Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Boidy.
Hi Michael, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
First, I’d like to thank Eru Matsumoto for nominating me to be part of LA’s most inspiring story in VoyageLA. It’s both an honor and extreme privilege for me to share my story as I’ve been on a mission for the past 7+ years to help others understand the healing power of music and sound at a cellular level; far beyond its entertainment value. I’m sure you’re curious as to why my mission is to share this information and wondering how I know anything about the power of music & sound at the cellular level.
I have been writing and playing music since I was a kid. I learned to play guitar at age 12 because I had been completely obsessed with music since I can remember; I really wanted to be a rockstar. Since the age of three, I remember carrying around a Fisher Price boombox that only had two tapes, and I’d play them endlessly on repeat; the Doors and Stix. In high school and college, I studied music & film, including theory & history of music. I sang in the choir, played in bands all throughout high school and college. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Applied arts and sciences, TV & Film from San Diego State in 2002.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This mission of mine started shortly after surviving a near-death experience from a helicopter crash while filming aerials in Guatemala. On April 15, 2012 our pilot lost control while maneuvering over a historic church. Out of the blue, we spun out and went down. The helicopter was completely destroyed on impact after falling 500+ft. crashing onto a corrugated metal rooftop below, splitting our helicopter in two parts. The tail completely separated from behind me. The force of impact caused the roof of the helicopter to cave in, crushing part of my skull and spine. All four of us on board were badly injured with broken backs; I was sitting in the back using a special controller filming with a sophisticated aerial camera system attached to the front of the helicopter called a Cineflex.
I blacked out on impact, waking up shortly after to firefighters and medics putting me on a stretcher. Realizing that I can’t move, I feel massive head trauma, blood loss, and facial cuts. It felt like a nightmare that I would hopefully wake up from. It was real. More real than I could’ve imagined. Thankfully, I had a really great surgeon in Guatemala, including a successful spinal surgery including titanium rods in my lower back. Another amazing doctor also operated on my face and skull. I stayed in the hospital for a month before I could return to the US. I suffered from extreme back pain, stiffness, and discomfort, short-term memory loss, along with serious bouts of depression. It hurt so bad. I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone. When I see the photos, I don’t quite understand how we survived it. A month later, I returned to the US, went to the doctor and all they could offer me was xrays, pain pills, other pills for depression and memory loss. I don’t take pills and the doctors in Guatemala didn’t allow me to take pills for my own safety.
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I loved traveling the world, filming, but now that all was about to change. What next? How was I going to pay my bills? So many things to think about and nowhere to go.
I had a lot of time to think about life and my purpose here. Although, I realized the answers we’re looking for don’t always appear right when we want them. It seemed like a lifetime of wondering why? What’s it all for? Why did I survive that crash? What am I supposed to learn from this? Over the next year and half, I did a lot of thinking and physical therapy to build myself back up. My back was still stiff and sore, however I was able to get around a bit better.
Thanks to amazing friends and family for all of the support through the hardest times of my life. I don’t know how I would have survived without them.
A year and half after my accident, my dear friend and his wife insisted on taking me to a music and arts festival in the desert called Burning Man. I had no idea what it was, but getting out in nature and being able to do anything besides sit sounded amazing and much needed.
We arrived in this dusty desert they call home. Just within a few days of walking around, riding my bike, dancing to incredible music from sunrise to sunset in this beautiful surreal nature setting, discovering the most incredible part of my life, meeting positive, kind-hearted, creative people, something profound was beginning to happen. I felt my energy shift. I couldn’t explain it completely but I felt happier, stronger, lighter, and in way less pain than I’d felt in a really long time. I felt reset! It was so different from any place or event I’d ever been to. Advice from a long-time burner was to pay a visit to the temple, located in the center of the playa. I went early one morning after sunrise. While walking up to this massive pyramid, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck and my arms stand up. This temple was built into the shape of a giant pyramid. There was a giant monolith stone structure in the center and it was filled with people celebrating the life of those who had passed. Lots of writings on the wall, Lots of pictures and memorabilia spread out everywhere. It was a peaceful place for the community to gather, have weddings, celebrate life, mourn life and let go.
I found a spot, sat in a comfortable position, with a marker in my hand, I wrote on the wall my gratitude for life and surviving that crash, then shortly after I went into a deep meditative state. Hours had gone by. I recall awaking in tears feeling as if a USB loaded with information got uploaded into my brain; Like a computer gets a new software update, a massive amount of information just now flooded my brain. Both walking in and leaving, I remember hearing chanting, drumming, and some peaceful music playing in the background. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. I walked out of that pyramid with a purpose. It hit me like a bolt of lightning at that exact moment I decided I was going to help others and potentially the world by making a film about the power of electronic music, community and my experience of healing. I thought to myself, this is why I’m here! To share my story with others and help them heal as quickly, properly and as pain-free as they can without having to risk your life savings to feel better. What a gift!. Almost as if I had been given a new lease on life with this goal and mission to help others feel the way I just did. This experience was so profound, I wanted to know more! It led me on a journey to understand music more on a scientific level. When I got home to the default world, my neighbors and some friends could hardly recognize me. I was beaming with energy, glowing with happiness and feeling incredibly light; Reset. They could see it on me as much as I could feel it.
