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Meditating to Music
Author Unknown
Music is a powerful form of energy that can
help us enter new and different states of consciousness.
On the physical level, music has been shown to cause changes in
breathing, muscular tension, heartbeat, and blood pressure.
Many of us have found that music often affects us emotionally; it can
sooth, inspire, or make us sad and depressed.
Harmonious music in particular can create vibratory patterns in our
consciousness, and perhaps help us achieve greater harmony in ourselves.
Some types of music can increase the brain’s alpha wave activity, often
associated with meditative practice. This
is one reason why music frequently used as a prelude to meditation practice,
although music itself can become the object of a meditation.
We can play a recording of quiet music
as we perform one of the basic relaxation exercises before beginning our
meditation.
We can utilize music while we chant.
Music from India and China are especially conducive to mantra meditation.
Some recorded chants have music accompanying them, and we can simply join
in as we listen. We can also
meditate to music, whether at home or at a concert.
Choosing a piece of classical music,
new age music, Indian sitar music, or another type of quiet, restful music,
perform one of the basic relaxation exercises.
After you are relaxed, listen to the musical piece without interruption
for three minutes or more. As you
pay attention to your breathing, be aware of the individual and collective
sounds and their relationship to each other.
Take note of the harmony, the movement, the entrance and exit of the
various instruments. Be aware, too,
of how the music makes you feel. While
music is playing, it is easy to become lost in daydreams, so strive to be aware
of any unrelated thoughts that may come up.
If your mind wanders, gently return your focus to the music itself.
You may wish to devote three or four
minutes to this meditation exercise at first, and gradually increase your
practice to fifteen minutes or more.
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