Musical Reflections

Are you stressed to the max? Musical Reflections has many CDs, DVDs, and books … we are here to help!  You might also want to consider “Healing Harp Meditations” for $11 (yes, you read that correctly!).  It is a six-week on-line course available from Daily OM. The coursework is designed to promote feelings of deep relaxation and peace, and to facilitate life reflection and review.

Once you sign up, you receive a weekly e-mail that includes:
1) a guided meditation co-created by Barb Thune Schommer, registered nurse and Healing Touch instructor, and Tami Briggs, therapeutic harpist,
2) contemplative exercises,
3) practical applications,
4) reflection with healing music,
5) affirmations, and
6) homework.

Click here for more information and to sign up. Happy Learning!

Testimonials include:
“By using this regularly, it has given me some time of quiet reflection that has calmed me even in the midst of the most hectic times.”

“I love this guided meditation! The harp has soothed me and the guided meditation has ensured that I didn’t work on my to-do list while I relaxed.”

I have enjoyed watching American Idol for years! This year, I started watching and saw a pattern … they always left the best story for the last segment of the show!

One night in January, when they were still auditioning, the last singer of the evening was a music healer. In the preview, they showed this Jesus-like-looking man in an all-white outfit sitting cross-legged meditating on a rock. The voiceover, as they were introducing him, was quite sarcastic.

Then when he entered the stage with the three judges (Harry Connick, Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban), they immediately started “ribbing” him about being a sound healer. What’s that? What gives you the right to call yourself a sound healer? Why does the world need sound healers? And on and on…

He handled it all in stride and briefly tried to explain his work/philosophy. He mentioned the word chakras [energy centers in the body] and Harry Connick, Jr. laid down on the floor mocking the contestant. Meanwhile, J-Lo and Keith are giggling and rolling their eyes.

I sat, watching all this in disbelief and disgust at these three completely insensitive judges. I honestly just couldn’t believe it!  They lost a fan that night!

The disappointment for me was 1) the possibility of “middle America” being exposed to the important genre of healing music, 2) “getting it,” and 3) endorsing it as important and worthwhile. What did they have to lose? It felt like a step backward, but certainly doesn’t deter those of us who are passionate and committed to this unique modality of sound healing and healing music.

No longer watching American Idol, I’ve happily switched to watching “The Voice” and enjoying every episode…

Sometimes when I have my harp in the hospital, I have an opportunity to play at the nurse’s station. They love it!

In most hospitals, the healthcare staff have been indoctrinated with a big dose of “It’s all about the patient.” While I don’t disagree with this, I know part of my role is to help nurses take good care of themselves. If they are healthy in body, mind and spirit, they can give excellent patient care.

So, playing the harp at the nurse’s station gives them a couple of moments to reflect, center and rejuvenate. As they connect with their hearts and peaceful spirits, they take this to their patients … a beautiful circle of healing.

The Western model of medicine is based on research and medical technology. This is positive and gives us a certain baseline of professionalism from medical staff (doctors and nurses) and comfort about caring for our health.

Is there research about music and its positive effects? Yes! An excellent “primer” of research information about music and healing is Don Campbell’s “The Mozart Effect.” This book is filled with documentation about music and its impact in a variety of situations and with a multitude of illnesses/diseases.

That said, I have seen again and again that there’s a mystery to the healing power of music. Miraculous things happen while I play the harp at the hospital and hospice bedside. Sometimes, it can’t be explained … there’s no research, no evidence, no reason “why.” It is a mystery, a mystical experience. Music helps create sacred space, a healing environment. We may never understand exactly how/why it works … that’s part of the mystery. And part of our human experience is about living in the mystery, allowing it to just be.

Let’s not discount these amazingly beautiful experiences just because they are anecdotal and without “data.” It really is about integrating the mystery with evidence-based medicine … now, that’s Mind/Body/Spirit healing!

The Daily OM shared this beautiful review about my “Blessings to You” CD with its 1 million+ customers. I am deeply touched and humbled …

“Harpist extraordinaire Tami Briggs makes deeply soothing instrumental music that inspires deep tranquility and a sense of wellness. She first realized the healing power of the harp’s angelic sound while playing it for patients at hospitals and hospices. Now, Briggs combines the music with her knowledge of healing to move into the world of recorded healing sounds.

