Sound Waves as Spiritual Catalysts

Forgive me if I ramble a bit. If you're wanting something witty you better skip this one, I'm thinking out loud.

I just finished a book called Breaking Open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck, and in this book he talks about a variety of psychedelic substances to bring about visions and mystical experiences. Two of these chemicals are DMT and DPT.

Of the two DMT is a naturally occuring chemical found in many common plants, and also according to at least one study the cerebrospinal fluid bathing the human brain. DMT when ingested is usually harmless as it is broken down by chemicals in our bodies known as MAOs. When DMT is ingested by shamens and other religious seekers it is most often in combination with other plants and substances that contain inhibitors for these MAOs so that the drug can have its effect. When taken by itself DMT is most commonly smoked or injected to bypass the MAOs. DMT is a very potent drug, much like LSD in that it is effective in the microgram range. According to Pinchbeck a lifetime supply of DMT would be smaller than a bar of soap.

DPT is apparantly not a naturally occuring chemical, though it is quite similar molecularly to DMT and other compounds found in the body.

Music and sound are used traditionally in ritual ceremonies as a way to entice spirits, or to guide the seeker on their quest after ingesting the drugs. Many of the drugs used throughout the world contain DMT, or Psilocybin (one of the active compounds in the so-called magic mushrooms). In various shamantic cultures in the world during ceremonies there are often visions of gods or goddesses who do various things to the persons body, such as taking it apart and putting it back together, or adding things such as metals inside the persons body.

Sidetracking now I should explain one of the main teachings of all of the psychedelic researchers, that of the importance of set, setting and dose when using these chemicals.

Set: This is the mindset of the person taking the drugs. If you are experiencing anxiety or fears, those will manifest themselves in the experience. Likewise if the person is mellow and serene they will most often have a mellow trip. Feelings of paranoia will also be amplified.

Setting: This is the physical setting of the person taking the drug. If you are in a hospital, then the trip will most often involve something along the lines of doctors or medicine, perhaps surgery. If the setting is one of an eastern temple, then there that will set the tone for the trip. If you are in a forest you'll get forest based imagery.

Dose: This is the actual dosage of the drug. The higher the dose the different the trip. Sometimes you might get stronger visions from the drug at a higher dose, sometimes it might just make you throw up alot, or it might cause psychosis.

Set, Setting and Dose are all equally important. It should come as no surprise that when soldiers were given LSD they experienced military related trips, and when CIA agents took it they had paranoid James Bond style experiences.

This is also similar to the idea in Magickal practices where there are rituals involved. The aim of Magickal ritual is to bring about the same types of visions that the drug user experiences, but most often without the drugs. Ways of bringing about the visions traditional involve such things as dancing, chanting, fasting or some form of self flagellation. The idea is to bring the body to a breaking point where the conscious mind is supressed and the spirit is free to move into the collective. Magickal and religious rituals are designed as a sensory overload so that the mind is shut down and overwhelmed. The Catholic church is the most prominent example of this in the west, with the grand architecture, incense, chanting and uncomfotable pews. Mass, specifically with the giving of the sacrament was meant to cause feelings of communion with God. Often times it would bring about visions in the people involved.

Part of the reason that most of the practices don't have the same effect on modern people as they did in times fast is the sensory overload that we experience in our daily lives. Is mass in a cathedral going to have the same effect on us as a movie in the theater, or a concert?

Which brings me to the study that has been quoted on various pages, such as here. This is not really news, though it is pretty much the first time the mainstream press has looked at such studies. Warren Ellis's Global Frequency comic had an issue devoted to just such a phenomena. I also remember a story on the television show Sightings about a doctor who was using sound and sensory depravation to bring about UFO abduction and NDE type experiences.

What do DMT, sound waves and Magick have to do with one another you ask?

Could it be that in the human brain there are certain chemicals released in a tiny amount under certain conditions that bring about these types of experiences. If the DMT or DMT like chemical were produced inside the brain, it would only need to happen in the smallest micrograms of doses since it would immediately bipass the MAO inhibitors and work directly on the brain.

Could it be that hauntings, alien abductions and mystical experiences are all metaphorical projections on the same experience catalyzed by the release of these types of chemicals in the brain, brought about by conditions in the environment, such as Ultra-Low Frequency sound, or other phenomena. The ingestion of these drugs brings about stronger reactions most of the time.

Could this be a type of chemical that is released when the brain feels that it is going to die or experience tremendous trauma to ease itself? Religious seekers will often bring themselves to the brink of physical death for a vision, and likewise the NDE phenomena could be accounted for in this way.

Just thinking outloud, perhaps more on this later.