Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women aged 20-59. Cancer of the breast will happen in 15% of all women during their lifetime. Approximately 200,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, resulting in 40,000 deaths annually. An early diagnosis may be helpful, but a before time indication may be curative! A PAP test for the Breast is the ultimate early warning that the lady is in harm's way. In the past this procedure called for a needle aspiration of the milk duct for NAF (Nipple Aspirate Fluid) and was not only uncomfortable but occasionally elicited pain.
A newer, more comfortable test can be performed in the physician’s office using a small device called the HALO with two adjustable cups that go over the ends of the breasts. Unlike a Mammogram, these do not cause much, if any, discomfort. There is a compression at the end of the breast to help elicit the fluid and then suction, which actually draws the fluid out. After five minutes, the practitioner will check to see if any fluid has been elicited, it will be put into a non-gynecological cytology container then sent to the lab doing the cervical paps. The results are usually given back to the patient or doctor, within 24 to 36 hours.
Dr. Papanicolaou discovered the “pap” in 1938 to look at the epithelial cells in the lining of a woman’s milk ducts and the cervix for precancerous predispositions. At that time cervical cancer was the number one cancer found in women. Doctors and women marched in lock step to eradicate this scourge. As a result of the cervical pap, that cancer now kills less than 3,000 women a year in the U.S. So few women have cervical cancer, I no longer do cervical paps. With the advent of the papilloma vaccine, there will be even less of this venereal disease. The cervical smear is relatively easy to obtain through a pelvic exam, but not so with a breast smear, unless the women have an abnormal discharge.
In 1958 Dr. George Papanicolaou et al., first demonstrated the ability to find abnormal cells in NAF with the purpose of identifying women at high risk for breast cancer. NAF and the Pap test are both based on the cytological examination of changes in epithelial cells to determine risk for developing cancer. The presence of abnormal cells, or atypia, in NAF, which is secreted from the milk ducts where nearly all (95%) of invasive breast cancers begin, is a trait proven to increase a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. Multiple studies have concluded that atypia increases a woman's likelihood of developing breast cancer four to five fold.
The examination of NAF can provide insight into a woman’s breast health. Finding atypia (abnormal changes) years before it might develop into a lesion enables a woman and her doctor to develop the appropriate "care path" for optimal management of her breast health. The problem is finding an easy non-invasive way to collect the breast fluid. Historically it has been gathered in three ways. One is the Sartorius Method, which is warm towel’s compression and that takes at least a half hour and is successful in only 25% of the cases. Another way of eliciting the fluid is a fine-needle procedure going into the nipple to draw out the fluid. The third way was a product that came out a few years ago called ductal lavage, or First Cyte. This involved putting a small tube or cannula, into the nipple, lavaging the milk ducts then analyzing the fluid and the epithelial cells cytologically as we do for atypia. The HALO is a wonderful collection device. By having a fully automated, five-minute, non-invasive procedure, we can now get nipple aspirate fluid in an efficient way. In a 500 patient trial, women rated the pain of the HALO procedure as a three to four on a scale of 1 to 10. A mammogram was rated 8!
The best current screening to assess a woman’s breast health and risk of developing breast cancer is review of family history, personal history, physical breast exam, plus the new guidelines of regular mammography for women over 50. Mammograms have 30% false positives and 38% false negatives. Some scientists even believe that putting the breast under pressure and irradiating it can cause cancer. Also clinical experience has shown that the vast majority of women who develop breast cancer have no risk factors that are identifiable with these methods and go unnoticed for years until an abnormality, a lump, is accidently discovered.
Mammography is often not as effective for women on Hormone Replacement who tend to have dense breasts that make it harder to detect abnormalities. Though young women do not develop breast cancer as often as women over 50, the disease in this population tends to be more advanced and have less favorable outcomes. A recent study found that younger women’s tumors tend to have a set of biological and genetic factors that made them more aggressive and more difficult to treat than cancers in older women. Digital Imaging Thermography has only limited utility and is not accepted by the majority of practicing physicians.
The medical community’s focus has traditionally been on detection and treatment. But by the time an abnormality can be identified via mammography, it has been growing for approximately eight years. As a result, more emphasis is now being placed on individualized “risk assessment and prevention.” Taking bio-identical progesterone, and testosterone eating broccoli sprouts or taking supplements such as DIM or I3Carbinol, limiting alcohol, fat and smoking will go a long way in reversing early atypia and preventing breast cancer.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Music is Healthy
Youthful Aging by Norm Shealy, is one of the e-Newsletters I receive. He, like I, feels that some, but not all, music is healthy and to some extent anti-aging. In addition to binaural music which entrains the brain waves to the Alpha (relaxed) and the Delta (sleep) state, there are other ways music heals as noted by an expert in the field. If a frequency is imputed into one hear with a simple earbud and the other side another frequency, the brain will “subtract” one from another in time and the result will be the difference. For example the same tune with an effective frequency of 186 Hz is piped into the left ear and 180 into the right, the brain will resonate at 6. This is the tranquil alpha state. Steve Halpern details much more on this with his interview with Dr Shealy. Steve is a true scholar of modern meditational and healing forms of music. Norm Shealy MD, a former neurosurgeon, whom I had the pleasure to meet and dine with, is a true genius of metaphysical medicine. His website is http://www.selfhealthsystems.com
STEVE HALPERN HEALING MUSIC
Steven Halpern is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of music for health and healing. He is a pioneering sound healer who brought the art and science of healing music into the field of complementary/integrative medicine and to the mainstream public through his best-selling recordings, including CHAKRA SUITE, SOUND HEALING and RELAXATION SUITE. Hear samples at www.stevenhalpern.com I have been a great fan of Steven's music since the mid-70s (Norm Shealy)
The Power of Steven Halpern's Healing Music
Considerations on Choosing and Using Music for Relaxation and Healing
(c) Steven Halpern 2010
The healing powers of sound and music have been revered for thousands of years, but only recently have leading edge researchers and musicians begun to understand fully the deeper and more subtle implications of this most ancient of the healing arts.Over the past 40 years, key secrets have been identified that expand greatly upon the classical bias of orthodox music therapy and disinterest of the entertainment-oriented music industry.
The field has attracted the attention of millions of individuals who want an easy way to reduce stress, enhance health and well-being while simultaneously being pleasant listening. A great deal of misinformation, however, has made it confusing for many listeners to know how to choose and use healing music in their personal and professional lives. In this short article I will share my perspective both as an artist and as a customer.
In a few moments you'll know more about the field than is taught in most colleges, and will be empowered to make more informed choices to get the most benefit for your time and money.
A Personal Note
I am often asked, "How did you get into this field?" The answer is simple: "It got into me! On one hand, about 40 years ago, I began hearing beautiful music in my mind's ear that made me feel so peaceful and relaxed, I longed to be able to hear it with my physical ears. On the other hand, my doctor told me that if I didn't learn how to reduce my stress level, I would soon suffer from many of the stress-related diseases like hypertension, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, and getting sick more often.
