Grief or Prosperity?

Why is it that people will sign up for a workshop to connect with their grief and are very resistant to signing up for a process designed to bring prosperity into their lives?

Last fall I facilitated a Grief Ritual with Sobonfu Some’. People signed up in droves to connect and release their grief. The next ritual after clearing grief is to take that space and fill it with prosperity of all kinds. Soul prosperity, relational prosperity, financial prosperity etc. So now it is spring and it is time to let the blessing in and it is like pulling teeth to get people to come.

Why is it we can look at our grief and not let the blessing in?

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The Leading Followers or The Following Leaders?

It still surprises me that people have such a hard time taking their own power. I teach workshops all over the country and people are always saying “No guru for me, I want to connect to my own power and find my own direction." Then when I facilitate a workshop that directs people to connect with their own guidance they complain that I don’t give them enough feedback to validate their experience. Figure that??? If they need me to validate them, Isn't that giving me a little too much power?

Being in ones power can be a very tricky thing. We learn to connect to our own guidance and then we validate our own experience. This is what Shamanism is all about. When asked,” How do you know if someone is a shaman?" A teacher responded, "Do they journey to the unseen worlds and do they perform miracles? If the answer is yes, that’s how you know." In the place of empowerment you build your own relationship with helpers and teachers and move into an empowered place through this process. I heard Michael Harner tell one student looking for validation about their journey, “It was your journey, if it was there, then it was there. I was not there so how would I know?” In this time in history we can see the gap growing between the Shepard and the sheep. Lets throw this concept out, take up your own power and walk your path! Through the power of the drum we can be transported to a place of authentic empowerment if we will follow the time tested pathways taught on the shamanic path and TRUST our selves. Go into the place of the seven gateways to the heart and begin to connect to your power, build relationships with your power helpers and be a contributing energy on the planet. We need people of power holding space in these very troubling times. “The sound of the drum is the tuning of the soul” – Sobonfu Some’

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HISTORY OF MUSIC-BRAIN AND WELLNESS RESEARCH

The connection between active music making and the functioning of the brain and the body has been the subject of intense scientific investigation – some of it supported directly by the American Music Conference, all of it exciting. Researchers have uncovered evidence that making music helps young people develop their brains, helps students perform better in a variety of academic areas and promotes wellness in older people. Now, the study from the Mind-Body Wellness Center adds the prospect of disease-fighting to the mix. Here is a summary of some of the most important music-brain research.

In 1985, Gordon Shaw, Dennis Silverman and John Pearson presented the trion model of the brain’s neuronal structure (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 82 [1985]: 2364-2368).

In 1989, experiments in which musicians performed mental rehearsals of music indicated that music and other creative skills, such as mathematics and chess, may involve extremely precise firing patterns by billions of brain neurons (Leslie Brothers and Gordon Shaw, Models of Brain Function, edited by R. Cotterill. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).

In 1990, computer experiments revealed that trion firing patterns could be mapped onto pitches and instrument timbres to produce music. This suggested that the trion model is a viable model for the coding of certain aspects of musical structure in human composition and perception, and that the trion model is relevant for examining creativity in higher cognitive functions, such as mathematics and chess, that are similar to music (Xiaodan Leng, Gordon Shaw and Eric Wright, Music Perception, Vol. 8, No.1 [Fall 1990]: 49-62).

In 1991, Xiaodan Leng and Gordon Shaw proposed that music may be considered a "pre- language," and that early music training may be useful in "exercising" the brain for certain higher cognitive functions (Concepts in Neuroscience, Vol. 2, No. 2 [1991]: 229-258).

In 1993, a pilot study found that preschool children given music training displayed significant improvement in spatial reasoning ability. (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw) An experiment with college students found that, after listening to a Mozart sonata, they experienced a significant although temporary gain in spatial reasoning skills (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky, Nature, Vol. 365 [1993]: 611).

In 1994, a Stage II follow-up to the pilot study again found that music training improved spatial reasoning in preschool children. This gain did not occur in those without music training (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw, Linda Levine and Katherine Ky, Paper presented at the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles [August 1994]).

In 1995, a follow up to the first Mozart study confirmed that listening to Mozart improved spatial reasoning, and that this effect can increase with repeated testing over days. However, the effect may not occur when music lacks sufficient complexity. (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky, Neuroscience Letters, Vol. 185 [1995]: 44-47.)

In 1997, a study found that keyboard training caused long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw, Linda Levine et al, Neurological Research, Volume 19 [1997], 2-8).

In 1999, a field experiment supported the earlier finding by demonstrating that classroom keyboard instruction improved kindergarten children's spatial-temporal performance (Frances Rauscher, Mary Anne Zupan, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 1999).

