Experience The Sounds of Creation!

The only thing colder than that fall Friday evening was my attitude.  I was exhausted.  It had been a long week.  My nights were shared with a nocturnal two-year-old.  Soon the baby sitter would arrive.  There was no turning back.  Complaining as we left, I questioned my wife again about where we were going.  Although she may have said more, I only heard “to a healing circle.”  I was not in any mood to leave the house.  I thought “I don’t want to go anywhere… I want to sleep!”  I absolutely did not know what wonders the next hours would bring.
 
We arrived and ran through the brisk air to an office building.  The inside appeared sterile and business-like.  We passed closed doors that shielded unlit offices of financial planners and other businesses, where wing tips and ties clothe the daily workers.  One open door beckoned to us.  Candlelight warmly peeked into the hall.  Inside I found the familiar comfort of a yoga studio.  I began to thaw while my eyes filled with the sight of native-American flutes, drums, large cloudy glass bowls, candles and many oddly shaped tree limbs with elaborate designs painted on their surfaces.  They were didgeridoos!  In the middle of all this stood a tall man with an open-heart, warm smile and Mexican accent.  His name was Rafael Bejarano.
 
We joined the audience, and soon the room was filled with the most unusual and beautiful sounds.  The vibrations ran through my body and produced a visceral experience.  The music was captivating and scented with an ancient wisdom.  I became deeply relaxed.  Rafael carefully navigated through the audience and played the didgeridoo a few inches away from each person’s heart.  I have read about sound/vibrational healing.  Experiencing it was incredible!
 
Many questions regarding music and healing have been dancing in my mind ever since that unexpected and transformational night.  Rafael was kind enough to meet with me to share his experience, thoughts and intentions about his unique gifts.

Dr. R:  When did your interest in sound and healing begin?

Rafael:  When I was a child in Mexico, my Grandmother would take me to the pyramids and discuss the ancient Mayan ways.  I always had an interest in indigenous cultures and our connection to each other and nature.  In 1992, I had an awakening spiritual experience that altered the course of my life.
 
Dr. R.:  What did you gain from the experience in 1992?

Rafael:  I discovered the gifts that were given to me as a musician, healer and educator.  Since then I began studying with indigenous elders and healers from different cultures, particularly in the art of ritual, ceremony and sacred sound.  I swam with dolphins and was introduced to the sound of Dolphin medicine.  In 1997, my travels brought me to Australia to ask the Aboriginal elders for permission to use the didgeridoo in a sacred manner.  I was invited to ceremonies and later went through an initiation process.

Dr. R.:  What philosophy guides your performance?

Rafael:  I feel that life is sacred.  Through the use of indigenous instruments from around the world, I feel like I become an “instrument” myself… a messenger for the ancient ones.  There is an essential wisdom that is shared through the instruments from their healing vibrations.  When the sound is heard and the vibrations are felt, it is like a bridge is created between our ancient and modern cultures.  In my concerts, the sound is a tool that energizes the best of our nature… love, joy and a connection to all people and the environment.  It also creates a space where we are safe to let go of anything that holds us back from our true potential.  It is my passion to share the gifts of my heart and inspire others to do the same.  I believe that we all have special gifts and that together we can co-create a better world for ourselves and future generations.

Dr. R.:  Tell me about a few of the instruments that you play and make yourself.

Rafael:  I make both didgeridoos and huacas.  Huacas are multi-chambered clay flutes inspired from ancient Peruvian whistles.  The didgeridoo is the oldest known wind instrument that is used by the Aboriginal people.  It is made out of a naturally termite-hollowed branch of a tree and creates droning sounds that mimic the sounds of nature.

Dr. R:  Besides performing for smaller groups, including one with the Italian tenor Pavarotti, and collaborating with Tibetan Monks, Deepak Chopra and others, I understand that you have played for 30,000 people at Madison Square Garden.  How was that experience? 

Rafael:  It was incredible!  I opened for the rock band Mana.  They are active with environmental rights and were invited to perform in Al Gore’s Live Earth concert.  I came onto the stage feeling a great honor to bring prayer and ceremony to NYC.  The stadium filled with vibrations and rhythms and the response was fantastic.  People began moving as one entity.  This was one of the most life-changing and profound experiences for me.

Dr. R.: What is it like when you visit schools and conduct interactive assemblies?

Rafael:  I love to play for children… they are the co-creators of our future.  The instruments help instill a feeling of unity among the circle of students.  They bring the children a sense of connection to our diversity and wisdom of ancient cultures and remind them of the special gifts that they carry within their hearts.  Missy, a 5 year-old participant, once told me “Your music feels like love… it makes me feel like my heart was growing.”