For Blessings to You, simple and eloquently heartfelt melodies and countermelodies form naturally occurring wells of comfort and solace, penetrating the “lullaby ground zero” of a deep-seated sense of self and security. Close your eyes and you can feel past infancies and access their feeling of security and warmth—feelings that are available to us at any age and time, regardless of actual circumstance. After all, as long as one has the right key, one can access anything. Briggs has the key in these template melodies that seem to predate our own natural existence, like timeless caresses from the eternal mother to whom we are all, always, just a few months old, innocent, and loveable.”

Click here to order your copy today!

A great joy for me is to speak and play the harp. And this month, I am honored to connect with three different groups:

• April 12 – the St. Paul chapter of The Compassionate Friends monthly meeting. “Sounds of Healing: Using Music in the Grief Journey,” Beaver Lake Lutheran Church, 2280 Stillwater Ave., Maplewood, MN, 7 p.m.
• April 16 –  Minnesota Network of Hospice & Palliative Care annual conference. “Sounds of Healing: Music and the Caregiving Journey,” Airport Hilton Hotel, Minneapolis, MN, 10:45 a.m.
• April 28 – South Dakota Parkinson’s Association annual conference at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. 

Parkinson’s is “near and dear” to my heart – I lost an Uncle to Parkinson’s and my beloved Dad is currently journeying with it. Click here if you’d like more information about my presentation on this topic.

Do you need an in-service for your staff or a Healing Harp Concert at your location/conference? I love to share my message and music with groups. At each presentation, I bring:

• my harp.
• poignant moments, practical tips and peace.
• new ideas about using therapeutic music with intention.
• an inspirational message and immediate application.

If you are interested in having me conduct a presentation at your location, I welcome these opportunities. Click here for more information. I look forward to working together!

Of all my CDs, I get the most feedback on Calm as the Night. Since 70 million Americans have sleep difficulties, perhaps Calm as the Night can help … it is a non-pharmaceutical approach and is available as a CD or download.

My intern recently compiled a list of Sleep Centers from around the country. In the near future, I will be contacting them, sharing Calm as the Night as a resource. I am excited to connect with them and the possibilities of providing this CD to their patients/clients.

In the past 30 days, I have had several hospitals ask to license three of my CDs (Calm as the Night, The Healing Journey, and Blessings to You) and use them on their closed-circuit TV systems. This is a very cost-effective way to provide your patients and their families with relaxing, therapeutic harp music.

If you would like more details, please contact me.

Do you need last-minute Stocking Stuffer Gifts? If so, we have a suggestion! Musical Reflections offers 14 CDs of harp music – perfect, beautiful, comforting gifts for all the favorite people on your list. Order by December 20^th to assure delivery by Christmas Eve. Click here for easy ordering on our website!

This week we are letting you know about one of my Christmas CDs called “The Christmas Story.” It was recorded on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2001. Since most Christmas music on the market is recorded in the summer (so it’s available in time for the holidays), I have always known that this CD had the holiday spirit infused in a very magical way.

The Daily OM listened to this CD and wrote a review. I am humbled by their beautiful words…

Review by Daily OM:

“Harpist Tami Briggs is a sound healer whose angelic, gentle playing bypasses all resistance to touch the root chord of the human soul. She honed her healing skill via personal appearances at hospitals and hospices, bringing her soothing sounds right up to the beds of those most in need. Bringing her knowledge of healing into the recording studio, Briggs makes harp music that’s simple, sweet, and deeply soothing. Embracing a less-is-more strategy, The Christmas Story interprets classic holiday standards into gentle solo-harp pieces, potent enough to hush a room of chatting relatives, relaxing enough to play in a child’s bedroom to help them fall asleep on Christmas Eve. And if you should find yourself alone for the holidays, Briggs becomes an angelic friend, her music a shimmering presence rooting you back to humanity.

Capturing the vibe of a live performance, The Christmas Story offers audio quality sharp enough to give the illusion that Briggs is playing right in the same room as you mull through your presents or nap on the couch in a sea of torn wrapping paper….The CD wraps up with the feeling of belonging to something larger than oneself, as Briggs’ gentle touch with the harp suffused even her frequent impassioned glissandos with warmth. More than just a bunch of carols played on the harp, Briggs skirts in and around the familiar melodies with the finesse of a jazz soloist, albeit one with no agenda of showing off chops, but rather of hitting all the right notes to warm the back of your neck and open your heart. Put on The Christmas Story when you need a gentle reminder of what the holidays are about: peace, love, and spiritual regeneration.”

To order your copy today, click here.  Or you can download the entire album here.