TMI Journal 2010-1&2 (Winter/Spring)

Upon completion of an alchemical cycle, a whole new level of consciousness is awakened within, allowing us to experience a greater sense of wholeness and self-actualization. Next Page 3 TMI JOURNAL Winter/Spring 2010 Music’s Role in Alchemy One of the essential tools used by alchemists to create the inner transformations they sought was music and vibrational energy. Music has long been recognized by many traditions as a powerful tool for expanding awareness and shifting vibration. As Joachim-Ernst Berendt said in The World is Sound: Nada Brahma: Music and the Landscape of Consciousness, “Our ears are the gateway to transcendence,” and music is the bridge. Musical tones can affect virtually every function in our body. The types of music we listen to can help us improve our health, explore inner realms, and enhance our creative and mental performance. There is documented evidence that alchemists from around the world frequently used specific types of sound, frequency, and musical instruments in their work. Alchemical artwork often depicts musical instruments somewhere within the setting of an alchemist’s laboratory. The alchemists recognized the effectiveness of music for helping them harness their consciousness and entrain their mind and body into coherent, expanded states of awareness. Once in a coherent and elevated state, they were able to achieve quantum leaps in the transformational process. Alchemists have long held sacred the patterns of creation written upon the face of nature. These patterns––often termed “sacred geometries”––contain certain mystical proportions that are harmonious and conducive to life. One such proportion, known as the golden mean (1.618…), can be found again and again throughout the cosmos, in nature, and also in the human body. Because of its prominence in nature, the alchemists held all manifestations of the golden mean in high regard. The alchemists and philosophers of the ancient Pythagorean Society used a musical scale that was determined by “golden intervals,” rather than the modern musical scale we are most familiar with today. Each of the alchemical stages of transformation is associated with one of the tones on the Pythagorean scale. In addition, each of the seven planets known by the ancients to comprise our solar system was thought to correspond to one of these alchemical notes. In their dance around the sun, the planets were thought to create a celestial symphony called the music of the spheres. It was believed that each of these alchemical notes had transformative properties when acting upon the denser manifestations of physical matter and the human body. So important is music to the tradition of alchemy that the creation of the first musical lyre was attributed to Thoth-Hermes, the scribe of the gods and father of alchemy, science, astronomy, language, and all subjects of higher learning. This lyre was tuned to the golden mean, or Pythagorean scale. Today, the only instruments that can produce these tones accurately are electronic music programs or instruments such as chimes and of course the lyre, which is specifically designed to be tuned to that scale. Through experience and observation of natural rhythms, alchemists learned to use the phenomenon of entrainment in their own practice and experiments. First they used it to entrain themselves into the desired state of consciousness, then they used it to create a harmonic field within their environment in order to influence their experiments in a positive way. Whether their experiment was performed upon the self, an individual seeking healing, or an herb or mineral that they were using to create a remedy, entrainment to a higher vibrational state was an essential step in alchemy. The Alchemical Use of METAMUSIC If alchemists had understood the phenomenon of brain waves and hemispheric synchronization as today’s scientists do, and had they possessed tools similar to METAMUSIC to achieve the states of consciousness they sought, they would have certainly found their “gold” much faster. Alchemy is already an accelerated path to transformation, and music is essential in achieving that, but METAMUSIC allows us to take this even farther and faster. METAMUSIC is used to create inner transformations within our consciousness, our brains, and our bodies––the very same goals that alchemists had. This “designer music”––combined with its embedded layers of binaural- beat patterns that directly entrain the brain into desired states––is a vital tool for creating the kinds of alchemical transformation needed on the planet today. In a sense, the Hemi-Sync® and METAMUSIC technologies already stimulate a kind of alchemical process for the brain. They accomplish several stages of the transformative process in entraining the listener into a whole-brain expanded state of awareness. For example, these technologies guide the listener through a process of first detaching from the outer mundane world, turning inward to the subconscious realm, separating the left and right hemispheric Next Page 4 TMI JOURNAL Winter/Spring 2010 activities in the brain using binaural signals, and then eliciting synchronization or harmonization between these two sides. This sequence coincides with the first four stages of alchemical transformation. Once the whole-brain state is achieved, the brain is then entrained into an expanded state of consciousness and allowed to rest in this for a while, often revealing a