Category: A Musician’s Journey Into the Chi

When does music become a healing force?

In some acupuncture traditions, the body’s natural state is one of wholeness and balance. Adjustments restore the body to its “original” flow.

Among the ancient Siddha Yoga Masters, aging itself was not considered natural. Many of these masters, who are revered in the East as the 18 Siddha Immortals, came to know that a human body can continue perpetually. In that universe of being, there is no gap between the physical realm and the spiritual realm. Everything is spiritual.

Their 50,000 year science of health is passed down through the Tai Chi Gung system I have practiced daily for nearly 38 years. (Learn more, visit www.circleofchi.com/david) Among other things, these principles have completely transformed my view of music and healing.

What is happening when “everything is spiritual”?

For anyone and everyone, there is a part of them that is inseparable from the Creator of all Life. This abides, whether they are aware of it or not.

How does that trickle down into anything practical when it comes to music and healing?

A bit of background may help. In a loose way, the physical body vibrates in the 3^rd dimension. The conscious mind and what some call “human” emotions vibrate in the 4^th dimension. These thoughts and feelings vibrate in the energy field that surrounds the body.  The energy of the soul, the part which is eternal and a spark of the Creator, dwells in the 5^th dimension.

For many people, they can go years, even decades between experiences of the Light of Truth that vibrates in their souls.  If it persists, the soul energy is blocked out. There is almost no soul energy in the body or in the field. Some esoteric schools consider these people the walking dead.

While music can resonate in the conscious mind and affect one’s emotions (4^th dimension); as a performing musician, I have always been drawn to understand the music of the soul. (5^th dimension) I would prefer to have music defined as a gift of sound through time  from heaven liberating humanity from ignorance and darkness. But, that’s a bit melodramatic isn’t it. 😊 Must be all those years listening to and playing Mahler.

Yet, some music is different. It truly dwells in the world of the soul… for those who have ears to hear it. The chill up and down the spine when we hear “inspiring” music is literally called a “soul chill”.

Unconditional love, patriotic bravery, child like innocence… these are the reflections of the Light of the Soul. They have a frequency. They have true healing power. They inspire us to what is immortal. This is the stuff of healing music.

For music to move into the healing realm, it must provide some sort of connection between the Infinite and the human being listening. Admittedly, that doesn’t narrow the definition very much.

The most important part of health or healing happens between two beings. It is a relationship. On the inside, on the most fundamental level, health happens when a human being is connected to the life force itself.

In my personal music journey, I have had only a passing interest in passive instruments that simply produce a vibration. While they can bring balance to one’s energy field and even remove symptoms of disease, (where there is light, there can be no darkness); healing that lasts must be removed from the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th dimension. The seed thought of the malady needs to be removed. Quite often, this happens when the light of the soul severs that energy connection. It is literally gone forever. It no longer exists. One might say, it is forgiven. So, in the interest of getting it all taken care of, I am drawn to music that touches the soul. That healing force comes from Eternity.

It is the soul that vibrates with the eternal spark of the Divine. It is the soul that reaches to heaven when the choir sings, or the orchestra plays, or a singer-song writer speaks to one’s heart. Besides, Eternity seems like a much more worthy pursuit when you meet an Ascended Master or an Archangel or a Saint along the way.

One bridge to those kinds of experiences for me came through time with Nature. This has continued for more than 30 years. Hear some of these selections, visit www.MusicInspiredByNature.com

A Search for Balance

A full-time symphony job brings its own unique set of challenges. In the orchestra I played with, we had 180 performances packed into a 38 week season each year. It was common to be “forced” to prepare the music for 3-4 different upcoming concerts at the same time. That could be as much as 8 hours of music to learn. The first year was a bit overwhelming, but like endurance training; it got easier as the years went by.

During those busy symphony years, two profound ideas came into my musical life. They helped me deal with the workload and shaped not only how I play, but how I create new music and even how I teach.

On the surface, these ideas are polar opposites. They may even appear antagonistic to each other. But I’ve embraced both. Each has precipitated its own organic transformation. Now, they are almost inseparable. They have become profoundly complementary. Not only do I practice them side by side, but they are also beginning to merge with each other.

I’m reminded of something that Eugene Levinson, the longtime principal bass of the New York Philharmonic once told his student, (my college roommate for 3 years) “Rolf! When you play scale… it must be like prayer in church!”

The first idea I came across during my symphony career was deeply spiritual. I experienced the opening of the Kundalini energy in the first year of studying Tai Chi Gung with Master Lama Rasaji. I share some of the details of this awakening in my first blog post. (https://musicinspiredbynature.com/2025/05/awakening/ )

This event ignited the soul energy of music from the inside. While it was always there to some extent, it only manifested in a soul chill up and down the spine occasionally, sometimes 3 to 4 times a year. Usually this happened on stage when playing with a guest artist of world caliber.  After the Kundalini was awakened though, the soul chill accelerated almost beyond comprehension. Multiple times a day, in practice, in rehearsal, in performances of many kinds. Now it happens nearly every time I sit to create music; something I do 6 days a week as an integral part of my daily practice.

