The Practice--Shifting moods with music
photo by Patricia Herlevi, Happy Flowers Consider how music affects our moods. When we listen to songs from our formative years, we wax nostalgia, but this can have therapeutic effects too. We hear of people listening to romantic music to get them in the "mood" and marches and political anthems often accompany rallies. But how conscious are we of shifting or creating moods with music? I've already mentioned rhythmic entrainment and resonance on this blog so we're not heading in that direction today. Hopefully, you have kept a music journal where you have tracked emotional and physical responses to music and sound exposure. I would even go as far as asking you to listen to music you heard as a child, even if this music was the favorite of a sibling or parent. Then track your emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Where does your mind wander to, which memory surfaces? How does this memory cause you to feel? Do you feel angry, sad, or elated? And ac...