Gongs That Heal
Do gongs heal? What is it about the sound of the gong that people find so beneficial for their physical, mental and spiritual well-being?
And are some gongs more healing than others?
One of the ways that sound healing has been said to work is that specific frequencies have different healing effects.
Some frequencies work on certain chakras, some frequencies affect different organs, and some frequencies allow us to access higher realms of consciousness.
So what gong frequencies are the best for healing? The answer may surprise you.
In the music from the East, where sound has been used for spiritual and holistic well-being, the sound of AUM in India was accessed through the frequency of instruments tuned to the note of C#.
The frequency of the C# note can occur in gongs that generally range in size from 32” to 38” (particularly, the Planetary tuned gongs for Mercury, Earth Year, and Pluto). Not all 32” to 38” gongs have that note frequency. The Hz frequencies for C# for gongs is generally about 70-73Hz, 139-147Hz, and 277-294Hz (depending on the size).
The Chinese note that has been held sacred for hundreds of years for spiritual well-being is the note F.
The frequency of the F note can occur in gongs that generally range in size from 28” to 32” specifically, the Planetary tuned gongs for Chiron (new tuning by Meinl) and the Platonic Earth. The Hz frequencies for F tuned gongs ranges from 87-93Hz, 175-185Hz, and 350-370Hz.
In the Western world, mystic and philosopher Rudolf Steiner posited that the frequency of 128Hz (and consequently, 64Hz and 256Hz) was the best tuning for human potential and the heart chakra. Gongs that have this tuning are the Flower of Life gongs by Meinl and the Sedna gong by Paiste.
While this is fun to speculate about all of this and to go gong shopping, the truth is that the frequency of a gong is not the really important aspect of its healing capacity.
Healing only occurs when there is a transfer of vital life force (prana) from the gong player to the recipient. The frequency (along with many other considerations) certainly colors the nature of the sound healing and its ability to be received and localized, but without the transfer of the player’s prana (life force, intention, projection), the effect is minimized.
Whatever Gong you have will heal if you are a healer. If not, then you simply have a beautiful instrument.
