Jamie Pabst knows first hand about music's healing powers. As a sound and music technologist, Jamie curates sound experiences for meditation and mindful living. "Music’s impact on our brain is very real.  I believe more people can (and should) benefit from a more holistic approach to the music they hear on a daily basis," she said.    

Deep, mindful listening practices can help us achieve a meditative state by not only calming our mind and body, but by also helping us bust through the mental junk that accumulates throughout our busy daily life.  "When we are able to successfully use music as a modality for meditation, we create 'peak experiences,' which enable us to perform at our best...mentally, physically and spiritually."

Jamie mentions that music selection for stress can be subjective, and what works for one person doesn't always work for another. "The truth is that it’s really all about your personal relationship to the type of music that resonates with you and the insights you are able to glean from listening to your own personal playlist."  Fortunately, there is a general checklist that can serve as a guide to selecting your own music that can help you down-regulate to achieve a state of calm, relaxation and focus in your desired state of meditation

• Ambient tones

• Drone notes

• Reverb synth

• Oceanic sounscapes

• Nature sounds (water, birdsong, etc)

• Gentle sounds of string instrumentation, piano, vocals, etc

"The general rule of thumb is to look for music that feels almost like you can float away, but with enough grounding sounds to keep you focused," said Jamie.  

Tune in with your tunes out and enjoy!