December 1, 2011
Cymatics: Everybody feels the effects of it, but very few understand the source.
One of the interesting things about music is that it is truly universal and a language all its own. It is a tool that is used by humanity to create unity, bondage, and community among human beings, regardless of age, gender, race, class, or ethnicity. Music is organized sound, and sound is a mixture of vibrations and frequencies. Everything is made up of vibrations and frequencies, including non-living matter. Since substance particles are always moving and pulsating, they are able to cause vibrations and frequencies, which ultimately creates sound. Since sound is frequency, one can conclude that all matter including humans are resonating at certain frequencies that are too minute to hear with the human ear. Since humans are all vibrating frequencies, it makes sense for humans to have such a strong connection to music and sound. As a result, music has the strongest connection to humans out of all the fine arts. Not everyone participates in dance, theatre, or the visual arts, but most people listen to, and identify and relate with music and sounds. There will always be those who find music intolerable, but this demographic is much larger in the other arts (Beaulieu). Cymatics is the study of vibrations and frequencies, and how they affect particles, mass, and their behaviours. There have been many studies exploring the possibilities of sounds and the impact certain frequencies and vibrations have on matter. Some matter like sand and flour will come together to create geometric patterns. Other materials like magnets and dust will clump together and form large balls or figures that look like mini skyscrapers. Solids can take on liquid-like properties, and vice versa. Cymatic examples have also been able to prove the effects vibration has on matter such as water and gasses. When thinking in terms of the creation of life or the universe, cymatics can be viewed as the “blue prints” of the universe and life. Consequently, cymatics are often considered the roots or “starting points” of fractals. The behaviours of certain matter under vibrations can easily explain how planets form and how galaxies move. In seeing how vibration greatly influences non-living particles and small matter, it isn’t hard for one to question the affects vibration might have on small living particles like cell tissues and DNA, and how they grow and develop, or even evolve over time. There is much evidence suggesting that vibration does affect cells, and that the process can be viewed and understood through cymatics. By studying the behaviour of particles excited by vibration and frequency, one can understand how biological structures and patterns are affected through the natural appearances of plant structures, animal patterns, and human cell properties.
Music has always been in humanity. Historically, music and medicine would often go hand in hand. In Greek mythology, Apollo was the God of music and medicine. In native culture, shamans and medicine men were often the lead drummers in musical ceremonies. Sound is often a staple in religions. In the Hindu religion, the world was created by the sound of the Dancing Shiva’s drum. Vibration created life and existence. In Christianity, the world is said to be created by the word of God. If there is silence, there is nothing. If there is no vibration, that means there are no moving particles. As soon as a sound or word or beat is created, there is life, movement, rhythm, and excitement. Since music and sound plays such a crucial role of understanding where we come from, there have been many scientists dedicated to this field of study, and they are often excellent musicians. One of the first scientists to examine the cymatic phenomenon was Robert Hooke, an English philosopher and architect. In 1680 Hooke had done several experiments that observed nodal patters that would appear on vibrating glass. He would use a violin bow to vibrate the glass, exciting the flour upon the glass and causing the particles to move into different patterns. Ernst Chladni, a German musician and physicist from the 18th century, continued Hooke’s experiments and developed Chladni plates: drawings that showed modes of vibrations on mechanical surfaces. Chladni’s plates are still used to describe the actions of cymatics (PBS). The most famous scientist to study cymatics is Hans Jenny (1904-1972), a Swiss scientist that has done hundreds of experiments, and has compiled several books and films about the subject. He continues to be an inspiration for many scientists to make further developments in the cymatics field. One of the most important concepts to understand about cymatics is that lower frequencies create simpler patterns, whereas complicated patterns arise with higher frequencies. Certain complicated cymatic forms can be viewed as fractals, as their patterns are often very complex and contain layers of patterns within patterns. So how do vibrations and frequencies tie into biology?
Plants are an excellent example of how vibration and frequency can affect DNA and cell structures. Plants often represent certain patterns that are found within cymatics. An example can be found when looking at how water reacts to certain vibration frequencies. Alexander Lauterwasser is a German photographer that focuses on water’s properties and behaviour under the influence of vibrations and frequencies. He compares a particular water example to the structure of a sunflower. Under a specific frequency, the water encompassing the outside of the container forms a spiral that turns in an anti-clockwise motion, whereas the water in the middle of the container forms a “core” and an inward spiral rotating clockwise is formed. The two spirals within the water are rotating in opposite directions, which is the exact same pattern that can be found in the head of a sunflower. Leaves also contain cymatic qualities by often displaying symmetrical geometric patterns. On a whole, the plant leaves look the same, but close up, each leaf is different. This is because each particle of each leaf reacts differently to the same inner frequency within the plant’s particles, and the frequencies surrounding it. Each leaf is also a different shape, meaning the lines and shapes are going to form differently on each one. A plant and all of its aspects are simply larger representations of cymatic properties and behaviours.
Another example of how biology is affected by cymatics is through examining animal patterns and features. Just like plants, animals also share a connection with cymatics. For example, the pattern of a zebra can be linked to an experiment done with vibrating dust. Some of Chladni’s plates show remarkable resemblances to certain animal patterns like the print of a jaguar or a leopard. Reptiles such as alligators often have geometric shapes similar to cymatic patterns within their skin. One of the best examples of Chladni’s patterns being represented by animals can be found on the shell of a tortoise.
The final and most complex topic that supports cymatics affecting biology can be found in the human body. Although more studies need to be done, there have been several mediums such as Music Therapy and Cymatherapy that have shown direct links to music and emotions, as well as a change in consciousness when vibrations and frequencies are inflicted upon the body. Cymatics have become a critical component in areas of sound healing, as sound healing requires the concentration of certain vibrations and frequencies in order to release blockages within the body. This is often done by using the human voice to create a single frequency, as well as using a massager in order to create vibration. Human aspects such as the pulsating of the heart, the fluctuation of breathing, and overall blood flow can be linked to a cymatic experiment involving sand. Several experiments demonstrate the flowing of sand in specific forms. One experiment had dust tossing and turning over its centre core creating figure 8 patterns, which can be compared to the simple act of breathing. When two frequencies are combined, the sand will “pulsate” as these two frequencies intertwine and ultimately interrupt one another. This experiment illustrates the pulse of the heart, along with how the bloodstream flows and moves in rhythmic patterns (Icke). Since the heart rate is sound, it too is affected by frequency. If one is stressed, the stressed emotion will interfere with the normal pulse of the heart, causing it to beat faster and resonate at a higher frequency. Breathing is often a large part of meditation. The focus of breath is often associated with gaining a higher level of consciousness. This is due to the fact that the sounds associated with inhaling and exhaling matches the inner frequency of the body. Even the simple act of recognising and acknowledging the sounds within the body (i.e. heart rate, breathing, etc.), along with using the voice to create a frequency that resonates well and compliments the individual’s natural frequency, will cause a state of peace, relaxation, and an overall euphoria.
Although further developments are still continuing with regards to Cymatics, there are still many answers within the field. Hans Jenny along with his contemporaries, have covered many aspects of cymatics, and its overall affects on certain solids, liquids, and gasses. It has also forced people to re-examine aspects of geometry, and ultimately consider new ways in understanding the creation of life. Cymatics has added a new dynamic to biology, and is being explored through plants, animals, humans, and pattern structures that mimic cymatic properties. As science and technology advances, one can only imagine the advances that cymatics will take, as it slowly becomes a new way of thinking to an old way of life.
(Keep speakers low for video example)
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