The Healing Power Of Music.

Isn’t modern technology amazing. It is Friday afternoon and I am writing this on my laptop and at the same time listening to music pouring out of the same machine. The music I am listening to is a recording of two concerts by Van Morrison at Loughborough University in 1987. Van isn’t the only one on the recording, Robin Williamson of the Incredible String Band is there as well. Robin and Van were good friends back in the day. The concerts were part of a weekend course that Van organised in collaboration with The Wrekin Trust. The course was called The Secret Heart Of Music, (An Exploration Into The Power Of Music To Change Consciousness) As well as the concerts there were talks and discussions. During the 1980’s Van was interested in music being more than just entertainment. He knew that music had healing properties and could benefit the health and well-being of the listener. He is one of the greatest vocalists but in the 80's his albums contained long instrumentals which weren't there as fillers but as aids to meditation and contemplation. I would have loved to have gone to this conference, not just for the music but also for the talks. One of the talks was called The Effect Of Music On Hormonal Secretions In The Endocrine Glands. I find that fascinating because I have often wondered why music induces a feeling of well-being and makes you feel better.

Van Morrison & Robin Williamson.

Somebody recently put the recording of the music on youtube and I have shared it below if you want to hear it. There has been a lot of chat about it on a Van Morrison fan page and apparently there is another version which includes a recording of one of the discussions. A fan called Christian produced a photo of the art work for this. I was particularly pleased to see that among the people taking part in the discussion was Pir Vilayat Khan. He was a great Sufi teacher. The Sufi’s are a peace-loving Islamic sect who have suffered a lot of persecution in some countries in recent years. They believe in the universality of all beliefs. They say that all religions are rays from the same sun. 

When I first moved to Bradford On Avon in 1977 I had a friend who lived with some Sufi’s at Barton Farm. Through him I read some books by Pir Vilayat Khan and also by his father Hazrat Khan who founded the Sufi Order In The West. I found those books very interesting, especially because music plays an important role in the Sufi tradition. I just looked on Wikipedia and found this. ‘His message of divine unity focused on the themes of love, harmony, and beauty. He taught that blind adherence to any book rendered religion devoid of spirit.  In his various written works, such as The Music of Life and The Mysticism of Sound and Music, Inayat Khan interlocks his passion for music with his Sufi ideologies making a compelling argument for music as the harmonious thread of the Universe’.

Pir Vilayat Khan

Once a classical musician, Hazrat Inayat Khan let go of his greatest attachment-his musical career- to become a Sufi Master, as is the tradition in Sufism. Immersing himself in the Sufi ideology, he found a link between his former life as a musician and his new journey along the spiritual path. Khan saw harmony as the "music of the spheres" which linked all mankind and had the ability to transcend one's spiritual awareness. His most influential and well-known book, The Music of Life, is the definitive collection of Hazrat Inayat Khan's teachings on sound, presenting his vision of the harmony which encompasses every aspect of our lives. He explores the science of breath, the law of rhythm, the creative process, and both the healing power and psychological influence of music and sound.

"What makes us feel drawn to music is that our whoIe being is music; our mind and our body, the nature in which we live, the nature that has made us, all that is beneath and around us, it is all music. We are close to all this music, and live and move and have our being in music. The mystery of sound is mysticism; the harmony of life is religion. The knowledge of vibrations is metaphysics, the analysis of atoms is science, and their harmonious grouping is art. The rhythm of form is poetry, and the rhythm of sound is music. This shows that music is the art of arts and the science of all sciences; and it contains the fountain of all knowledge within itself." "Music should be healing; music should uplift the soul; music should inspire. There is no better way of getting closer to God, of rising higher towards the spirit, of attaining spiritual perfection than music, if only it is rightly understood." – Quote from The Music of Life.

That will do for today, but I hope any music fans will listen to the Loughborough recording because it is great.