Music and the Altered State of Consciousness

Authors

  • Lajos KIRÁLY University of Tokaj-Hegyalja, Department of Educational Sciences. E-mail: kiraly.lajos@unithe.hu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbmusica.2023.2.12

Keywords:

music, altered state of consciousness, ecstatic dimension, binaural beats, 440 Hz, rhythm.

Abstract

Tourists travelling to Turkey may encounter circling (mevlevi) dervishes in Konya, spinning in circles to achieve a kind of altered state of consciousness and enter a trance-like state of ecstasy. The world of popular music has also been inspired by the concepts of Christianity and ecstasy, and some rock bands have emerged from a combination of the two. This altered state of consciousness is brought about by the combined effect of dance and music, which they believe can be an ecstatic experience of dual action, freeing one from the agonies and pains of everyday life. In some religions, the ecstatic and altered state of consciousness is part of ritual and worship as a power unleashed. The question is, is there a place for music-induced ecstasy in Christian worship? In this sub-chapter, we will discuss the ecstatic effect of music, the altered state of consciousness experienced as a result, and the increasingly prevalent binaural beats and music at 432 hertz.

Author Biography

Lajos KIRÁLY, University of Tokaj-Hegyalja, Department of Educational Sciences. E-mail: kiraly.lajos@unithe.hu

Lajos KIRÁLY was born on 30 May 1979 in Szárazberek. He completed his secondary education at the Reformed Gymnasium of Satu Mare. He graduated from the Protestant Theological Institute in Cluj-Napoca in 2002. In 2021 he defended his doctoral thesis at the Ecumene Doctoral School of Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. Currently, he is Associate Professor at the University of Tokaj-Hegyalja and Dean of the Reformed Diocese of Satu Mare. As a lecturer, he gives lectures and seminars on subjects related to the family, child protection, prevention techniques, skills and personality development in the fields of teaching, pre-school education, infant and toddler education and special education; examining students and evaluating their work; participating in practical training in the fields of educational counselling, mental health and mentoring; providing subject guidance and advice; distance learning and tasks regarding further training programs.

References

Alban, Deane. Binaural Beats: A Meditation Shortcut. https://bebrainfit.com/binaural-beats-meditation/ (2023. July 2.).

Bánfalvai, Attila. A szabadság arcai a pszichoanalízisben (The faces of freedom in psychoanalysis). Osiris Publishing House, Budapest, 1998, 1222-139.

Bari, Máriusz. Digitális drogok, végtelen kockázat. (Digital drugs, infinite risk) http://hvg.hu/tudomany/20080403_agyhullam_binauralis_utem (2023. July 2.).

Barnard, Christiaan. 50 Wege zu einem gesunden Herz (50 Ways to a Healthy Heart). ECON Ulstein List Verlag, München, 2000.

Bartha, Tibor (szerk.). Keresztyén bibliai lexicon (Christian Bible Lexicon). Kálvin Publishing House, Budapest, 1993. 336. Az In the Old Testament, the calling of the prophets is called by the “ecstasy” (Isa 6:1k, Jer 1:4k, Ezek 1:1k, Zech 1-6), and in the New Testament, by the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:10k), the temptation (Mt 4,1kk), the story of the glorification (Mk 9,2kk)”, Peter (Acts 10) and Paul (9,1kk), Stephen (Acts 7,55) and the rapture of John (Mark) are also included in this category in the literature.

Berg, Kathy and Siever, Dave. “A Controlled Comparison of Audio-Visual Entrainment for Treating Seasonal Affective Disorder”. In: Journal of Neurotherapy, 13. 2009/3. 166-175.

Bokor, József (szerk.). A Pallas nagy lexikona (Big Lexicon of Pallas). https://mek.oszk.hu/00000/00060/html/026/pc002628.html#2 (accessed: 2023. July 2.).

Bolyki, László. Milyen zenét szeret Isten? (What kind of music does God like?) Álomgyár Publishing House, Budapest, 2005.

Csepelyi, Adrienn. Verdi a nácik ellen (Verdi against the Nazis). http://nol.hu/kultura/verdi-a-nacik-ellen-1583847 (2023. July 3.).

Détári, László. Biológiai ritmusok. http://slideplayer.hu/slide/2093282/ (accessed: 2023. July 2.).

