Originally published November 2 2010
Improve overall health with the sound of music
by Paul Fassa
(NaturalNews) The popular expression "music soothes the savage beast" is apparently attributed to different sources of earlier centuries. Whatever the source, the essential message is the same. Music can affect us soothingly, stabilize our emotions, and improve physical and mental health. Of course, that depends on the type of music, doesn`t it?
Experimenting with Music on Plants
The first recorded experiments with music on plants were conducted by Dorothy Retallack at Colorado Women`s College from 1968 to 1973. Since then, other studies have been conducted with similar results. There are some who criticize those results and declare they are quack science without rigorous enough conditions to be worthy of publishing in journals.
But an extremely rigorous study was recorded in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine in 2004. This study set up seedlings in various settings and subjected some of them to different types of music as well as psychic healing energies.
Katherine Creath and Gary Schwartz, both PhDs, set out to prove with painstaking detail that even seedlings respond to the subtle vibrations of musical and healing energies. Their paper was called "Measuring Effects of Music, Noise, and Healing Energy Using a Seed Germination Bioassay".
The results were similar in almost all studies: Traditional classical music of both the West and India influence growth better than plants without music. Plants and seedlings subjected to harsh rock or heavy metal withered and did worse than plants without music. In some tests, the plants leaned toward the classical music source the same way plants bend toward the sun.
Some greenhouse growers pipe in classical music as a practical application of these studies. You can try it yourself with house or garden plants.
What About Humans and Their Savage Beasts?
French researcher Dr. Alfred Tomatisin coined the term "Mozart Effect" in his 1991 book Pourquoi Mozart?. The book was the result of 30 years of exposing learning disabled children to Mozart`s music and witnessing positive results. Dr. Tomatisin`s book gave rise to a minor movement of pregnant women listening to classical music, hoping to give birth to brighter, happier babies.
There are a few maternity wards and nurseries that pipe in classical music for calming the newborns and toddlers. Again, disputes among scientists abound about the impact of classical music on fetuses, babies, and young children`s mental and emotional development. But most do agree that exposing babies and toddlers to music is much better for mental development than putting them in front of a TV set for hours at a time.
Both England and the USA have recorded 30 percent plus decreases in normally high crime areas after piping classical music into public locations. Many scientists debunk all these reports as unscientific. But we`re all familiar with that silly argument, aren`t we?
Years ago, there was a discussion about symphony conductors and the fact that so many live long with good health. This was attributed to conductors waving their arms and exercising their pulmonary areas. That reasoning completely ignored the healing energetic aspect of regularly experiencing great music of 30 to 100 fine musicians.
Science usually fails when it comes to acknowledging the effects of subtle energies on health.
Listening to classical music can be used as training wheels for meditation. An example is Bach`s great music. Casual listening is nice but yada-yada-yada, it can all sound too similar. But listening closely to all the various subtle changes throughout Bach`s orchestration leads to letting go of your mental restlessness.
Focused listening to enjoyable, intricate music allows one to break free of mind chatter and experience higher consciousness.
Sources include:
The Seedling Study http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089...
Plants and Music http://www.miniscience.com/projects/plantmus...
Music and the Brain
http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/mus...
Music Enhances Intelligence, Mental Health, and the Immune System http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06...
How Classical Music Can Reduce Crime - http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/10/05/...
Experts on Whether Mozart Makes Babies Smarter http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297994,0...
About the author
Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding others toward a direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom. You can visit his blog at http://healthmaven.blogspot.com
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