This piece is the result of a collaboration with Tera Mangala Meditation Music https://www.facebook.com/TeraMangalaMusic/ . Amazingly it is made up entirely from hang drum samples, some of which have been made into isochronic tones which can help with meditation. It is overlaid with atmospheric violin.
Calm
A simple piece that can be used as the soundtrack to your life.
The Sound is your Anchor – Guided Sound Meditation
In order to calm our minds we can use all sorts of objects to rest our attention on, the breath, an image, a candle flame, the sensations, a mantra or sound. In this15 minute sound meditation I guide you on how to relax and bring your attention to the sound and when your mind wanders remind you to bring it back.
Calm Water Productions
At Calm Water productions we are dedicated to producing high quality acoustic music for relaxation, yoga, tai-chi, meditation, massage, daily life, study, concentration and work. All of our music is recorded with the A tuned to 432Hz which is believed to be a frequency more in resonance with the earth and thus more conducive to relaxation.
We are fascinated with the way in which music affects our moods and mental states. Influenced by Indian devotional music and African and Native American ritual music we create pieces of music that use those principles of repetition of simple phrases and rhythms to create soundscapes. Using the middle eastern and far eastern concepts of improvisation we overlay these with spontaneous and free improvisations that evoke a Calming and deep Ambience.
We will post regular pieces here, on insight timer and on Youtube which create a positive and calm atmosphere. In a world full of uncertainty we feel it is important to have all the help we can get to keep our own minds calm and at peace – and we hope that this in turn will ripple out into the world around us – perhaps like this the world will become a better place.
Kin Thiessen (Director, Producer and Musician)
Kin Thiessen is the Producer and Composer for Calm Water Productions. He has spent most of his life devoted to music and from many years travelling the globe he collected influences which started from Classical Music and then Indian devotional Music, Mexican and African ritual music through folk and Celtic music. All these are put into the mixing pot to create modern, profound soundscapes that help us to sink into a deeper part of ourselves.
Everything is Happening perfectly
Two and a half years ago many people including myself and my family lost everything we owned in a horrific wild fire in Portugal. There was a moment when we were driving away from the fire, 3 kids in the car Mum, Dad and Grandma. It was night time, we were lost, and we could see a wall of flame infront of us 20m high, a wrong turn could have meant the end for us all.
It was a moment of intensity in my life, I will never forget.
Isn’t life always like this? ‘One wrong move and you are dead’, We might die crossing the road or eating the wrong thing. We might die from a heart attack, or coronovirus. Suddenly our lives could end. And yet, most of the time, our habitual pattern of thinking lulls us into a false sense of security. We assume everything will carry on as normal, we will get up and wash and eat breakfast and go to work. We forget the greatest most powerful truth of all – that everything will pass and that change is inevitable.
This situation has made us aware of this great scary truth. All of our lives have, to some extent, been changed by this lockdown. Our rhythm has been broken, and we stand a little more aware that we are always balanced on a knife’s edge. This can induce profound fear in us, I have certainly felt this.
When we lost everything in the fire, it took me many months to assimilate, my head was spinning for a long time.
I noticed that when circumstances in our lives change, it takes some time for our heads to catch up. The bigger the change the longer it takes to adjust. We identify with our things and the place we live, our routines and our work. They become part of who we are, they become part of the structure of our minds and brain’s neural pathways.
When our house burned, after it had gone I could still walk around it in my mind and see all my things. That memory occupied space on my brain’s hard drive and because those memories were used all the time in my subconscious, those neural pathways were well conected, they were the internal map of my world. When those things changed I had to give my brain a chance to catch up with reality. And as it did an array of emotions arose. Grief, fear, Anxiety, Anger and Depression. This seemed to be a necessary part of adjusting to a new situation.
When they arise, if we are aware that this is a natural part of adjusting to change, we can have one foot on the shore and part of us can observe as we cry or feel an emotion. Having this observer makes this process much easier. Having a little space between ‘us’ and the emotion gives us the chance to allow it, but also not to unecessarily feed it. Tears may need to come, we can let the emotion out, but not get lost in it by wallowing in self pity. Fear may arise, we can feel it in our body as tension, we can observe it but not feed it with our thoughts.
We might start thinking “Why is this happening to us?”, “Who is doing this to us?”, Will I and my loved ones be ok?” etc. We can feed those feelings all day long, with facebook and the news. But at some point we need to stop and feel how we feel, and remember, eveything is happening perfectly, even if it seems like it is not. Somehow we need to find trust in a bigger plan, something bigger than our little lives, a bigger picture, we need to surrender, embrace the change, and start to live. Not from fear but from that calm that comes when we realise we are standing on a knife’s edge.
