MUSIC

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USING MUSIC TO HEAL A PREMATURE BABY
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This story is taken from "The Mozart Effect - Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit", 2001, Don Campbell, pp. 13 - 14.
"Weighing just over one-and-a-half pounds, Krissy was born prematurely in a Chicago hospital with a life-threatening condition. Doctors put her on total life support. Other than an occasional pat on the head, the only positive stimulation she received was from constant infusion of Mozart that her mother begged nurses to pipe into the neonatal unit. Doctors did not think Krissy would live; her mother believes that music saved her daughter's life. Krissy could not sit up at age one and did not walk until she was two. Her motor skills were poor, and she was anxious, introverted, and uncommunicative. Despite all this, at age three she tested far ahead of her years in abstract reasoning. One evening, her parents took Krissy to a short chamber music concert. For days afterwards, Krissy played with an empty tube from a paper towel roll, which she placed under her neck and 'bowed' with a chopstick. Enchanted, her mother enrolled Krissy in Suzuki violin lessons with Vicki Vorreiter in Chicago, and the four-year-old girl could immediately reproduce from memory pieces several levels beyond her physical ability. Over the next two years, her strength and coordination on the instrument began to catch up with her mental capacity. With the support and encouragement of her parents, teachers, and fellow students, who were trained to perform in a group spirit, Krissy stopped wringing her hands in fear and began to socialize. Through a combination of pluck and grace, the little girl who was born weighing less than her violin could now express herself - and be whole."
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"What a wonderful meeting this is! These are the children of the Kingdom. The song we have just listened to was very beautiful in melody and words. The art of music is divine and effective. It is the food of the soul and spirit. Through the power and charm of music the spirit of man is uplifted. It has wonderful sway and effect in the hearts of children, for their hearts are pure, and melodies have great influence in them. The latent talents with which the hearts of these children are endowed will find expression through the medium of music. Therefore, you must exert yourselves to make them proficient; teach them to sing with excellence and effect. It is incumbent upon each child to know something of music, for without knowledge of this art the melodies of instrument and voice cannot be rightly enjoyed. Likewise, it is necessary that the schools teach it in order that the souls and hearts of the pupils may become vivified and exhilarated and their lives be brightened with enjoyment." (Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 52)
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MUSIC AND HEALING
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By Terry Pratt, The Netherlands
As a musician turned sound healer, I would like to share some thoughts on the subject of sound healing which has not received the credibility which it deserves. The following summary of some of the different streams (impulses in the work) may give an idea of how I am endeavoring to incorporate it into my practice. I feel that this is a time in history when the book will be opened, and much ancient knowledge on healing is now being shared and brought to the west by people like Deepak Chopra, Mantak Chia and Ibrahim Karim and others. Sound healing is an old science while at the same time developing into a new one with potentials which have yet to be discovered.
Music played a central part in the culture and healing forms of all ancient tribal and folk traditions. The American Indians had special underground rooms in which they toned in preparation for healing rituals. Ibrahim Karim, an Egyptian architect who works with healing through specific forms, shapes and sounds says that the pyramids in Egypt were also used for this purpose. Listening to Gregorian choral, or Hildegaard van Bingen, also has a healing effect on the heart. As well, the Tibetan sound bowls have proven to have an amazing healing effect. What is the reason behind all of this?
Many traditions speak of sound as being the basis of creation. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was sound.” Frequencies called harmonics come from a fundamental or basis tone. These have qualities, which correspond with the stepping down process from energy into matter. The first harmonic, the octave, gives the space, or ether element, in which the creation can take place. The 2nd and 3rd harmonics form the fifth, and fourth intervals correspond to the yin and yang principle (sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine) - the two forces which interact thus creating the four elements: air, fire, water and earth. The four elements are represented in music by the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th harmonics.
