Brain Music Therapy
Russian scientists have joined forces with a Manhattan psychiatrist to unlock the hidden, healing melodies of the human brain.
Now, in a complete reversal of Cold War Era paranoia, thousands of Americans and Europeans are eager for these Soviet trained doctors to record what is going on inside their heads.
It is not thoughts they are recording, however, but the rhythms of the brain itself – and they are turning them into beautiful music that can soothe the troubled beast within each of us.
The treatment is called Brain Music Therapy and its creators are showing hard evidence that it makes sleeping pills obsolete and helps to alleviate a host of psychological troubles running the gamut from the mild anxiety of stressed out moms to the crippling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder plaguing war veterans and survivors of terrorist attacks.
The world’s leading champion of Brain Music Therapy is Dr. Galina Mindlin, a 20 year veteran of psychiatry with a medical degree and two doctorate degrees: one in neurophysiology and another in neuropsychology.
Before going into medicine, Dr. Mindlin studied the arts while growing up in Moscow. When she began learning about the human brain, she was amazed to see patterns reminiscent of music.
“Music and brain waves are actually very similar,” says Dr. Mindlin, “both are a combination of different frequencies and patterns.”
Mindlin was intrigued when former Moscow colleague Yakov Levine created a computer program that could convert raw brain waves into music.
“What could be more soothing than the sound of your own brain?” asks Mindlin. “At a subconscious level you recognize these rhythms.”
Like an infant soothed by the familiar sound of its mother’s heart-beat, listening to music that matches our own unique brain waves creates a tremendously calming effect.
“It is a form of bio-feedback,” explains Mindlin. A part of our brain recognizes the pattern as its own and like a tuning fork the brain falls into the same rhythm.
That is why Dr. Mindlin’s patients are guided into a deep, calm state of relaxation while their brain waves are being recorded in her Manhattan office. Brain Music Therapy captures that peaceful state and allows the listener to instantly shrug off anxiety whenever they hear their “brain music.”
It is essentially pure relaxation captured in the form of music.
Recording the brain waves is easy and comfortable. A specially designed mesh cap that looks like a black rubber spider web is placed over your head. It feels sort of like a shower cap.
The cap positions tiny cups over certain areas of the skull. The cups are filled with gel that oozes down to your scalp. The gel picks up activity coming from your brain. Electrodes placed in the top of the gel carry those signals to a laptop computer that records your brain waves.
This simple EEG (electroencephalogram) recording can be done at Dr. Mindlin’s office or at any properly equipped hospital.
Mindlin dims the lights and guides you through a series of relaxation exercises. I was told to think of a place where I felt calm and happy and decided on a cabin in the woods next to a soothing, bubbling river where I once spent a peaceful vacation.
After about 20 minutes, enough had been recorded. The file was to be sent to Moscow and there turned into music by a sophisticated computer program. I would get a CD in a few weeks with my own personal brain music.
The whole process start to finish takes about 45 minutes including filling out a brief psychological questionnaire that helps determine how Dr. Mindlin will direct you to use the Brain Music. The price of the treatment is $550 dollars, far less expensive than any other guided therapy for insomnia, anxiety, or depression.
Every Brain Music CD contains two “songs” – the Relaxation File, and the Activating File. Says Dr. Mindlin, “The Relaxing File helps you sleep and with stress. The Activating File boosts energy, concentration, and productivity.”
Once you receive your CD, treatment is as easy as slipping on a pair of headphones. I personally experienced an absolute end of my insomnia and noticeably less fatigue in only a few days, but Dr. Mindlin says that it may take up to three weeks for some patients to notice a change.
“It is medicine in the form of music,” explains Mindlin in a soothing Russian accent. “You usually take it every day, but it depends on your unique brain architecture.”
When my CD arrived, I was eager to hear what songs my brain might sing. I sat back with my eyes closed to hear the rhythm of my mind.
Out of the headphones came a soothing symphony that sounded like classical piano music with an Asian motif – maybe sushi, karate and Japanese study have left their mark.
