Does music heal?

It’s not unusual for me to find myself humming music I’ve been practicing, even several days after I’ve performed that song at a church service. Whatever the music happens to be, if I enjoyed it or if it inspired me, there are times when I have been not only uplifted but physically healed by it. 

One Sunday many years ago, the words of the vocal solo at my local branch Church of Christ, Scientist, were based on the biblical words “Whither shall I go from thy spirit?” from Psalms 139:7. The words then led into Romans 8:38, 39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As the organist, I had been practicing the accompaniment all week, and after the service, the words and music were still ringing in my ears.

After church that day, however, I began to feel symptoms of a heavy cold, which made me wonder whether I would be able to meet up with friends later that afternoon. At the same time, I was still humming that solo. Suddenly, Romans 8:39 struck me in particular and helped me see that not even a virus could separate me from the love of God. Of course I couldn’t be separated from God, good! For several hours, the words and music and that new inspiration stayed with me. Soon, I was completely free of any cold symptoms.

I did end up meeting with my friends, outdoors, late on that cold November day. In spite of the Wisconsin weather and the continued visit in a chilly farmhouse—my friends being graduate students on a budget—I remained free from all symptoms. The next morning there was no sign of any problem either. I never experienced any harmful effects from staying out in the cold weather.

What is it about music, and especially about hymns and spiritual songs, that leads to comfort, inspiration, and healing? People often refer to the power of music, saying that music is a universal language, and so on—but this doesn’t necessarily explain the transforming effect it can have. Music certainly does appear to uplift, calm, settle, energize, and encourage. But is that the power of the music, or is it something deeper?

On a Saturday morning years ago, I woke up feeling awful. It was the beginning of my period, and I usually took time to sleep it off. But on this morning, I needed to practice the organ for the church service the next day, and I felt that I wanted to challenge that uncomfortable heaviness I was feeling. 

I was inspired by this passage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science: “Mind is the master of the corporeal senses, and can conquer sickness, sin, and death. Exercise this God-given authority. Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action. Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man” (p. 393). 

I lived in a rooming house two blocks from my church, so in the spirit of those words and in spite of the way I felt, I decided I could at least run through each piece, the vocal solo, and the hymns once. So I went to church and began to practice. As I did, I thought of David playing his harp for King Saul and the resulting calming effect. And I wondered, “How did David do that?”

All of a sudden, the thought came, “Music doesn’t have any power. The only power there is, is God. And music expresses joy, harmony, and rhythm—spiritual qualities from God—but it doesn’t originate anything of itself. Only God can do that.”

What is it about music, and especially about hymns and spiritual songs, that leads to comfort, inspiration, and healing? 

I was still not feeling well, but I was interested in trying out this new idea: Every key I pressed down, every chord I played, was going to be an expression of those qualities of God. I continued to practice, affirming after occasional twinges that everything I was involved with was actually the expression of God. Over two hours later I finished practicing, and I felt completely free of menstrual symptoms or tiredness. As I left the church, I felt so light, I thought I could practically reach the moon in one step.

Mary Baker Eddy once said, “. . . remember God in all thy ways, and thou shalt find the truth that breaks the dream of sense, letting the harmony of Science that declares Him, come in with healing, and peace, and perfect love” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, pp. 175–176).

When we turn to a hymnal, a prayer book, we are reaching for that Science, the laws of God that demonstrate the rule of universal harmony (see Mary Baker Eddy, Rudimental Divine Science, p. 1); we are reaching for something bigger and more powerful than agitation, pain, or fear; we are acknowledging that vital force, the Word of God, which is unfolding harmonious action in a way that we can understand. And doing this praises our source, just as David did with his music. We are declaring—with song—our life, movement, and being in God, as Soul’s expression. And this is the “Science that declares Him” that brings healing.

Mental melodies and strains of sweetest music supersede conscious sound.

—Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 213