International Journal of
eISSN: 2381-1803
Submit manuscript...
Commentary Volume 16 Issue 3
Meditation, Music and Medicine are three gifts from the Goddess Muses Mousike
Hiroko Ogawa,1 Hiroshi Bando,1,2 
Kei Tanaka,3 Shinji Nagahiro1,4
1Shuseikai Medical Corporation, Yoshinogawa Hospital, Japan
2Medical Research/Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan
3Division of Integrated Arts and Social Sciences, Tokushima University, Japan
4Emeritus Professor, Former Director of Tokushima University Hospital, Japan
Correspondence: Hiroshi BANDO, Tokushima University / Medical Research, Nakashowa 1-61, Tokushima 770-0943 Japan
Received: May 27, 2023 | Published: June 6, 2023
Citation: Ogawa H, Bando H, Tanaka K, et al. Meditation, Music and Medicine are three gifts from the Goddess Muses (Mousikē). Int J Complement Alt Med. 2023;16(3):148-150. DOI: 10.15406/ijcam.2023.16.00645
Abstract
In Greek mythology, the Muses (Mousikē) is the goddess of music and poetry. Muses provided us meaningful gifts, which are Meditation, music and medicine (three M’s). Mindfulness meditation brings focusing on our existence just now. Solfeggio frequency music may give bring relaxing effect, where 528Hz sound has been known for possible benefit for health. Medicine shows each pharmacokinetics with evidence-based treatment. These 3M’s are arranged differently, but their combination becomes powerful method for our health control. After solving some daily problems by M’s, we can feel wellness and happiness, leading to practicing supreme human philosophy such as Hinohara-ism.
Keywords: greek mythology, muses (Mousikē), mindfulness meditation, solfeggio frequency music, hinohara-ism
Commentary
In Greek mythology, the Muses (Mousikē) is the goddess of music and poetry.1 The authors are doctors, pharmacist and artist, and then have been involved in music therapy, hospital art and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).2,3 Meditation, music and medicine have mutual relationships, which are three gifts from the Muses (3M’s).4 They can provide treatment and regulation for our mind and body.5 Furthermore, they provide us impressive and positive effects on our daily lives (Figure 1).6,7 Some comments and narrative stories will be described in this article.
Figure 1 Treatment for mind and body by three factors.
First, mindfulness meditation has attracted attention.8 The crucial points include i) organizing your thoughts and relax your brain, and ii) focusing on your existence just now and creating a stable mind.9 For performing the activity, reasonable method of mindfulness meditation is shown for three steps (Figure 2). Among them, the third step would be important. People usually feel that a variety of thoughts come out in the brain. In such case, ignore it and become conscious of just breathing itself.
Figure 2 Method of mindfulness meditation.
As to the meditation, it was formerly evaluated to be religious or suspicious in the light of medical, psychosomatic and social points of view.10 However, such judgment has not been recently observed in our lives. It was because CAM has been developed and prevalent across the world.11 Meditation has been explained by Japanese and English languages (Figure 3), in which it can be understood from multi-cultural points of view.12
Figure 3 The meaning of Meditation by Japanese and English languages.
From worldwide information, several successful people have habits of meditating.13 They always have extremely stressful lives and keep more intelligent and conscious with meditation. Unless they regulate their inside mind, they cannot maintain their work outside in the economic society. Those who continued meditating include Apple founder Steve Jobs, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Kyocera founder Kazuo Inamori, Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita, and Major league baseball player Ichiro.
Second, certain frequency music has been reported to show possible effective healing. Solfeggio frequency music means music scale in French, in which frequency represents the number of times the air vibrates per second.14 Solfeggio frequency music may act on the parasympathetic nerve and bring relaxing effect. Among them, 528 Hz sound has been known for its possible beneficial influence in the health.15 Furthermore, musical sound of 98 Hz, 174 Hz, 285 Hz, 432 Hz, 639 Hz, 741 Hz and 852 Hz might show also clinical efficacy.16 Such music topics have been introduced in recent health care music world.17
Third, a variety of medicine has treated people and given health and well-being for long. Concerning medical agents, pharmacokinetics has been clarified for absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.18 Clinical responses include both aspects of beneficial and/or adverse effects. From multiple studies, each medicine will show various evidence-based treatment.19 Each medicine has an indication document for its efficacy, which is always expected. On the other hand, the prescription for each patient may be not ready-to-wear but made-to-order.
