You’ve heard me say that music is the soul food that I need in order to survive and now there’s research that proves it to be true. We as music fanatics knew it all along, but it’s nice to know it’s really true and to be able to explain why it’s so important to our survival to those who don’t understand just how important music is to us.
Music isn’t something that we can consume, cuddle with or marry, but regardless, we love it with every cell in our bodies. The tunes are there for us in times of trouble, joy, pain and everything in between.
Concerts and festivals are what I invest in most. Add in streaming, merch, equipment to listen on and more, it’s a miracle that I have money left. Lately, my husband and I have been getting into playing music ourselves which adds in more expenses with instruments and lessons.
How is it possible that this thing that is basically just vibrations holds so much value?
Listening and/or creating music is one of the most pleasurable experiences for people like us, but why? Nueroscience is beginning have all the answers.
“Over the past decade, The New York Times research team used brain imaging to show that music that people described as highly emotional engaged the reward system deep in their brains — activating subcortical nuclei known to be important in reward, motivation and emotion. At the same time they found that listening to what might be called “peak emotional moments” in music — that moment when you feel a “chill” of pleasure to a musical passage — causes the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, an essential signaling molecule in the brain.”
NEW YORK TIMES
Their research found that when you listen to a tune that feels good to you, dopamine is released in a part of your brain which is known to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli like food and sex as well as artificially with cocaine and amphetamine.
This happens before, during and after your favorite part of the jam happens because you anticipate that you’re about to experience something pleasurable. Doing something because you know that you’ll feel good is something that we as humans have always done as a survival mechanism. Other animals do the same thing. You know how a dog reacts when it knows it’s about to get a treat, while it’s eating that treat and then after it’s gone? Same thing!
Want to know why it feels like some musicians and songwriters are speaking directly to you giving you all the feels and others don’t? The great ones were born with something unique where they can intuitively manipulate these prediction mechanisms to give us what we desire.They also naturally know how to surprise us. You know the ones I’m talking about.
What does all of this prove? Good music is our nourishment, musicians are our soul chefs and in order to survive, we’ve gotta go to shows and listen to recorded music every day. In order to thrive, we’ve gotta use all that good stuff we get from music, put it to good use and have it be the thing that motivates us to make healthier choices in all the areas of our lives.
If you were wondering what my motivation was when creating a community of music lovers who are interested in getting healthy with friends while having fun, that’s it. I’d like to help you get all that you need to thrive so you feel great, create abundance and surrender into the magic of it all so you can rock out to tons of music for as long as possible.
Rocking Life ONLINE is amazing and I’m inviting you to experience what it’s like to live a life that feels good and flows so you can shine bright like the sun. Brett Wilson from Roots of Creation is our musical guest for the month of March and there’s so much more magic that’s happening in our group. If you’d like to become a member (it costs less than most concert tickets), you can do so right HERE.
Or if you’d like a FREE sampler pack before jumping in, all you have to do is enter your email HERE
The light and music lover in me sees and bows to the light and music lover in you,
