Finding a Meditative Rebirth through Jazz
Jazz music is special. It is an emotion and a vibe. It’s unpredictable and alive and it’s full of energetic undercurrents transferring thought and feeling. When it is in its element, it breathes. Somehow it creates the feelings that words can’t say. To hear jazz is too on the surface. But when I listen to jazz, I surrender letting my soul be carried away by the rhythm of life rather than the reason of it.
Jazz mirrors meditation in motion. It longs for you to step into the present moment. Despite transcending past and future thoughts, present thoughts should be allowed to dance to the tempo and cadence of the experience. Like many things in life, jazz is not a sequence to be measured by musical notes, it asks you to trust the moment. It asks that you trust the moment because what’s next is often unexpected and unpredictable. In our lives, do we accept the unknown with appreciation or do we let the fear of change and unfamiliarity manipulate our movements? Remaining open to the unknown is an invitation also requested from a kind rebirth.
Synchronicity
Despite the randomness of live, free-form jazz, I am listening with purpose. Crying trumpets, whispering pianos, and the heartbeat of the bass – these are constant reminders of the beauty and profoundness of not having to be perfect. Each pause, each improvisation is an element of a masterful song.
Not being musician myself, I imagine that free-form jazz has little to do with rehearsal. It’s built on call and response, like life. Every heartbreak ever felt or every rebirth that’s ever emerged all began as a journey uncertain. Life is music. Life is all about the music of life. Mindful meditation is not always practiced in silence. It’s born of the crescendos of life’s ups and downs.
Concentration on the present moment and the pattern of the breath is part of the musical sync of life. So let some of the greatest pioneers of life guide you down the yellow brick road of musical and rebirthed paths. Find that one piece that makes your heart hurt, that one piece that makes your heart smile, that one piece that makes your heart refocus. And then after you arrive there, remove the label and just be. Just be one with the music; just be one with the author of that piece; just be one with your place in life; just be one with the alignment of all these connections.
The future will come and the past will fade away. Find your way of simply being. The act of listening will become less unnecessary, the things you see with your eyes will be less of a distraction, and mindfulness will endure. When you’re ready and if you’re open, perhaps you can find your rebirth through sound, whether it’s jazz or opera or folk or country or rock and roll. The path chosen is less important than that final destination. Life isn’t perfect like some live fusion jazz. It just needs peaceful acceptance.
Stay mindful…
Rebirth
