Finding Peace Through Music During Life’s Challenges

In April of 2014, I was accepted to do a TEDx talk in Valencia, Spain. When I arrived at the venue, there was naturally a great deal of nervousness and excitement amongst the speakers and the organizers. As a therapist, I could sense it and it was beginning to unnerve me. So I left the venue and went to another part of the Oceanogràfic. I found refuge in the benches around a dolphin pool. There was no show on so I was able to sit in relative solitude with the sun shining on my face. There I listened to my favorite sedative and relaxing music tracks - 

Elgar’s variations on an original theme (4’ 20”)

Mozart’s clarinet concerto (the middle movement) (7’),

Charpentier’s ‘Depuis le jour’ sung by Renée Fleming (5’ 49”) and

Finzi’s Eclogue for piano and strings (11’ 01”).

As I listened to the music under headphones, the dolphins began to play with a ball that was in their tank. It was all so natural, so calming, so magical. My anxiety and anticipation of the talk melted away. By the time I returned to the venue, a bomb could have gone off and I wouldn’t have startled a bit. It helped me stay in the flow of the words I wrote and even to improvise a little bit on stage. All that benefit for a 28-minute experience steeped in music.

These were some of the same pieces of music I had used for cancer surgery years ago and that I continue to use frequently to manage the stressors of everyday life. Out of these experiences, I developed a clinical protocol with sedative music for others who are experiencing acute states of stress or anxiety. Clients who are awaiting surgery, oncology treatments, or the birth of a child benefit greatly from reaching these relaxation states and music is expeditious. In the work of music therapy, the intuitive uses of music we have for relaxation and comfort are transformed into a valid and reliable protocol for well-being. And when you practice listening to music that relaxes you, you reach that sweet spot even quicker. I know each of those pieces so intimately that just one would have brought me to that lovely place of peace, rest, and restoration.

What is the music that brings you to a state of peacefulness? Think about organizing playlists by affective states to use in life’s challenges as well as in its sparkling moments. Think about your favorite music and the ways that you could use it to support in:

waking up to a beautiful day,

sleeping soundly,

transitioning from sad to glad,

creating peace and comfort,

inciting excitement and energy,

having a good, healthy cry.

Let your playlists work for you! Don’t let somebody else choose your music.