Sufi technique of inducing ecstacy by listening to the hum

[Tomtegubbe]

I just came across quite incredible story on YouTube on channel Let's Talk Religion. The channel is top quality and critical on sources. On video "Dara Shikoh & The Meeting of Islam & Hinduism" the narrator goes on to tell about the methods Dara Shikoh reveals in his books on how to achieve the spiritual experience.

Here is an excerpt:

"...another practice aims to hear a kind of primordial sound of existence which when heard increases and takes over your entire being and plunges the mystic into an ecstatic state."

We've been there, haven't we? It's probably one of the most common things people having used DMT at breakthrough doses tell to have heard, the carrier wave.

It seems like those people had techniques to reach the hyperspace. I wonder though, if they could induce the dmt experience through concentrated effort or could they have had some plants to help induce the experience.

In Buddhism there are practices to reach the dhjana states by pure meditation. Descriptions of these states resemble very much some of the deep hyperspace experiences.

In Moghul empire the different traditions came into close contact with each other, so it's possible that Sufis adopted some techniques from the Indian religions.

Anyway, this is fascinating. I've never heard such a description of the carrier wave sound outside the modern DMT experiences.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

This kind of reminds me of some of Jonathan Goldman's work on Healing Sounds. In one of his books (Shifting Frequencies?) he describes how the rhythmic humming of a truck sent him on a journey outside of space and time where he met some tribal elders who were using the same kind of frequencies for journey work. Anecdotal at best, I can easily see how his credibility might lie more in the direction of woo and New Age BS - especially considering how his tuning forks are decidedly overpriced - but he is pretty accomplished in the field of vocal overtone singing.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

OK, so I attempted to tune into the hum this morning and it was kind of successful. I woke up feeling distinctly suboptimal and decided to apply some of the principles I've been reading on the Nexus lately in order to get a better start to the day. I started off with some Wim Hof-ish breathing exercises, 3 cycles of about 20 breaths hyperventilating followed each time by holding my breath for 1 minute. That helped to reduce the physical pain I was feeling and it was energising as well as seeming to reduce inflammation to some extent.

I then tuned through my normal tinnitus into my inner silence while staying alert for whatever might be there. I then heard a rushing noise building up, like the sound of a wave breaking on the beach except that it started quietly and besides the white noise there was kind of a ringing resonance to it, perhaps like the faint addition of a singing bowl to the mix. This was accompanied by a sense of a white light illuminating from within and a divine spark of transcendent euphoria was kindled. Consequently I'm feeling significantly more functional than I have done for the past 12 days.

This is promising and intriguing - where does one find more literature and resources regarding this technique?

I might add, I did have 50mg of freebase harmine sublingually last night (3 a.m.) and this meditation was 6½ hours later. Prior to that, at around 11 a.m. the preceding day I'd had syrian rue tea made using 3 g of seeds.

 

[Th3_tRuTh]

I just came across quite incredible story on YouTube on channel Let's Talk Religion. The channel is top quality and critical on sources. On video "Dara Shikoh & The Meeting of Islam & Hinduism" the narrator goes on to tell about the methods Dara Shikoh reveals in his books on how to achieve the spiritual experience.

Here is an excerpt:

"...another practice aims to hear a kind of primordial sound of existence which when heard increases and takes over your entire being and plunges the mystic into an ecstatic state."

We've been there, haven't we? It's probably one of the most common things people having used DMT at breakthrough doses tell to have heard, the carrier wave.

It seems like those people had techniques to reach the hyperspace. I wonder though, if they could induce the dmt experience through concentrated effort or could they have had some plants to help induce the experience.

In Buddhism there are practices to reach the dhjana states by pure meditation. Descriptions of these states resemble very much some of the deep hyperspace experiences.

In Moghul empire the different traditions came into close contact with each other, so it's possible that Sufis adopted some techniques from the Indian religions.

Anyway, this is fascinating. I've never heard such a description of the carrier wave sound outside the modern DMT experiences.

This is fascinating and I am definitely adding it to my research and practices. I really enjoy the hamsa mantra where ha and sa represent the in and out of the life force and the m in between breaths represents Shiva, or the higher self, the big "I". If one is to hold the breath right there, for just a moment, you can achieve union. So there are two different kinds of hums, one internal and one external. I actually hit a particular resonance yesterday while doing the isha kriya, near the end when you let out the ah sound 7 times. The first one was resonating so well that I felt myself expanding and an experience very similar to the toad came over me and I felt like if I could just hold that note for a moment longer, it would have broken me through. I believe in this 100%.

 

[Tomtegubbe]

I then tuned through my normal tinnitus into my inner silence while staying alert for whatever might be there. I then heard a rushing noise building up, like the sound of a wave breaking on the beach except that it started quietly and besides the white noise there was kind of a ringing resonance to it, perhaps like the faint addition of a singing bowl to the mix. This was accompanied by a sense of a white light illuminating from within and a divine spark of transcendent euphoria was kindled. Consequently I'm feeling significantly more functional than I have done for the past 12 days.

That's cool! This is exactly how I'd describe the come up of breakthrough dmt doses. Bodily vibrations too, perhaps?

I believe people who have practiced astral projection have techniques similar to this. I have tried them a bit but haven't got very far. I can control the vibrations, which some say is the first step, but haven't got further.

