i’m your age justin and it was pretty rough as a poor young music fan in the 80’s and 90’s CD’s were not cheap and the radio played the same ol played out songs over and over. if we wanted to hear good music we had to work for it.
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I spent the first few decades of my life listening to music in this way. What happened? The internet & cell phones have definitely changed my attention span. In spite of meditation and spiritual practice, I still don’t have the same capacity to focus. Thinking we can multi-task is nothing but crazy.
I’m so glad you brought this up because it was such a big part of my life to actively listen to music, not just by myself, but with friends. It was common to sit with a friend in my bedroom listening to an album, and that’s all we were doing! And even in the late 90s I would still lie on the floor with speakers a foot away from each ear… better than earphones because the bass is felt more full bodied.
There are a few artists who always draw me into active listening because their songs have such richness and depth. Joni Mitchell and especially Kate Bush come to mind. And of course Dark Side of the Moon is a record that almost everyone in my generation listened to in this way. I’m now aiming to get on the floor with some speakers and listen to Beethoven’s 9th! Let’s start a wave of more listening and less distraction!
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Beethoven’s 9th?? It will never catch on. It goes for more than 3 minutes and the radio stations will never play it. I’ll wait for the rap version.
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Hi guys,
I kind of get this depth of listening when I’m driving to or from work. I just “pass out” and focus on the music. I’m a heavy metal fan even though I like almost all music and it naturally happens that I focus on some sounds or instruments while exploding my ear drums in my ride hehe!
Well latest thing I noticed is how the guitar riff from Critical Acclaim of Avenged Sevenfold is so damn heavy while feeling simple to my ear (I don’t mean easy ;)).
Just wanted to share this and have your thoughts.
Salute!
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Wow! I forgot that music was soooo great! I listened the whole album of Jethro Tull - Thick as a brick to practice that meditation stuff, and i was smiling through the whole album 
I think if anyone wants to go deeper with that, needs a turntable and some vinyls.
Thanks Justin so much! My gratitude 
Is been 20 years till now since I truly listened to an album.
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The zoom in, zoom out and refocus describes perfect the whole process. 
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Fantastic! “Dire Straits” LP… wow! In the USA back in the 80s or so… in the television guide that came weekly was an add from a company called “Columbia House”… order 10 records for a pennie… then every month they would send an LP that was popular you could buy or return. They also included maybe 1,2 or 3 LPs for free. Dire Straits was one of the free ones i received. “Money for nothing” lol. i remember being a young fella, 10 maybe, and sitting on the floor, with my hand me down record player and 2 rca speakers, one on each side… holding the Lyrics sleeves that came with each record… looking at every inch of color and graphic, and sitting with the lyrics, with the speakers tuned up to the max… probably to the equivalent of volume 1 on all the modern devices lol… and just being absorbed in the sounds of the record and the lyric sheet in front me. Thanks for the walk down memory road. Over the decades, ive used meditation daily to keep my mind in focus. Brilliant, heartfelt felt words you shared brother! Have been and will continue this practice in my guitar journey. Peace
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This is so valid and great advice from Justin
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