SACRED BREATHWORK ™ MUSIC THEORY MODULE
By Mikkal

The Sacred Breathwork music theory is schooled in the Grofs’ music protocol, but departs in some significant ways, and where it departs it follows the structure worked out on ritual leadership and ritual process in my books ‘Psychotherapy and the Sacred’, and ‘Jung and Shamanism in Dialogue.’

We live in a vibratory universe. The shaman’s healing, ceremonial, or teaching work is a matter of attuning the patient, student, or community to his/her vibratory frequency which is centered in the Initiation Process. The shaman initiates the patient into the same realms s/he was initiated in. Shamanic apprenticeship is also an initiation involving a transformative vessel or womb, and death and rebirth process, and a reintegration process. It follows the 3 Phase- Rites of Passage, or Hero Journey Structure outlined by Van Gennep, Eliade, Turner, and J Campbell and R. L. Moore:

1) Separation, 2) Descent/Initiation, 3) Return to the ordinary world.

To evoke and support ritual trance, holotropic states are needed. They are those non-ordinary states that evoke rite of passage type trance by shamans for purpose of dance, initiation, diagnosis, or healing processes. There must be sonic driving in Phase 1), for example, and this must not have silent pauses called “air” in sound technology trade. Each tune must be faded into the succeeding tune throughout the three phases.

Sacred Breathwork Music selections are gathered and sorted into separate files or folders according to suitability for Ritual Phase 1), 2) or 3). Label your folders by phase. You should ongoingly gather good music which you continually pre-sort into these folders, and later select from it sequence your tunes.

I also use Phase O for Invocation.

Phase 0: The Call (to Adventure or Initiation) begins with an induction meditation (progressive relaxation and grounding) with smudging and sometimes an invoking prayer or chant. The invoking prayer should suggested connecting with the Divine Spirit, Inner Healer, Inner shaman, or other name for the Wholeness-Making Force. Ask its help. Surrender to it, trust it, honor and follow it.

Phase 1: Separation for ordinary consciousness is evoked via strong volume, rapid, and continuous percussive and rhythmic music selections. Aesthetics may also be considered, but strong sonic driving to produce entrainment is essential. These sonic vibrations, along with connected breath rhythm, activate the holotropic process, and of the pain body cleansing process, with “kryias” and catharsis and odd postures arising. The heaviest breathing and entrancing takes place usually during this phase, and not infrequently BPMs, COEX, and gestalt-sequences are initiated, often with rebirthing. Phase 2 often activates BPM II engulfment & BPM Struggle III. Music should be selected accordingly, very active in the beginning and towards the end of the phase calming down. But the phase should end with a tune that has an emotionally cathartic emotional feeling tone to it…perhaps vocal (not English) where the lungs and voice belt out with feeling. This can facilitate catharsis of any built up tension. Time allowed. Up to 70 minutes.

Phase II: Descent/Initiation: This phase is generally calmer (LESS RHYTHMIC AND PERCUSSIVE, MORE MELODY AND CHANTING) and more centering music and is supported by “numinous” music in the first half of this 2nd phase, such as Kirtan-Bhakti music, choral music, to usher in the sense of being in the presence of the Sacred Source-level of Being—the safest place to open the heart, surrender to self-healing holotropic forces implicit in the psyche. The Sacred is Whole-making. Individuals will often assume worshipful yoga “asanas,” prayer mudras, lie prostrate, communicate with the ground of Being—heal their relationship to the Divine, which is the deepest of Whole-making experiences. From their they may explore old traumas, past lives, finish business with dead loved ones, forgive, and make fundamental life changes, achieve fundamental insights that are healing or liberating. The second half of the 2nd phase can include a non-vocal movie music, with archetypal or epic themes to sweep for any archetypal-drama elements that may be close to the surface and want to come up with a little support. The music may be classical, soft didge, Tibetan bowls, with an emotional upsurge music piece for catharsis of the tension that may have been building up towards the end of this phase. After playing an emotionally moving selection to permit catharsis, the music should then wind down in volume and become tranquil and centering. Time allowed, 45-60 minutes.

Phase III Return: This phase involves a gentle return to body, nature, and to OSC waking consciousness, as much as possible, and is supported by music that has earth sounds, such as whales and water, waves, night sounds like crickets and frogs, bird sounds, sounds of wind, crackling fire, perhaps some mellow didge. Volume should be occasionally phased down, and when three hours are up, go to zero, keeping silence to allow people to come back. Suggested Time allowed, 10-20 minutes.

Other Considerations:
No talking during mandala art phase, as this can prematurely bring into verbal consciousness.

No music after the ceremony, as this can pull people back into trance, and it is time for them to become grounded and back in OSC.

I recommend downloading iTunes to organize and play your music during Sacred Breathwork.

iTunes can be explore for sacred/numinous music, percussive, shamanic drumming, chanting, kirtan, and so on. I use iTunes and Garage Band for organizing my music lists and running them during breathwork–but music gathering itself comes from many sources, including the sharing or trading with friends, and many music websites where you can find free or very cheap to purchase downloads (See Jason Beer’s comments on audio file quality below).

There are a variety of free download mixers from the internet to overlap and fade music.

You can make your own sound tracks with programs like Garage Band.
Avoid disco tunes. Avoid unnatural synthesized music in most cases.

Avoid familiar classics of pop, disco, or classics. Explore the music world acoustically for interesting and entrancing sounds and emotional qualities.

Avoid shallow music that makes you want to dance, but not introspect or look within.
Forget rave music.

Don’t use psychologically startling or unsafe music that creates fear, like loud Thunder Claps, or explosions, or hammering.

Play your music a lot, and notice emotions they evoke in you.
Drop your tunes in folders labeled 1) 2) and 3) according to suitability of phases.
Then order and organize the tunes according to the protocol I outlined above.

At graduation you will need your three hour sacred breath sound track. All graduates may trade with each other, so you will have 10 sets or so.

You should have at least 100 tunes, divided amongst the three folders.

Brian Ohm is available for doing the tech work of fading and taking out the ‘air’ for a reasonable fee, but you must find and order your own sequences according to the theory and protocol above.