Sermons

SERMON

Music in our lives. With the development of advanced technology, scientists better understand the incredible impact music has on our lives and apply their knowledge to the use of music in improving our lives. This is no small direction in the field of medicine.

Scientists have discovered how the entire brain engages when we listen to music. It affects our memory, our mood, our motor skills, our health, our pleasure - and even without the benefit of research, we have globally embraced music over the centuries.

Some of us know babies who chose to sing before they spoke. And we sing to our infant young, developing in them the skills to receive music and develop those parts of their brains that respond to music. This is heady (no pun intended) stuff!

All of us have found reassurance in hearing songs loved by us in the past. One of Cindi's favorite hymns is "I Come to the Garden Alone." What a powerful and reassuring message for a child to hear: "He walks with me and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own." Amazing how that inclusiveness and connection to a power greater than ourselves is expressed through music retained.

Yes, music is retained. We might forget language and as we age, ain't that the truth, but music is also embedded in emotion, and emotion does not fade. It can be retrieved through music.

How mamy times have we listened to the music we listened to in our youth, and experienced a nostalgia, a happiness, a memory of the time and place when we enjoyed that music. And because our brains are significantly shaped in our childhoods and youth, we remember the music, the lyrics, and the moods evoked. To quote Dick Clark, "Music is the soundtrack of your life." And when you think about it, you know he is right. We have chosen music over the years and incorporated it into the essence of who we are.

Add to that the development of music therapy in medicine that is now actively treating conditions such as Parkinson's, stroke, Alzheimer's, depression. In the case of some medical conditions, the ability to retrieve language is reduced, but utilizing music enables individuals to retrieve memories and language through music. I spoke recently with a nurse who described a seminar she attended regarding music and stroke victims. They could not speak because of damage to the left side of their brains, but they could relearn language by singing words they wished to express.

In an online article from Johns Hopkins, we are encouraged to keep our brains youg with music.

I come away from this information new to me realizing that I need to keep listening to music. I have always loved it, but I don't always allow myself the time to enjoy it. I will say that listening to an Oldies buy Goodies radio program while driving is always a treat that ends up wit my singing along! This exposure to music is important.

As we face aging, aging within ourselves and in those whom we love, we might consider devloping playlists of beloved music to help us trigger increased communication and connection with others, even as our language and word skills weaken.

For more detailed information, go to the internet and look up "Music and the Brain." It has been a revelation to me and I hope you find it useful.

This video illustrates how music can electrify a crowd: https://youtu.be/71sSzFBYfzU?si=tmugEsHyYbNw_CEO