Good art makes you feel something. 

Whether it’s music, a YouTube video, or a good book, when you make contact with it, the way you see the world can change. 

From the outside, you might look exactly the same. You may be listening to life-changing music whilst sitting on the bus, whilst other passengers are none the wiser. Yet, something has shifted. Vibes have been delivered by a system of a kind; in music’s case, musicians, instruments, technologists, and technology. 

You are a receiver of vibrations, and therefore affected - if only momentarily.  

All kinds of systems are delivering vibes to us everyday. Some of them with good intentions, some with less good intentions, and others without intending to at all.

The vibes you receive change your being at a subtle yet fundamental level. The impact may be big or small, but there is change. Why? Because we ourselves are vibe-based systems, too.

My explanation for this is that at the most basic level, existence is vibrations. From my perspective, in one way it is other expressions of existence that are interacting with and influencing the parts of existence that are “me”. In another way, I am my own mind-body-vibe system; able to interact with and influence parts of existence that are both “me” and “not me”.

The degree of influence is often tied to proximity and potency of interaction, but we’re all interacting, influencing, and being influenced. 

In summary; we’re vibing.

Maybe I’ve lost some people at this point. But if you’re still reading, you have likely encountered and noticed pleasant “good vibes” and unpleasant “bad vibes”. As part of this way of seeing, I would like to also suggest that there are “neutral vibes", which we often pay no attention to at all or have very little effect on us.

As long as we are in range of the vibes of a particular vibe delivery system, we can’t stop it from interacting with our own mind-body-vibe system. Different systems have different ranges. However, that doesn’t mean we are in the kind of situation where we are entirely at the whims of what’s happening to us. Our vibratory system is capable of change and vibe modulation, and acts more like an instrument than a pure receiver. 

My experience is that becoming more skilful with the instrument takes practice. The mode of which I am most familiar with and know to be effective, is meditation practice. 

It’s also useful to know that prolonged exposure to any kind of vibe, whether pleasant or unpleasant, can have an effect that extends beyond direct interaction with the delivery system itself. For instance, consistently and regularly interfacing with fear-fuelling news stories can warp a system, so that one is more likely to experience vibrations that may be completely neutral, as bad. An example of this, is hearing the phone ringing and expecting bad news, or expecting a bear to be relatively docile because you’ve been watching too many Russians wrestle friendly bears on Instagram. 

Whilst there are many vibe delivery systems at play and many things outside of our control, we are ultimately responsible for our own vibe-system. Importantly, there are ways for us to be mindful of our vibe. This begins with what we consume and extends into developing our skills to respond. 

We can curate specific musical playlists that deliver us into particular vibratory states. We can design and curate the aesthetics of a room to provide a certain vibratory atmosphere. As we have already discussed, depending on length or strength of exposure, our system can hold vibe-memories that bleed into our behaviours in situations where the initiatory vibe delivery system is not present. As a wholesome example, after watching a particularly empowering TV programme, I may be more confident in starting a conversation with a stranger at a party a few hours later.

Curation can also mean avoiding particular types of vibe, like horror movies, true crime documentaries, or particularly violent music or video games. In doing so, we may find that our experience of walking down a dark alleyway can change. 

These techniques, of intentional exposure or curation, can be very useful. Artists understand them intuitively and change their creative expressions to modulate and affect in particular ways. Whether we mean to or not, we all do this through the clothes we choose to wear(think Goth vs. Hippie) and the words we choose to use(Ye prefers to say he is energised as opposed to excited.) 

Where we pay attention, we can almost always do some fine-tuning via some method. 

As you probably know, the little things add up. By being mindful of what we are consuming through all of our senses, we can change our life. 

Ultimately, however, in order to meet life on it’s own terms and to dance with it, instead of struggling and resisting to bend it to our own will (which will likely only cause us suffering), it is necessary to tune in to what is present. 

Tuning into the vibes that are present within our own system at any moment, we can take stock of how a particular piece of media or vibe delivery system is effecting us, and respond creatively.

Sometimes, that might mean examining and dealing with our own insecurities, through which we often unconsciously modulate received vibes as threatening. Other times, it means taking action to establish a boundary, protect ourselves, or remove ourselves from a situation. 

With practice, we can tune in accurately and more effortlessly, responding to the unfolding of existence appropriately. 

Some good questions to ask ourselves after tuning in are: What do I need right now? And How can I move closer to the type of vibrations I want to be expressing in this moment?

Mindfulness meditation is a way of practicing and sustaining an awareness of vibes and everything they arise from and lead to, including thoughts. 

Being mindful is tuning in.

A sitting meditation practice also helps us to settle down and recalibrate our system so that the signal is clearer. For creative individuals who want to make decisions based in what is true for them right now, it can be a very valuable practice.

Different meditation teachers present it differently. You can think of all the different approaches as different vibe delivery systems; some more suitable to your own system than others. 

A quick way to tune in is to *snap* into the sensations of your body in the position it is in right now. *snap*. Your mind will likely eventually move on from those sensations and into thought. The good news is that you can snap back in, and learning how to meditate makes this process a habit of practice as opposed to a constant battle. Thoughts aren’t bad, and we aren’t trying to stop them, but they can distract us from being present, so awareness of them as just another part of a broader experience is useful.

Anyway, there you have it. That concludes this first newsletter on creativity + mindfulness. 

Until next time, with love,
John