Behind the Meditation: How I Create Guided Meditations

Nicky Elliott Mixing Meditations

Hello everyone. Nicky here. Angelas Husband.  Hope this wee Blog finds you all well, safe, and happy. 

I’m taking the opportunity to reach out to you all to thank you for all your kind words and mentions in regards to our meditation and sound classes that we started to develop before the summer.

It has also, came more and more into conversation as to how I go about making these meditations for class like….What inspires you? Does it come easy? How long do you spend on them? Do I write them all? etc, etc.

So I thought it might be worth writing a blog, something easy to read and hopefully interesting that might help fill up a few minutes of your day over a tea, coffee maybe even some caramel shortcake that Angela always brings home for “me” but that always seems to  magically (and tragically) “disappear” before I personally manage to even get a sniff. Truly one of life’s greatest mysteries.

Anyway. In short I could probably sum it all up quickly. That is to say that all the questions asked have both yes and no answers to them but then all have more nuance to them at the same time. 

So.

1) What inspires you? 

Where to start?…. There’s Sooooo much, Tooooo Much, Muchley much…Err…I don’t know. It’s never specific ALL of the time. Practically sometimes these things come from more of a mixture. A methodical, measured point of view rather than having a spark of inspiration, an  internal musing or even  a multitude of creative ideas that are just dying to overflow out. Also though the opposite of that is true…It’s always about that jumping off point! So one integrates the other. the truth is that in some manner they all have to show up, meet each other and mould together in varying degrees given the idea or topic and sound. We refine it in to what we are trying to achieve. 

Having said that. I find that I light up on a moment that either speaks to me, jumps out at me or that comes from the inside but that is usually fuelled by looking around or being moved by something or someone. I Also like to listen and experience the environment, people and the moment I happen to be in. That therein lies the secret sauce. Everything, for me. Has to have meaning.

Recently we released the ‘Restoration’ meditation into the ether. The Ambient sound had to be the more dominant sound. There are other augmented layers of music in there that make it all sound like it’s the one thing. In reality there’s 16 layers of musical nuance in there. All mixed and balanced. All written in and written out. Some sounds rise and fall. Some moments blend in and blend out, some float above and some sounds are the mainstay, the ever-present, the bedrock. The thing that you build upon.

What does that mean? It means the idea at hand. Concentrating and trusting, balancing off the talent you think you have and trying to create something meaningful, while also trying to fend off the nagging feeling telling me that I maybe second guessing what we think people might  need. I don’t try to do THAT.  But I do try to listen. To you all. To  produce authenticity around our studio that promotes friendship, togetherness, fun, wellness in a moment out of time and to be there for those who need it. So that inspires me.

A motivation and inspiration for me, is to put something out there that may feel different to us at different stages or times or moments in life.  God knows I’ve seen that with the books, movies, music and plays I’ve loved throughout my life.  Arthur Millar’s ‘Death of a salesman’ for just one example is a play I return to over and over again.  I was all of those characters at different stages. The youngster, the older brother, the father ….I’m now at the father stage. Miller nailed it. When I look back. I understand it all.

The more you grow, the more you realise. The more you have, the more you have to lose and the more you’ve lost, The more you realise every moment is precious…

So. Outside of the usual tropes of idolisation and inspiration I find that when it comes to these meditations and our wee business in COATBRIDGE that the real inspirations are the people around me. That we try to create something meaningful in our classes for the people who attend and whom we’ve gotten to know over all these years. Because, I’m surrounded by people who are down to earth, clever, funny and open from all walks of life who have stories to tell and wisdom to pass on and so that inspires me to create but keep things grounded, genuine, authentic, original and who knows maybe we can grow it all from there. Maybe to others elsewhere because we’re all in the same boat at then of the day.

2. Does it come easy?

Hmmm! That’s a bit of a loaded question. Yes. The ideas come. Or a topic is placed on the table. A ‘Winter meditation’ for example so then I know what the end goal is but again sometimes it’s like putting the cart before the horse. If I’m given a topic I start at the end. Ending big at the start if that makes sense. I can then go back to the start and work towards that ending. Subtly introducing the meaning with something to work towards. 

If I have the idea. Like the ‘Earth sessions’ (Which at time of writing I’m half way through) then I know exactly what I want to do, what I want to think about and ask my self silly questions like What does the life of a leaf look like?, What does it sound like?, How can I describe the delicate nature of how something as simply complicated as a single leaf comes into being and what it’s journey through the sunshine, winds and rains unfolds into until it finally one day falls to the ground.. Everything must still feel relatable. I know….It seems that not all of my dogs are barking.

This though, is ultimately the most enjoyable, freeing and creative part of the process. The technical side is something very different and I’ll come to that later. 

So this side of things have a sense of ease to it. That is to say the ideas, seeing the way to producing a finished and hopefully worthy piece to present to a deserving class. Putting it all together is the more disciplined aspect. Ideas? Details?… Great! …Empty page, no music recorded yet. Not great.

Nicky making music

Sometimes I start writing/typing. Sometimes I sit at my piano with the idea in mind and just play around the notes experimenting with different types of touch on the keys. Sometimes it’s one or two notes that sparks a more rounded musical idea and sometimes I type a few words that leads to an inkling of detail and description but best of all, sometimes this happens all at once and those are the times where things seem to happen and come together easily, rather than it being easy. It seems that there’s no rules to it and so it’s important to recognise which point you’ve landed in either as a starting point or something to build around or upon. I can’t tell you how many times I started with an idea that then found a better place in the middle of a script or in the middle of the musical point of a meditation. 

