"At the root of all caring is touch"
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"At the root of all caring is touch" |
Sacred Harmonies, using harp and voice, offers music at the bedside of the ill or dying to ease physical, spiritual, and emotional pain, and to create an atmosphere of loving kindness that supports the soul in transition. Often, we forget that the dying are losing their whole world; their body, their relationships, their identity. These are overwhelming losses to face. A music "vigil" at the bedside is very beneficial for both the patient and loved ones. The musical medicine that is offered is prescriptive to the patient, and conveys a sense of serenity and consolation that can be profoundly soothing. Deeply spiritual in intention, the musical vigils are also very practical; often the music aids in helping people sleep, or find deep rest and peace.
We play our harps for the dying because of our love and appreciation for life. The music provides a voice for this love. We play our harps so the music can accompany and journey with the person who is dying - to ease their fears and surround them with a sense of beauty and blessing. We play our harps for those suffering with pain, anxiety, and dementia, to bring them comfort. Music is a living language that communicates without words. The music carries and accompanies us into the unknown and helps release our fears and attachments. It provides us with beauty, warmth, light, and hints that we are not alone.
"We have fallen into the place where everything is music."
~Rumi, 1207-1273
The work of Sacred Harmonies is part of a contemporary field called Music-thanatology. Music-thanatology, developed by Therese Schroeder-Sheker over the last three decades, is a contemplative and spiritual practice but is not confined to a particular religion. Its historical inspiration comes from the Medieval Christian monks and the Gregorian chants they sang. Central to their spirituality was the understanding of the human need for beauty as one way to encounter the face of the divine. These medieval monks kept constant vigil with the dying with oration and singing of psalms and prayers. The soothing melodies of the Gregorian chants sustained a sacred space around the dying one, a space of protection and love.
" . . . Your musical ministry to us at the timeof our daughter's death
was pure gift.
It helped me to meditate and pray
and opened my soul a little wider..."
Our human bodies are like musical instruments. Our heart beating within provides a steady rhythm. How fast we breathe is a rhythm that is in relation to our heartbeat. Our human voices arise from within us and we give birth to sound. Through the sound of our voices we can bring comfort and joy to one another. The vibrating strings of the harp offer soothing sound in a non-invasive way that is gentle yet penetrating. We are trained as music-thanatologists to be responsive to the changing states of the patient. No two musical deliveries are ever the same. Sometimes a patient might need pure melody with major tonalities, while other times, harmonies are more nurturing or the more reflective minor tonalities. Recorded music from a CD or tape can be helpful, but lacks the overtones of live music and does not have the same presence or healing effect. Patients respond more directly and deeply (even when unconscious) to the tones of harp and voice played at the bedside. Our goal is to lovingly serve the physical and spiritual needs of the dying through the delivery of prescriptive music.
". . . It was a miracle! The minute the harp started
my mother began to relax and sleep.
It was the greatest blessing to us ever..."
The harp is an ancient instrument made from the wood of certain trees. Many, many stories and myths from various cultures are told about the harp and its magical qualities. Just as a tree stretches from earth to heaven, as if holding the two together, so the strings of the harp stretch up and down and symbolically represent a connection between this life on earth and whatever might come before or after this life. It is also important that the folk harp is a polyphonic instrument that is portable enough to be easily transported, and its pure tones are among the most beautiful of any musical instrument.
Using harp and voice, music is shared at the bedside to create an atmosphere of reverence and loving kindness. This musical medicine can stimulate or soothe processes in the physical body; these processes, in turn, effect emotional, spiritual, and psychic levels, as evidenced by decreased pain, reduced physical and emotional anxiety, and deep sleep. Through observations of vital signs and the focus on breathing patterns of the individual, the music is synchronized to resonate with the person's individualized needs, making each session a unique and sacred one.
"To say thank you is not enough for what a wonderful gift
you gave my mom,
and my family and friends.
The music inspired us, gave us strength,
and got us through.
How beautiful!
Musical medicine addresses anxiety, spiritual and physical pain, and issues of grief and letting go. It can support the unbinding process, inviting in sacred grace, which can facilitate a peaceful death. It is contemplative and sacred music that seeks to transcend diverse affiliations of faith and culture. Vigil music is prescriptive because it is played to assist the patient's specific condition and situation, and the music changes as the patient's respiration, pulse, physical and emotional states change. Alternating sound and silence allows for a sense of expansion and contemplation.
A vigil, which lasts about an hour, is recommended when a patient has a prognosis of six months or less, has a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, and is receiving palliative care (treatment for the relief of pain and promotion of quality of life). The music is also beneficial when a patient is being removed from artificial life support systems. It helps bridge the gap between the sounds of the machines and the silence that follows.
In the months before an inevitable death, it is often helpful to the patient to schedule vigils at regular intervals, which brings an element of beauty and blessing into their lives. This offers patients and loved ones something meaningful and specific when medical technology is no longer beneficial. The music can help the patient and their family and friends process the reality of an approaching death, and help them to find peace in the midst of loss.
Sacred music can help free emotions locked within the body, allowing the work of grieving to take place. Music in the room can help people access a whole range of feelings that most of us don't know how to articulate in words; and yet it is gentle, safe, and comforting.
" . . .Thank you for your willingness to be with us,
to help us move through our grief
and enter our healing time and space.
Your gift of music was very therapeutic
and beautiful..."
Vigils are available on a sliding scale. Please check with your medical institution to see if funding might be provided for this service. Suggest to friends that musical medicine could be a gift in lieu of flowers or candy.
Sacred Harmonies is based in Seattle, Washington. You may contact Sacred Harmonies at:
"And the more souls who resonate together,
the greater the intensity of their love and , mirror-like,
each soul reflects the other."
~Dante, 1265-1321
Jeri Howe
Jeri grew up with many music lessons and obtained a degree in Humanities from Colorado University in 1977. In 1991 began playing her harp at retreats for people living with AIDS. Here she learned the power that music holds in bringing comfort and peace to those who are suffering, in pain, and/or facing death. Jeri attended school at The Chalice of Repose Project from 1994-1996 receiving her certification in music-thanatology after completing her internship in 1997. Jeri now lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters and plays her harp for people in hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and private homes.
As the Source strikes the note, humanity sings -
The Holy Spirit is our harpist, and all strings
Which are touched in Love must sound.
Special Thanks
Jeri Howe is grateful for her training at The Chalice of Repose Project, developed by Therese Schroeder-Sheker. It is a unique end-of-life patient care program and graduate level school of music-thanatology in Missoula, Montana. It's vision is to offer unconditional loving care to the dying through the delivery of prescriptive music.
CD of Harp and Voice
Jeri Howe has a CD available of sacred hymns and original music called: "This, and My Heart".
To order CD copies please provide the following information:
Quantity ____ @ $15.00/CD= $____
Please add shipping cost as follows: (tax is already included in price)
# of CD's to same address:
Include your name, mailing address, with check for total
(payable to Jeri Howe)
And mail to:
Jeri Howe/This, and My Heart
P.O. Box 60213
Shoreline, WA 98160-0213
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