What’s on Your iPod™? The Power of Music to Transform Your Life

Do you want a life of greater ease, balance, happiness, and prosperity? Of course you do! So why does it seem to take so long for our dreams and desires to manifest? The answer lies within.n nDeep within us are subconscious beliefs that contribute to our actions, our responses, and thus to the actual conditions of our lives. If we believe at the subconscious level that we only deserve a certain amount of happiness, or that life is a struggle, or that we are unworthy, then we act accordingly.n nTo achieve our dreams and goals, it is imperative to change these limiting beliefs. Done consciously, with intention, the process of transforming your beliefs will be somewhat like making a path in fresh snow. The first time you walk across the snow, your boots leave indentations where there were none. Each time you walk the same path, the route becomes more defined, the snow shaped and deepened by the repeated trips.n nIt is the same in your brain. Your beliefs are like pathways, shaped by repetition from thoughts and responses and made stronger over time. In order to form new, healthier pathways that are solid and worthy of your footsteps and your dreams, you must define and use the paths. Repetition makes them stronger and gives them a fighting chance against the older, more established pathways.n nThere is a way to reach the subconscious easily, to replace limiting beliefs with positive, life-affirming ones. Music, especially songs with powerful lyrics, is an underutilized tool to heal your soul, change beliefs, and provide the fuel for igniting your dreams, passions, and goals. Music Creates New Software in Your Brainn nYou are already on a path to manifesting your wholeness and your dreams. You read books, take classes, and make action plans, and you apply these principles to your life. Perhaps you wonder why you aren’t progressing more quickly. Here’s one reason: at the subconscious level you may not truly believe that you can do it and that you deserve it. These subconscious, limiting beliefs, and others like them, are sabotaging you.n nThink of your thoughts, statements about yourself, and your beliefs about how the world works as the software that runs your life. Unfortunately, much of this software lies hidden within us, and we don’t realize how we continually choose to keep running it, allowing it to interfere with all our hard work and the steps we have been taking toward our goals. Music Bypasses Your “Keep Things the Way They Are” Radarn nWe have an internal radar that likes things status quo. It may also be the voice inside that wants you to play it safe and is nervous about change, and it may block some of the information that you have been gathering through your reading, classes, and discussions. This radar can suck your creative energy and inhibit your follow-through.n nMusic has the ability to bypass our intellectual radars, the ones that keep really good information from getting to our core, to that place that makes or breaks us. We all have beliefs and habitual patterns of response built up over the years, making it difficult to make lasting, positive changes. It isn’t enough to read about these things and to listen to the experts give us tools to change our beliefs. We have to get past our cognitive “filters” because they are the gatekeepers to our subconscious. The actual vibrations of the music not only help you to slip past the status quo radar but also help to loosen the old limiting and negative beliefs and to put you in a more relaxed and receptive alpha mode for receiving the positive messages and lyrics. You Must Be Your Authorityn nAnother problem is that too often, we look to others to be our authorities, to help us find our way. It’s okay to go outside ourselves to gather information, but then, it is up to each one of us to choose what information we will accept and to give ourselves the message that we are going to be changing, getting rid of what hasn’t worked, and trying some new things. We must put ourselves back into the position of authority so that our subconscious will accept the new beliefs. Rather than listening to someone else tell you what to believe, activate your own passkey to your subconscious. Choose Your Music Wiselyn nMusic can be your passkey. It’s important that you pay attention to the lyrics of songs that you play often. Are the words disempowering in any way or implanting negative thoughts or ideas? If so, you may want to consider letting go of that music and replacing it with positive, empowering lyrics. n nChoose a few songs that have lyrics that support the changes you want to make, and put them on your iPodTM or on a CD that goes with you in your car. Sing along, especially early in the morning or right before bed, when your subconscious mind is more receptive. Music Gets “Stuck” in Your Head and Provides a Positive Focusn nMusic provides the focus that is often the missing ingredient in people’s paths to their goals. It’s easy to let everyday errands, unexpected events, and work and family priorities monopolize our focus. It’s not that the intention is no longer there; it’s that we allow other things to take over, and we can let days, weeks, and months slip by without completing the steps that lead us closer to our dreams.n nMusic provides the reminder, in a gentle and persuasive way, that our dreams matter and that we are worthy of having and pursuing them. We all have had the experience of singing a song over and over in our heads—whether we wanted to or not! This feature of music makes it a natural tool for creating new thought patterns that support our desires to change. You Have the Choice to Change and Be the Best Possiblen nNow is the time to own, to really own, your personal power. Now is the time to discard feelings and deep-seated beliefs of unworthiness or of feeling that you can only have and do so much. You are only as limited as you believe you are. Give yourself the gift of choosing music that will support your magnificence and manifest the life you deserve. Your goals are only a song away!nn** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life”, visit http://www.selfgrowth.com/greatways.html