Having read in books about that music was used in ancient societies for healing, I searched for suitable soundtracks for health. There was very little music composed expressly for this purpose, and even less research into the healing powers of music. As a trained musician, I realized I was in a perfect position to combine my personal and professional proclivities.
When I performed my healing music in public, people always asked me for a recording that they could use at home. I was encouraged to establish my own independent record label, and soon discovered that composing the music was the easy part. I soon learned that I had to educate the public, as well as the growing ranks of holistic, alternative and integrative health care practitioners about healthful and stress-reducing aspects of music that had not been addressed before.
Keynotes of Sound Health
How do we respond to music? Many individuals never consider this topic. Traditionally, this question was answered with respect to the elements of melody, harmony and rhythm. tone color/timbre was added in more modern textbooks. The psychology of music, as a field, and music therapy, historically focused on our emotional, psychological and physical responses. Physiological responses were limited to gross motor responses, like the knee jerk response, or blood flow through a finger. Until I conducted landmark research studies using brainwave biofeedback EEG), Galvanic Skin Response(GSR) and Kirlian(subtle energy field/aura) photography, no one had researched music's effect on subtle energies and consciousness.
In my work, I have identified deeper levels of response-ability, building upon the pioneering research of Hans Jenny (cymatics) and quantum physics. Here is a brief overview. For this discussion, I'll limit my remarks to focus on an understanding that self-healing occurs most effectively in a state of deep relaxation. Sound and music can be a potent force to engage this response. But most music may NOT be your best choice if your goal is health rather than entertainment.
Most music was not composed for true relaxation purposes. (Nor am I suggesting that music should ONLY be composed for that purpose. But using the wrong music virtually sets you up for failure if you with regard to healthful responses. It would be like drinking three cups of coffee and trying to go to sleep. That's not the function of caffeine-laden coffee. Why would you use the musical equivalent of coffee to help you relax?
Lesser known is that most music evokes more of a stressful response than people realize. The reduction of stress, and enhancement of relaxation, is therefore fundamental to most all healing music. (Herbert Benson, MD, bestselling researcher and author of"The Relaxation Response") That is why my CDs are composed with the intention and compositional constructs that provide stress reduction.....at the speed of sound.
Your One Minute Guide to Understanding Healing Music
1.The Rhythm Factor:
The law of rhythm entrainment describes the phenomenon in which a stronger, external stimulus overrides the natural internal rhythm of the heart and causes it to synchronize to its stronger beat. If you listen to music whose tempo is faster than a relaxed heartbeat, (top range about 60 beats per minute) then your heart will be forced to beat in time to the music, which is commonly from 90-140 beats per minute !
That's also like drinking three cups of coffee and trying to go to sleep. You essentially set yourself up for failure. And you'll be awake all night to think about it!
It's easy to identify for yourself whether the music is relaxing for you. Measure your resting heartbeat, and then measure your heartbeat while listening to the music. If your heartbeat is faster, this would NOT be a good choice for your relaxation library. (although it might be a fine choice for other uses). This is precisely the reason that my own recordings do not have a strong central rhythm. I was inspired by my yoga training to compose with the implicit rhythm of a deep, slow yogic breath. (Most reviewers, likely listening after drinking three cups of coffee, were unable to perceive this secret). But your heartbeat will immediately appreciate the opportunity to reset its rhythm into the natural rhythm of a deep breath. This is as apparent to many first-time listeners as well as long-time fans.
2. Melody and Harmony
I'd like to discuss melody and harmony together as 'distraction factors' in evoking the relaxation response. For psychological responses, much has been written. We have been culturally conditioned (by Western classical and pop music) to respond to familiar patterns in predictable fashion, when we hear scale-based melodies or harmonic progressions. We are unconsciously forced to project into the future...where the music is going.
In live presentations, I always demonstrate this secret by singing a scale....and stopping on the seventh note. I do not complete the sequence with the eighth tone of the octave note. You can prove it to yourself right now: Take a moment to imagine me singing a scale..(Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La- Ti....) and notice that you are predictably holding your breath because I did not finish the pattern!
I coined the phrase 'scalus interruptus' to describe this phenomenon, and why you are left feeling 'future tense.' In other words, simply listening to 'ordinary music' CREATES stress and tension!
Relaxation, on the other hand, happens only in the present moment.' You can't relax 'in the future.' You can only relax ' in the now'. Or, to paraphrase spiritual teacher Ram Dass,(Be Here Now), I say, "Hear. Now. Be." tm Remember, we are human be-ings, rather than human do-ings.
Trying to relax while listening to music that keeps you off balance and out of the NOW is therefore not an effective choice if you want to relax. Listen to even 30 seconds of my Chakra Suite, Relaxation Suite, or Ocean Suite and you can feel the relaxing change that comes over your body .It's that easy, and that quick.
Your body is hard-wired to shift gears into a state of relaxation, if you only give it a chance. That's why people the world over enjoy being out in nature, at the ocean, by a lake, on the farm or in a mountain meadow. And when you can't get out in nature, properly composed relaxing and healing music can bring nature to you by giving your 'human instrument' the chance it wants and needs for optimal health.
3. Resonance
Resonance describes the reality that every atom, molecule vibrates at a specific frequency, and functions as both a transmitter and receiver of vibrations at that frequency. Therefore, every organ, gland and muscle in our body has a specific natural frequency which exist within the range of audible sound.
In essence, when you listen to music, you are receiving a vibrational massage. If the music is organized to resonate specific frequency-specific areas of the body, like my Chakra Suite, than we can use sound to assist our body to resonate at a higher level of coherence and efficiency.
Resonance is what you feel when part of you is tingling or buzzing when you hear quartz crystal bowls or Tibetan singing bowls being played, The tones of the Rhodes electric piano are produced by precisely tuned 'tuning forks' that are struck lightly by a hammer attached to the keyboard. It is not a synthesizer. That is the secret of why its tone is so pure, and why it changed my life the moment I bought one: I now had the most beautiful healing instrument at my fingertips, ready to play and record healing music.
4, Tonal Color and Timbre
In my earlier career as a professional performing musician, I played trumpet and electric guitar. The basic sound of these instruments is not intended for relaxation. That was one of the reasons I had to switch to the gentler sounds of electric and grand piano, and atmospheric, psycho-active sounds I could play with electronic keyboards, Many acoustic instruments, like violin and oboe, actually produce waveforms that are irritating and stress-inducing for many people, whether they are aware of them or not.
In my dreams and meditations, I heard music that sounded like celestial bells and heavenly harps. When the instrument was invented, I became one of the early advocates of the Rhodes electric piano, which is featured on my Chakra Suite and many other recordings.
I also learned how to adjust and record the glorious grand piano to remove the harsh attack and enharmonic overtones that interfered with my relaxation as I composed or listened. Every instrument on my recordings is chosen for its relaxation and healing effects. There's a time and a place for brittle and dissonant tones, but not in my healing music.
5. Intention and Music: Thought Field Resonance
In my experience, there is an additional dimension that should be discussed with respect to subtle energy factors. When I first went public with my music and theories in the early l970s, I described the power of intention of the composer or performer as being a critical factor determining what the overall effect would be. For instance, the same melody or notes could have a positive or negative effect depending on the stress level of the performer.
