See Our Harmonic Binaural Sets Here
Introduction
The use of harmonic quartz crystal singing bowls in therapeutic Sound Healing practices, Sound Baths, and so forth, is a well-established practice, and, well understood by many in the field. We at Sunreed Instruments, actually, did a great deal to develop the use of harmonics among sound healing practitioners, because as musicians and sound healers, ourselves, we understood the incredible benefit it provides one in a practice, to have bowls that sing in tune, coherently, and in ‘right relationship’ to promote the greatest benefit of sound in our practice. It promotes an immediate sense of wellness, balance, and relaxation. They provide an excellent foundation to a sound healing practice. The practitioner can then build one’s practice out from this foundation of rich coherent sound with other instruments, or other notes or pitches. When tuned correctly, the benefit is significantly better. The Harmonics are the very foundation of our musical system, and obey the rich and vital natural proportions and relationship of what is known as “Sacred Geometry.” By playing, or resting in the sound of the natural harmonics, the body’s inherent neurological response is one of relaxation, a sense of wellness, or beauty. It can easily deepen or enhance one’s meditative or healing practice. Thus it is an excellent starting point to create a foundation of coherent sound in one’s work. Musicians the world over have known this, and have always used the harmonics as a vital part of their musical inheritance, and expression.
To learn more about harmonics, and their use, you can read our full article about harmonic intervals and their benefit with the Crystal Bowls here. We have excellent sets to choose from. If you have a chakra set, well-tuned, then you already have most of the harmonics. Ask our knowledgeable staff how to simply add to your collection to create either a complete harmonic set, or a binaural or harmonic binaural. You may just need one or two bowls to do this!
What many people are not as aware of, is the use of binaurals in sound baths or therapeutic practice, and especially the use of Binaural Bowls coupled with Harmonic Bowls. Each are an extraordinarily effective tool. Yet, the combination creates a near mystical experience in and of itself. The wise practitioner opens doorways to much greater potential when working coherently with such a set. However, we do recommend experience and training before just jumping into playing these with others. Use with oneself, or close friends or colleagues is fine.
Binaurals are a very different sound effect. While the harmonics create, inherently, states of relaxation and wellness, the binaurals are dissonant in nature. And dissonant sounds can be better to work with to ‘clear out’ or ‘move’ energy. They can literally be used to open gateways of consciousness, though again, this is an area a practitioner should be well grounded and experienced before taking others on ‘journeys’ into other lands.
In general, the Binaurals will ‘displace’ more standard states of waking consciousness, asking us to move to a more refined, intuitive, heartfelt state of our being. The binaural patterns can clear our patterns of misbelief and unresolved emotions. They can be used readily to work with human consciousness, the emotions, and mental planes. Again, it is most beneficial to work well with them, to really understand their effect, or learn from an experienced practitioner before using them too much in private practice, but these can add an entire new dimension to your work.
We, at Sunreed, eventually developed what we call Harmonic Binaural Sets for more advanced practitioners. These create unique characteristics of sound which can enhance the more skillful practitioner, or those who wish to carry their practice to a new level.
What Are Binaurals and How Do Binaurals Work?
A ‘binaural’ is a beat pattern which occurs when two sounds that are very close together, play at the same time. One hears, in this case, the individual sound of the two bowls, but there is also a third sound, an oscillation, that occurs. It is a beat pattern, a “wah-wah-wah” pulsation in the air, that is felt and heard. To understand this, imagine you are near a still pool of water, and drop a stone at one end of it, then drop another at the other end. You see the wave forms flowing rapidly out from each rock across the pool, in a synchronous fashion, just wave within wave, until they hit the other. As they hit, and collide, they create other oscillations, or waves, that are more ‘chaotic.’ This is fundamentally what would be happening acoustically in a field of sound as you create a binaural wave pattern with the two bowls which have nearly the same frequency, or pitch. We can hear, and feel this binaural pattern emerging from the sounds of the two bowls, as their wave forms strike each other. This binaural pulsation effects our minds and bodies. And one can use this to deepen a practice therapeutically with one’s groups and clients. Again, with right approach, we can use it to clear the mind, untangle emotions, come into a deep, vast, restful space, and with correct understanding, move into other aspects of consciousness in which we may wish to work.
You can hear a binaural through your speaker if you play the two sound files below at the same time. This is a 6hz (hertz) binaural, meaning the hz values are 6hz apart, and the oscillation is also pulsating 6 times per second. Hertz is the value we give to wave speed, or frequency, as cycles per second, and is a standard method of measuring pitch of bowls, other instruments, and, really, all sounds.
Decades old research shows that our brains are constantly giving off wave patterns, from near 0 hz to over 100 hz. These are categorized into ‘brain states.’ Science has shown that, while all of these states are being produced by our brain functions simultaneously, there is primarily a predominant one which relates to these various states. If we are in normal wakeful mode, washing the dishes for instance, we are most likely in a dominant Beta state. As we rest to sleep, we would move through the Alpha, Theta, to Delta states, moving into more inner quiet, reflective, Alpha state (this is where we might have ah-ha’ insights or ideas as we drift to sleep) meditative state, and then sleep.