We worry about our demise and that of our loved ones. Why do we only worry about this now? If we were truly aware of impermanence we would be in a perpetual state of terror. Change can and will come in all sorts of unknown guises, and we know not when.
The ultimate of these changes is Death and hence creates the biggest fear. When we stare at death’s face what do we feel? Fear of the unknown; Fear of being alone; Fear of loosing our loved ones; Fear of loosing all our things; Our status; and loosing ourselves.
But what a way to die and what a way to live….
Afraid.
Would there not be a more dignified death and a more fully lived life?
One of surrender to what is. A death and a life where we are aware that everything is happening perfectly and a smile appears on our faces and we surrender to the higher power: The power of time, impermanence, change, the inevitable. All those years struggling against that moment, living in denial of that moment. Why not just surrender into it?
That moment is now and it has always been now, because we never know which is our last moment. And now especially that our routines have been broken and fear is in the air, we have the opportunity to face that fear. Confront it, look at it head on and live accordingly. Like it was our last moment. What would we say to our friends? How would be behave with our loved ones? What would we do with our last precious moments? Watch tv? Check Facebook? Or maybe show someone how much we care, use our talents to help and care for those around us, create beauty. Live 100% not waiting for tomorrow to say what we mean.
We can think to ourselves…
‘This could be my last day, what am I going to do with it given the physical limitations and resources that I have?’
If we remember that “Everything is happening perfectly”
It reminds us to trust in the process of change, to accept impermanence.
And by remembering “This could be my last day”
We stop being complacent and subdued. This thought keeps us focused on following our passion, our inspiration, our flow, to wherever it leads. We have a great opportunity now that our routines are broken, to either fall into the abyss of fear, or to tap into our own inspiration, creativity and passion and to express it for the good of the whole.
I wish you all well fellow beings, these are intense times. Let us not shy away from our unique authenticity but reveal the jewels hidden within.
Much Love
Deep – Binaural Beats
This is a piece of music for relaxation and stress relief that contains binaural beats at 1Hz which is good for well being. It is overlaid by calming eastern violin.
Binaural beats are created by having one frequency in the left and another in the right with a difference in this case of 1Hz this creates a third beat inside the head at a frequency lower than the audible range which can entrain the brain to particular frequencies which have different beneficial properties for mind and body.
Every thing is happening perfectly – Anxiety relief meditation
I’ve been thinking about how anxious people must be feeling right now. I have made a short meditation for anxiety relief, reminding us that even though it might not seem so, believing that ‘Everything is happening perfectly’ is really helpful against fear and anxiety.
I hope it helps
Content
We have lot to learn from cats right now! They are so calm and content whenever they find a warm spot to curl up in. Recently I was requested to make an ode to a cat! I thought the cat should star in this piece, so I recorded our cat Pema purring, added some binaural beats and a violin line, thought of the profoundly calm nature of cats and here it is.
I hope you like it and it helps you keep as calm as a cat during these strange times!
Binaural beats are best listened to with headphones or a good stereo set up, as different tones are played into each ear, giving a resulting third tone in the head which, in this case 10Hz, is supposed to help with a general feeling of well being and calm. I would keep the volume very low and I recommend lying down (like a cat!) for this one and being very still allowing the sound to wash over you forgetting all your cares for half an hour.
Earth – Binaural Beats
This is a very calming piece of music that is great to help with sleeping, stress and deep relaxation. It contains the sound of Flowing water, Violin and Binaural beats that create a beat of 7.83Hz which is the Schumann resonance of the earth. It is best listened to with headphones lying down. I find it makes me feel a part of the earth and I feel like I am dissolving into the oneness when listeing. Be interested to know what it does for you.
A binaural beat is created when 2 different tones are played in each ear. The difference in frequency creates a beat, a third tone inside the head. In this piece I have used a frequency difference of 7.83Hz which is the Schumann resonance of the earth. These frequencies directly affect the brain when listened to and have particular effects depending on the frequency chosen. For 7.83 Hz the effects are grounding and healing.
In -Flowing Water, Binaural Beats and Violin improvisation for deep mediation and relaxation
This is a deep piece of music based on the sound of a stream with birds chirping and a drone that creates binaural beats, for the full effect it is best listened to with headphones or proper stereo configuration. After 2 minutes the beat reaches 4Hz which is a frequency that helps with deep meditation and relaxation. I have played a violin line over the drone using influences from middle eastern scales and lots of overtones created on the violin.