Jacques Vallée

Ref Wikipedia.

Jacques Fabrice Vallée (born September 24, 1939 in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France) is a venture capitalist, computer scientist, author, ufologist and former astronomer currently residing in San Francisco, California.




In mainstream science, Vallée is notable for co-developing the first computerized mapping of Mars for NASA and for his work at SRI International in creating ARPANET, a precursor to the modern Internet. Vallée is also an important figure in the study of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), first noted for a defense of the scientific legitimacy of the extraterrestrial hypothesis and later for promoting the interdimensional hypothesis.



Contents [hide]

1 Life and career

2 Venture capital activity

3 UFO research and academic work

4 Film appearance

5 Interpretation of the UFO evidence

6 View of UFO investigative efforts

7 Concerns regarding the UFO subculture

8 Books

8.1 Finance

8.2 Novel

8.3 Technical books

8.4 UFO books

9 Research papers

10 Film appearances

11 See also

12 References

13 External links





[edit] Life and career

Vallée was born in Pontoise, France. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the Sorbonne, followed by his Master of Science in astrophysics from the University of Lille. He began his professional life as an astronomer at the Paris Observatory in 1961. He was awarded the Jules Verne Prize for his first science-fiction novel in French.



He moved to the United States in 1962 and began working in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin, at whose MacDonald Observatory he worked on NASA's first project making a detailed informational map of Mars.



In 1967, Vallée received a Ph.D. in computer science from Northwestern University. While at the Institute for the Future from 1972 to 1976 he was a principal investigator on the large NSF project for computer networking, which developed one of the first conferencing systems, Planning Network (PLANET),[1] on the ARPANET many years before the Internet was formed.



He has also served on the National Advisory Committee of the University of Michigan College of Engineering and was involved in early work on artificial intelligence.



Vallée has authored four books on high technology, including Computer Message Systems, Electronic Meetings, The Network Revolution, and The Heart of the Internet.



Along with his mentor, astronomer J. Allen Hynek, Vallée carefully studied the phenomenon of UFOs for many years and served as the real-life model for the character portrayed by François Truffaut in Steven Spielberg’s film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[citation needed]



His research has taken him to countries all over the world. Considered[by whom?] one of the leading experts in UFO phenomena, Vallée has written several scientific books on the subject.



His current endeavours include his involvement in SBV Ventures[2] a venture capital fund as a general partner. He and the other general partner, Graham Burnette[3] on SBV are also in the early stages of launching a second venture capital fund.



He is married and has two children.



[edit] Venture capital activityA venture capitalist since 1982, Vallée has co-founded four venture capital funds, notably the Euro-America family of venture partnerships, specializing in high technology. As a general partner in these funds, he has spearheaded early-stage investments in over 60 startup companies, 18 of which have become traded on the public markets, either through IPOs or acquisitions. They include:



Accuray Systems (Nasdaq:ARAY) a medical device company developing surgical robots

Sangstat Medical (acquired by Genzyme) specialized in organ transplantation therapy

Mercury Interactive (acquired in 2006 by HP) a software testing company

Electronics for Imaging (Nasdaq:EFII)

Harmonic Lightwaves (Nasdaq:HLIT)

Class Data Systems (acquired by Cisco)

Ubique (acquired by AOL)

Mobilian (acquired by Intel)

Nanogram Devices (acquired by Greatbatch) a nanotechnology battery manufacturer.

[edit] UFO research and academic workIn May 1955, Vallée first sighted an unidentified flying object over his Pontoise home. Six years later in 1961, while working on the staff of the French Space Committee, Vallée witnessed the destruction of the tracking tapes of an unknown object orbiting the earth. The particular object was a retrograde satellite – that is, a satellite orbiting the earth in the opposite direction to the earth's rotation. At the time he observed this, there were no rockets powerful enough to launch such a satellite, so the team was quite excited as they assumed that the Earth's gravity had captured a natural satellite (asteroid). A superior came and erased the tape. These events contributed to Vallée's long-standing interest in the UFO phenomenon.



