ABSTRACT
Why is music of such value to me that I feel others could similarly benefit? Simply, music lifts me: my feelings, thinking and spirit are extended beyond the strictures of ordinariness, paradoxically by taking me physically inwards to my body-centre. This is not mere escapism: self-absorption is as distinguishable from indulgence as self-centredness is from selfishness. Having a centre to ‘hold on to’ allows me to move between moods which are normally judged as opposites, e.g. happiness and sadness, the one to be hoped for and the other avoided. In view of the fact that feeling is the source of action, it cannot be so undervalued, especially for those who find it unmanageable. Rather, the body should exercise its means to accommodate all feelings with the ability for transcending those that prove unpleasant.
