Q&A on the track “Pineal Gland Calibration”

A listener writes:

Q: I have an honest question. Doest it REALLY DO THAT??? Activate that area of
the brain??

A: Thank you for your question. The short answer is I don’t really know for sure. But, this is an important question and I feel it deserves a thorough response.

In order to make any legitimate objective claims having to do with the physiology of brain activity, we’d need to do scientific research. Specifically, we’d need to take PET scans (positron emission tomography) images while test subjects are listening. Should the funding become available to do this research, we would very much enjoy having our programs tested empirically.  When I say that this track is “aligned to the vibrational correspondences associated to the area between the third-eye and crown” I am referring to the esoteric or spiritual correspondences associated with the chakra system, using a practice I call “sonic mysticism“. According to this system, which is indeed arbitrary and symbolic rather than scientific, the note A is related to the third eye chakra and the note B is associated to the crown charka. This track is in the key of A# between these two notes. I selected this key because the symbolic association supports my intention for this piece, which I highlight in the track description.

What I can say with some amount of confidence is that it can facilitate a theta brainwave state, based on my subjective personal experience, the reports of some close friends who’ve also tested it, as well as having an understanding of how the brain responds to aural stimulus. A significant amount of research in the field of brainwave entrainment has been done to show that specific kinds of aural stimuli are capable of initiating particular brainwave frequencies and their corresponding states of consciousness. I use data gathered by researchers to recreate the kinds of stimulus shown to bring about specific brainwave states. Additionally, I modify or “tune” the aural stimulus to associate the music symbolically with the correspondences of sonic mysticism, while maintaining the perameters needed to bring about these particular states of consciousness. Yet from a scientific perspective, the empirical data necessary to make a conclusive statement about the brainwave states requires EEG (electro encephalography) testing, which would show the frequency range initiated by the music.

Having been a hypnotherapist and practitioner of many forms of meditation and having worked with brainwave entrainment technology for many years, I have learned to recognize the subjective experience of the theta state of consciousness, which occurs when the dominant brainwave patterns are between 4-8hz. When these patterns occur, subjects experience a hypnogogic or dream like state. Heart and breath rates slow, the mind creates images much like what happens while dreaming and thought patterns become more abstract and subtle. While the theta state is fairly easy to recognize and initiate, this is not the same as stimulating the area of the brain between the third eye and the crown.

Scientific research shows that prolonged use of brainwave entrainment audio programs can help to build the neural network pathways between the left and right hemisphere of the brain in the region called the corpus collosum. Research also shows that brainwave entrainment audio does help to synchronize the electrical activity between the two hemispheres of the brain, increasing cross cortical communication and enhancing overall brain function. Yet to the best of my knowledge, there is no conclusive scientific evidence indicating that the pineal or pituitary glands can be activated by aural stimulus. Should this research yield results, I will certainly do my best to incorporate their findings in to my compositional techniques.

As much as I love science and draw from its knowledge in the field of neuro-acoustics, my work is not scientific. I say this because I hold the validity procedures of scientific empiricism in high regard and have not performed the rigorous injunctions necessary to make empirical validity claims. My work is a form of sonic mysticism, which uses symbolic associations in order to transmit spiritual intentions through sound. My operating hypotheses is that intention, especially when coupled with both empirical neuro-acoustic insight and meaningful symbolic or archetypal insight, is capable of being conveyed through acoustic stimulus that can be evolutionarily or developmentally catalytic, not only helping to increase the brains functionality but also positively impacting the subtle energy body. As Jonathan Goldman puts it; sound healing = frequency + intention.

That being said, a meditation practice, whether or not that involves brainwave entrainment audio or meditation music does ultimately increase ones capacity for self awareness and inner peace. Insights gained through meditation and various forms of spiritual practice lead to a greater capacity for non-dual awareness and the ability to transcend and include pairs of opposites within our perception and world-view. This capacity, according to both the eastern vedic and western hermetic spiritual schools of thought are related to the pineal gland or ajna chakra in the east and the sephirah da’ath or sphere of knowledge in the west. Until science bridges the gap between materialism and esotericism, Source Vibrations listeners can consider themselves to be experimenters, or psychonaughts exploring the healing and evolutionary potential of sound through their own direct experience.

Thanks for asking.

your friend and sonic mystic,

~ Asa