In the mid-1960s, like many other UFO researchers, Vallée initially attempted to validate the popular Extraterrestrial Hypothesis (or ETH). Leading UFO researcher Jerome Clark[4] argues that Vallée's first two UFO books were among the most scientifically sophisticated defenses of the ETH ever mounted.



However, by 1969, Vallée's conclusions had changed, and he publicly stated that the ETH was too narrow and ignored too much data. Vallée began exploring the commonalities between UFOs, cults, religious movements, demons, angels, ghosts, cryptid sightings, and psychic phenomena. Speculation about these potential links were first detailed in Vallée's third UFO book, Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers.



As an alternative to the extraterrestrial visitation hypothesis, Vallée has suggested a multidimensional visitation hypothesis. This hypothesis represents an extension of the ETH where the alleged extraterrestrials could be potentially from anywhere. The entities could be multidimensional beyond space-time, and thus could coexist with humans, yet remain undetected.



Vallée's opposition to the popular ETH hypothesis was not well received by prominent U.S. ufologists, hence he was viewed as something of an outcast. Indeed, Vallée refers to himself as a "heretic among heretics".



Vallée's opposition to the ETH theory is summarised in his paper, "Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects", Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1990:



Scientific opinion has generally followed public opinion in the belief that unidentified flying objects either do not exist (the "natural phenomena hypothesis") or, if they do, must represent evidence of a visitation by some advanced race of space travellers (the extraterrestrial hypothesis or "ETH"). It is the view of the author that research on UFOs need not be restricted to these two alternatives. On the contrary, the accumulated data base exhibits several patterns tending to indicate that UFOs are real, represent a previously unrecognized phenomenon, and that the facts do not support the common concept of "space visitors." Five specific arguments articulated here contradict the ETH:



1.unexplained close encounters are far more numerous than required for any physical survey of the earth;

2.the humanoid body structure of the alleged "aliens" is not likely to have originated on another planet and is not biologically adapted to space travel;

3.the reported behavior in thousands of abduction reports contradicts the hypothesis of genetic or scientific experimentation on humans by an advanced race;

4.the extension of the phenomenon throughout recorded human history demonstrates that UFOs are not a contemporary phenomenon; and

5.the apparent ability of UFOs to manipulate space and time suggests radically different and richer alternatives.

Vallée has contributed to the investigation of the Miracle at Fatima and Marian apparitions. His work has been used to support the Fatima UFO Hypothesis. Vallée is one of the first people to speculate publicly about the possibility that the "solar dance" at Fatima was a UFO. The idea of UFOs was not unknown in 1917, but most of the people in attendance at the Fatima apparitions would not have attributed the claimed phenomena there to UFOs, let alone to extraterrestrials. Vallée has also speculated about the possibility that other religious apparitions may have been the result of UFO activity including Our Lady of Lourdes and the revelations to Joseph Smith. Vallée and other researchers have advocated further study of unusual phenomena in the academic community. They don't believe that this should be handled solely by theologians.[5][6][7]



[edit] Film appearanceIn the Steven Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind Vallée served as the model for the French researcher character, Lacombe (François Truffaut).[8]



In 1979, Robert Emenegger and Alan Sandler updated their 1974 UFOs, Past, Present and Future documentary with new 1979 footage narrated by Jacques Vallée. The updated version is entitled "UFOs: It Has Begun".



Jacques Vallée attempted to interest Spielberg in an alternative explanation for the phenomenon. In an interview on Conspire.com, Vallée said, "I argued with him that the subject was even more interesting if it wasn't extraterrestrials. If it was real, physical, but not ET. So he said, 'You're probably right, but that's not what the public is expecting — this is Hollywood and I want to give people something that's close to what they expect.'"[9]



[edit] Interpretation of the UFO evidenceVallée proposes that there is a genuine UFO phenomenon, partly associated with a form of non-human consciousness that manipulates space and time. The phenomenon has been active throughout human history, and seems to masquerade in various forms to different cultures. In his opinion, the intelligence behind the phenomenon attempts social manipulation by using deception on the humans with whom they interact.



