At this time of year, most everyone’s stress level increases. How do you handle it?

     One of the simplest and most effective strategies is also one of the most ancient. The secret is safe, legal, and you can do it anywhere, at your desk, commuting, or at home. The secret? Take a deep breath!

     However, for many people, it helps to have something to pace you and occupy your mind. Music is a great way to pace yourself, due to the principle of rhythm entrainment which will automatically cause your heartbeat to match the speed of the music. Not all music is created equal when it comes to this purpose. Using music specifically composed to assist in managing stress and enhancing relaxation should be your new ally of choice.

     Many of my recordings are ideal “breathing partners.” If you don’t have a CD handy, here’s an easy online option: Go to my website and listen to the audio sample of the first song of Chakra Suite: Keynote C. The specific URL is: www.innerpeacemusic.com/albumdetail.asp?pid=2

     The opening arpeggio will help you entrain effortlessly into the natural rhythm of a deep breath for several reasons, including the fact that that’s how I was breathing when I played it with the intention of creating music to serve that purpose.

     More good news: even one deep breath can have a dramatic benefit in helping you manage your stress level and reset your internal stress meter. Of course, repeating this process several times will be even better, but if you’re like me, you’ll appreciate the instant gratification.

     Millions of listeners use my music to relax and reduce stress, because this deep breathing effect is part of the “secret ingredient” in all of my recordings. Of course, you can try this with other music. But be forewarned: if the music has a fast beat, it will make your heart beat fast—and that’s the opposite of what you need right now.

     Experiment, and let the gift of music be a pleasant present to your Self!

Earworms are Real and More Common than We Thought

     Have you ever had a fragment of a song play over and over in your mind? The endless repetition is maddening. For most people, the unwelcome internal soundtrack vanishes fairly quickly. But sometimes, it is stuck on endless repeat, and literally drives people crazy.

     “As a psychiatrist, I see crazy people,” said Dr. Oliver Sacks, in his lecture that I attended last month. “I have been seeing more and more patients with this affliction which is why I included a chapter on this ‘sticky’ situation in my new book, Musicophilia.” According to his sources, millions of normal people are afflicted with this neurological phenomenon. That’s why he prefers to call them brainworms rather than earworms.

     I remember the strongest case I ever experienced. It was just about this date in 1973. I was completing my fourth month as a first year music specialist teaching in Palo Alto, California. I was walking down a downtown street, and could not get a certain melody out of my mind. It was an instrumental melody which I couldn’t place ... at first. And then, voila! It was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Holiday soundtracks were not as ubiquitous outdoors as they are now, so it took me a moment to put the melody together with the words.

     It took several hours to go away, but it gave me a sense of what Dr. Sacks describes. This involuntary obsessive-compulsive disorder may indeed have some neurological basis. Up to this point, there’s been very little research done on it, as you might imagine, as there has been very little research into the healing powers of music.

     I don’t have time to go into the depth that he does in his Chapter 5 discussion, but Dr. Sacks writes about it so eloquently, I think many of you would enjoy the read.

     I bet more future research studies will focus on this phenomenon than on sound healing. Soon, perhaps, there may be a pill that you can take to alleviate the problem, but wouldn’t it be easier to start listening to more healing music right now?

     Most of my discussions focus on the positive uses of sound and music, so let’s shift.

Amplify Your Affirmations with Audio Soundtracks

     The tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions can be easily modified and made more effective by a) changing the concept of “resolutions” to “affirmations” and b) going beyond writing these positive statements on paper. For over thirty years, I’ve recommended that the positive effects can be enhanced by speaking your affirmations out loud, and enhanced even more by recording your own voice speaking these affirmations.

     Whether you use an old cassette tape recorder, a new digital voice recorder, or record right into your computer, it’s never been easier to make your own “sonic support system.” I will offer a number of specific suggestions on how to do this at home next month.

     You can use any music you choose, but research has definitely demonstrated that you are most receptive to audible or subliminal suggestions when you’re in a relaxed state of mind and body. This is precisely why so many people use my recordings as their soundtrack of choice. I encourage you to give it yourself a vibrational assist this year, and I look forward to your comments.

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Steven Halpern is an award-winning composer, producer and recording artist whose music helps listeners “get into the gap”—the space between the notes, and space of infinite possibilities. His latest releases, Peace fo Mind, Drum Spirit and In the Om Zone, provide three different modes of accessing that state. Visit his newly redesigned website at www.innerpeacemusic.com for some delightful surprises and special holiday gift-giving opportunities.

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