Today I am going to focus on the master of musical stress relief, Jim Butler. I first stumbled upon Jim, not through his widely popular podcast, but through an Amazon.com suggestion when I was purchasing an MP3 album from Thom Brennan. "Deep Energy 1.0" was highly rated and well priced. An hour long track of ambient music for 99 cents? That's a bargain; so I had to give it a try. I downloaded it, immediately listened and was blown away at how this relaxed me. So I bought 7 more tracks immediately.
As I was Zen-ing and Zoning out, I researched the man behind the music. I found his website and saw that he had a podcast on iTunes. I am not a big Apple or iTunes fan so I usually make my purchases through Amazon or better yet, through the artists actual site, so that they get the most money for their works. I started to listen to Jim's podcasts through iTunes on a daily basis and also found him out on Stitcher (which I like better for podcast listening). He talks through some of the music, but I don't mind that at all, its a podcast.
I have purchased more from his collection of music on Amazon over the last year and through his Bandcamp site. Bandcamp is great, because you can name your own price for the music you are purchasing. This gives us a chance to appreciate the artist by paying more than the ten dollars they are asking for their release. Jim's music is like gold to me, its worth more than the asking price. I also donate to his podcast through his site, because I get so much out of it. Being able to done and help out really does help to keep someone going. When you give back for what you really enjoy, it keeps the circle going.
Some of Jim's music is termed "dark ambient", which to me is what I would call "space music". Music that creates a sense of space in the ambiance. That's what a lot of his tracks do for me. It's like a silence meditation with a soundtrack. I am able to focus on my breathing, but have something beautiful in the background that keeps out my thought distractions. Am I making sense here? It's like having some white noise while you work to keep the kids yelling at their video games at bay from your conscious thought, thus keeping you from having to yell at them and raise your stress levels. Maybe that makes a bit more sense. It does in this household.
I can't recommend Jim's music enough. Anyone that I know who needs great stress relieving music or just an excellent soundtrack for Yoga and meditation, is always sent to Jim's site. Right now, as I type this, I am listening to his latest release "Chakras for Balancing and Awakening and Chakras for Meditation and Sound Therapy" and the "Meditative" pieces are relaxing my entire being.
Listen to the links I've shared below and go purchase some tracks for your collection. Check out his pocasts on iTunes and Stitcher. Download his app, from the app store, if you are an iPhone or iPad user. Remember your breathing techniques! Try the one I suggested yesterday. I'll write up in greater detail later.
Peace be with you,
Dave
The first release I picked up from Jim:
What I am listening too right now from Jim.
A great video from Jim's YouTube channel:
No comments:
Post a Comment