Vallée also proposes that a secondary aspect of the UFO phenomenon involves human manipulation by humans. Witnesses of UFO phenomena undergo a manipulative and staged spectacle, meant to alter their belief system, and eventually, influence human society by suggesting alien intervention from outer space. The ultimate motivation for this deception is probably a projected major change of human society, the breaking down of old belief systems and the implementation of new ones. Vallée states that the evidence, if carefully analysed, suggests an underlying plan for the deception of mankind by means of unknown, highly advanced methods. Vallee states that it is highly unlikely that governments actually conceal alien evidence, as the popular myth suggests. Rather, it is much more likely that that is exactly what the manipulators want us to believe. Vallée feels the entire subject of UFOs is mystified by charlatans and science fiction. He advocates a stronger and more serious involvement of science in the UFO research and debate.[citation needed] Only this can reveal the true nature of the UFO phenomenon.



[edit] View of UFO investigative effortsVallée is often highly critical of UFO investigators overall, both believers and skeptics, asserting that what often passes for an acceptable level of investigation in a UFO context would be considered sloppy and seriously inadequate investigation in other fields. He has pointed out logical flaws and methodological flaws common in such research. Unlike many critics of UFO investigative efforts, his critiques are not condescending and dismissive and he indicates that he is simply interested in good science.[citation needed]



[edit] Concerns regarding the UFO subcultureVallée expresses concern about the often authoritarian political and religious views expressed by many contactees. Amongst the groups profiled are the nascent Raëlian movement and an early form of the Heaven's Gate suicide cult, against which Vallée prophetically warned potential converts, "you only risk your life!" He also argues that Scientology is another example of a UFO cult which has organized itself as a religious organization.[citation needed]

......More on his Interdimensional Hypothesis.

The interdimensional hypothesis (IDH or IH), also called the extradimensional hypothesis (EDH), is an advanced theory by Jacques Vallée that says unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and related events involve visitations from other "realities" or "dimensions" that coexist separately alongside our own. It is an alternative to the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH).[1][2][3][4]




IDH also holds that UFOs are a modern manifestation of a phenomenon that has occurred throughout recorded human history, which in prior ages were ascribed to mythological or supernatural creatures.[2]



Although ETH has remained the predominant explanation for UFOs by UFOlogists,[5] some ufologists have abandoned it in favor of IDH. Paranormal researcher Brad Steiger wrote that "we are dealing with a multidimensional paraphysical phenomenon that is largely indigenous to planet Earth".[6] Other UFOlogists, such as John Ankerberg and John Weldon, advocate IDH because it fits the explanation of UFOs as a spiritistic phenomenon. Commenting on the disparity between the ETH and the accounts that people have made of UFO encounters, Ankerberg and Weldon wrote "the UFO phenomenon simply does not behave like extraterrestrial visitors."[1][7] In the book UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse published in 1970, John Keel linked UFOs to supernatural concepts such as ghosts and demons.



Also Jerome Clark was influenced by IDH but then he rejected this hypothesis and argued very cautiously in favor of the extraterrestrial hypothesis



The development of IDH as an alternative to ETH increased in the 1970s and 1980s with the publication of books by Vallée and J. Allen Hynek. In 1975, Vallée and Hynek advocated the hypothesis in The Edge of Reality: A Progress Report on Unidentified Flying Objects and further, in Vallée's 1979 book Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults.[8]



Some UFO proponents accepted IDH because the distance between stars makes interstellar travel impractical using conventional means and nobody had demonstrated an antigravity or faster-than-light travel hypothesis that could explain extraterrestrial machines.[citation needed] With IDH, it is unnecessary to explain any propulsion method because the IDH holds that UFOs are not spacecraft, but rather devices that travel between different realities.[9]



One advantage of IDH proffered by Hilary Evans is its ability to explain the apparent ability of UFOs to appear and disappear from sight and radar; this is explained as the UFO entering and leaving our dimension ("materializing" and "dematerializing"). Moreover, Evans argues that if the other dimension is slightly more advanced than ours, or is our own future, this would explain the UFOs' tendency to represent near future technologies (airships in the 1890s, rockets and supersonic travel in the 1940s, etc.)[10]



IDH is considered a belief system rather than a scientific hypothesis because it is not falsifiable through testing and experiment. Unlike ETH, it is not possible to verify IDH by experiment or by observation because there is no way to detect the alternative theories it postulates. IDH is evaluated by UFOlogists solely on the basis of how well it fits.[1]



IDH has been a causative factor in establishing UFO religion.[1]



[edit] References1.^ a b c d Gary Bates (2005). Alien Intrusion. New Leaf Publishing Group. pp. 84–87,114–115,157–160,164. ISBN 0890514356.

