(To all readers: I respond to Ellen’s query both in general terms and also referencing specific Acutonics forks because she mentions them. For more information about the forks, their intervals, their properties etc please feel free to go to www.Acutonics.com where you will find a wealth of further information.)
I originally submitted an article on Dissonance and Consonance (http://www.soundtravels.co.uk/a-Consonance_and_Dissonance-309.aspx) to which Ellen Modano responded with some issues concerning the use of tuning forks with acupuncture. You can read her comments at the foot of the article. My response is here:
Dear Ellen Madono,
Thank you for your response to the article. I wish I had a bit more information in order to respond to precisely which Acutonics forks are you using, how are you holding them, what is your acupuncturist actually doing, what type of acupuncture she is working in, what a particular client is presenting etc, but here is what comes to mind based on what you wrote. I am assuming that when you say you use them like needles you mean that you are applying the stems of the activated resonating forks to acupuncture points on a client’s body. (I don’t think of them as needles, they are vibrational tools and work quite differently)
First of all, we work within our competence, and we use what works. If the needles are so much more efficient for you, then why use anything else?! I use the forks because I love the sound, I love the fluidity of using them, the creativity of the system, they are painless, they are phobia-free and they are very effective (and fast!) When I pick up a pair of forks I feel like I am picking up allies in my healing work. As far as forks vs. needles is concerned, of the practitioners I know who have come to Acutonics via the practice of acupuncture, many have abandoned the use of needles entirely, and some use both forks and needles. When I query the ones who use both how they make the choice of tool, they’ve said it is partly thinking what is most efficient for the issue at hand, and partly it is intuition that guides their protocol choice. So use what is best for your client and for you as a practitioner.
Second, study with your acupuncturist and learn all that is of value for you, but don’t expect her to teach you Acutonics, and don’t expect to convert her to new tools unless she is drawn to them herself. You seem to respect her, she has her point of view. There is much overlap between various systems of understanding the body and of treating things that arise in the body, but I don’t believe there is one system or understanding that absolutely trumps all others. I don’t really understand why you are seeking to disprove what she is so certain of energetically, you’re never going to win because just like sound and consonance and dissonance, energy is multi-layered and complex, there are many many different interpretations and understandings of what is going on within all of us, and many ways of influencing that energy (fortunately, makes for a very rich environment). And intention has a huge role to play in this. I love science, I love physical evidence, we need to keep exploring and knowing more, but recognize the limitations of this kind of thinking—we all have our own belief systems. Being able to embrace information that seems equally true but contradictory is not only a definition of genius, but also a nice illustration of dissonance! Is it a crisis or an opportunity? Or can it be both?
As far as the idea that dissonance is a challenge to a depleted system, I can only imagine that might result from the intention of the practitioner. My experience with the people I have worked with and in my own body is the exact opposite. But it is not dissonance in general that I am talking about, I would select specific planetary frequencies that happen to create intervals that we consider dissonant with our western musical ears. The Acutonics forks I might choose to boost aspects of a depleted system would indeed create dissonant intervals, in fact, some of the most dissonant intervals as far as Hindemith is concerned. Ohm/Earth Day creates a tritone, and the Solar 7th interval is a minor 7th,—both are stimulating, energizing, and vitalizing in their own ways. Some people think of the Solar 7th like moxa. But I might also choose Ohm/New Moon followed by Ohm/Full Moon—for a combination that is releasing, nourishing,tonifying and building,and both form intervals that are far more consonant in comparison.In addition, I would look to the source of the depletion and treat accordingly. But I feel it is important to reiterate that here we can speak only in general terms, whereas in practice we have to be looking at each client individually when designing a treatment protocol, of course.
Speaking of Acutonics purely in terms of Consonance and Dissonance is to miss the point entirely—just like looking at one aspect of a client’s care and ignoring the rest—there is a whole constellation of influences we can work with. We don’t choose a fork based on its consonance or dissonance, we choose it for its therapeutic properties, it relevant archetype, and how it relates to the other forks in a progression during treatment. And to say Dissonance is bad because it seems to affect the qi a particular way is to miss the opportunities that those frequencies afford us. We could also say sharp objects are bad for a body, clearly, they can cause damage. If you put broken glass or a menacingly large knife into someone’s hand, their energy would react badly. But we also know that things like needles and scalpels, used judiciously and skillfully, can be therapeutic!
You wrote that you have some Acutonics forks, I would encourage you to make contact with someone who can ensure you are using them effectively, technique is important, and who also can perhaps give you more information so that they can be for you the amazing tools they are for me. I am in the UK, but Acutonics.com has information about teachers all over the world.
Joanie Solaini