I, however, remember once taking a very small dose of dmt and then through suggestion helping the buildup of the breakthrough. By that experience I believe it is something that can be controlled to certain extent.

Your experience is very encouraging. I think I'll try to experiment with this too.

 

[Th3_tRuTh]

That's cool! This is exactly how I'd describe the come up of breakthrough dmt doses. Bodily vibrations too, perhaps?

I believe people who have practiced astral projection have techniques similar to this. I have tried them a bit but haven't got very far. I can control the vibrations, which some say is the first step, but haven't got further.

I, however, remember once taking a very small dose of dmt and then through suggestion helping the buildup of the breakthrough. By that experience I believe it is something that can be controlled to certain extent.

Your experience is very encouraging. I think I'll try to experiment with this too.

Yes, very much like astral projection and breakthrough doses. This is what has me convinced in the validity of plant medicines. Even the great mystics of today will try to dissuade the use of psychedelics as not the same, dangerous, etc., but I believe they are just uncharted paths to the same end and take a lot of faith, commitment, and trial/error to figure out. I'm determined to figure it out by using all of these tools side-by-side to see how the medicine affects the other practices.

I have come close to astral projection a few times now with heavy vibrations, ringing of the ears, and this falling rush type of a feeling and that is usually what snaps me out of it. Can't snap out of it in the middle of a DMT trip lol but meditation I always scare myself back to the waking life.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Bodily vibrations too, perhaps?

Come to think of it, I did thrash around a bit as well! There was a bit of intuitive bodywork going on.

 

[Jan e Kharabat]

On one of my pharmahuasca experiences I turned the music off and tried to tune into the sounds in my head. Something told me about a primordial sound, I heard hums and chants, I tried to reproduce that sound, it was a frequency between B and C.
I feel drawn towards Raag Bhairav, the most ancient of all the ragas. I feel that there is that primordial sound in there, a melody which lies within the very fabric of this world.
The sufis have this tradition of chanting "Allah-hu" in the same frequency while gradually increasing the tempo over 20-30 minutes. When I was little I had to get up at 4am to pray and I would hear these chants coming from some far away sufi mosque. It was really mesmerizing. But raag Bhairav has a special place in my heart. Specially the Alap, the slow drawn out intro.

 

[Tomtegubbe]

I feel drawn towards Raag Bhairav, the most ancient of all the ragas. I feel that there is that primordial sound in there, a melody which lies within the very fabric of this world.

What a coincidence that you mention this. I have just done some research on the different ragas and listened to many performances. A few weeks ago I had no idea about the term or the music genre in general.

Thank you for this suggestion. I think I can the primordial sound too.

You have an interesting and rich culture. The sufi tradition is incredibly deep and advanced. People in the West have hardly even heard the term.

 

[intosamadhi]

This is promising and intriguing - where does one find more literature and resources regarding this technique?

This is known as nādānusaṃdhāna (contemplating the inner sound) in haṭha yoga or simply as nāda yoga. The Indian tradition describes the modulation of the sound one hears as the state of absorption deepens:

"In the initial stage of practice, various kinds of loud noises are heard. As the practice develops, increasingly subtle sounds are heard. In the beginning [the sounds] of the ocean, thunder, a kettledrum and a jharjhara drum occur. In the intermediate [stage], [the sounds] of mardala drum and conch arise, then of a bell and a kāhala drum. In the last [stage there arise] the sounds of a small bell, a flute, a veena and a bee. These are the various sounds that are heard within the body.

When he hears loud sounds like thunder, kettledrums and so on, he should focus only on the very subtlest sound. Whether it has put a loud sound in a quiet one or a quiet one in a loud one, one should not move one’s distracted mind elsewhere, even if it is taking pleasure. The mind becomes steady exactly where it first cleaves to a sound, and dissolves together with it.

Just as a bee drinking nectar pays no attention to the perfume, so a mind attached to sound does not desire the objects of the senses. The mind, a rutting elephant wandering about in the garden of sense objects, can be brought under control by this sharp goad of sound. The mind which is bound by the fetter of sound is entirely free of
unsteadiness. It becomes completely still, like a bird with clipped wings." - Haṭhapradīpikā, The Roots of Yoga - Mallinson & Singleton

FYI This description is not meant to be taken literally. The practice is in essence about concentrating the mind upon this internal unstruck ringing sound (tinnitus) until the activity of discursive thought has been completely suspended and one experiences a condition of pure awareness, where all objective content has been dissolved and one rests in a state of pure subjectivity ie. samādhi.

Practices of pranayama prior to meditation upon the inner sound tend to make it easier to perceive it and to become absorbed in it. Harmala's are also likely to create an accentuation of the inner sound because of their CNS stimulating effects at moderate doses. The general 'trick' is to generate enough stimulation so that it is easy to perceive and remain focussed on the inner sound but not so much stimulation that you become agitated and unable to relax fully into an absorptive state.

 

[WisdomTooth]

This is why I love playing C# Didgeridoo in 432 Hz which hits the tone "Om" or 136.1hz.
Here is a youtube video example

but nothing compared to playing a didgeridoo in the flesh, the effect and vibration... Its another level, especially if you own a performance didgeridoo like mine.