“Our brain waves are even more personal than a fingerprint,” Mindlin says, “no two sound alike.”
As I listened, I wondered if the Brain Music of famous people might some day be popular – what would Einstein’s brain have sounded like? What about rock stars or classical musicians, would their minds create more beautiful melodies?
Whether or not it sounds good is really beside the point according to Dr. Mindlin. The power of the music is that it corresponds to YOUR mental states.
“When my colleagues first noticed the effects of Brain Music we weren’t sure what was going on,” says Mindlin. “Since ancient times, music has been used for healing.” Was this just another example?
Apparently not, a series of rigorous double-blind scientific studies conducted by its Russian discoverers proved that the full power of Brain Music only works for the listener whose brain created it.
Listening to someone else’s Brain Music does no more good than listening to normal music. But, hearing your own Brain Music provides almost magical benefits.
Approximately 1 in 8 people suffer from insomnia in most developed countries. While one or two nights without sleep is a minor inconvenience, weeks or months of sleep deprivation can become debilitating.
For long-term sufferers, the continual fatigue is imprisoning. But Brain Music is a prison break.
“After 4 nights listening to my Brain Music, I had my first night of sleep in over a year,” reports Lynda Erkiletian, 47, whose insomnia was totally cured. “It quiets the mind, you stop thinking about things that keep you up.”
“This completely changed my life,” she reports. “In addition to allowing me to sleep, it put me in a peaceful frame of mind. It helped get me back on track.”
For over a year after the sudden loss of her closest friend to breast cancer, Lynda tossed and turned every night.
Sleeplessness was destroying her life, but as a single mother of four, she was afraid to take sleeping pills. “One of my concerns about taking [sleep] medication was that I would get into such a deep sleep that I wouldn’t be able to hear my children if they needed me. With Brain Music Therapy I don’t have to be concerned about being hung over from medication if there is an emergency.”
“It is safe, it is natural, and it is healthy,” agrees Dr. Mindlin. “It causes no side-effects at all.”
One of my patients is a young woman with General Anxiety Disorder,” shares Galina Mindlin. “She didn’t want to be on any medications because she very much wanted to get pregnant. Brain Music Therapy helped her anxiety and allowed her to avoid medications.”
Doctor Mindlin claims Brain Music Therapy is perfect for frayed nerves. “Patients use it after arguing with their spouse, boss, or teenage kid,” says Mindlin. “I have moms who love it. When the children scream they just slip on the headphones and relax.”
“I was willing to try anything because I suffer from anxiety,” says Vance Harmond, a 71 year-old Manhattan business owner, “I don’t like to take too much medication and the Brain Music Therapy helped me a great deal.”
“I also work with executives from Fortune 500 Companies,” reports Mindlin. “They accomplish more in a shorter time to meet deadlines.”
And Brain Music works for even severe anxiety. “I treat a few people who have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from 9-11,” reveals Dr. Mindlin. “They have less flashbacks and less anxiety.”
Brain Music Therapy also heightens creativity. “Dancers and actors use a combination of the Relaxing File then Activating File to focus for performance.”
According to Dr. Galina Mindlin, Brain Music even chases away the blues. “It helps people fighting depression and Bipolar Disorder;” great news for the hundreds of millions around the world.
Many antidepressants have troubling side-effects including loss of sexual desire, weight gain, anxiety, and addiction. But, Brain Music “causes no side-effects or addiction. Brainwaves are natural and belong to us.”
But what if you are too relaxed, falling asleep on the job or staggering from one cup of coffee to the next?
“One of my patients is the manager of a coffee shop who stopped drinking coffee because his Activating File works better. But he doesn’t tell his customers about me,” says Dr. Mindlin with a smile.
Unlike too much coffee or tea, it doesn’t leave you jittery and wired – just naturally awake and alert as if you had a full night sleep.
I find listening to my own my three minute Activating File wakes me up more than three cups of coffee. In fact, it helped me write this article.
