Mind-Cation: Soothing Music From Around The World

Your alarm wakes you up at 5am and you've realised it's Monday. What's going through your mind are thoughts of exhaustion and misery as your dreading the long day at the office. You then decide to lie in bed for another fifteen minutes but that little time of extra sleep turns into an hour. All of a sudden your running late to work and all the trains have been delayed due to signalling problems. So you have no other option but to take an expensive taxi ride to work, but your still going to be late. Fast Forward to the end of the day, your boss gave you a hard time because you came in late, then all your coworkers bombarded you with extra tasks that needed to be completed. On top of all of that you found out that your recent job application was declined for your ideal workplace.

Your day was a mess, I get it, we've all been there. It's hard to escape all the reluctant thoughts of a chaotic day when the last twelve hours have been awful and tiring. All you want to do is to take off from your reality and go to anywhere in the world that allows you to be free and at peace with yourself. No tasks, no paperwork, no angry bosses, just you and another place free from any causes of a headache.

Now I don't know what the travel restrictions are for where you live in the world, but if your like me and you can't take a vacation physically then I'm going to share with you my mind-cation playlist titled "Soothing Music From Around The World" that will allow your mind to travel to several places for twenty-minutes.

This playlist is perfect those long, stressful days that plead you for an escapism to another place that will bring you happiness but can also be calm and peaceful. The music chosen consists of instrumentals from a wide range of cultures that will allow your mind to draw a picture of what the scenery would be like for where the music is coming from. All you need to do is find a quiet spot somewhere in your house or maybe outdoors in the park, then just close your eyes and stay still. This short vacation for your mind will work if you eliminate all distractions from the outside world and toss away those thoughts of misery that you brought upon yourself during your stressful day. So be at one with your mind, be relaxed and feel at ease with soothing music from around the world.

1. Bilanciamento Chakra, 5 min 52 secs

Namaste (Hindi)!

Allow your mind to be trapped in the sounds of a heavy drum beat alongside the bowed string instrumentals, as these sounds will take you on a journey to India. Imagine it's a humid, glistening day and your forehead is weeping down with sweat to try and cool you down, you would normally be complaining of how hot it is if you were back home, but your too relaxed to focus on the little things that you would normally worry about. Your mind will be concentrated on the scenery that you'll depict, as you would vision yourself outside a beautiful golden temple with an array of monks in bright, distinctive clothing playing the instruments that are calming your ears.

2. African Games, 1 min 53 secs

Mhoro (Shona)!

Now let's take a quick getaway to the continent of Africa. In this track you will hear the sounds of a xylophone that will gradually transform your mind from being outside a golden temple to the grounds of an animal kingdom. Picture yourself sitting down in the midst of the tall grass and watch the Hyenas, Meerkats and Elephants passing by whilst the sun is setting over your kingdom of happiness and peace. Your mind is completely blank, the hairs on your arms and legs are laying flat against your skin to symbolise inner peace and calmness. All your mind is doing is appreciating the view of the animals running wild in there natural state of habitat.

3. African Healing Drums, 3 min 48 secs

Salama (Malagasy)!

Your mind is still in Africa, you've already visualized the sunset over the precious animal kingdom but now your heading back to civilisation with an African tribe. There doing an evening ceremony to celebrate your arrival to their home. Drums are pounding to the rhythm of a beat whilst you hear a subtle drum beat in the background which relaxes the tone of the music. A variety of drums are working together, which can demonstrate how many different tribe members have come together to create this masterpiece for you. Your mind will be stuck in the evening ceremony throughout the duration of this track, and I guarantee that your body will start to move so your fully immersed in the tribal beat.

4. Madronos, 2 min 43 secs

Hola (Spanish)!

Next Stop is Europe! There's nothing more relaxing than listening to the strings of a spanish guitar whilst being on the streets of Barcelona, Madrid or Seville. Your mind will now take you to one of the cities in Spain and will allow you to imagine being a part of the spanish culture. Eating Paella on the streets, shopping through spanish boutique stores and most importantly enjoying the sound of a spanish guitarist that's playing in front of a glittering water fountain. Your mind will go to a fun, cultural street that's filled with life and colour from the people and architecture. A stress free place where everyone leaves there troubles behind and enjoying what's in front of them. You may not be physically present within this place, but your mind will certainly enjoy what it's imagining.

5. 6 Consolations, S 172... , 4 min 14 secs

Bonjour (French)!

Your mind-cation is not complete without a soothing peace of french classical music. You don't necessarily have to be outdoors to be in your "zen" mode. Your mind can picture yourself being in a fancy ballroom with lavish chandeliers dancing away in a large room that overlooks a view of the Eiffel Tower. All your focusing on is dancing to the sound of the music, maybe with someone else or on your own. You do gentle movements to represent how relax you are in your own state of mind, whether your dancing terribly (me) or not it doesn't matter. The only thing that your doing is enjoying the notes of the piano that will easily distract you from any negative thoughts.

6. Potere del Buddha, 3 min 30 secs

Konnichiwa (Japanese)!

Your mind-cation is now coming to an end. You will step outside of the ballroom in Paris and make way to the final destination which is a Japanese forest. This track opens up with the gentle sound of a wagakki which is a traditional Japanese flute and the echoing of birds through the forest. You will also hear the sound of someone cutting either fruit or a bamboo stick whilst the sound of the wagakki becomes stronger towards the end. Your mind could imagine yourself drinking naturally sourced hot tea out of a yunomi cup as you overlook a waterfall and river. As the music dies down your mind will close off your picture of the forest and will gradually be in tune with your eyes. You will depart from your mind-cation and feel at peace with yourself when you return back to reality.

Discouraging thoughts have now been cleared

You will now return back to the surface feeling composed and content with yourself despite the hardship of your day. You most likely will still have those thoughts of despair and anger but you will overlook them and see the good in what's to come. Once you start to have this positive attitude on a daily basis you will always be feeling relaxed and fortunate with what's in front you, even though your still eager for a holiday to a remote region. Don't worry I desperately need one too, it will happen soon for the both of us.

If your ever feeling discouraged with life in general, then I highly recommend giving this playlist a listen. I tune into this playlist whilst I'm relaxing in the bathtub at the end of a tough day and it certainly does allow my mind to unwind and release those thoughts of adversity. Whether your in the garden, lying down on the beach or simply in front of your work space at home, this playlist will be a great escapism for your mind to ease and distress from any worries and concerns that you may be carrying on a daily basis. Just remove all forms of technology, tell everyone in your household to leave you alone for the next twenty minutes and just be at peace with the music from around the world.

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Hi there!

Thank you so much for reading this article. Life can bring many challenges and difficulties that we sometimes don't expect. The best solutions to these problems can be to take a mind-cation and think or do something that will bring you joy and happiness within that moment in time. This short playlist can be one of them and will always be open on Spotify for you to listen to at anytime if you need a break from the chaos on the outside.

Be sure to give a love heart and tip if you can and I will be posting more how to's and fun, weird articles very soon. I love you for reading and have a awesome day!

xoxo Bethany Gordon