How Sound Affects our Health

[Guest guest]

Sound Healing

by Steve Halpern

For thousands of years, cultures throughout the world have used the powers

of music to heal the body, mind and spirit. Five hundred years ago, the

therapeutic role of music was eclipsed by its role as entertainment. Only

recently has the field of sound healing emerged into full-scale public

awareness. For the first time, books and recordings promoting the healing

potential of music are best-sellers.

Studies have shown that music can reduce stress, enhance immune system

function, slow down and balance brain wave activity, reduce muscle tension,

increase endorphin levels, and evoke feelings of love and inner peace.

There is so much conflicting information, however, that many people are more

confused than ever. How can you make sense of it all? Even more importantly:

How can you harness the healing powers of sound and music for yourself?

This overview will help you tune into information and resources that can

make a wonderful contribution to your life, Here are several basic

considerations to get started:

1. Your body is a self-healing instrument -- if you give it a chance. It is

genetically pre-programmed to heal itself. In my opinion, certain music

heals by assisting the body to come into its natural state of balance and

harmony. At this stage of research and development, it is both politically

incorrect and legally irresponsible to state that a specific selection of

music will heal a specific physical disease.

2. Although there are many paths to healing, the common denominator in the

vast majority of approaches acknowledges that the body heals itself most

effectively in a state of deep relaxation.

3. Using music to evoke " the relaxation response " is one of the simplest and

most effective ways of all - but you must choose the right music. (Most

music was not composed for this purpose.)

Although we are all individuals, we also share certain vibrational and

structural factors. Two concepts are paramount in the ways that we respond

to sound (by the way, they are not contingent on your personal taste or

favorite style of music):

Rhythm Entrainment

1. The most powerful effect of music is our physical response to " the beat. "

The phenomenon known as " rhythm entrainment " describes how an external

rhythmic stimulus, such as a ticking clock, drum or pulse in a musical

composition, involuntarily causes your heartbeat to match its speed. For

example, a fast rhythm inexorably produces a fast heartbeat and pulse - the

complete antithesis of relaxation.

For most people, trying to relax while listening to fast music is like

driving a car with one foot on the brake and the other on the gas pedal -

you will not get satisfactory results and will waste a lot of energy trying!

" The Anticipation Response "

2. The second factor relates to our mental response:

We have been culturally conditioned to follow melodic, harmonic and rhythmic

patterns in music. When we listen to most compositions, we are unconsciously

hooked into following the structure - and projecting that structure into the

future.

There is a basic principle in life that states: " Energy follows thought. " If

you are paying attention to something outside of you, less energy will be

available for internal healing purposes.

In my workshops, I demonstrate this " paralysis of analysis " by singing the

first seven notes of the scale: Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti- . and then I pause. I

do not finish the scale! It is a delight to watch people holding their

breath, or hear them actually singing the note aloud. They feel " too

stressed " to leave the pattern of notes unfulfilled. This approach to

tension and resolution is the basis for most Western classical

compositions - precisely why it is unsuitable in most cases for evoking

relaxation.

In my own compositions, the listener is not manipulated in this fashion.

Rather, as the mind's analytical mode shuts down, you are free to be in the

" hear and now " with the music.

How Does Music Heal?

We are only now getting closer to a full understanding. Music affects us

physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. All we can say

with certainty is that our responses to music are far more complex, subtle

and far-reaching than we imagined.

Recall the parable about the blind men and the elephant: Each is sure they

know the " truth " about an elephant's nature, based on their perception of

the trunk, the leg, or the tail. None of them sees the big picture.

Until recently, researchers have generally focused on easily observable

physical effects, such as changes in blood flow through the fingertips or

the speed of muscle reactions. We are now opening new vistas in the

understanding of blood chemistry, the release of endorphins, and the

connections between neuropeptides and emotions. The work of Dr. Gordon Shaw

and associates has progressed far beyond their initial investigations into

the apocryphal " Mozart Effect. "

The new branches of science and medicine, such as electromedicine and

magnetotherapy, build upon the insights of Einstein, Planck and Eisenberg.

Many experts now recognize the existence of the " energy anatomy " which

underlies the physical anatomy and is every bit as real.

Research into the finer subtle energies is progressing on many fronts. Dr.

Tiller, Dr. Hiroshi Montoyama, Dr. Glen Rein, Dr. Ellen Kamhi and

many others are leading the way into the future. They represent a major

paradigm shift that will radically change the fields of science and

medicine - as well as music. Caroline Myss has brought a greater awareness

of " energy anatomy " to the general population with her best-selling book and

appearance on Oprah.

As " The X-Files " remind us, " The Truth is out there. " Dr. Hunt,

U.C.L.A. Professor Emeritus and author of Infinite Mind, is able to measure

changes in the human energy field using her highly sophisticated

instrumentation. Her work heralds a bold new era of understanding. Dr. Hunt

told me that Spectrum Suite affects the human energy field by helping it

self-organize and shift into a higher order of functioning, which most music

does not do.

