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Three Faces of the Healing Goddess
As we observe the world today, there are numerous aspects of life that can benefit from both modern day and ancient healing principles. Even in a modern world with advanced technology, it is often beneficial to look to ancient wisdom for insight on how to live with a higher quality of life and spiritual intention. Many are exploring the ancient teachings of the Divine Feminine for answers.
In the history of humanity, healing goddesses are honored in every major culture and religion in the world. The skills and gifts of these deities are known to be varied and significant -- to include improving health and healing sickness, creating fertility, facilitating ritual, alleviating suffering, interfacing with the plant kingdom and acting as patrons of the arts. Looking at this list, it is easy to see that ancient forms of healing are still relevant and much needed in today’s world.
Those who study the goddess traditions are familiar with names like Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of wisdom, music, art and learning. Others invoke the compassionate heart of Kuan Yin , the female Buddha, in their spiritual practices. Practitioners working in the healing arts use the powers of the Earth Mother in her many forms. Mother Earth or Mother Nature, sometimes known as Gaia, focuses on the life-giving, nurturing aspects of nature. She is described as the Creatress of all life and is associated with the moon, stars and the sea. Homer, the Greek poet, referenced her: “I shall sing of Gaia, Universal Mother, firmly founded, oldest of all the Holy Ones.” In the Christian tradition, Mary, Mother of Christ, is referred to as the Divine Mother of all creation, guiding us on our path to discover our “Christic” spiritual self.
The nurturing qualities of these goddesses remind us that we are all children of the Divine. In our relationships or practices with the Goddess, it is important to remember that we are all children of this universe. Through the guidance of the Sacred Feminine, we can find many answers to our life’s challenges. In truth, all the goddesses we revere are one and the same healing force in her many aspects and transcendental beauty.
Today’s healing goddesses offer solutions for our quickly changing healthcare system. Many are looking for forms of healing that don’t come with an endless list of side effects or other disease-causing factors. Individuals are now turning away from pharmaceuticals and looking beyond traditional medical approaches for a solution for their symptoms of physical and emotional pain. Our population is becoming acutely aware of the many diseases caused by stress. Individuals who are in search of alternatives will often encounter many ancient techniques enveloped in the work of modern-day healing arts practitioners.
In a visit to a contemporary healing goddess, the patient or client might be given herbs or even a specific yoga practice instead of a pain reliever or pill for indigestion. If the client reveals a significant emotional component in their illness, they might be advised to engage in dance or visual arts therapies. Other forms of sound healing use primitive instruments or voice techniques, such as chanting. The participant might be invited to participate in sacred rituals that have been used since ancient times and discover that their current-day healing potential is immense.
The three faces or healing aspects of the goddess refer to three aspects of the human being. All of these must be addressed in order to have a complete healing or transformation of body, mind and spirit. In this view, medication alone only addresses one aspect of the experience of dis-ease. Looking deeper to find the emotional component or the physical stresses that have caused the breakdown in a once healthy individual is the secret to a complete regeneration of the human form. When supported by a vibrant subtle body and energetic field, the healing powers of the body become miraculous.
However, there are times when traditional medical treatment is an absolute necessity. There are many goddesses in today’s healthcare system who continually try to re-introduce the ancient methods and work in concert with the advanced technological/diagnostic approach of today. Every field should be acknowledged for their contribution in alleviating suffering. We must continually search for ways of healing the whole human being.
In the early days of civilization, the Goddess overseeing the plant kingdom was revered for the abilities she had in alleviating the most serious health challenges. Today, extensive study continues in the many options for the use of medicinal herbs. The ancient systems—Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and Native American wisdom offer great curriculums in this area. It is important to realize that if the destruction of the earth continues, many of the natural cures may be lost. We can choose to turn to natural substances first before succumbing to dangerous drugs. While they may alleviate symptoms in a short time, “quick fixes” seldom bring a complete healing—and in many cases can lead to a dependency on the substance that was supposed to be the cure.
