Ever had that moment when you just can’t get enough of a song? The song or a musical tune holding the strings of your brain and your heart. Isn’t it crazy how powerful music is and how it gets under your skin? It can really turn your day upside down. It is like plugging your earphones into the heart and sometimes getting a cacophony and sometimes, a harmony. From sending chills down the spine to making you feel super cozy, music has the power to make your heart dance to its tune. Now that you have an idea of what we are going to discuss today, buckle up because we will witness how music can affect our mind, body, and soul.
Harmonizing Emotions: The power of music
Alright, this is something we all have been through. A beautiful day, we wake up early morning, the sun is out, the weather is nice, but somehow, the inside of us is gloomy, the heart is heavy, the shoulders are tight, and the lingering feeling of the past and the flashbacks just don’t find their way out of our mind. Oh, it is absolutely rough UNTIL…..
Until you hear a motivational song by your favorite artist that is a holocaust to your sad emotions, and you are now charged up and ready to conquer the world.
That, my friend, is the POWER OF MUSIC.
The Science Behind the Magic: Music & Neurotransmitters
Have you felt sometimes the brain drools over a tune that has taken you over, made you forget the difficulties in life, giving you an ethereal experience? Well, there are songs and instrumental melodies that have an intricate combination of frequencies and beats that can impact the brain by symphonizing the neurotransmitters and orchestrating our emotions.
Probably too much musical jargon; allow me to simplify it.
Imagine yourself having your earphones plugged in, it is raining outside, and you are nestled comfortably in the window alcove. You play the song “Mary On A Cross” (or whatever song that uplifts your mood), and it strikes a chord in your heart. You totally zone out of the problems you are currently going through, and that becomes a soulful experience that is going to stay with you for days or even years.
What happened during the song, though, is that your brain sent a surge of the “feel-good” hormones dopamine and oxytocin rushing through your veins, and as a result, you had a blissful experience.
But, it is not always about the bust of upbeat rhythms; it is also about the times you feel low, but you don’t want to listen to loud music, and you tune into the song “Count on Me” (or whatever song that cozily uplifts your mood) and you allow yourself to be swept away by the melody that resonates deeply and you start humming the song and allow the music to lighten your mood subconsciously. What happened there was that your brain released a gentle cascade of the calming hormones Serotonin and Endorphins, which tranquilized your mind, offering solace in the midst of chaos.
The point, though, is that music is not just a sound; it is a complex blend of art, words, and carefully composed notes that opens the gate for you to tap into the soulful experiences blending with a gazillion feelings in the most unimaginable ways.
A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD: IMPORTANCE OF CHOOSING THE RIGHT KIND OF MUSIC
Music undeniably has the ability to empower you to face your emotions and to fight/embrace your life situations/challenges, but on the downside, if you do not choose the right music and put a not-good-for-you kind of music on a loop (because our brain has an inertia of negativity), you might end up making your experience worse, and that can eat away at your happiness and maybe even ruin your day(s).
Some of you might have been able to relate to it in a split second because we have been a victim of self-sabotage, but for those who did not understand or could not relate, I have an example for you:
Picture yourself having a bad day (maybe you prepared a lot but did not get through the entrance exam, maybe you just broke up with your partner, maybe your parents don’t accept you, or maybe your children abandoned you). However, you still have a ray of hope that you are relying on and keeping yourself together, but you get attacked by your brain with a lot of “negative thoughts” that overwhelm you, and now you find yourself in a sad state, and you instinctively play that “saddest melody for you in that moment.”
What do you think is about to happen? 5-10 minutes into the music, you are going to have depressive thoughts, the thoughts that put you in a mental prison and hold you in captivity, thoughts that will exaggerate your original problems, and you will start to relate to every sad protagonist of all the movies you have watched (although it is totally different from your life and this fact is hiding in your plain sight) and the worse of all, you might start having suicidal thoughts.
This cycle started because you let your negative thoughts behind the wheels of your life. You are the master; you could have stopped it before it even began just by guiding your thoughts or listening to your conscience telling you to play happy music instead of a depressing one.
That, dear readers, is THE IMPORTANCE OF CHOOSING THE RIGHT MUSIC.
Personalizing The Experience
Not gonna lie, I have had my fair share of good and bad days, and I have forever been a sucker for good music. My definition of good music used to be “whatever that makes me feel comfortable in the situation I am experiencing.” Because of this definition of mine, I used to put on super duper sad songs because I also used to imagine myself as the protagonist of a movie having the worst possible life with all sorts of depressing moments. I beat myself up with such thoughts till the day I realized it had been months since I had smiled. It was hard making up my mind to come out of that perilous mental quicksand because that had become my zone of comfort. But I stood up, I didn’t give up, and one of the few things that helped me was MUSIC.
I am mentioning the songs that helped me during that time (which I even listen to today):
- Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
- Not Afraid – Eminem
- Fight Song – Rachel Platten
- Born To Be Somebody – Justin Bieber
- Who Says – Selena Gomez
I would love for you to comment below the name of songs or musical pieces that have helped you through your dark days and songs that you think might help others.
Harmonious Farewell: Melodic Reflections
As much as I want to stay with you guys and keep talking about the power of music, I do not want to bore you with too deep of the information. Whatever I could tell you about the power of music is just a superficial experience; music has much more to explore. I am hoping we all could learn something new through this piece of text. I cannot emphasize enough the magical experiences that music can deliver, but I will leave you with a few more topics I might share with you later. Those topics include Brainwave Entrainment, Binaural Beats, Solfeggio Frequencies, Music and DMT, The Secrets of Pineal Gland, and a lot more. Till then, stay safe and take care of your mind.
About Ritik Gurnani
The emotions portrayed above are taken from the diaries of Ritik Gurnani, an individual like any other, set on a journey to explore and uncover the mysteries of this life. Driven by a genuine desire of serving people and making connections, he found his calling as an Optometrist at Gurnani Chashma Ghar, located in Rajapur, Prayagraj.
Beyond the realm of enhancing vision, Ritik strives for a positive approach towards every kind of life experience. He has been striving for a life brimming with peace, and like everyone, he has his share of highs and lows but he has grown to be a little more rational than he used to be. Hardships have played a major role in shaping him up but he did not let those tough situations have the upper hand and continued to be humble and kind.
With each and every thought provoking experience, he takes some time out of his day to contemplate upon those experiences, what could he have done differently to have a better outcome. About the spiritual journey, it has been on & off for Ritik as he used to be too disappointed with bad experiences and tough situations while taking steps toward his spiritual growth. Currently, he is trying to make a settlement with life about being calm and present regardless of good or bad experiences.
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