The second idea to change my musical life was highly technical. Yet, it has completely transformed the way I play instruments and learn new music. I’ve applied these principles of technique to violin, piano, guitar and most recently the voice. Through simple repetitive exercises, the basic coordination of mind and body to play any music passage is essentially hard wired together, bit by bit.

This method is from Carmine Caruso. He was the founder of a unique method for mastering technique he called “Calisthenics for Brass”. I first became aware of it when Julie Landsman, a music professor teaching at the Julliard School of Music, gave a seminar at Rice University where I was a graduate student. One of the French Horn players in the symphony I played with was an advocate of the method, and we had many discussions about it.

I soon adapted those principles of mastering a brass instrument to the violin. Then I went on to apply them to piano, guitar and now voice. Over the past 30 years, I brought them into a complete music curriculum in 4 simple steps. It’s been adapted for beginners, something they can do about 5 minutes a day. This curriculum is now an integral part of the music class that I teach for the Circle of Chi community on their website www.circleofchi.com . An expanded version is currently being updated and expanded for children and choirs on: www.TheSchoolForCreativeMusic.com

Do the Thing, Get the Power!

When I played in a symphony full time, the Canadian Brass were visiting artists for a pops concert series. That year they were traveling with a plus one artist, a drummer.  It was a bit unusual. The rest of us under our breath, “gimmick?”  

He blended into the rehearsal in a way almost no one took notice of. But, during the concert, to start the second half after intermission, he came to center stage by himself with a snare drum. He started a drum solo. It was truly remarkable. By the climax of that 4.5-minute piece, the entire audience rose to their feet in a single surge with thunderous applause. Shouting and cheers all throughout the auditorium. Phenomenal energy. Incredible artist.

Backstage after the show, the principal percussionist in the symphony told his story. It turns out, they were both studying at the Curtis Institute together in college. He mentioned, “When he showed up, he was nothing great. Just another guy. But about 2 weeks into the first semester, we’d walk by his practice room and heard him do something no one else ever did. It was odd.

He was sitting there, with a single snare drum and one drumstick. Strike, rest, strike, rest, strike, rest, strike… one pulse over and over and over, about the speed of a resting heartbeat. He’d do this for 30 minutes without a break, then 45 minutes without a break. Day after day after day. Two years later, this guy was a monster. No one could match his inner rhythm. Where he led, when he led, everyone followed.”

In Tai Chi Gung, we share a phrase that sums this up. “Do the thing, get the power.” But we talk about this principle in relationship to health and longevity.

Everyone has things they think, say and do that speed up aging. Most have a few things they do that slow it down or at least keep it neutral. But very few know the Siddha regenerative techniques that can literally change one’s health paradigm. Do you aspire to live for centuries?  Are you willing to do the work?

I became aware of these exercises in my mid-20s when I found Master Lama Rasaji. And along the way, I learned that he lived and trained at the original Lamasery where these secrets of health and longevity have been shared in an unbroken lineage for more than 3000 years. It got my attention.

I already knew the power of repetition from music. I was one of those odd musicians that happily embraced playing scales and arpeggios every day, over and over and over. I genuinely enjoyed the reps. It was like basic nutrition for music.

In some ways, Lao Tzu’s system has been easy for me. I approached the Tai Chi Gung standing exercises the same way I approached music. I’ve been doing that each day now for more than 37 years. It unfolded in similar ways, bit by bit. And like music, one discovers the deeper you go, the more you return to the very beginning.

There’s a joke among the Lamas at the Lamasery in Tibet about this repetition thing. The undercurrent… “Are you serious? Or just window shopping?”

 “Keep practicing… the first 100 years are the hardest. But it gets a bit easier after that.”

Visit:  www.circleofchi.com/david to learn more.

What is spiritual rhythm?

The great Kriya Yoga Master, Swami Sri Yukteswar once shared, ‘When a human being takes an action with specific intent, with all of their soul, mind and body going in the same direction… that is a Kriya.”

I recently bought a buffalo drum. I was guided to sit quietly and pulse a simple steady beat about the speed of my resting heart rate. “Where is the Kriya in music rhythm?” I asked. “What is rhythm, really? How does developing music rhythm lead to spiritual transformation?”

Any music teacher will share the frustration of working with a student who has no “sense of rhythm”. It’s such a difficult thing to get across in the beginning. But there are ways to do it. I tend to allow students to work things out at their own speed, rather than try to get them to follow something outside themselves immediately, but that’s a story for another blog post.

When you back up to the very essence of creating a rhythmic beat, you come face to face with willpower. The human spirit’s ability to act. In this case, to set energy in motion.

Good rhythm manifests when the beats happen at regular intervals. For that to happen, both the right brain and the left brain participate and cooperate. One sees the trees and can place them in the forest.