From mentioned above about 3M’s, they have shown strength and weakness for bio-, psycho- and social points of view.20 The outline was shown in Table 1. For strength of meditation, our mind and heart can return to natural our self. It is crucial way to regulate the mind. As to music, it is true that human can live without music. However, our lives become boring day if we do not have music. Music gives fun and joy, and sometimes snuggles up to sadness. Consequently, we have a significant life with music and the goddess Muses.21 In contrast, medicine has the evidence in the light of scientific studies. Medical practice and research are officially authorized by the governments.
|
Strength |
Weakness |
Meditation |
|
|
|
Relief |
Anxiety |
|
Relax |
Inability to concentrate |
|
Inspiration |
Feeling stressful |
Medicine |
|
|
|
Evidence |
Various response |
|
Pharmacokinetics |
Adverse effects |
|
Clinical effects |
Mutual influence |
Music |
|
|
|
Sound sleep |
Different favorites |
|
Relax |
Sometimes noisy |
|
Healing |
not Essential for like |
Table 1 Strength and weakness of three factors
Consequently, 3M’s have been arranged differently (Figure 1). When combined together, they present enormous power to solve health and medical problems. We have always suffered from various matters, and such troubles may be also gifts from the goddess Muses. Because we can feel wellness and happiness after the problems are solved, which leads to practicing supreme human philosophy such as Hinohara-ism.21
Conclusion
Current article can be summarized by the sublime heart of the Goddess Muses as follows.
- There is Meditation to return yourself, and use
- There is Music to feel pleasure and joy, and use
- There are Medicines to thank for health, and use
Acknowledgments
None.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Funding
There was no funding received for this paper.
References
- Pavlicevic M. Foreword: Music as Therapy — Revisiting the Muses. British J Music Ther Dec. 1992;6(2):1–4.
- Tanaka K, Nagahiro S, Bando H. Further Hospital Art Development of Masking Tape Using Thin Film Sheet. Asp Biomed Clin Case Rep. 2021;4(3):195–198.
- Nagahiro S, Tanaka K, Bando H, et al. Masking tape art–work may provide beneficial positive effects. Edel J Biomed Res Rev. 2021;3:5–8.
- https://rafflesconnect.sg/books/bando–music–therapy.pdf
- Altshuler IM. The past, present, and future of musical therapy. In E. Podolsky, Editor. Music therapy. New York: Philosophical Library; 1948. P. 24–35.
- Yamada F, Bando H. Traditional Japanese Gagaku Music for Contribution of Human Wellness. Global J Arts Social Sci. 2022;4(1):164.
- Bando H, Yoshioka A, Bando M, et al. Clinical effect of sound sleep support sound player “Lullaby reverberation” for sleep quality. Int J Complement Alt Med. 2023;16(1):32‒35.
- Wielgosz J, Goldberg SB, Kral TRA, et al. Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2019;15:285–316.
- Giommi F, Bauer PR, Berkovich–Ohana A, et al. The (In)flexible self: Psychopathology, mindfulness, and neuroscience. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2023;23(4):100381.
- Gál É, Ștefan S, Cristea IA. The efficacy of mindfulness meditation apps in enhancing users' well–being and mental health related outcomes: a meta–analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Affect Disord. 2021;279:131–142.
- Hadash Y, Ruimi L, Bernstein A. Looking inside the black box of mindfulness meditation: Investigating attention and awareness during meditation using the mindful awareness task (MAT). Psychol Assess. 2023;35(3):242–256.
- Özok HI, Tanhan F. Developing a Culture–Adapted Mindfulness Stress Reduction Program. Int J Prog Educ. 2023;19(2):74–91.
- Wielgosz J, Goldberg SB, Kral TRA, et al. Mindfulness Meditation and Psychopathology. Ann Rev Clin Psychol. 2019;15:285–316.
- Nakajima Y, Tanaka N, Mima T, et al. Stress Recovery Effects of High– and Low–Frequency Amplified Music on Heart Rate Variability. Behav Neurol. 2016;2016:5965894.
- Akimoto K, Hu A, Yamaguchi T, et al. Effect of 528 Hz Music on the Endocrine System and Autonomic Nervous System. Health. 2018;10(9):1159–1170.
- Calamassi D, Pomponi, GP. Music Tuned to 440 Hz Versus 432 Hz and the Health Effects: A Double–blind Cross–over Pilot Study. Explore. 2019;15(4):283–290.
- https://www.croixhealing.com/wago–solfeggio
- Prieto–Garcia JM, Graham L, Alkhabbaz O, et al. Potential Pharmacokinetic Interactions of Common Cardiovascular Drugs and Selected European and Latin American Herbal Medicines: A Scoping Review. Plants (Basel). 2023;12(3):623.
- Takakusa H, Iwazaki N, Nishikawa M, et al. Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics of Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapeutics: Typical Profiles, Evaluation Approaches, and Points to Consider Compared with Small Molecule Drugs. Nucleic Acid Ther. 2023;33(2):83–94.
- Fricchione G. Mind body medicine: a modern bio–psycho–social model forty–five years after Engel. Biopsychosoc Med. 2023;17(1):12.
- Lynch TAC. Singing with the Muses: new paths into ancient Mousikē. Ancient Greek Music: the Art of the Muses. Revista do Laboratório de Dramaturgia. 2023;22(8): 487–522.
- Bando H, Yoshioka A, Nishikiori Y. Medicine and philosophy with supreme humanity and achievement by great physicians, Schweitzer, Osler and Hinohara. Int J Fam Commun Med. 2020;4(3):74‒76.
©2023 Ogawa, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.