As the weather gets colder and we spend more time indoors, many of us are rediscovering the soulful pleasures of listening to music ... with our eyes closed ... and not multi-tasking.

Just listening.

Deep listening.

A simple act that, until only a short time ago, was illegal and punishable by beatings or death if you lived in Afghanistan. As I write these words, I reflect on how much our world has changed since 9/11—how much we have changed-and how much we have to be thankful for.

In the wake of 9/11, many conferences were cancelled, but a number of them followed our President's urging to live "normal lives." I was honored to be invited to speak and perform in concert at the International Conference on Altered States of Consciousness, which was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico November 1-7, 2001.

The program was organized by the same wonderful folks who created the highly successful International Conferences on Science and Consciousness, as well as on Business and Consciousness. Their format combines some of the world's leading scientists, spiritual teachers and a highly interested audience. This one was no exception. The subtitle of the event was "Enlightenment, Entheogens, Shamanism and Peak Experiences."

As many of you are aware, the use of sound in shamanic practices has been going on since long before recorded history, but studies about how and why sound works have only recently begun. Sometimes less talk and more experience is the way to go. However, in a hotel ballroom this is challenging, to say the least.

There were only a few workshops that specifically focused on music, but four out of five nights featured an evening concert. In addition to my program, I attended a drum and hand cymbal concert by Sufi Master Adnan Sarhan, and a wonderful community-building and sweat-inducing concert by Nigerian Master Drum Onye Onyemaechi.

I also had a chance to network with representatives of Hemi-Sync (www.hemi-sync.com) who are carrying on the groundbreaking work of Robert Monroe in the use of sound frequencies for journeys out of the body, healing, and a wide variety of specific altered states of consciousness.

Making a return visit, all the way from France, was Jacotte Chollet, a former filmmaker whose explorations into "automatic playing" has yielded several recordings that she markets as Multidimensional Music.

I think you'll find her writings quite thought provoking. Her website is in both French and English, and once you listen to samples, I'd be interested in your feedback. You may write me directly, or though my discussion group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stevenhalpern.

Empower Your New Year's Affirmations with Music

At this time of year, people traditionally make resolutions to modify existing behaviors or add some desired new ones. Many people I know reframe that tradition as New Year's "Affirmations"--which has a more positive spin.

Let me suggest that in addition to writing them out on paper or typing them into your computer, you also read them aloud into a tape recorder, minidisk, or some other form of audio technology The impact of hearing your own voice speaking the words will carry them deeper into your subconscious, thereby increasing their effectiveness. Listen often, even if only in brief segments. Repetition is an enhancing factor. (Why do you think ads are repeated so often?)

A recent book summarizes current understanding of "how you can release the body's inner pharmacy for better health." This just happens to be the subtitle of The Placebo Response by Howard Brody, M.D., Ph.D. (HarperCollins 1997). This scientific but easy to read book presents a convincing investigation of the mind-body healing process. Add to the book my suggestions on affirmations to get a more complete strategy.

News on Noise

The July 2001 issue of Pediatrics updates previous studies on hearing damage due to noise. Sadly, noise-related hearing loss continues to be a growing public health problem. Yet, it continues to be overlooked in most psychological, emotional and social equations. Almost 5.2 million American children may have damaged hearing due to high decibel noise from rock concerts, boom boxes, stereo headphones and leaf blowers. Lead author is Amanda Sue Niskar, a nurse epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Environmental Health in Atlanta, Georgia.

A key principle of sound health, as I wrote in my 1985 bestseller, Sound Health, is prevention. It's good to see that others are following up the findings we published from earlier studies that showed hearing damage to the hair cells of the inner ear.

It's not just kids 6-19, but babies too. Noisy toys for babies are also a bad idea. For more healthy suggestions, visit www.drtoy.com.

Consider how you feel when you have to repeat yourself to someone who can't hear you. Wearing a hearing aid, unfortunately, seems to have a stigma attached to it that wearing eyeglasses doesn't.

If you've noticed that the noise volume at restaurants and movie theaters is getting louder, that's because it is. When I am assaulted and insulted by loud sound, I leave quickly--and make my displeasure known to the management!

Perhaps if more people do this, we can re-establish comfortable levels of sound--and save our hearing at the same time. Remember: it's not just children's ears that get damaged. In fact, the older we get, the more easily our hearing is damaged.

Wishing you well,

Steven Halpern