The Whole Music Experience

"Tranquility" by Patricia Herlevi People have told me that certain music that irritates me might actually be healthy for them. It's true we all have varying musical tastes and different bodies. Some of us have thicker skin than others, but there is some music that is toxic for everyone. Still, how do you know what is right for you? First, you must pay attention to your body sensations, emotions/feelings/moods when exposure to music or even sound frequencies. I have yet to meet someone who isn't bothered by the noise of airplanes flying overhead, leaf blowers, or power lawn mowers. Most people just shut out these noises and tell themselves that they are part of the modern and urban lifestyles. Unfortunately, we have little control over music or noise that we encounter throughout the course of our day. However, we can decide what will play in the background or foreground of our homes. We can set the volume to a level that won't cause harm to our hearing or n...

  photo by Patricia Herlevi (Conclusion of the book Whole Music Soul Food for the Mind Body Spirit) Super Music verses Junk Music (Excerpt) Like many other Americans, I spent my childhood eating junk food and listening to pop music.   Both the junk food and commercial music provided quick fixes and temporary comfort followed by agitation and hyperactivity later.   While food allergies and sensitivities increase in our society, I developed sensitivities to heavily programmed music without a strong melody or natural rhythms (in sync with the natural heartbeat).   I escaped into the worlds of jazz, classical, folkloric, and indigenous music.   However, some pop music, such as the Beatles with strong melodies and interwoven harmonies provides its own type of healing. In my twenties, I gravitated towards alternative rock.   It’s as if I needed to evolve spiritually, physically, and intellectually before I could appreciate music genr...

Lisa Spector and Sanchez Feed Your Mind with Whole Music  Originally published in the Natural Inquirer (Skagit Valley Food Coop) What if your shopping list looked something like: Organic broccoli, organic carrots, organic soy milk, and acoustic music CDs? It might if you think of music as an energetic substance that your body absorbs and digests.   Current research shows it does. According to psychoacoustic experts (researches the effects of sound/music on the nervous system) music entrains our minds and bodies.   Every cell in our bodies responds to musical vibration and while some types of music lifts our moods and immune responses, some music can lead us into a black hole of depression and low immune responses (think heavy metal).    While many of us recall Don Campbell’s 1997 book, The Mozart Effect , not everyone prefers classical music. We can still reap the benefits of music by listening to other genres including world...

Salsa dancing, Mexico, Wikipedia Music Videos to get your blood pumping, and to inspire your heart... Often midday we feel sluggish and we feel tempted to take a nap or down another cup of coffee.  However, I encourage you to forgo the caffeine and take a music break instead.  The best way to do this is to start with a slower to moderate beat per minute song and gradually build up to rousing Latin, African, or other high-energy music.  Some of the music traditions from the Subcontinent can also provide you with invigorating beats. Take a 20 minute to 30 minute music break, and at least a 10 minute music break. You can even take a short trip over to YouTube and listen to the following songs: Let's start with Habib Koite and Bamada from Mali with a medium tempo with an uplifting melody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5_HfjcjR_M At relatively the same tempo, here is Ana Moura singing an uptempo fado from Portugal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V42ix2CtZ8Y ...

If you’re reading this blog then you’re not the average music listener.  I imagine that you prefer that music bolster some area of your life or bring healing to you on some level.  Or perhaps, you enjoy listening to music with substance composed by musicians with the intent of bringing beauty, power, and grace to the world.  As each of us grows our consciousness we need music to support us and musicians as well.  This begins with our music diets. A few years ago, I gave up eating gluten then eventually I also eliminated cow dairy from my diet.  I’m already a vegetarian so people around me asked the question, “Well, what will you eat now?”  I noticed a similar scenario when I stopped listening to pop and rock music.  People asked, “Well, then what will you listen to now?”  They asked this question because they prefer a life of limited options and ones that are spoon fed to them by the media and large corporations.  Little thoug...