Also in 1999, a research group led by Dr. Frederick Tims, Chair of Music Therapy at Michigan State University, found that group keyboard lessons given to older Americans reduced stress, loneliness and anxiety while increasing levels of human growth hormone (hGH). Human growth hormone is implicated in such aging phenomena as osteoporosis, energy levels, wrinkling, sexual function, muscle mass, and aches and pains (Frederick Tims, Alicia Ann Clair, Donna Cohen, Carl Eisdorfer, Midori Koga, Adarsh Kumar, Mahendra Kumar, Cathy McKinney, Áke Seiger, presented at symposium Music Medicine: Enhancing Health Through Music, April 23, 1999, Miami, FL).

A second 1999 study led by Dr. Tims quantified a link between structured music therapy and subjects’ levels of melatonin, a neurohormone linked with sleep regulation and believed to influence the immune system (Adarsh Kumar, David Lowenstein, J. B. Fernandez, Gail Ironson, Carl Eisdorfer, Dean G. Cruess, Michael J. Mintzer, Rogelio Cattan, Alternative Therapies, vol. 5 no. 6, Nov. 1999).

Later in 1999, a study examined enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training. Children given piano keyboard training along with a specially designed Math Video Game training scored significantly higher on proportional math and fractions than children given a control training along with the same video game (Amy Graziano, Matthew Peterson and Gordon Shaw, Neurological Research, Volume 21 [1999], pp. 139-152).

In early 2000, a study found that a curriculum combining piano lessons, educational math software and fun math problems helped second graders achieve scores on advanced math concepts and Stanford 9 math scores comparable to those of fourth graders (Matthew Peterson, Mark Bodner, Stephen Cook, Tina Earl, Jill Hansen, Michael Martinez, Linda Rodgers, Sydni Vuong, Gordon Shaw, 2000, submitted for publication).

In Fall 2000, a team led by Dr. Barry Bittman of the Mind-Body Wellness Center finds that a particular type of group drumming activity appears to boost the function of Natural Killer cells that seek out and destroy cancer cells and virally-infected cells in normal subjects. (Barry Bittman, Lee S. Berk, David L. Felten, O. Carl Simonton, James Pappas, Melissa Ninehouser, Alternative Therapies, January 2001, accepted for publication).

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Sound Attunement Therapy

Many people have been asking me "What is SAT?"

Sound attunement Therapy is the use of vibrational energy in a process which brings the mind, body, emotions, and psyche of an individual or group into harmony.

Recent studies suggest that therapeutic drumming increases immune system function, controls pain, relieves stress, and has been successful in treating serious conditions such as substance abuse, alcoholism, AIDS, adrenal failure, high blood pressure and cancer.

Other research suggests that therapeutic drumming is also effective for treating emotional disorders such as depression, anger, and anxiety.

Sound Attunement Therapy works by producing a bio-energetic reconfiguration of a persons energy system which effects the physical body, mind, and emotions. It produces the energetic structure to promote heal and restore a person’s natural healthy rhythms. Bio-Energetic Reconfiguration is the transformation or rearrangement of energy in and between living organisms and between living organisms and their environment, to enhance self-awareness, well-being and relieve physical, spiritual, and emotional maladies.

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Healer Or Facilitator ?

I was talking to a friend of mine who works with people to clear their karma. As we talked about the work I do he explained to me that if someone is suffering it does not necessarily mean that there is something “wrong” with them. He said something to the effect that by engaging in “healing” someone, we are making the assumption that #1 there is something “wrong” that needs to be healed, and #2 we are assuming that we (the healer) can do it. He said that by engaging in “healing” someone, we are actually creating karma with that person. This really got me thinking! What he said has been working it’s way into my understanding for the last few months. He asked, “Are you a healer?” I replied, “Of course NOT, I’m just the drummer!” He looked puzzled and smiled. As we continued to talk the conversation was directed to clearly defining our mission when we are called to work in a capacity to help others.

The truth is, healing occurs with Sound Attunement Therapy and the shamanic work I do. I have seen amazing miracles with people and animals. I have had people come to me who have HIV/aids, cancer, people who suffer from substance abuse, depression, and many other maladies. I have seen them miraculously change before my very eyes. The results are clear, The sound of the drum is the tuning of the soul. As a physician from OHSU put it, “This stuff works. It’s a stretch for me, but I can feel the shift. It works” The thing I remember however, is that I am not the one doing the healing. I am holding space with sound to allow the person I am working on to find the healer within themselves. I make the distinction to call myself a facilitator of change and transformation. I am one who holds space for empowerment. This is the place of helpfulness.

As we move into a time in our world where we are seeing humanity at war on all fronts, political and corporate corruption at an unprecedented level, and the tragic loss of over a hundred thousand people in South Asia from the Tsunami. It is more critical than ever that we who have been called to bring healing space into the world do it with power and integrity. We need to bring our gifts to the world and hold the space for those who suffer so they can get through what ever they need to get through and be in peace. I challenge each of you who is called to bring healing to the world to dedicate just one hour per week to hold the earth and it’s inhabitance in the energy of love and empowerment. We can change the world!!!
For information about Toby christensen or Toby's facilitation often refered to as Sound Healing or Drum Healing check out www.healingdrummer.com