There is a saying in mindfulness practice that, “no breath is ever exactly the same.”

While not hard to see how this is technically true, one of the ideas behind it is that when we greet each moment with equanimity, we have a better chance of experiencing it honestly and fully. One of the byproducts is a more engaged existence in the world. Every conversation, every experience has a unique kind of potential.

I feel like there’s something built into music that guides the mind towards this practice of equanimity. There are so many factors both internally and externally that make listening to even recorded music continually unique.

There are the acoustics of the room and where you are in relation to the sound source. There are the medium and device on which you are listening. Even things like what kind of mood you’re in, how hungry you are or whether you are alone or with people can affect how you hear a particular piece of music.

Actively listening to music is a great way to train our minds to transcend the urge to follow our thoughts too far into an uncertain future and/or past. Sometimes it even feels like music transcends time and space altogether. I feel like, at times, after listening to an album I’ve really been though something, while other times it feels like a blink of an eye.

Below is a playlist of songs that have resonated with me in the past month. I hope they bring more joy to your life. Thanks for listening, MMM

Included are songs by:

(Subscribe to get a new playlist every 1st Monday of the month. Click on my user link or search: Major Matt’s 1st Monday on Spotify to cruise past playlists and discover more music.)