2.^ a b "History of UFOs". Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. World Almanac Education Group. 2006. http://history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=57838&mini_id=57826.

3.^ Hugh Ross, Kenneth R. Samples, Mark Clark (June 1, 2002). Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at Ufos and Extraterrestrials. NavPress Publishing Group. ISBN 1576832082. http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Sky-Little-Green-Extraterrestrials/dp/1576832082. "While numerous mystical explanations have been proposed for UFOs, ufologists identify two distinct "otherworldly" hypotheses: the extradimensional hypothesis (ETH) and the interdimensional hypothesis (IDH)."

4.^ "UFO Hunters - History of UFOs". the History Channel. http://www.history.com/content/ufohunters/history-of-ufos.

5.^ Jacques Vallee (1980). Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults. New York: Bantam Books.

6.^ Steiger, Brad, Blue Book Files Released in Canadian UFO Report, Vol. 4, No. 4, 1977, p. 20

7.^ John Ankerberg & John Weldon, The Facts on UFO's and Other Supernatural Phenomena, (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1992, pp10

8.^ Steven J. Dick (1999). The Biological Universe. Cambridge University Press. pp. 313–320. ISBN 052166361X.

9.^ David Hatcher Childress (1990). Anti-Gravity and the Unified Field. Adventures Unlimited Press. pp. 134. ISBN 0932813100.

10.^ Hilary Evans (1979). UFOs: The Greatest Mystery. Chartwell Books. p. 91.

[edit] Further readingDavid Jacobs (December 1992). "J. Allen Hynek and the Problem of UFOs". History of Science Society Meeting, Washington D.C.. pp. 16.

J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallée, ed. (1975). The Edge of Reality: A Progress Report on Unidentified Flying Objects. Chicago: Henry Regnery.

Jacques Vallée (1980). Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults. New York: Bantam Books.

[edit] See alsoParanormal and occult hypotheses about UFOs




[edit] Books[edit] FinanceVallée, Jacques (January 2001). Four Elements of Financial Alchemy: A New Formula for Personal Prosperity, The (1st ed. (paperback) ed.). Ten Speed Press. p. 195 pp.. ISBN 1-58008-218-1.



[edit] NovelVallée, Jacques; Tormé, Tracy (June 1996). Fastwalker (paperback (novel) ed.). Berkeley, California, U.S.A.: Publ. Frog Ltd.. p. 220 pp.. ISBN 1-883319-43-9.

Vallée, Jacques (January 2006) (in Français). Stratagème (paperback (novel) ed.). p. 256 pp.. ISBN 2-84187-777-9.

Vallée, Jacques (July 2007). Stratagem (hardcover (novel) ed.). p. 220 pp.. ISBN 978-0-615-15642-2.

Jacques Vallée has also written four science fiction novels, two under the pseudonym of Jérôme Sériel:



Le Sub-Espace [Sub-Space] (1961)

Le Satellite Sombre [The Dark Satellite] (1963)

Alintel (as Jacques Vallée) (1986) (provided partial basis for Fastwalker)

La Mémoire de Markov (as Jacques Vallée)

[edit] Technical booksComputer Message Systems (hardcover ed. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill (Data Communications Book Series). August 1984. p. 163 pp.. ISBN 0-07-051031-8.

Johansen, Robert; Valles, Jacques and Spangler, Kathi (July 1979). Electronic Meetings: Technical Alternatives (1st ed. hardcover (Addison-Wesley Series on Decision Support) ed.). Addison-Wesley Publ. Co., Inc.. p. 244 pp.. ISBN 0-201-03478-6.

The Network Revolution

The Heart of the Internet

[edit] UFO booksAnatomy of a phenomenon: unidentified objects in space – a scientific appraisal (1st (hardcover) ed.). NTC/Contemporary Publishing. January 1965. ISBN 0-8092-9888-0.

