Plato believed that music was “the essence of order”.
Since the beginning of recorded history, music has played a significant role in the healing of humankind, writes Amrita Cottrell, who has researched the subject with immense care. Music and healing were communal activities natural to everyone. In ancient Greece, Apollo was both the god of music and medicine.
Ancient Greeks said, “Music is an art imbued with power to penetrate into the very depths of the soul.” These beliefs were shared through their Doctrine of Ethos. In the mystery schools of Egypt and Greece, healing and sound were considered a highly developed sacred science.
Plato shared this profound belief: “Music is a” moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything.
It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just, and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate and eternal form.”
New Age guru Deepak Chopra has beautifully written, “Where is music? You can find it at many levels in the vibrating strings, the trip of the hammers, the fingers striking the keys, the black marks on the paper, or the nerve impulses produced in the player’s brain.
But all of these are just codes; the reality of music is the shimmering, beautiful, invisible form that haunts our memories without ever being present in the physical world.”
Goldman and Gurin’s work on psycho-immunology revealed that nerve fibres are contained in every organ of the immune system, which provide biological communication between the nerve endings and the immune system.
They postulate that there is a direct link between a person’s thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, and emotions, and the health of the immune system. This being the case, we have the ability to be proactive in the health of our bodies and minds.
Music is a way to tap into the innate knowledge that resides deep in our cells. We live “in” music. Great music nourishes us in ways we don’t even realise. It inspires us, relaxes us, energises us – in short, it heals us and keeps us well.
It resides everywhere in our world. While we may not always be listening to a Beethoven Symphony or a Mozart Sonata, the cosmos is a tonal harmony of many sounds interacting and vibrating together. Music is the pulse of the energy that courses in and through everything via vibrations.
Don Campbell, the music aficionado, says that music can be delicate and quiet, but never sedentary. Even a tone that extends for hours at a time, unvarying, carries a pulsing wave that affects our mind and body at many levels.
What we bring to each sound is also of vital importance. He goes on to say, “You, the listener, determine the final impact: You are an active conductor and participant in the process of orchestrating health.”