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Making Music and Meditation/Mindfulness/Buddhism
Hi there friends,
As a music-maker, songwriter and artist by profession (SUPER luctrative....hehehe - just kidding), who has for many years been prone to things like self-judgement, harsh self-criticism and writer's block, I was wondering what other meditators' experiences with making music has been, if anyone has any insights into creating freely without judging output, regardless of whether the output expresses anger, madness, unhappiness, joy, compassion, love, etc. ALL emotions.
I feel us artists don't have a choice in the matter - we will be terribly unhappy if we do not create in the way we want to.... in fact, NEED to. It's a difficult road to navigate, and difficult to get out of ones own way.
Wondering how meditation has changed/helped/affected your music-making. I feel it's important for artists to support each other, in a sangha kind of way.
(By the way, we're all creative, we're ALL artists:)
Love to you all,
Tim
As a music-maker, songwriter and artist by profession (SUPER luctrative....hehehe - just kidding), who has for many years been prone to things like self-judgement, harsh self-criticism and writer's block, I was wondering what other meditators' experiences with making music has been, if anyone has any insights into creating freely without judging output, regardless of whether the output expresses anger, madness, unhappiness, joy, compassion, love, etc. ALL emotions.
I feel us artists don't have a choice in the matter - we will be terribly unhappy if we do not create in the way we want to.... in fact, NEED to. It's a difficult road to navigate, and difficult to get out of ones own way.
Wondering how meditation has changed/helped/affected your music-making. I feel it's important for artists to support each other, in a sangha kind of way.
(By the way, we're all creative, we're ALL artists:)
Love to you all,
Tim
0
Comments
And don't think the meditation has to change you. Meditation might make you more peaceful. But you'd really have to meditate quite a bit to have more enlightened artistic ideas come to you in such a flow that the other ideas are usurped. And if that happens it means that your creativity has shifted but not ended.
But making music and art with purpose is always a journey into the unknown and you can't take the fear our of it, you can only see it and strive beyond it... Fearless creating!
One thing I know for sure, drugs, booze, and denial definitely don't achieve that, so I'll stick with meditation.
http://www.reverbnation.com/1soultoburn
Will anything come out of the session? Maybe, maybe not, but from my own experience I have a burst of creativity afterwards.
With peace,
as a guitarist (and sometimes keyboardist), thanks for the advice.
For me, the best music happens when I just watch myself play - it's not really me doing it. I place the hands on the instrument but the music seems to play itself and I feel as if I am in service to the music.
I believe the openness and quiet mind required to 'get out of the way' is greatly improved by meditation.
or as manifestation of bird nature… bird spirit…. bird talent?
A bird’s singing tells the story of bird consciousness and bird awareness…. the life experience of a bird!....to all who would hear it.
Would a musician’s playing be regarded as attachment…
or a manifestation of musician’s nature… musician’s spirit….musician’s talent?
The musician’s song tells the story of the musician’s consciousness and the musician’s awareness…. the life experience of the musician!
to all who would hear it.
To be an artist is to tell the story.
An artist tells the story….. of suffering!
To tell the story of anger, of madness, of confusion, of unhappiness, of loss…
to tell the story of suffering, and to tell it with gut wrenching honesty….
helps others to hear, to witness, to understand, to release, and to heal….
the sufferings of themselves and others.
It encourages all those who would hear the story
to seek the path to avoid suffering and the causation of suffering.
This is practice, not attachment.
To be an artist is to tell the story.
An artist tells the story....of compassion!
To tell the story of friendship, support, cooperation, camaraderie, tenderness, devotion, love, family, and to tell it with gut wrenching honesty…
helps others to hear, to witness, to understand, and to feel what it really means to strive for compassion toward oneself and others.
It encourages all those who would hear the story
to seek the path of compassion for self and other.
This is practice, not attachment.
It is difficult practice to be an artist.
Art demands absolute gut-wrenching honesty of self,
and absolute gut-wrenching vulnerability of self…
in a world where everybody on the block is so terrified of both that
they often spend their lives trying to silence honesty in themselves and others
any way they can
but most often in attachment, in addiction…
How does one survive as an artist in such a world?
By devoting oneself to telling the story openly and honestly such that it may accurately reflect the nature of suffering, and of compassion,
with the intention of helping all sentient beings better understand the nature of suffering and compassion.
An artist is a bird.
Sing, bird!
Let your song go out fearlessly...
let it go….let it go….let it go...
and fly!
The above poem is beautiful. Thank you. Is it an original? Who may I quote as an author?
My name is Aura. Aura Waters.
with metta,
Aura
Thank you for your wonderful responses. They are beautiful and thoughtful, and very helpful.
Thank you thank you:)
With much love,
Tim