Dr Matt's Newletter November 16, 2022
Supporting healthy social interactions and diversity of health choices
This newsletter’s research section introduces a different concept of infection: “morphic fields” and “morphic resonance”. One entertaining example is research finding that some pets that can tell when their owners have started heading for home, even though they are many miles apart.
Below are some other interesting items I like to share each week and please feel free to send me ideas of your own for the newsletter. Today’s newsletter sections include:
Inspirational quote from Sufi teacher Inayat Khan
Music of the week – Latin Flavor Part II – Last week we had popular latin classics from Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. This week we have Masters of classical music from south of the border – way, way south of the border in Argentina, the land of the Tango.
Humor of the week – It Takes Two to Tango – Jack Lemmon in “Some Like it Hot”
Two Family Run Businesses – Hand crafted heirloom jewelry by Laura Benkowski, and Medina Montessori – a school in Falls Church for ages 3 to 12.
Research of the week – Morphic Resonance and pets that know when their owners are heading home.
Yours truly, one moment at a time.
Matt Irwin
Inspirational quote from Sufi teacher Inayat Khan
“When the heart is always patient and kind and full of sympathy, it only takes all the roughness without giving it back. And where there is only kindness, only patience, then it takes all the thorns. It is like a diamond being cut. By being cut, the heart becomes brilliant. When the heart is sufficiently cut, it becomes a flame illuminating the life of the mystic and the lives of others.” Inayat Khan: 1924
My avid readers may be reminded the quote from Thich Nhat Hanh in last week’s newsletter about cradling our own suffering to grow lotus flowers from the mud. Sufis are mystics of the Islamic tradition, just as Zen Buddhists like Thich Nhat Hahn are mystics of the Buddhist tradition. The inspirational quote above was taken from this essay by Khan from 1924: https://sufimessageinayatkhan.com/7-sufi-mysticism-1/
Another famous Sufi mystic is the poet, Rumi.
Music of the week – Latin Flavor Part II – Classical Masters from south of the border. Astor Piazzola’s Nuevo Tango, and Martha Argerich’s mastery of classical piano.
My father was a classical violinist who played for several years in the Portland Symphony in his home town, Portland Oregon. This gave me a taste for classical music at a rather deep level.
I also have a number of patients who are working professional classical musicians, including several from latin America. One mom of kids in my practice is a classical violinist from Columbia, and an adult patient is a classical pianist from Peru who has a performance in DC this weekend, on Sunday November 20th, in a brand new opera.
One of my early patients was the concertmaster at the National Symphony Orchestra for many years, who died in 2013, and his wife, who is also a classical violinist, still sees me from time to time. A long-term adult coupe include a vocalist for the Navy Band and her husband, a professional percussionist. A Dad of a newborn patient who I met today is from Venezuela and plays classical piano. Another Mom in my practice plays cello. Perhaps it is a coincidence that I have so many classical musicians in my practice, but it could also be a case of “morphic resonance” :-).
The first few pieces below are by Astor Piazzola, an Argentinian composer who recreated the music for Tango starting about 70 years ago. Perhaps because the Tango is a deep tradition in Argentina, his innovations were at first met with resistance and even anger: There was apparently a fistfight at one of the venues where his music was first performed, with plans made to beat up Piazzola if they ever encountered him face-to-face. When you listen to this first piece you may see why it could be controversial, especially if you are expecting a more traditional style of music.
Astor Piazzola live in Buenos Aires: Hora Cero:
The second piece by Piazzola is much softer and gentler: an arrangement for two pianos of one of his ballads, Oblivion. It is played by Argentinian pianists Martha Argerich, one of the greatest masters of piano of the past 80 years, and Eduardo Hubert. Ms Argerich still performs at age 80 and is still just as masterful as she was in her youth. The last two pieces are her playing the 2nd and 3rd movements of the first piano concerto Beethoven wrote. He wrote them at the tender age of 17, and Martha first became famous at the age of 16 when she won two prestigious performance competitions. However, shortly after that she had a personal and spiritual “crisis”, stopped playing for three years, considered other careers, and had to be coaxed back to the piano.
Astor Piazzola’s Oblivion: A contemplative ballad arranged for two pianos
Beethoven Piano Concerto #2: 2nd and 3rd movements:
Although this Concerto is officially “#2”, it was actually the first one he wrote, in 1787 at the age of 17. However, in typical style, he was never satisfied with it and wrote revisions every few years, finally publishing it in 1801, at age 31. By then he was a “rock star” and people loved his music’s mix of emotions: soothing melodies, thunderous storms, and joyful celebrations. By then he was also already losing his hearing, a catastrophe that became complete by his early 40’s. As described in my newsletter from September 28th, Beethoven wrote some of his most famous works after he was completely deaf.
