Music is a powerful tool and a language that we all speak. It is universal in its ability to connect people together, move us into new cognitive spaces and has the potential to be a powerful tool to heal our souls. Music is a tool that everyone can use to benefit them on their healing journey. Here are 3 main ways music is a powerful tool:
- The Power of Music to Alter Your Mood
- Music Has the Power to Relax the Nervous System
- The Power of Music Helps You to Explore Different Emotional States
1. The Power of Music to Alter Your Mood
Researchers have discovered that listening to music taps into some of the most powerful pleasure centers of the brain. It causes the brain to release dopamine. Dopamine makes a person feel good and usually occurs as a result of doing something that you love.
Regular listening to music that you like will activate this neurotransmitter in the brain. It can cheer you up in a short amount of time. Take advantage of the brain’s ability to give you a boost of happiness by selecting music that makes you feel happy.
2. Music Has the Power to Relax the Nervous System
Listening to different types of music can lower cortisol and other stress hormones. Listening to a song with lyrics and sounds you resonate with can calm your nervous system quickly. Music’s power to calm and soothe you has been researched for these specific benefits.
A review of 400 research papers conducted by Daniel J. Levitin at McGill University in 2013 concluded that “listening to music was more effective than prescription drugs in reducing anxiety prior to surgery.” According to this research, music can be just as powerful or even more effective than drugs. See also https://rayoflightmentoring.com/2021/12/17/how-to-deal-with-triggers-when-they-get-sparked/ Studies have shown that music can:
- Lower heart rate and cortisol levels
- Release endorphins
- Reduce physical and emotional stress levels
- Reduce pain in fibromyalgia patients
- Reduces fight or flight reactions of the brain
- Helps you fall asleep
“Music can change the World” —Beethoven
3. The Power of Music Helps You Explore Different Emotional States
Music can open you up, take you to different places in your mind and allow you to have more control over your emotions. The power of music to help your mind go to different emotional states is a huge benefit to someone on a healing journey. It can help you to resonate on a much deeper level, tapping into emotions that need to be released, working through old memories, or move you to a state of resolution and solace.
Whether you’re feeling angry, happy, sad, somber or joyful, music gives you the opportunity to press further into those feelings or change directions emotionally. You get to experience a range of emotions simply by listening to a variety of songs. This is a technique I use regularly for clients who are beginning to understand their own emotional states. It is a quick way to beginning to label what you are feeling. See Intuitive Life Coaching.
Conclusion
Music activates more regions of the brain than nearly any other human activity. It can take us back to home base within ourselves or help us to have more empathy for another person’s life experience with the written words they have put to song. Nothing else can transport us to these states the way that music can.
The more you approach music with intention, the greater its benefits. If you need cheering up, have a specific go-to song that helps you feel happy. If you’re working through something difficult, have a song that helps you work through the sad or difficult feelings. Build a playlist that helps you to experience a variety of emotions and can be an instrument in your healing journey. Allow the music to transport you wherever you need to go
Music can help you feel and work through a variety of emotions. It can change your mood in a matter of minutes and help to calm your nervous system. Music is indeed a powerful tool you can use to your advantage in your healing process.
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