THE ABILITY OF MUSIC to return us to an awareness of our own true nature—relaxed, wise, joyous and free— has been celebrated for millennia everywhere on Earth. Sacred songs have been the key elements in countless ceremonies, rituals and prayers that have sustained humanity throughout history.
Less well known are the healing powers of music. As a great sage once said: “ Music can go where other medicines cannot reach.” This is certainly a beautiful mystery that we can all be thankful for – the power of music to transform our consciousness and our state of wellness.
The gift of the music in our recordings is that it creates a bridge to the heart, the most ancient and essential part of us all. As we listen we’re drawn into deep states of rest and rejuvenation. It encourages our minds to slow to the rhythms of the natural world and to experience, if even for a few moments, the grace of the present moment where all healing takes place.
1) MUSIC CAN PROVIDE ACCESS TO A SACRED OPENING OR DOORWAY
Some music has a special capacity to produce the presence of a sacred opening or doorway, through which blessings can arrive. A blessing can be described as something which destabilizes imbalance. This means that the music itself produces a state of receptivity in the listener, which allows for a needed blessing to arrive. This openness to something beyond the self is key in the healing journey. In this experience one feels reconnected to heart and deep peace.
2) MUSIC HELPS US TO MOVE WITH OUR EMOTIONS.
What is emotion and what does it want?
There are five basic emotions: Anger, Grief, Sympathy, Fear and Joy. All are an equally important part of how the world is made. Actually experiencing and expressing what is moving through us is foundational to lasting wellness.
In our modern world there is no time for feelings. They are messy and often scary. So we learn to hold them in and just forget about them. But they do not forget about us. Their stored energy becomes part of our bodies creating stress and tension in our organs and muscles. Our emotions are asking us to listen and be moved by them.
Healing music calms the mind, creating spaciousness for emotion to arise, be felt, and then released. Music contains within it the DNA for authentic movement and flow and we can easefully respond.
3) MUSIC CAN BRING US INTO THE PRESENT MOMENT
All healing happens in the present moment. This is where we join the flow of life. Great timing in the art of healing means to arrive into the present whenever you can. This is the place of transformation and potential. Healing music carries within it a mysterious capacity to catalyze the short yet eternal journey into the present. It is here the heart dwells, connecting us to the help we need.
4) MUSIC CAN HARMONIZE THE SYSTEMS OF THE BODY AND REDUCE PAIN
Medical scientists around the world are studying the therapeutic effects of sound and music. Recent research has yielded some fascinating preliminary results:
-Physiologists have found that listening to certain types of music causes a decrease in heart rate, respiration and blood pressure, causing alpha waves to predominate in the brain. This alpha state generates a sense of well-being and encourages hemispheric synchronization so that both sides of the brain work in harmony- a state remarkably similar to deep meditation. Time spent in this integrated state appears to strengthen the immune system, as well as to stimulate internal healing processes.
-In a double blind randomized trial, patients who listened to certain types of music while undergoing surgery needed significantly lower levels of anesthesia.
– Cancer cells subjected to specific musical tones responded by decreasing their reproductive rate.
– Specialized sound is regularly used to break up gall and kidney stones.
5) THE POWER OF SOUND IS IRRESISTIBLE
One word of encouragement can lift our hearts; one harsh phrase, destroy our peace of mind. The sound of music is particularly strong; some melodies inspire us to jump up and dance; other songs guide us within to peace and stillness. Listening to the sounds of the world around us we become immersed in a flow.
Healing music can be listened to in any way that you wish. As background music it lends a subtle calming energy to the environment. Hundreds of massage therapists, body-workers, acupuncturists and other practitioners are offering the healing qualities of our music to their clients during their treatment sessions. One of the simplest ways to let it work is to play it softly while taking a nap or when going to bed in the evening.
You may also wish to experience the benefits of conscious listening.
Here’s how it can be done:
- Give yourself a set amount of time to relax and receive the benefits of the music. You may only have 15 minutes or perhaps you can rest for a full hour.
- If it appeals to you, create a peaceful environment in simple ways that speak to your heart. Be clear in the intention that you are giving yourself this time for self-care and deep relaxation.
- Make yourself comfortable. Either sit or lie down allowing your breath to move easily. There is nothing to do. Nothing to figure out. Just allow the sound of the music to be present and breathe naturally.
- At the end your session you may wish to acknowledge yourself for taking the time to nurture yourself in this way.
- These are suggestions only. Each of us has an intuitive sense of what we need and how to use the music.