Music: A Therapeutic Power

The power of music is undeniable. It affects us emotionally and spiritually and shapes us individually and as a society. But to understand the means by which music affects us is more complicated. We each see this differently based on our own unique experiences. My experiences working as a counselor and as a songwriter have helped me gain a unique understanding of how music affects change within us. I see many similarities between the counseling process and the process of listening and reacting to music. Both processes can serve as a sort of “jumping off point” for spiritual development. Like therapy, music can help us feel emotion more deeply; examine and develop our thoughts; develop compassion for ourselves and others; open up previously unexplored possibilities for growth, and expand our consciousness. Music can help us heal wounds and develop spiritual attributes.

I currently work as a songwriter, singer, and musician in the alternative rock/ electronica genre. But just over a year ago I was a therapist, counseling people struggling with depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, and other issues. For years I’d written, recorded, and performed music in addition to working and going to school. But the growing desire to devote all of my time and energy to my music career led me to move to New York City and begin working on music full-time. Since making this move I often reflect on the ways in which both music and therapy can affect change in people, and as I reflect and work as an artist, my conviction that music has the power to transform and heal is strengthened.

What is it about music that affects us so powerfully, and how does it lead to healing and growth? I believe psychology can give us some answers. For example, a piece of music can express emotion or experience so powerfully that it leads us to feel emotions or to re-live an experience. We’ve probably all had moments in which a particular song makes us break down in tears or feel totally pumped up and victorious or long for something different in our lives. Listening produces an emotional experience. And in today’s world, where we are so often bombarded with the hectic pace of life that we don’t get to really experience and understand our feelings, this is unique and important. Often in therapy, I would work with clients to help them have a release of emotions (or catharsis). This release of pent-up emotions can not only be healing in itself, it can lead to an even deeper kind of healing: the development of self-compassion. For example, let’s say you are sitting in your car and a song comes on the radio that makes you cry for no apparent reason. Of course, you could just be having a bad day, but it’s more likely that the song has touched something in you that you’ve been struggling with that you were unaware of. Listening to the song and figuring out why you had a certain reaction can lead you to feel compassion for yourself. This, in turn, can allow you to work through your feelings and become a stronger, more self-aware person.

In addition to healing on an individual level, music can be a healing force between people. As in therapy, listening to music can lead to the development of compassion for others. Because music can stir our emotions, it can also open our hearts. When our hearts are open, we are functioning on a higher spiritual level, making it possible to develop spiritual attributes such as kindness, compassion, and empathy. Sometimes we can be struck by the sadness of someone else’s situation very poignantly when it is expressed in song. For example, even if you don’t live in poverty, hearing Mary J. Blige sing about it can bring you to tears and make you feel empathy for people in that situation. This can expand one’s awareness and, in the best situations, lead to action to help solve problems. We see evidence of this in the way that the music of musicians such as Public Enemy, Fugazi, Joan Baez, and U2 have raised people’s awareness and led to social action to help remedy society’s ills. Music can create understanding by expanding people’s awareness of others’ feelings and struggles— an awareness that goes beyond reason into one’s very heart. Music like this has more than a transitory effect— it can shape our thinking, lives, identities, and consciousness. This process, if viewed from a broad perspective, can lead to more unity in the world.

Just as music can be healing on an individual level and a societal level, music can also be healing and growth-producing for the listener and the artist via the interactive relationship produced between them. A songwriter can create songs that inspire her or are expressive of a certain emotion or perspective, but how a listener will react to or understand that song is out of the songwriter’s control. This process can be intimidating for the artist since she is sharing something she has devoted time and energy to, often something intensely personal. However, seeing how the listener reacts to the music is often one of the most amazing and rewarding parts of being a songwriter. One can write something that inspires the listener in a way one never dreamed, or a song could help someone through a difficult time. Even if a listener doesn’t emotionally resonate with a song, perhaps the song simply helps articulate a new or unexpected viewpoint. In any case, seeing listeners from diverse backgrounds individually react to songs is a great privilege for the artist. It can help the artist grow much in the same way that a client can help a counselor grow as a clinician and as a person. Moreover, this process can help the listener have new experiences and insights that lead to personal growth.

Clearly, there are many ways in which music affects positive change within us. By listening to or composing music, we can help each other grow by sharing ideas, reacting to those ideas, expanding our consciousness, and taking action for personal and collective change. With so much potential for positive change, the decisions we make about the kind of music we create, listen to, or otherwise support can be very powerful. These decisions can have a lasting impact on our personal identities and on the kind of culture that we create in our relationships, families, and in society.

To hear clips of Laura’s music, sign up for updates, or get more information visit www.lauraharley.com.

(all content Copyright National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States, 2000-2003, do not use without permission)