The Be Here Podcast

Meditation leads us to explore a sense of "egolessness"  by simply observing and appreciating the here and now without getting caught up in thinking about yourself. Using mindfulness to let go of the "self" and connect with the present moment, counterintuitively helps you to know yourself, and show up as a more well defined version of yourself in real life. 

On this BONUS Episode, Bryan walks us through a guided meditation using a rhythmic bell to centre our racing minds, and be grounded in the present moment. He talks about the benefits of meditation and gives tips on how to incorporate this practice into your every day life. 

In recognition of Reggae Month, Bryan is joined by guitarist and bass player, teacher and Zen practitioner, Omar, to talk about what makes Reggae music so special - from a musical, meditative, and cultural perspective. Reggae music is special, and what better way to conclude season 2 of the Be Here Podcast on Rhythm than by spotlighting one of the most influential genres and cultures to come from the Caribbean. 

This episode is all about ways musicians play with rhythm to subvert your expectations of where the beat is going to go, and how mindfulness helps make the most of when life throws us the unexpected as well. 

Sameer Maragh joins Bryan this episode to talk about peak performance, and challenges his perspective on mindfulness as a way of finding your flow, and enhancing your capacity for output and maximum life enjoyment. They get into questions around - does mindfulness work? what does it mean to be productive? and MORE. 

Bryan is joined by cellist and classical music lover, Daniel Lindo, to discuss rhythm in classical music: how it grounds you as a listener, and as a player of a lower register instrument. We get into the importance of the breath, what it's like playing with other musicians, and the therapeutic value of music.

Your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors all influence the quality of your mental health experience, just like how rhythm, pitch, and expression all influence the quality of a song! Here we talk about how we can influence our thoughts and feelings by changing our behaviors and by getting moving, just like how we can influence the emotion of a song by changing the rhythm!

Take a mindful moment to check in with yourself, by answering these three questions to reset your vibes, and get back on task with your life. 

Instead of rushing through life, or lagging behind, practice being mindful in the present moment, just like how a musician practices riding the flow of the beat, without rushing ahead or dragging behind. 

Bryan discusses how the interplay between different instruments locked into the "pocket", built around a central rhythm, is what makes a groove irresistible!

This is a special episode because it's the BeHere Podcast's first ever video episode, which you can find on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/BryanRoyes/ 

We're keeping it real on the podcast today for World Mental Health Day, and talking about what do to when you feel like you've fallen off beat, or like you've hit a wall. How do you kickstart your engines and get back into a state of flow? 

Do you dance when you chew? There's rhythm to the way we eat, and on this episode we talk about being mindful of those patterns of behavior that lead us to mindless eating vs mindful eating. 

tw: eating disorders 

Mindfulness practice teaches us how to identify negative patterns of thought, INTERRUPT their rhythm, and replace them with GRATITUDE. On this Episode, Bryan gets deep and talks about his experience using gratitude practice to counteract destructive thoughts, and unhelpful rhythms of life, and patterns of self talk. 

Mindfulness improves your musical practice by making you more disciplined, helping you manage difficult emotions and helping you get into the flow state more easily! In this episode, Bryan talks about these and other ways practicing mindfulness can be beneficial to musicians and non-musicians alike. 

Rhythm communicates the energy and the emotional drive behind what we're communicating - both in speech and in song - using 1. speed, 2. emphasis and 3. volume to tell different stories. 

Songwriters are really good at establishing a rhythm, then changing it ever so slightly to keep our attention piqued. 

In a world where we're constantly bombarded by new information and are continually seeking out new stimulus, mindfulness is one tool that can keep us grounded to appreciate the rhythm and flow of being in the moment. 

Getting vulnerable in this episode, Bryan shares his experience learning to navigate depression with mindfulness and music. How does the rhythm of a song affect you physically and emotionally, to help jumpstart more positive states of mind? 

On this episode Bryan shares some thoughts on the mindfulness lessons learned from practicing rhythm, on a guitar. 

Distraction is the enemy of mindfulness and flow state. On this episode, Bryan talks about how music and mindfulness can train our brains to better recognize distractions, and redirect the impulse of getting distracted back to the present moment, so you don't miss out on the music. 

In music and in life, we're better served by attending to musical lines and our daily tasks in the right place and at the right time. 

On this episode, Bryan writes a song from scratch, and talks about the decision making process of thinking about putting each element of music in the right place at the right time. How do music and mindfulness teach us to be more productive regardless of our tasks, by doing things at the right time and in the right place? 

It's only natural to fall off track every now and again - to miss a beat and stumble. But your mistakes don't define you; it's how well you recover from them, and get back on the beat that does. Bryan takes this musical perspective and discusses it in the context of meditation practice real life, to see how we can get back on the beat if we feel like we've fallen off. 

There is a nuanced balance between being tuned into the present moment, and having to think ahead when playing music, and when living your most mindful life. The disciplines of music and mindfulness both have a lot to say about the value of being here and planning ahead, to allow you to properly get lost in the flow of a song. 

