You Must Hear Your Own Music

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”― Friedrich Nietzsche

Psychiatrist Carl Hammerschlag tells a story about a healing interaction he had with a very ill old Pueblo priest and clan chief, whom he was treating in the hospital:

"As I was treating the clan chief, the patient smiled a beautiful smile and asked me, 'Where did you learn to heal?' Although I assumed my academic credentials would mean little to the old man, I responded almost by rote, rattling off my medical education, internship and certification. Again, the smile - and another question: 'Do you know how to dance?' I answered that, sure, I liked to dance, and I shuffled a little at his bedside. The priest chuckled, got out of bed, and although short of breath, began to show me his (Native American healing) dance.

'You must be able to dance if you are to heal people,' he said.

'And will you teach me your steps?' I asked, indulging the aging priest.

The priest nodded. 'Yes, I can teach you my steps, but you will have to hear your own music.'”

“You will have to hear your own music.” Powerful.

Each of us has music inside of us – and everyone’s music is different.

We need to listen to our own music.

Henry David Thoreau told us, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

Psychologist and self-help guru, Wayne Dyer, is adamant that we must not “die with our music inside of us."