Healing Harps

3000 years ago in ancient Israel, a young shepherd boy named David was brought quickly many times in the middle of the night to play his harp before an ailing King Saul. The king had been having nightmares, anger fits and general malaise that was affecting his mind as well as his physical health. When the harp was being played he 'felt better and the evil spirit departed from Saul". Powerful words to describe a situation known all too well by many people in our own times.

" The spirit of G-d departed from Saul, and he was tormented by a spirit of sadness and melancholy from G-d. Saul's servants said to him, 'Behold now! A spirit of melancholy from G-d torments you. Let our lord tell your servants who are before you that they should seek a man who knows how to play the harp, so that when the spirit of melancholy from G-d is upon you, he will play the harp with his hand and all will be well with you."
So Saul said to his servants, "Seek now for me someone who plays well and bring him to me. One of the young servants spoke up and said, "Behold! I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who knows how to play the harp, is a mightly man of valor and a man of war, who understands a matter, is a handsome man, and G-d is with him."

Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said " Send me David your son who is with the sheep....

And it came to pass, that whenever the spirit of melancholy from G-d was upon Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand, and Saul would feel relieved and it would be well with him, and the evil spirit would depart from Saul.' ( Samuel I 16:14 -23).

3000 years ago the servants of King Saul knew that the sounds of the harp were able to have a healing affect on people. They didn't have the scientific knowledge of why and how, but they did know that something profound happened to people when the harp was played, and so they found the 'best harpist' in the land to bring to their ailing king to ease his suffering and bring him moments of peace and well being.

3000 years later, in our generation, recent medical research, studies and testing is showing the 'why and the how' of the healing affects of the sound of the harp. The following articles are based on some of this research and what is being done in the realm of healing with the sounds of the harp now, in hospitals, private homes and hospices as well as being used in alternative therapies in conjunction with other healing modalities. The results are very impressive. To learn more - read on....

 

Doctors Promote Healing, With a Zing of the String of a Harp
By Ben Daitz, M.D.
Published: December 16, 2003

Healing Sounds of the Harp
By Jody Feinberg
The Patriot Ledger

 

Harp Has The Power to Soothe But It Can Also Heal
MSNBC.com
Updated: 12:01 a.m. ET Dec. 26, 2005