There are many ways we can experience a “return to Eden.” Visiting our forests and pristine waters, listening to the exquisite sounds found in nature, all are healing aspects of the natural world we are bound to protect. It has long been known that there is a great potential in the healing power of sound. Looking at ancient spiritual traditions, Tibetan singing bowls, bells and gongs, quartz crystal bowls and native instrumentation were all used to bring the “energy bodies” back into harmony, thereby aligning the various aspects (body, mind, emotions) to heal the whole person.
Today, the technique of chanting is still used by Ayurvedic and yogic health practitioners. In these studies, some of the Sanskrit words used are labeled specifically “healing mantras.”
In addition to the mantra itself, the sound was also depicted in sacred geometrical patterns called “yantras.” Some of the ancient practitioners of the healing arts were adepts, who were able to see the patterns created by the sound. They chose to record them in intricate drawings that have been with us for thousands of years. These images now have an amazing connection to the recent research of the last fifty years which has led us to the discovery of a new science known as “cymatics.” Through the use of a device known as a CymaScope, the vibrations of sound frequencies can be seen in water or other substances, revealing their unique geometries. Many of these sound-made-visible images called “cyma glyphs” have an astounding resemblance to the ancient yantras. Hearing and seeing sound can have a profound effect. Today’s neuroscience suggests that our nervous systems benefit greatly from healing tools that address all of our senses.
The combination of certain frequencies has proven to create a language which can speak to our cells, helping them remember their original healthy resonance. While the ancient sounds (such as OM) are primordial, the modern researched frequencies are also a natural way to assist the cells in returning to their vibrant health. Through “entrainment” with the resonances that have been proven to positively affect the physical and energetic bodies, there is a release of the stressful disease-causing factors which prevent the return to vibrant health.
Pioneers in sound healing, such as Dr. Hans Jenny and Dr. Peter Guy Manners, were researching combinations of healing frequencies that could positively affect the human form. Originally called “cymatic therapy,” we now utilize a technique called “Cymatherapy” which is delivered with devices whose innovation grew from the original instrumentation used by these doctors and scientists. Using the frequencies generated by new instrumentation along with the modern-day images, (cymatic glyphs) we can see the sounds that heal us, much the same as ancient meditators could see the mystical symbols of their holy visions.
While there are other valuable sound healing choices on the internet, (to include recordings of nature and other musical tones or single frequencies), the most highly researched form of sound healing available to us today involves actually applying sound to the body trans-dermally. This same technique was first experimented with by Dr. Peter Guy Manners who had spent years developing the specific frequency patterns to be generated with his device, utilizing an applicator for addressing designated areas of the body. The early ideas and the devices have now been more fully developed and they can be accessed in a much greater capacity by today’s sound therapists, using the ancient texts for identifying the pathways of healing for these modern applications.
In the last decade, researchers like Joie Jones from UCLA, have proven the existence of the meridian pathways, as recorded in the ancient Chinese medical texts. Discoveries like these have opened doorways for other approaches to administering sound to the body. If we return to the ancient wisdom and oldest medical systems known to humanity, the maps for transmitting energetic healing to the body are there for us to learn from. Now advanced sound technology devices can deliver frequency through the feet and hands, providing sound nutrition to the entire physical form through these portals. Sound—from sacred chants to modern day advanced sound technology—can be an effective tool for bridging the knowledge of the ancient healing goddesses with all the new “sound science” is discovering.
At any time, we can return to the healing powers and mystical gifts of the Goddess as we continue to evolve in consciousness. We can choose to be respectful of the ancient traditions while making amazing discoveries about the natural world that is opening up in front of us, with each new scientific discovery. A combination of the mystical and scientific truths will net us the most complete vision of what our human experience can be.
About The Author - Mandara Cromwell
Mandara Cromwell is the author of the book, "Soundflower: The Journey to Marry Science and Spirit" and is the innovator of an advanced sound tecnology device called the AMI 750. She is a sought-after speaker on topics related to sound as a healing modality and offers workshops and presentations such as the "Three Faces of the Healing Goddess" to audiences locally and nationally. She is also the founder of ISTA, the International Sound Therapy Association, a nonprofit organization.
Contact Mandara for more information and to receive your free gift of cymatic and healing arts images at www.cymatechnologies.com