002 - Can Music Heal?

For many, the turntables provide healing energy. Image from Wendy Wei from Toronto, ON

As an undergraduate, I studied pre-medicine with a biology minor on the path to become a doctor and heal others, so I thought.  During this time, I was very much distracted by learning to DJ and going to large events that many have come to know as raves.  This era to some was about their first experiments with psychedelics whilst for others, it was about a spiritual journey of music.  After each one, I felt healed from whatever was mentally or physically ailing me at the moment.  These events were the first real experience that I had where music and vibration could have such an enormous healing effect on the subconscious and thereby overall well-being.

March forward many years, I set on a path with my wife to learn about Ayurveda and Holistic wellness.  What intrigued me about the school (New World Ayurveda) and its dean, Dr. Paul Dugliss was that a consciousness-based and case-based curricula were employed by the school and Dr. Dugliss.  Prior to this, meditation, for me, usually meant listening to a meditational CD of downtempo or chillout music.  At NWA, however, to graduate, you have to complete 200 hours of a heart-based meditation that anyone can learn and without music.  You can learn here: http://www.heartbasedmeditation.com. Whether music is not used in your meditational practices, one can not argue that certain sounds and frequencies can get one to trance-like higher states, as many indigenous tribes have been using sound in their shamanic and spiritual practices.  I wondered how much these sounds and frequencies could have an effect in the healing process in the same manner as sounds and the soundscape is important for creating a 'space' for rave or psychedelic experience.

There is something to be said of the frequency of what is played and also the vibratory effect of the music one is listening to that can have a healing effect on the listener and I have spent a lot of time researching this notion.  I have read research on soundwaves being used in various medical procedures related to kidney stones but have I been the only one intrigued by the healing force of sound and frequency and why is it that modern medicine has not explored this more?  Even in hospitals, it seems that playing soothing music with healing frequencies would be a focus of someone at a hospital or care facility.

With respects to frequencies, I turned to https://attunedvibrations.com/432hz/ where I learned much about 432Hz tuning and more about the Solfeggios. It is stated here that, “A=432 Hz, known as Verdi’s ‘A’ is an alternative tuning that is mathematically consistent with the universe. Music based on 432Hz transmits beneficial healing energy, because it is a pure tone of math fundamental to nature.” I ask myself why is the tuning fork tuned to 440Hz and all music we hear today at a different frequency when we know of one that transmits healing energy? The same site goes on to state, “According to Richard Huisken, music tuned to 432 Hz is softer and brighter, giving greater clarity and is easier on the ears. Many people experience more meditative and relaxing states of body and mind when listening to such music. The natural musical pitch of the universe gives a more harmonic and pleasant sound than 440 Hz. 432 Hz seems to work at the heart chakra, “the feeling”, and therefore could have a good influence on the spiritual development of the listener.”

It seems to me that we must realize that the music we listen to has an effect on us as spiritual beings living a human existence and by starting with playing a more healing frequency in our lives, we can live in a more balanced fashion. This past Sunday, my wife and I graduated as Ayurvedic Health Practitioners from New World Ayurveda. While we took this course which is recognized by the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) and the Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America (AAPNA), we learned pulse diagnosis amongst many other clues into one’s physiology which can give us insight into how we may help them. We had one particular exercise where we monitored our pulse and how it changed when we listened to a specific type of music called Gandharva music. That music can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhLLsZiD478. We noticed changes in our own pulse and also noticed the calming effect of the music. This was yet another indication that there was something worth pursuing here. Perhaps more will come in another blog post!

Best,

Mani Midi, DJ
Manish Miglani, AHP