AHP Perspective is a magazine published bi-monthly for members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. It includes interviews, articles, essays, updates on member activities, conference announcements, and book reviews. Members receive the complete AHP Perspective as part of their membership.

AHP PERSPECTIVE February/March 2000 Table of Contents

BUILDING GLOBAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH MUSIC, RHYTHM, AND SOUND — John Ortiz

At this very moment,
people are listening to music,
and benefiting from sound vibrations.

It may be the sound of a cello emitting vibrations that decrease levels of cortisol while simultaneously elevating T-cell levels and boosting the immune system. Or, the sound of a steady, progressive rock beat helping to maintain the rhythm, tempo, and motivation of someone deeply involved in an invigorating exercise routine. Or perhaps a largo movement from a Baroque string concerto establishing a background pace and receptive mind that helps in the memorization of complex information.
Someone’s pleasant voice is issuing a greeting that will help to set a positive tone for another person’s day. Right now, thousands of mothers and fathers are singing lullabies to their children. Teenagers in a small town in Asia, a bustling city in Europe, a farm community in America, a beach resort in the Caribbean are listening to the latest incarnation of the next big thing in music, as, throughout the world, their parents concurrently cringe. And thus those same notes that have been recycled throughout the ages continue to be arranged in endless patterns of tonal vibrations that help to connect our global communities by both abridging and expanding our world.
Music, rhythm, and sound are universal phenomena that we, as the human race, have shared from the beginning of our time in the universe. A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a man in Frankfurt, Germany, who had just purchased the German translation of my book, The Tao of Music. In his spirited message, he shared the sentiment that he—just as I— found the CD O.K. Computer by the British band Radiohead to be among his favorite CDs of the 90s. Writing further he expressed that, although approximately half my age, his musical life had similarly been awakened and nurtured by The Beatles, who had ceased to exist as a unit years before he was born. Warping time, and eliminating cultural, language, and generational barriers, British music had managed to effortlessly bring together a 60s-generation Hispanic-American and a 90s-generation German. On a larger scale, music, through its uniquely fluid, natural properties, functions as an ambassador of harmony and positive vibrations.

Listening

Listening, to ourselves and others, is a rare and priceless art. In order to listen, we must first detach from ourselves and give up control. Thinking interferes with listening, expectations get in the way of understanding. When engaged in the dance of life, it is essential that we listen without anticipation of what "may" be said. Remain aware of the filters of bias, prejudice, and previous associations that often distort the message and isolate us from the messenger. After listening, speak consciously. Before you speak, first listen carefully to what you hear from both within and without. By simply listening to ourselves and to others, entire universes of opportunities extend before us.

Toning, Chanting, Mantras

During a recent workshop I asked the audience to name the most portable musical instrument they could think of. Harmonic... penny-whistle... Jaw harp?spoons," the answers resonated from all over the room. No one, however, said that most portable of all musical instruments, the human voice. Before embarking on a musical adventure with a group of musicians, each must first tune his or her own instrument. Similarly, before communicating effectively with others, we must first tune our own instrument—our selves.
Toning is essentially a natural process of letting go of natural sounds—such as yawning, moaning, or taking deep breaths—allowing us to reach a sense of balance or harmony within ourselves. More often associated with communal activities, chanting can help to clear the mind, attain inner harmony, and generate positive energies. Regardless of language barriers, any group of people wishing to join in harmony can select a simple sound, such as the well-known "OM," or simple hum, that, when shared among group members, can help to generate healing, communal vibrations. Finally, a mantra does not have to involve a mysterious sound or secret word passed down from master to pupil. Rather, as Lama Govinda indicates, a mantra is a primordial sound that expresses a feeling or emotion, rather than a concept or an idea.