It's as if this 'meta-information' is broadcast and transmitted by the musician to the listener, albeit in an inaudible manner. Quantum physicists have now proven what mystics and musicians have known for millennia.
I coined a phrase to describe this phenomenon thusly: "Music is a carrier wave of consciousness." Now that intention has become such a popular concept, it's easy to understand that it's not just the notes, but the energy that comes thru the notes, that must be considered when choosing healing music.
Depending on the sensitivity of the listener, music intended for meditation and healing can help the listener to quiet the mind, and get into the gap between thoughts. Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer have written eloquently about this. I have always described my own compositional process as 'getting into the spaces between the notes'.
In either case, by quieting the mind, such music creates the proper vibrational resonance in which the individual's brainwaves more easily attune to the natural harmonic resonance of the earth (Schuman resonance , 7.83 Hz) It may therefore be impossible to calibrate how much healing happens because of the music itself, vs how much occurs 'automatically' when the listener gets into the proper alpha brainwave state facilitated by the music.The bottom line is that some music is much more effective in this regard than others.
My approach to sound healing has always been first and foremost to compose soundtracks that will serve the highest good for the highest number of listeners, rather than to impress the listener with the complexity of my compositions or technical virtuosity. I believe that the large and growing international audience that my music has created provides a strong testimonial that it has succeeded in its intention.
Listening at low volume creates a soothing mood and relaxing ambiance for general background use at home, at school, at work, for yoga, or massage, pain control, post-operative recovery, in clinics, hospitals and hospice care.
Many individuals have also discovered the beauty, benefits and blessings of listening with intention and focused attention (especially with headphones, and not multi-tasking), and thus enjoy a greater depth of experience. Listening to this music in this way can indeed transport you into the gap between thoughts, leaving you feeling uplifted, relaxed and renewed, at peace with yourself and the world.
Sound Matters - For The Record
Most people have no idea how profoundly the sounds and music in our life affects us, for better or worse. Here are just a few of the most significant effects:
Common effects of stressful music and noise pollution include (cf "Sound Health", Steven Halpern, Harper & Row,l985): Hypertension, higher stress levels in general, as well as higher cortisol hormone levels, irritability, difficulty sleeping, concentrating, fatigue, digestive problems, weight gain, alcoholism and hyperactivity (especially in children)
Common Effects of Healththy Music
Reduced stress, enhanced relaxation, improved sleep, enhanced concentration and focus, improved digestion (less gas and more efficient digestion, which also often promotes weight loss, better dispensation, greater ease in holding and stretching into yoga postures, enhanced rapport with one's significant other both emotionally and sexually. In sum, the music one listens to can make a significant addition to one's personal health and wellness program.
When choosing which music to buy for your own relaxing and healing sound library, consider that appropriate music should include the above-identified universal commonalities as well as your personal preferences and history. Making more informed choice empowers you and allows your body/mind/spirit the most benefit and pleasure in terms of your own health and self-healing.
Steven Halpern is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of music for health and healing. He is a pioneering sound healer who brought the art and science of healing music into the field of complementary/integrative medicine and to the mainstream public through his best-selling recordings, including CHAKRA SUITE, Music for SOUND HEALING, GIFTS of the ANGELS, PEACE of MIND and RELAXATION SUITE. Read more about sound and healing at www.stevenhalpern.com
STEVE HALPERN HEALING MUSIC
Steven Halpern is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of music for health and healing. He is a pioneering sound healer who brought the art and science of healing music into the field of complementary/integrative medicine and to the mainstream public through his best-selling recordings, including CHAKRA SUITE, SOUND HEALING and RELAXATION SUITE. Hear samples at www.stevenhalpern.com I have been a great fan of Steven's music since the mid-70s (Norm Shealy)
The Power of Steven Halpern's Healing Music
Considerations on Choosing and Using Music for Relaxation and Healing
(c) Steven Halpern 2010
The healing powers of sound and music have been revered for thousands of years, but only recently have leading edge researchers and musicians begun to understand fully the deeper and more subtle implications of this most ancient of the healing arts.Over the past 40 years, key secrets have been identified that expand greatly upon the classical bias of orthodox music therapy and disinterest of the entertainment-oriented music industry.
The field has attracted the attention of millions of individuals who want an easy way to reduce stress, enhance health and well-being while simultaneously being pleasant listening. A great deal of misinformation, however, has made it confusing for many listeners to know how to choose and use healing music in their personal and professional lives. In this short article I will share my perspective both as an artist and as a customer.
In a few moments you'll know more about the field than is taught in most colleges, and will be empowered to make more informed choices to get the most benefit for your time and money.
A Personal Note
I am often asked, "How did you get into this field?" The answer is simple: "It got into me! On one hand, about 40 years ago, I began hearing beautiful music in my mind's ear that made me feel so peaceful and relaxed, I longed to be able to hear it with my physical ears. On the other hand, my doctor told me that if I didn't learn how to reduce my stress level, I would soon suffer from many of the stress-related diseases like hypertension, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, and getting sick more often.
Having read in books about that music was used in ancient societies for healing, I searched for suitable soundtracks for health. There was very little music composed expressly for this purpose, and even less research into the healing powers of music. As a trained musician, I realized I was in a perfect position to combine my personal and professional proclivities.
When I performed my healing music in public, people always asked me for a recording that they could use at home. I was encouraged to establish my own independent record label, and soon discovered that composing the music was the easy part. I soon learned that I had to educate the public, as well as the growing ranks of holistic, alternative and integrative health care practitioners about healthful and stress-reducing aspects of music that had not been addressed before.
Keynotes of Sound Health
How do we respond to music? Many individuals never consider this topic. Traditionally, this question was answered with respect to the elements of melody, harmony and rhythm. tone color/timbre was added in more modern textbooks. The psychology of music, as a field, and music therapy, historically focused on our emotional, psychological and physical responses. Physiological responses were limited to gross motor responses, like the knee jerk response, or blood flow through a finger. Until I conducted landmark research studies using brainwave biofeedback EEG), Galvanic Skin Response(GSR) and Kirlian(subtle energy field/aura) photography, no one had researched music's effect on subtle energies and consciousness.
In my work, I have identified deeper levels of response-ability, building upon the pioneering research of Hans Jenny (cymatics) and quantum physics. Here is a brief overview. For this discussion, I'll limit my remarks to focus on an understanding that self-healing occurs most effectively in a state of deep relaxation. Sound and music can be a potent force to engage this response. But most music may NOT be your best choice if your goal is health rather than entertainment.
Most music was not composed for true relaxation purposes. (Nor am I suggesting that music should ONLY be composed for that purpose. But using the wrong music virtually sets you up for failure if you with regard to healthful responses. It would be like drinking three cups of coffee and trying to go to sleep. That's not the function of caffeine-laden coffee. Why would you use the musical equivalent of coffee to help you relax?
