste!!

So long California!

We are closing the center's doors in California and reopening in 2024 providing remote/distance energy sessions. Please sign up for our newsletter for more information and announcements.

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