vision or allowing the listener to tap into fresh ideas and inner guidance corresponding to the fifth stage of alchemy. And through immersion programs, such as the GATEWAY VOYAGE, this process is repeated again and again: each time going to a new level of expansion and vibration, ultimately leading the listener to connect with a deeper sense of self. This completes the sixth and seventh stages of the alchemical process. The result can be likened to a rewiring of the brain in which new neural connections are formed and the brain functions are transformed into a permanently enhanced state. Through understanding the scientific sequence of alchemical transformation, we can further select specific METAMUSIC compositions to accompany each stage of alchemy in appropriate sequence for enhanced and expedited transformation. I have done this in my workshops with great success. Selections I have used for this purpose include Breakthrough, Into the Deep, Cycles, Lightfall, Remembrance, Touching Grace, Between the Worlds, Ascension, Inner Journey, and Higher. The broad selection of METAMUSIC available today allows for a number of options that achieve goals corresponding to each stage of alchemy. This premise could be taken even further by developing an alchemical METAMUSIC series specifically targeted toward eliciting each of the seven stages. For example, by using musical compositions based on the appropriate fundamental note and energy that correspond to each stage, as well as Fibonacci series or golden mean binaural-beat patterns embedded below the music, the user would be entrained to a particular alchemical stage. Doing so would assist individuals to move through these stages with greater ease when they arise naturally, which occurs frequently. What a great melding of both ancient and modern technologies that would be! My presentation at this year’s professional seminar—Consciousness: The Endless Frontier—sought to restore awareness of the power of alchemy. An exploration of each of the seven alchemical stages, accompanied by the soundscape of specially selected METAMUSIC tracks that match the goals of each stage, was included. Why they were selected for each stage and how they can be used in life, work, and professional practice to elicit the seven stages of alchemical transformation at the appropriate times was explained. You can download the entire audio presentation here: http://www.monroeinstitute.org/downloads/stages-alchemy- metamusic/ Note: the introduction is low volume, as the speaker was not using a microphone. Once the actual presentation begins it’s loud and clear. To view the accompanying slide show go here: The Seven Stages of Alchemy with METAMUSIC Let the entire slide show load and run. Maximize the screen and return to the beginning of the video by using the “back” button on the far right at the bottom of the movie window. Use the “forward” button to click through the slides as the audio plays. (See the illustration below.) Next Page 5 TMI JOURNAL Winter/Spring 2010 A SINGLE-SUBJECT CASE STUDY OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND HEMI-SYNC® by Linda Leblanc ince her first visit to TMI in 1994 for the GATEWAY VOYAGE®, Linda has returned S regularly and has attended at least ten residential programs. She is a professional member and a residential and OUTREACH trainer, facilitating workshops in Cyprus since her accreditation in 2000. With her husband, John Knowles, in 1999 she established a not-for-profit organization, Psychognosia, to disseminate information on parapsychology and consciousness research. She also coauthored with John the Reincarnation Cards® and the companion book, Awakening Far Memory, in 2007. The cards were beautifully illustrated by TMI trainer Patricia Peters (now, Patty Ray Avalon). Linda made history in December 2006 as the first foreigner elected to Cypriot public office and as the first female councillor in Peyia, Cyprus. Moving into a new, high-profile area of influence has provided Linda with even more opportunities to spread the word about Hemi-Sync. Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) usually requires lifelong support and therapy. Loss of memory and poor concentration reduce the ability to live a normal life. Patients often suffer from psychological and emotional effects and treatment is expensive, generally including both drugs and cognitive therapy. Four decades of reports by users of the Hemi-Sync binaural-beat sound technology indicate that Hemi-Sync may elicit changes in states of consciousness and result in improvements in physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. The technology could provide a noninvasive, inexpensive, easy-to-use, patient-controlled therapy for TBI. This small study documents the results of Hemi-Sync use in a single case of old TBI. Over eight months, the subject listened to a variety of Hemi-Sync CDs every day, some musical and some with verbal guidance. She self- monitored general well-being and mental and physical aspects, and she periodically tested herself using the University of Amsterdam National Memory Test online. The memory test showed some encouraging results. The subject reported a definite positive effect on general well-being. She felt less tired and more relaxed and effective on her own, concluding that Hemi-Sync had helped her. To date, there are no clinical studies on Hemi-Sync and brain trauma. It is hoped that this positive result may stimulate more formal research.