It has been more than a month's hiatus, since I wrote my last newsletter. Breaking the routine of newsletter communication consensus felt scary... not wanting to let other people down, not wanting to let myself down.... It stirred up the fear of abandonment; If I "break the consensus", I'll be punished, banished from the tribe.
The experience provided inspiration for the chapter on Creating Waves - Speaking Up in my upcoming book "Miriam's Secret - Midwiving the Birth of Your Inner Transformation". The prophetess Miriam spoke up against the accepted consensus. She was connected to her inner truth, and she expressed it.
Given the powerful tides of change occuring during those times, her feminine voice was silenced to make way for another masculine agenda to dominate. As punishment, Miriam was distanced from the tribe and banished to the leper colony.
What did she go through during that time of disconnection? I wonder how she spoke to herself? Was her inner power so clear that she went with the flow, even though this masculine God sent her away? Did she even accept that power? Did she rebel inside? Was she angry? What were the tools she used to deal with her situation? I wonder how she sang and drummed? Or did she refrain from singing and drumming during that time?
It must have felt uncomfortable to be set aside for expressing her honest opinion. Yet Miriam, being aware of her power, was also aware of the changes occurring during this time.
What if she were to have used this time to become even more rooted in her own power? What if she were to have used her time of isolation to creatively preserve the divine feminine power through the conscious use of her voice?
Perhaps with music like this?
What do you think? How do you reconnect when you've disconnected?
Leave a comment here or at Miriam's Secret facebook page.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Getting Stuff Done? Change Resistance.
Are you getting stuff done to the degree that it really satisfies you? If your answer is no, perhaps resistance is getting in your way?
I am getting back on track after a month long hiatus from writing. I have been putting into practice the principals of what I am addressing in Miriam's Secret... namely.... "Less can sometimes be more" and "Slow can be the fastest, most direct route to any destination..."
If you'd like to melt resistance to getting done whatever is most important to you, this mini-spa music meditation will help you on your way:
Where can less be more and slow be fast in your life? Leave a comment below or visit the Miriam's Secret page on facebook where you can download free chapters.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Inhibited to Sing? Brain Research Overcomes It
Do you find yourself inhibited to sing in public? If so, you are not alone. Most people find themselves meeting up with inner fear and inhibition when they go to sing before others.
Why is that? Brain researcher and musician Dr. Dan Levitin of McGill University is conducting very interesting work on the effect of sound upon our brain.
Why is that? Brain researcher and musician Dr. Dan Levitin of McGill University is conducting very interesting work on the effect of sound upon our brain.
How does inhibition stop you from singing?
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Taking the risk to be real
Do you know that experience of feeling pushed inside, no motivation to do what your mind says you "should" be doing? Yet you're a responsible person, so you go ahead and "do it" anyway.
I have noticed that this behavior inside of me, is self violating. It is violence. If I am about creating peace, then, like Gandhi said, it must begin with me.
For me, this translates to taking a break from writing my regular newsletter - when I am not clear of it's intention. I will not write, then feel angry, then pretend, I am not. It's inauthentic. You'll feel it. That'll embarrass me even more... and I won't be truly connecting with you.
So, it's time to take some time out and reconnect to my good.
Here's a short music clip to open to your own good:
Can you relate to this? What's your experience?
I have noticed that this behavior inside of me, is self violating. It is violence. If I am about creating peace, then, like Gandhi said, it must begin with me.
For me, this translates to taking a break from writing my regular newsletter - when I am not clear of it's intention. I will not write, then feel angry, then pretend, I am not. It's inauthentic. You'll feel it. That'll embarrass me even more... and I won't be truly connecting with you.
So, it's time to take some time out and reconnect to my good.
Here's a short music clip to open to your own good:
Can you relate to this? What's your experience?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Your Voice Matters - Free Teleconference 3/27
To explore this issue of "Your Voice Matters" more, I’ve scheduled a free teleseminar for March 27th at 1pm EST – 18:00 GMT. Please note that the original date was March 20. The date has been rescheduled, pushed back a week.
We'll explore:
1) How we can exercise our self-esteem by being honest with others and with ourselves.
2) How to become the midwives of our own inner transformation.
What changes are you in the midst of?
Where are your biggest challenges to show up for yourself?
Leave a response below. I will use your responses to build the content for the conference call.
I will also be composing special live music for whoever will be on the call.
Sign up for to receive call in details.
Email Marketing You Can Trust
We'll explore:
1) How we can exercise our self-esteem by being honest with others and with ourselves.
2) How to become the midwives of our own inner transformation.
What changes are you in the midst of?
Where are your biggest challenges to show up for yourself?
Leave a response below. I will use your responses to build the content for the conference call.
I will also be composing special live music for whoever will be on the call.
Sign up for to receive call in details.
Email Marketing You Can Trust
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Accessing Your Subconscious with a Well Song
.
What is a Well Song?
A well song is a sort of crooning or lullaby that you can create for yourself to address or access a deep level of your unconscious.
What does it address?The well song addresses the need to deeply connect to hidden crevices of your psyche, parts which lay hidden beneath the level of our conscious awareness. In situations where you suffer confusion, you don’t know what to do, may feel out of sorts and at odds with yourself, a well song can permit natural healing.
How does it work?
When you vocalize, without words, the sound reverberates at the cellular level. Remember that vibration and sound is the essence of all matter. Everything vibrates. When you use sound at this level, it is precognitive, and access very deep levels of your consciousness.
