I consider myself someone driven by sound. Silence denotes a calm that only ambient sounds of home life can compliment. If I just want to be at peace I need no other sound than my son scooting his blocks along the floor. Though not my choice of audio for meditation because the distraction of it can flinch you quickly to your feet and across the room when that sound turns from blocks on the floor to sobs or the even scarier no sound at all.
Meditation in the traditional sense is not something I generally take part in. For that all I need is a pen and paper and the creative juices flowing from them to truly put my mind in a state of ease. My preferred form of meditation involves gloves and a heavy bag – something I was lucky enough to receive as a recent birthday gift. As a friend of mine eloquently put it, my offering to the Gods is my blood, sweat and tears and my ultimate form of spiritual connection is partaking in the adrenaline rush of a “fight.” Lucky for me, it’s also good for cardio and muscle building.
Because I respond strongly to auditory stimuli music can truly ignite the fire to unleash that first blow. I would say I have a fairly eclectic taste in music, but the heart pumping type is pretty standard; heavy metal and hard rock. I have a play list that acts as a timer for my workout as well as guides me from warm up to full out hardcore to cool down. It contains various songs through out my life that got my blood boiling or helped me release that aggressive energy that would build up from whatever happened through out the day or simply because I woke up in a bad mood. I choose not to deny what some consider the negative emotions because, as humans, they are emotions we are intended to feel. Why deny them? As long as they don’t drive us to negative actions I say put them to some use!
Right now my playlist is just over 30 minutes long. I need to start slow and work my way up. Eventually I am hoping to work up to an hour adding more songs to the current playlist and creating others so I don’t get bored along the way. A lot of these songs were popular when I was in high school and since I only rarely listen to the radio these days, well, call it nostalgia or simply recognizing that high school was an emotional time. Whichever you prefer – it gets the heart rate up and the fist connecting.
At the current moment, I can put this song on repeat and it’s all I need to get me in the mood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLrxT8Vu978
FULL PLAYLIST:
1) Youth of the Nation – POD 4:18
2) Whatever – Godsmack 3:28
3) Never Again – Nickelback 4:17
4) Bodies Hit The Floor – Drowning Pool 3:19
5) Monster – Skillet 3:07
6) One Step Closer – Linkin Park 2:35
7) You’re Going Down – Sick Puppies 3:07
8) Break Shit – Limp Bizkit 2:46
9) Last Resort – Papa Roach 3:33
10) Children of the Korn – Korn (featuring Ice Cube) 3:52
TOTAL: 33:52