These days, I spend a lot of time commuting. The traffic is bothersome. I avoid milder versions of road rage. At the same time, my life is busy for various reasons. I want to keep a cool head and a warm heart! One thing I’ve found to help myself, which I think could help others, is listening to ambient music. My radio station subscription has a channel or two. I can use the channel on an app at home, at work or anywhere. The music gives me a feeling of calm amid a busy day. It helps me relax and think. It also can aid in self-reflection and daydreaming.
Ambient music may not be your cup of tea. That’s okay. Many kinds of music can be used to produce a feeling of calm or some other type of desired feeling of course. However, many people search for a way to release some of their tensions in a way that doesn’t accelerate our active energies. Instead, it deepens internal calm and harmony, which enables mindfulness.
Ambient music has a lot of forms. Some examples are meditation, space music, new age, reiki and fantasy. I didn’t know there are ambient house and ambient dub forms, among others. The Wiki page on ambient music has some words I associate with ambient music as part of its genealogy and development: “chill out,” “atmospheric” and “open.” I was happy to see it has some influences from Erik Satie, a favorite musician. Some of its mainstay performers, among thousands, are Brian Eno, Kevin Keller, William Ackermann, Tim Story, and the late Darshan Ambient/Michael Allison. Not to be romantic about the genre, it has its critics, as the Wiki page notes. Boo on them. Of course, music is a matter of taste and preference.
I developed years ago the habit of writing down song titles. Later, I make them into a playlist. I did this for many years in anticipation of my marriage. There wasn’t much time to play more than a few, but I did play some songs (they weren’t ambient) on that special day. Nowadays, I use playlists at home or work as background music. Sometimes, I share them with my family or friends. The playlist consists of pictures of the songs on my LCD in the car a lot. That’s where I have the most time to listen.
In Korea and the United States, there is a lot of emphasis on fast pace and hurry. It’s praised by many, and accepted by most, but not a good thing beyond the margin. Of course, there are times when one must go fast and accelerate, but as a general way of living, working, or being, it’s not good enough. We tire, we drain, and we need to have a more even flow of energy and effort. In particular, this is true at the intersection of our activities involving others. For example, in my work, I have a variety of meetings. There have been times that listening to an ambient song or several as part of my preparation made the meeting go much better than anyone knew. It helped me to accept the tensions, disagreements or conflicts that would’ve occurred to anyone due to the meetings’ contexts but to do so with greater harmony, level-headedness, energy and calm. In a word, ambient music makes for mindfulness.
I remember Plato’s Republic and the strictures or warnings Plato’s Socrates made about music. Music can take one away from reason and become a kind of drug. One doesn’t want to be a zombie because of calming music, or any music or therapy. However, just as Plato isn’t the same as Plato’s Socrates, the critique of music isn’t a slam-dunk. Music, effectively used, is a tool to aid the heart and mind. It reminds the soul of the true, good, and right, as well as their opposites.
Have you ever tried Ambient music? I encourage you to do so. It certainly can produce benefits for our busy lives. It can help to maintain a calm that carries one forward, through all manner of effects.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and academic services and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
A musical practice for mindfulness
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06.05.2024
These days, I spend a lot of time commuting. The traffic is bothersome. I avoid milder versions of road rage. At the same time, my life is busy for various reasons. I want to keep a cool head and a warm heart! One thing I’ve found to help myself, which I think could help others, is listening to ambient music. My radio station subscription has a channel or two. I can use the channel on an app at home, at work or anywhere. The music gives me a feeling of calm amid a busy day. It helps me relax and think. It also can aid in self-reflection and daydreaming.
Ambient music may not be your cup of tea. That’s okay. Many kinds of music can be used to produce a feeling of calm or some other type of desired feeling of course. However, many people search for a way to release some of their tensions in a way that doesn’t accelerate our active energies. Instead, it deepens internal calm and harmony, which enables mindfulness.
Ambient music has a lot of forms. Some examples are meditation, space music, new........
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