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When Erik Berglund flew over the Andes Mountains in a helicopter, he had
no idea his life was about to change forever. He arrived in South
America, a joyful, gentle-spirited harpist about to play at a spiritual
conference, and returned to New York City a healer.
And it was all because he couldn't speak
Spanish. That made him feel a little odd, but the harp sings a universal
song, so what did it matter? Besides, Berglund's harp music was
especially known for speaking to one's deepest emotions, reaching a
common chord in all humanity. He'd studied under one of the best harp
teachers in the world, Mildred Dilling, the same flamboyant woman who
taught Harpo Marx. (Berglund's musical adventures would rival a cosmic
Marx Brothers movie, any day).
"I'd go to Mildred's for a half hour lesson and stay for several
hours," said Berglund, his voice buoyant, the words rushing out.
"She'd feed me, and tell me stories about her extensive harp
collections. She said she had Marie Antoinette's harp. She'd repaired it
once and they found a note hidden inside it with directions on how to
escape to America! She had a habit of embellishing things, so who knows
if that's real? But I flowered under her. It was her inspiration that I
sing while I play."
Berglund had always been a playful performer,
having entertained children through musicals, puppetry and mime at the
Children's Museum of the Native American in New York City for 13 years.
After studying under Dilling, he began playing the harp professionally
anywhere he could weddings, gallery openings, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln
Center, hospitals, subways, spiritual groups. Which led him to this
strang predicament in South America.
While all the other conference presenters were
at a meeting Berglund suddenly found himself in this fairy tale setting
with people who only spoke Spanish. "Someone was in pain, and I
said, 'Well, let's all send this person healing.' Like his harp music,
his emotions and gestures transcended language differences. The
recipient of all this healing energy soon felt better.
This was gratifying, but not Earth-shattering
to Berglund. He'd always wanted to heal. "I remember thinking as a
child that I should be able to heal, and I couldn't. I would want to
touch people and have things happen, and it didn't. It was
frustrating."
As an adult, his desire to heal led him to
Hilda Charleton, a healer well known to New Yorkers. Berglund was one of
the thousands - including Alan Cohen, author of The Dragon Doesn't Live
Here Anymore - who would gather at her healing meetings. "We always
prayed for people, so I built up a big momentum working with healing in
that way."
Still, he considered harp-playing his healing
and his prayer to the world. He was astonished when the South Americans
began flooding his hotel room after that one night's experience, asking
for help with eye infections, stomach aches, and melancholy spirits.
"I tried to tell them I didn't do the
healing - the group did the healing. But they had such big eyes and such
open hearts, it just felt somehow like I could do something, and I said,
'Well, we can always ask God,' and I just adapted the prayer that Hilda
used: 'All worldly thoughts be gone. I am completely surrendered to the
healing power of Jesus Christ.' I would say that in my head and feel it.
A ray of light would come through me and I'd have goose bumps all over
and then I'd
touch them and they'd be all better."
The South Americans' overwhelming response to
his work provided the unexpected turning point of his life. "It was
quite a juxtaposition for me. I grew up in an academic environment. My
parents were professors, so I was raised to be very critical. If I'd
been in the States, my own mind would have gotten in the way, 'Who does
he think he is?" And since I couldn't speak Spanish, I couldn't
talk to the people.
"With all these juxtapositions, and the
belief of these people, it was a perfect way for God to have me start
doing healing work. I'm so grateful that's how it was. I had to be
jump-started to let go of my former life. Of course, once it's started,
you can't go back," he said.
And he hasn't. Wherever he travels - last year
he journeyed everywhere from North Carolina to Peru - he offers concerts
as well as private healing sessions.
Since his early days, he's added to his
repertoire of healing techniques. In addition to becoming a Reiki
Master, he explores inner child work, past life regression, and healing
through the use of red and violet lights. "I'm fascinated with
anything that can heal and make us better. It's thrilling work and I'm
grateful to be doing it."
One of his biggest fans is Pat Taylor, a woman
whose entire right side, hand, leg, and foot had been rendered useless
for most of her life due to a debilitating case of cerebral palsy. For
six years, Berglund worked with Pat, using an eclectic mix of past life
regression, harp-playing, and the laying on of hands. In the beginning,
her body would contort whenever he touched her. Gradually, and
painfully, the paralysis of her right side lessened. Her body began to
realign itself. Her face became more symmetrical.
Until finally, "We hit the point of no
return where all of a sudden the energy shifted," he said. "I
told her I felt the cerebral palsy was leaving her and afterwards it was
incredible! After that, she never jerked when I touched her. It was like
touching a normal person. Can you imagine one part of your body working
and one part being an appendage? For the first time, she felt flow going
from right to left, top to bottom. She walks without limping now."
Berglund refuses to take the credit for this.
"Largely, it's her will power," he said, then adding,
"Nobody can heal anyone else. Really, we prepare ourselves to be
healed. The most powerful tool we have is will. Pat had such a strong
will, she just wanted to be healed so badly, that she magnetized whoever
was right to come into her life to do that healing. Any of us at any
point, can have anything we want if we desire it enough, regardless of
whatever karma we have, whatever our astrology is, the will is
stronger."
How do we know whether or not we can trust a
healer? According to Berglund, "Each one of us has our own
guidance, our own connection to God. The way to that is through our
hearts. Our third eye can lie, our mind can lie. But the heart can't
lie."
Through attention, he said, anyone can learn to
breathe through their heart. "Place your potential healer in your
heart and feel what it would be like working with them. If you get a
warmth, if it feels sweet and good, you know it's right. If you start to
feel uncomfortable, get little prickles, it's not right. You can use
this method for any decision," he said.
Despite his healing successes, Berglund would
never abandon his harp playing. "The harp is one of the most
mystical instruments, one of the oldest known to humanity," he said
with characteristic vibrancy. "In ancient Egypt, only priests were
allowed to play the harp. Vikings believed harps were ladders to the
heaven world."
People have said that listening to Berglund's music has done everything
from soothe their backs to help them overcome writer's block.
"Generally, music works more on the
emotional level, but it's starting to work on the physical. It's my
prayer that this will happen more and more," he said.
Doubtless, it will. Berglund continues to
travel around the world to such unlikely places as a former Nazi
headquarters in Germany. After the war, it became a house of
prostitution, and then was transformed into a Light Center and recording
studio. He was invited there by Christoph Hausmann, a musician he met at
a spiritual conference at the Great Pyramid.
Before Berglund arrived in Germany,
international healers worked to cleanse the energy there, which
reverberated with Nazi horrors. "The year I went was the very first
year the birds returned," said Berglund, obviously moved. This
setting, with its intense renewal of positive energy, inspired his
recording "Project Earth."
And helping to heal the Earth is his project.
"It's amazing. Everyone is basically the same. We have this myriad
of fascinating stories, yet underneath we all have that common thread.
We all want that feeling of being at home and connected to God, feeling
life flow through us, like we're doing what we came here to do," he
said. "We can all make a difference. There are so many places on
the planet that need so much healing. I'm grateful for anyone who wants
to share in the healing of the planet through music."
~ Jan Henrikson, The Awareness Journal |
