Music helps you focus, lifts your mood, and raises your vibration.

For a quick mood booster, for a break from your own mind and its worries, listen to music.

According to Ashford University, “One of the first things that happen when music enters our brains is the triggering of pleasure centers that release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel happy.”

Music has been shown to positively affect a range of conditions from depression to Alzheimer’s, and can even improve your immunity.

It doesn’t seem to matter what type of music it is, just that your particular brain responds positively to it. So if rock is your jam, don’t make yourself listen to classical if you really don’t respond to it.

If music is missing from your life, it’s time to add it back in. Obviously there are a variety of ways to do this.

In an area I once lived in, an outdoor mall hosts a series of free outdoor summer concerts by local bands with a wide range of musical genres. While their motivation may be to get people to their facility, it’s also a great way to enjoy live music in the summertime.

One of the better parts of today’s technology is that we can easily purchase and download a single song from an artist we love.

And we also have online services like Pandora, which I sometimes use while engaging in my daily writing practice.

One of my favorite songs is Vagabond by Wolfmother. Believe it or not, I heard it on a commercial (which I try never to watch commercials) and tracked it down. Here is a link to it on YouTube: Vagabond by Wolfmother. Or I found this nice acoustic version of Vagabond.

What is your favorite song? What song never fails to lift you up and make you feel better? What music genre is your absolute fave?

Love writing retreats?

Sources: Ashford University and Medical Daily