I’m halfway through this fascinating, intellectually-stimulating book called Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us, and decided it was too good to wait until the end to write about this book and a few little thoughts on art in general.

First, a few quotes to help encourage you to read this book for yourself (all numbering is from the location in Kindle):

1. We share our feelings and emotions through the simple act of holding a hand or sharing a hug. Touch rapidly changes our neurobiology and mental states of mind by releasing oxytocin, which, in addition to being the love hormone as we mentioned earlier, is also attributed to feelings of trust, generosity, compassion, and lowered anxiety. Experiments with human touch have shown how the intention of one person––to express sadness or happiness, care or excitement––can be interpreted and mirrored by another person through sense receptors. We can, quite literally, “speak” to one another through touch, because of the way it registers emotional perception in the brain (220).
2. One study concluded that the frequency of blues and greens in mild hues help calm people in a work setting, reducing stress and fostering more creativity. The same study found that yellow promotes attention and focus. For some, red can be highly stimulating (744).
3. At a neurochemical level, the act of drawing has been shown to release serotonin and endorphins that foster a more generous, open frame of mind. Specific studies into the neural effects of visual art production and mood have shown that drawing, by changing brain-wave activity and increasing blood flow to the frontal regions of the brain, has a positive effect on our psychological resilience (1062).
4. “The arts can be a softened way of leaning into the hardened boundaries of trauma; they unarm you and are a way that gets underneath the defensive mechanisms” (1123).
5. People who engage in the arts every few months, such as going to the theatre or to a museum, have a 31 percent lower risk of dying early when compared with those who don’t. Even if you bring the arts into your life only once or twice a year, you lower mortality risk by 14 percent (1799).
6. “Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow” (2211).

The authors talk about how light colors and their certain frequencies promote healing; that the notes C and G are universally grounding, harmonious sounds; and how the various forms of art affect us as individuals––though no therapy is one-size-fits-all, “there is something out there in the field of arts and aesthetics that could benefit everyone.”

I find myself in awe of the fact that “this is my Father’s world,” and it is so full and beautiful.

Is it any wonder that reading Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith would have affected me in the way it did? It wasn’t just beautiful reading, it was also the paintings contained in the pages.

Is it any wonder that a worship service that does lights and music well would move us in the ways it does? How and why do some people get stuck thinking that we don’t follow “emotions and feelings,” and look down on worship that affects us? Do we fear what we don’t know and can’t explain, so leaving after a worship night that “made” us feel something must surely be a tainted, lower form of worship, and couldn’t possibly be solid worship? Do we despise what God has created us to experience as a way to enjoy his good gifts and him as Creator, because we feel “guilty” for being moved in such a “carnal, base” way by mere music? Why can’t we thank God for how good, beautiful worship moves us? And rejoice in the light colors and frequencies he’s created and allows us to see––and feel? [climbs off soapbox]

Is it any wonder that writing poetry and listening to it read moves us?

Is it any wonder that we are embodied souls who need to be touched? And that God made the simple acts of hugging or good touch to actually do something inside of us?

Is it any wonder that painting and getting our hands dirty in various mediums brings healing to the mind and causes joy, rest, and hope?

And what wonder it is that the tiny particles and pieces that make up our brains––confetti, really––are the means Jesus chose to be what cause us to truly live, remember things, feel and experience joy and sorrow. And trust, love, rest, and believe in him.

I prepare to write some things in my journal tonight, with the fresh realization that writing does something beneficial to my mind, and that that is a kindness of God that not only do I love to do it, but there is an intrinsic benefit to doing that.

My encouragement to anyone reading this is simply: write, draw, paint, dance, sing, play an instrument, and so many other art-ish things––do something that brings you joy!