FOLLOW:
The Sound Current
As a youth I thought it was simply the sound made by the basic energy of life. Listening to it was somehow comforting to me, and I couldn’t imagine living without it. When I started on the path of Light and Sound, I learned this sound is part of the Sound Current, the Divine Life Force or Spirit. It is an aspect of the force emanating from the Creator that sustains all life in the universes and is visible as Light and audible as Sound. Since I had always connected the sound I heard with the basic energy of life, the concept of the Sound Current was very easy for me to accept.
What was new for me was that there are many other sounds that make up the Sound Current. This is because the spiritual energy of the Divine Life Force vibrates at different frequencies on the various planes of existence, which generates a distinct sound for each level or plane. Paul Twitchell describes the individual sounds of the Sound Current in his book “The Spiritual Notebook.”
My first experience with a sound other than the high keening came soon after I joined the path. Sitting in contemplation in my bedroom, I began to hear a continuous rolling thunder, as if a jetliner had decided to hover over my house. This went on for several minutes. I wasn’t too worried because I knew from Twitchell’s book that the
sound of thunder corresponds to the physical plane consciousness; I could rest assured no Boing 747 was going to fall through my roof.
Sometime after that I was lying in bed in a kind of half-sleep when I suddenly experienced a numbing, vibrating sensation throughout my body. Then a sound began to swell in my head, growing louder and louder until it crashed and howled and whistled and drummed as if I were in a hurricane. Each time when it grew so loud that I thought I couldn’t stand it anymore, it eased off, only to erupt into another crescendo a minute or two later.
It was a little frightening, but because it always eased off before I was overwhelmed I figured I was never going to get more of it than I could handle. (Which has proved to be true throughout my years on the path of Light and Sound.)
Several months after the storm experience I was again sitting in my spiritual exercise when I heard the distinct sound of many church bells ringing. It seemed to come from a vast area, as if many churches throughout the country were all ringing their bells at once. The mingled sounds wafted to where I sat, setting my body to vibrate at the same frequency. A few minutes later a brilliant white light appeared above me; it descended rapidly and then completely engulfed me.
That’s as far as the experience went, but it confirmed for me not only that the Light and Sound are aspects of the same force, but also that this force can be used to lift my consciousness into other planes. Bells, or the whoosh of ocean surf, represent levels within the astral plane.
Although I hadn’t actually seen any images of the astral plane, I knew the Sound had shifted my consciousness to that level. What’s the point of that, you might ask, if I didn’t really see where I went? My answer to that would be that I believe just hearing the Sound has an effect on the development of my consciousness. In addition, the particular Sound I’m hearing tells me where I am in my spiritual awareness and which plane I’m on. Oftentimes it would happen that after one or more strong experiences with a Sound I’d have an amazing soul projection on the corresponding plane. It’s as if the Sound had prepared or opened my consciousness to perceive at that level. This is why I believe the Sound is so important to anyone wishing to travel out of the body.
Another time I heard a large orchestra playing what sounded like a symphony by Anton Bruckner or Gustav Mahler. This type of music I think would come from the higher regions of the astral plane. I listened to it for about 15 minutes, until my concentration faltered and it faded out. Afterward I wished I could return there and listen to more of it, but I was never able to. The experience taught me that music exists first in the inner worlds before it is written, or manifested, in the physical.
Among the other lower world Sounds listed by Paul Twitchell is the “buzzing of bees.” It corresponds to the etheric plane. I once heard this Sound as the whine of toy airplanes continuously swooping over me; in another exercise I thought a fly was circling my head. Each time I got annoyed and felt like grabbing them before I realized they were not physical sounds.
This can happen with the Sounds of the lower worlds: they can become so strong that the person doing a spiritual exercise believes they are physical sounds in the same room or next door. Some of the other Sounds in the lower worlds are the tinkle of small bells (causal plane) and the gurgle of water running in a creek bed (mental plane). In the higher worlds the Sounds are more subtle and much quieter, to the point where the mind could easily dismiss them as not real. Descriptions of the Sounds of the higher planes are given on the soul plane page, followed by the higher worlds page and the God plane page.
All these Sounds are part of the same force, the creative life current that flows from the creator into the worlds of existence and then back to its source. It is this returning, or uplifting, aspect of Spirit, rather than the manifesting aspect, that allows us to rise through higher and higher states of consciousness towards the God state. Our task, if we are interested in traveling out of the body, is to practice the spiritual exercises that help us raise our vibrations and connect us to the Sound Current. Some soul projection techniques are given on the soul projection, other planes, and visited planets pages.
Steve DeWitt
The Power of the Word
We find in the Bible the words: ‘In the beginning was the word, and the word was God’, and we also find that the word is light, and that when that light dawned the whole creation manifested. These are not only religious verses; to the mystic or seer the deepest revelation is contained in them.
The Mysticism of Sound
Abstract sound is called sawt-e-sarmad by the Sufis; all space is filled with it. The vibrations of this sound are too fine to be either audible or visible to the material ears or eyes, since it is even difficult for the eyes to see the form and color of the ethereal vibrations on the external plane.
Sikhism
A progressive religion well ahead of its time when it was founded over 500 years ago, The Sikh religion today has a following of over 20 million people worldwide and is ranked as the worlds 5th largest religion. Sikhism preaches a message of devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living, equality of mankind and denounces superstitions and blind rituals.
Naam or Word – Hari Ras
Now we come to another term, “Hari Ras” or Divine intoxication. Whoever communes with the Word, Shabd or Naam feels an exhilarating effect, too sweet and too absorbing for words. Far from being inebriating and stupefying it raises one into a state of super-consciousness and universal awareness.
Vipassana Meditation: The Soothing Divinity of Sound
The Himalayan masters of ancient India developed the “sound current” that is now known as the “divine sound.” The divine sound is the foundation used for practicing various forms of yoga—nada, sahaj, Babaji, kriya, and Sikh practices such as shabda yoga.