I am grateful for Rafael’s time and willingness to share in the creation of this article.  His gifts, love and message will certainly continue to inspire and touch the hearts of many.  Since my first experience of the sacred sounds of Rafael’s performance, I have returned several times.  Each evening provided me with a different and moving experience.  I encourage all to share in a future "Sound Healing Circle" and enter with an open-mind and prepare to leave with an open heart

As seen in delawareonline.com
For the original article, click HERE.

Twice as prevalent in females, diagnosis of condition usually made as children enter puberty

By HIRAN RATNAYAKE, The News Journal

Posted Tuesday, June 5, 2007

As a child, Denise Marandola could pinpoint the pain to her mid-back, on the right half, at the tips of her ribs. When she bent over, the bulge on that right side rose higher than on the left. Marandola was 12 when she learned she had scoliosis.

Not everyone experiences pain. Most people who have scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, don't. At its worst, scoliosis can interfere with the function of organs, causing people's posture to become the shape of a crescent moon. Marandola, now 36, said she was told that the "achy, annoying, burning" pain stemmed from scoliosis.

It is usually diagnosed when children are entering puberty, most often in females. Three-to-five out of every 1,000 children develop scoliosis. Rarely does it begin to occur in adults.

While thought to be hereditary, the cause of most cases of scoliosis is unknown, said Dr. Peter Gabos, co-director of Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children's Center for Spine and Scoliosis Surgery.

"We don't know whether it's linked to the X chromosome, whether it's due to the ligaments or due to some hormonal issue," he said.

People with mild scoliosis may not need treatment. Those with severe cases could undergo surgery or be fitted for a brace.

Dr. G. Dean MacEwen at the former Alfred I. duPont Institute developed the Wilmington Brace almost four decades ago. The braces have been successful in treating teenagers with scoliosis.

But, as a preteen, Marandola worried about wearing a brace.

"It scared me to death," she said. "I remember it really shook me up."

Marandola was monitored by duPont doctors for a few years to see if the scoliosis would worsen. It got better, and she could feel her curvature improving. Only when she did a lot of hands-on work did that achy feeling return.

At 19, though, she fell off a horse and into a fence. In intense pain, she took muscle relaxers and medications for a month. The pain remained, and she went to a chiropractor for pinched nerves. She also had her back adjusted because of the scoliosis. Now, Marandola is treated by Dr. Scott Rosenthal and works as an account manager for his Wilmington practice, Rosenthal Chiropractic.

Rosenthal said Marandola's individual spinal segments are more prone to misalignment and malfunction than people without scoliosis.

"We're trying to manage the existing weakness that she has with the scoliosis," he said. "I'm helping her spine maintain its proper alignment."

Scoliosis affects girls twice as often as boys, while the ratio of severe curves from scoliosis in girls to boys is about 7 to 1, Gabos said. It is easier to diagnose as children enter puberty since they are hitting a tremendous growth spurt.

"Typically, a sixth-grade girl will have very long legs and a very short trunk," Gabos said. "After that, they basically grow into their trunk, and during that very rapid phase of spine growth, the spine grows basically to meet the [growth] of the lower half of the body."

Surgery is typically performed on children with a spine curvature that exceeds 50 degrees. The main goal is to stop the curve from increasing. A secondary goal, Gabos said, is to rebalance the spine toward a more common contour.

"We're taking a lot of little, crooked bones and turning them into one straight solid bone," he said. "We don't treat the entire spine, only the part that's curved. The part above the curve and below the curve is left untouched."

Surgeries also can be done on adults, but they carry more risk.

"As we get older, we get stiff," Gabos said. "The chance that the spine will fuse and the operation will actually work is much higher in teenagers than it is in adults."

As a youngster in the 1940s, when spine surgeries were less advanced, Carol Johnson's parents had to decide whether an operation was best for her. Her scoliosis was discovered when she was 12.

Her parents opted against surgery. Johnson was told she'd never walk again or be able to bear children. But six decades later, she is still walking and has given birth twice. Now 72, she credits Rosenthal and his father, Mel, who also ran a chiropractic practice before retiring a few years ago.

"At times, if I don't go to a chiropractor, I can be in constant pain," said Johnson, who lives in Wilmington.

Marandola said seeing a chiropractor has helped her back. But there is a lack of evidence in medical research that these methods prevent spinal curvature from progressing.

"There haven't been well-funded studies on this concept," Rosenthal said. "But there's critical case studies that I've seen where [people with scoliosis] have had curve reductions."