Sounds of Healing: A Physician Reveals the Therapeutic Power of Sound, Voice, and Music [Hardcover]

Mitchell L. Gaynor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 1999

"My belief is that we can all find the rhythms and harmonics of our celestial music, and that our efforts will enable us to live extraordinary lives filled with peace, passion, health, and a sense of unity with the universe."

We are all familiar with the tremendous power of sound to energize our bodies and soothe our spirits, whether we experience it in the form of rousing music or in the hushed noise of waves on a beach at night. A pioneer in the revolutionary new field of sound medicine, Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, a leading oncologist and director of integrative medicine at the Strang-Cornell Cancer Prevention Center, has been using sound as complementary therapy in the form of chanting, music, and quartz crystal bowls to treat patients since 1991 with remarkable results. In Sounds of Healing, he shares his philosophy and sound-based techniques for self-healing, which can be used by anyone, whether faced with a life-threatening disease or simply seeking relief from the stresses of daily life.

Sound, voice, and music are potent tools for restoring the inner balance of the body and awakening the spirit. Dr. Gaynor explores the science behind how and why sound and vibration affect us on a physiological level and outlines the sound traditions and practices that promote relaxation and body-mind healing. Rooted in the musical principles of entrainment, resonance, toning, and harmonics, his methods help us achieve overall wellness, greater energy, and the realization of our highest spiritual potential.

His easy-to-follow exercises include:

Life Songs--Discover your personal, mantra-like song that resonates with your own particular essence and use it as a means to healing and self-discovery
Essence Sound Meditation--Use your voice or another instrument to help you rise above everyday worries, relieve stress, and begin the healing process
Energetic Re-creation--Give voice to your emotional conflicts and create new blends of sound to help you resolve them

Dr. Gaynor also describes his unique vision for a holistic approach to medicine that treats the whole person and creates the conditions for a higher quality of life. An extraordinary blend of science, music, and spirituality, Sounds of Healing is an enlightening, inspiring guide to fostering inner harmony and tuning in to the music of our own souls.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When New York hematologist-oncologist Gaynor took (tm)dsal, a Tibetan monk, as a patient, he began learning about Tibetan medicine, especially its singing bowls. Here he describes metal and crystal bowls and their uses, how one creates a "life song," and other vital elements of healing with sound. Gaynor was already acquainted with various forms of complementary medicine and had learned how to combine some non-Western beliefs and processes with those of Western medicine. In this open-minded book he informatively recounts how he and his patients have benefited from those combinations. Drawing on Candace Pert's pioneering work in psychoneuroimmunology, Gaynor emphasizes the importance of "mind-body unity," rather than the more frequently cited conception of "mind-body connection," pointing out many ways in which "we ourselves are rhythm." He discusses entrainment, harmony, and homeostasis, and he shows how physiology can be changed by music. Case histories add personal touches and attest the uniqueness of each patient. William Beatty

From Kirkus Reviews

That music hath charms to soothe the savage breast is argued persuasively in this highly personalized presentation on the use of sound and music as healing tools by a mainstream physician. Gaynor, director of medical oncology at the Strang-Cornell Cancer Prevention Center in New York City, tells of his discovery of the healing power of sound through one of his patients, a Tibetan monk who taught him sacred chants and played the Tibetan singing bowls for him. The experience, he says, led him to explore harmonics as a powerful healing force. Here he explains the techniques he uses with his patients and the philosophy behind the practice. While providing numerous confidence-building stories about his own and his patients experiences, Gaynor also cites research to back up his assertion that harmony can be restored to the disharmonious, or diseased, body with bells, vocalizations, and other forms of music. Among the techniques he has developed is the chanting of life songs, rhythmic, one-syllable mantras, and he suggests ways to create ones own life song and incorporate it into meditation. In preparation for this, he recommends practicing deep breathing and toning (the vocalization of simple vowel sounds), and straightforward instructions for these are also given. A student of Sufi philosophy, the author speaks frequently of ones essence, or life force, and he promotes an exercise called Energetic Re-creation designed to enable one to achieve a higher spiritual level. For those who find this a bit over the top, there is always guided imagery with music. Gaynor recommends getting in touch with ones emotions by combining guided imagery exercises with listening to selections from Beethoven, Brahms, and other classical composers, whose works he categorizes into earth, air, water, and fire music. Enthusiastic advocacy of an approach to healing likely to be most appealing to those already familiar with and open to New Age thinking. ($40,000 ad/promo) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Broadway Books; 1 edition (June 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767902653
• ISBN-13: 978-0767902656
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant and beautiful book., June 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sounds of Healing: A Physician Reveals the Therapeutic Power of Sound, Voice, and Music (Hardcover)

This is a brilliant and beautiful book superbly written with elegance and gracefulness. It is the most powerful and illuminating source of the role that sound can play in the healing process that I have ever read. Dr. Gaynor has an outstanding grasp of various sounds, techniques, and terms-the "grammatical" elements that make you fluent in the "language" of sound. But he goes far beyond that. He understands and transmits an unbelievable amount of expressive, historical, and even philosophical information. In keeping with that insight, he illuminates the varying circumstances and contexts that have shaped sound down thru the ages. He guides us thru the sounds that are capable of speaking to and from the human soul, and tells us something central about the human condition in each of us. This is a dazzling book which tells us not only about our distant past but also about how that past is able to shape our present and our future.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Gaynor brings medicine out of the dark ages, July 30, 1999

By 

Cary Scott ([e-mail]) (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sounds of Healing: A Physician Reveals the Therapeutic Power of Sound, Voice, and Music (Hardcover)

Dr. Gaynor integrates sound and emotion as powerful tools in his medical arsenal leading his patients back to health. His use of the healing power of sound compliments the use of conventional medicine. Dr. Gaynor's guided meditations have helped achieve living miralces in "terminal" patients. This book reaffirms anything is possible when we discover what made us ill and how we can rebuild our lives during and after illness. This book is a priceless road map to self discovery and joy. I wish I could give it six stars.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a celestial journey, July 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sounds of Healing: A Physician Reveals the Therapeutic Power of Sound, Voice, and Music (Hardcover)

Sounds of Healing is an extraordinary publication. Like a journey within a journey, it is an odyssey along the path of spiritual wisdom, healing and self fulfillment. Like a compass, it directs as it informs-it encourages the reader to meander throughout its pages, enjoying the self direction and spontaneous discovery that are the essence of the spiritual quest. The book together with the Sounds of Healing compact disk moved me towards celestial realms that I have never before experienced.