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Music: Spirituality and Rock 'n Roll

By Jason Savage

Music has been called the international language, and this is true, although there are many dialects. It touches most everyone's soul, and has the potential to assist with personal enlightenment. Opinions vary in the metaphysical community and elsewhere, as to what types of music would be "positive" and what would be "negative."

As a teen, and through my twenties, I really didn't think about what effect the things I listened to actually had on me, or exactly why I liked what I did. Bands such as Metallica, Guns 'n Roses and AC/DC were among my personal favorites. I later realized that what I put into my ears was relevant to what was in my mind and soul.

For a time, I shunned music that I considered negative, and searched for things that really evolved me. The only problem with that notion was, I still liked the music, even if I didn't relate to the lyrics anymore. That's when it hit me; I didn't have to stop liking rock, to be "new age."

The hard music that I and many other people my age had grown up on, served a purpose, and that was to wake the listener up. Though many of the lyrics are "complaining" about life, it took that to help me see that I didn't have to just accept the ideals that society handed me, and I could question the status quo. Indirectly, I was being told to be myself and follow my heart. I chose a path of love and enlightenment, rather than going with what I saw to be "the herd."

Loud, aggressive music is not meant to be a person's lone lifelong soundtrack, it is meant to simply get through when a whisper won't. Looking back, I can see that when I was a kid, I used rock music as a type of armor to protect me from my fears. The music was tough, and made me feel protected. After reading certain authors like Neale Donald Walsch and Richard Bach, and having real experiences, I knew I didn't need the audio Kevlar anymore.

Now, I listen to most types of music, (60s and 70s R&B is excellent spiritual music) but I see that I will always enjoy loud music. I consider it a sort of hobby to seek out music that has uplifting lyrics, and still manages to actually rock. A musician, like anyone, has his or her own issues and views, positive and negative, that come through in the recording of a song. Even Ozzy Osbourne had made songs that could be considered enlightened.

A few other tunes I have discovered to be very positive, and still manage to blow the roof off the joint are "Times Like These" by the Foo Fighters, and "Galvanize" by The Chemical Brothers. Just listening to "Fitted Shirt" by the band Spoon puts me in a great space. Even a heavy metal song like "Science" by System of a Down is very metaphysical and positive. Artists such as U2, REM, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix may not have all positive words in their songs, but I would consider theirs to be very spiritual music. I choose not to try to deny that I like a certain piece of music, but I am very aware of what the song is saying.

Many songs are open to interpretation, and what one would consider uplifting, others would cover their ears, and that's okay. It's all about what message you take from something, and who you decide to be.

The thing I always remember is, that even though something may not appear to be all sweetness and light, it is still God.

Jason Savage is an Indiana native, born in 1971, and is currently living in Portland, Oregon. He is a photographer with a BFA from Indiana University. He relocated to the Pacific Northwest in 2003 to be closer to nature. Jason is one of the co-founders of Three Spirits Press, a new independent publishing company that specializes in spiritual books with an edge.

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