When you consciously sing to yourself you permit empathy with your suffering. You are like a mother singing to her baby to soothe her suffering. This permits the suffering to birth a new solution to whatever confusion, worry or pain may be befuddling you.
Wordless sound works in its own way, in its own time.
The Well Song can be a way to bridge those gaps between the known and the unknown.
Here is an example of a well song that I created at an important juncture of my life. It’s unedited, unrehearsed, unplanned. I allowed the unknown spontaneity of the moment to move me. I was making huge strides forward in my abundance and prosperity mentality. I was working through a deeply embedded habit of self abnegation and self deprivation and consciously taking bold steps to get my music out into the world through.
The mortgage was due, and I did not know from where it would come. Having been through this dynamic before, I chose to create a well song for myself to anchor my state of receptivity, acknowledging the wisdom and power in the deep well of my being, that feminine place, which my mind cannot understand. Like Innana, I surrendered to the process, trusting that all would be well.
To my surprise and delight, the tune came out, bouncy, playful, without slow long single notes. Go figure! It truly opened up my attitude which brought abundant good, which only continues to grow.
What does the music do for you? Leave a post. Next time, I will show you how you can create your own healing well song.
What is a Well Song?
A well song is a sort of crooning or lullaby that you can create for yourself to address or access a deep level of your unconscious.
What does it address?The well song addresses the need to deeply connect to hidden crevices of your psyche, parts which lay hidden beneath the level of our conscious awareness. In situations where you suffer confusion, you don’t know what to do, may feel out of sorts and at odds with yourself, a well song can permit natural healing.
How does it work?
When you vocalize, without words, the sound reverberates at the cellular level. Remember that vibration and sound is the essence of all matter. Everything vibrates. When you use sound at this level, it is precognitive, and access very deep levels of your consciousness.
When you consciously sing to yourself you permit empathy with your suffering. You are like a mother singing to her baby to soothe her suffering. This permits the suffering to birth a new solution to whatever confusion, worry or pain may be befuddling you.
Wordless sound works in its own way, in its own time.
The Well Song can be a way to bridge those gaps between the known and the unknown.
Here is an example of a well song that I created at an important juncture of my life. It’s unedited, unrehearsed, unplanned. I allowed the unknown spontaneity of the moment to move me. I was making huge strides forward in my abundance and prosperity mentality. I was working through a deeply embedded habit of self abnegation and self deprivation and consciously taking bold steps to get my music out into the world through.
The mortgage was due, and I did not know from where it would come. Having been through this dynamic before, I chose to create a well song for myself to anchor my state of receptivity, acknowledging the wisdom and power in the deep well of my being, that feminine place, which my mind cannot understand. Like Innana, I surrendered to the process, trusting that all would be well.
To my surprise and delight, the tune came out, bouncy, playful, without slow long single notes. Go figure! It truly opened up my attitude which brought abundant good, which only continues to grow.
What does the music do for you? Leave a post. Next time, I will show you how you can create your own healing well song.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
The Courage to be Different
In one of the chapters of my upcoming book, Miriam’s Secret: Midwiving the Birth of Your Inner Transformation, entitled, “Your Voice Matters”, I write about the literal birth process and the role of midwife in it, to explore how we can begin to support ourselves as if we were midwives, in giving birth to our inner transformation.
To learn more from the first hand perspective of a professional midwife, a few days ago I met with Mindy Levy, who has assisted over 1500 births, within both a hospital environment and also within a home birthing setting.
I asked Mindy, “Through all the births you have assisted in, how do you relate birth and transformation?” Her response was direct and to the point:
Transformation is birth. Birth is transformation.
“I’ve never seen a woman give birth without being transformed. The transformation is the birth of a new self, a changed person, a changed being - someone who has been willing to die in order to be born. It may sound overly simplistic, but every woman I’ve ever witnessed or participated in her birth has always undergone some form of transformation. You have to go into hell, then come out and find heaven. If that is not transformation, what is?”
Touchee… Do you know the sense of going through change… you get to a point where you think you’re going to die?
You can’t go on and you can’t do it any more. When that moment comes, it’s like the saying goes:
The darkest hour comes just before the dawn.
Can you see a correlation to your life? I certainly can. Yesterday, excited about receiving the response as to who moves up to round two in the Next Top Self Help Author’s Contest, I opened the email to discover that my name was not on the list. Big ICK! My immediate response was that old familiar voice of the victim, “It’s not fair; I should be on the list! No matter what I do, it’s notr good enough for them.” Butterflies churned in my stomach.
Levy describes: “There are contractions. There’s pain. And then there’s a rest. There is this movement going on. It gets more and more painful all the time. Yet with it, the capacity to deal with the pain increases as well.
While the pain is stronger, the hormones that the body releases are stronger and they help the woman deal with the pain. As the observing midwife, when a woman says she can’t go on, I say to myself “oh good” the baby’s on the way. That’s when I know that she is about to give birth.
I remembered her words as I dealt with the pain. I allowed the butterflies to be there, along with the voice of victim, yet I chose to choose a different response to the old pain. It wasn’t comfortable, but then, who said birth is comfortable?
"When you control your thoughts and emotions you can actually being going around in circles, not moving ahead.", Levy noted, “When the movement becomes more chaotic there is more opportunity for something to break out. From that breaking out, something new can happen. Something new can come in. That is when the transformation comes."
