Medicine or Poison: How Are You Using Music

We likely all have special songs, and albums that we put on when we need to get ourselves into particular mindsets. Whether we are trying to relax from a busy day, motivate ourselves to get some cleaning done, or to run a little faster at the gym, music is a powerful mood regulator, and stimulator that can aid us in accomplishing our goals, and can also help us feel a sense of wellbeing, and happiness. Music, just like any other type of sound, is energy made audible. This powerful use of sound energy can calm the nervous system, or get it hyped up, both of which can have beneficial effects. On the flipside, if we aren’t careful, or fully aware of how music is being used in our environment, it can also detract from us physically, emotionally, mentally, and energetically. To be at your best athletically, you need to become aware, and responsible for the music you listen to, and surround yourself with at all times.  

Sound Energy & Emotions

I’m sure you can think back to a time when things were tough, you were grieving, sad, heartbroken, or angry, and found yourself singing to your steering wheel as that one song played over, and over again on repeat, and the tears poured down your cheeks. This is a form of therapy. –sound therapy. –and this is a good thing. This is a great way to purge pent up emotions, and feelings that need to be acknowledged, and released as a mode of cleansing ourselves in a positive way. When used like this, music can serve as a soothing balm to the soul, but like anything, it also has the potential to be harmful. –it's all in how you use it. 

Where we tend to run into trouble is when we allow ourselves to be overtaken by the emotions that music induces to the point that we begin spiraling further into our own misery, down-heartedness, frustration, or anger day after day, unable to get out of it. –hurts so nice you play it twice, right? Unfortunately, this can create negative looping within the mind, and causes us to plummet into low energy patterns which can weaken our Energetic Body, and negatively affect our health. This is where music can become a detriment to us, because music holds memory. Music has the uncanny ability to act as a bookmarker for times, places, and people in our lives, both good, and bad. 

Have you ever been having a great day hanging out with friends when a song you haven’t heard in years comes on, and successfully sends a flood of old memories straight to your heart?  Suddenly, your good mood is gone, and in an instant it's replaced by a deep sadness as if the incident that is associated with this song has just happened. We’ve all been there, it happens. Unfortunately, if we don’t take the time necessary to resolve our feelings, and emotions around disappointing events, and memories, we ultimately allow these songs to have a lot of power over us. They actually become triggers, and when left unresolved, these musical triggers can sneak up on us, transporting us back to times that are not so pleasant to revisit, and cause us unexpected pain and torment that can wreck our day right out of the blue. These types of emotional triggers often give rise to suddenly feeling depressed, out of sorts, volatile, and can fuel addictions, or even make us want to hurt ourselves, or others. So, how can we stop this from happening? How can we keep music from dragging us down to the point that it makes us want to punch a wall? 

First, we have to develop enough self awareness to recognize when it's happening, and be able to say “ok, this song is triggering me. I should turn it off.” Once we understand what is going on, and that we are being emotionally triggered in a negative way, we can start asking ourselves “why” a certain song is triggering to us. This opens our eyes to where we need to focus our attention toward healing, or reconciling tough emotions. Of course, this will vary differently from person to person. A song that triggers me may not trigger you, and vice versa.

The good news is that these strong emotional reactions can change if we consciously participate in this process. With time, as we identify, and work to resolve our triggers, disappointments, and emotional hang ups, you’ll find that a song which was crushing to hear after a tough break up won’t hold the same paralyzing power over you as it did when that heart-wound was fresh, and unreleased. As we work through our emotions with honesty, forgiveness, and non-judgment, it is possible to find neutrality toward disappointments, loss or death, trauma, and heartache. With time, you may even get to a point where you can enjoy those same songs again, reflecting tenderly on the memories, and people associated with it, and even gain the ability to send the other person involved love, and well-wishes. This is not a quick-fix kind of thing, and it won't happen overnight. It's important to understand that you can not rush the healing process. Some situations may take days, weeks or months to come into acceptance with, and some may take many years. One is not better than the other, as there is no set time frame when it comes to healing our hearts. It takes however long it takes. 

As we work towards reconciling our feelings, it's very important to honestly assess, and honor where you are in your journey. If we know we are susceptible to being triggered into low, or angry states by certain songs, artists, or types of music, we should take care to only listen to things that are happy, lighthearted and calm, refraining from using music to participate in misery commiseration. Be realistic. Don’t throw gas on a fire that you are still trying to put out. 

Finding Stability 

As we consciously work to be more aware of our emotions, we learn how to maintain, and develop emotional stability. Becoming emotionally stable means that we understand emotions as impermanent. We feel them, and acknowledge them as valid, but we do not give them so much power that they define us as a person. We can choose which emotions we let stick around. In pain, or in joy we can appreciate that we have feelings, senses and a wide emotional spectrum while not letting negative emotions dictate our lives, and behavior. It is ok to feel sad, it is ok to feel disappointed, but it’s not ok for negative emotions to be ignored, or allowed to fester so much so that we let it stall us out in low energy patterns, or sour our spirit. We have to consciously choose to move on from sorrow. We have to want to be happy in order to ever actually feel it. 

