During our session together, you will hear three Paiste Planetary Gongs- Nibiru, Pluto and Moon (Synodic). Paiste Planet Gongs are tuned in conformity with the natural harmonic series based on the orbital properties of the Earth, Moon, Sun and planets. Each one is handmade in line with research and conclusions of Hans Cousto.
“The more we are united to the great oneness, the greater will be the consciousness that nothing separates us from the universe and that we, ourselves, are part of the total cosmos.”
(Hans Cousto- The Cosmic Octave)
Each gong has its own frequency and emotive influence as listed below.
From Don Contreaux, “Gongs of our Solar System” and Sheila Whittaker, “Sound Healing with Gongs”:
Emotive influences- The transformer, transcendency, integration, regeneration, kundalini energy, looking within, power, intensity, transformation of energy or a situation within, new ways of being. Rebirth, growth and transcendence. Breaking down the old, aids rebuilding processes on a new and higher level. Purging, dissolving of the ego, moving forwards.
Clears blockages. Enabling to lower and upper worlds. Sex. Water
Day cycle, reproductive organs, sexual well being, patience and balance
Astrological sign rule: CANCER
Sex. Water. Chest.
Heart chakra.
Gong Baths
No water whatsoever is involved in this sort of “bath”. During a Gong session, clients are “bathed” in the sound from the gongs, played by the facilitator with a range of mallets.
The gong bath is a form of sound healing holistic treatment. The healing properties of the gongs are accessible to all and require no previous experience.
A relaxing sound bath should help to relieve stress as it is a form of deep therapy for the mind, body and spirit. As the gongs and percussive instruments play, you are free to explore your own meditative journey, allowing the sounds to provoke thought, peace and stillness… You are free to drift in whichever direction the sounds take you within a safe and comfortable space.
Everyone’s experience will be a unique one to them. There is no right or wrong. The body stills, the mind quietens and we let go. Following the session, you may feel relaxed, connected, calm, you may experience better sleep, feel balanced, creative, or even energised and focussed….
Entrainment and Vibration
Everything is constantly in a state of vibration. Sound effects our physical body and mind through resonance. The various parts of our bodies have specific resonant frequencies, where ‘resonance’ is the natural vibration of an object. Sound is not just an energy that enters the ear and brain, it also has the ability to go into our cellular structure.
Radiating gong sounds and sound waves penetrate the human body, causing all cells to reverberate. The gong affects every part of us- the sound is experienced in every cell, not just through our ears. Sustained gonging can involve a mixing of the senses, which is believed to be important in healing, rejuvenation and transformation.
“Gong tones take us on a spiritual journey of sound to the source of our being.” (Sheila Whittaker)
Frequencies created from the vibrations on the gongs as they are played encourage brainwaves to move from Beta (waking and consciousness) to Alpha to Theta- daydreaming or sleeping states. In these states we can “let go” more easily and let our thoughts take us to where we need to go, whilst aiding relaxation and healing of the mind and body. The gongs induce an altered state of consciousness.
Sound Healing
“Sound Healing is the therapeutic application of sound frequencies to the body/mind of a person with the intention of bringing them into a state of harmony and health.”
(Simon Heather)
“Sound healing is the ability of sound to repair aspects of ourselves that are out of alignment (and need repair) as well as to restore us to spiritual wholeness.” (Goldman, 7 Secrets of Sound Healing)
Sound healing is the therapeutic use of sound, voice and music to encourage healing purposes. It works through the principles of resonance, entrainment, intention, pitch, rhythm, harmonics, musical intervals, prayers and mantra.
Much research has been, and continues to be done, into the positive effects of sound on the human body, including studies into thought patterns, pain relief, hormone levels, dementia and even scientific research into how sound waves can be used to improve health at human cellular level.
Hans Jenny coined the term ‘Cymatics’ to explain the acoustic impacts of sound wave phenomena (vibrations) within the body.
In the 1970s, physicist Sternheimer and musician Fabien Maman found that tissue, organs and acupuncture meridians each have a musical note and investigated the effects of sound on blood cells, haemoglobin and particular cancer cells.
John Stuart Reid continues to research how sound and music can trigger the body’s healing response. His fascinating research, as well as many other studies of various scientists around the world, details how sound has a positive impact on the human body.
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It is said that the gong makes the sound ‘om’ or ‘aum’- the original sound of the universe or sound of the Infinite. Aum is the sound of the atom and the gong.
So it is no wonder why and how the gong is used within holistic therapies and sound healing, or why I have chosen this instrument to play within my practice.