Once I have a fully fleshed out idea and script and maybe a musical idea or at least something that works. I record my vocal with a plain but ambient drone sound. The drone sound will be in different keys but I usually record with something in the musical key that the finished meditation will be in.

The drone is just a plain ambient sound. Something that gives an environment and a patience that allows me to give a more measured and timely delivery. Rather than have musical drop-ins that might come in and out of nowhere and deflect or interrupt the flow. And so with an uninterrupted ambient sound in my ears I can take my time and think about the delivery and the meaning of what I’m trying to convey. 

The next part actually feeds into the next question so we might as well start there.

3. How Long do you spend on the meditations?

Err…How long is a piece of string? 

There’s a lot of factors to consider at this stage when it comes to the piece that I’m making but when we’ve got the ideas down, written, music played, recorded and fulfilled then certain effects are chosen and are aligned in the right places. Things like rain or thunder sounds for example that blend in and out of the mix. Ahhh! The mix. 

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This is the most time consuming part of each meditation. The length of which is compounded by the length of the meditation I’m composing. Some are 5 mins long, some 10, 12 and up to 20 mins long. When you consider it, the average pop song is about 3 mins long and has multiple people working on different parts of the sound, mixing and mastering. This for me can feel very draining and counter productive. It can be tedious but over the years I’ve learned to break things down and to put hours into sections. It can either be a ‘Ok, I’ll put 4/5 hours in today on this’ or work until I’ve finished a certain idea or part within the mediation and then I’ll walk away for the day to avoid that draining feeling and the fact that you start to question the idea from maybe a bit of over tiredness. The kind of tiredness that creeps in from looking at a screen all day, Editing vocals, spacing them out if needed and removing little whispers or sounds of breathing in-between words and lines and still having to find a balance and continually write digital cues in and out of the mix. I won’t bore you with all the technical terms and details…..I’m boring myself just thinking about it.

So time wise it can take any where from a few days to a few weeks a few hours a day, or every second day or even step away for a few days which, I should have mentioned, is a very important part. Sometimes you can feel too close to it. Taking a step back can be a really valuable thing to truly work out if it’s working or not. 

The recent ‘Restore’ meditation totalled just shy of 38 hours, it’s 22 mins long and didn’t come easy. I found myself having to develop a couple of skills to pull it off and took a number of weeks to get it to sound the way I wanted. Sometimes your more sure and it comes together more quickly but at minimum generally it’s a few days for a 5 minute meditation depending if it’s a definite ask like an ‘Autumn Meditation’ or a new idea that evolves from page to stage as it where. 

(Cough, cough)…Many meditations are available on the website to buy… (Cough, cough).

Sorry, about that. I was choking on a bit of humble pie. 

Now. Onto the most important question. 

4. Do you write them all?

YES! …This is my most important aspect. My No.1 rule and discipline that I hold myself to. To be clear. The writing of the words you hear floating around the room. It’s deeply personal to me and something I won’t argue about. That’s where it all starts.

Nicky writing the meditations

Even if I have a little piece of music I’ve been flirting with using. If the words don’t fit, If the feeling isn’t there then it’s it doesn’t matter what’s there at my disposal. It’s the most private part. For a while I’ve been writing from that more personal aspect and try to describe something that may mean something and seem relatable to anyone at any given time. It’s also the part I enjoy the most. I think it’s a helpful purge but with purpose behind it. it’s also a worthwhile endeavour. To explore and research what it’s like to reveal honest thoughts, with a purpose and that actually goes somewhere into the ether for people to discover and be part of.

Whether it’s ‘Becoming the river’, ‘The life of a leaf’, ‘Autumn wisdom’ or whatever. They’re all born of simplistic thought and honesty that then grow and branch out into the imagination blending into a story that is hopefully, meaningful and maybe even moving. But that’s the part I like the most. The quiet. Allowing the space and waiting for confidence to arrive. Like I’ve said earlier.

If there’s a specific ask that Angela might ask me to concentrate on while she’s eating caramel shortcake then I know what my starting point is, but it still comes from the same place. Otherwise I genuinely find it interesting to think about what the journey of a leaf, a rock, a ripple of water might have to endure if they had a sentient thought (And who says they don’t) and how they might describe it to us. Not just these but other topics as well.

Also my New Book. ‘Stories for another time’ will be coming out in the near future…..But we’ll talk about that some other day  ;-)  .

Lastly. This wee blog was INSPIRED BY YOU. The lovely comments. The meaningful words. I hear them in class or Angela passes on some kind messages when I’m not there. (If only she’d pass on some of that shortcake) but so are the meditations. I keep things subtly hidden at times but I can’t tell you the amount of kind comments I hear all of you pass on to each other. Through conversation, laughs, good meaning and genuine concern and a lot of that lifts me up to because we never know what someone else is going through so it is genuinely my privilege and pleasure to be around you all.

You enrich our environment, you deserve your time away from the day and you make our wee studio. A better place to be. 

Much love.

Nx

(Cough, cough)…Many meditations are available on the website to buy… (Cough, cough)…😉