I appreciate every one who cast your vote for the book. Thank you. I feel empowered to keep writing when I remember that the discomfort is part of the birthing process. Babies need families to connect with. Miriam’s Secret will be published because her voice matters. Your voice and my voice matter.
To explore this issue of "Your Voice Matters" more, I’ve scheduled a free teleseminar for March 20th at 1pm EST – 18:00 GMT. We'll explore:
1) How we can exercise our self-esteem by being honest with others and with ourselves.
2) How to become the midwives of our own inner transformation.
What changes are you in the midst of? Where are your biggest challenges to show up for yourself? I will use your responses to build the content for the conference call. I will also compose special live music for whoever will be on the call.
Sign up for to receive call in details.
Email Marketing You Can Trust
To learn more from the first hand perspective of a professional midwife, a few days ago I met with Mindy Levy, who has assisted over 1500 births, within both a hospital environment and also within a home birthing setting.
I asked Mindy, “Through all the births you have assisted in, how do you relate birth and transformation?” Her response was direct and to the point:
Transformation is birth. Birth is transformation.
“I’ve never seen a woman give birth without being transformed. The transformation is the birth of a new self, a changed person, a changed being - someone who has been willing to die in order to be born. It may sound overly simplistic, but every woman I’ve ever witnessed or participated in her birth has always undergone some form of transformation. You have to go into hell, then come out and find heaven. If that is not transformation, what is?”
Touchee… Do you know the sense of going through change… you get to a point where you think you’re going to die?
You can’t go on and you can’t do it any more. When that moment comes, it’s like the saying goes:
The darkest hour comes just before the dawn.
Can you see a correlation to your life? I certainly can. Yesterday, excited about receiving the response as to who moves up to round two in the Next Top Self Help Author’s Contest, I opened the email to discover that my name was not on the list. Big ICK! My immediate response was that old familiar voice of the victim, “It’s not fair; I should be on the list! No matter what I do, it’s notr good enough for them.” Butterflies churned in my stomach.
Levy describes: “There are contractions. There’s pain. And then there’s a rest. There is this movement going on. It gets more and more painful all the time. Yet with it, the capacity to deal with the pain increases as well.
While the pain is stronger, the hormones that the body releases are stronger and they help the woman deal with the pain. As the observing midwife, when a woman says she can’t go on, I say to myself “oh good” the baby’s on the way. That’s when I know that she is about to give birth.
I remembered her words as I dealt with the pain. I allowed the butterflies to be there, along with the voice of victim, yet I chose to choose a different response to the old pain. It wasn’t comfortable, but then, who said birth is comfortable?
"When you control your thoughts and emotions you can actually being going around in circles, not moving ahead.", Levy noted, “When the movement becomes more chaotic there is more opportunity for something to break out. From that breaking out, something new can happen. Something new can come in. That is when the transformation comes."
I appreciate every one who cast your vote for the book. Thank you. I feel empowered to keep writing when I remember that the discomfort is part of the birthing process. Babies need families to connect with. Miriam’s Secret will be published because her voice matters. Your voice and my voice matter.
To explore this issue of "Your Voice Matters" more, I’ve scheduled a free teleseminar for March 20th at 1pm EST – 18:00 GMT. We'll explore:
1) How we can exercise our self-esteem by being honest with others and with ourselves.
2) How to become the midwives of our own inner transformation.
What changes are you in the midst of? Where are your biggest challenges to show up for yourself? I will use your responses to build the content for the conference call. I will also compose special live music for whoever will be on the call.
Sign up for to receive call in details.
Email Marketing You Can Trust
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Petition for More Positive News
Petition for More Positive News. It's a petition through facebook for more solution oriented reporting in the media. Why bother?
Positive news gives people hope. It fills people will inspiration and uplifts them. This is good for the economy. When people feel good, they want to share more. They give more of themselves. They miss less work due to sick days, and the companies save money on insurance expenses.
When people feel good, they spend more and this generates flow into the economy.
When people cooperate, it creates goodwill and peace. For example, last year I wrote an article on Israeli and Palestinian mothers creating peace through healing lullaby music. The article was written for Common Ground newswire service. Common Ground is a wonderful wire service that reports good news from the Middle East.
The story was picked up all over the world, including the by Israel and Arab country media. Need I say more. Read the article and then leave your comment how you think peace can continue to be birthed...
Positive news gives people hope. It fills people will inspiration and uplifts them. This is good for the economy. When people feel good, they want to share more. They give more of themselves. They miss less work due to sick days, and the companies save money on insurance expenses.
When people feel good, they spend more and this generates flow into the economy.
When people cooperate, it creates goodwill and peace. For example, last year I wrote an article on Israeli and Palestinian mothers creating peace through healing lullaby music. The article was written for Common Ground newswire service. Common Ground is a wonderful wire service that reports good news from the Middle East.
The story was picked up all over the world, including the by Israel and Arab country media. Need I say more. Read the article and then leave your comment how you think peace can continue to be birthed...
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Your Voice Creates Transformation. Here's How...
I've just spent a wonderful day writing the next chapter of my upcoming book Miriam's Secret. The subject is: Your Voice Matters
Your Voice Creates Transformation. Here's How...
Remembering that vibration is the essence of all matter, we can see that every single atom and molecule in this universe vibrates at some level. It has some sort of voice. Think about it for a moment; the crashing of the waves, the sound of the first drops of water when the rain begins to fall, the booming sound of thunder, the cry of a newborn baby, the chirping of the birds, and the roar of a lion.
