Anna Layman ~ Van der Leeuw ~ music

"Just as music binds power, so it also assists in its release. Here not only rhythm but, above all, melody and timbre, have an important function. Drums put shamans into ecstasy, the flute the bacchantes. Many primitive peoples think the flute spraks with the voice of a spirit; other believe the drum is filled with spirits. The more the instrument is filled with power, the more violently the player or listeneer becomes 'beside himself.' Wild, stimulating music grips the spirits of men everywhere in the world." ~ pg. 216
I think the ideas in some primal cultures of spirits/music is really interesting. I wish there was more emphasis but into the importance and power of music in our culture. It seems that mostly it is just for entertainment and enjoyment. I have felt a spiritual connection with the music, with the rhythm, while dancing at drum circles. There is an energy that is created with the beat of the drum and the movement of the dancers. It can be very powerful, so powerful that you forget where you are or what you are doing.
Some people got to experience this, some what, for the first time when we had a drum circle during class. We didn't even have dancing, yet I think people felt connected through the rhythm. The more we got into it, like when we were all yelling and screaming at the top of our lungs, then more you forget where you are, who you are. Music, filled with religious intention none the less, can free the spirit.