Meditating Without Meditation

For years, I've been bombarded with a phrase in every self help book, blog, and video:

“You HAVE to meditate!”

Folks, I've tried. A lot. Guided. Unguided. Eyes open. Eyes closed. Sitting. Kneeling. With candles. In darkness. The jury is in - I hate it. Every time.

I generally found that I was less centered after meditating, and more just....well, annoyed. So I finally told that to my therapist. Then she said one of the best sentences I've ever heard. “Then don't meditate!”

You have no clue what a relief this was to hear. She followed that by saying that meditation isn't for everybody, and it obviously isn't for me. But she also said that I have to find something else instead. Something that centers me, and makes me focus. So, I've finally found something.

Albums.

We live in a very consumer-heavy society, and that sadly affects how we generally listen to music. We have unlimited access to unlimited music. If we don't like something in the first 5 seconds, we can just hit “next.”

I've been listening to the same 12-or-so albums for about 6 years now, unless it's music I'm learning for a performance. It's always been mildly embarrassing, and I never understood how other people seemed to know about so much more music than I did. Whenever I would try to listen to a new band, I would decide immediately that they aren't for me.

So, what does this have to do with replacing meditation? It's pretty simple. I've made the decision to listen to a new album every day for the past month. And I mean really listen. Whether I like the album right away or not. All the way through. Not just in the background – but actively listening. Here's what I've discovered: I've yet to listen to an album that didn't have something I liked! There is always something that intrigues me. And when I hear that intriguing bit, I save that song into an ongoing set-list for more casual listening later.

For me, this has given me the effects that meditation was “supposed” to give me. I feel centered after a session. I have a sense of calm. And that is the entire point of meditation, at least for me. You don't need to meditate formally to get the benefit. You just need to give something your focused attention for a bit of time each day. Maybe it's knitting, painting, piano, soldering electronics, or writing blog posts. The medium is not the important part. It's the focus.

I'm sure within the next month I'll be ready to start listening to the albums from the start again. And I'm sure I'll find even more songs within them that I will appreciate. It's feeling great to expand my musical library!

If you want to try my specific album challenge, there are plenty of “Daily Album” sites you can find through Google. You could do the same with daily projects, writing prompts, etc. depending on your medium. Have some fun and explore!

Take care,

Stephen