It is my hope that leading edge research such as Dr. Hunt's and Dr. Shaw's

will receive the funding it deserves.

The Relaxation/Healing Connection

In several landmark books, including The Relaxation Response, Dr. Herbert

Benson has detailed the broad range of bodily functions that work more

efficiently when the body is in a state of deep relaxation. Specific

relaxation techniques are usually necessary to balance stress. Doing

nothing, or watching television, is not enough. People may think they are

achieving meaningful relaxation, but they are mistaken.

Unrelieved stress is a contributing factor in a wide range of diseases such

as hypertension, heart attack, stroke, ulcers, migraine, irritability,

inability to concentrate or sleep, and sexual dysfunction. Knowing that, you

can appreciate why it is so important to build into your daily schedule

opportunities for your body, mind and spirit to return to a state of

balance.

One of the easiest ways to restore balance is by listening to music - but

only certain music. Most music is composed for entertainment, dancing, or

emotional release - and literally makes your nervous system more nervous!

There is a time and a place for such soundtracks, but reducing stress is not

one of them.

Early in my career, I was privileged to work with several leading edge

scientists who provided me with a deeper understanding of music and healing.

With these scientists as my mentors, I conducted studies using brainwave

biofeedback, Kirlian photography, and darkfield microscopy (live blood cell

analysis).

Dr. Marcel Vogel, former senior research scientist at IBM, and Irzhak

Bentov, medical inventor and author of Stalking the Wild Pendulum, allowed

me to use their equipment to measure the ways that subtle energy fields

respond to music.

Their pioneering studies revealed that, in a state of deep relaxation or

meditation, the electromagnetic field surrounding our head literally

entrains and attunes to the basic electromagnetic field of the earth itself!

The earth's harmonic resonance has been measured at approximately 8 cycles

per second, or 8 Hertz (Hz). The frequency range of the electrical activity

of the brain that we access in stares of deep relaxation is also centered

around 8 Hz. Is that correspondence a coincidence? No, indeed, which is why

we feel so rejuvenated when surrounded by nature, in a forest, in the

mountains, or by the ocean.

I believe this is also a key to understanding how our inner and outer

environments are orchestrated to a higher level of harmony.

Ancient Roots, Modern Sound Technology

Ancient sound technologies, such as Tibetan singing bowls, mantras and

chants, are based on this right-brained, holistic approach.

In 1968, I began a quest to discover what type of music would be healing in

the late 20th century, just as the music of Pythagoras was healing to

ancient Greeks, or the music of Mozart to 18th century Europeans.

At age twenty-two, I was already a classic Type A individual. Given my

background as an ex-New Yorker, it was not surprising that my requirement

was " I want my relaxation - and I want it now! "

I needed a solution - something legal, non-addictive, and effective,

available at my convenience and virtually instantaneous. The solution was to

combine my training in music and psychology with insights ranging from

ancient shamanic sound traditions to modern bio-physics and vibrational

medicine.

My discoveries became the basis for my ongoing series of " Inner Peace Music "

recordings. Each of these albums evokes " the relaxation response " via sound.

Some of these recordings produce lighter levels of relaxation; others

produce much deeper levels.

In this music, there are no " hard edges. " Particular instruments are chosen

because their tones are easily accepted into the body. By contrast, the

tones of trumpet, oboe and violin are not generally conducive to relaxation.

Many people react to them as if a fingernail were scratched along a

blackboard. If you are one of these individuals, trying to relax while

listening to these instruments is like trying to relax while sitting on a

thumbtack. It can be done, but why bother? There are so many more effective

and pleasurable alternatives!

In the twenty-four years since Spectrum Suite brought this concept to the

public, a number of other recording artists have begun working in this

genre. Currently, you have many choices when choosing music to support the

healing process. However, not all " healing " music is created equal.

My initial research compared Spectrum Suite to the highest-rated classical

music, which relaxed 72% of listeners - and that was not a deep relaxation.

Mozart rated only 65%. In a number of studies, Spectrum Suite deeply relaxed

over 95% of subjects. These results were contrary to the prevailing attitude

that only classical music could be of benefit, and the data was largely

ignored.

There is now more confusion than ever, as promotional and marketing

departments have jumped on the bandwagon and pre-empted composers and

researchers. To declare that " Mozart makes you smarter " or is the best for

healing is far too simplistic a statement. Which composition by Mozart? By

which performer? These variables make a huge difference in the effect you

experience. Despite the hyperbole on some recordings' liner notes, the music

itself may not deliver the desired effect. The most important consideration

is whether a given piece of music works for you! One size does not fit all!

" Be Still and Know "

Many spiritual traditions recommend a variation of " Be Still and Know. "

It is in the stillness that we align and attune to the deeper spiritual

dimensions of life. It is in the stillness that true healing occurs, as we

connect to Source.

There is no need to " do " anything; all you need is to " be " with the music.