Music as Transporter

Are you a Trekkie? I remember years ago when Star Trek first came out. I didn't really "get it" too much, but my husband loved it. One of the few things I really like the idea of was the "transporter room." I thought that was pretty cool.

Yesterday I was driving my car and listening to a CD of old favorites that I put together recently. I love burning my own CDs and this one was quite a mix! The 5th of 6th song was one I used to really love...it's from the musical "Camelot" and is called "I Loved You Once in Silence." It is so beautiful and it had been quite a while since I heard it. I was transported back in time to my teens and all the feelings and images from the place where I went to music camp in the summers. There was a person that I did love in silence. It was very bittersweet, but I loved listening to this song and played in several times in succession until I was finally ready to move on. I'm sure my brain and body were flooded with all kinds of neurotransmitters and hormones. I was transported to another time and place!

Can music help you lose weight or stop smoking?

I know a lot about this one! Because I am short female, because I love chocolate and because I love to indulge myself, I have struggled with weight issues for much of my adult life. The consequences of carrying around too much weight are definitely as negative as the joys of "giving in" to food are positive. I wish I could tell you that I have an easy solution. I don't, but I do have some suggestions.

As a therapist how treats addictions (among other things) I know that sometimes just postponing a sweet or naughty snack can really help to cut down on the amount consumed or possibly allow you to skip it entirely.

Why not try a delicious musical snack of some high energy music through headphones? When the music gets into the brain directly, through the eighth cranial nerve, it can re-direct your brain a lot faster and more efficiently. There is much high energy classical music such as the "William Tell Overture" by Rossini or the "Ride of the Valkyries" by Wagner. In the pop/rock realm I like "Milkshake" by Kellis or "Let the River Run." There are thousands maybe millions of upbeat, energetic songs that can put you in a very different place emotionally and help you to forget that fattening snack or ciagarette. You just have to be willing to give it a try for 5-10 minutes instead of giving in to something that you know will ultimately harm you.

Give it a try and let me know what happens!

Alice

P.S. The lower brain's hypothalamus is both your hunger center and the main spot for processing music's mood. Fill it with happy sounds and watch false hunger disappear.