music bypasses learned
behaviors to naturally
regulate our pulse, blood
pressure, breathing and
hormone production;
Cgg_lm_siolm_f`chnb_
especially dopamine,
h[nol[fb_[fchaqcm^igi`;solp_^[
which controls mood.
One indigenous people invented
the rainstick, a long, hollow tube filled
with beads or beans that has small pins
arranged in a spiral pattern along the
inside surface. When the stick is turned
over, the beads fall to the other end of
the tube, sounding like a rainstorm as
they bounce off the pins. The rainstick
is still played ritually in South Ameri-
can shamanic ceremonies for energy
cleansing.
Australia’s Aboriginal culture
devised the didgeridoo, a long, flutelike
instrument with sounds similar to the nb_
low moans of Tibetan throat singing.
Archaeological studies suggest that
gch^'\i^s
the people of the Kakadu region of the
Northern Territory have been using the qilembij
didgeridoo for sacred rituals for about
1,500 years, based on cave wall
DIOLH?SCHNIB?;FCHA
paintings.
Today, use of all these ancient @?<LO;LS-É1
>??J;E=BIJL;&G>
instruments joins newer ones, like the CHHCM<LIIEL?MILNvJ;FGB;L<IL&@F
tuning fork and its electronic counter-
parts, in the quest to reach and influ-
ence the inner recesses of our mind.
Dich>__j[e=bijl[&G>[h^>[pc^Mcgih&G>`il
Scientists are learning why the cerebel-
DIOLH?SCHNIB?;FCHA&[hch'^_jnb_rjfil[ncihi`
lum, or “reptilian brain,” just 10 per-
nb_/&***s_[l'if^b_[fchanl[^cncihi`;solp_^[[h^cnm
cent of the brain’s mass, yet with 50 to [jjfc][ncihchsiolgi^_lhfc`_(
80 percent of its neurons, is important
>;PC>MCGIH&G>
to musical perception. F_[lhncg_'jlip_h&h[nol[fn_]bhcko_mnig[chn[ch
As the West ventures forth in adapt-
pc\l[hnb_[fnb[h^×h^\[f[h]_chsiol^[cfsfc`_(
ing the hallowed disciplines of medita-
=G?m[h^
tion and healing of the East, such as
]bijl[(]ig)diolh_s)Øilc^[
=?Om[l_
yoga, T’ai chi, qigong and Tibetan Bud- [p[cf[\f_
dhism, these accompanying venerable
tools provide a touchstone to ancestors
of the past. They allow us to practice
=[ffomni^[snil_m_lp_siolmj[]_(
prescribed rituals and customs with an M[p_,**G_hncihÍH[nol[f;q[e_hchamÎqb_hsiol_acmn_l(
authenticity that continues to resonate,
along with the sound, in our very souls.
Connect with Robert Austin at
CrystalBowlSoundHealer.com.
Primary Sources: The Amazing Hypoth-
esis, by Sir Francis Crick; This Is Your
222(1-0(023/vf_[lh:]bijl[(]igv=BIJL;(=IG
Brain on Music, by Daniel J. Levitin.
December 2008 
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