22 Albums That Changed My Life (Part 3)

So we went through the albums that shaped my teenage and early adulthood years — now here come the stuff that shaped me as a grown-up.  Note that these span longer years than the earlier eras, because as an adult my palate has already been formed and it became harder to …

Music as the Mood Regulator

So continuing on yesterday’s post, the best practice is to feel whatever “negative” emotion you have first, and then steer it toward a more desirable outlook. That’s easier said than done. Yesterday I had an incident where I got very mad.  Except I realized that I can’t get 100% mad. …

Music Brings People Together

If you’ve been to a large rock concert, then you know the scene.  People up on their feet, clapping together to the rhythm.  The singer tells the audience to scream, and they do.  Then s/he says “you gotta do better than that!” and the audience screams louder. We create communities …

In Flames “Disconnected” and Why Feeling Pain Is Better Than Not Feeling at All

Sometimes life can feel painful.  You feel bad, and you think you’d rather feel nothing at all than to feel this pain. What we feel in reaction to life’s events is a matter of our own interpretation — but few of us train our minds enough to be truly unflappable.  Once …

Song Reflections: In Flames “In Plain View”

This song is the epitome of what I call “hard music for hard times” — heavy songs conveying really heavy, hard feelings.

One of the biggest fears we have in life is disappointments.  When you think about it, so many of our fears boil down to trying to prevent letdowns.

This song is about letdowns, when you thought the path was clear — yet you cannot proceed because fear is holding you back.

Deep inside
The memories that are left behind
Close my eyes
I’ve been hopelessly lost in the fear

Fears are learned, they come from memories, those of painful experiences.  And they get stuck.  They get stuck in our body, and a lot of times we are not even aware that it’s there.  The path looks clear — in plain view, there’s nothing in the way.  But you may find that you still can’t move forward.

It’s because the fear is still in you.  Holding you back.  You need to get it out, be free.  I realize I’m talking about something huge and heavy, something not to be treated casually.

But the basic notion is the same.  Fear lives inside.  You need to get it out.  How, there are ways, some will work better for you than others.  But fear is something we all should aim to purge.