There are no two voices alike. Every voice matters.
Sound is vibratory. Sound waves can be sculpted, even though we cannot see them. Sound is the most intimate form of creation, the first transformational manifestation from the spiritual realm into the physical realm. Thoughts and feelings speak very loudly and they affect us even though not one word may be spoken out loud.
I believe that this is why people have so many issues surrounding the issue of their voices. It’s said that after the fear of death, the number one fear of human beings is the fear of public speaking. Why do you suppose that is?
If we each have a unique imprint to make with our voices, why do we find it so hard to express it in the world?
Think about it. Every thing has a voice or sound connected to it. Drop a pebble into a pond. What do you hear? “Plink” the sound created as the pebble meets and penetrates below the water’s surface. The ripple effect, though we do not hear it, is nonetheless powerful as well.
The ripple effect of your voice is truly powerful.
1) When you vote for Miriam's Secret by Feb. 28th, you help us move to Round Two. It is impossible without you, alone.
2) When you leave a comment below or visit Miriams facebook page , your voice gets heard and is empowered for good.
3) When you send to ten friends (more is ok too :-) the email template below (edit as you wish), you empower others to express their voice as well.
All of this creates a ripple effect of good. Here's the email template:
Dear X,
My friend, author, musician and healing music composer Eliana
Gilad entered the Next Top Self Help Author contest sponsored by
Conari Press: Miriam's Secret - Midwiving the Birth of
Your Inner Transformation.
The winner will receive a publishing contract by Conari Press and help marketing the book.
The top 10% will move on to round two. February 28th is the voting deadline.
"I can't stop listening to this music. Still waters run deep!" V.
Avital
She's made a soothing, inspirational book trailer to help get the word out. She's also giving a powerful gift of five day healing sound course and two
chapters of the book: http://nexttopauthor.com/profile.cfm?aid=146.
Please help us spread the good word. Watch the video, vote, and send
this email to ten of your friends and ask them to send to ten or
more of theirs, post on facebook, twitter etc....
Registration & confirmation takes less than one minute - you'll return to Eliana Gilad's author page. Simply click the "Vote" button and you'll receive the confirmation link for the free chapters and five day online stress release course.
All the best,
(Your name)
Your voice makes a difference in my life. Thanks.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Spices, Scents, Music and Heaven
My trip to China to work with Easeland Music Spa was so inspiring, particularly to discover how advanced the Chinese are in the healing application of music.
The spa has seven floors, five for treatments, one for haute couture design and beauty salon, top floor for administrative offices and the conference hall (in the photo) where I led one workshop for clientele and invited guests of the CEO, another for doctors, professors and music therapists.
Here's what inspired me most:
1) Lua Chom Pei the CEO (she's in the middle of the photo with me and Avital Gamliel from the Israeli Embassy), an amazing business woman whose femininity is the bedrock of her business acumen combined with creative ingenuity.
Her company has developed a technology and equipment to provide a music spa treatment. I have never experienced anything quite like it. Her grace and power and humility are a blend I have never experienced before either. She truly inspired me.
She is a model for inspiration.
2) Though we did not share any spoken language in common, I felt "understood" by the people I worked with. Ancient Israel culture and healing music did not seem a "foreign concept" to them. They understood the connection between our two shared ancient civilizations.
To celebrate my success I went to Sabon.
The spa has seven floors, five for treatments, one for haute couture design and beauty salon, top floor for administrative offices and the conference hall (in the photo) where I led one workshop for clientele and invited guests of the CEO, another for doctors, professors and music therapists.
Here's what inspired me most:
1) Lua Chom Pei the CEO (she's in the middle of the photo with me and Avital Gamliel from the Israeli Embassy), an amazing business woman whose femininity is the bedrock of her business acumen combined with creative ingenuity.
Her company has developed a technology and equipment to provide a music spa treatment. I have never experienced anything quite like it. Her grace and power and humility are a blend I have never experienced before either. She truly inspired me.
She is a model for inspiration.
2) Though we did not share any spoken language in common, I felt "understood" by the people I worked with. Ancient Israel culture and healing music did not seem a "foreign concept" to them. They understood the connection between our two shared ancient civilizations.
To celebrate my success I went to Sabon.
My God their stuff is so great! It reminds me of the spa and my music... all natural, highest quality ingredients, made in Israel, love of nature...think green e.g. eco bags, use recycled glass...Sabon has stores all over Israel, if you live here or happen to visit, New York, Rome, Amsterdam, Toronto, Bucharest, London, I think LA too...Check them out.
I have bought their products over the years for my own use and for gifts to send to my savvy friends and family overseas. My recent purchases have me tickled pink. I took a photo of the products with some of the drums in the studio.
The amber body oil sends me into heaven. Never expected to like such a sweet scent, but I was mesmerized the moment I smelled it. If you can't imagine it, listen to this short relaxing music video and you'll have a very good idea, what I am talking about. Imagine ancient caravanseries with the most elegant, succulent spices and scents wafting in the air.
I rubbed some on this morning and am still enjoying the fragrance. It's just divine. The carrot face cream I purchased is also a marvel.
