Cross-cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien tells us that in many traditional cultures, when an ill person goes to the healer, he or she is asked four questions:
When did you stop singing?
When did you stop dancing?
When did you stop telling your story?
When did you stop sitting in silence?
Arrien calls these the healing salves. I love to think about them as the four healing questions because once we answer these questions, we see our pathway forward, we know what’s missing and we know what to do to start healing – more singing, more dancing, more telling our stories – and making more time to sit in silence too.
Numerous studies show that creative activities – drawing, writing and singing – raise serotonin levels and decrease anxiety. Last week my serotonin levels were raised vicariously when I had the privilege of seeing PROJECT Trio (pictured below).
Peter Seymour, Eric Stephenson and Greg Patillo make-up PROJECT Trio*. Their mission: galvanizing artistic awareness through performance, education and community engagement. The three Brooklynites believe there is a direct correlation between artistry and scholastic achievement. They are convinced that creativity encourages critical thinking and they combine classical music with elements of Hip-Hop and popular music to engage young people. PROJECT Trio emphasizes at every turn how grateful they are for being exposed to and getting to grab hold of musical instruments as part of their public school education.
Today in the United States many of us – young and old – have fallen victim to cultural diseases: busyness, noisiness, an inundation of violence and bad news. We also suffer, thanks in part to manipulative advertising and our “Celebrity-Lauding Culture,” from feelings that we not only do not have enough but we’re not enough .
What a joy it was to witness how PROJECT Trio moved young people (and me) toward the healing salves Arrien writes and speaks about. While the three men of PROJECT Trio are making music matter, there are so many ways to get creative and help others be creative too.
What are your answers to the four healing questions? What’s one creative thing you might start doing today?
*PROJECT Trio: Project Trio is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, enabling the efforts of its members to bring the highest quality instrumental music to audiences and students around the world. Your gift is 100% tax deductible and directly supports concerts for students of all ages, residencies in communities, concerts in veteran and children hospitals, our newly formed summer festival, and the always expanding repertoire for the flute, cello, and bass. Learn more at What is PROJECT Trio?
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