"Other"-World Exploration

Start at home. By listening to favorite tunes of our children and adolescents, we can gain a glimpse of where they’re at vibrationally and developmentally. By accepting their need to be different, we can help to set the groundwork so they may eventually learn to accept their own individualities.
Likewise, by listening to music from different cultures—be it a different region of our own country or a foreign land—we can often get a feeling of the vibrational place where people from those regions or cultures may be coming from. Are their musical rhythms similar to your own, are they faster or slower? Are their vocal inflections, volume, or tones different from yours, and, if so, is this a factor that may be influencing your interpretation of their intended message?

Supporting the Arts

Attend a neighborhood musical production, go to an opera, stop by a local jazz club, join a musical organization and attend some of their lectures or recitals, read their publications, and expand your musical and cultural horizons.
Support music education in your local school district, and actively encourage local libraries and bookstores to update and expand their musical inventories. Encourage your children to take up an instrument and take part in some form of collective musical activity such as playing in the school band, singing in a choir, or starting their own neighborhood rap group or pop music combo.
Take up an instrument and learn about its origin. Learn to play, and to listen to, different types of music. Surf your radio dial, or Internet music networks, and expose yourself to music diversity. The more we learn about how similar we all are—our basic needs, our dreams and aspirations, our shared developmental challenges and struggles—the more accepting we can become of one another.

Vibe Inoculation

Just as flu vaccines have ceremoniously become the harbingers of a season, the increasing deployment of computer viruses now necessitate the counterattack of computer "anti-virus" programs. How many of us, however, take advantage of our potential to deploy our personal "vibe inoculation" systems? In essence, these systems can range anywhere from exercising our right not to listen, to using music or other desirable positive sounds to block out negative or otherwise unwelcome sounds or vibrations. Sound-screen machines are very effective tools that serve to block out noxious sounds that can deplete our energies and exhaust our personal resources. Music, on the other hand, can not only serve to cover up unwanted sounds, but it also has the added advantage of countering those negative vibrations while surrounding us with healthy, positive vibrations that are personally pleasurable. Most practical, however, is our ability to consciously choose which messages we will accept or reject during the course of our daily interactions.

Nurturing Inner Harmony

Allow yourself to sing, whistle, hum. It is very difficult—if not impossible—to perform any of those three activities without processing and generating positive vibrations. Listen to music that helps you to feel good, regardless of its reputed "aesthetic value." Whether it’s The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, The Dixie Chicks’ Fly, Van Morrison’s Skiffle Sessions, or a Classical or New Age music compilation, exercise your right to feel good as often as possible.
Each of us has the responsibility and the ability to nurture harmony within our global community. By being aware of the ways in which we communicate with others, tuning into the mood and mind states we maintain by surrounding ourselves with music that makes us think clearly and feel positively, and by recognizing and accepting the different rhythms that contribute to our world of diversity, we can begin to gain control over the vibrations that we imbibe and those we dismiss. By taking conscious responsibility for the energy we create we can learn to change our vibrational realities, turning blame to encouragement, rejection to acceptance, prejudice to understanding, anger to patience, insecurity to grounding, and anxiety to peace and personal balance. Music is a timeless bridge that preserves each moment and extends every horizon. By tapping into its powers of healing, regeneration, and affirmation, each one of us can become a composer of a global, harmonic masterpiece.

JOHN M. ORTIZ, PH.D., director and founder of The Institute of Applied PsychomusicologyTM, is a licensed psychologist, consultant, author, musician, certified hypnotist, and psychoeducational trainer, listed in The National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. His international lectures are based on his books The Tao of Music: Sound Psychology and Nurturing Your Child with Music: How Sound Awareness Creates Happy, Smart and Confident Children. His Soothing PulseTM CD series is designed for meditation, relaxation, healing, and achieving holistic mind-body-spirit attunement through the process of "Pulse EntrainmentTM." Contact Dr. Ortiz at Dr.O@soundpsych.com, or visit his web site at www.soundpsych.com.

we must first tune
our own instrument
— our selves.

AHP PERSPECTIVE February/March 2000 Table of Contents

AHP Perspective Editorial Guidelines Advertising Information