Reissue: UFO's In Space: Anatomy of A Phenomenon (reissue (paperback) ed.). Ballantine Books. April 1987. p. 284. ISBN 0-345-34437-5.

Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma – with Janine Vallée (1966)

Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers. Chicago, IL, U.S.A.: Publ. Henry Regnery Co.. 1969.

The Invisible College : What a Group of Scientists Has Discovered About UFO Influences on the Human Race (1st ed. ed.). 1975.

The Edge of Reality – Jacques Vallée and Dr. J. Allen Hynek (1975)

Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults (paperback ed.). Ronin Publ.. June 1979. p. 243. ISBN 0-915904-38-1.

Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact (1st ed.). Contemporary Books. April 1988. p. 304. ISBN 0-8092-4586-8.

Confrontations – A Scientist's Search for Alien Contact (1st ed.). Ballantine Books. March 1990. p. 263 hardcover. ISBN 0-345-36453-8.

Revelations : Alien Contact and Human Deception (1st ed.). Ballantine Books. September 1991. p. 273 hardcover. ISBN 0-345-37172-0.

UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union : A Cosmic Samizdat (1992)

Forbidden Science: Journals, 1957-1969 (1992)

Wonders in the Sky: Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times (1st ed.). Tarcher. October 2010. p. 528 paperback. ISBN 1-58542-820-5.

[edit] Research papersFive Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects – Jacques Vallée, Ph.D.

Six Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Defined Luminosity Characteristics – Jacques Vallée, Ph.D.

Physical Analyses in Ten Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Material Samples – Jacques Vallée, Ph.D.

Report from the Field: Scientific Issues in the UFO Phenomenon – Jacques Vallée, Ph.D.

Crop Circles: “Signs” From Above or Human Artifacts? – Jacques Vallée, Ph.D.

Are UFO Events related to Sidereal Time – Arguments against a proposed correlation – Jacques Vallée, Ph.D.

[edit] Film appearancesUFOs: It Has Begun (1979)

[edit] See alsoMagonia (mythology)

Magonia, a Fortean journal partially inspired by Vallée's work

[edit] References1.^ "PLANET – IRC History, ARPANET Chat, Conferencing, Jacques Vallee, Internet".

2.^ SBV Ventures

3.^ Graham Burnette on SBV

4.^ Clark, Jerome, The UFO Encyclopedia: 2nd Edition; Volume 1, A-K; Omnigraphics, Inc, 1998, ISBN 0-7808-0097-4

5.^ Joaquim Fernandes, Fernando Fernandes and Raul Berenguel, Fatima Revisited (2008) p.186-200

6.^ Jacques Vallee, Anatomy of a Phenomenon 1965 p.148-51

7.^ Jacques Vallee, Dimensions 1988/2008 p.195-205

8.^ http://www.filmsite.org/clos.html

9.^ Mack White, "Heretic Among Heretics"

[edit] External linksFind more about Jacques Vallée on Wikipedia's sister projects:

Definitions and translations from Wiktionary



Images and media from Commons



Learning resources from Wikiversity



News stories from Wikinews



Quotations from Wikiquote



Source texts from Wikisource



Textbooks from Wikibooks





Dr. Jacques F. Vallée – Official website

Interview: Jacques Vallée – A Man of Many Dimensions (2006)

Interview: Jacques Vallée Discusses UFO Control System with Jerome Clark (1978)

Interview: Heretic Among Heretics: – Jacques Vallée (1993)

Interview: Dr. Jacques Vallée Reveals What Is Behind Forbidden Science

Interview with Chris O'Brien (1992)

Green Egg interview with Dr. Jacques Vallée

The "Pentacle Memorandum" Including text of correspondence from Dr. Jacques Vallée (1993)

Foreword to book: UFOs and The National Security State – Vallée

French biography of Dr. Jacques Vallée

The Mysteries of Mantra.

