The Playlist Augury Technique

Imagine there was a way to talk to yourself without using your own words. What could you unlock in the depths of your psyche with the right phrases heard at just the right time? The Playlist Augury Technique, the third and final part of meta-alchemy is all about doing exactly that and more. Part philosophical practice, part self-therapy, the technique uses the universal language of music to bridge to your innermost self, to your keenest intuitive instincts, or to another person altogether—depending on how the playlist is composed and the introspection you practice while listening to it.

An important part of using the Playlist Augury Technique is to couple it with motion. This could be as simple as EFT: emotional freedom tapping, which combines accupressure with other techniques but results in simple tapping on different parts of the body to elicit emotional results. It could be as mundane as doing dishes or laundry or some other seemingly endless task we're faced with in everyday life. Or it could be as vibrant as singing and dancing to the music itself. Whatever you do, make sure to involve your body. It's vital to the therapeutic effectiveness of the technique.

What Is the Playlist Augury Technique?

The Playlist Augury Technique is a combination of safe, effective, and self-guided EMDR with music therapy as a framework that makes it uniquely suited to those unable to access traditional EMDR because they're still in the trauma, have disqualifying conditions such as DID, or due to financial or other socioeconomic factors. It was developed by accident by a woman who broke a decade of brainwashing with a playlist she built for work and it sparked an entire philosophy called metAlchemy. Before the principles and the mantras, the playlist came first.

The theory is simple: create a massive playlist with songs from all manner of vibes with one thing in common: you won't skip them. Then, while you listen to your unskippable songs on random, perform tasks that engage your body bilaterally while keeping your targeted introspection in the back of your mind. Whenever one of your songs pings off that introspection, follow that thought down a rabbit hole, but stop when the song ends—lest you get stuck in a wheel of rumination and miss the next ping in the next song.

How Do You Build a Playlist for the Augury Technique?

This is the hard work but also the fun. If you check out my Patreon, you'll find more targeted information for three types of Augury Playlist: Talk to Yourself (interrogative, deep introspection), Talk Back (interpersonal, conversational introspection), and Manipulate Fate (intuitive, intellectual introspection). But the basics are the same and the vibes all come from the same list, they're just cherry picked for each purpose. It's fine to start with a playlist with all the vibes and whittle it down to your real goal in the second step—cull and cultivate.

Step 1: Build

Pick a playlist app with a shuffle-play feature. My personal favorite is Youtube Music, but Spotify works, too. I'm sure there are others; comment with your favorites below! Add 500 songs that make you want to sing, dance, laugh, cry, yell, run, move and that match the vibes below:

love

self-love

confidence

rebellion

kink/sex

nostalgia

humor

joy

friendship

heartbreak

angst

evolution

diss tracks

in-jokes

history

science

self-discovery

self-rediscovery

pop culture

nerddom

loss

coming of age

loneliness

celebration

futuristic

fantasy

dreams

narratives/storytelling

global oneness

worship

family

anger

sadness

domination

If you're thinking, "These seem contradictory!" That's the point. The idea is to create a sense of emotional whiplash that prevents rumination and shakes loose revelations in your inner-most self. Remember, you chose these specific songs for a reason, you just haven't figured out what it is yet. Eventually, you will be thinking of something and one will come on that feels like it's answering that particular thought. That is why I call the playlist an augury: that sense of resonance between the song, the playlist builder, and the playlist listener.

Step 2: Cull and Cultivate

a) Delete any duplicates, unless the versions are so different you can listen to them back-to-back-to-back.

b) Delete any song you skip more than once in recent memory. Seriously. Even if it's your favorite. Even if it's the best song ever written. If you skip it twice, it doesn't belong in this playlist.

c) Delete any song that consistently affects your mood for 10+ minutes or throws your nervous system off, even in a good way. Even if it's your favorite. Even if it's the best song ever... you get the idea.

d) Maintain a playlist of 250-300 songs that you regularly add new songs to because they make you feel the vibes. These will change over time as your tastes evolve and your needs from the playlist change. This is normal and shows the process is working.

Step 3: Introspect

While you're listening to your music, practice thinking to yourself:

"I already know what I'm meant to do. I've been laying the groundwork for my destiny my whole life and it's time for me to put the peices together."

or "I know exactly how to handle communicating with this person and I already know what to say the next time we come into contact with each other."

or "I know who I am and I know that I am worthy of love and compassion because I am a human being who deserves it from those in my life, starting with myself."

Or, if none of these introspections quite hit the mark, try combining them into one that works for you as an individual. Think on your introspection as you move to the music and let the playlist speak to you in a language only you can hear because each playlist is unique to the person who made it, even though the songs speak to hundreds of millions of fans around the world.

You're not limited to a single playlist, either. I have several. Some for people I love, to act as bridges when we're apart and can't speak as much as we'd like. One for taking on the world and another for talking to myself (the original). Build as many as you need to do whatever you need them to do.

~Maia