What scent goes with what music? What music goes to what scent? Can't wait to hear.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Chinese New Year
The year of the rabbit has begun in China, and I am still feeling warm and fuzzy from my trip to Beijing less than two weeks ago. Though the weather was below freezing, the warmth I felt was deep.What truly amazed me was how lack of language (I speak no more than two sentences of Mandarin, and they speak no English or Hebrew) made for almost two weeks of communication of a different kind. When you don't have a language in common, it allows an opportunity to communicate in more creative ways.
Take eating for example. If my hosts didn't take me to eat somewhere, I would eat in my hotel. How can you order a meal, when the menu is written in Chinese? I couldn't even ask what was on the menu. No one understood a word. So, I started flapping my arms like I was flying and vocalized "bawk bawk bawk" to the waitress to ask for chicken. This brought loads of laughter to us all. It brought some interesting dishes, and once it brought me an egg dish :-)... I had a good laugh over that one.
The other amazing thing to me is that there was no tea in the restaurant. Tea came as boiling water in a pot. If you want tea in Beijing, it's an expensive affair.
The owner of the music spa who brought me to tour in China presented me with an amazingly beautiful gift box on my last day in Beijing. It looked like gold was inside. Well actually it was filled with gold.... tea, that is.
She made it a point to tell the interpreter that this is gold tea, the most expensive kind, that she and her husband hand chose it. I guard this box with my life. It feels like such a stash. The flavor of the tea is soft, sweet and nothing like the type of tea served in North American Chinese restaurants. In Beijing I saw a tea store - it looked like a diamond store, filled with expensive jewels.
Anyway, the tea reminds me of the warmth I experienced in cold Beijing. I will write more about my experiences with the music on another post.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Reduce the Fear of Public Speaking - Practical TIp
Next time you feel knots or butterflies in your stomach before making an important presentation or telephone call, try this tip to calm your nerves and rev up your energy:
Bring your focus to your tail bone - sitting straight upon your "butt bones". This will consciously connect you with the force of gravity which has a calm grounding effect.
If you are standing, bring your focus to the tips of your toes. Imagine there are magnets on the souls of your feet connecting you magnetically to the center of the earth. This will ground you, increase the level of energy and calm your nerves as well.
Don't believe what I write. Try it and test it out for yourself.
What happens when you try it?
Bring your focus to your tail bone - sitting straight upon your "butt bones". This will consciously connect you with the force of gravity which has a calm grounding effect.
If you are standing, bring your focus to the tips of your toes. Imagine there are magnets on the souls of your feet connecting you magnetically to the center of the earth. This will ground you, increase the level of energy and calm your nerves as well.
Don't believe what I write. Try it and test it out for yourself.
What happens when you try it?
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Music for Stroke Victims
For the past week, I have spent every evening in the neurological unit of Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel to provide healing music and therapeutic singing sessions to a patient recovery from a major stroke less than two weeks ago. The sister of the fifty year old stroke victim was enthusiastic about having me come in during the first days after the stroke - even as her brother lay in the Intensive Care Unit.My first visit to the Neuro Surgical Intensive Care Unit occured just two hours after he returned from surgery. He was still highly sedated, though when I began to sing, his eyes looked up towards his brain as if he were looking at the electronic pulses connecting the two hemispheres. It was so striking to me that I stopped singing. Perhaps it was too much?
I asked him: Silence? Or more music? He looked at me, not so able to speak, yet focusing upon something inside, when suddenly he responded in a clear voice: "More music. Play more music."
It was astounding.
Researchers from Finland found that if stroke patients listened to music for a couple of hours a day, their verbal memory and focused attention recovered better and they had a more positive mood than patients who did not listen to anything or who listened to audio books. This is the first time such an effect has been shown in humans and the researchers believe it has important implications for clinical practice.
"As a result of our findings, we suggest that everyday music listening during early stroke recovery offers a valuable addition to the patients' care- especially if other active forms of rehabilitation are not yet feasible at this stage-by providing an individually targeted, easy-to-conduct and inexpensive means to facilitate cognitive and emotional recovery," says Teppo Särkämö, the first author of the study.
Less than ten days later, the patient was moved out of the intensive care unit to a regular hospital room. When I sing, I ask him to conduct imagery exercises - imagining he is moving his legs, getting up, yet without trying to physically do it. His recovery is amazing the doctors and his family alike.
Yesterday, he actually sang with me. It was so exciting.
Since it is too early a stage to know exactly what the long term ramifications are - and he also can speak, I implement wordless singing. Since wordless singing is pre-cognitive, I believe that it exercises both hemispheres simultaneously.
It would be wonderful to have this medically tested.
What are your experiences with music and stroke? Or music and brain functioning, and specifically wordless singing?
Monday, December 20, 2010
Setting Limits with Heart
Do you have difficulty drawing limits with yourself? I for example, love the work I do with healing music. I can spend hours and hours researching the subject on the internet. When it comes time to break away, I don't. My body is softly whispering: "Honey, it's time to rest. Take a break". My mind is engaged. My curiosity compels me to check out - "just one more thing" which leads to "one more thing", which leads to "one more thing".
Before I know it, hours have passed. When I finally DO break away, my eyes are fried, my back is creaked and my inner voice is silenced with disappointment. Disappointed at my self ignorance - ignorance as in - ignoring.
I believe that ignoring is one of the most crippling means of self abnegation and violence. We avoid being kind to ourselves in the name of being kind to others. We are the last in line to receive our own compassion.
Now that holiday season is in full blast, you may be experiencing this phenomenon in full blast as well.
How do we turn this habit around? I'd like to share with you what I am doing that is really helping...