Sound Energy & The Human Body

Even if we aren't working through specific emotional issues, we should still be conscious of the types of music we are listening to, or playing, especially in terms of lyrical content. Just like any other type of energy, music exhibits high, and low characteristics. (Here we are referring to the overall frequency of a musical piece, not individual treble or bass tones.) If the music we are listening to is frenzied, a-melodic or filled with angst, anger, hatred, screaming, or cursing language, this will lower our own personal vibration, and energy through the principles of resonance. 

Have you ever left a concert feeling like your body was still vibrating from the music? That's because it was. The bones of the human body, including our teeth, act as natural tuning forks. Whatever type of sound energy we surround ourselves with, sing, or create, our bodies will actually take on that quality of vibration, and it can last even after the music is long over. As like attracts like, if your body is vibrating at a low frequency from a musical impression, you will attract other low frequencies to yourself. If the overall goal is to attract high qualities of energy, and positive experiences to ourselves, we have to begin monitoring the quality of sound that colors our world. If we listen to hate-filled, angry music, we are more likely to be angry people who attract experiences that make us even more hate-filled, and angry. If all we listen to is sad, whiny, or fussy girl rock, we are likely to be sad, whiny, fussy girls who always end up playing the role of victim in real life. In the same way that “you are what you eat,” you become what you listen to. 

Managing Sound Energy 

Music is a potent force that can be used to hurt, or heal. It can be medicine, or it can act as a poison. 

When I was in high school in the early 2000’s, Abercrombie & Fitch was a big deal. When the new store opened in our mall, I can remember going inside, and not being able to think because the music was so loud, and frantic. The constant bump, bump, bump of the stereo system made my heart pound, and even though it was “the place to shop” I couldn’t stay in the store. Years later, it was disclosed that Abercrombie specifically curated their store playlists to blare certain types of music because studies show that in most people it subliminally encourages an impressionable mental state, and induces speed shopping. Think about other places you’ve been to like malls, boutiques, bars and restaurants that do this, too, and how it affects the speed at which you shop, or consume your meal, and beverage. It's a well studied fact that loud, and frenzied music generates a stress response in individuals that leads to consuming more at a faster pace. In terms of use inside of a restaurant environment, in addition to high food, and alcohol consumption rates, this tactic leads to faster table turn over, and ultimately improves a business’ bottom line. The same goes for sporting events where they want fans to consume as much as possible from the concession stands, and stadium stores. 

So when you come into contact with music, ask yourself “what emotion is this song trying to elicit from me?  –is it affecting my mood? Is it shifting me into a stressful mindset? Is it speeding me up?”  When we begin asking these types of questions, we can discern if something is helping, or harming us.

For example, I love jazz. If I put on music in the evenings to cook, or relax on the balcony it's usually some type of vintage jazz. –but over the years I’ve come to learn that I can not listen to hot, New York style jazz, at all. It’s not necessarily because I don't like it, but because it’s usually too frenzied, and causes my mind to race while eliciting feelings of anxiety. I know this happens when I listen to, or am surrounded by these types of sounds, so I go out of my way to avoid this type of music, and the places that play this kind of jazz as part of their ambience. 

This effect can also be situational. Think about when you are driving a car, or sitting in traffic. If you are listening to music that is intense, or extremely fast paced, you are more likely to speed, become agitated, or drive aggressively. As this is the case we should be mindful of how music can contribute to things like road rage, and irritability. If you have children. take into consideration how certain music affects their energy, too. Just like a spa, we can use music to help induce peace, and relaxation where it's needed. If your child, or partner, is an anxious, rambunctious, or restless passenger, you should make a point to play soothing music when in the car. 

Think on it

I’m sure we’ve all seen spy dramas where some poor hostage is stuck in a tiny room while the same Justin Bieber song blasts over, and over again until it drives him to comply with his captors demands. Using music as a weapon, and torture device is a very real thing, so don’t do it to yourself, or your family. Once we know how, and why sound energy affects us, we can take proper measures to protect ourselves from experiencing the ill-effects of music. Again, this can be very individualized, what affects me poorly may not affect you in the same way, but what we listen to, play, and create musically really does matter. It isn’t about judging a particular type of music as good or bad, it's about learning to discern the pattern of energy a piece of music creates. If you want to feel and perform your best, while attracting more winning experiences into your life, you should start re-evaluating the music you are surrounding yourself with as you go about your day. 

Music is powerful, but so is knowledge. Start using sound energy to your advantage right now by listening to music that makes you feel happy, and safe. You should make a point to use music as a tool for increasing your productivity, and as a mode of stress relief. Do a playlist inventory, and make changes, or additions where necessary.

Control the music. Control the energy. Control the game.

-Mallory