The Six Healing Sounds

Like the Inner Smile practice, the Six Healing Sounds practice is one of those
fundamental Qigong disciplines that are indispensable to a well rounded and complete
practice. I have found it very helpful in releasing those pent-up emotional energies
that can leave you feeling very uncomfortable or agitated.
The Idea that the internal physical organs hold or store the energy of the emotions
really helped me to gain some sort of control or handle on the ever powerful and
changing emotions we all experience throughout our lives.Of course, the goal is not to
rid ourselves of emotion but to transform them into force for positive growth.We can
nurture and develop those energies to harness the beneficial aspects of emotional
maturity.In other words, we can grow and cultivate our innate virtues of love,
kindness, courage and gentleness to grow spiritually.
There are different styles of The Six Healing Sounds or Liu Zi Jue in Chinese ,
meaning literally “six characters knack or secrets”. .
The Term Liu Zi Jue first appears in a book called On Caring for the Health of the
Mind and Prolonging the Life Span written by Tao Hongjing of the Southern and
Northern Dynasties (420 - 589). "One has only one way for inhalation but six for
exhalation," he writes in the book.He was a great teacher of the Maoshan lineage
school of Daoism.He had a vast knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The energetic basis of the Liu Zi Jue forms is in line with the ancient theories based
on Traditional Chinese Medicine of the Five Elements and the Five Solid Viscera.
They are standing on common ground on such issues as mouth forms and
pronunciation methods, and the direction of body movements and mind follow the
innate circulation of qi in the meridians.
Basic correspondences were found between these elemental energies and the six
organ systems of the human body,including the triple burner. Liver and Wood are
both flexible and smooth. The Heart like a Fire warms the entire body. Earth grows
food which the Spleen-stomach digests. Metal is cool and hard and is used to make
containers. The Lungs also are cool, encased in a hard rib cage, and contain the breath
(sick lungs also resemble badly rusted iron.)
The Five Elemental Energies in Nature and in Man
Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-Water were the names chosen to describe the five types of
Elemental Energies. Trees come to life in the spring. Fire is hot like the summer.
Earth is most fertile in late summer/early autumn. In winter there is much rain and
snow, and water freezes.Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that mental and
physical problems are caused by qi-energy imbalances in the organs and meridians.
Since the six Sounds are said to rectify such imbalances, it is easy to see why this
qigong practice has become so popular in modern China.
The Liver helps control the quality of the blood and supports the eyesight.
The Heart controls the circulation of blood. The Heart energy center also is the
location of fire, which if in excess can bring about the stagnation or deficiency of the
blood, as well as profoundly affecting how well the mind is working. Some suggest
that the use of sound will assist in the healing of heart diseases as well as mental
disturbances.
Spleen-Stomach. The stomach digests and the spleen helps transport the nutrients and
the related qi-energy of food.
Lungs. Of all the five organ-systems what is called The Lung is the most in contact
with the outer world with all its negative pathogenic influences, such as germs,
viruses, and illness-causing pollutants. Also, the lungs bring in the rich qi of oxygen
in the air, which is so absolutely vital for life itself.
The Kidneys oversee many functions needed for well-being. Some of the most
important are reproduction, urination, general vitality, and psychological factors such
as memory.
The Triple Burner refers to the functioning not the physicality of the organs of the
body. The Upper Burner has the lungs, heart and the mind. The Middle Burner has the
spleen-pancreas stomach; and the liver. Here food is metabolized for energy and cell
growth. The Lower Burner refers to the area of the kidneys, bladder, and intestines;
areas that deal with the elimination of waste. The sound used for the Triple Burner
aids in harmonizing all of these functions.
Another primary application of the Six Healing Sounds is to aid in correcting any
emotional disharmony caused by the stresses of modern life.
(In the beginning)there was Profound Nothingness from which appeared One
Primordial Energy, which expanded into the Two polarities of Yin/Yang. Then there
was Three: the Heavens above, Man in between, Earth below. Three became Five: the
myriad things of existence appearing in inter-related patterns of Five called Wu Xing
(pronounced woo sheen). In English, this means something like The Five Phases of
Energetic Forces or more commonly, The Five Elements.
"Sound therapy is a very ancient method of healing. Tibetan monks, for example,
have used a method of “overtone chanting” for thousands of years for treating illness.
The theory is that since everything in the universe is in a constant state of vibration,
including the human body, even the smallest change in frequency can affect the
internal organs. Modern sound therapists consider there is a natural resonance or
“note” that is “right” for each part of the human body, and for each individual, so by
directing specific sound waves to specific areas they can affect the frequency at which
that part is vibrating and thereby restore it to balance and therefore health. Sound
therapy may utilize special machines that transmit “healing vibrations” (the British
pioneer Peter Guy Manners has developed a system known as Cymatics that claims to
do this). But more usually it involves direct application of the voice, music, or a
variety of tonal sounds and sometimes a combination of all three.
Adding the Six healing sounds practice to the Inner smile practice gives people a way
to create a pathway along the associated meridian in order allow the energy to flow
and release.When we grasp our left wrist and pull upwards vocalizing the heart sound
we can get a real kinesthetic feel for how the energy flows.Thus awakening the
awareness of that pathway.
The beauty of The Six Healing Sounds practice is its simplicity and direct connection
and tuning of the organ systems and our personal awareness of those systems.Opening
up a clear channel of communication and cognitive resonance that can bring a great
sense of relief and well being to whole bodily system.
I can honestly say that The Six healing Sounds practice has worked incredibly well to
help me stay healthy.I haven’t been sick now for about eight years in a row.
I can really feel the difference when I haven’t practiced it for awhile.
I love the effect on my students when they first learn The Six Healing Sounds
practice.Their faces light up and look so much more relaxed and calm.What an
amazing gift from the ancients who discovered these gems of healing.I will continue
to share this and other powerful healing modalities as long and with as many people
as possible.
Thank you.