Lesser known is that most music evokes more of a stressful response than people realize. The reduction of stress, and enhancement of relaxation, is therefore fundamental to most all healing music. (Herbert Benson, MD, bestselling researcher and author of"The Relaxation Response") That is why my CDs are composed with the intention and compositional constructs that provide stress reduction.....at the speed of sound.
Your One Minute Guide to Understanding Healing Music
1.The Rhythm Factor:
The law of rhythm entrainment describes the phenomenon in which a stronger, external stimulus overrides the natural internal rhythm of the heart and causes it to synchronize to its stronger beat. If you listen to music whose tempo is faster than a relaxed heartbeat, (top range about 60 beats per minute) then your heart will be forced to beat in time to the music, which is commonly from 90-140 beats per minute !
That's also like drinking three cups of coffee and trying to go to sleep. You essentially set yourself up for failure. And you'll be awake all night to think about it!
It's easy to identify for yourself whether the music is relaxing for you. Measure your resting heartbeat, and then measure your heartbeat while listening to the music. If your heartbeat is faster, this would NOT be a good choice for your relaxation library. (although it might be a fine choice for other uses). This is precisely the reason that my own recordings do not have a strong central rhythm. I was inspired by my yoga training to compose with the implicit rhythm of a deep, slow yogic breath. (Most reviewers, likely listening after drinking three cups of coffee, were unable to perceive this secret). But your heartbeat will immediately appreciate the opportunity to reset its rhythm into the natural rhythm of a deep breath. This is as apparent to many first-time listeners as well as long-time fans.
2. Melody and Harmony
I'd like to discuss melody and harmony together as 'distraction factors' in evoking the relaxation response. For psychological responses, much has been written. We have been culturally conditioned (by Western classical and pop music) to respond to familiar patterns in predictable fashion, when we hear scale-based melodies or harmonic progressions. We are unconsciously forced to project into the future...where the music is going.
In live presentations, I always demonstrate this secret by singing a scale....and stopping on the seventh note. I do not complete the sequence with the eighth tone of the octave note. You can prove it to yourself right now: Take a moment to imagine me singing a scale..(Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La- Ti....) and notice that you are predictably holding your breath because I did not finish the pattern!
I coined the phrase 'scalus interruptus' to describe this phenomenon, and why you are left feeling 'future tense.' In other words, simply listening to 'ordinary music' CREATES stress and tension!
Relaxation, on the other hand, happens only in the present moment.' You can't relax 'in the future.' You can only relax ' in the now'. Or, to paraphrase spiritual teacher Ram Dass,(Be Here Now), I say, "Hear. Now. Be." tm Remember, we are human be-ings, rather than human do-ings.
Trying to relax while listening to music that keeps you off balance and out of the NOW is therefore not an effective choice if you want to relax. Listen to even 30 seconds of my Chakra Suite, Relaxation Suite, or Ocean Suite and you can feel the relaxing change that comes over your body .It's that easy, and that quick.
Your body is hard-wired to shift gears into a state of relaxation, if you only give it a chance. That's why people the world over enjoy being out in nature, at the ocean, by a lake, on the farm or in a mountain meadow. And when you can't get out in nature, properly composed relaxing and healing music can bring nature to you by giving your 'human instrument' the chance it wants and needs for optimal health.
3. Resonance
Resonance describes the reality that every atom, molecule vibrates at a specific frequency, and functions as both a transmitter and receiver of vibrations at that frequency. Therefore, every organ, gland and muscle in our body has a specific natural frequency which exist within the range of audible sound.
In essence, when you listen to music, you are receiving a vibrational massage. If the music is organized to resonate specific frequency-specific areas of the body, like my Chakra Suite, than we can use sound to assist our body to resonate at a higher level of coherence and efficiency.
Resonance is what you feel when part of you is tingling or buzzing when you hear quartz crystal bowls or Tibetan singing bowls being played, The tones of the Rhodes electric piano are produced by precisely tuned 'tuning forks' that are struck lightly by a hammer attached to the keyboard. It is not a synthesizer. That is the secret of why its tone is so pure, and why it changed my life the moment I bought one: I now had the most beautiful healing instrument at my fingertips, ready to play and record healing music.
4, Tonal Color and Timbre
In my earlier career as a professional performing musician, I played trumpet and electric guitar. The basic sound of these instruments is not intended for relaxation. That was one of the reasons I had to switch to the gentler sounds of electric and grand piano, and atmospheric, psycho-active sounds I could play with electronic keyboards, Many acoustic instruments, like violin and oboe, actually produce waveforms that are irritating and stress-inducing for many people, whether they are aware of them or not.
In my dreams and meditations, I heard music that sounded like celestial bells and heavenly harps. When the instrument was invented, I became one of the early advocates of the Rhodes electric piano, which is featured on my Chakra Suite and many other recordings.
I also learned how to adjust and record the glorious grand piano to remove the harsh attack and enharmonic overtones that interfered with my relaxation as I composed or listened. Every instrument on my recordings is chosen for its relaxation and healing effects. There's a time and a place for brittle and dissonant tones, but not in my healing music.
5. Intention and Music: Thought Field Resonance
In my experience, there is an additional dimension that should be discussed with respect to subtle energy factors. When I first went public with my music and theories in the early l970s, I described the power of intention of the composer or performer as being a critical factor determining what the overall effect would be. For instance, the same melody or notes could have a positive or negative effect depending on the stress level of the performer.
It's as if this 'meta-information' is broadcast and transmitted by the musician to the listener, albeit in an inaudible manner. Quantum physicists have now proven what mystics and musicians have known for millennia.
I coined a phrase to describe this phenomenon thusly: "Music is a carrier wave of consciousness." Now that intention has become such a popular concept, it's easy to understand that it's not just the notes, but the energy that comes thru the notes, that must be considered when choosing healing music.
Depending on the sensitivity of the listener, music intended for meditation and healing can help the listener to quiet the mind, and get into the gap between thoughts. Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer have written eloquently about this. I have always described my own compositional process as 'getting into the spaces between the notes'.
In either case, by quieting the mind, such music creates the proper vibrational resonance in which the individual's brainwaves more easily attune to the natural harmonic resonance of the earth (Schuman resonance , 7.83 Hz) It may therefore be impossible to calibrate how much healing happens because of the music itself, vs how much occurs 'automatically' when the listener gets into the proper alpha brainwave state facilitated by the music.The bottom line is that some music is much more effective in this regard than others.
My approach to sound healing has always been first and foremost to compose soundtracks that will serve the highest good for the highest number of listeners, rather than to impress the listener with the complexity of my compositions or technical virtuosity. I believe that the large and growing international audience that my music has created provides a strong testimonial that it has succeeded in its intention.
Listening at low volume creates a soothing mood and relaxing ambiance for general background use at home, at school, at work, for yoga, or massage, pain control, post-operative recovery, in clinics, hospitals and hospice care.
Many individuals have also discovered the beauty, benefits and blessings of listening with intention and focused attention (especially with headphones, and not multi-tasking), and thus enjoy a greater depth of experience. Listening to this music in this way can indeed transport you into the gap between thoughts, leaving you feeling uplifted, relaxed and renewed, at peace with yourself and the world.
