The Whole Music Experience

Wikipedia When I was a child, I couldn't wait to get out the Christmas carol albums and I didn't care if the songs were secular or sacred--I just enjoyed floating off on those prized melodies. But as I grew older and garnered Christmas memories that upset me, I started noticing that holiday music left me feeling more depressed than uplifted. So last night the thought occurred to me, at least in the US where Christmas music appears like plastered wallpaper in shopping malls and grocery stores, that some people might actually feel ill at ease when hearing the songs. First, they might not enjoy listening to Christian carols if they come from another religious background, or they might harbor bad memories associated with those songs. Perhaps, it's hard to believe that anyone would associate pain or grief with "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer" unless they lost a loved one, received a dire medical diagnosis, or experienced some other challenging event around the ho...

By Patricia Herlevi Have you ever found yourself in a funk and didn't know how to transform or shift your mood? Finding the right music helps us to release a "negative" mood or shift it. After all, moods and music share vibrations in common. Here are a few suggestions to help you apply music to cathartic experiences. First thing you must know is to not suppress a mood or layer another mood on top of it. This reminds me of putting a band aid on a gaping wound. Second, know that moods pass and that all humans experience the spectrum of moods. Third, even though a mood doesn't feel good, it serves a purpose and has you tune into your mind-body-spirit so you can see what thoughts, feelings, or behaviors require a shift in consciousness. I have covered this topic previously on Whole Music Experience so some of these tips and music selections will sound repetitive to some of you. And I would never tell someone not to feel their sadness or anger because some times we...