CHANGE YOUR BRAIN
"...At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all of the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed."
That is the power of praise and worship music. What happened on Paul and Silas' cellblock is real. It is happening in these prisons every day. Guys who never thought they would ever see freedom who kept the faith are finding themselves on the other side of this razor wire in freedom. It is all a testimony to the healing, freeing power of praise and worship music.
One of the tag-lines for SolafideJAM is "Music Heals The Soul." Many Christians, including myself, are prime examples of that power. But praise and worship music also heals the damaged brain. In many cases, irregularities or damage done to our brains is the root cause of addiction, pain, dysfunction, and criminality. Abnormalities in the brain can be the root cause for failed marriages, unhealthy relationships, and problems with our employers. Sometimes a person’s bad behavior or continual relapses isn't about will power or a person’s inability to follow 12 steps or 8 principles, sometimes a person's brain is not functioning at a level where even the pure truths of the bible can be fully absorbed, implemented into our lives, and utilized.
I have attended both A/A and N/A meetings both on the street and in prison. I have been to both inpatient and outpatient drug rehabs. No matter how hard I tried, I always slipped back into my old habits. What has made me successful in my recovery this time around is that my recovery is built around Jesus Christ being the center of my life. He is my Healer, Helper, and recognized Higher Power, with praise and worship music being my therapeutic salve. Most secular substance abuse programs like to keep their higher power generic so as not to offend people of different faiths or people who don't believe in anything. That may be fine for some, but for people who gave their lives to the Lord, it can be dishearting to surround themselves with people who do not want to talk about the power of Jesus. Jesus saves, but becoming a Christian does not make your hurts, habits, or hang-ups miraculously disappear. Christians still struggle with substance abuse, alcoholism, sex addiction, and lust. We still fight with our spouses, can be depressed and want to withdraw. Life still smacks us in the face and temptation still pulls us off of our squares. Being saved does not make your problems go away. However, for the Christian, the power of Christ is what we must turn to first, and He must be the centerpiece of all of our solutions.
It has been 28 years since I attended my last A/A meeting in the free world. It was a secular affair that was ironically held in the basement of a Catholic church in Park Forest, Illinois. It was sad. Men and women with long faces chain-smoked cigarettes and drank obscene amounts of coffee while sharing with each other how much it sucked to be sober. After someone was finished with a long monologue about how rough their week had been, a group of the regulars would unenthusiastically say "keep coming back" in unison, with no energy in their words. I would walk out of the church feeling dark. I needed a celebration of my attempt at sobriety. Instead, the meeting was like an open casket wake for each other's addictions. Not only did praise and worship music lead me out of false doctrine into Christianity and allowed me to take recovery seriously, it inadvertently helped reverse the damage I did to my own brain. Music heals the soul and the brain. It is a scientific fact.
I just finished a book written by Daniel G. Amen M.D. titled "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life." Dr. Amen is a clinical neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and brain-imaging expert who has not only brought brain imaging to the forefront of treating brain injuries and irregularities...he, at the request of Pastor Rick Warren, was instrumental in creating a health program for Saddleback Church. Saddleback Church not only has one of the largest congregations in the world, but it is also the church where Celebrate Recovery was created by Jon Baker. Dr. Amen said a lot of things that shocked me.
First, one of the most shocking (but obvious) things that he brought to light is that when he got into medicine, psychiatrists were the only medical specialists who virtually never looked at the organ they were treating. Psychiatrists were offering educated guesses (based on the behavior and words of a patient) as to what was wrong with them without looking at the brain. That does not happen in any other field of medicine! When you have heart problems, they examine the heart. When you have kidney problems, they hook you up to an ultrasound to get to the bottom of what is wrong. But when there is a problem with the brain, the psychiatrist basically asks you what your problem is, prescribes a bunch of dangerous drugs, that often do more harm than good, and need to be constantly adjusted. It is hit or miss guesswork at best. Dr. Amen's brain imaging technology allows doctors to see what part of the brain is not functioning properly so that a treatment plan can properly be prescribed, Dr. Amen will not use pharmaceuticals unless absolutely necessary. Instead, it is usually natural supplements, dietary changes, brain and breathing exercises, and yes, music therapy.
Secondly, most addicts and criminals in prison have some kind of brain damage or abnormality that is picked up on these brain scans. This includes more than the run-of-the-mill damage one does to their brains from drugs and alcohol. It could be undiagnosed brain damage from a concussion suffered as a little boy or girl, or damage from being beaten or abused. The damage can come from toxins that wreak havoc on our brains from lead poisoning, asbestos or Lyme disease. It could come from chemicals one grew up around or used at their job. Brain damage can also come from poverty, bad diet, malnutrition.
The good news is that the damage is often reversible, by the grace of God. Chapter 15 of Dr. Amen's book is almost entirely dedicated to the healing power of music.
In Chapter 15 of Dr. Amen's book, music is prescribed. Along with nutritional interventions, Dr. Amen prescribes rhythmic movement, humming, drumming, singing...and listening to healing music. Can you think of a better kind of healing music than that which ushers in the Holy Spirit, and causes God to shower us with blessings when we send our praises up to Him? Music therapy has been a part of psychiatric treatment for decades, and its healing, nurturing properties have helped mankind since the beginning of time.
No one in the Bible turned to music in times of trouble, anguish, and pain more than David. A writer of the majority of the Psalms, he wrote songs to and for God for deliverance from trouble, stability in the midst of panic, relief from despair, and a lot of times to just praise the majesty of God's greatness. He wrote and sang songs seeking a calm trust in God for his mental contentment: "Lord, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty, Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother, Like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever." Psalm 131.
With every issue, David turned to the Lord in praise and worship because in doing so he found strength, hope, and solace. In finding strength, hope, and solace through music, one is able to regenerate and open pathways to the mind and soul which makes us more receptive to the Word of God and to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Every one of us has been to that one church where the music elevates you and the sermon gives you goosebumps because you feel like the preacher is talking directly to you...where altar calls bring up the last dude you thought would ever find Jesus, and you aren't ready to leave when it is over.
That is the power of praise and worship music. It quenches the soul, calms our mind, and repairs damaged brains so that the Word of God is easier to meditate on, and implement into our daily lives.
Whenever I wrap up work on some material for SolafideJAM, I often run it past my cellmate to get his take and feedback on what I had just written. Usually, it's "good job..." or "that sounds good to me." This time, he kinda stumped me. When I read him the part about the irony of secular A/A meetings being held in the basement of a church, he asked me which part was the ironic part: The fact that secular A/A meetings were being held in a church, or the fact that people had replaced their addictions with other addictions such as massive amounts of coffee and cigarettes? After staring at a blank page for five minutes and rolling that around in my head, I have come to the conclusion that both are sad ironies. The bottom line is that no addiction is going to be overcome without the healing power of Jesus.
I recommend Dr. Amen's book "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" to anyone who finds themselves stuck and struggling with overcoming certain roadblocks and obstacles to clear thinking. You will discover a lot about why you think how you think, and how you can change how you think. Furthermore, you will better understand how to operate and function in the dysfunction that swirls around your day-to-day run-ins with family, co-workers, and/or fellow inmates, realizing that their issues may not entirely be their fault and bear forgiving, as God has so graciously forgiven us. Stay Prayed Up.
For more information on the work of Dr.Amen go to https://danielamenmd.com/
