Steve Habib... MUSIC AS A HEALING MEDICINE...HIS OWN EXPERIENCE

This article was written using his own life as a journey through medical problems and matters of the heart and human emotions, 9/8/11 NYC,NY Steve Habib uses MUSIC THERAPY on himself. He has been doing it for over 20 years after having major open heart surgery in 1991 at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC. After complications from an 8 hour procedure, HABIB almost died after developing Chronic Osteomylitis(MRSA) and he still has this condition today. Two years ago he was hit by a car as a pedestrian walking across a street in New York. Since then, his physical pains are unimaginable and he resorts to his familiarity with music as a HEALING MEDICINE. Steve composes music that has worked on him. He also is involved with Master Drummer/Composer/Educator Marvin Bu Ga Lu Smith, his personal friend for over 42 years. Together, they have explored music within DRUM GROUP PROJECTS and many Quartet, Quintet, Sextet and large orchestral formats. Both of these musicians are known in the music field and have been involved with efforts to preserve Jazz Music Tradition by educating younger players to the TRUTH BEHIND THE MUSIC, NAMELY, COMPASSION FOR OTHERS and the elimination of SELF DESIRED RECOGNITION and EGOS, replacing all the BULLSHIT OF HOLLYWOOD and COMMERCIALISM with individual PEOPLE CONCERNS. They are as much concerned about strangers as they are with their families and close friends. You see, Marvin Smith and Steve Habib are THE REAL DEAL and their musical ideas are working. Steve is LIVING PROOF that music can be healing medicine and can alter the body's chemistry naturally stimulating THE BRAIN to manufacture the needed medicine to relax a person and take away pain. Smith is a natural and you can see this watching his almost 1500 music videos many that are viewed on vimeo.com.bugalusmith Every Tuesday evening in his personal 48 track studio he records performances that are called MASTER SESSIONS, "BETTER THAN HOLLYWOOD" and these videos have become one of the largest collections of performances documented by any musical artist. Habib has written much about this music and has performed on several of Marvin's videos with him. So many great masterful players have joined Marvin and young players have the opportunity to "RUB SHOULDERS" with experienced music legends and geniuses. In the old days, it was common for young players to go to jam sessions and see folks like Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers along with John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and so many others that both Marvin Smith and Steve Habib had the opportunity to do. Marvin Smith,Andrew Greeney, Jan Jurgielewicz, Piero Borri, Muggy and many others, have all played an important role in Marvin Smith's organizing music for TRUTH with COMPASSION. Habib honors this and wants folks to know how very important music is as a healing process that all people can utilize as an alternative to just running to the medicine cabinet and looking for a magic pill that will heal them. It all starts with knowledge of oneself and avoiding BULLSHITTING ONESELF INTO THINKING "ME,MINE,ALL ABOUT ME" and NOBODY ELSE! Losing THE EGO helps a person find INNER STRENGTH and the ability to laugh at one's self. Laughter also plays an important part of DEVELOPING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE ABOUT EVERYTHING. LIVING "MOMENT TO MOMENT" is another way of appreciating every second of LIFE and being grateful for TODAY. TOMORROW MIGHT NEVER APPEAR. Don't forget Earthquakes,Hurricanes and other events that effect us all in addition to illnesses,divorces,financial problems and so many other things. MUSIC CAN AND WILL BRING PEACE UNIVERSALLY AS IT IS THE LANGUAGE THAT ALL THE WORLD CAN UNDERSTAND. IT CAN BE PERFORMED WITH BALANCE IF A MUSICIAN TUNES INTO THE ETERNAL TRUTH IN HIS HEART! LOVE ALWAYS and ALWAYS LOVE, HABIB

Thoughts I Used As Healing Medicine

I hope that my notes of conversations with myself is of value to others. Floating Floating can be an effective relaxation technique. Imagine you're floating on air. Picture yourself floating like a falling leaf, or riding down a long escalator. The lower you float, the calmer you are. Practice any of these relaxation techniques as often as you like. Creating Pictures Think of an object that you find simple and pleasing. Study every detail in your mind. Or picture a color shifting into beautiful patterns and hues, blending and changing. Imagine a quiet setting — snowflakes softly falling or a spring day in the country, with cows and horses grazing in a meadow. Feel the picture by engaging all of your senses. If you’re on the beach, feel the sun on your face, your toes in the sand, the breeze on your skin, the ocean air smell. Breathing Inhale deeply through your nose. Then pucker your lips, and exhale slowly. Breathe out as long as possible. Imagine the sound of your breath exhaling is tension draining from your body. One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon--instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. Sometimes you have to be strong when you feel like giving up, you have to fight when you just want to run away. Sometimes it’s all you can do just to keep going. And sometimes you just have to let the bridge break. Let the tears flow and start over. Remember, no matter how bad things are at any one moment, no moment lasts. Good or bad, time moves on because it has to. And so do you. You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you. You can't fix people OR change them...the ONLY person you have power over is YOURSELF!! A lot of times we spend so much time concentrating on what is wrong in our life instead of on what is going right. No matter what you have done for yourself, or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family,friends, and strangers, what have you really accomplished. I HOPE MY INNER CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF CAN BE VALUABLE TO OTHERS. LOVE ALWAYS and ALWAYS LOVE, HABIB