Healing Tones

IN ALL MY YEARS and in all my walks in woods and forests I’ve never heard a tree growing. And yet trees, like the great Sequoias in California, grow to towering heights without making a sound — except when the wind, another invisible force like the silent life that grows a tree, whistles through the branches announcing its presence — on occasion blowing trees down, root ball and all, in tornadic and hurricane-force gales. An awesome sight to behold down here in Louisiana where storms blow through from time to time. In contrast, Nature grows her lifeforms in peaceful silence — even in the darkness of the womb.

Sufi Hazarat Inayat Khan speaks and writers of the peaceful “silent life” as finding joy in surface activities. “The silent life appears as death in comparison with the life of activity . . . The life on the surface seems to be the real life, because it is in this life that all joy is experienced.” Well, I’m not sure that’s entirely so as the angels in heaven are said to be joyful . . . and quite musical as well. I do get his point, however. Our senses are so filled with the illusion of a material world that we have little capacity available for entertaining the presence of the silent invisible Reality behind the surface play of activity, making it at all possible. In fact, we fear death because it steals us away from what we know and sends our souls in a direction toward that which we don’t. Inayat Khan has an intriguing view of the silent life.

In the silent life there is no joy but only peace. The soul’s original being is peace and its nature is joy, both of which work against one another. [In a manner of speaking, I suppose.] This is the hidden cause of all life’s tragedy. The soul originally is without any experience; it experiences all when it opens its eyes to the exterior plane, and keeps them open, enjoying the life on the surface until satisfied. The soul then begins to close its eyes to the exterior plane, and constantly seeks peace, the original state of its being.

FINE AND GROSS VIBRATIONS

The inward and essential part of every being is composed of fine vibrations, and the external part is formed of gross ones. The finer part we call spirit and the grosser matter, the former less subject to change and destruction and the latter more so. All that lives is spirit and all that dies is matter; and all that dies in spirit is matter and all that lives in matter is spirit. All that is visible and perceptible appears to be living, although subject to death and decay, and is becoming every moment resolved into its finer elements; but the sight of man is so deluded by his awareness of the seeming world, that the spirit which really lives is covered under the garb of matter and its true being is hidden. It is the gradually increasing activity which causes vibrations to materialize, and it is the gradual decrease of the same which transmutes them again into spirit.

[While I do see his reasoning here, the illusory world of matter becomes visible and tangible as the frequency of vibrations becomes slower, and matter is transmuted at higher frequencies.]

As has been said, vibrations pass through five distinct phases while changing from the fine to the gross; and the elements of ether, water, air, earth and fire, each has a savor, colour, and form peculiar to itself. Thus the elements form a wheel which brings them all in time to the surface. At each step in their activity they vary and become distinct from each other; and it is the grouping of these vibrations which causes variety in the objective world. Man calls the law which causes them to disperse destruction.

Vibrations turn to atoms and atoms generate what we call life; thus it happens that their grouping, by the power of nature’s affinity, forms a living entity; and as the breath manifests through the form so the body becomes conscious. In one individual there are many fine and small beings hidden; in his blood, in his brain cells, in his skin, and in all planes of his existence. As in the physical being of an individual many small germs are born and nourished which are also living beings, so in his mental plane there are many beings, termed Muwakkals, or elementals. These are still finer entities born of man’s own thoughts, and as the germs live in his physical body so the elementals dwell in his mental sphere. Man often imagines that thoughts are without life; he does not see that they are more alive than the physical germs and that they have a birth, childhood, youth, age and death. They work for man’s advantage or disadvantage according to their nature. The Sufi creates, fashions and controls them. He drills them and rules them throughout his life; they form his army and carry out his desires. As the germs constitute man’s physical being and the elementals his mental life, so do the angels constitute his spiritual existence. These are called Farishtas.

Vibrations as a rule have length as well as breadth; and they may last the least fraction of a moment or the greater part of the age of the universe. They make different forms, figures, and colours as they shoot forth, one vibration creating another; and thus myriads arise out of one. In this way there are circles beneath circles and circles above circles, all of which form the universe. Every vibration after its manifestation becomes merged again in its original source. The reach of vibrations is according to the
fineness of the plane of their starting-point. To speak more plainly, the word uttered by the lips can only reach the ears of the hearer; but the thought proceeding from the mind reaches far, shooting from mind to mind. The vibrations of mind are much stronger than those of words. The earnest feelings of one heart can pierce the heart of another; they speak in the silence, spreading out into the sphere, so that the very atmosphere of a person’s presence proclaims his thoughts and emotions. The vibrations of the soul are the most powerful and far-reaching, they run like an electric current from soul to soul.

All things and beings in the universe are connected with each other, visibly or invisibly, and through vibrations a communication is established between them on all the planes of existence; as an ordinary instance, if one person coughs in an assembly, many others begin to do the same, and the same is the case with yawning. This also applies to laughter, excitement and depression. This shows that vibrations convey the conditions of one being to another; therefore the seer knows of the past, present and future,
and perceives conditions on all planes of existence.

Vibrations work through the chord of sympathy [resonance] existing between man and his surroundings and reveal past, present and future conditions; this explains why the howling of dogs foretells death, and the neighing of horses the approach of danger. Not only animals show this but even the plants in times of sorrow begin to die, and the flowers to fade, while during times of happiness they grow and flourish. The reason why plants and animals can perceive the vibrations and know of coming events while man
is ignorant of them, is because he has blinded himself with egotism. The influence of vibrations is left on the chair on which one sits, in the bed where one has slept, in the house where one lives, in the clothes one wears, in the food one eats, and even in the street where one walks.

[This has been verified scientifically by DNA sampling of energetic residue left behind where a person has sat or slept.)

Every emotion arises from the intensity of the vibrations, which when active in different directions produce different emotions, the main cause of every emotion being simply activity. Every vibration while active raises the consciousness to the outermost surface, and the mist caused by this activity collects clouds which we call emotions. The clouds of emotion obscure the clear sight of the soul. Therefore passion is called blind. The excess of the activity of vibrations not only blinds, but weakens the will, and a weak will enfeebles the mind and body.

—The Mysticism of Sound

There are surely thoughts and impressions to contemplate in Khan’s words. What I come away with after reading this passage is the responsibility I have as a divine being incarnate to use my human capacities according to their intended purposes for the manifestation and expression of the truth of love in this world. In other words to sound a tone in my living that sets into motion creative vibrations rather than destructive ones — such as words of accusation, blame and complaint. Such vibrations hurt the heart and dissipate the fine substance of Spirit. They don’t feel very pleasant either, do they? Not like words of appreciation, praise and compassion do. We have the unique privilege and capacities to make audible the silent life of the vibrations of Heaven through our words and actions. To bless our worlds and the people in them with uplifting vibrations. To bless our own human bodies, minds and hearts with creative energy. That feels so right, doesn’t it?

I welcome your thoughts and insights about these important matters. Until my next post,

Be love. Be loved.

Anthony

tpal70@mail.com