Dancing with the Angels

Credit: Image Pexels - CCO License

Guest Post

Ok, so I’ve been thinking about music. To be a little more exact, what we listen to and how it can build us up, refresh our minds, giving new energy and strength to us. Why we react the way we do to it and what that can mean to us. This is in no way intended to be definitive, more a collection of my musings, so please bear with me. Let’s take a little look shall we.

How do our musical choices relate to our state of mind and why do we have favourite types of music depending on how we are feeling? We’ve all had that particularly hard day at work and needed a little empowerment to get it out of our system, so to speak. All had that heartbreaking moment where we needed to hear something sympathetic that reflected our feelings. And without a doubt, those moments of elation where you want to hear something ecstatic, uplifting and powerful. We’ve all been to these places, and in these moments our musical selections are invariably driven by a need for something that will either placate our feelings or boost them to some degree.

So why do we do it and what’s the driver behind it? Why do we dive into our emotions with music as a vehicle? I honestly don’t have the answer to that yet, although I do wonder if we do it out of a need to meet with the divine within ourselves. To feel something in a purer, more crystalline form. Something we can gesture towards internally and say, ‘This is how I feel right now.’ A need to call out to whoever might be listening and mark our place in the cosmos at any given moment in time. Do we do this because we know that someone or something is walking with us, unseen maybe but definitely there? Something cradling us, watching over us, that light touch on the shoulder when we need it saying, ‘Go on, it’s ok. Dance like no-one is watching.’ I choose to believe so, and I love knowing that I’m not alone. As I’m sure you’ve worked out by now, I’m referring to the guardians or angels as we’ve come to know them.

A need to meet with the divine is a very pure expression of the human state and one which is reflected historically by civilizations as far back as our records reach and beyond. To commune with the heavens, reach out to a higher power and feel a connection that validates us, can make us feel a little more than just another soul walking the earth and is a very human trait. Music has always been a way in which we have attempted to bridge the gap, to pull ourselves closer to our feelings and therefore our spirituality. From tribal drumming to orchestral magnificence, we have always tried to be at one with the world and our perception of it through music.

If we look at the music of the heavens and the heavenly host, it is said that the sheer power and beauty of it would destroy a man or woman of the earthly realm. That we couldn’t comprehend or contain the expression of pure love and joy that it carries. Yet we have been trying to replicate it for a very long time. The best orchestras on the planet will overwhelm an audience with their performances of many classical and contemporary pieces. Many modern artists have been known to deliver equally emotional renditions to packed auditoriums across the planet, with concert goers leaving in many a state of disarray, enthusiastically discussing their favourite moments following a night of their most loved songs. Do we do this out of an inbuilt need to commune with the divine, to come together and feel something with our brothers and sisters that is a shared moment of connection with not just each other, but something greater than that? For some of us maybe. I like to think so anyway.

When you put on that favourite record, the feeling you get, knowing the world can be a better place when you hear that one song you truly love, lighting you up like a beacon. It seeps through you like fire and likewise can be impossible to contain sometimes. Is that just the music, just your emotions, or something else happening that you hadn’t really thought about? Someone holding your hand or lightly touching your shoulder, feeling this with you and revelling in your joy. The swell in your heart coming from somewhere you can’t quite define, overpowering your senses, making your hair sensitive to every chord and leaving you elated yet somewhat bewildered. In the moment you don’t always consider it, but upon reflection? Well, I’ll leave that up to you to think about those brilliant moments. They’re yours to treasure. I think we all recognise ‘that feeling’ when it occurs but it's a hard one to describe as it is so intensely personal.

So, how do we tie all this together? Well, that is the question I’ve been grappling with of late. Let’s look at the music again. There are now so many different styles or genres of music that it can make your head spin a little if you try to take them all in. An easier way to look at this is that ‘all music is an emotional expression’, and therein lies the true meaning behind all of it. After all, even a ballad can sound angry if you play it fast and with ferocity. It very much depends on your disposition at the time I think. So, would it be fair to suggest that musical expression is a good measure of our emotions and to some degree at least, reflects the state of our connection with the divine? Possibly so. Maybe it doesn’t matter what you're listening to but moreover how you are listening to it. Your receptiveness to the emotion it carries and how you in turn choose to react to it. Being ready to connect, if you will.

So whether we’re listening to Mendelssohn, Madonna or Metallica; musical appreciation and the sheer joy it can bring us is, as I’ve said, very much an ‘in the moment’ sensation which we feel intimately and very personally. It can also be very uniting, a shared wonder so to speak. That which helps you connect might just be right for you and you alone, or you might take others with you. Communication after all is not just a matter of spoken words. The angels would definitely smile at that sentiment, but what better way is there to communicate with beings of pure love other than through feeling it? Next time you go to a concert, play a piece of music you love or even if you’re just pirouetting around the kitchen with the radio on, think about who might be there with you feeling your ‘very human’ joy. Tapping their toe or dancing in your footsteps, it may well be more than just the best friend that came with you or Mr Marmalade the cat.

Ultimately, enjoy your music and go dance with the angels.

It would be great to hear how you feel music affects you personally, you can do this on the self love self care angel system facebook page. What music do you feel helps you ‘check in’ and rise above the challenges you face every day? Let us know in the comments. I’ll start the ball rolling with this beautiful song that I’ve always found very uplifting and which helps me feel every beat of those blessed wings. Hope you enjoy it.

(River City People ‘Say Something Good’) https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=of8e6emg4e0&list=OLAK5uy_kutM576_alV-gjuvRYDtUkz6N7hY-S6TU

Peace n’ good vibrations to you all,

Toru.

Pexel Image: Marcelo Chagas under CCO licence