Can guided meditation/visualization or other relaxation techniques really enhance overall health, reverse illness or even slow the progression of HIV? In previous blog entries, interviews and podcasts, we’ve pointed to experts and even research that indicates growing confidence in meditation as a viable health tool.
So when famed scientist, author, and AIDS researcher Candace Pert, CSO of RAPID Laboratories in Rockville, Maryland--which is developing a drug treatment and vaccine against HIV--releases her own guided meditation CD, attention must be paid.
But don’t let the mouthful of a title--“Healing the Hurting, Shining the Light, Chakras and Modern Neuroscience”—scare you; Pert’s soft-spoken approach of hard science and spirituality should relax and
inspire even the most cynical listener.
The centerpiece of the 5 track CD is the lecture/guided meditation “Chakra Lecture, A Musical Relaxation Process.” in which Pert blends “the facts of science with the latest thinking of…some of the most avant-garde healers in the world.”
Here are some highlights:
Over the Rainbow, Indeed! The colors of the rainbow all have corresponding sound waves, such as red and the musical note F, and each note can bypass informational substances and activate cellular receptors directly. What does this mean, exactly? Says Pert, “For me it’s enough to know, that music, spoken words, the colors of the rainbow, human brain waves and our molecules of emotion are all resonating together, in synchronous relationship.”
Have a Heart: The crown of the head is the place that has the most neuronal connections of anywhere in the brain. The heart contains every peptide neural information substance that’s ever been measured, and leads the electrical activity of the entire body. Thus, living from a loving, happy heart can be a very soothing place to be. Physiologically speaking, maybe that’s why gratitude, love and compassion feel so good.
Mind Really Does Matter: Think your mind doesn’t directly affect your body? During the meditation, Pert asks the listener to imagine cutting a bright, yellow lemon in half, and then imagine chewing that lemon in your mouth. Try it yourself and see if the resulting shivers and/or saliva filling your mouth isn’t very real.
For insight into Pert's AIDS research, check out our Q & A here. -- Mitch Rustad