Blissful Instrumental For My Zen

Music is great, but I am not a huge music fan. Unless I am doing a certain activity like working out or chores at home, I do not listen to music daily. Even though there are many artists that I enjoy listening to, I do not have posters of them in my bedroom. I do not attend concerts even if the tickets are extremely cheap. I rarely keep up with the latest popular song unless I hear about it from my 12-year-old daughter. I do not have a huge CD rack nor a thick CD holder filled with compact discs. Now and days, if I want to listen to music, I either use my iTunes, Pandora, or YouTube. However, my main reason for watching YouTube is not watching music videos. Even in the car, I listen to podcasts most of the time. I do not even have the desire to watch the Grammy Awards. Also, I was not too thrilled about Myspace redesigning their platform to focus primarily on music – but that is a whole different topic that I can get into later. I am not indicating that I dislike music. After all, there are some music artists that I enjoy listening to, and it all depends on my mood. I just do not fully consider myself as a big-time music lover.

However, I always desire my Zen. After all, it puts me in a reality where I am separated from thinking about my worries. It brings me to a peaceful and joyful state. It makes me feel great about myself. It helps build my confidence of bettering myself and reaching my personal goals. Being in a Zen meditative state prepares me to be more focused, creative, positive, and energized.

When it comes to relaxation, meditation, or even the process of creating a story idea, my go-to music is instrumental – always has been and always will be. Why instrumental? Lyrics can easily distract me from being in the moment. Nothing wrong with vocal music and listening to lyrics. If I am ever in the mood to listen to a favorite song during my alone time, I would sing out the words. However, the singing part is rare. But regarding meditation, relaxation, and having the motivation to come up with a new story, I prefer that no words are involved. This would help me have a more intimate connection with my mind. However, there are some exceptions. If it is by one of my favorite artists and if it puts me in a relaxing state, I will listen to vocal music.

RELAXATION

Relaxation is highly essential because it can improve our wellbeing. Imagine having a long day at work which can be highly stressful. One of the ways to relieve stress is just by relaxing. In reality, stress can have an extremely negative effect on us mentally, emotionally, and even physically. After all, stress is considered a “silent killer.” When I am aware that I am stressed out, relaxing is the first thing I want to do to break away from stress. The music from the Soundscapes station on Pandora help me get into a deep relaxation. I have named a few below.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 14 In C Sharp Minor ("Moonlight"), Op. 27/2” by Lisa Spector A Stroll By The Sea

This is a piece that has a mix of ocean sounds and sonata. I love the beach. I enjoy hearing the sound of the ocean waves hitting the shores. When I listen to this, it reminds me of being at the beach. The music soothes my soul.

“The Calling” by 2002 Land of Forever

I love the combination of the flute, keyboard, oboe, and bagpipes. There is also a soft sound of a choir in the background. This piece makes me feel like I am relaxing in the mountains.

“Music For Deep Healing” by George Winter Music for Healing

This ethereal-like music includes the sound of nature. It is definitely a stress relieving piece. It gives me the feeling of rejuvenation and self-acceptance.

“A Day Without Rain” and “Only Time” by Enya A Day Without Rain

Enya is probably my favorite New Age music artist. Her music can easily put me in a lovely trance, and she has an unbelievably beautiful voice. The piano in “A Day Without Rain” was well-played. There are lyrics in “Only Time,” but at least, the song makes me feel positive and peaceful.

“Eventide” by Michael Hoppe The Unforgetting Heart

This piece has a mix of flute, violin, and oboe. Also, it has an Eastern-like sound to it. It sounds like something from an Asian film. When I hear this music, it makes me feel inspired.

“Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24” from Christmas Eve and Other Stories album and “Christmas Canon” from The Lost Christmas Eve album by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of my favorite bands because they are known for playing Christmas music in symphonic rock genre. Well-known composers have inspired them to play popular pieces in their own version. “Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24” was inspired by Mykola Leontovych's "Shchedryk.” Sure, the guitar in this piece gives a little bit of high energy. However, the music still puts me in a peaceful, joyful mood during my favorite time of the year. “Christmas Canon” was inspired by Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major." Angelic choir is included in the music, and it even relaxes me when I am not rushing to complete my Christmas shopping.

After A Workout

Whenever I find the motivation to exercise at Planet Fitness (instead of my basement), I like to relax my body after a good workout. What I mean by relaxing my body? I was referring to utilizing the Hydro Massage bed – which is amazing. It is a ten-minute massage session. They have a monitor where you can watch videos, listen to music, play games, or read books. Usually, I would select the Music section. The type of sounds I prefer are beach sounds. I feel the best ones are Beach 2 and Beach 4.

MEDITATION

Meditation is one of my favorite activities that put me in a state of peace, positivity, and self-acceptance. It also prepares me for self-improvement. There are many, many, many different benefits of meditation. There are different reasons why a person meditates; it all depends on the individual. Practitioners meditate to improve their mental, emotional, spiritual, and/or physical well-being. Click The Benefits of Meditation to find out what this practice can potentially do for a person.

