Sadness....

I will not be attending the Soldier's Retreat this weekend after all. I have been having pain in right leg off and on for four months and night before last at work, it became much worse. 

I have sadness and regret at missing the Soldier's Retreat this weekend since Dr. Ed Tick who has written War and the Soul, is doing such healing work for our veterans. 

Hopefully I will be able to attend another one in the future, but I had so looked forward to being part of this healing experience.

However, life is uncertain and learning that seems to be a continual lesson. (At least for me..). 

For those interested, here again is the link to Soldier's Heart: http://www.soldiersheart.net/.

I have been informed by those who have had to deal with it, that I might have a bulging disk (or disks) that is causing such pain and occasional "crippling". Will see what the doctor says and go from there. 

Blessings,

Duncan

New Harp links added

Just added some additional harp links for your perusal. And most of these links have great links themselves.

Enjoy,

Duncan

Ah Spring...!

Speaking of Spring and the sap rising in my previous post, here are some pictures of our place in the Spring and finally, after such a long and hard winter, the joys of flowers and the mountain in daylight.

Duncan

A Harp of Olden Times

In a recent post on the Harplist, Jenett writes that in the Anglo-Saxon tale of Beowulf, the name for the harp was "Gleewood". I love the name and it conveys so well what the harp can bring to us-joy, delight, glee. And reading this got me thinking about who the Greenman is and how the harp, in my opinion, would be his natural instrument. 

For of course the original harp is made of wood and the Greenman stands for humanity's "deep kinship with trees and woods",

 irrespressible life, and the cycle of renewal and rebirth. When Spring arrives and the "sap is rising" in both vegetative and erotic delights, the harp truly sings forth in glee. 

And let us not forget the harp has other healing powers in addition to bringing joy and delight. As noted in numerous writings of olden times, the harp was considered to have the power bring three distinct strains or modes of music to those listening: the first was the Geantrai or the Joyous strain which certainly is represented by the Beowulf naming of the harp. The second was the Goltrai or the Lamenting or Sorrowing strain by which the harp was able to help heal those in sorrow or distress. And the third was the Suantrai strain or Sleep strain/Strain of Comfort. To

 quote from the liner notes of the Beneath the Moon CD: "...the most revered was 'Suantrai', the music of repose. In its highest form, this music reached deeply into the heart, bringing the soul to a state of profound stillness and peace."

So it is no surprise to see the harp become such a vital and profound instrument of healing in hospitals, hospice, nursing homes and where ever souls are need of comfort and healing. 

Blessings from the Greenman's Harp,

Duncan

New links for Music and Harp therapy.

I have just added some additional links for Music and Harp therapy programs on the right hand side of this blog, along with a Yahoo Group for Music Medicine that Laurie Riley began many years ago and which I read without fail. 

Happy linking and harping. 

Blessings, 

Duncan

Music and the Soul

Several years ago, I attended a day long seminar about the healing power of music and the keynote speaker was Dr. Deforia Lane who was both enchanting and enlightening in her presentation.

As I think about this weekend when the Spirit and Divine are honored and hope is renewed for so many, the following quote from Dr. Lane is worth sharing:

“Music has the power to move a person between different realities: from a broken body into a soaring spirit, from a broken heart into the connection of shared love, from death into the memory and movement of life. Music has the power to touch the heart of a child with God."

Dr. Deforia LaneMusic Therapist

May the joy of Spring and Renewal bring you blessings,

Duncan

A Harper's Healing Prayer

A couple of years ago, I decided to adapt the well-known Prayer of St. Francis for those of us who play the harp in thereapuetic and healing modalities. I offer it here with the hope that other harpers might find it of worth in their healing professions.

Peace Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me a harper of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.

Where there is distress, harmony.
Where there is discomfort, rest.
Where there is unease, quiet.
Where there is anxiety, calm.

O Divine Spirit, let my music be a blessing,
a comfort, a place of refuge,
And above all, a granting of balm to the spirit and
an easement of bodily distress.


Modified by J. Duncan Saunders
16 April 2007

Beannachaidhe,

Duncan

A Harp Poem for Spring

I had this poem saved years and then lost it, but found it recently in the Celtic Mandala Desk Calendar by Jan Delyth.

The willow

whose harp sung silent

when it was withered in winter,

Now gives forth its melody---

hush! Listen!

The world is alive.


Thomas Telynog Evans
nineteenth century.

And yes, finally, the world is coming alive again and Spring is starting to show her many colors. Our grape hyacinths are beginning to bloom, the crocuses are lovely, and so many bulbs are just about to burst forth into color. Just a few more days of sun and we will be truly blessed with colors abounding.

Hope Spring is blessing you, where ever you are.

Blessings

Duncan

Thank you Dr. Weil!

In the latest issue of Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing newsletter, he has a nice article under the Mind and Body section that talks about "The Sound of Healing" of and by therapeutic musicians including the values of harp music. 

I am also reading a book entitled Healthy Living Centres, by Geoffrey Purves. Although the book is focused primarily on using Architecture for healing, there is a nice (albeit short) section on the therapeutic benefits of music. 

May the day come when the arts, especially music become as integral in hospitals as the more expected medical equipment, and that prescriptive music will be seen as essential to the overall healing of the body and the soul. 

Blessings,

Duncan