Student Chosen Topic #2 - Simon Robson

Mystic Power of Music

04/27/2021

    Something that I have always found very interesting is the power of music. I have always loved music ever since I was a kid and I love listening to familiar music as well as finding new music. Music has always had somewhat of a spiritual effect on me and has made me feel very certain ways. One specific way that I have noticed this is in Church. I grew up in a Lutheran church where we sang old gothic sounding hymns and these hymns never made me feel any extraordinary way or gave me any spiritual feelings. However, when I started going to a more contemporary non-denominational church on my own, the music here often really touched me. The uplifting sound and the joyous cries made me feel the real presence of something greater among us. What is it about music that makes me feel this way though? Is it just the ability to relate and sing along with someone else or many other people? Is it a biological thing that is determined by rhythms and beats and sounds? Is it only a personal experience that is meaningful to me? It would seem that it cannot be applicable to everyone because although it feels rare, I do know a few people who do not like music very much in general, or do not feel that it produces the same effects. Personally I believe that music can carry some kind of psychological or even mystic power that can make you not only feel certain ways but make you feel the presence of things. In the future I would like to do more research on this and find out more about why music has these effects on me. For now though I will just keep listening and singing along and attempting to share the power of it with other people.

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