FRIDAY PHILOSOPHY

THE ASTONISHING POWER OF MUSIC AS A HEALING FORCE

As a qualified sound therapist and avid student of Music Therapy, and someone who nursed his mother through the final stages of dementia, I'm constantly blown away by examples of music assisting patients with Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, depression and more. One story that surfaced in 2011 shows Henry, an elderly patient of 92 years and clearly suffering badly with dementia.

Henry is virtually non-communicative when we meet him. He appears to have limited awareness and is unable to form meaningful dialogue with his family, friends or nursing staff. He struggles to recognise his daughter, Cheri and appears to get agitated quickly.

 The late, British neurologist, Oliver Sacks MD (1933-2015) describes how Henry is introduced to an iPod, containing some music from Henry's younger days; a time when music formed a key part of Henry's life. 

As the music is digested by Henry, his entire body language alters. He literally becomes animated and, when his music is relunctantly stopped by a nurse, Henry quickly becomes communicative, answering the key questions being asked of him. From a state of almost total inertness, Henry lights up as he recounts the music of his youth, being able to remember the lyrics with apparent ease. Although the music is no longer directly stimulating his mind, Henry temporarily regains his identity via the power of music.

For anyone suffering with the horrific effects of dementia, there are sources of help and advice.

https://musicandmemory.org/ work in the USA with people such as Henry, in nursing homes and care organisations. Their YouTube channel is below.

https://www.youtube.com/user/MusicandMemory1

In the UK, there is Alzheimer's Support, a charity that operates a 'Music For The Mind' program. 

https://www.alzheimerswiltshire.org.uk/music-for-the-mind?gclid=CjwKCAjw14uVBhBEEiwAaufYxwHrTyDxFWUB1njIQ8JMPOQvEobhB76N7SI336K9dlecgQQRfhKOXxoCb3oQAvD_BwE 

A QUOTE FOR WEDNESDAY

 

 'Forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.' 

Khalil Gibran

COLLABORATIVE ARTWORK FROM IRAN

 

Covering over 27,000 square miles, the Hormozgan Province is one of 31 provinces within Iran. 

Recently, a collaboration of 25 artists worked together over a period of 10 days to create this stunning piece of art. The artwork is made from 70 different, rare, coloured soils found in the region.

For scale, the tiny shapes to the right of the image are people. 

A MESSAGE FOR TUESDAY

 

How often do we face this in daily life?  It can be so easy for us to confuse the actions and intentions of others with our reactive responses to those actions. As humans, we love to internalise and aportion blame, especially onto ourselves. We deem that everything must have a logical reason and we can exhaust ourselves in searching for those reasons - even when they hold no logical/sensible foundations; only to the person, or people, expressing those actions toward us.

Sometimes, the only truthful conclusion is that we need to move on - and away - from those souls who project these energies our way. 

We cannot ever judge ourselves merely by the actions and intentions of others, no matter how much they would wish us to do so as a part of their 'games'.

Send healing energy to them and move on to brighter shores. 

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