Using Music to Reframe Health

"Health is a holistic state of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being that happens when we function optimally and sustainably. Health markers include the ability to respond, at a molecular level and also with other humans. This presents itself differently in each person, but there is a quality of full expression that exudes presence and charisma and health. Music not only facilitates a personal response but also amplifies it in multiple modes of thought, emotion, and sensation."

"In a culture obsessed with measurable outcomes, it's easy to overlook that growth and impact may not show up in the result (yet) but in the creative process itself. As a music connoisseur as a Steinway Artist, I find that an amateur performance of thoughtfulness and heart can move me more than a technically perfect one lacking this "aliveness.""

"Every field uses different words to talk about how we show up in the process of becoming. It is the change in health biomarkers, the social impact and legacy of our lives, the scientific potential for neuroplasticity, and the artistic path to a creative mode."

"A disengaged bystander is most likely to evaluate endeavors by the metrics that are most convenient to measure. But to someone who cares about human development, metrics are only meaningful if they provide data that captures the big picture. the process of transforming, from where we are to where we aspire to be, is the impact. It includes a messy and interesting metric of self-awareness like subjective well-being (SWB) and perceived stress"

Health is a holistic state spanning physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being, shown through optimal and sustainable functioning. Health markers include the ability to respond at molecular levels and with other humans, expressed differently across individuals but linked to presence and charisma. Music supports personal response and amplifies it across thought, emotion, and sensation. In an outcome-obsessed culture, growth and impact may not appear immediately in results, but emerge through the creative process itself. Music improvisation builds confidence for beginners and professionals. Expression balances delivering promises with continuously expanding the vision. Metrics matter when they capture the big picture, including self-awareness measures like subjective well-being and perceived stress, alongside social impact and neuroplasticity potential.

Read at Psychology Today