The
power of sound to benefit mind, body and spirit
Alternative Medicines - Sound Healing and Music Therapy
by Franchis Adam
Music and
sound healing is not a new concept. Cultures throughout the world
have used music to empower, energize, heal and soothe the body, mind
and spirit since time immemorial. It is no accident that Apollo, the
Greek god who is credited as being the father of medicine, is also
the father of music and the inventor of the lyre.
Music and healing are part of each other, and current research is
pointing to that more and more. Recent studies have shown that music
can slow down and help balance brain waves, reduce tension and
stress by affecting endorphin levels, reduce physical tension by
changing the vibrational frequency of cells, and even evoke feelings
of love and inner peace.
Of course, if music can slow down your body's rhythms and effect
soothing, peace and healing, it can also have the opposite effect. A
well-chosen set of music can help energize you and prepare you to
work hard and be creative. Studies have also shown that athletes
working out and practicing to music use more energy, stretch
themselves further and burn more calories than those who work
without music.
There's a great deal of information available now about music and
healing. Sound healing, music therapy, and the power of sound to
effect changes in the mind, body and spirit are becoming more and
more accepted. It's sometimes difficult to tell how much is true and
how much is marketing hype.
I became interested in the healing power of music as a by-product of
trying to produce the most beautiful music possible. Years back,
Leonard Bernstein invited me to perform as concertmaster in the
world premiere his production of Mass. While there, he invited me
along to speak with management and producers in the recording
industry. I learned from them, to my surprise, that the violin, the
instrument that I consider the most beautiful and evocative of any,
was not considered by the recording industry to be a marketable
sound - that people would not buy recordings that featured the
violin.
That piece of news amazed me. To me, the violin is the most
beautiful, evocative and versatile instrument ever created. In the
hands of a skilled musician, the violin can gloat, laugh, exult or
cry. It can express nearly any emotion that humans can feel in their
hearts and souls. I challenged myself then to produce works of music
that presented the violin as I know it - the evocative and
expressive voice of the soul.
That was the beginning of my own music label and catalog, LiSem
Enterprises. As it grew, I began to hear from those who work in the
fields of healing, both the traditional hospitals and doctors'
offices, and those working in CAM (complementary and alternative
medicine), telling me that they were using my music in their
practices, to enhance meditation, focus awareness and evoke
emotions.
Perhaps the most potent, powerful story that I heard was that of a
teenage boy diagnosed with schizophrenia who did not speak at all,
but who, while listening to my CD Fragrance of a Dream, looked up
and said, "This music is so beautiful it breaks your heart."
Those stories and touches from others led me to begin exploring the
world of healing with sound and music, and what I find both amazes
me and confirms my own belief that music is one of the most potent
healing tools the world has ever possessed. I am still very much a
student, a pilgrim on a quest to learn all that I can about the ways
that different tones, vibrations and sounds can affect the body and
attune with the emotions and the spiritual. It is a wonderful
journey, and one that I intend to share with as many people as I
can. As a beginning of that sharing, here are some things that I
have learned, and that I believe about how music helps to heal and
regenerate the body.
1. Your body will heal itself if you give it the right tools. I
believe that some music can help your body to heal by helping it to
realign its balance. At the same time, it is far too early in the
research for anyone to tell you which musical selections will heal a
specific medical condition. I would be irresponsible if I
recommended that music replace other more traditional forms of
healing and therapy. Music is a complementary way to give your body
the tools that it needs to help itself heal.
2. One of the most important and effective things that you can do
for your body is to help it relax into a meditative state. There is
a great deal of research to support that a state of meditative calm
inspires your body and your mind to renew itself.
3. Sound is one of the best tools for inspiring the meditative state
in which your body is receptive to healing and renewal - but it is
important to choose your music carefully. Some music - classical
music in particular - seems to go there instinctively, but most
music was not designed to relax you.
We are barely beginning to understand the ways that music affects us
and effects healing in us. The research is exciting and ongoing, and
I spend a great deal of time working with different bodies of
healers in various fields to aid this research in all the ways that
I can.
I incorporate what I have learned into the production of the titles
and arrangements chosen for every new LiSem Catalog release in the
hopes that this wonderful gift that I was given, the gift of making
music, can become a gift to others - one that helps heal and refresh
and renew, and in the process becomes part of a positive change in
the world.
About the
author: Read out
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