Let's Ride to Zen in Under Forty Minutes

Strap in ladies and gentlemen because I'm about to show you how I calm the fuck down and Zen the fuck up. There's a steep build-up, followed by a drastic drop and a calm period of twirls and swirls, then the staccato of zigs and zags, a funky lull to enjoy the view from up on the rails, and one last thrill before you dismount and enjoy the rest of the day. Now I know what you're thinking: 'this sounds more like a rollercoaster than it does a Zen moment!' Yeah, I'm well aware, but for me, the point of the playlist is to build my Zen for the day after I listen, not necessarily while I listen. I am a fan of thrill rides and adrenaline boosters and one thing I always found is that while I'm on it, I'm screaming, laughing and waving my arms around like a auto sales balloon figure,

but once I disembark and my feet take a few steps on dry land, it's a serene feeling. In fairness, at least for me, these songs actually placate me a lot as I listen to them and many of them are instrumental-heavy so I get to be myself sitting alone just feeling every beat and melody. As someone who finds themselves listening to everything from Molly Johnson to Apashe, this playlist incorporates a bite from here and a piece from there for all the things I love in music to elevate me to Zen states comparable to a yogi.

My Body Is A Cage: Peter Gabriel

In my 22 years of life, this is probably my most listened-to song. Many will probably know the Arcade Fire version of this song and while brilliant, I can't put it on my list when there is the smooth, low tones of Peter Gabriel's voice matched with the vibrant, daunting-but-in-a-good-way symphonic accompaniment. It all makes me feel like I'm sitting in the middle of a large music hall with the stringed orchestra playing around me and the singer himself speaking in my mind. When I listen to this song, it has so much room for interpretation from the few words to the intensity and richness of the music but I often enjoy just letting it happen around me through my headphones. I find myself playing this song first because it has such a remarkable lift from a soft open to the apex and then just bringing it back down to tranquility at the end; it feels the same way I do when I start to try to reach zen mode.

Nuvole Bianche: Ludovico Einaudi

Ludovico Einaudi knew what he was doing when he played Nuvole Bianche. If fairy dust lightly raining down on lily pads with miniature ballroom dancers in a still river was a song, it would be Nuvole Bianche. After the crescendo of Peter Gabriel, this song has more of a gentle lift akin to waking up after a fulfilling beauty rest without any obligation to get out of bed. This is when I start to feel myself leave the stress and calm down. (It's also a great song to study to, and as someone who recently graduated university, I've done my fair share of study music trial-and-error.)

Smother: Daughter

Daughter's entire If You Leave discography is a masterpiece and I could write about that entirely on its own but I have to include Smother in my Zen playlist. Quite the somber song, it portrays someone emotionally raw and haggard. Not quite the description of Zen, but it allows me to connect with anything that has made me feel the same way as the artist.

"For my bones have found a place

To lie down and sleep"

For me, reaching a peaceful state is to remove myself of and from all the things that create the mental hinderances. This begins that sort of purge of my system.

Zombie: Cranberries

A favourite song of my mother's and now of mine as well, Cranberries' Zombie brought me to tears when I first understood the artist's ire and passionate anti-war significance to The Troubles and a bombing that killed two young kids. This is a much more edgy, loud, and punchy song when compared to the soft-spoken tones of Daughter, but the value of it in my Zen playlist is the same. I tend to put things off to the side, both tangible things and emotional matters, until I am ready to deal with them. When I listen to this song, I think about the things that may irk me, anger me, frustrate me. I take the time to assess myself before allowing the song to take me through its story. I may have to give it a replay before moving onto the next song.

The Untold: Secession Studios

A recent find for me, Secession Studio's The Untold is probably not known to many people by name, but has been heard in fight scenes and running montages. This is the elevated version of the crescendo that My Body is a Cage gave. It will make you feel like you can run for miles, fight a battle, complete all your tasks at once. This is me pulling myself out of the sadness that may have come from processing the last two songs. This is a song in my Zen playlist that acts as an antagonist of the first 4, a pick-me-up of sorts. The flawlessness of the cohesion of instruments to create this piece that I feel like I'm visualizing more than I'm hearing is when I start to feel myself letting go and unwinding.

Love: Kendrick Lamar

This is the start of the groove interval, where I can just lay back or walk slow and just hang out. Love is speculated to be about Kendrick Lamar's fiancée. It's a beautiful song detailing their long-lasting friendship, relationship, and connection that rivals story books and romantic movies.

"Sippin' bubbly, feelin' lovely

Livin' lovely

Just love me"

It reminds me of all the simple wonders in life, the people around me, the adventures that led me, the experiences that made me. With all that may be happening in the moment, there is all this good that is ever-present should you accept it. It's the happy phase neutralizing the sad era of this ride.

The Less I Know × Sexy Back: Tame Impala × Justin Timberlake

To be honest, I just really like this combination of songs. It's one of those songs you can put your headphones on and strut on the street like noone's business or have play quietly on the speakers in the background while finishing a close-to-due-date assignment. I often find at this point, the sound fades in the background a little while I'm focused on Zen. The steady beat of the song, the electric twang of the guitar, the pop taste of the lyrics, this is just the song to feel out the joy and awesomeness of being you. Plain and simple.

See What I've Become: Zack Hemsey

See What I've Become is one of those superhero scene type of songs. The one where the lone protagonist walks into the room to face his adversaries in the eye before engaging in an epic clash. Similar to the Secession Studios piece but with a different mindset; we're coming into this one after all the happy feelings and blissful rhythms. I listen to the strong beat of the drum in the background along with the orchestral forefront and feel like I am able to conquer anything.

Bruce Brubaker: Metamorphosis 5

Now, I am walking off the roller coaster of music, I have centered myself by teetering from one end to the other until both sides are balanced. I play a calm, soft song with a steady rhythm to allow serenity. An aptly named song for the playlist, metamorphosis 5 is truly what it is for me, a metamorphosis. I am finally on the other side, completely at peace and ready to go about the day.

And there you have it, 37 minutes and 38 seconds of musical bliss curated by me (because I don't think anyone else would compile a series of songs in this eclectic fashion) that gets me relaxed and centers me. In honesty, there are many iterations of this playlist that I could make because I am not one to ride the same rollercoaster to infinity and beyond, but the concept is the same. I find a mix of songs that carry me out in soothing turbulence until I transcend into my Zen state. Happy listening, folks!