The Healing Power of Music

One of my favorite things about the Christmas Season is the music and the spirit I feel. My favorite memories of Christmas are all related to music. Growing up in Boston gave me the opportunity to go caroling with my family in Louisburg square. This Boston tradition started in 1924 and continues to this day. Bell ringers and singers move from house to house. I loved it! My other favorite memory was going to the Cambridge, Ma chapel and participating in the Handels Messiah Sing along. Even as a young child I felt the spirit of Handels masterpiece! I am sure it is not new to you to hear that music has healing properties -with mental, emotional and physical illnesses. And music improves mood!

"If you’ve ever found that listening to music elevates your mood, you’re right. New research found that feelings of happiness increased when participants in the study listened to upbeat music, and were asked to focus on lifting their mood. A related study demonstrated that listening to happy or sad music can also change how you perceive the world. While these studies show the positive impact music has upon your mental and emotional state, they also underscore the capacity we have to alter our inner experience through conscious effort and focus — as recent research on meditation and brain function has demonstrated." http://www.progressiveimpact.org/how-music-improves-your-mood-and-outlook-on-life/

In the first study, reported in the Journal of Positive Psychology, researchers at the University of Missouri found that ”Our work provides support for what many people already do — listen to music to improve their moods,”

There is scientific research to back up the idea that music has healing properties. A2013 analysis by Daniel Levitin, a prominent psychologist who studies the neuroscience of music at McGill University in Montreal, and his colleagues highlighted a variety of evidence: for instance, one study showed music's anti-anxiety properties, another found music was associated with higher levels of immunoglobin A, an antibody linked to immunity. In their studies they said it was the first time that the chemical - called dopamine - had been tested in response to music.

"It is known to produce a feel-good state in response to certain tangible stimulants - from eating sweets to taking cocaine. Dopamine is also associated with less tangible stimuli - such as being in love. In this study, levels of dopamine were found to be up to 9% higher when volunteers were listening to music they enjoyed."
 
I just discovered this part of LDS.org --where you can get free LDS songs to download from EFY and various LDS performers. https://www.lds.org/youth/music?lang=eng

No matter what your circumstances this coming week and no matter what this holiday season presents you with -I hope that you can find some peace and joy through the music of the season!!