August 6, 2012: "Pollenated..."

Heaveno!

Sorry I missed posting last night!  It's been a long weekend.  I just walked in the door 90 minutes ago from one of the most inspiring 3 day conferences I've ever attended.  I was invited to speak at this event in Santa Fe, NM called Muisc, the Brain, Medicine, and Wellness: a Scientific Dialogue.  It was held in concert with the 40th anniversary of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, which brings internationally renown musicians together each summer for some amazing concerts.  The symposium was a lineup of speakers who are the top researchers in cognitive neuroscience who have been studying the interaction of the brain and music, top clinicians in music therapy, and some top musicians who are bringing music out into the community specifically to heal.  I can't remember if I've shared much about this, because it was a little hit or miss as to if I was participating and what I would be speaking on.  We settled on the two roles of music as therapy and music in therapy in the outpatient cancer center setting.  I basically shared about the program I am building (brick by brick) at UC Irvine, and all the research that informs my clinical actions.  My job as a saw it was to show the attendees the multiple levels of musical experience that are available for cancer patients.

It was amazing.

I had the opportunity to present alongside researchers whose books I read in college!  I spoke yesterday afternoon, and hit it pretty for out of the part.  The comments and feedback I got were very positive, so I was quite relieved.

When Susanne Hanser, the Director of the Music Therapy Program at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, who is one of the authors I read in college, presented this morning, she was gracious enough to quote ME TWICE during HER talk!  That rocked.

I got to meet so many of the brightest minds in our combined fields of music, neuroscience, and medicine and brainstorm on new questions, ideas, etc.  There is so much to talk about, but I am so tired.  We uncovered a GIGANTIC population of patients that have a real need for our services, and we couldn't think of ANYONE that has been doing any research on them.  I don't want to disclose any more than that, but suffice it to say, I could get my doctorate just from working on this one problem, it's that big.  Not that I need any new projects!

Kudos and big thanks to Ang for wrangling the kids while I was gone.  Ali had her first swim meet, her second reading class, and swim lessons from Saturday through today.  Great job honey!  I love you!
I will post pics soon.

I'll have LOADS of pics next Sunday night, and I'll see you then.  I just gotta get to sleep for now.

God night.