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. 

<3 

A BEAUTIFUL BOND

Ivy, the much-loved donkey foal

At his farm in Marengo, Ohio, USA, Dean Fagan serenades a young donkey called Ivy with a customised version of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'.

The Fagan family runs a donkey sanctuary called 'Jackass Junction' that spreads out acoss 67 acres. Here, they care for rescued farm animals and Dawn Fagan posts regular updates about their donkeys on social media.

TRIBAL DRUMMING PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY

As a qualified sound therapist and student of music therapy, I began experimenting with percussion several years ago. During Covid 19 lockdown, we began an online meditation class, three times per week, to allow people to find relaxation during stressful times. While experimenting with different forms of music for the group and actively participating in 'drumming circles', I began compiling a list of tribal drumming tracks into a playlist.

After a short period of time, I was approached by various musicians, who asked if their music might be suitable for the playlist. This came as a shock, because I was focusing more on frequency sounds and 'binaural beats'. When I questioned a musician as to how he knew about my drumming playlist, he told me that it was proving popular. I checked and, sure enough, around 1,000 listeners were now following the playlist.

The playlist has continued to grow in popularity and, as of today (June 6th, 2022), it has over 8,550 followers and continues to grow. As such, some of the finest musicians across the world have been in contact and I've been honoured to add their music into the playlist. I'll be contacting some of them across time for reviews and interviews about their latest creative projects on a separate music page.

Here's a link to the Tribal Drumming playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4RAosQYd7jt4xB4DoXni0E?si=bc14e977cf424d58 

Love; Light: Peace.

Kev 💓

REACHING BEYOND THE MATERIAL PLANE

In 2022, at a time in Earth's history when it is generally considered that global awareness is beyond where it was a century ago, it still appears to be difficult for the majority of the planet's humans to achieve peace, tranquility and harmony. Also, while personal awareness and information conerning a wide range of mental & emotional issues are much more available in this current age, it seems that the list of 'triggers' for anxiety, depression and more are on the increase. As such, the desires for calm and upliftment seem to be higher now than in former times, as material fears, concerns and worries continue to dominate.
Currently, widespread anxiousness concerning disease, war, violence, ecology, poverty and ignorance continue to grow. Despite this being a time in Earth's history when factual information is almost globally available to everyone, regardless of personal religion, class or creed, we appear to exist in an almost constant state of agitation, uncertainty and potential confrontation - often due to the spread of intentional misinformation.

Currently, widespread anxiousness concerning disease, war, violence, ecology, poverty and ignorance continue to grow. Despite this being a time in Earth's history when factual information is almost globally available to everyone, regardless of personal religion, class or creed, we appear to exist in an almost constant state of agitation, uncertainty and potential confrontation - often due to the spread of intentional misinformation.
Back around a decade ago, I decided to create a Facebook group. It was called 'Spiritus'. Amongst the daily torrent of negativity on social media - often from media outlets who thrive on such things - it focused entirely on delivering content which was uplifting, positive and encouraging. Stories of people who went against the 'grain' and didn't settle for following the crowd were rare. To me, it seemed that there needed to be more focus upon individuals/groups who chose to express themselves within creative, positive, empathic and constructive ways to help their fellow humanity and the inhabitants of the world around them.

Over time, I had to change the title of the group as the name was being misconstrued by religious individuals as being focused on Evangelical Christianity. As someone who regards religion as somewhat of a mystery, this was not acceptable, nor were the torrent of posts being placed there ordering people how to think and what would happen to them if they did not follow the same religious pathways/choices as the posters themselves.

And so, the group changed. I no longer allowed people to post things there, without my consent and removed anyone who stubbornly chose to argue. To avoid confusion, I altered the name of the FB group to 'Spiritual Upiliftment & Inspiration'. It continues to grow to this day and has been of comfort to many over the years of lockdown, due to Covid19.

This internet space - 'Spiritus Post' - is a direct expansion of the Facebook group, which can be located on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1374525716103319

Hopefully, the two internet sources will work together - one promoting the other. However, I'm planning to put more content on this website and be able to go into more detail.

While there will be regular posts about uplifting stories around the globe, I will also be taking a deeper look at the creative arts, especially involving writing and music. I've added specific pages on this website where I'll be writing reviews of books and music which focus on all topics reflecting uplifting, calming, empowering and inspiring natures. There will also be regular content involving other topics close to my heart, including spirituality, philosophy, meditation, spiritual healing and various forms of holistic therapy.
As with the FB group, this is not a place for exclusively religious posts. I have no personal gripe with any religion, but I believe it to be a solely personal choice and not something to insist/force onto others, regardless of personal intentions. If an Earthly religion touches your heart and allows you a greater quality of human expression then I am truly happy for you. If it makes you a better human being then I am genuinely overjoyed and I wish you nothing but happiness in life. If the goal is to convince others that they are doomed to eternal misery in the damning fires of wherever then this is definitely not the place for you. I'm sure you'll have no difficulty in finding plenty of places on the worldwide web that cater for your specific, personal tastes.

Thus, this space exists for anyone interested in personal growth, discovery and expansion of the mind/soul. Hopefully, it will serve to communicate posts which encourage free thinking on this material plane and allow us to think on higher, more productive levels.

The lessons and challenges of this Earth are many and common. May this website be a place of refuge, inspiration and hope to those who seek to grow and expand their consciousness via positive sources and input.

Kev <3