Sound Matters - For The Record
Most people have no idea how profoundly the sounds and music in our life affects us, for better or worse. Here are just a few of the most significant effects:
Common effects of stressful music and noise pollution include (cf "Sound Health", Steven Halpern, Harper & Row,l985): Hypertension, higher stress levels in general, as well as higher cortisol hormone levels, irritability, difficulty sleeping, concentrating, fatigue, digestive problems, weight gain, alcoholism and hyperactivity (especially in children)
Common Effects of Healththy Music
Reduced stress, enhanced relaxation, improved sleep, enhanced concentration and focus, improved digestion (less gas and more efficient digestion, which also often promotes weight loss, better dispensation, greater ease in holding and stretching into yoga postures, enhanced rapport with one's significant other both emotionally and sexually. In sum, the music one listens to can make a significant addition to one's personal health and wellness program.
When choosing which music to buy for your own relaxing and healing sound library, consider that appropriate music should include the above-identified universal commonalities as well as your personal preferences and history. Making more informed choice empowers you and allows your body/mind/spirit the most benefit and pleasure in terms of your own health and self-healing.
Steven Halpern is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent composer of music for health and healing. He is a pioneering sound healer who brought the art and science of healing music into the field of complementary/integrative medicine and to the mainstream public through his best-selling recordings, including CHAKRA SUITE, Music for SOUND HEALING, GIFTS of the ANGELS, PEACE of MIND and RELAXATION SUITE. Read more about sound and healing at www.stevenhalpern.com
Monday, June 28, 2010
IS APO-E RIGHT FOR ME ?
Apolipoprotein E (ApoE), a blood test to predict premature cardiovascular and/or Alzheimer’s disease, was prohibitively expensive until June 2010. The Atherotec corp then reduced the price to less than $100 as an add-on study to the VAP (Vertical Atherogenic Profile) which is paid for by most insurance. This would include about 50 other very helpful tests as mundane as a blood sugar to the extremely sophisticated Plac2. This examines for the plaque burden of your arteries as of the moment the blood is drawn.
Regarding the ApoE each of us are given two copies (alleles} of the ApoE at birth and they remain that way lifelong. Therefore the test never has to be repeated again. There is no ApoE e1. We have one each of 2,3, and 4. A person can have e2/e3 or e2/e4 or double of each such as e4/e4. Those with ApoE e2/e2 alleles are at a higher risk of premature vascular disease, although some may never develop disease depending on their lifestyle. Likewise, they may have the disease and not have e2/e2 alleles because it is only one of the factors involved. Our genes cannot change but they can be modified by our diet, exercise and medications. ApoE genotyping adds additional information and, if symptoms are present, e2/e2 can help confirm type III hyperlipoproteinemia a cardiovascular risk factor. This has Chylomicron (Fat/triglyceride globules) remnants and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles which should be rapidly removed from the circulation by the liver. Apolipoprotein E, the main component of the chylomicron and VLDL, binds to a specific receptor on liver cells for disposal. In reference to e2 lipid abnormalities, it will improved lipids with alcohol consumption and there will be little response to diet. With e4, the lipids will improve with a low fat diet. So ApoE is an important determinant of metabolism and treatment of abnormally high lipids.
In addition to predicting age of death ApoE from cardiovascular disease, it predicts
Alzheimer’s(AD), perhaps a fate worse than dying of heart disease. AD is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him Generally, it is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer's does occur before this age. In 2010, there were 30.6 million sufferers worldwide. Alzheimer's is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050. And the ApoE test will go a long way to forecast it so you can do things NOW to prolong its onset and even prevent it!
The earliest observable symptoms are often mistakenly thought to be 'age-related' concerns, or manifestations of stress In the early stages, the most commonly recognized symptom is inability to acquire new memories, such as difficulty in recalling recently observed facts. As the disease advances, symptoms include confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer as their senses decline. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration of the disease varies. AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis. When AD is suspected, the diagnosis is usually confirmed with behavioral assessments and cognitive tests, such as a MMSE or a CDR and often I order a MRI looking at the hippocampus volume and if in real doubt a PET scan with a PIB contrast. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration and severity of the disease varies much from patient to patient. AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis.
Over 60% percent of those who have late onset AD have paired ApoE e4 (e4/e4) alleles. While genetic mutations of the PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP genes are associated with AD in a very small number of specific family lines, they are associated with early onset AD, rather than late onset. The E4 variant is the largest known genetic risk factor for late-onset AD in a variety of ethnic groups. Caucasian and Japanese carriers of 2 E4 alleles have between 10 and 30 times the risk of developing AD by 75 years of age, as compared to those not carrying any E4 alleles. Research suggests an interaction with amyloid. AD is characterized by plaques consisting of amyloid. Apolipoprotein E enhances proteolytic break-down of this peptide, both within and between cells. ApoE-4 is not as efficient as others at catalyzing these reactions resulting in increased vulnerability to Alzheimer's in individuals with this gene. Among ApoE4 carriers, another gene, GAB2, is thought to further influence the risk of getting AD. However, the relationship does not appear as strong as e4, since in the Japanese population, gab2 is not a risk factor. There is also evidence that the ApoE2 allele may serve a protective role in AD. Thus, the genotype most at risk for Alzheimer's disease is ApoE e4/4. The ApoE 3,4 genotype is at increased risk, though not to the degree that those homozygous for ApoE 4 are. The genotype ApoE 3/3 is considered at normal risk for Alzheimer's disease. The genotype ApoE 2/3 is considered at less risk for Alzheimer's disease. Interestingly, people with both a copy of the 2 allele and the 4 allele, ApoE 2/4, are at normal risk similar to the ApoE 3/3 genotype. Other than e4, the other “e s” do get better with Medium Chain Triglyceride Therapysuch as Coconut Oil. Knowing if you are in harms way for either Vascular or Alzheimers disease early in life should give the impetus to change lifestyle. “An enemy known is better than one unknown!”
Regarding the ApoE each of us are given two copies (alleles} of the ApoE at birth and they remain that way lifelong. Therefore the test never has to be repeated again. There is no ApoE e1. We have one each of 2,3, and 4. A person can have e2/e3 or e2/e4 or double of each such as e4/e4. Those with ApoE e2/e2 alleles are at a higher risk of premature vascular disease, although some may never develop disease depending on their lifestyle. Likewise, they may have the disease and not have e2/e2 alleles because it is only one of the factors involved. Our genes cannot change but they can be modified by our diet, exercise and medications. ApoE genotyping adds additional information and, if symptoms are present, e2/e2 can help confirm type III hyperlipoproteinemia a cardiovascular risk factor. This has Chylomicron (Fat/triglyceride globules) remnants and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles which should be rapidly removed from the circulation by the liver. Apolipoprotein E, the main component of the chylomicron and VLDL, binds to a specific receptor on liver cells for disposal. In reference to e2 lipid abnormalities, it will improved lipids with alcohol consumption and there will be little response to diet. With e4, the lipids will improve with a low fat diet. So ApoE is an important determinant of metabolism and treatment of abnormally high lipids.
