11/08 @ The Eleven, Albany
“To some extent, we’re all playing for applause. To have that taken off the board completely… In a way, maybe it’s freeing, maybe it’s scary.”
These days, meditation seems to be quickly growing in popularity. There’s a good reason for this feeling. According to a study published in Scientific Reports, the number of American adults that meditate, do yoga, or other such practices has increased fivefold since the 1950s. For many, music — especially live music — can be an extremely healing and cathartic experience. Therefore, combining live music with these types of meditative modalities could be very therapeutic. Interestingly enough, that’s precisely what Damian Ubriaco of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Albany is going to do.
On November 8, The Eleven at Lark Hall is set to host Ubriaco’s event, “Sound & Silence: A Meditation & Musical Experience.” The event, whose inaugural session was held in July, runs from 10 a.m. to noon. It blends shamatha breathing practices with live music. During our interview, Ubriaco reflected on how he came up with this idea.
“Two big parts of my life are meditation practice and music,” Ubriaco said. “There’s just been an itch to combine those two in some way. My hope as a musician is I want people to be introduced to meditation and maybe with the music component, it makes it easier to get into it.”
As Ubriaco explained, part of shamatha practice focuses on mindful breathing — turning your attention to the rise and fall of your breath and letting thoughts come into your mind, only to release them. While this event starts with a traditional form of shamatha practice, various performers will engage with those in attendance. The meditative practices will be interspersed with music; each musician plays one song. But there’s a catch: instead of applause following the performances, the room will immediately return to silence after each song finishes. Performing at the event are Eric Krans from The Parlor, Eliyakim, Shannon Tehya and Lauren Axford.
In addition to the audience reaping the benefits of the various meditative techniques, Ubriaco hopes the experience will be a teaching moment for the musicians.
“To some extent, we’re all playing for applause,” Ubriaco said. “To have that taken off the board completely… In a way, maybe it’s freeing, maybe it’s scary. Each artist may feel it differently.”
Midway through the event, there will also be walking meditation, as well as a yoga component guided by Jenn Gerber.
Music and meditation are extremely personal to everyone; each person experiences them in their own unique way. And both have a throughline of helping to center folks.
“[Meditation] helps one consistently come back to the present moment,” Ubriaco explained. “Being where you are, right there, right now. Sometimes, we’re so in our heads all day that we’re living in the past or in the future. By the time we lay down to bed, that might be the first time we’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m alive! I’m a human being!’“
The goal of meditation, as Ubriaco explains, is to help people accept what is and what is not, no matter if it’s positive or negative. Through this acceptance, one can learn to be friendlier with themselves and thereby friendlier with their surroundings.
Sound & Silence is open to everyone, and while a $10 donation is suggested to attend, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
To learn more about the event, please click here.