We celebrate the first year of life of the
Lex Hixon Center for Contemplative Studies
We are celebrating the first anniversary of the Lex Hixon Center for Contemplative Studies, a mystical toddler, this Saturday, November 1st, with an extraordinary event. We are also honoring the death anniversary of Shaykh Nur Al Anwar al Jerrahi, (Lex Hixon), a contemporary Sufi master who founded the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order in Mexico, with a concert of music rooted in spiritual realms and highly beneficial. On the one hand, the captivating beauty of the illahis (mystical hymns) and makams (musical scales unique to Turkey and the Arab world); on the other, the sonorous power of Tibetan singing bowls, instruments that have been used for centuries to help people anchor their attention in the present moment and increase their awareness.
Streamed via Zoom
You are welcome to join in the celebration with us! Please register.
"'This is the path opening up in front of our feet, this is the breath of the Sufi ...Walk on this path, on these notes, O lovers...only then will you find each other'.
This is Rumi speaking and he speaks through all of the Sufi poets...
This music is a call to the dervishes. If anyone is a dervish, listen! ...If we can't hear this call then we have to start again in the beginning ...I know that there are a lot of words that we want to say to each other, but why not let the music say it? ...Can our words uttered in the mode of separation possibly equal these words? ...Children can speak because they are in the mode of non-separation.
May we experience that beautiful state of omniconcious unity, that beautiful child of light which is the revelation to all humanity. May it become perfectly clear in our beings, may it shine from our foreheads, may it flow as our bloodstreams; may our bloodstreams themselves be the resounding sound of the affirmation of the Divine Unity, la ilaha illallah. May we hear the music of la ilaha illallah as the wind passes through the trees, may we hear it in the sound of the traffic, may we hear it in the sound of our own breathing and speaking. May all of the universes be perceived to be crying out with their very being...
Allah is the Source and Goal of being. Being is flowing or returning into the Source of Being, but to call the Source of Being music or silence or light is not ultimately correct. Those are Divine Energies, Divine Expressions. But the Source of Being itself is beyond the names. In that sense you might say that it is beyond the Word. But It Itself comes forth constantly. The Divine Essence is not something that remains isolated. The Divine Essence is always expressing as the Divine Names."
Lex Hixon
(1942-1995)
Sound frequencies influence the body and mind through measurable physical, physiological, and psychological mechanisms. “Sound healing” practices combine those mechanisms with cultural, placebo, and therapeutic-context effects. Below are the principal pathways, evidence, and practical implications.
Sound waves are pressure oscillations that physically vibrate tissues, fluids, and bones. At audible intensities this produces micro-mechanical stimulation of cells, extracellular matrix, and mechanosensitive ion channels (e.g., Piezo channels), which can alter cellular signaling.
Resonance occurs when an object’s natural frequency matches an external frequency; targeted vibration can increase local amplitude (used medically in targeted ultrasound or vibration therapy).
Auditory stimuli drive neural oscillations. Rhythmic sound (beats, tones) can entrain EEG frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma), shifting attention, arousal, relaxation, or sleep propensity.
Binaural beats and isochronic tones produce perception of difference frequencies that correspond with target EEG bands; some studies show modest effects on mood, anxiety, and cognition.
Music and calming tones lower sympathetic activity and increase parasympathetic markers: reduced heart rate, lowered blood pressure, changes in heart-rate variability (HRV), and reduced cortisol in many studies. These physiological shifts promote relaxation and recovery.
Melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic structures evoke emotion, memory retrieval, and reward-circuit activation (dopaminergic and limbic systems). Emotional processing alters pain perception, immune signaling, and motivation for self-care.
Belief, ritual, therapist presence, and expectations amplify measurable benefits. Contextual factors often explain much of the variance in clinical outcomes for complementary therapies.
Pain management: Moderate-quality trials and meta-analyses find music reduces perceived pain and analgesic needs in surgical, obstetric, and chronic pain settings. Effect sizes vary by music type, timing, and patient preference.
Anxiety and stress: Consistent evidence that music interventions reduce peri-procedural and chronic anxiety; physiological correlates include lower cortisol and improved HRV.
Sleep and mood: Music reliably improves subjective sleep quality and can reduce depressive symptoms when integrated into therapy.
Cognition and neurorehabilitation: Rhythmic auditory stimulation aids gait and motor recovery after stroke and Parkinson’s disease by improving timing and coordination via preserved auditory-motor coupling.
Cellular and wound-healing claims: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound and specific vibration devices show benefit in bone healing and some soft-tissue protocols; however, broad claims that simple sound frequencies (e.g., singing bowls, tuning forks) regenerate tissue lack robust clinical evidence.
Music therapy (active or receptive): Changes mood, reduces anxiety, supports rehabilitation; strongest evidence across clinical settings when delivered by credentialed therapists.
Rhythm-based therapies: Improve motor timing and gait (stroke, Parkinson’s).
Binaural beats / isochronic tones: Small effects on subjective relaxation and attention for some users; heterogenous results across studies.
Singing bowls, tuning forks, chanting: Produce calming vibrations and ritual benefits; plausible for relaxation and reduced anxiety, but mechanistic tissue-regeneration claims are unproven.
High-intensity focused ultrasound (medical): Deliberately uses focused sound for ablation or neuromodulation—validated medical uses distinct from “frequency healing” claims.