Blogger Reference Link http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Multi-Dimensional_Science





Transformation  by Conscious Sound



by Muz Murray




The mysteries of mantra and its capacity for mental, physical and spiritual healing are little known in the Western world. Although we are all familiar with the faerytale magician’s words of power (those secret syllables which when uttered usually unlock hidden doorways into the earth, revealing a cave of treasure) we are generally unaware of the esoteric significance of such stories. They are in fact folkloric references to the sacred subtle sounds used by mantric adepts, which open the ‘cave of the heart’ (to Universal Love) and reveal the treasure of the Spirit.



Mantra is a profound and practical method of self-awakening, opening and self-transcendence. It is a form of yoga which speaks to the deep organic roots of man’s being by the use of vocalised and mental sound-currents of both audible and inaudible frequencies. These subtle vibrations awaken dormant centres of the brain (most of which are as yet unused in the average being) attuning the psychological, physiological and spiritual faculties to the primordial and sustaining vibration of creation. When we come into harmony with the vibratory rate of sub-atomic pulsation in consciousness (as in deep meditation) we hold the key to universal knowledge and self-healing.



Among a great many western practitioners of yoga, one finds that the major focus of interest rarely goes beyond that of the physical aspect. While every effort is made to perfect the basic developmental postures of Hatha Yoga, scant attention is paid to the higher forms of practice. Hatha Yoga is the necessary springboard which allows one to dive into deeper consciousness-evolving practices. Most practitioners however, seem content with simply bouncing on the board and never jumping off.







The Mantric Alphabet is included on the recording 'The Sound of Silence'



Yet all the great yogic texts firstly enumerate the most important asanas (or postures) and then the pranayamas (breath-expansion and control exercises), pratyahara (withdrawal of consciousness from the external world) followed by the Raja (Kingly) Yoga exercises of a psychological nature. The teachings then lead on to the higher experiences of Laya Yoga (the Yoga of Transformation) through the practice of Mantra (sacred mystic syllable repetition) and Nada (the Yoga of Subtle Sound.)



In order to bring the body, mind and soul into harmonious balance, all these other higher forms of self-development need to be cultivated at the same time. This is generally the case in a truly integral yoga practice after an initial period of Hatha Yoga discipline only. If this is not done, it is equivalent to building a house and forgetting to put in the plumbing and the electrical circuits at the same time. It can of course be done later, but it’s a lot less efficient.



The postures of Hatha Yoga are extremely beneficial in preparing the subtle nervous system for higher voltages of energy. These subtle circuits might be termed the ‘para-physical wiring-system’ of the subtle body which sheathes the physical body with an ‘energy-field’ in a similar way as a magnetic field occurs around a magnet. The conduits of the psychic nervous system are known as nadis or ‘channels’ and have been mapped as meticulously as their counterparts in the physical nervous system, by thousands of generations of clairvoyant yogis. And like the meridians of Chinese acupuncture (though not always concurrent with them) the nadis are conductors of subtle energy throughout the body.







The Bija Mantras are included on the recording 'Chanting the Chakras'



This energy is diffused and distributed into the physical nervous system via six major vortices situated along the length of the spinal column and a seventh at the crown of the head. The vortices are known as chakras (‘wheels’) in Sanskrit and are the ‘Seven Seals’ (of the human ‘Book of Knowledge’) in Christian terminology. Chakras are actually meta-physical transformers through which higher frequency psychic energy activates the physical body. Music and chant activate these channels, but it is an extremely rare occurrence for physical exercise alone to switch on the current. The word mantra itself means ‘that which protects consciousness’. The first syllable man comes from the Sanskrit term manas—‘thought, consciousness’, and the suffix tra—‘that which protects.’ Thus the use of mantra is that which protects us from the constant mental flow of thoughts, fears, apprehensions and negativities and all the useless flotsam of over-thinking. In short, it protects us from our own minds and and frees us from the pollution of our thoughts. With constant practice, mantra repetition activates the psychic energies in the nadi system and vitalises the pineal gland, which awakens intuitive faculties (and often ecstatic joy) in the practitioner.



Since the Vedic period of India (at the dawn of recorded history) mantra repetition has been a scientifically replicable practice, which when persevered in, unfailingly led meditators to communion with the Absolute. The subtle harmonic vibrations of chanted mantras, both mental and vocal, act as a cleansing and purifying agent on consciousness. The yoga-rishis (seers) discovered that certain sounds brought them joy and ecstasy, some illumined the consciousness, some brought tremendous psychic powers, profound tranquillity or boundless energy, freedom from fear, or mental and physical healing.



