Did you experience mind-body healing today?

I hope that today you experienced some of the healing that comes at this time of year from the beautiful music of the season. Yesterday, Christmas Eve, my oldest daughter and I played at the Christmas Eve service at our church. The music was sublime and I enjoyed many of my favorites. A particular favorite was the spiritual "Mary Had a Baby." My daughter and I played "Maria Wiegenlied" by Max Reger and "Il est ne," a French Folk Carol. It was definitely an uplifting and healing experience for me. Please let me know what musical experiences you had!

Movie Music in "Blood Diamond"

Today I went to see the new movie "Blood Diamond." It is a disturbing but riveting movie about the diamond business in Sierra Leone in the 1990's. The movie depicts tremendous civil warring and violence among the peoples who live there. Three or four times we see pick-up trucks full of young African militiamen, tearing into a village, guns blazing and American gangsta rap blaring. Is this really the way it happened?? There is much native African music in the more peaceful parts of the movie, but when extreme violence is portrayed, it's the American gangsta rap screaming in the background. I just thought this was interesting. What do you think??

What Does Holiday Music do for YOU?

This seems to be a controverial topic. Personally, I love Christmas music and I love holiday music in general. It just reminds me of happy childhood times and happy young adult and young parents times. Every decade brings with it new holiday compositions and even though I don't care for all of them ("Grandma got run over by a reindeer"?) I really enjoy many of them and have spent quite a bit of time over the last few years creating my own arrangements of them.

However, I knowquite a few people that seem a bit Grinch-like when it comes to holiday music. I've been told it's "cheesy," "hokey," and too commercial. I guess like all music, it's a very personal thing but I love to play it all year long. To me, it's magical!

Choosing music for the Mind-Body

Choosing music for the mind-body involves first choosing music that you specifically would like for either the mind or the body. Confusing? OK, for example let's say that you are driving in your car and you decide to find a radio station that will be relaxing but not put you to sleep. You end up with an NPR station that is playing some classic jazz. Within 60 seconds probably your muscles are relaxing and your no longer gripping the wheel nor driving 10 miles per hour above the speed limit. You're also having thoughts nad memories of more pleasant times that are associated, perhaps subconsciously with this music. What I'm trying to say is, the music we choose everyday affects both mind and body all the time because the mind and the body are inseparably connected! Choose carefully! By the way, this diagram of the brain's response to music is courtesy of Dr. Arthur Harvey of Music for Health Services. Google his name and learn more about his important work!

What about the mind-body?

I'm sure that most of my readers know that once upon a time people thought that the mind was a separate entity from the mind. If someone had a mental illness, it was all in their mind. If they had a physical illness, it couldn't be blamed for depression or anxiety or addiction,could it? As of the 70's and 80's we began to realize with the help of quantum physics and other Eastern philosophies and that not only are the mind and body inseparable, every cell in our bodies contains both mind and body. Does music affect both? Of course! Absolutely! When you listen to your favorite upbeat dance music what happens...you jump up, start dancing around, get a smile on your face and your brain starts pumping adrenaline. Mind and body are both extremely happy!

Music as Transporter

Are you a Trekkie? I remember years ago when Star Trek first came out. I didn't really "get it" too much, but my husband loved it. One of the few things I really like the idea of was the "transporter room." I thought that was pretty cool.

Yesterday I was driving my car and listening to a CD of old favorites that I put together recently. I love burning my own CDs and this one was quite a mix! The 5th of 6th song was one I used to really love...it's from the musical "Camelot" and is called "I Loved You Once in Silence." It is so beautiful and it had been quite a while since I heard it. I was transported back in time to my teens and all the feelings and images from the place where I went to music camp in the summers. There was a person that I did love in silence. It was very bittersweet, but I loved listening to this song and played in several times in succession until I was finally ready to move on. I'm sure my brain and body were flooded with all kinds of neurotransmitters and hormones. I was transported to another time and place!

Can music help you lose weight or stop smoking?

I know a lot about this one! Because I am short female, because I love chocolate and because I love to indulge myself, I have struggled with weight issues for much of my adult life. The consequences of carrying around too much weight are definitely as negative as the joys of "giving in" to food are positive. I wish I could tell you that I have an easy solution. I don't, but I do have some suggestions.

As a therapist how treats addictions (among other things) I know that sometimes just postponing a sweet or naughty snack can really help to cut down on the amount consumed or possibly allow you to skip it entirely.