Setting limits with your heart.
The operative word here is "with your heart", not your head. There's a small but huge difference.
When you make a decision with your mind, when it comes time to reinforce the boundary, it's easy for your mind or your ego to argue with you. It's so easy for an inner battle of wills to begin. In order to avoid the battle, many times the mind just ignores your body's signals.
The heart speaks a softer language. It won't pound or pounce on you. It will acquiese to the powerful will. Though you won't feel so great about your ignoring yourself. The worst part about it is that only you know the difference.
When you make a decision with your heart, there is leeway. There's a soft and tender pliable movement, bending, not breaking your will.
Here's a healing music meditation for your self compassion:
So when it's time to leave my computer - when I have set a limit with my heart, and my mind says: "Just one more thing...", instead of responding in a contest of wills, I ask my heart if it is ok or not. I check in with how it feels in my heart.
If I get an open pliable response, I may just check that "one more thing", which quiets my mind. Then I leave. It makes me feel good about myself. If my heart reinforces the limit - at that point I am already conscious of having a conscious choice to make - contest of wills, or being kind to myself.
I choose being kind to myself.
Each day is a chance to learn a little bit more.
How do you set limits with yourself? Or not? What is the difference to you between setting limits with your heart? What do you notice?
Before I know it, hours have passed. When I finally DO break away, my eyes are fried, my back is creaked and my inner voice is silenced with disappointment. Disappointed at my self ignorance - ignorance as in - ignoring.
I believe that ignoring is one of the most crippling means of self abnegation and violence. We avoid being kind to ourselves in the name of being kind to others. We are the last in line to receive our own compassion.
Now that holiday season is in full blast, you may be experiencing this phenomenon in full blast as well.
How do we turn this habit around? I'd like to share with you what I am doing that is really helping...
Setting limits with your heart.
The operative word here is "with your heart", not your head. There's a small but huge difference.
When you make a decision with your mind, when it comes time to reinforce the boundary, it's easy for your mind or your ego to argue with you. It's so easy for an inner battle of wills to begin. In order to avoid the battle, many times the mind just ignores your body's signals.
The heart speaks a softer language. It won't pound or pounce on you. It will acquiese to the powerful will. Though you won't feel so great about your ignoring yourself. The worst part about it is that only you know the difference.
When you make a decision with your heart, there is leeway. There's a soft and tender pliable movement, bending, not breaking your will.
Here's a healing music meditation for your self compassion:
So when it's time to leave my computer - when I have set a limit with my heart, and my mind says: "Just one more thing...", instead of responding in a contest of wills, I ask my heart if it is ok or not. I check in with how it feels in my heart.
If I get an open pliable response, I may just check that "one more thing", which quiets my mind. Then I leave. It makes me feel good about myself. If my heart reinforces the limit - at that point I am already conscious of having a conscious choice to make - contest of wills, or being kind to myself.
I choose being kind to myself.
Each day is a chance to learn a little bit more.
How do you set limits with yourself? Or not? What is the difference to you between setting limits with your heart? What do you notice?
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Holiday Stress - Guided Meditation from Ancient Israel
Frantic? Rushed? In a hurry? Take two minutes to relax with this guided meditation and you'll be as good as new.
If you like it, there is more at:
http://bit.ly/f5rJtD
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Two Hidden Keys to Care for Yourself in Conflict
Conflict is painful… In a fight for example, our natural tendency is to want to control the situation or person with whom we are fighting. The truth is, what really makes conflict so painful is that you're at war with reality. You want "them" to stop yelling, to behave differently, to acknowledge you, or maybe not even to agree with you, but just hear you.
But try as you might - it's out of your control.
It seems like you're caring of yourself because you're doing your best to get your needs met, but many times your way ends up frustrating you, depleting your energy and emotional well-being, wondering why it feels easier speaking to the wall.
The great news - it's never too late to make peace in your relationship with yourself.
It's about reconnecting to the source of your very own calm. Right now, in this present moment, you have 100% ability to arrive at that still, quiet place that patiently awaits you on the gentle shores beyond the stormy seas of your inner conflict. The first key to caring for yourself during conflict is this simple but forgotten truth:
We are the instruments of peace.
To live our lives in true harmony requires resolving our dissonant inner wars inside.
I had an incredible opportunity to resolve mine. It came in 2006 while bombs dropped on my quiet northern Galilee village. I learned amazing lessons as I stayed in the face of fire, even as war broke out.
It prompted me to write and record a book Quiet in the Eye of the Storm which helped me to connect in a much deeper way with people. It also taught me that no matter what is happening around us, we can find inner peace. The key to doing this is founded in the second forgotten truth:
Be Honest with Yourself
Many people deny to themselves how ill at ease they really feel when they meet with their inner conflict and vulnerability. It's almost like they're going against themselves, "It's not really so bad, They don't really mean it, I can handle it meditating and releasing."
Now while it may be true that it could be worse, take a moment to be honest with yourself here...
• How many eruptions have you had within the last month - where you were so set on being right that no resolution came from whatever the situation at hand was?
• How many times in the last week have you started out a conversation or correspondence with the best intentions and then watched it blow up as either you or the other person got defensive, hurt, or angry from a misunderstanding?
• How many people have you been meaning to connect with , but because you've feel frightened by your vulnerability and how that might affect they way they see or think about you, you're avoiding them altogether.
• How many people are you holding grudges against leaving you feeling hurt or angry?
