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If you’re like me, you think of yourself as a pretty spiritual person. Though I have many flaws, I am one who likes to work toward being as enlightened as possible. I’ve written many times about the “spiritual shift” that I went through around five years or so ago. Since then, along with the topics that you read about frequently on this blog, I’ve read about and tried my hand at things like channeling, meditation, astral travel, automatic writing, manifesting, etc.
I mean no disrespect to some of the blogs I read or to spiritual leaders and authors out there, and I kind of feel funny posting this at all. But… let’s all be honest with ourselves. Do you get frustrated when you read material by psychics or spiritual leaders and realize that many of them have conflicting beliefs, stories, or statements? For example, one may say that I’ll see all of my former pets on the other side. Another says no. One says we can reincarnate as an animal. Another says no. One says when I die “the light” stays with me for a certain number of hours after my funeral. If I stay too long and miss my light then I’m doomed to be earthbound until I catch someone else’s. One says there’s a bridge in that light, but another says it’s a tunnel. And yet another says there is no light at all. When we pass, is there one big afterlife or are there different levels that we’ll be placed in according to how enlightened we are? Do we have 100% free will in this life or did we plan and script it all before we got here? And this next one drives me nuts. There is a popular book about auras and chakras out there. Well… the author no longer supports the information in the book, or even the idea that auras and chakras exist at all.
And here is the inspiration for this post. Many wise and spiritually enlightened people refer to themselves or others as being “lightworkers”, “mystical travelers”, or “mission-life entities”. I’m not sure if these are just different names for the same thing, but there is a book that I’m reading now that tends to be aimed toward people who accept the mystical traveler role. I’m not feeling the call to accept these positions so I feel a bit guilty. Or maybe since I feel I could never live up to or fit the description of a “mystical traveler” I just feel like I’m not a member of the club… and so why finish the book? Also, I’m confused. Do you accept these positions in life or on the other side before an incarnation? How does one know if they have been granted one of these titles? (Clearly, none of these belong to me or I wouldn’t be asking.) Is this something you choose to be? And if so, does one make this decision in life or before getting here?
Alright, I know there are too many question marks in this post, but bear with me for just a few more. There have been a few times in the last year or so where I’ve been in conversations with spiritual people, many who I respect and look up to. Sometimes I get corrected or told how something is or isn’t, even though there is clearly conflicting ideas out there. Is all of this spiritual wisdom coming from the same place and just interpreted differently? Or… is this wisdom just strong beliefs and opinions that are formed like anything else?
Even though it’s sad for me to think, my ego sometimes wonders if some of this information is just made up.
Okay, rant over. I need to get rid of this nasty aura and meditate. 😉
Some recent comments by friends and readers of this blog helped to inspire tonight’s post.
These comments were in response to one of my posts on the topic of meditation. Ash mentioned how easy it was for her to reach a meditative state when she was a teenager. In one of her comments she mentioned how she “could block it all out and just float right out of [her] head..”. Marilyn discussed how music (without lyrics) was a good source for meditation.
This really got me thinking back to some of my early memories and experiences involving music, and I wondered if some of these moments were me being in some kind of heightened meditative state.
I don’t recall ever leaving my body or experiencing anything truly supernatural, but growing up I remember sitting in my room with my Walkman listening to John Williams’ Jurassic Park soundtrack. I used to really be into film scores and John Williams is one of my biggest inspirations. I’d listen to one or two tracks over and over… sometimes probably for hours (I still do that… get addicted to one piece of music and can’t leave it). I remember many times being moved to tears by the feelings and emotions that are brought out by the music. I don’t think this was ever sadness, just me having a moment with the music.
