My favorite way to meditate is to listen to instrumental music on Pandora.com, bringing my awareness back and forth between my breathing and the sound, imagining at times that I'm breathing the music in and breathing it out. If the Buddha had an iPhone, I'm guessing he would have enjoyed this form of meditation, too! But often I lose focus, as I assume most folks do. I'm no longer hearing the lead, no longer appreciating the texture of the guitar, the vibration of the cymbals. The entire melody escapes me and my mind wanders to thoughts of past or future.
One trick that helps me sometimes is to think about respecting the sololist. Who has the lead right now in the song? The saxophonist? The pianist? The vocalist? I try to imagine that this person is someone I care about--a son or spouse or friend--and I owe them the respect of listening to what they are playing and how it sounds. I try to create a sense of personal connection with whichever musician is currently the center of the music's attention. What emotion are they conveying? Can I feel it too?
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