In addition to predicting age of death ApoE from cardiovascular disease, it predicts
Alzheimer’s(AD), perhaps a fate worse than dying of heart disease. AD is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him Generally, it is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer's does occur before this age. In 2010, there were 30.6 million sufferers worldwide. Alzheimer's is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050. And the ApoE test will go a long way to forecast it so you can do things NOW to prolong its onset and even prevent it!
The earliest observable symptoms are often mistakenly thought to be 'age-related' concerns, or manifestations of stress In the early stages, the most commonly recognized symptom is inability to acquire new memories, such as difficulty in recalling recently observed facts. As the disease advances, symptoms include confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer as their senses decline. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration of the disease varies. AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis. When AD is suspected, the diagnosis is usually confirmed with behavioral assessments and cognitive tests, such as a MMSE or a CDR and often I order a MRI looking at the hippocampus volume and if in real doubt a PET scan with a PIB contrast. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration and severity of the disease varies much from patient to patient. AD develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis.
Over 60% percent of those who have late onset AD have paired ApoE e4 (e4/e4) alleles. While genetic mutations of the PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP genes are associated with AD in a very small number of specific family lines, they are associated with early onset AD, rather than late onset. The E4 variant is the largest known genetic risk factor for late-onset AD in a variety of ethnic groups. Caucasian and Japanese carriers of 2 E4 alleles have between 10 and 30 times the risk of developing AD by 75 years of age, as compared to those not carrying any E4 alleles. Research suggests an interaction with amyloid. AD is characterized by plaques consisting of amyloid. Apolipoprotein E enhances proteolytic break-down of this peptide, both within and between cells. ApoE-4 is not as efficient as others at catalyzing these reactions resulting in increased vulnerability to Alzheimer's in individuals with this gene. Among ApoE4 carriers, another gene, GAB2, is thought to further influence the risk of getting AD. However, the relationship does not appear as strong as e4, since in the Japanese population, gab2 is not a risk factor. There is also evidence that the ApoE2 allele may serve a protective role in AD. Thus, the genotype most at risk for Alzheimer's disease is ApoE e4/4. The ApoE 3,4 genotype is at increased risk, though not to the degree that those homozygous for ApoE 4 are. The genotype ApoE 3/3 is considered at normal risk for Alzheimer's disease. The genotype ApoE 2/3 is considered at less risk for Alzheimer's disease. Interestingly, people with both a copy of the 2 allele and the 4 allele, ApoE 2/4, are at normal risk similar to the ApoE 3/3 genotype. Other than e4, the other “e s” do get better with Medium Chain Triglyceride Therapysuch as Coconut Oil. Knowing if you are in harms way for either Vascular or Alzheimers disease early in life should give the impetus to change lifestyle. “An enemy known is better than one unknown!”
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
MICROWAVED FOOD (UN)HEALTHY ?
It had been thought for 20 years that microwaved food may not have all its nutrients. According to most studies, however, the reality is quite the opposite. Every cooking method can destroy vitamins and other nutrients in food. The factors that determine the extent are how long the food is cooked, how much liquid is used and the cooking temperature.
Since microwave ovens often use less heat than conventional methods and involve shorter cooking times, they generally have the least destructive effects. The most heat-sensitive nutrients are water-soluble vitamins, like folic acid and vitamins B and C, which are common in vegetables.
In studies at Cornell University, scientists looked at the effects of cooking on water-soluble vitamins in vegetables and found that spinach retained nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 percent when cooked on a stove. They also found that bacon cooked by microwave has significantly lower levels of cancer-causing nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon.
When it comes to vegetables, adding water can greatly accelerate the loss of nutrients. One study published in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 2003 found that broccoli cooked by microwave — and immersed in water — loses about 74 percent to 97 percent of its antioxidants. When steamed or cooked without water, the broccoli retained most of its nutrients.
Some scientists feel that much of the benefit of food is due to vibration of energy. Microwaves cause isomerization which is the rearrangement of electrons which morphs into another form such an amino acid going from L. lysine to D lysine. Living tissue recognizes the L. but not the D form. This is much more in theory than proof.
However, microwaved heating of banked blood has reportedly caused at least one death. Also, people who were given microwaved foods were shown to have depletion of some vital enzymes. It may be years before the truth is known. But for now I use the microwave mostly to heat water and not food. I am still moderately concerned about the devitalization of the micronutrients in food. Study after study has shown that the more any food is cooked by any method, the less nutrition it has "if it's not raw don’t eat it at all".
Since microwave ovens often use less heat than conventional methods and involve shorter cooking times, they generally have the least destructive effects. The most heat-sensitive nutrients are water-soluble vitamins, like folic acid and vitamins B and C, which are common in vegetables.
In studies at Cornell University, scientists looked at the effects of cooking on water-soluble vitamins in vegetables and found that spinach retained nearly all its folate when cooked in a microwave, but lost about 77 percent when cooked on a stove. They also found that bacon cooked by microwave has significantly lower levels of cancer-causing nitrosamines than conventionally cooked bacon.
When it comes to vegetables, adding water can greatly accelerate the loss of nutrients. One study published in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in 2003 found that broccoli cooked by microwave — and immersed in water — loses about 74 percent to 97 percent of its antioxidants. When steamed or cooked without water, the broccoli retained most of its nutrients.
Some scientists feel that much of the benefit of food is due to vibration of energy. Microwaves cause isomerization which is the rearrangement of electrons which morphs into another form such an amino acid going from L. lysine to D lysine. Living tissue recognizes the L. but not the D form. This is much more in theory than proof.
However, microwaved heating of banked blood has reportedly caused at least one death. Also, people who were given microwaved foods were shown to have depletion of some vital enzymes. It may be years before the truth is known. But for now I use the microwave mostly to heat water and not food. I am still moderately concerned about the devitalization of the micronutrients in food. Study after study has shown that the more any food is cooked by any method, the less nutrition it has "if it's not raw don’t eat it at all".
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
THE DARK SMOOTH FOOD OF HEALTH
For several decades, I’ve been interested in chocolate. Is it anything more than a delicious, but fattening treat? There are over 80 chemicals in chocolate that have been shown to be beneficial to man. There are also some negative ones. The beneficial ones include Minerals (particularly magnesium), vitamins (B6, niacin, thiamine, riboflavin), hormone-like chemicals (ferulic acid and phosphatidylcholine), stimulants (caffeine and theobromine), amino acids (threonine), pain relievers (nicotinamide), aspirin-like anti platelet compounds as well as several other chemicals that have antiseptic, antioxidant and anti parasite properties.
Chocolate comes from the cacao tree, a small evergreen that grows as high as 25 feet in the wild, but when cultivated, is only five feet for convenient hand picking. One inch long, reddish brown beans are imbedded in a white. pulp. The chocolate nuts were taken from this and by a simple fermenting process, such as burying them under leaves for several days, they were ready for use. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter, spicy drink called xocoatl, and was often flavored with vanilla and chili pepper.