Why not try a delicious musical snack of some high energy music through headphones? When the music gets into the brain directly, through the eighth cranial nerve, it can re-direct your brain a lot faster and more efficiently. There is much high energy classical music such as the "William Tell Overture" by Rossini or the "Ride of the Valkyries" by Wagner. In the pop/rock realm I like "Milkshake" by Kellis or "Let the River Run." There are thousands maybe millions of upbeat, energetic songs that can put you in a very different place emotionally and help you to forget that fattening snack or ciagarette. You just have to be willing to give it a try for 5-10 minutes instead of giving in to something that you know will ultimately harm you.

Give it a try and let me know what happens!

Alice

P.S. The lower brain's hypothalamus is both your hunger center and the main spot for processing music's mood. Fill it with happy sounds and watch false hunger disappear.

What is Rhythmic Entrainment?

If you're really interested in knowing about how music affects the mind and the body, then you must understand the principle of rhythmic entrainment. This is simply a documented phenomenon discovered several hundred years ago by physicists. Basically it says that when two bodies in motion are in close proximity, they will soon synchronize with each other. Put it in plain English you say? OK. Imagine that the stereo suddenly starts playing a march by John Philip Sousa. Would you sit motionless while this stirring music plays? Absolutely not! Your toe would tap, your head would nod, you might even feel compelled to get up and march around the room! It's that powerful. I usually explain it to people as the process of the human body's heart rate and breathing synchronizing to the pulse of strong rhythmic music.

Stay tuned for more postings that will explain this further. As always, feel free to send in your questions! Until then, Alice

Is there any music that can actually cool you down?

Yes, the nation if not the world is in the midst of a heat wave. I was at an outdoor wedding today and with a tent, fans, bottles of water and a swimming pool nearby, we were all still roasting, sweating, panting, and red-faced...until the music started! At that moment, I totally forgot about the temperature or the weather. I heard the sounds of a beautiful string orchestra playing just a few feed away and it simply transported me to another place where cool breezes were blowing and waves were lapping the shore. Amazing!

I became so inspired by this phenomemon this afternoon that I decided to offer all my readers a fantastic deal on some cooool summer music and a coool ebook I've written for you. If you're interested in getting over $55.00 in CD's and my ebook, all for only $14.97, click here:


http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/listmailings/Christmas%20in%20July2.htm

This offer includes a download of my complete Lullaby CD, the complete Healing Music Sampler CD. and my ebook "Notes on Tuning Your Life with Music." It is a time-limited offer so grab it today and stay cool!

Alice

How does patriotic music affect you?

We're in that period between Memorial Day and the 4th of July and there's quite a lot of patriotic music in the air. I think it evokes mixed feelings in lots of people. I personally have lots of happy memories from childhood of singing"You're a Grand Old Flag" and "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." Since my childhood in the 50's have come several very controversial wars, including the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and the current Iraqi Conflict. I can't think of many memorable songs associated with these wars but I'm sure some must exist. I have peers who were furiously against the Vietnam war and when I hear some of the 60's songs about peace and freedom it's hard not to think of them and their outrage.

I'm trying to make a conscious effect to look deeper into my feelings when I hear "patriotic music." I don't want to just sing these songs out of rote memory. I want to really think about them and decide if this is what I believe today. Somehow I think that the songs my father taught me from World War II were probably more honorable and noble. I'm not so sure about the wars since then. What do you think?

Olympic Music: Did you like it?

Olympic Music: Did you like it?


Of all the music played during the
Olympics, what stands out in your mind?

Do you remember some of the music that
people skated and ice danced to?
One of the things that really bothered me was that
when they were playing a beautiful piece of music,
like Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, they
rarely identified the music. Then there were some
really nice popular pieces that I wanted to
know the name of, but alas the name wasn't announced
and I could not find it online anywhere! Very
frustrating. Nevertheless, I thought it was quite in-
teresting to see what the skaters chose to skate to
in the Olympics. I was so happy the the Japanese girl
who won the gold, skated to a beautiful violin conerto.

I also enjoyed hearing the nine-year-old girl sing
the Italian national anthem at the very beginning and
again at the end. There were also several fantastic
performances that first night with Italian musicians
performing famous symphonic and operatic excerpts. I
never get tired of hearing Andrea Bocelli and he's
singing again at the final concert and processional of
athletes and the Torino chorus singers in their
beautiful costumes.

