| > | | | | hospitals and doctors' offices, and those working in |
| Cultures throughout the world have used music to | | | | CAM (complementary and alternative medicine), telling |
| empower, energize, and heal the body, mind and spirit | | | | me that they were using my music in their practices, to |
| since time immemorial. Recent studies have shown | | | | enhance meditation, focus awareness and evoke |
| that music can slow down and help balance brain | | | | emotions.Perhaps the most potent, powerful story that |
| waves, and reduce tension and stress. Music and | | | | I heard was that of a teenage boy diagnosed with |
| sound healing is not a new concept. Cultures | | | | schizophrenia who did not speak at all, but who, while |
| throughout the world have used music to empower, | | | | listening to my CD Fragrance of a Dream, looked up |
| energize, heal and soothe the body, mind and spirit | | | | and said, "This music is so beautiful it breaks your |
| since time immemorial. It is no accident that Apollo, the | | | | heart."Those stories and touches from others led me |
| Greek god who is credited as being the father of | | | | to begin exploring the world of healing with sound and |
| medicine, is also the father of music and the inventor | | | | music, and what I find both amazes me and confirms |
| of the lyre.Music and healing are part of each other, | | | | my own belief that music is one of the most potent |
| and current research is pointing to that more and more. | | | | healing tools the world has ever possessed. I am still |
| Recent studies have shown that music can slow | | | | very much a student, a pilgrim on a quest to learn all |
| down and help balance brain waves, reduce tension | | | | that I can about the ways that different tones, |
| and stress by affecting endorphin levels, reduce | | | | vibrations and sounds can affect the body and attune |
| physical tension by changing the vibrational frequency | | | | with the emotions and the spiritual. It is a wonderful |
| of cells, and even evoke feelings of love and inner | | | | journey, and one that I intend to share with as many |
| peace. Of course, if music can slow down your body's | | | | people as I can. As a beginning of that sharing, here |
| rhythms and effect soothing, peace and healing, it can | | | | are some things that I have learned, and that I believe |
| also have the opposite effect. A well-chosen set of | | | | about how music helps to heal and regenerate the |
| music can help energize you and prepare you to work | | | | body.1. Your body will heal itself if you give it the right |
| hard and be creative. Studies have also shown that | | | | tools. I believe that some music can help your body to |
| athletes working out and practicing to music use more | | | | heal by helping it to realign its balance. At the same |
| energy, stretch themselves further and burn more | | | | time, it is far too early in the research for anyone to tell |
| calories than those who work without music. There's a | | | | you which musical selections will heal a specific |
| great deal of information available now about music | | | | medical condition. I would be irresponsible if I |
| and healing. Sound healing, music therapy, and the | | | | recommended that music replace other more |
| power of sound to effect changes in the mind, body | | | | traditional forms of healing and therapy. Music is a |
| and spirit are becoming more and more accepted. It's | | | | complementary way to give your body the tools that it |
| sometimes difficult to tell how much is true and how | | | | needs to help itself heal. 2. One of the most important |
| much is marketing hype.I became interested in the | | | | and effective things that you can do for your body is |
| healing power of music as a by-product of trying to | | | | to help it relax into a meditative state. There is a great |
| produce the most beautiful music possible. Years back, | | | | deal of research to support that a state of meditative |
| Leonard Bernstein invited me to perform as | | | | calm inspires your body and your mind to renew |
| concertmaster in the world premiere his production of | | | | itself.3. Sound is one of the best tools for inspiring the |
| Mass. While there, he invited me along to speak with | | | | meditative state in which your body is receptive to |
| management and producers in the recording industry. I | | | | healing and renewal - but it is important to choose your |
| learned from them, to my surprise, that the violin, the | | | | music carefully. Some music - classical music in |
| instrument that I consider the most beautiful and | | | | particular - seems to go there instinctively, but most |
| evocative of any, was not considered by the recording | | | | music was not designed to relax you.We are barely |
| industry to be a marketable sound - that people would | | | | beginning to understand the ways that music affects |
| not buy recordings that featured the violin. That piece | | | | us and effects healing in us. The research is exciting |
| of news amazed me. To me, the violin is the most | | | | and ongoing, and I spend a great deal of time working |
| beautiful, evocative and versatile instrument ever | | | | with different bodies of healers in various fields to aid |
| created. In the hands of a skilled musician, the violin can | | | | this research in all the ways that I can. I incorporate |
| gloat, laugh, exult or cry. It can express nearly any | | | | what I have learned into the production of the titles and |
| emotion that humans can feel in their hearts and souls. | | | | arrangements chosen for every new Li-Sem Catalog |
| I challenged myself then to produce works of music | | | | release in the hopes that this wonderful gift that I was |
| that presented the violin as I know it - the evocative | | | | given, the gift of making music, can become a gift to |
| and expressive voice of the soul.That was the | | | | others - one that helps heal and refresh and renew, |
| beginning of my own music label and catalog, Li-Sem | | | | and in the process becomes part of a positive change |
| Enterprises. As it grew, I began to hear from those | | | | in the world. |
| who work in the fields of healing, both the traditional | | | | |