I prefer to use YouTube to find my meditation music. There are a little more than a dozen YouTubers that I listen to when it comes to meditation. They are all similar, but they have their own style of sounds. Their videos have different magic-like images that shift flowingly.

Brainwave Music

Brainwave Music brings me incredibly good vibes. There are beautiful sounds that make me a little emotional in a more positive way. I love the mix of binaural beats and soundscapes in their videos. I do not play the videos so I can watch them. However, I find the images very alluring and peaceful to watch.

ZenLifeRelax

ZenLifeRelax has more calming sounds. This channel focuses on mindfulness, spiritual growth, and personal development. It almost provides a hypnotic feel to it. Many times, I feel confident and peaceful when listening to the sounds.

Lovemotives Meditation Music

Lovemotives Meditation Music focuses more on manifestation. The frequencies in these sounds vary. There is vibrational energy in the binaural beats included in the channel’s videos. Listening to these videos makes me feel that I have the potential to manifest improvement in my life.

Meditative Mind

Meditative Mind is exceedingly popular when it comes to listening during meditation, and it is also my favorite YouTube channel for meditation. After all, the channel has over three million subscribers. There are more selections of different activations and advancements on a mental and spiritual level. Distinct videos focus on raising positive energy, attracting love, improving inner love, manifesting miracles, raising one’s vibration, promoting lucid dreaming, connecting to higher self, practicing law of attraction, releasing negative energy (like fear and anxiety), and many others. The videos have ethereal sounds ranging from 432 Hz to 963 Hz. These sounds are very mystical, and they give a refreshing vibrational feeling. Some have nature background that sounds magical. Some have this cosmic sound for sleep. Some sound angelic for healing. Also, I like that some of the sounds have a mix of hang drums and flute playing. Overall, these videos give me a feeling of going through a gentle detox.

One of the things that I like to focus on is balancing my chakras in this channel. There are seven different chakras ranging from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Each chakra has a different color and function. Listening to the sounds in the videos can align all seven chakras and aid in spiritual healing when these chakras connect. Below is the chart where you can get a better understanding of these chakras.

How do the videos of these chakras affect me whenever I listen to them?

Root Chakra – I feel my body stabilized and energized.

Sacral Chakra – I can experience my emotions flowing very freely.

Solar Plexus Chakra – I have a feeling of confidence and courage.

Heart Chakra – It feels like my energy is more joyful and my self-acceptance improving.

Throat Chakra – It makes me feel more confident about expressing myself.

Third Eye Chakra – I can feel myself more focused and having the ability to think more clearly. In addition to that, I feel more creative and intuitive.

Crown Chakra – It feels like my awareness goes to a higher state.

Of course, there are other YouTube channels I listen to for meditation. The ones I mentioned are the main channels I enjoy more.

STORY IDEAS

I consider my writing an escape from reality or to distract myself from the issues in my life – especially when I want to come up with a story idea. Granted, writing does not eliminate what is going on in my reality. However, I consider it a coping skill. Using writing as a coping skill stops me from focusing on the situations that are bothering me. When I use this coping skill, my mind enters a relaxing state. When my mind is calm, I have an opportunity to come up with a story idea.

One of the ways I come up with a story idea is by listening to instrumental music – mostly, movie scores. I would randomly listen to instrumental pieces to initiate a story idea – whether they are from a film or a new age album. When I listen to an instrumental music for a story idea, I come up with a creative scene or setting that would have a similar piece playing in the background. When I think of a scene, that would lead me to coming up with a story idea that would have this particular scene. For example, I listen to works of composer John Williams, and he happens to be one of my favorite composers. John Williams is known for music from Star Wars and Superman. Of course, I would not come up with the same stories that the music came from.

Let us say I want to use “Jurassic Park Main Theme “by John Williams. Obviously, I would not come up with a story about dinosaurs. When I listen to the theme of Jurassic Park, I imagine a spaceship flying in a new planet, and the characters are in awe when they see this planet for the first time. Now that I came up with a scene for this, the story can be about a group of astronauts discovering a new planet in the year 2050, and they have to battle green aliens in a new war.

“The Planet Krypton” by John Williams is another good one to use. The story will not be about a superhero with a cape. This piece can help me think of a scene that has assassins preparing for a final battle with zombies during an apocalypse. The story could be about a zombie apocalypse that wiped out half of the world, and the top assassins work together to try and save the world.

Conclusion

I enjoy the benefits of the music I mentioned. Each one that I listen to has a certain goal or a few goals that I want to reach. With these pieces, I can imagine myself being at a beach, put myself in happier mood, sought enlightenment, activate my chakras, improve concentration, express my creativity, or even just relax. The list can be endless. Sadly, each music does not have a permanent effect. I could listen to a music to feel joyful and positive one day. The next day, I could go back to feeling stressful and having negative thoughts. In many cases, I would have to repeat listening to these pieces whenever things like negative moods arise or I want to continue focusing on self-improvement. Regardless of what Zen-like music I listen to and how many times I have to play them, I always find myself being in a peaceful bliss.