Forrai, Judit. Erotika és zene, avagy a szex zenéje (Erotica and music, or the music of sex). In: Falus András (szerk.). Zene és egészség, Kossuth Publishing House, Budapest, 2016.

Gál, Péter. A dicsőítés és a keresztény rock zene (Worship and Christian rock music). http://www.karizmatikus.hu/evangelizacio/dicsites-liturgia/2968-a- dicsites-es-a-kereszteny-rock-zene.html (accessed: 2023. July 2.).

Grannum, Gillian. The A=440 Hz Frequency: DNA Tuning and the Bastardization Music. http://www.shiftfrequency.com/curious-case-of-432-vs-440/ (2023. July 3.).

Hézser, Gábor. Pasztorálpszichológiai szempontok az istentisztelet útkereséséhez. Elméleti és gyakorlati lehetőségek (Pastoral-psychological perspectives on the search for worship. Theoretical and practical possibilities). Kálvin János Publishing House, Budapest, 2007.

Horowitz, Leonard G. Musical cult control: The Rockefeller Foundation’s War on consciousness through the imposition of A=440 Hz standard tuning. https://steemit.com/440hzconcertpitch/@tonefreqhz/musical-cult-control- the-rockefeller-foundation-s-war-on-consciousness-through-the-imposition- of-a-440hz-standard-tuning-part-3 (2023. July 3.)

Horváth, Szilárd. Istvan Sky – Az ember, aki zenével gyógyít (Istvan Sky - The man who heals with music). Reportage, Hungarian, 2012.

Kartomi, Margaret J. “Music and trance in central Java”. In: Ethnomusicology, 17. 1973/1. 167.

Marian, Jakub. The 432 Hz vs. 440 Hz conspiracy theory. https://jakubmarian.com/the-432-hz-vs-440-hz-conspiracy-theory/ (2023. July 3.).

Nagy, Gábor – Lovass, Pál. A kábítószerek világa (The world of drugs). Medicina Publishing Hpuse, Budapest, 1985.

Oster, Gerald. Auditory Beats in the Brain. Slow modulations called binaural beats are perceived when tones of different frequency are presented separately to each ear. The sensation may show how certain sounds are processed by the brain. http://www.amadeux.net/sublimen/documenti/G.OsterAuditoryBeatsintheBrain.pdf (accessed 2023. July 2.).

Raghavan, Sandhya. Benefits of binaural beats and how it can heal your mind and body. http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/benefits-of-binaural-beats-and-how-it-can-heal-your-mind-and-body-k0217/ (2017. January 8.).

Scott R., Hutson. The rave: Spiritual healing in modern western subcultures. In: Anthropological Quarterly. Academic Research Library, 73. 2000/1. 35-49.

Stewart, Benjamin. Kymatica. Documentary film, USA, 2009.

Stevenson, August (Ed.). English Oxford Living Dictionaries. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/ecstasy. February 6.).

Szabó Csaba, Csákó Rita and Nagy Katalin. A zenei élmények mint módosult tudatállapot vizsgálata és összehasonlítása a transzállapot egyéb formáival (Examining musical experiences as an altered state of consciousness and comparing them with other forms of trance state). http://real.mtak.hu/1055/1/43394_ZJ1.pdf (2017. February 2.).

Székely, Csilla Imola. “Rítus, ritmus, zene és lélek” (Ritual, rhythm, music and soul). In: Falus, András (szerk.): Zene és egészség, Kossuth Publishing House, Budapest, 2016.

The Free Dictionary by Farlex. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ecstasy (2023. July 2.).

Travis, Fred. Minden meditáció egyforma? A Mindfulness, a Tibeti Buddhizmus és a TM (Are all meditations the same? Mindfulness, Tibetan Buddhism and TM). https://www.tminfo.hu/tudomanyos-tudatkutatas/minden-meditacio-egyforma-a-mindfulness-a-tibeti buddhizmus-es-a-tm/ (2017. January 19.).

Wilson-Dickson, Andrew. The Story of Christian Music. A Lion Book, Oxford – Batavia – Sydney, 1992.

Wilson, Lawrence. Trance States – a Way to understand many People. http://drlwilson.com/Articles/TRANCE%20STATES.htm (2023. July 2.).

Downloads

Published

2023-12-30

How to Cite

KIRÁLY, L. (2023). Music and the Altered State of Consciousness. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Musica, 68(2), 165–175. https://doi.org/10.24193/subbmusica.2023.2.12

Issue

Section

Articles