Brain State Frequency Brain states
Gamma (γ) 20-40, up to over 140 Hz Concentration (most current science we have seen is focusing on 40 hz)
Beta (β) 12–35 Hz normal waking state of consciousness when attention is directed at cognitive tasks and the outside world (some scientists will say 12-20 hz)
Alpha (α) 8–12 Hz Very relaxed, passive attention, focused learning
Theta (θ) 4–8 Hz Deeply relaxed, inward focused, meditative, mystical states
Delta (δ) 0.5–4 Hz Sleep
All states are constantly being produced. But there is a dominant state based on our current focus, mental and emotional attitudes, and intents. Science has learned to use these states to help us improve certain behaviors. If we need help sleeping, we listen to music or sounds emanating the Delta state. If we want to learn to meditate better, or enhance our meditative practice, we work with the Theta beat. Students and athletes have been using music tuned to the Alpha beat for decades, with excellent research showing how it can benefit focused learning, for tests, or athletic skill development for instance. Beta is our normal waking state in which we are engaged in the 3D world, in getting tasks done, and so forth. The Gamma state is getting a lot of scrutiny these days, as scientists at MIT and other Research Universities are discovering it appears to improve memory and learning, and may stimulate the activation of a protein in the brain which eats plaque. The buildup of plaque in the brain is one causative factor in Alzheimer’s disease. And, they literally are using this beat pattern to see if it may help. There is also a great deal of excitement around research indicating this may be the brain pattern that gives rise to the ‘binding principle’. How do we ‘know’ what we see, hear, and feel? What binds consciousness to perception? It is an age-old question with philosophers and scientists, and new evidence is bringing study to this brain state. There are other more short lived higher frequency states that we will not investigate today.
Again, these continually co-generate an electromagnetic field from the brain. But the dominant frequency at any given time is what ‘state’ we are focused most definitively in. So, you may already see how, by producing a “Theta” Beat pattern with two bowls tuned to the right hz values, can assist us in our meditative states and inner healing journeys. By simply ‘resting’ in the sounds of the two bowls and their beat pattern, receptively, we ‘entrain’ to this brain state. Entrainment is a natural scientific principle, in which all things seek communion, and come into resonance with the dominant sound or foce in its environment. (We can talk about the many effects of entrainment in nature, humanity, and the world another time. But it is important to understand in your practice.)
Our bodies do the work for us. In this case, our neurology. Our inherent response to the binaurals, is to let go of any thoughts or emotions that are keeping us from going deeper into this state of entrainment. This is where it is helpful to develop your skill before using these with others. The cognitive brain tends to ‘not know what to do’ with these sounds, and, unless resistant, will tend to slip away, to allow the deeper, more perceptive, awake, intuitive, emotional, and coherent aspects of ourselves come forward to deepen our work. One need for your skill development, is that 1) some of your clients or sound participants may resist, even ‘not like’ this sound, even want to leave the room. For those few, it is uncomfortable, often because it 2) may require us, as we let go of ‘normal states’ or mental/emotional behaviors, to move into hidden emotions, thoughts, or unresolved experiences waiting to be met. To help your clients/participants in these moments does request skillful means.
Why Use Binaural And Harmonics Together
By including the harmonics, we have a sustained foundation of coherence to move us into these deeper states. The more skillful our meditative or healing practice, the more benefit we are likely to experience in this affect. By collaborating with the sound, we deepen the potential within the experience. By using adept meditative or healing practices in conjunction with the sound, that potential can become exponential. So, when playing all the bowls together, here we have harmonics creating a rich, diverse field of coherent sound which is known to create relaxation and a felt sense of wellness. And, we have the Binaurals asking us to step back, into the more pure states of inner wellness and consciousness, beyond our common obstacles, to discover and abide in the goodness we find within. It provides a profound opportunity to reach deeper into the work.
These techniques are something we recommend you practice on your own before introducing it in a professional setting. Working with a skilled practitioner can improve your ability to understand and collaborate with these sound tools for the best outcome with your clients. You can also ask friends or colleagues to visit with you, listen and engage in a practice, and give you feedback, to help you find techniques that you feel are the most beneficial to work with. We can help you, also.
A simple technique is to switch between the two. Start a session using a harmonic set of bowls. This will invite the participant to merely relax, and get comfortable, and generate a feeling of wellness. Then switch to the binaurals for a minute or so. The binaurals ask the client to go deeper beyond mind obscurations, into a deeper state of clarity. Then switch again to the harmonics, so allow the participant to relax further into that deeper state of clarity.
We are always available to assist you in finding the best choices in your instruments, and to help you understand how to use them. We provide both one on one training, and group classes to learn about the bowls and their use. We have the ability to help you develop the skills you need to create the best outcomes with your clients, classes, programs, or sound events.
We have been training practitioners in the sound healing arts since the early 1990’s.
How far do you wish to take your practice?
Keep in mind it takes practice.
Our staff’s collective experience of over 110 years of work in the holistic fields can help you develop into the sound practitioner you want to be.
We wish you the best in your Sound Healing Journey!