The Music That Opened My Mind
One of the most intense spiritual experiences I’ve ever had was at a
loud rock concert in the middle of an amusement park. In 1986, at age
eighteen, I went with my sister to see The Smiths one drizzly evening at
Canada’s Wonderland, outside of Toronto.
Our family had moved the previous summer. I was attending a high school
where I knew no one, and music had become a valued companion. Many hours
were spent alone in my bedroom with The Smiths, vibrating in sympathy
with Morrissey’s longing and alienation, and imitating his strangled,
mournful expression. Sitting now on the outdoor venue’s wet lawn,
waiting for the show to start, I felt the thrilling anticipation of
seeing him in person.
To distract us from the dampness, I confided in my sister about other
new things I’d been doing in my teenage bedroom—reading about Zen and
trying out meditation. These experiments were raising important
questions for me. Is reality as it appears, or do we see only a tiny
glimpse and form conclusions from limited evidence? Are we forever stuck
in private mental worlds, or are we momentary fractions of a larger
consciousness that connects us all? And, in the words of Morrissey,
“Does the body rule the mind, or does the mind rule the body?” I didn’t
know, and neither did she. But meditation had a way of bringing the
questions into sharper relief, and raising others I struggled to put
into words.
So, when the band finally took the stage, the air was already full of
profundity. As the tremolo of Johnny Marr’s guitar announced “How Soon
Is Now?,” a pulsing sonic wave enveloped us, connecting everyone with
the great mysteries—and with each other. Time became expansive and
nonexistent. Everything other than the experience of that moment seemed
beside the point.
In the years since, I’ve developed a daily meditation practice and
become a musician myself. That night made me forever aware of the deep
connection between mindfulness and music — something the visionary DJ
Steve Aoki speaks of in our July 2025 issue. “The more present you are, the more connected you are,” he says. “That’s why music is such a strange thing. It’s so powerful.”
—Andrew Glencross, deputy art director, Lion’s Roar
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Steve Aoki is one of the world’s top DJs and music producers, playing
hundreds of adrenaline-pumping shows a year. Sandi Rankaduwa unpacks his
journey to inner peace.
The spectacle, the connectivity, the sheer joy and absurdity of it
all—this is what Aoki lives for. Performing over two hundred sets
annually, he spends even more days on the road; in 2012, he claimed the
Guinness World Record as most well-traveled musician in a single year.
(His shows also once broke records for the longest crowd cheer and the
most glow sticks lit for thirty seconds.) In addition to “caking,” which
requires approximately ten locally sourced cakes per show, each made
according to a detailed rider, he’s been known to spray his audience
with champagne, stage dive, and crowd-surf—sometimes atop an inflatable
raft.
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Who says you always have to sit in silence? Ryan Winger explains how you
can bring the mind of meditation to the music you love — with friends.
Most of us have had a more attentive experience of music as well—truly
listening with a singular focus. When we really pay attention, we can
treasure the feeling and energy of the artists and songs that hold a
special place in our hearts. Whether in a concert hall, on a busy street
corner, or in the privacy of our home, the experience of connecting
with music meaningfully is rich, deep, and sometimes profound.
From the perspective of meditation practice, this experience is the
result of tuning in to our present experience through the sense
perception of sound. We are fully there with the music, experiencing the
texture, rhythm, melody, harmony, and progression, riding the waves of
sound in real time.
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Playing shows, writing songs, recording albums, and most of all,
listening to music—it’s all a huge part of my life. I think a lot of
this came from my mom.
Maybe you haven’t dedicated your life to sitting in a van with your
friends and waiting to play shows (or maybe you have!), but I’m willing
to bet music has been a companion in your life as well. Rock-and-roll,
country, hip-hop, jazz, pop, punk, salsa, klezmer—there’s music out
there for everybody, except maybe my dad. I don’t think he listens to
music. Why do the rest of us love music so much? Because it really
connects us. When we’re really listening, with our whole beings, we can
let go of distractions and be fully, 100% connected to the present
moment. You know that feeling of being lost in a song? When that
happens, you’re not lost—you are connected to the music as it unfolds
here and now. That’s a special kind of connection: the beauty that comes
from being fully present with whatever the moment brings. Music can
bring us there faster than a lot of things.
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