That openness to change and clues "on the margins" is also the way I discovered the role of sound in human health. I am sure the clues to other kinds of health and healing also are right under our noses and we have been looking in the wrong places for them. Jesus must have drawn on many healing traditions to have accomplished His miracles.
Today, medicine is addicted to chemicals. The notion that cures must only be pharmaceutical is absurd. In a brief conversation with a doctor a year ago, she admitted to my accusation that medicine is ignoring physics in favour of chemistry. In 1928, E.D. Adrian published The Basis for Sensation, which states that (most of) the nerves in the body carry their messages at the speed of sound. Think about that, because most doctors have not bothered to do so. All of the nerves in the body are processing sounds as long as the ears are open to them. I discovered that there is an appropriate, normal, and efficient direction to the movement of that sound entering the ears.
We are musical instruments. The sounds we hear move through our entire neurology. They do not simply stop in the auditory cortex where our brains register "hearing." The music we hear may be spoken, not sung, but it has frequencies and volumes nevertheless. What we call "music" ramps up that energy input exponentially. Over the past few months, I have found that playing music back on my phone at double speed for my stroke-damaged son is more effectively counteracting one of the several negative effects of a medication, the muscle-relaxant effect of an inhaled corticosteroid on his hearing mechanism that puts him to sleep. He becomes more alert faster, instead of staying asleep. The body's systems slow down in sleep, inhibiting its ability to heal itself. Sleep is not always "the best medicine," especially for a neurological injury such as stroke. The ear is the pivotal organ in those transitions from sleep to waking and back again. The ear is highly vulnerable to a long list of assaults, including certain medications and anesthetics, most of which are not acknowledged yet in medicine as ototoxic.
The sounds humans have learned to produce also can cause harm. Yet, we largely ignore the warnings some people have issued about harmful sound, such as air travel, concerts that use huge amplifiers, industrial equipment, guns and warfare, and the cumulative effects of an urban environment. Infants are more easily injured by sound, as are fetuses in utero, which is how I inadvertently maimed our second son, causing his dyslexia that led to his schizophrenia. Eventually, I figured out how to use music to reverse that damage.
Thank you, Laurna. I think that's a really interesting observation. History is full of examples where important insights were hiding in plain sight because everyone was looking in the wrong place. Whether we're reading Scripture or studying the natural world, curiosity and a willingness to revisit our assumptions can open up fresh ways of seeing. I also appreciate you sharing something so personal about your family's journey. I hope your Sunday is going well ☺️
You have made me wonder how much of my outlook and curiosity has been nurtured through extensive exposure to the scriptures from a very early age. There is food for pondering!
Yes, the “Where is this happening again?” question can be very insightful.
Thank you, Paul. I appreciate the reframe in your questions. So good!
Thank you, hope your Sunday is going well 😊
That openness to change and clues "on the margins" is also the way I discovered the role of sound in human health. I am sure the clues to other kinds of health and healing also are right under our noses and we have been looking in the wrong places for them. Jesus must have drawn on many healing traditions to have accomplished His miracles.
Today, medicine is addicted to chemicals. The notion that cures must only be pharmaceutical is absurd. In a brief conversation with a doctor a year ago, she admitted to my accusation that medicine is ignoring physics in favour of chemistry. In 1928, E.D. Adrian published The Basis for Sensation, which states that (most of) the nerves in the body carry their messages at the speed of sound. Think about that, because most doctors have not bothered to do so. All of the nerves in the body are processing sounds as long as the ears are open to them. I discovered that there is an appropriate, normal, and efficient direction to the movement of that sound entering the ears.
We are musical instruments. The sounds we hear move through our entire neurology. They do not simply stop in the auditory cortex where our brains register "hearing." The music we hear may be spoken, not sung, but it has frequencies and volumes nevertheless. What we call "music" ramps up that energy input exponentially. Over the past few months, I have found that playing music back on my phone at double speed for my stroke-damaged son is more effectively counteracting one of the several negative effects of a medication, the muscle-relaxant effect of an inhaled corticosteroid on his hearing mechanism that puts him to sleep. He becomes more alert faster, instead of staying asleep. The body's systems slow down in sleep, inhibiting its ability to heal itself. Sleep is not always "the best medicine," especially for a neurological injury such as stroke. The ear is the pivotal organ in those transitions from sleep to waking and back again. The ear is highly vulnerable to a long list of assaults, including certain medications and anesthetics, most of which are not acknowledged yet in medicine as ototoxic.
The sounds humans have learned to produce also can cause harm. Yet, we largely ignore the warnings some people have issued about harmful sound, such as air travel, concerts that use huge amplifiers, industrial equipment, guns and warfare, and the cumulative effects of an urban environment. Infants are more easily injured by sound, as are fetuses in utero, which is how I inadvertently maimed our second son, causing his dyslexia that led to his schizophrenia. Eventually, I figured out how to use music to reverse that damage.
Thank you, Laurna. I think that's a really interesting observation. History is full of examples where important insights were hiding in plain sight because everyone was looking in the wrong place. Whether we're reading Scripture or studying the natural world, curiosity and a willingness to revisit our assumptions can open up fresh ways of seeing. I also appreciate you sharing something so personal about your family's journey. I hope your Sunday is going well ☺️
You have made me wonder how much of my outlook and curiosity has been nurtured through extensive exposure to the scriptures from a very early age. There is food for pondering!