I always have a song playing in my head. Often it is the last thing I heard driving in my car, in the background of a store, or even an annoying ad that just played. These earworms have tenacity and they tend to hang around with or without an invitation.
They show up in the shower. They show up when I am cooking. They show up in the middle of the night. If I am showing up for my songwriting, it is often the song I am working on, and once it gets airspace in my mind, it tumbles there taking shape and growing roots.
Our thoughts have the same power!
Sometimes the thoughts tumbling and growing roots are not true or good for us. In counseling, I help clients unearth the thoughts and beliefs that are both true and healing. Reframing thoughts needs to be more than a cognitive exercise to take root. We need to incorporate these new and growing ways of believing into our deeper selves. That is where songwriting enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy gives a boost in the right direction.
In sessions, when clients identify new messages they want to internalize, I write a musical hook using their words and intentions. It is sung and recorded on the spot and is sent to them as an ongoing tool to help facilitate a deeper integration of their personal growth and evolution. It is my hope that these fledgling positive thoughts and beliefs take root as earworms and as reminders of the parts of themselves they are growing.
What song does your heart want to sing?