LOGOS

AHHH-Men

Surveying the names of the divine in various world cultures/languages/religions, a common thread emerges: GOD, ALLAH, YAHWEH, SHANG-DI, AMUN, ATEN; even KRISHNA, MUHAMMAD (p.b.o.h.), YESHUA (the original of "Jesus") contain the same sound: the phonic "AHHH"

Explore for a moment what occurs when you pronounce "AHHH."

The mouth opens wider, the muscles around the jaw relax, and a soothing vibration emerges through the central nexus of sinuses, vocal chords, spinal chord and brain. An almost imperceptible space opens where these all meet and further somatic changes will be noticed by those open to their subtlety. One could venture to say that one experiences a higher vibration just from the pronunciation of this simple sound.

What then would the "Amen" be? Beyond the Egyptian deity of air and breath (appropriate associations to the present discussion) and the Hebrew word for truth or certainty, could it be an invocation? an incantation? Does the pronouncing of it aloud not invoke a certain state? What of an entire congregation singing the Amen following a hymn or doxology?

When we examine the words into which the phonic has been incorporated, a sense of the higher participates in the meaning (with exceptions, of course.) Ma is the universal phonic for motherhood, pa for fatherhood.  Awe is to be opened to a state of wonder and excitement. Words with multiple occurrences of the phonic come to denote particularly sacred meanings: the holy month Ramadan in the Islamic calendar; Mr. Gurdjieff's Society of Akhaldan, and others.

Of course, these are but mere openings of a question, not definitive answers. But even so, isn't it a new experience to recognize how humans have universally taken comfort, relaxation and a sense of the holy  from the AHHH! That on some level we are all men of the AHHH: AHHH-Men!

Gurdjieff's All and Everything: First Series

Although it is grossly ill-advised to approach the ideas of Mr. Gurdjieff out of nothing more than a mere intellectual interest in sound properties, it may nevertheless compel some to begin exploring his ideas and discover more than they had bargained for. And, citing how even the impulse of curiosity can lead to a desire for knowldege, leading in turn to a "closer understanding of the essence of any object," Gurdjieff himself wrote in his introductory chapter:

"...I am even willing, with pleasure, to satisfy this curiosity which has arisen in you at the present moment." (26-7)

Within Gurdjieff's Colossal Tome are to be found not just chapters on experiments into the nature of sound itself, but a description of the seven aspects of universal phenomena in general, developed within a breathtaking cosmology that in sheer scope and relative scale defies description in ordinary language. Still, to satisfy one's curiosity and thirst for knowledge will not come easily in Gurdjieff's Book: the answers are not given, but must be found. While the Book's title implies that All and Everything is indeed in store for the reader, to come to it requires the reader to search far and wide and (somewhat akin to Gurdjieff's own Search) to reassemble the fragments into a meaningful and integrated whole. For those up to such a challenge, they are wished a hearty and indefatigable appetite:

Mr. Gurdjieff's First Series can be purchased by visiting the Gurdjieff Books website.

 

The Modern Remnants of Sacred Sound

In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with GOD, and the Word was GOD. (John 1:1)

What is the link between the Absolute Reality and Sound?

If we take literally the words of St. John,  then they are synonymous. Even taken metaphorically, the primary link between Sound and Source is evidenced by the central role played by music and other sound forms in the ceremonies and rituals of virtually all the World's Spiritual Traditions. The Delphic Hymn to Apollo from Pagan traditions, Tuvan Throat Singing from Tibetan Buddhism, Japanese Gagaku from the Shinto Faith, Hindustani and Carnatic music from India, Hawaiian Chant and the Requiem Mass of Mozart are but a few examples.  This interrelatedness of Sound and the Sacred, then, is Universal.

Why, then is there so little mention of the primacy of sound to the Universal experience of the Highest?

Could it be that in our modern society, the sanctity of sound has been degenerated to the point that even so called "religious" music is now just a poor imitation of popular music styles?  Indeed, a visit to many churches will reveal music which though it purports to "praise," is little more than a reiteration of the same stale impressions (in the form of repeating pop melodies and chord progressions) of which the radio already supplies a steady diet. If this is the fate suffered by "religious" music, imagine what has become of "art" music. And how much more devoid of any semblance of higher sounds will have become the popular musics, which display no compunction at serving only commerical aims?

Still, sound forms deeply imbued with the Sacred have not altogether disappeared from modern society. Rather, in an example of the potential for the positive nexus between the modern and the Sacred, one can now discover such music through the use of a "search engine." Any such inquiry is likely to reveal the music compiled over a century ago by a remarkable man whose search was real, not virtual. G.I. Gurdjieff travelled during the late 19th and early 20th centuries throughout Egypt, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Far East. During his Search for Ancient Wisdom concerning the sense and significance of Life on Earth, he collected Sacred Music from a wide variety of Spiritual Traditions: Sufi, Essene, Tibetan, Orthodox, even some with unmistakably "ancient" qualities. Later, in a collaboration with noted composer and conductor Thomas de Hartmann (a pupil of Gurdjieff's) he transcribed these pieces. Eventually, this collection was published by Schott, and many of the works have also been recorded. A recording of de Hartmann playing the works is availble from the Gurdjieff-Legacy website.

That Gurdjieff compiled such a rich and diverse collection of Sacred Music is in itself a Gift. That he integrated these pieces into a system of Self-Transformation which included Sacred Movements, Meditation, and a series of Sacred Literature portraying a Cosmology in which the entire Universe is organzied according to Laws akin to those governing sound is Promethean in its Scale and Vision.

A significant portion of this weblog will therefore examine this body of Sacred Sound by this Unique Individual. Other sections will examine Sacred Sound from a variety of World Traditions, in an effort to better understand the significance of sound and its impact on human consciousness. 

An Inquiry into the Sacred Science of Sound

This weblog will be dedicated to the Inquiry into the Sacred Science of Sound