It might seem like going in a negative direction to take a closer look at those things that are in conflict in your life, yet that's also the first part of rebalancing yourself and to living your life with more peace.
Now that you know where your vulnerable conflicts are, you can bring some awareness to those particular areas and watch your experiences transform from there.
But try as you might - it's out of your control.
It seems like you're caring of yourself because you're doing your best to get your needs met, but many times your way ends up frustrating you, depleting your energy and emotional well-being, wondering why it feels easier speaking to the wall.
The great news - it's never too late to make peace in your relationship with yourself.
It's about reconnecting to the source of your very own calm. Right now, in this present moment, you have 100% ability to arrive at that still, quiet place that patiently awaits you on the gentle shores beyond the stormy seas of your inner conflict. The first key to caring for yourself during conflict is this simple but forgotten truth:
We are the instruments of peace.
To live our lives in true harmony requires resolving our dissonant inner wars inside.
I had an incredible opportunity to resolve mine. It came in 2006 while bombs dropped on my quiet northern Galilee village. I learned amazing lessons as I stayed in the face of fire, even as war broke out.
It prompted me to write and record a book Quiet in the Eye of the Storm which helped me to connect in a much deeper way with people. It also taught me that no matter what is happening around us, we can find inner peace. The key to doing this is founded in the second forgotten truth:
Be Honest with Yourself
Many people deny to themselves how ill at ease they really feel when they meet with their inner conflict and vulnerability. It's almost like they're going against themselves, "It's not really so bad, They don't really mean it, I can handle it meditating and releasing."
Now while it may be true that it could be worse, take a moment to be honest with yourself here...
• How many eruptions have you had within the last month - where you were so set on being right that no resolution came from whatever the situation at hand was?
• How many times in the last week have you started out a conversation or correspondence with the best intentions and then watched it blow up as either you or the other person got defensive, hurt, or angry from a misunderstanding?
• How many people have you been meaning to connect with , but because you've feel frightened by your vulnerability and how that might affect they way they see or think about you, you're avoiding them altogether.
• How many people are you holding grudges against leaving you feeling hurt or angry?
It might seem like going in a negative direction to take a closer look at those things that are in conflict in your life, yet that's also the first part of rebalancing yourself and to living your life with more peace.
Now that you know where your vulnerable conflicts are, you can bring some awareness to those particular areas and watch your experiences transform from there.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Musical cure for insomniacs
How do you go to sleep at night? Are you the type who drops into deep sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow? Do you quietly review the day before going off to sleep? Or perhaps you are the type who counts sheep, which seem to multiply instead of escorting you into a peaceful slumber.
Perhaps you wake up in the middle of the night from some worrisome thought which make your mind run to meet up with those sheep yet again. The thoughts (and the sheep) don't seem to stop.
The way we go to sleep has an impact upon the quality of our sleep.
When you take time to consciously go to sleep, this can help you to enter a deeper state of relaxation.
I have had the pleasure this last month of working on a wonderful project to produce an album for those suffering from fibromyalgia and sleep deprivation. The recording in studio has been pretty challenging, since we keep falling asleep at the wheel! I hope that this is a good sign.
Here is a three minute music retreat, a short snippet from the album to help you go off into restful slumber.
Before you are too exhausted, rest comfortably in your favorite chair or in bed, with the music playing in the background. Review your day's activities. What did you enjoy most? Least? Acknowledge yourself for what you did Right. For whatever did not go as you had wished, consider how this might actually be for your highest good.
What did you experience when you listened?
Perhaps you wake up in the middle of the night from some worrisome thought which make your mind run to meet up with those sheep yet again. The thoughts (and the sheep) don't seem to stop.
The way we go to sleep has an impact upon the quality of our sleep.
When you take time to consciously go to sleep, this can help you to enter a deeper state of relaxation.
I have had the pleasure this last month of working on a wonderful project to produce an album for those suffering from fibromyalgia and sleep deprivation. The recording in studio has been pretty challenging, since we keep falling asleep at the wheel! I hope that this is a good sign.
Here is a three minute music retreat, a short snippet from the album to help you go off into restful slumber.
Before you are too exhausted, rest comfortably in your favorite chair or in bed, with the music playing in the background. Review your day's activities. What did you enjoy most? Least? Acknowledge yourself for what you did Right. For whatever did not go as you had wished, consider how this might actually be for your highest good.
What did you experience when you listened?
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Spiritual Significance of Sound and Music
How does the spirit of your voice connect you with your essence, the very core of who you are? The essence of your voice is actually the source of all matter.
When you attune your Instrument, meaning the instrument of your body, mind and spirit, this results in a harmonious sonata of life.
When you have difficulty speaking or singing it's a sign that you have become out of tune or disconnected from your Source.
Some examples of this are:
•Nervousness
•Numbing
It happens alot to people when they go to speak before others in public. In fact, did you know that fear of public speaking is the number one fear after the fear of death!?!?!
You become out of tune with your voice when you're:
•Trying to Hard
•Approaching the notes outside of you. You approach the sound as if it is outside of you and you need to achieve it, when it is the essence of your entire being.
•Questioning Yourself
•Listening to the Habitual Voices instead of the Nurturing Ones
How can you get back in tune, when your off key?
Not Running from what is out of tune. Meet it, and shift the key.
I believe that when people attune to the essence of their voice, the result is peace and tranquility.
