Written by Doug Crouch

Cymatics and Vibration

Cymatics, developed by the genius Jans Jenny, allows space and time to be reflected through vibration and a physical medium.  Jans Jenny did experiments showing the vibratory effect of sound through a medium and created the system known as cymatics.  The medium was sand or cornstarch laid out on a black plate where frequencies where played from a speaker below the black plate.  As the pitch or frequency increased more diverse and complex forms where found. Vibration is an interesting perspective as the patterns laid in nature are tested through evolution for their efficiency and effectiveness.  Nature has responded with a symphony of biodiversity and shows that the vibratory world has an impact on its surroundings.  For example, I am sure we have all heard the stories of how playing

classical music helps plants to grow.  Subsequently as we regenerate land there is a greater chorus from birds and amphibians probably furthering the regeneration process even further.   Thus as we see in nature when the efforts of regeneration are put in, the resulting repercussions are astounding.  Remembering our own vibes and how we approach this work is important as well.  You can be the happiest person ever in a garden or miserable doing “what you love”.

Lobe and Edge

Another pattern we see ubiquitously in nature is the lobe pattern, which is an expression of the permaculture principle of edge.  Our brains are folds and twists with many dendritic patterns held within it to fuel it and pass information.  Its outer form though, on the macro

scale, has quite a lobe to it just as we see so often in Nature. Its exact role has still yet to be determined in relationship to its shape but for sure with more edge there is more energy transference which includes information but also temperature regulation. The other two pictures, the rear portion of a spider and the Osage Orange fruit (often called Hedge Apple) both have plenty of edges.  They are their for a reason, as with most patterns, they help with their reproduction, stabilizing of the climate within, and their growth, which is sometimes from consumption. To further reinforce the lobe understanding imagine if our stomachs were simply a straight shot to our anus.  Then their would be little ability for nutrient exchange thus the evolution of this feature shows that this lobed shape has created success for the species.

Edge is something that we as permaculturists explore lots and pay much attention to. Sometimes its about increasing edge and sometimes its about decreasing it.  It inspires us in our design work and our work on our own characters within as we explore edges that lead us to growth.  Whether that is communication, making decisions, or enacting truly the ethics of permaculture, nature can be quite a great metaphor and teacher.  Nature finds abundance and exchange on edges and when we explore our own edges we are bound to grow and live a more abundant life. When we shrink from certain uncomfortable sitautions or lack the ability to act responsible when we do interact with our edges, this is one of the biggest leaks of energy in the system of ourselves.  Just as when we add swales or keyline in the landscape to increase edge and water infiltration and reduce erosion, we must also incorporate the people care side of permaculture in our pattern understanding.

Wave Pattern and Emotional Understanding

This elegant but simple form expresses so much whether seen, heard, or felt and is the ultimate in energetic exchange. Subsequently, when you hear the word wave pattern, it may immediately take you to water but it can be found in many forms.  I inserted the picture of a growing Anona tree in Portugal to show that if you look closely you can see it often.  It shows a rhythm of growth in this spring time photo as the buds open and soft

new growth rapidly emerges.  To gain quick growth and strength, it utilizes the wave unfurling quickly thus capturing more photosynthetic energy.  As we work with the seasonal rhythms in our varying ecosystems across the world, we work in waves of implementation to create Permaculture landscape.  There is the daily input but seasonally we will put in bigger efforts say in tree planting season, house building season, or garden plantings based around the weather. Moreover, the wave of course conjures images of sitting seaside hearing this rhythmic pattern cascading from the edge of open water hitting a land mass.  It’s something that can be watched for hours and in some locations the wave of tides coming and going can also be seen on a daily basis.

Waves of course are also manifested through still water if something disturbs it.  Just as the definition of a wave is stated in the slide above, the disturbance would say be a rock thrown into still water (water being the medium), which transfers wave energy out until its

dissipated somehow.  That is usually hitting land, which over time weathers rocks and shapes shorelines.  The other picture shown on the slide above shows this watery wave potential very well with the incredibly light and well adapted water strider flittering around on the surface tension. You can see the corresponding waves rippling outward as it moves.  This shows just how incredibly sensitive water is to disturbance and how great of a transmission medium it is.  This also ties into our own journeys of life as the human body is said to be comprised of 90% water.  That means our vibes are then put out through this transmission medium and felt by others including the plants and animals around us.  I think we have all sensed fear at some point around a dog on the loose and somehow it senses it through its own consciousness of analytics.  We also are able to sense vibes as we have all felt it before, scanning a crowd and being put off or attrracted to people immediately. Some say it is our DNA that are the antennae and this sensitivity has yet to be fully understood by science.  If DNA are our antennae for understanding the vibratory world, well then we must oscilate at our highest frequency as Jans Jenny analogously demonstrated.  When we do, diversity and complexity are built, the foundation of abundance.

With that, Dr Greg Braden, a researcher dedicated to creating the bridge between spirituality and science, tried to demonstrate this exact thing in the graphic he created seen above.  He states, which I resonate with, that DNA examination is the key to understanding how our emotions and potential are inextricably linked.  In the graphic above the DNA are the circles and the waves are our emotions.  Fear he says is long and slow wavelength thus only activating part of our DNA.  Under the mathematics of probability, we have 64 possible amino acid codes to form our DNA.  Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Carbon and Oxygen comprise the basic building blocks of DNA and have this chance of 64 different ones.  Furthermore we have all heard that humans are not living up to their highest potential and Dr. Braden says it is because we are stuck in this fear pattern with only 23 activated currently.  When we emerge into a state of love, then more of our DNA activates as the wavelength is much tighter and more rapid.  This is where the feeling of interconnection is possible.  This wave measurement of emotions is important in our journeys of growth within especially as we examine the social implications of community and our relationships with ourselves.  This point reinforces what was said above that if we are in a higher frequency of emotional state, love, abundance will follow.  And if the words love and fear freak you out while reading this, simply switch them to scarcity and abundance. While some will be put off by this message and think Permaculture is only about swales and food forests, well, there is the people care side of permaculture and we must also work on ourselves.  We all have inner gardens that need cultivation and care and we are able to use tools to accelerate succession as holistic human beings. In the end the wave pattern is everywhere, sound, light, temperature, the ocean, our ups and downs of life.  Surf the highs, swim the lows.

Written by Doug Crouch

Header art by Sien Verpoest

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