The mind (right brain I would say) really goes into overdrive. This music is very good fuel for the imagination.
One of the things I LOVE is that neither the lyrics nor the harmonic structure label what the song is supposed to be about or how you should feel about it…. much is open to interpretation, almost in the way a book can be more enjoyable than a movie because you are left to imagine the scene and the characters instead of being shown in an authoritative way what it is supposed to look like….this is truly freeing.
It is certainly relaxing, centering, and as you say “mood elevating” but I don’t find it’s too sedating to listen to even after a long day at work when I might be tired on the way home. For me, it strikes a good balance between being soothing and stimulating, hard to define in words and almost has to be experienced.