CHAPTER 05

THE BEAT OF LIFE

Who would have guessed that something as simple as tapping on a drum could have a profound effect on our brain activity? But we have to remember where we came from. As humans evolved from solitary hunter/gatherers to small roaming groups to larger tribal communities, there was one constant around the evening campfire. There was always a drum.

The drum circle has elements of entertaining and being entertained, but it’s also the original church, in that space people can experience real transformation. —Jimi Two Feathers

Eventually a gathering of the entire tribe around drum rituals served to solidify the individuals into a group. It spread a sense of well-being and even provided therapeutic benefits that have since been documented. Drumbeats reduce stress, boost the immune system and trigger memory, among other benefits.

At 210 beats per minute researchers find a significant increase in human perception. They report a response called paradoxical arousal, which is a state of being both very relaxed and completely in control. At 270 beats per minute or 4.5 beats per second, things really get interesting.

Melinda Maxfield, PhD has been conducting research that shows traditional rituals keep a steady beat of 4.5 beats per second, which is a rate her studies show to induce a trans-like state in listeners.

This state increases inner-awareness, raises the frequency of brain wave activity and promotes a sense of connectedness. The modern equivalent of the tribal gathering is the nightclub with its pulsating beats, chant like repetition and tightly packed dance floors. No surprise that one of the most popular styles of nightclub music is called Trance and has been said to mimic the rhythms of shamanistic rituals.

Harvard neurologist Dr. Gottfried Schlaug says that making music (as opposed to listening to it) actually engages several brain processing regions at once, including everything from sight and sound to memories and emotion. And he found drumming to provide a link between left and right brain activity including the development of much denser connective fibers carrying messages between the logical left brain and creative right brain.

When this phenomenon known as “whole brain synchronization” occurs, various parts of the brain resonate at the same frequency and neural pathways fire more rapidly. Electrical activity and energy patterns in the brain become more widespread. What you notice is intense creativity, clarity and inspiration.

This will be fun. For the next two weeks, you will experiment with drum therapy. First we want to enhance our perception. For at least three minutes per day, three times per week, by tapping out a rhythm at 3.5 beats per second. To get the hang of it, first count out one second in a rhythmic manner. One-one-thou-sand. Then speak the beat out loud. Half-ONE-ONE-ONE. That is your beat. The beauty of beat therapy is you can do it anywhere and benefit immediately. Trace out a beat with fingers on a table. Play an empty bottle. Use a wooden spoon on the bottom of a kitchen pot. Slap your thighs. It is not only enjoyable, but you feel yourself begin to resonate with the music and synchronize movements with both of your hands.

After performing the structured 3.5 bpms, put on a favorite piece of music or drum along with Brent’s Elevate Jam on the CD track for this chapter. This time get loose, feel the beat, change it up, get creative and feel the flow of the music. It is bound to put smile on your face and allow you to light up the activity of your right brain creativity. Make any notes in your journal about the benefits you experience.