When there is a vibration, sound and form are created. One cannot exist without the other. From the smallest atom, to the planets, and the universe, there is vibration, and therefore sound and form in all of creation. Within our bodies, three basic rhythms exist: breathing, heart beat, and the cranial sacral rhythm. In addition, each organ and each system of the body has its own pattern of vibration. Surrounding the body, the energy system has also its own unique pattern. In the ayurvedic tradition, each chakra has its corresponding vowel sound, and note. When this is sounded, it activates the chakra into movement, and a form also emerges. Hans Jenny, MD, an anthroposophist, adherent of Rudolf Steiner, did extensive research concerning the effect that sound had upon form in the sixties. He took pictures of the results of playing tones to different materials as sand on a metal plate, on water and various other elements. Beautiful symmetric mandalas were formed, differing according to the pitch of the sound played. It was discovered that the old yantras, or mandalas, representing the chakras, 2000 years old in the ayurvedic tradition, corresponded exactly to the forms created by singing the sounds of the chakras. It is possible to change the crystal formations of water with music. Masaru Emoto has recently done extensive research on this. When one considers that the human body is made of 70% water, the possibilities of sound healing in the body can only be imagined. According to the ayurvedic tradition, all illness begins at the energy level, and by releasing blockages at this level, it can have an effect upon the physical body helping to bring it back into balance. When a person is in balance, he will not get sick.
It is a preventive way of medicine. By chanting vowel sounds, one activates the chakras, creating a positive force around ones body. M. Gaynor, an oncologist, has helped cure cancer patients by having them chant vowel sounds as a, e, i, o, and u. Ibrahim Karim has made a CD of silent vowel sounds corresponding to the chakras. The CD is being used by farmers in Holland on an experimental basis, to help restore the immune system of cows because when they have a strong immune system, then they would not be affected with the diseases such as hoof and mouth disease. The CD has had positive results.
All of creation is formed by energy. Energy is influenced by sound. The human body is made up of many different levels, what we see physically, as bones, muscles, lymph, blood, organs, and what we can not see, but which can be photographed with special cameras and computer programs. All of these different levels can be affected by different frequencies.
It is well known knowledge that a chandelier can be shattered by a singer singing a resonating pitch. It happens because the frequency goes into resonance with the object, and they begin to vibrate together. Using frequencies for healing follows these same principles. It is possible for example to change the energy of a weakened organ by introducing the corresponding frequency even to eradicating parasites by the use of resonating frequencies. Mantak Chia, a master in healing Tao from Thailand, uses healing sounds to activate the fascia surrounding various organs, as the lungs, kidneys, heart, liver, and spleen. According to his system, each organ has a different sound, and each organ responds to a different emotion. For example, if one is afraid, it is because the kidney energy is low, and if that is stimulated, it will lessen the fear. Changing the energy field around the organ, it can have a positive effect upon our emotional state.
Another example of sound-healing is the use of Tibetan Sound bowls. Tibetan sound bowls are made from several different metals. Each bowl is unique. The bowls produce several harmonic sounds simultaneously which resonate with one’s body. It creates a relaxing, soothing, stress releasing state in which the body balance is restored. Another aspect of sound healing is the use of mantras or chants. Different world traditions have used the repetition of short texts upon a melody, which has a very healing effect. In India, they have different ragas representing for example the different seasons and times of day. American Indian chants, Celtic songs, Rhineland mystics, Buddhist and Hindu, and Persian chants are all effective in their own way. Singing these chants creates a direct contact with ones emotions and feelings. Chanting Allah’u’Abha ('God is Most Glorious' - said by Baha'is) 95 times is also an example of a mantra.
Samuel Lewis, a Sufi, created in the 1960’s, Dances of Universal Peace, which are circle dances, whereby one sings a chant. The chants are taken from many different cultures and traditions, such as Jewish, Zoroastrian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and American Indian. It is a pleasant group activity which helps people connect feelings and emotions and with each other. In Holland there are plans by the Baha'is to integrate these songs and dances into spiritual education for children of mixed cultures.
I have incorporated aspects of all the above in my practice. I give sound bowl and polarity massages. I use songs, dance, and tone with groups of people. This enables people to find their center, a feeling of peace within themselves. My own experimentation has led me to believe that SINGING Baha’i prayers can create the same effect as toning. Why is one emotionally moved when one hears the chanting of a Persian prayer much more so than when it is read? It has a healing effect upon all levels of our existence, the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It has a much deeper effect than reading them. INTONE, O MY SERVANTS…. are the words of Baha’u’llah. It is a way of healing ourselves, if we are open to it. Do not leave the chanting of prayers just to the Persians. Try it yourself, in your own language.
Sound healing is no substitute for medical care. When one is sick, it is imperative to go to a physician and be under medical treatment. It can be used as a supplement and as preventive medicine.
Please feel free to share your own experiments with me. I am interested in contacting with others who are doing this or related work. I feel very much a pioneer in this work. You can reach me at: t.pratt@hccnet.nl , after February 1st, tpratt@kabelfoon.nl
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