MUSIC MEDITATION

Music can soothe the soul and quiet the mind.

Almost everyone has experienced the warm fuzzy feelings of a good song and peaceful music.

The benefits of music are known universally. When combined with breath, intention and visualization, music can become a pathway to the deepest spaces within the soul.

The techniques for this are simple and easily accessible, allowing most people to experience the quieting effects of meditation and discover relaxation, sleep and a quiet mind using music and breath.

Many people who find traditional meditation difficult, discover the addition of music to be beneficial in stilling the mind and soothing the soul. Music meditation works for people of all ages, beliefs and levels of physical health.

In this approach, the mind is not quieted by force. Instead, normal mental activity is guided to be aware of the physical sensations of breath moving through the body, and of the visceral, tangible sensations of music as it plays. Naturally, the mind will wander, and when it does one simply brings the awareness back to breath, body and music.

When doing this, a person remembers to relax and then allows the body to tangibly relinquish tension and grow heavy. This progressive cycle of relaxation eventually opens the deepest states of conscious sleep, awareness while the body remains asleep. In this state, a person experiences the subtle aspects of the self which are always present, yet usually invisible and forgotten in the activity of the day.

When accessing this place within, a deep healing can take place. What happens for each person is different, unique to their needs. Essentially, by quieting the mind the energetic resources of the body are better able to function. In a relaxed state, the healing of body and mind happens according to the natural guidance of the body. Much like how a bruise or cut heals, the innate wisdom of ones body has amazing healing qualities yet they must be allowed to function, be activated and flow.

The experience allows a person to distinguish between the soul-self and the other subtler aspects that make up the whole being. This is a distillation process and a way to approach the classical, ancient question, Who Am I?

The music used for these experiences combine the sounds of nature and vibroacoustic music, or music which has vibrational qualities that can be felt in the body.

The didgeridoo, harmonium, flute, and 36″ frame drum are all used to help the mind relax by gently connecting to the somatic, felt, physical sensations. Long sounds and long breaths naturally result in a longer brainwave, connected to sleep, relaxation and dreaming.

Music meditation is more than listening to music, its also literally felt in the body, kinesthetically.

Subtle vibration can help soothe the mind, much as a baby falls asleep when riding in a car. Subtle music sensation that has purpose can help a person navigate the deeper inner spaces, and remain connected to the physical world. For some people, it can be a way to consciously explore the subconscious aspects of their own personality.

Vibroacoustic Meditation Relaxation has been linked to

  • Improved sleep.
  • Reduced Stress and Anxiety.
  • Lowered Blood Pressure.
  • Calmer Breath.
  • Enhanced Energy.
  • Relief from PTSD, Grief, Addictions, Trauma, & Abuses.
  • Supportive Growth of Emotional Integration.
  • Developed Self-Awareness.
  • Improved Creativity.
  • Healthy Self-Esteem & Improved Body Image.
  • Conscious Dreaming and Inspiration.

Every meditation session is different, the instrumentation varies and may include:.

  • Didgeridoo.
  • 36″ Frame Drum.
  • Singing Bowls
  • Guitar.
  • Bass Guitar
  • Tenor Dulcimer.
  • Native and Silver Flutes.
  • Piano and Keys.
  • Singing Bowls, Gongs, Bells, Chimes
  • Rattles and Lite Percussion.
  • Non-Traditional Djembe, Doubmek, & Djun Djun


MUSIC MEDITATION VIDEOS by LIVING ARTISAN

Relax. Feel the Breath Slow Down. Feel the Body Grow Heavy. Listen to the Music. Relax.


 

Videos Supporting the Science of Music Meditation

Presentations about Music and Meditation. Some serious, some fun.

The Sound the Universe Makes.

We think of space as a silent place. But physicist Janna Levin says the universe has a soundtrack — a sonic composition that records some of the most dramatic events in outer space. (Black holes, for instance, bang on spacetime like a drum.) An accessible and mind-expanding soundwalk through the universe.

Source.

Your Brain and Music

Neuroscientist and musician Alan Harvey takes us on an interactive journey showing live on stage what music does to our brain waves, and explains how music is more than just an entertainment. You’ve never seen music like this before…

Music Meditation – Health, Research & Discovery

Scientific Abstracts and Articles about Music and Meditation.