There were other moments, like the times I would watch my mom with the choir from my church rehearsing or performing their Easter Cantatas from the sanctuary balcony. It was always the last scene that got me… always a big song with powerful orchestration and harmonies. The scene probably depicting Jesus’ resurrection. This, of course, led to me listening to the recordings of those cantatas over and over on my Walkman in the bedroom. Just sitting… listening… imagining things in my head… cue the tears. 🙂
When it comes to words or lyrics in music, honestly most of the time I don’t hear them. Many times I’ll sing along with the most random instrumental part deep in the background that most people don’t hear. So most of the time my emotional response just doesn’t have anything to do with the words or lyrics. This is sometimes hard for singers to understand. For so many people, the words ARE the music… and that’s hard for ME to understand… they just aren’t as important. As a vocal music teacher, I’m kind of in a category on my own I suppose. I often tell my students that you never know how someone will appreciate a piece of music or performance, or how a singer is experiencing it. It may not have anything to do with the words. Or… maybe I’m the only one.
So, I ask you this question… When we are having moving musical experiences, are these experiences just overactive emotions? Emotions are often connected with the Ego (sometimes thought of as our “false self”). Or, are our souls off spending time in some other spiritual realm without us consciously knowing it?
Moving Musical Experiences and the Meditative State…
Some recent comments by friends and readers of this blog helped to inspire tonight’s post.
These comments were in response to one of my posts on the topic of meditation. Ash mentioned how easy it was for her to reach a meditative state when she was a teenager. In one of her comments she mentioned how she “could block it all out and just float right out of [her] head..”. Marilyn discussed how music (without lyrics) was a good source for meditation.
This really got me thinking back to some of my early memories and experiences involving music, and I wondered if some of these moments were me being in some kind of heightened meditative state.
I don’t recall ever leaving my body or experiencing anything truly supernatural, but growing up I remember sitting in my room with my Walkman listening to John Williams’ Jurassic Park soundtrack. I used to really be into film scores and John Williams is one of my biggest inspirations. I’d listen to one or two tracks over and over… sometimes probably for hours (I still do that… get addicted to one piece of music and can’t leave it). I remember many times being moved to tears by the feelings and emotions that are brought out by the music. I don’t think this was ever sadness, just me having a moment with the music.
There were other moments, like the times I would watch my mom with the choir from my church rehearsing or performing their Easter Cantatas from the sanctuary balcony. It was always the last scene that got me… always a big song with powerful orchestration and harmonies. The scene probably depicting Jesus’ resurrection. This, of course, led to me listening to the recordings of those cantatas over and over on my Walkman in the bedroom. Just sitting… listening… imagining things in my head… cue the tears. 🙂
When it comes to words or lyrics in music, honestly most of the time I don’t hear them. Many times I’ll sing along with the most random instrumental part deep in the background that most people don’t hear. So most of the time my emotional response just doesn’t have anything to do with the words or lyrics. This is sometimes hard for singers to understand. For so many people, the words ARE the music… and that’s hard for ME to understand… they just aren’t as important. As a vocal music teacher, I’m kind of in a category on my own I suppose. I often tell my students that you never know how someone will appreciate a piece of music or performance, or how a singer is experiencing it. It may not have anything to do with the words. Or… maybe I’m the only one.
So, I ask you this question… When we are having moving musical experiences, are these experiences just overactive emotions? Emotions are often connected with the Ego (sometimes thought of as our “false self”). Or, are our souls off spending time in some other spiritual realm without us consciously knowing it?
I leave you with the theme to Jurassic Park.
**UPDATE – A follow up to this post: Thoughts from Karla McLaren on Music & Emotion… a Follow Up…
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9 Comments | tags: big seance, ego, false self, john williams, jurassic park theme, lyrics, meditating, meditation, meditative state, missouri spirit seekers, mo spirit seekers, mospiritseekers, moss, moving musical experiences, moving musical experiences and the meditative state, music, music and emotional response, musical experiences, other spiritual realms, paranormal, people who don't hear lyrics, seance, the big seance, vocal music, words and music | posted in Mediums/Psychics/Sensitives/Intuition, Spiritual, Spiritualism, Topics Inspired by Blog Comments