There is a multitasking aspect to good rhythm, a higher order of processing. One can feel the space between the notes. Mozart once said, the real music happens between the notes. There is a link between artistic expression and a good sense of rhythm.

Some of my students had breakthroughs in their rhythm about the same time they figured out fractions in their math class. Good rhythm is relational. That relational ability turns on at different times for different people, especially children. The light bulb of rhythm occasionally just turns on one day. It can be precipitated by effort too.

Every single music student I’ve ever had took a leap forward in self-confidence and self-esteem when they had a breakthrough with their music rhythm. Performing at recitals was an important part as well.

Sometimes the opening to higher levels comes with considerable tears and frustration. I remember throwing my violin bow across the room and screaming at the top of my lungs once while trying to learn a piece. (Bach’s double concerto in D minor. Suzuki was definitely not my favorite human at that point in my life.)  

It prompted my father to come knock on my bedroom door. He basically talked me out of quitting music forever. Something I remain grateful to him for, more than 50 years later.

In the same way that one can do physical exercises to gain strength or balance; it is possible to gain self confidence and personal power by developing music rhythm.

Oddly, one of the main reasons people shy away from practicing regularly or remaining dedicated to playing a musical instrument or singing is because they are backing away from their own spiritual power.  

In the metaphysical world, the power center, the center of authority is in the throat chakra. One’s “voice” is strengthened there. Both melody and rhythm are influenced by the power center. Eventually, the soul voice can also be heard or opened up by playing a musical instrument or singing.

There are many paths to “good rhythm”. It is baked into every music method, and every style of music out there. For most people, that growth happens accidentally or unconsciously as they learn. Simple persistence yields results.

But in the music class through the CircleOfChi.com, we approach transformation with music deliberately. The spiritual aspect of playing an instrument or singing is met head on. The foundation comes from a conscious connection to the chi, which is the fuel of artistic, soul expression.

The core music fundamentals are shared there as well. Note reading, scales, exercises, improvising. The core curriculum includes 36 songs in 12 lessons with help videos for every song and exercise. They are online, on demand for piano, violin, guitar; with the help of Lisa, cello and now voice as well. Not accidentally, the core warmups address rhythm from the very first exercise.

While it sets “opening of the power center” front and center; it also yields tremendous, quick progress for those who are serious about learning to sing or play a music instrument. Learn more by visiting www.circleofchi.com/david

Mastering an Instrument: Does Your Playing Share Soul Energy?

In one of my independent study projects as a graduate student at Rice University, I posed the question: “If two soloists perform the same concerto on two different days with the same orchestra, playing the same right notes at similar tempos and dynamics; why is it that one artist’s performance moves you tears and the other leaves you bored, looking for the exit?

After a whole semester digging through volumes by psychologists, philosophers, aestheticians, musicians, composers and artists, I came across way more opinions than fact, far more conjectures that consensus. But looking back, I see now that an important seed was planted. It led me to my “burning question”; and that led me to Tai Chi Gung.

Through the study and application of Tai Chi Gung, I discovered a simple answer. It makes common sense, and it has served as an incredible creative foundation.  Among other things, it has unlocked creativity. I once wrote, recorded and published a new music piece every day for 225 days.

But I think more important than having creativity “on tap”, it has brought incredible life changes. There is profound inner contentment when your professional life flows from one of your life’s passions. Since discovering “how” inspiring music works, I knew what I wanted more than anything else.

Can I play music and create music with the angels of heaven and know that this is true? Can I experience it directly as I create or play? Can I feel their divine presence with absolute certainty? Can I do this every single time?

In Tai Chi Gung, Lao Tzu discovered a simple formula for health and vitality. Go into Nature. Send Her life energy with sincerity and pure heart. She will return that life force 10 fold, even 100 fold! Master this flow of energy and you will unlock the secret of long life on the earth.  

This going out and coming back forms the flow he called the “Figure 8”. It is the core of one of his fundamental exercises we do in every Tai Chi Gung class. With consistent practice, a student learns to feel this figure 8 as certainly as a child looks up to the sky on a clear, sunny day and sees the color blue.

This communion with Nature, this figure 8 pattern of chi leads one to extraordinary regeneration. (Lao Tzu lived in the same physical body more than 300 years.) Lao Tzu not only learned how to do this, he taught his students how to sustain this energy flow, increase it, magnify it, even share it with others when it reached abundance.

In music, this same figure 8 is completed between souls. When the soul of the performer connects to the souls of the audience through the music, the crescendo of life force grows. This figure 8 can flow between the performer and the angels themselves. Often, it starts with the soul chill up and down the spine. That is actually just the beginning.  

You can listen to pieces based on Lao Tzu’s figure 8 with Nature by visiting www.MusicInspiredByNature.com . You can discover more about Tai Chi Gung by visiting www.CircleOfChi.com/david During the music class there, I share this approach to playing music with students of Tai Chi Gung.