It’s not hard to figure out that the music business is crazy sometimes. That’s why as a rocker, I have turned to meditation, prayer and spirituality on a regular basis. In fact, it has taken over my music entirely. I am not going to lie, when I first started meditating I found it boring and tedious. I would sit for a minute and wonder if 10 minutes had already passed by. Many times I had no idea how to do it so I would just space out or ‘think’. But, thinking is not the idea here I’m told. One is to get to a flowing feeling of bliss and release thought…..hmmmmm. We are supposed to get beyond our thoughts and focus on our breath. Uhhhhh. Hmmmmm. I had no idea that focusing on my breath was beneficial.. or was it some weird practice that replaced drinking a bottle of wine? Both could be relaxing but one makes me sick. Hahahhaha
Then came the phase where I wanted to meet with peeps on the other side. Yeah! I wanted to have conversations and know what it’s like to slip past this life. Was it fun? Was it freeing? I’ve heard it was totally blissful and you can still keep in touch with friends on this side. Hmmm Well, all of my reasons for meditation have now birthed into the simple desire to have peace and focus in my life. I’ve also developed compassion now to some degree. So, when someone freaks out and yells at me, I think about what they could be feeling and experiencing to lash out like that. We never know what somebody else is going through.
There are numerous meditation gurus and programs available now. Mindfulness is the new opiate of choice. Yes, mindfulness goes along with meditation. Really it’s about slowing down and breathing in all that we do..not just meditation. I think millennials are getting it right when they want to preserve brain cells and make better choices than previous generations. I’m grateful that spirituality has infiltrated my music. In the past, I had one too many bass players kick me out of the band for being too spiritual. Now I’m proud of it. And go ahead and call me a meditation freak! I am mindful now!