The power of music and its influence on behavior
Music is a spiritual phenomenon that is felt in the carnal world. Music is used to manipulate people all the time. Did you know that there are conspiracy theories that link Jimi Hendrix’s death to the government? It is said that they were afraid of the power Jimi had over the public. They feared that it could provoke a rebel revolt in the country.
Department stores play music that has subliminal messages telling you not to steal. They also encourage impulse buying. The athletes listen to music that stimulates the adrenaline gland to get the most out of their workouts, while the message therapist will have some music to help their clients relax their muscles. Can you imagine all the movies we love: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Superman, etc. without the musical soundtracks? All those war scenes and dramatic cinematography wouldn’t have the same impact on us without the music. Music is what stirred all the emotions within us.
It wasn’t so long ago that mainstream Christianity believed that music with drums and electric guitars, also known as “Rock n Roll,” was from the devil. Why was this? The feelings that accompany certain types of chords and rhythms can be scary. I used to bring up this point in Church with the Jericho story. When Israel marched around the walls of Jericho playing their song, it was said that the people were very afraid. I don’t think the song was a sweet harp to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me”. Tore down the walls for crying out loud! Another great example in the Bible that shows how music affects our behavior is the story of David playing his harp for King Saul. King Saul would hire David’s services to relieve him of the demonic spirits that would torment his soul.
Music is the yearbook of your life. There is a song that you graduated to. There was a song that was playing while you had your first French kiss. For me that was “Take My Breath Away” from: Berlin. There was a song that was playing in the car that made you cry because it reminded you of the girlfriend who broke up with you. That was also “Take My Breath Away” from Berlin. A song you married. There will also be a song that will bury you. We have songs that are played on our cell phones, on our web pages, and in every video game we play.
There are many other scientific experiments that test how music influences our emotional being. From romance to depression to anger to elation and it goes without saying that music is the force that controls many aspects of our lives. Maybe they play that cheesy elevator music to keep us from all freaking out in that phobic space on Closter? I don’t know, but I noticed that they don’t play music at the post office. Maybe they should think about that again? It could solve the whole postal matter.