In fall of 2012, after formally establishing Sacred Acoustics as an entity, we developed Foundation Series, the first series of recordings made available to others for exploring deep within consciousness. We (Karen Newell and Kevin Kossi) knew which sounds worked well for us from our own trial and error over the previous months and years, but knowing how everyone is unique, it wasn't clear others would respond the same way.
We gathered a group of test listeners that provided feedback to us so that we could make adjustments with the goal to create recordings that would be effective for a wide range of listeners. This process proved useful as we began to see firsthand the varied responses to our unique approach to creating brainwave entrainment recordings, incorporating binaural beats, monaural beats and other sound effects.
Our concept for the original Foundation Series was to roughly mimic the journey of Dr. Eben Alexander during his near-death experience as written about in his first book, Proof of Heaven, blended with techniques we had developed prior to meeting him. Those familiar with his story will know that while in coma for 7 days, his awareness remained alert as he encountered several levels of experience.
Sound was an important feature throughout his journey, including a pounding anvil in the earthworm-eye-view, a spinning melody that acted as a portal to higher realms, angelic choirs in what he called the Gateway realm and the resonant sound of "Om" during the deepest segment of his journey, the Core, as he called it.
We spent considerable time attempting to duplicate the actual sounds that Dr. Alexander encountered throughout his coma journey, but this proved to be problematic. It seems our ability to hear sound with the human ear is quite limited, making it quite impossible to duplicate the sounds in any true fashion.
While intriguing to consider, we knew from experience that it was not practical to guide people to duplicate Dr. Alexander's exact journey. We did not want to mislead people by promising something we knew we couldn't deliver. While there are some interesting patterns, each of us is unique and will have a journey exclusive to our one-of-a-kind nature. But we chose to follow the model of going through several realms, each deeper than the last.
Prior to meeting Dr. Alexander, the Om sounds had already proven useful for Kevin and I, as a way to get settled and grounded prior to reaching further depths of consciousness, so we chose to keep those helpful frequencies at the beginning of each recording. From there we moved to Earth, as vaguely representative of the earthworm-eye-view, then Blue, which symbolized the Gateway and finally Portal, reminiscent of the Core.
We wished to support listeners in achieving profound relaxation of the body while maintaining active awareness - the hypnagogic state. We kept the verbal guidance to a bare minimum in order for the listener to create or be provided with whatever experience was needed at the time of listening. Applying feedback from our group of testers, we fine-tuned the recordings to ensure their effectiveness.
The spiral sound effect included with Portal came from a series of recordings we had been using regularly that served to greatly expand our awareness. Originally, it included sounds of thunder (as written about in Living in a Mindful Universe), but this turned out to be scary for some of our test listeners, so we chose to remove it.
When first releasing Foundation Series to the public, we intentionally avoided any mention that these recordings were inspired by the experience of Dr. Alexander. It seemed critical to allow each individual to discover and explore within consciousness without the idea that they must somehow match someone else's experience. Later, we provided Simon & Schuster and Sounds True with revised versions of these recordings in projects directly related to Dr. Alexander's journey and they wished to make that connection more obvious through their chosen titles.
After releasing Foundation Series, we continued to develop further techniques for creating binaural beats and ways to entrain the brain. In 2016, our inventory of Foundation Series CDs was getting low and rather than reprint the same CDs, we chose to update the frequencies using our latest techniques.
Foundation Series 2 now serves as the replacement for the original Foundation Series and Om 2 is available separately. We updated the vocal guidance, sound effects and frequencies enough that it warranted a new cover, but the underlying brainwave states are the same as the original. The fractal cover art was created using numbers associated with frequencies from Blue.
As with any updated products, any previous purchasers will receive a 50% discount on the new release. Just email us and let us know you are an original Foundation Series owner.
RELEASE DATE:
Foundation Series 2 - February 27, 2016
Foundation Series - December 21, 2012
I have a number of the titles from Sacred Acoustics, and each time I listen I choose the one I am drawn to intuitively, so it could be Event Horizon, Spiral of Time, Light Body, Lunar Cycles, or another. Most often I seem to choose Primordial Mind, of late, feeling deep immersion in it. Then a few weeks ago I listened to Portal from Foundation Series 2. I had only listened to it once before despite owning the Series 2 for some years. It surprised me by being an immensely powerful experience. Energy moved through me with great intensity and I felt this sense of both moving forward and being in great stillness at the same time, and didn’t want the recording to end. I felt a distinct shift of self, though as yet I don’t know what that means.
Hello Karen, Thank you for the free recording. I was on the verge of a breakdown and the free recording has saved me. I would like to purchase om 2 and what other recording do you recommend?
I would like to purchase the CD. Could you please send me a coppy of all the cd’s that you sell.
I’m 73years old. I’ve been to hell and back with so much drummer and stress all my life and was about to crack. thanks again for the free recording. Love from Anna x
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Knowing how to maintain a core sense of presence and balance creates a foundation of strength to move from empathy to compassion, and at your finest, altruism, when you take action to help another without concern for yourself.
Karen Newell
Author
co-founder of Sacred Acoustics and co-author of Living in a Mindful Universe