Until the 16th century, no European had ever heard of the popular drink from the Central and South American peoples. It was after the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs that chocolate was imported to Europe. The first chocolate house opened in London in 1657. In 1689, noted physician and collector Hans Sloane developed a milk chocolate drink in Jamaica which was initially used by apothecaries, but later sold to the Cadbury brothers in 1897. Chocolate in its solid form was invented in 1847. Joseph Fry & Son discovered a way to mix some of the cocoa butter back into the dutched chocolate, and added sugar, creating a paste that could be moulded. The result was the first modern chocolate bar.
One ounce of dark chocolate contains the same amount of antioxidants as a 5 ounce glass of red wine. Even the fat (cocoa butter), which was once thought to be bad, is now known to be mostly stearic acid, which is far better for our arteries than other saturated fats.
The smooth rich taste of chocolate has to do with palate pleasing physical property as well as with almost 300 aromas and flavors to tease the taste buds and tweak the brain. The dark chocolate has far less fat and more of the “good stuff’ than the light chocolate. White chocolate has none of this. I would advise reading the label to make sure there are no hydrogenated oils, excessive sugar and artificial flavors that are sometimes used in less expensive forms of chocolate. Hopefully, xylitol and/or stevia will be used as a sweetener.
Chocolate has been shown to be positive in human health. Panamanian Indians who consumed a cocoa-ladened drink (xocoatl) had one-third less incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease. The first epidemiological study that proved increased cocoa (chocolate) intake, improved the cardiovascular system with a decrease of all-cause mortality, took place in Holland. The Zutphen Elderly Study published several years ago in The Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that men who ate the most cocoa had a significant drop in blood pressure and a 50 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death.
In a more recent study of 44,489 people, those who ate one serving of chocolate per week had a 22% reduction in the likelihood of stroke. Another study found that people who ate 50 gms of chocolate a week were 46% less likely to die following a stroke.
Chocolate comes from the cacao tree, a small evergreen that grows as high as 25 feet in the wild, but when cultivated, is only five feet for convenient hand picking. One inch long, reddish brown beans are imbedded in a white. pulp. The chocolate nuts were taken from this and by a simple fermenting process, such as burying them under leaves for several days, they were ready for use. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter, spicy drink called xocoatl, and was often flavored with vanilla and chili pepper.
Until the 16th century, no European had ever heard of the popular drink from the Central and South American peoples. It was after the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs that chocolate was imported to Europe. The first chocolate house opened in London in 1657. In 1689, noted physician and collector Hans Sloane developed a milk chocolate drink in Jamaica which was initially used by apothecaries, but later sold to the Cadbury brothers in 1897. Chocolate in its solid form was invented in 1847. Joseph Fry & Son discovered a way to mix some of the cocoa butter back into the dutched chocolate, and added sugar, creating a paste that could be moulded. The result was the first modern chocolate bar.
One ounce of dark chocolate contains the same amount of antioxidants as a 5 ounce glass of red wine. Even the fat (cocoa butter), which was once thought to be bad, is now known to be mostly stearic acid, which is far better for our arteries than other saturated fats.
The smooth rich taste of chocolate has to do with palate pleasing physical property as well as with almost 300 aromas and flavors to tease the taste buds and tweak the brain. The dark chocolate has far less fat and more of the “good stuff’ than the light chocolate. White chocolate has none of this. I would advise reading the label to make sure there are no hydrogenated oils, excessive sugar and artificial flavors that are sometimes used in less expensive forms of chocolate. Hopefully, xylitol and/or stevia will be used as a sweetener.
Chocolate has been shown to be positive in human health. Panamanian Indians who consumed a cocoa-ladened drink (xocoatl) had one-third less incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease. The first epidemiological study that proved increased cocoa (chocolate) intake, improved the cardiovascular system with a decrease of all-cause mortality, took place in Holland. The Zutphen Elderly Study published several years ago in The Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that men who ate the most cocoa had a significant drop in blood pressure and a 50 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death.
In a more recent study of 44,489 people, those who ate one serving of chocolate per week had a 22% reduction in the likelihood of stroke. Another study found that people who ate 50 gms of chocolate a week were 46% less likely to die following a stroke.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
EXPIERIENCE BASED MEDICINE
Evidence, (not Experience) Based Medicine (EBM)is a new paradigm that has brought a better clarity of diagnosis and treatment to the medical community. Previously, physicians would use anecdotal, inductive reasoning with pathophysiology of disease, previous teaching, with its tremendous prejudice and biases to make clinical decisions in both diagnosis and treatment. Much of how we practiced was never scientifically proven, but taught to us that we took as the Gospel. Some of this included old wives’ tales and consensus opinion. The latter was when a committee of experts in a field voted on how to diagnose and treat. But with EBM the “Evidence” is put through rigorous statistics, reviewed and re-reviewed. This gave physicians the tools needed to enhance their clinical decision, utilizing both theory and statistical modeling. Doctors are discouraged to use their own beliefs and value system and encouraged to be “objective.” Back in 1972, A. Cochrane MD PhD advocated computerized literature for EBM. This is now a reality. Scientific studies are included in the Cochrane database, which as of 2010 has over 3500 systemic reviews and still growing. It is easily accessible to both doctors and their patients. Medline and Pubmed are several of the sites to obtained these on the Internet.
Evidence Base Medicine will always be a work in progress as new studies are completed. Guidelines for diagnoses and treatment are being worked into the fabric of everyday clinical practice. But what about Experience Base Medicine? Does Experience of years of practice count for naught? If the hallmark of good medicine is Evidence Based on double blinded studies involving a large number of patients, then how about the single individual, perhaps you, influence the diagnosis and treatment and what your physician will do to the next patient who has the same medical problem? It is his experience with you and as many others like you that he has in his conscious and unconscious mind that gives him the perspective to make that very unique and personal determination for your best result.
My first clinical rotation as an acting intern was in 1962. Now 48 years later, I may not be any smarter, but I am wiser because of the experience of the years of practice. Of course I review the databases, but the thousands of patients, and tons of medical journals I read along with the hundreds of medical conferences that I participated and attended should and does give me a different perspective on how I practice medicine. After all, Medicine is a science of uncertainty based on the art of probability. Like most practitioners I always want the very best for the patient and unless some catastrophe (stroke, acute mental illness etc) occurs in my life, I am on the top of my game. Despite my years, I practice what I preach and remain as vibrant now as I was fifty years ago.
Quoting from my Medical hero, Sir William Osler, “He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all.” He also said “The young physician starts life with 20 drugs for each disease, and the old physician ends life with one drug for 20 diseases.” Also “One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine” and “Observe, record, tabulate, communicate. Use your five senses. Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell, and know that by practice alone you can become expert.”
So what is Experience? Experience is multifaceted and very fickle. It involves facets of intellect and consciousness which occur in combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination. Importantly it must also include unconscious cognitive processes that at times are fragmentary and fleeting so they can crystallize over time to produce an original concept. It depends on one’s individual ability to process data, to store and internalize it. The implicit knowledge of clinical experience has been called "knowing in practice.” This method of knowing allows the experienced physician to arrive at a diagnosis after only a few moments of history taking, although it would be difficult to explain the method for arriving at this diagnosis.