I began to read voraciously and study everything I could on the science of music, sound, vibration, frequency, rhythm, kinetic energy, quantum physics, quantum mechanics, and later sacred geometry. This information superhighway just keeps going, deep into this rabbit hole of subjects and topics that people didn’t discuss my entire life. Why was music only thought of as entertainment and not as a form of health and wellness? When you break it down, that’s what it is! Music and sound help us clear the noise out of our signal. It helps us communicate, to bond and connect with others on a deeper level. It brings us to our heart center and helps us focus. You can change your mood instantly with music. Like a pill with instant satisfaction and zero side effects.
This information had been passed down by our ancients since the dawn of time. We as a species have used music to communicate, to bond, to alleviate stress, illness, used in ceremonial rituals, meditations, trances for so many reasons. Shamans were and still are the medicine doctors from tribes who would enter a trance-like state while hearing or playing a constant drumming resembling our Heartbeats, meanwhile singing Icaro’s (chants and mantras) passed down from the great spirit. All types of natural instruments were created out of animal bones, skins and tendons, trees; All these natural instruments were created by humans to make sound with the intention to heal, communicate and connect with one another. Like birds singing and communicating, or whales and dolphins using sonar with ultra frequencies to communicate long distances through water. Bats use sonar frequency to see in the dark.
We learned later through science and math that our universe including all of the planets and stars have a rhythmic harmony that keeps everything in motion and balanced. Pythagoras, Einstein, Keppler, Tesla all understood that everything is in motion and that at the root of everything was vibration.
I discovered through my research that some oncologists, neurologists, and clinics are using focused ultrasound to destroy cancerous cells with oscillating pulses of frequency and are having success. There are many Neurologists currently using frequencies delivered through vibroacoustic beds with headphones that help alleviate Parkinson’s and Dementia patients. If people are seeking out ways to use sound and music to heal, there are sound baths, sound meditations, music therapists, clinics, festivals, sound healing events, apps, and music available everywhere. This is now a time for our culture to wake up to more alternative medicines and holistic therapies. People should be informed of this information and I’m working hard to get the word out. I was excited and fortunate to share my story on the TedX Vail stage in Feb 2018 and soon, I’m planning to share my story with the world in a documentary film called Heart Beat. www.
As I mentioned earlier, after discovering my purpose, I’ve been on this mission to share this information, the best way I know how to is through a film. It’s the most powerful medium, as it uses both the visual and audio elements to bring you closer to the subject. Movies and music inspire and I’m combining both at the most extreme level. Hopefully, this movie will help change the way we think about sound, music and life. In the past six years, I’ve been able to interview others like myself that survived horrific accidents, cancers and other ailments, and they all used music and sound to help heal. I’ve interviewed and filmed numerous DJs, musicians, artists, sound engineers. Also, To help explain the science portion, I’ve interviewed doctors, scientists, researchers, sound healers, and therapists who can all attest to the power of sound and music at cellular level. In that time, I’ve been able to build a team consisting mainly of my dear friend/master editor – Sergio Miranda, to help put this movie together and we are now in a really great place to get it completed.
Please join our Heart Beat community and share our teaser, social media, website www.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
By trade, I’m a cinematographer and aerial director of photography. I also enjoy being able to produce and direct certain projects. Fortunately, I get to work with incredibly talented people and film mostly for tv shows, features, documentaries, commercials, or music-related projects. Sometimes I film from the ground as part of a camera crew, otherwise I’m in the air filming from a helicopter or with a drone.
I had some really great mentors both David Stump ASC and Peter McKernan PGA, DGA Film Pilot, the best in the business and kind enough to show me the way.
I’ve been fortunate to film aerials for many presidents and prime ministers around the world on a series called the Royal Tour with host Peter Greenberg. Filmed aerials for the Birds segment of Great Migrations by Nat Geo, Scenes from Human Planet BBC, the World Cup 2010 South Africa, many shows like The Bachelor and Survivor which have taken me to many amazing places to film. I got to work on some fantastic shows over the years. I’ve been able to see close to 60 countries already and I plan to film many more in years to come. What a beautiful planet to see and so many wonderful people to meet. I can’t wait.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Please help share this message of healing through sound and music. Whenever you’re feeling stressed or upset, try putting on your favorite music or go into nature just to sit and listen, you’ll feel the difference.
Get the word out about Heart Beat and join our Heart Beat community.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.heartbeatdocumentary.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartbeat_documentary/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartBeatTheFilm
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeartBeat2021
- Other: www.boidyfilms.com
