Music, bypassing consciousness, influences the human subconscious.
Human life is, among other things, a constant flow of information. From the first days of life until the last, a person lives by receiving information through various senses. Music is also a form of information transmitted through musical images expressed in combinations of pitch, duration, and volume of sound. The lion’s share of information comes to us through sight. Hearing accounts for much less, but it is precisely the auditory channels that perceive music which have direct access to a person’s emotional and spiritual state. I call this phenomenon the “Green Corridor.”
At the customs of many countries around the world, there are so-called “green corridors.” Passengers who are not carrying goods that require declaration can, upon entering the country, use the “green corridor.” Passing through it without customs inspection, they exit into the city much faster than those who stand in long queues waiting for customs checks.
Something similar happens with music. Music enters a person through the “green corridor,” bypassing the “customs control” of the mind (consciousness), and directly affects the subconscious. This places music in a special position in our lives. Neither sight, nor smell, nor touch has such a privilege.
The world of sounds is an astonishing, harmonious, diverse, and inexhaustible world, in which there is still so much that is mysterious and unknown. Sound occupies a special place in the system of creation, holding a connecting position between the physical and spiritual worlds. Produced by a specific object that we can see, smell, or touch, sound then becomes inaccessible to all other senses and becomes the exclusive privilege of hearing.
Just as we cannot see or touch love or hatred, we cannot see or touch sounds—including music. We see and touch the object producing the sound, but as soon as the sound is born, it becomes invisible and incorporeal.
The world of sounds is a special world. Much of what we see and use on this earth will cease to exist in the world to come. But the harmonious, diverse, and in many ways astonishing world of sounds, in which music occupies a royal place, will remain with us even in the age to come.
Music has accompanied humanity for millennia — from tender lullabies sung by a mother and the pipes of shepherds to symphonic orchestras and festive choral hymns. It pleased the Creator that through the world of sounds He could in a special way touch the delicate strings of the human soul and renew its eternal aspirations toward perfection.
The fact is that no one has yet been able to provide a detailed scheme of how the sounds of physical music influence the second substance of human nature — the sphere of the soul — and change a person’s emotional and spiritual state. How does music, bypassing consciousness, influence the subconscious? In what way does physical sound evoke spiritual experiences? By what path are the sounds of music transformed from a physical state into the realm of the soul? What processes occur in each individual person as a result? There is still much that is unknown in these questions.
The influence of music on humans has been observed since ancient times. Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, and other philosophers, educators, and physicians used music in their practice for teaching, moral upbringing, and the treatment of diseases. As an example, one can recall the biblical story from the life of the first king of Judah, Saul, and his servant David. In this story we find clear evidence that the ancients knew well and applied the healing properties of music: “And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:23).
Interestingly, David did not read Saul passages from the prophetic books or the Pentateuch of Moses; instead, he took up the lyre and played. Here we see the result of properly chosen music: “…and Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.” This example clearly shows the profound range of music’s influence. The sounds of good music, bypassing consciousness, are perceived by the ear, reach the sphere of the soul, and produce a striking result: the evil spirit departs from the person.
What happens inside a person when he hears music?
The mechanics of this transformation is still a large blank spot on the map of human nature. It is evident that under the influence of music, numerous processes occur within a person. These processes, forming chains of reactions, touch and stimulate our emotional responses, evoking joy or sadness, laughter or tears, the desire to embrace the whole world or the urge to destroy everything in one’s path. We see the clear result of this influence, but the detailed mechanism of these processes remains unknown to us. The body, in fact, serves as the instrument through which the physical sounds of music are received and transported into the realm of the soul.
Today it is a scientifically proven fact that a person’s emotional and spiritual state — which music influences most directly — in turn has a direct and quite powerful effect on the human body. The wise Solomon writes in Proverbs a remarkable truth that often surprises doctors because a person can be freed from illness without medication: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).
Thus, we see that it is precisely music that is capable of changing a person’s emotional and spiritual state, bringing healing both to the soul and to the body.
The topic we have begun to explore is so important that we simply have no right to leave it halfway. In the next chapter, we will examine what the ancient philosophers say about music and its influence.
Read more about this topic from our previous article:
