Album Meditations: How (Intentional) Listening to Music Can Calm You Down

The idea behind album meditations is simple. You will listen to an album, all the way through in one sitting while doing nothing else. The practice of it, however, is not simple at all. When was the last time you sat still and single tasked for 30-60 minutes?

If this is your first time attempting an album meditation, please read this entire post so you can get a solid overview of what it’s about. For those who need a refresher or are in a hurry, let’s dispense with the basic instructions up top.

Album Meditations: Basic Rules

1. Set aside 30 minutes to an hour. Think of this as a class you will be attending.
2. Choose an album. It can be an actual physical album, or something on Spotify. But, it has to be an actual full length album, not a playlist. Each week, I’ll announce the album meditation that I’ll be doing and I encourage you to choose that one of course. But, any album is fine.
3. Find a spot to lie down or sit. Bed, couch, chair, beanbag, hammock, the side of a mountain…wherever you feel comfortable is fine.
4. You are not allowed to multitask. Again, think of this as a class. Your phone should be out of reach. TV turned off. No housecleaning. No homework.
5. You can eat and/or drink while you listen, but no going back and forth to the kitchen.
6. No song skipping. If you feel like a full length album is too much for you at first, or you can’t set aside that much time, feel free to end your meditation early. But, start at the beginning and try to end at the end of a song. No skipping!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of this?

Think of Album Meditations as a mindfulness exercise. In today’s society, the length of an album is a long time to sit still doing only one thing. There is a certain amount of discomfort involved in just allowing something to wash over you without stopping early out of boredom or because you don’t like it.

Why is it called Album Meditations if it’s a mindfulness exercise?

Because, Album Mindfulness Exercise doesn’t really roll off the tongue.

What type of album should I choose?

Listening to the album selected by me for the week is the best choice for a few reasons. One, it takes the choice out of your hands and frees your mind to just focus on the actual meditation. Two, you will be able to discuss the meditation with everyone else since we will all be listening to the same thing.

But, what if I don’t like the chosen album, or think I won’t like it?

Don’t throw tomatoes at me, but loving the chosen album isn’t the point. I would actually say that the best album is one you have never listened to at all since you won’t have as many preconceived notions about it. If you have listened to an album all the way through and absolutely know that you hate it, then maybe sit through it again and make note of exactly what it is you don’t like. Usually though, people have heard a couple of songs from an album and think they don’t like it. The entire point is to open your mind and trust the process.

Listen, I have trust issues and want to choose my own album.

Sigh. Alright then. The album you choose depends on the experience you would like to have. If you are doing a mindfulness exercise, then the album you choose can be anything. Is there something your friends have raved about? One that appears on every best albums of all time list but you’ve never listened all the way through? Now is your chance! If you are looking for something chill and actually “meditative,” nothing beats Enya. The important thing is to give yourself no more than 15 minutes to choose something. Falling down a music rabbit hole (ahem) is counter productive here.

Can I do Album Meditations with someone else or do I have to do it alone?

Yes, of course! The key here is to make sure you are both doing the exercise. If you start pausing the music to catch up on what you did last weekend, then you are no longer doing an album meditation.

There are two ways to go about this with someone else. One is that both of you sit in silence, listening to the album together and discuss at the end (arguably, the most meditative).

The other (and way more fun) way is to discuss the album as you go. For example, when I was in college, my roommate and I would listen to The Eagles Greatest Hits and then mockingly act like we were being tortured whenever “Witchy Woman” played. Do whatever is most fun for you.

Can I really not do ANYTHING else while I’m doing this? I want to tweet my feelings about this song!

No tweeting. No facebooking. No texting. You can do this! Here is what I would encourage though. Especially when you first start album meditations, keep a notebook or piece of paper next to you for notes. Feel free to jot down anything that comes to mind. If you really like a song and want to remember what track it was, write it down. If you feel like quitting, write it down. If you have an uncontrolable urge to skip to the song you really want to hear, write it down! Make note especially of when you feel any kind of discomfort or resistance. These notes will be helpful to you in subsequent sessions!

Also, you can compare notes with everyone else ( another good reason to do the chosen meditation each week).

Where did you get the idea for album meditations?

Believe it or not, this is how people used to listen to music. Partially, this was due to laziness since skipping a track meant having to get up out of your seat.

A few years ago, I realized that although sitting around listening to albums while sitting on the couch drinking wine was something I used to do ALL the time, I could not recall the last time I had actually done it. So, I endeavored to pick up the practice again.

Then, more recently, there was a pop up group in Hollywood that rented out a church, had everyone bring their yoga mats, while for an hour as hundreds of people lay silently, the entire Purple Rain album played.

Can you imagine? We can’t all be together in the same space. But, we CAN all lie silently in our own homes at the same time, or at least on the same day, and experience the same album together. That’s what album meditations is all about.

If you have an album you’d like to suggest for Album Meditations or have any other questions, shoot me an email at melody@urbanintrovert.com or reach out via the contact page!