For many of us, falling asleep on the job is only a minor inconvenience. But for soldiers it can mean the difference between life and death.
“I also work with several military officers,” reveals Galina Mindlin. “They use it to wake up on short notice, sleep in shifts, or stay awake for long missions.”
And, of course, in the world of professional sports where milliseconds can mean the difference between victory and defeat “people are always looking for a safe advantage.” says Dr. Mindlin. “A Canadian study showed athletes performing much better after listening.”
In today’s fast paced world it, seems like athletes are not the only ones constantly running. “It shouldn’t be like this,” says Dr. Galina Mindlin, “so many people stressed out in this competitive environment. I see this as a great opportunity to help people.”
And thousands agree. Due to the overwhelming demand for the treatment, Galina Mindlin is now training other doctors and psychiatrists in Brain Music Therapy and is looking for partners within the U.S. and around the world. In the meantime, Dr. Mindlin makes house calls with her equipment.
When asked what is the best feature of Brain Music Therapy, Mindlin answers that it quickly helps you tap into the healing power we all already possess.
This is the same kind of mental control that Buddhist monks spend a life time cultivating, but Brain Music Therapy takes out most of the work.
“To use meditation to the full extent, you really need to practice for years and years. Brain Music Therapy doesn’t require any special training,” says Dr. Galina Mindlin, “there is no effort.”
“We all have busy lives now, from corporate managers to moms navigating car pools. This is the treatment for modern society.”
- The End -
By Lance Laytner
Copyright Meritum Media
click on photos for LIGHTBOX
Each of our brains is constantly creating a symphony. PHOTO BY LANCE LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA
Like an infant soothed by the familiar sound of its mother’s heart-beat, listening to music that matches our own unique brain waves creates a tremendously calming effect. PHOTO BY RON LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA
Brain Music therapy begins with a modified electroencephalogram (EEG) which records our own unique brain rhythm. PHOTO BY LANCE LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA
Doctor Galina Mindlin is the foremost American practioner of Brain Music Therapy. A veteran psychiatrist with two doctorate degrees, she believes that the treatment is ideal because it is clinically proven and has no side effects. PHOTO BY LANCE LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA
Dr. Mindlin
Before going into medicine, Dr. Mindlin studied the arts while growing up in Moscow. When she began learning about the human brain, she was amazed to see patterns reminiscent of music.“Music and brain waves are actually very similar,” says Dr. Mindlin, “both are a combination of different frequencies and patterns.” PHOTO BY LANCE LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA
With a laptop and some suprisingly portable equipment, Dr. Mindlin can record brain waves to create music almost anywhere. Mindlin is also in the process of trainning other psychiatrists in America and abroad to perform the procedure. PHOTO BY LANCE LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA
After recording your brain waves, the data is sent to a special lab in Moscow that runs it through a special computer program that converts your brain waves into music. The file is shipped back to you and treatment is as easy as slipping on a pair of headphones. PHOTO BY LANCE LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA
Gazing into the future, Dr. Mindlin envisions a time when Brain Music Therapy becomes a common part of overall health strategy. “It is safe, it is natural, and it is healthy,
I personally found Brain Music Therapy remarkably effective. My work often throws off my sleep schedule and I often struggle with both exhaustion and insomnia. With Brain Music Therapy my sleep troubles vanished and, as a bonus, it helped my back pain, as well. PHOTO FROM MERITUM MEDIA
According to both clinical studies and individual reviews, Brain Music Therapy provides almost magical benefits giving relief for insomnia, exhaustion, anxiety, depression, and even Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For many, this safe and inexpensive treatment is providing hope for the first time in years. PHOTO BY LANCE LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA
A specially designed mesh cap positions tiny cups over certain areas of the skull. The cups are filled with gel that oozes down to your scalp. The gel picks up activity coming from your brain. Electrodes placed in the top of the gel carry those signals to a laptop computer that records your brain waves. PHOTO BY LANCE LAYTNER, MERITUM MEDIA