The Sound of Om?

[ChrisC]

I previously posted this under the Psychic Phenomenon, but I should have posted it here under Spirituality. My apologies.

In various literature, there is mention of the sacred sound current that you can hear during meditation. The Astara Mystery School has an exercise for listening for it (they refer to it as the Holy Naad), and I've read various explanations for it - that it is the sound of Om, the original primordial sound from which all creation arises, or that it is the sound of the pineal gland as it vibrates.

I attended a meditation seminar a while back and the teacher had the group cup their hand at the back of the right ear, and then said that this sound is similar to the holy sound that we might hear during meditation. Whoa! I realized that this was the sound I've been hearing for quite some time. Most noticeably before I am fully awake and definitely during meditation. I can only describe it as a cross between a hissing sound and a ringing. Once I realized that, I began to listen for it more often, even using it as a mantra on occasion. Other literature encourages spiritual aspirants to continue listening until you hear other sounds behind the original, and there are even lists which attempt to describe the progression in various ways - birds, chimes, a single note, etc.

The sound is not distracting in any way, and is pretty much masked by everyday noises. But in a quiet environment it is definitely there.

Does anyone else have experience with this that they would like to share?