Dear Reverand, I've been living with HIV/AIds for more than 10 years and have invetigated many ways of keeping my spirits up and have on the whole succeeded very well. After all this time I have found nothing heals me more mentally than a quiet day listening to the music I love, in my case classical & opera. Three hours of Cecilia Bartoli singing Rossini arias or Jose Cura singing Puccini arias does more for my strength than a million words of counselling. There are so many therapies out there, why do we never hear of music therapy? It's so easy and anyone can do it!

I agree completely... music is a wonderful, healing experience. For many years, I have used music to lift my spirits, to calm me down, or to focus on healing my body. One of my favorite things to do on a free evening is to take a long, hot bath with Mozart playing.

For more on music and healing, please read my column, "The Hope of Music," (April 30, 1996), right here at The Body.