{"id":37484,"date":"2014-07-24T08:10:24","date_gmt":"2014-07-24T12:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=37484"},"modified":"2016-07-24T07:17:14","modified_gmt":"2016-07-24T12:17:14","slug":"what-i-discovered-when-i-did-a-music-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/what-i-discovered-when-i-did-a-music-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"What I discovered when I did a music fast"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"I<\/a>

I went from this<\/center><\/p><\/div>\n

I did an experiment the past 12 months.\u00a0 I limited my time spent listening to popular music because I wanted to come out on the other side with a deeper appreciation for it.\u00a0\u00a0 In rearranging furniture a year ago, I stuck the stereo and cd player in the closet, then forgot about it for about a week.\u00a0 That spurred me on to do the exercise of a short fast from popular music.\u00a0 I rarely played it in the car, opting for silence instead. \u00a0I don’t usually have music on. I did listen to<\/span> kirtan chants<\/a> and indian devotional bhajans and ragas.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"To<\/a>

<\/span>

To this<\/span><\/center><\/p><\/div>\n

I heard pop music daily in the supermarket and post office, so I wasn’t without influence.\u00a0 But to play it simply for the joy of listening to it? It’s been 12 months since I did that.\u00a0Pharrell Williams’ Happy<\/em><\/strong><\/span> encouraged me to break that fast.\u00a0 Last week, the stereo and cd player were moved to where they are easy to access. I placed some favorite cds next to the stereo. I began listening to them as I cleaned and as I painted and was reminded of the power of music.\u00a0 James Taylor, Carole King, Carly Simon, evoking good feelings and making me dance around the house like a maniac.\u00a0 Taking a break from listening to it let me hear with new ears and have new appreciation for it. I do these discipline experiments as part of my spiritual practice. I not only like to learn how my ego\/personality reacts to having its habits interrupted, I like being made to see, and hear, the mundane things around me with new eyes and new ears.<\/span><\/p>\n

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