The 2nd movement, like Piazzola’s Oblivion, is a peaceful ballad. In contrast, the 3rd movement is a joyful celebration.
Beethoven Piano Concerto #2, 2nd movement:
Beethoven Piano Concerto #2, 3rd movement:
In this youtube video you can see both the intensity and artistry of Ms Algerich, and also that she and the orchestra have a lot of fun 😊.
Humor of the week –
In case you prefer traditional Tango, here is a scene from the classic comedy “Some like it Hot” starring Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis. In this movie Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are running from the mafia and in desperation put on women’s clothing and make-up, and pass themselves off as female musicians (suspension of disbelief is in order). In this scene Jack Lemmon has a millionaire at his beck and call, and the millionaire eventually asks him to marry him. At the very end of the movie, Jack finally fesses up, pulls off his wig and says “I can’t marry you. I’m a man!”
Last but not least, my patient Ruth Rose is playing for a new opera that will be performed for the first time this Sunday in DC as a “Development Concert Workshop”. https://www.brianwilbur.com/html/compsOpera.html
Family Run Businesses:
Next week I plan to have a “Gift Edition” of my newsletter with a compilation of prior newsletter family-run businesses that you can all use for buying gifts. The two businesses below are good examples.
Medina Montessori – a school in Falls Church for ages 3 to 12 with a Muslim flavor, and a silent auction this weekend.
My patients Rima and Ahmad and their family own Medina Montessori in Falls Church. They are having a silent auction this weekend and the link is at the end as well as the link to their school’s website. You can make bids online or in person on Saturday if you would like to visit the school.
Rima and Ahmad are Sufi Muslims and their school has mostly Muslim families, but all faiths are welcome. For those unfamiliar with Sufism, it is the branch of Islam that emphasizes direct communication with God through prayer, similar to Christian mystical traditions such as the Trappists and Cistercians. The inspirational quote at the beginning of this newsletter is from a Sufi teacher.
https://medinamontessori.schoolauction.net/fallfundraiser/catalog
https://www.medinamontessori.org/academics.html
Hand crafted heirloom jewelry by Laura Benkowski –
Laura makes high quality custom jewelry using precious metals and precious gems. Contact her if you would like to discuss a unique item or you can order one of the many retail designs on her website,
Research of the week – Morphic Resonance, a novel concept of “infection” described by biologist Rupert Sheldrake.
I first encountered Dr Sheldrake’s work when I read his book, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home. I quickly realized that he had a deep knowledge of the invisible connections between living organisms and also between “inanimate” substances. He also has a gift for creating simple research studies demonstrating it. He has written books and given lectures on a scientific explanation of this connection, which he refers to as Morphic Fields and “Morphic Resonance.
During the past two years it became clear to me that morphic resonance explains “infection” quite well. Otherwise how could we live in harmony with 37 trillion bacteria, fungi and viruses which are part of our natural human biome, and then get an infection from the very same microbes? I have become confident that when we are out of harmony, these microbes are invited to create an “infectious illness”. We are influenced by others, but the collective unconscious connections we have to things around us likely have more significance than the viruses or bacteria in question.
Sheldrake adopted the term “Morphic Fields” from prior research by other scientists. He describes these fields as being similar to gravitational fields and electromagnetic fields in that also have influences across great distances. Although we can interact and learn to manage this interaction, we cannot eliminate the connection any more than we can eliminate a gravitational field that keeps us glued to the earth. Because he is a biologist, much of his research involves plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi.
Below is a brief introduction to some of his research. The first is a short video where he describes research with pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits, parrots and others. After tha there is a link to a page on his website on this subject. Finally there is a link to a professional video production of a typical Sheldrake research design, in this case done with five English musicians, the Nolan Sisters.
https://www.sheldrake.org/research/telepathy
Video production of “telephone telepathy” with the Nolan sisters
If you want a more thorough introduction to his work, below is a link to an interview from one year ago, and then a link his webpage describing a book he wrote in the 1980’s, which was updated in 2009.
https://www.sheldrake.org/books-by-rupert-sheldrake/a-new-science-of-life-morphic-resonance
Lastly, while researching this newsletter I learned that he has a daily mindfulness practice. Below is a discussion of this, a 5 minute section of a much longer interview.