These same mantras are still in use today. And they still evoke the same results in those who earnestly practice them. The movements of the soul we experience when listening to fine music or opera (the thrill up the spine at a certain note) is but a feeble echo of the deep nourishment engendered by these sounds. Mantras create a stable core in the centre of our beings, which vibrates in unison with the underlying life force. Thus mantra teaches us to transcend language and enter into the Universal Vibration, becoming one with the Omnipresence.



In India, it is not unusual for homeopathic doctors (as well as sages) to prescribe specific mantras instead of the usual remedies. This is not as amusing or simple as it may seem to the rational mind. For centuries witch-doctors in Africa have known that a certain frequency of drum-beat will serve to break a fever and have developed a repertoire of other rhythms to cure various physical and mental symptoms. Similar methods are used today by advanced radionic practitioners using sophisticated instruments. And even in allopathic circles, sound-therapy is beginning to be utilised in the treatment of both physical and mental problems.



It is only relatively recently in the Western world, that it has been discovered that certain music and sound-waves have the capacity to activate cellular healing when played to bodily wounds. And such sounds have been shown to promote a far speedier return to health than by orthodox methods. So it is that medical science begins to vindicate the findings of the sages of millennia ago.



What is an ordinary dose of allopathic medicine after all? It is no more than a substance composed of atomic particles in a dense state of vibration. Homeopathic medicine goes one step further. Its highly diluted remedies appear to contain nothing of the original substance, yet they are highly potentised and radiate a powerful frequency which can replicate the effects of the disease. This causes the body to throw off its illness without the effects of harmful drugs, simply by a sympathetic frequency. A sonic frequency works on a similar principle.



Musical and medical researchers Fabian Maman and Helen Grimal experimented on cancer cells in the laboratory of Jussieu University (Paris) and found that certain repetitive sounds played on musical instruments to cancer cells will gradually cause them to disintegrate. Eventually they discovered that the human voice pitched to the musical scale destroyed the cancer cells even quicker. This is a fascinating breakthrough, for all involved in sound-work. Over the past few years, having had several cancer patients in my workshops, I have begun to receive letters from those who have been able to avoid operations after the effects of a workshop. One lady who was due for a mastectomy soon after a mantra workshop found the malignant growth had diminished after the five days of chanting, so that the operation was deemed unnecessary. Many years later she is still chanting and whole. Another woman had cancer of the throat. She was barely able to speak, yet had a remission and stabilisation with improved ability to speak afterwards. Clearly something powerful is in operation here.



No wonder newspaper articles have trumpeted how singing in the bath has a positive effect on health! How much more effective the living sound of one's own voice using time-hallowed mantras can be in toning the cells with the repetitive vibration of healing. Mantra is known for its vibrant pulsation of subtle healing frequencies which purify both mind and body. Because of its capacity to resonate in consciousness, it is considered by the great sages as the most efficacious method of unburdening the subconscious and cleansing it of residual traumas. As many cancers can be traced back to unfelt feelings blocked in childhood, mantra (with its internal massage of rigid cellular structures) often allows such frozen pains and tears to be released. On occasion even traumas of previous lifetimes have been experienced following a mantra session, allowing students to relive and release past-life memories which previously created hidden tensions in the body.



Although it is helpful to have practised some form of yoga before beginning with mantra, it is by no means a prerequisite. Anyone can benefit from the vibrations. Less active newcomers to yoga generally take to it like ducks to water! While some find its ‘spring-cleaning’ effect on the psyche allows their long-blocked feelings to arise and be dissolved in emotional release, others find in mantra an immediate sense of ‘coming-home’, of being ‘cuddled by the universe’, or a supportive joy in deep meditation. At the very least, it is a wondrous relief for the over-burdened mind.



Mantra has the blossoming of the heart as its central experience.



Copyright © 2001 MUZ MURRAY

His excellent site from which the above article comes from is  http://www.mantra-yoga.com/