Meditating through Music

[pheumiller]

Folks, just posted a new blog "Meditating through Music" Check it out. Have you tried this before? Would love to hear your experience! http://ow.ly/tRWtL

[mikeguywest]

I also use music in my spiritual life. However, my spiritual philosophy differs from yours in that "thinking" is a major factor of my meditation. I sing about the truths I learn of God from the Bible and write songs based on that. I also sing songs that others have written. I love to sing words of God's greatness and goodness, feeling the resonating of the natural woods of my acoustic against my body, and meditating on God's truth. Playing my guitar is definitely a big part of my spiritual life.

[Jersey tuning]

I pick up a guitar every evening before bedtime.  Often this interlude (5-30 minutes) is my entire playing experience of the day.  I have no higher purpose than to relax and feel good.  Sometimes if I don't have a specific song in mind  I revert to one of 3 songs I've played hundreds of times, or even a particular 8-measure repetitive "tune" that has somehow lodged in my brain and never evolved into anything more.  Whether this is meditation, preparation, relaxation or contemplation is left for others to decide. 

[azslacker]

I get up almost every morning around 5:00 a.m., grab a cup of coffee, and head off to our enclosed front porch. The gs-mini is already there waiting for me. I sit in near total darkness with the light dimmed so that about all I can see is a little reflection on the frets. I play nahenahe (gentle) style slack key tunes, and usually sing in a very low voice. This time of year it's getting light outside around 6:30. That's usually the end of my "meditation" session.

Never really thought about it being meditation, but I guess that's exactly what it is. My mind is completely focused on the music. There is no other time of the day that I can play or sing better.

[Earl]

One really nice thing about playing guitar is that no matter how crappy the day has been, 30-40 minutes of guitar playing puts me in a better mood (works much better than 3-4 drinks with fewer side effects), makes me concentrate on the playing and helps me let go of all that stuff.

In NOV 2012 I had a brain tumor and spent 26 days in the hospital, part of it paralyzed on my left side.  My wife put our collection of slack key music on the iPod on infinite repeat next to my hospital bed.  That really helped me relax and recover during some dark and scary times.  Plus it gave me something definite to shoot for -- get back to playing my repertoire.  The therapists and nurses loved to hear it too.  For those not familiar with Hawaiian slack key, it is so relaxing that I have actually fallen asleep slumped over my guitar late at night while playing on occasion.  I cannot listen to it in the car and stay alert.  Highly recommended as therapy music.

[timfitz63]

I have to echo the sentiments about playing as being an emotionally therapeutic diversion from the other concerns of the day.  I find it to be something that is completely disconnected from my other activities, in particular, my job.  I enjoy my work, but it's highly technical; and dealing with office/program politics and bureaucracy is particularly tedious to me.  Playing gives me something with which I can engage the other side of my brain for a while -- and in a positive way...

[mikeguywest]

One really nice thing about playing guitar is that no matter how crappy the day has been, 30-40 minutes of guitar playing puts me in a better mood (works much better than 3-4 drinks with fewer side effects),

I couldn't agree more. Sometimes just strumming a couple of simple chords can do wonders. I challenged myself a while back to write some songs using just two chords. I have another song where I play five chords, but they are all two note chords. I don't know what you would call that musically, but it has a nice effect, and very relaxing.