I will never forget the first time I heard the music from the Pure Moods album in the early 90s. I was a tweeny and my parents brought home a copy of the CD. I clearly remember dancing around the living room while listening to it. I needed to move my body in order to manage the emotions I was feeling. I felt…bigger somehow. Brighter. Connected to something beautiful. The visions in my mind included a lot of golden light and a sense of floating or flying.
I was raised in a non-theistic household, so it took a few more years to start labeling what I was feeling in those moments of ecstatic dance as spiritual connection. Although my background includes a good deal of classical music, I did not encounter ecstasy of spirit in the same way through traditional Western music. Pure Moods was my first introduction to New Age music. Although the genre as a whole takes some kicking around, there’s so much beauty there as well. I’m still partial to Enigma and Deep Forest after all these years.
Music became both an entrance point and a thread to follow when it comes to my spirituality. I use curated stations on the Pandora app for different kinds of spiritual connection. I have a meditation station for yoga practice and gentle spiritual connection. My Pagan station includes more upbeat and active music that reminds me of the joy and deep power of my spirituality. I even have a Pagan metal station for when I need to connect to sacred rage. Continue reading…
