History of the harp as a healing instrument For more than 3,000 years, the harp has been known as an instrument of healing.  Evidence of the harp's healing properties can be found throughout cultures from around the world, in places such as the paintings of harps on ancient Egyptian temples, David playing the harp for healing Saul in the Bible, and Pythagoras in circa 500 B.C. in Samos, Greece, prescribing lyre music and diet for healing his patients.  In ancient China, the ch'in, a table-harp instrument, was played for health, longevevity, and spiritual enlightenment.  In Africa, where the first harp may have originated from the hunting bow, the harp has had a long oral tradition through the griots who helped to bring healing to the community through music, story-telling, and connecting with the spiritual world.  In ancient Ireland, the god Dagda was known to be able to change the physical and emotional well-being of his listeners when by playing three different strains on the harp, which could bring about either sleep, tears, or laughter.  For more information about the history of the harp as a healing instrument, check out Sarajane Williams' "Therapeutic Harp: Ancient Legacy, Sound Science, Clinical Applications" DVD or her book, "The Mythic Harp."  Sarajane Williams is also the editor of the the Harp Therapy Journal, a unique and educational journal produced 4 times per year, providing current information about harp therapy programs, clinical studies, and applications of the harp for healing.  www.planetharp.com Institute for Health & Healing Healing Harp and Integrative Medicine Education Certification: 2011-2012.  California Pacific Medical Center, San Francico, CA Learn how to provide therapeutic harp music for patients in a hospital setting in this in-depth, 500 hour Certification training program.  The program is based on an action-reflection model of learning, helping the student towards greater self-knowledge, professional excellence, and collaborative integrative medicine team work, in order to provide outstanding care for hospitalized patients.  This academic internship program includes hands-on the harp workshops, individual and group supervison, and inter-disciplinary integrative seminars.  Students provide healing harp music for patients at California Pacific Medical Center during their supervised internship.  Portia Diwa is the Healing Harp Clinical Faculty.  For more information, visit the Institute for Health & Healing website.    California Institute of Integral Studies: Certificate in Sound, Voice, and Music Healing, 2010- 2011.  This is a stellar, academic and experiential program, featuring presentations by world-reknown sound healers. Directed by Silvia Nakkach, MA, MMT. Portia Diwa is one of the faculty memebers, teaching 2 workshops on "The Healing Power of the Harp" for students enrolled in the course. For more information, visit http://www.ciis.edu/About_CIIS/Public_Programs/Sound_Certificate.html

 

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