Evelyn Glennie

Channel for an amazing percussionist, Evelyn Glennie. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ7z4D7hDRc8Njzbm8Ydfg

The Health Benefits of Natural Sounds

Scientific study exploring the benefits of natural sounds. It demonstrates an overall positive result for most people, both when hearing the sounds inside or outside. Some sounds worked better for soothing nerves, such as water. The overall mean effect size for health and positive affect outcomes was 1.63 (95% CI = 0.09, 3.16), corresponding to a 184% overall improvement in groups exposed to natural sounds relative to comparison groups (Fig. 1). The large variance in effect sizes was due to one study with particularly large effect sizes (28). The overall…

3-Hz Binaural Beats Effect on Delta Sleep

“These findings suggested that the 3-Hz binaural beat on a 250-Hz carrier tone can be used to modulate sleep stage by decreasing the latency to the N3 stage, extending the N3 duration, and reducing the N2 duration without sleep disturbance and sleep fragmentation, while increasing the quality of sleep in this study is also associated slow wave sleep in which is related to memory consolidation and other regulation of the body; and the 3-Hz binaural beat can enhance power of delta activity during sleep. ” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6165862/

Custom Tailored Music Demonstrated to Ease Tinnitus

Abstract : Maladaptive auditory cortex reorganization may contribute to the generation and maintenance of tinnitus. Because cortical organization can be modified by behavioral training, we attempted to reduce tinnitus loudness by exposing chronic tinnitus patients to self-chosen, enjoyable music, which was modified (“notched”) to contain no energy in the frequency range surrounding the individual tinnitus frequency. After 12 months of regular listening, the target patient group (n = 8) showed significantly reduced subjective tinnitus loudness and concomitantly exhibited reduced evoked activity in auditory cortex areas corresponding to the tinnitus frequency…

The Neurochemistry of Music

“Music is used to regulate mood and arousal in everyday life and to promote physical and psychological health and well-being in clinical settings. However, scientific inquiry into the neurochemical effects of music is still in its infancy. In this review, we evaluate the evidence that music improves health and well-being through the engagement of neurochemical systems for (i) reward, motivation, and pleasure; (ii) stress and arousal; (iii) immunity; and (iv) social affiliation. We discuss the limitations of these studies and outline novel approaches for integration of conceptual and technological advances…

Brain Connectivity and Human Response to Musical Aesthetics

In Summary, Musicians have more neurons in the emotional and social processing areas of their brains … music = emotional intelligence. “Using a combination of survey data, behavioral and psychophysiological measures and diffusion tensor imaging, we found that white matter connectivity between sensory processing areas in the superior temporal gyrus and emotional and social processing areas in the insula and medial prefrontal cortex explains individual differences in reward sensitivity to music. Our findings provide the first evidence for a neural basis of individual differences in sensory access to the reward…

Effects of Rosary Prayer and Mantra on the Heart

Objective To test whether rhythmic formulas such as the rosary and yoga mantras can synchronise and reinforce inherent cardiovascular rhythms and modify baroreflex sensitivity. Design Comparison of effects of recitation of the Ave Maria (in Latin) or of a mantra, during spontaneous and metronome controlled breathing, on breathing rate and on spontaneous oscillations in RR interval, and on blood pressure and cerebral circulation. Results Both prayer and mantra caused striking, powerful, and synchronous increases in existing cardiovascular rhythms when recited six times a minute. Baroreflex sensitivity also increased significantly, from…

Musical Thanatology – Music for Transforming the Dying Experience

“During a music vigil, the music thanatologist offers music in a prescriptive way. With careful attention to the patient’s vital signs and physiological needs, he or she adjusts the elements of music — such as melody, phrasing and rhythm — to provide an individually-tailored response. The goal of a music vigil is to relieve suffering and to bring beauty and comfort to the dying process.” Source : https://www.nextavenue.org/music-dying/ Source : https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/palliative-and-supportive-care/article/family-members-views-on-the-benefits-of-harp-music-vigils-for-terminallyill-or-dying-loved-ones/9DC5385B43774ADB21603CD789F2E0B1 Source : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/104990910602300206

A Neuroscientist Explores the “Sanskrit Effect” – How Mantra Increases Cognitive Function

“We studied a group of verbal memory specialists to determine whether intensive oral text memory is associated with structural features of hippocampal and lateral-temporal regions implicated in language processing. Professional Vedic Sanskrit Pandits in India train from childhood for around 10years in an ancient, formalized tradition of oral Sanskrit text memorization and recitation, mastering the exact pronunciation and invariant content of multiple 40,000-100,000 word oral texts. We conducted structural analysis of gray matter density, cortical thickness, local gyrification, and white matter structure, relative to matched controls. We found massive gray…

Improvisational Music and Depression Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6489303/ “Improvisational music therapy is suitable for basically all client groups without the need for specific musical training, and can be successfully applied even when one’s ability for verbal expression is limited [13, 14]. Any adult with normally developed cognitive skills and abstract thinking is able to connect symbolic and experience-based mental contents to their musical expression in clinical improvisations. They are also able to verbalise, in other words to further process, their music-based experiences and to interpret these experiences in the light of their current life situation [15].” “The…