I'd like to share with you a very special comprehensive book called the Spiritual Significance of Music, edited by Justin St Vincent. I have written a chapter which you can download the chapter for free online, it's called The Spirit of Sound. There are many other brilliant entries on the website as well. Justin is so dedicated to bringing the healing power of music to the public. Check out his website: www.xtrememusic.org.
What is the biggest challenge you have with your voice?
How does it affect you?
What would being connected with your natural voice give you?
How would your life be more in harmony?
Look forward to creating a dialogue here. Look forward to hearing from you.
When you attune your Instrument, meaning the instrument of your body, mind and spirit, this results in a harmonious sonata of life.
When you have difficulty speaking or singing it's a sign that you have become out of tune or disconnected from your Source.
Some examples of this are:
•Nervousness
•Numbing
It happens alot to people when they go to speak before others in public. In fact, did you know that fear of public speaking is the number one fear after the fear of death!?!?!
You become out of tune with your voice when you're:
•Trying to Hard
•Approaching the notes outside of you. You approach the sound as if it is outside of you and you need to achieve it, when it is the essence of your entire being.
•Questioning Yourself
•Listening to the Habitual Voices instead of the Nurturing Ones
How can you get back in tune, when your off key?
Not Running from what is out of tune. Meet it, and shift the key.
I believe that when people attune to the essence of their voice, the result is peace and tranquility.
I'd like to share with you a very special comprehensive book called the Spiritual Significance of Music, edited by Justin St Vincent. I have written a chapter which you can download the chapter for free online, it's called The Spirit of Sound. There are many other brilliant entries on the website as well. Justin is so dedicated to bringing the healing power of music to the public. Check out his website: www.xtrememusic.org.
What is the biggest challenge you have with your voice?
How does it affect you?
What would being connected with your natural voice give you?
How would your life be more in harmony?
Look forward to creating a dialogue here. Look forward to hearing from you.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Universal Love Through Ancient Music & Journey Winner
What is healing music of Ancient Israel?
How can it be effectively used today for our modern needs?
How can it help us connect with Universal Love?
Join Luciana Stiglich of Inner Healing Radio who will be interviewing me during an enlightening journey thru Israel Ancient Music knowledge on Healing and Universal Love!
I will be announcing the winner of a free private journey of transformation with me in Israel during the call.
Why Am I Doing This?
I want to thank you for your support of me in the Next Top Spiritual Author contest. Thanks to you, Miriam's Secret was one of 250 titles from over 3000 to make it to round two. Miriam's Secret is the result of a committment I made twenty years ago in France, while singing daily on the intercity trains. It is where I received my training (pun intended) for Voices of Eden Healing Music.
Providing this transformative journey to someone allows me to share the healing power of this holy land, with it's ancient music, which must be experienced directly.
It's truly beyond words.
The gift includes a two day journey with me in the holy land, including a private transformative music ceremony in the ancient healing music site, a trip to Miriam's Well, overnight stay in a pampering Galilee guest house overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and an empowering reading from one of the most powerful wisdom healers of Galilee.
We will have lots of fun on the radio program. I hope you will join us:
Sunday, October 31st 2PM EST, 11 AM PST, 1PM Peru and 20:00 Israel
Inner Healing Radio Show details. Call in number (USA): (347) 826-9216
Private transformative journey details. Guest house details.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
7 Major Benefits of Therapeutic Singing
The use of voice and rhythm as therapeutic healing tools is an ancient art form.Ancient rattles from the third millennium BCE to the first century BCE have been excavated in archaeological sites all around Israel. Clay rattles that contain small stones or other materials for making noise
are believed to have been used for healing and ritualistic purposes. The photo on the left is of a clay rattle found in Tel Hazor.
Why do I write about ancient rattles and singers? I am dedicated to reviving this ancient art form which can help us to heal many a modern woe.
How was Therapeutic Singing used in Ancient Times?
- In birthing chambers of ancient Egypt
- In healing rituals of Ancient Israel
- For spiritual and shamanic healing
- In ancient hospitals for the mentally ill
How is it different from regular singing?
- Inner Focused rather than Outer focused
- Being "in service" to the music
- Wordless. The wordless part evolved during a three year medical research project performed on this healing music modality, which I will write about in a future post.
What are the benefits of Therapeutic Singing?
- Safe with no side effects
- Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
- Improves concentration
- Increased self confidence
- Healthy bonding between parents and children
- Community builder
- Low Cost – needs no special equipment
Relieve Stress and Anxiety.
Have you ever found yourself nervously humming mmmm-mm-mmm-mmm to calm yourself down when you are feeling anxious about something and don't know what to do? We vocalize spontaneously. It is a natural human means of expression, that physiologically helps to calm our nerves. When we vocalize consciously, we can bring ourselves to a deeper sense of inner calm.
Here's a simple exercise you can try the next time you find yourself feeling anxious, make a conscious decision to hum to yourself. You don't even have to hum out loud. To reap the maximum effect:
- Focus your attention upon the center of gravity at the center of the earth. This will provide you with a grounding effect
- Feel the vibration of your voice warming your insides from the tip of your toes, up into your belly, then into your chest, up towards your shoulders, through your throat and up into your head.
- With each subsequent breath, bring your focus back down towards the center of the earth.
Try it. You might like it. You may just find yourself calming down.
What applications would you like help with with regards to therapeutic singing? Add it to the comments section below and I will address it in an upcoming post. Look forward to hearing from you.
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