Knowing in practice has three important roles in clinical medicine. Diagnostic expertise can only be developed with experience. The development of the motor skills involved in medical practice--feeling an enlarged liver, for example--requires practice as well. Physicians also learn to hear what patients are saying and develop an understanding, “hearing between the lines”. From my years of teaching medical students and young doctors, I know that good doctors are born, not made. Some have it and others will never get it!
Evidence Base Medicine will always be a work in progress as new studies are completed. Guidelines for diagnoses and treatment are being worked into the fabric of everyday clinical practice. But what about Experience Base Medicine? Does Experience of years of practice count for naught? If the hallmark of good medicine is Evidence Based on double blinded studies involving a large number of patients, then how about the single individual, perhaps you, influence the diagnosis and treatment and what your physician will do to the next patient who has the same medical problem? It is his experience with you and as many others like you that he has in his conscious and unconscious mind that gives him the perspective to make that very unique and personal determination for your best result.
My first clinical rotation as an acting intern was in 1962. Now 48 years later, I may not be any smarter, but I am wiser because of the experience of the years of practice. Of course I review the databases, but the thousands of patients, and tons of medical journals I read along with the hundreds of medical conferences that I participated and attended should and does give me a different perspective on how I practice medicine. After all, Medicine is a science of uncertainty based on the art of probability. Like most practitioners I always want the very best for the patient and unless some catastrophe (stroke, acute mental illness etc) occurs in my life, I am on the top of my game. Despite my years, I practice what I preach and remain as vibrant now as I was fifty years ago.
Quoting from my Medical hero, Sir William Osler, “He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all.” He also said “The young physician starts life with 20 drugs for each disease, and the old physician ends life with one drug for 20 diseases.” Also “One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine” and “Observe, record, tabulate, communicate. Use your five senses. Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell, and know that by practice alone you can become expert.”
So what is Experience? Experience is multifaceted and very fickle. It involves facets of intellect and consciousness which occur in combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination. Importantly it must also include unconscious cognitive processes that at times are fragmentary and fleeting so they can crystallize over time to produce an original concept. It depends on one’s individual ability to process data, to store and internalize it. The implicit knowledge of clinical experience has been called "knowing in practice.” This method of knowing allows the experienced physician to arrive at a diagnosis after only a few moments of history taking, although it would be difficult to explain the method for arriving at this diagnosis.
Knowing in practice has three important roles in clinical medicine. Diagnostic expertise can only be developed with experience. The development of the motor skills involved in medical practice--feeling an enlarged liver, for example--requires practice as well. Physicians also learn to hear what patients are saying and develop an understanding, “hearing between the lines”. From my years of teaching medical students and young doctors, I know that good doctors are born, not made. Some have it and others will never get it!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
FRIENDS
To have a friend, you must be one!
A person needs same sex close good friends or just a friend, for both happiness and health. There are differences between friends and acquaintances. A friend is a person with whom someone shares extremely strong interpersonal ties. Whereas an acquaintance, the sharing of emotional ties isn't present. An example would be a colleague with whom you enjoy eating dinner, but would not look to for emotional support. Friends do things for each other without expectation of repayment. Friends encourage their friends to lead more healthy lifestyles; Friends encourage their ally to seek help and access services, when needed; A friend enhances their friend’s coping skills in dealing with illness and other health problems; and Good friends actually affect physiological pathways that are protective of health. There are some connotation differences between certain types or circumstances between friends, such as;
Buddy: In the USA, guys often refer to each other as 'buddies', for example, introducing a male friend as their 'buddy', or a circle of male friends as 'buddies'.
Soul mate: the name given to someone who is considered the ultimate, true, and eternal half of the other's soul, in which the two are now and forever meant to be together.
Pen pal: people who have a relationship via postal correspondence. They may or may not have met each other in person and share friendship, between each other.
Internet friendship: a form of friendship, not romance, which takes place over the Internet.
Comrade: means "ally", "friend", or in a military sense. This is the feeling of affinity that draws people together in time of war or when people have a mutual enemy or even a common goal.
Many friendships are not enduring, not necessarily for selfish reasons, but because of misunderstandings. A parting of the ways is usually painful for both who feel that they have been harmed or injured by the other. Both loose because of the split. A good way to maintain a friendship is to have a policy once the pair decide that they really like each other.
DECLARATION FOR A LASTING FRIENDSHIP
TO BE DISCUSSED AT A CONVIENIENT TIME BEFORE AN ARGUMENT HAPPENS
(Or if you are in a middle of one wait until you both cool down)
1. We will never fight in Public.
2. We will never touch or talk to each other in a harmful or abusive way.
3. We will never bring up unrelated items from the past.
4. We will never indicate that we will no longer be friends.
5. We will call a “time out” if conflict elevates to a damaging level.
6. We will work out our problem-Failure is not an option!
A person needs same sex close good friends or just a friend, for both happiness and health. There are differences between friends and acquaintances. A friend is a person with whom someone shares extremely strong interpersonal ties. Whereas an acquaintance, the sharing of emotional ties isn't present. An example would be a colleague with whom you enjoy eating dinner, but would not look to for emotional support. Friends do things for each other without expectation of repayment. Friends encourage their friends to lead more healthy lifestyles; Friends encourage their ally to seek help and access services, when needed; A friend enhances their friend’s coping skills in dealing with illness and other health problems; and Good friends actually affect physiological pathways that are protective of health. There are some connotation differences between certain types or circumstances between friends, such as;
Buddy: In the USA, guys often refer to each other as 'buddies', for example, introducing a male friend as their 'buddy', or a circle of male friends as 'buddies'.
Soul mate: the name given to someone who is considered the ultimate, true, and eternal half of the other's soul, in which the two are now and forever meant to be together.
Pen pal: people who have a relationship via postal correspondence. They may or may not have met each other in person and share friendship, between each other.
Internet friendship: a form of friendship, not romance, which takes place over the Internet.
Comrade: means "ally", "friend", or in a military sense. This is the feeling of affinity that draws people together in time of war or when people have a mutual enemy or even a common goal.
Many friendships are not enduring, not necessarily for selfish reasons, but because of misunderstandings. A parting of the ways is usually painful for both who feel that they have been harmed or injured by the other. Both loose because of the split. A good way to maintain a friendship is to have a policy once the pair decide that they really like each other.
DECLARATION FOR A LASTING FRIENDSHIP
TO BE DISCUSSED AT A CONVIENIENT TIME BEFORE AN ARGUMENT HAPPENS
(Or if you are in a middle of one wait until you both cool down)
1. We will never fight in Public.
2. We will never touch or talk to each other in a harmful or abusive way.
3. We will never bring up unrelated items from the past.
4. We will never indicate that we will no longer be friends.
5. We will call a “time out” if conflict elevates to a damaging level.
6. We will work out our problem-Failure is not an option!
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