Now the games are ending and I'm watching the closing
ceremony and wondering what Vancouver will bring
us, musically, in four years. I believe that the music
chosen by the athletes that use it has a powerful
effect on their ultimate success. I'd love to hear
YOUR opinion on this. What do you think? If you'll
send me your thoughts or two cents worth, I'll
send you a free article that will soon be for sale on
my website.

Hope you enjoyed the Olympics!

Alice

ever wonder where Alice gets her music, instruments, CD's, etc?
http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/healing_music_partners.html



ever wonder what programs and software
Alice uses for her online work?
http://www.drcashprefers.com/

The Kentucky Derby...and Music??

What does music have to do with the Kentucky Derby? Tomorrow about 6:20 PM will be the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby. In case you don't know about this world-famous event, it is said to be the most exciting two minutes in sports. Thousands of people try year after year to get a Derby box but end up in the stands of this historic track or even in the infield. Right before the horses begin their jaunt into the gate, one carefully chosen trumpeter plays the famous long trumpet. The tune is known world-wide as the "call to the post." Like most fanfares it is intended to get your attention and it does just that. It is no more than 8 bars of music but it is so well-known even among non-afficionados of racing, that the tune immediately stirs up images of the Churchill Downs and its famous twin spires. It is a classic example of music's conditioning effect. There are a handful of tunes that are so familiar and linked to specific events that they could be recognized by most anyone in the street. (Another that comes to mind is "Pomp and Circumstance" by Edward Elgar, played at most graduation ceremonies around the world.)
The second musical event at the Derby is the playing of "My Old Kentucky Home," which is sung by the entire crowd right before the horses run. I found a description of this event from many years ago, that I thought you might enjoy:
"At 4:20 there is the blare of a trumpeter playing the call to race on the track public-address system.
Led by one of three mounted outriders attired in white pants and bright red polo shirts, the horses emerge from the tunnel. The lead outrider raises his hand. Across the rail in the infield the University of Louisville band, dressed in crisply pressed red-and-black uniforms with red berets, strikes up Stephen Foster's mournful "My Old Kentucky Home." As the Derby field jogs slowly onto the track in front of the clubhouse, 100,000 voices join in singing what has become the Kentucky anthem. It is perhaps the most emotional moment in all of American sports, a moment that brings tears to thousands as they sing the words:

The sun shines bright in the Old Kentucky home,
'Tis summer, the [people] are gay;
The corn-top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom
While the birds make music all the day.
The young folks roll on the little cabin floor
All merry, all happy and bright;
By'n by hard times come a-knocking at the door
Then my old Kentucky home, Good-night.
Weep no more my lady, Oh! weep no more today!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home
For the old Kentucky home, far away."
So what's the point here? To remind you dear readers, students, colleagues and friends that music of significance is everywhere. Though often taken for granted, it has a powerful effect in our every day lives. Tune into it a little more intentionally and begin to reap the emotional and healing benefits.
Want to know more about how YOU can use the powerful effects of music in your everyday life? Dr. Cash has a book and CD "Notes on Tuning Your Life with Music" that you can purchase online and download immediately. Go to http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/products/tune_your_life/tuning_your_life.html

Want to understand more about how music affects the mind and body? Dr. Cash now has a 5-lesson online course that you can sign up for and receive by email. Go to
http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/netcart.asp?MerchantID=70325&ProductID=2734998
Do you need a personal online consultation? This can be done by telephone, email, or "chat" online. Go to
http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/healing_music_consulting.html
Don't forget to tune into the Derby tomorrow, May 6 at 5:00 PM on NBC. Hope your horse wins!!
Alice

Can music put you into a trance?

A client asked me this today, "can music put you into a trance?" She sounded quite skeptical and I just wonder how many people doubt this capability. I guess technically, it's rhythm that puts you into a trance. That's what shamanic drumming is all about. The persistant, repetitve beat of a hand-held drum or most any kind of drum, will eventually put you into an altered state. Once there (in an altered state) all kinds of things can happen.

Anyone ever been in an altered state induced by shamanic drumming?

Music and the Mind-Body Connection

Hi class! This is Dr. Alice Cash, ad I thought I'd create a spot where you can ask questions, make comments and asnwer questions that I have posed to you.

Any comment that you might have, especially if you think that others might have it too, just post it here! I'm really looking forward to getting started with you all!

Alice