Bryan is joined by special guest: Natalie Murray - health coach, spinning instructor, and dive master, to discuss how she uses tempo to craft spinning classes that feel cathartic. What is the role of the breath and mindfulness when taking part in these kinds of flow state activities? 

As the wise Bob once said - "When music hits you, you feel no pain". On this Episode, Bryan gets into how we experience music as physical sensation, and how a mindfulness body scan can help anyone tune into the sensations going on in their body in the present moment. Notice where you feel the music in your body. Notice how it feels to be alive. 

Taking a walk can be one of the best thing you do for your mental health on a regular basis. Disconnect from your usual thought patterns and open up to something new and unexpected. Getting connected to the sights and sounds of the present moment can leave you feeling refreshed, grounded, and more creative. 

The flow state is central to the conversation on mindful music. But what is flow? How is it good for you? And how does it relate to mindfulness and music? This episode introduces this important concept and will change how we talk about mindful music performance going forward.    

Achieving peak performance in your personal and creative life means finding the right balance between consumption and creation., just like the in-breath and the out.-breath in mindfulness meditation practice. What you put in determines what you get out. 

On this episode, Bryan also guides you through a short mindfulness mediation, using natural soundscapes to help guide your attention back to the in and the out. 

Rhythm is energy, and mindful music gives you the ability to keep going, and stay consistent. 

It's all around us in nature: Synchrony - the inclination of living things and physical objects to align with each other. On this episode we'll talk about how music emerges out of our desire for synchrony, and how mindfulness practice can help us be more in sync with ourselves, each other, and the music. 

What makes a rhythm REAL groovy, is the way it treats rests. Not just the rests in between the notes, but the rests in between the instruments in the song. Taking a mindful approach to this makes us realize, the secret to building a life that flows is to be intentional about spacing out our moments of rest, and making them count. 

Bryan is Joined by Jazz Drummer and Music Educator - Jacob Wutzke, to talk about what it means to subdivide the beat. How do drummers think about breaking up music into smaller pieces? And how does this inform how we can use mindfulness to break down the moments of our lives into smaller more meaningful pieces?  

Follow the podcast at @beherepodcast

Check out Jacob's website at: https://jacobwutzke.com/ 

Follow Bryan on the socials at @BryanRoyes

The Be Here Podcast is back for Season 2! Bryan introduces the theme of Season 2 - Rhythm. 

The central question we start to answer on this episode and for all of Season 2 is this: How does rhythm in music inform a closer relationship with mindfulness? 

Gratitude is a superpower anyone can develop. At the heart of meditation practice, gratitude teaches us to appreciate what's here, right now, for its inherent goodness. Whether you make music, or just enjoy listening to music, you're a part of the gratitude exchange that happens every time music is made. 

Your most important currency is your attention. You owe it to yourself to be mindful of how you spend it. On this episode Bryan talks about how music is one of the things that can sharpen the quality of your attention even in daily life. How can you use your music listening and practicing habits to be more mindful of your present moment awareness?

You can either get stuck in a loop, or use it to build something cool. On this episode Bryan talks about using mindfulness to be aware of, and break the loops we get stuck in, to build more constructive patterns of thought and behavior instead. 

If you've ever wanted to learn to harmonize, this episode is for you. Bryan is joined by Lee King - a Jamaican singer, vocal arranger, music educator and performer - to walk you through the basics of harmony, how to appreciate dissonance in a song, and how mindfulness helps translate these skills into living more harmoniously within ourselves and in our relationships with other people. 

Have you ever wondered why some sounds in music sound so together, while others just ... don't? On this episode, Bryan breaks down harmony using some introductory music theory concepts, by talking about the math behind harmony and the role of dissonance. What is cognitive dissonance? And how can a musical and mindful perspective help us to identify and resolve dissonance in our own lives, minds, and relationships. 

Experiencing criticism is inevitable. Although criticism can feel harsh, a musical and mindful perspective has a lot to teach us about how to navigate receiving and giving criticism to others and even ourselves. 

What does it feel like to begin again? And have that be okay. 

Adopting a beginners mindset brings openness, curiosity and newness into the present moment. 

On this Episode, Bryan is joined by award winning steel-pan soloist, Justin Lowe, to talk about the dynamic range of music. What are dynamics? Why are they important? In what ways do they reflect the emotional arc of a song, but also parallel the range of emotional experiences we go through as humans? In this episode, Bryan and Justin talk about how they mindfully incorporate dynamic into their music and into their personal and emotional lives as well.

Today Bryan's joined by another fellow student (and teacher) of music  -Randy Chang, to talk about what makes a GREAT singer. The conversation flows from the qualities of some great singers Bryan and Randy love, to the anatomy of the voice, vocal health, and mental health. 

Today's episode talks about how the disciplines of music and mindfulness help us to control the voice in our head, and use it to our advantage: both in terms of making music and making healthier mental choices. What does "audiation" mean? Why is it important? And what does mastering this skill teach us about living more mindful lives?

Mistakes are part of what it means to be human. On this Episode Bryan talks with Rishille Pelicié - singer, performer, teacher, super mom, (and Bryan's former childhood vocal coach) about navigating mistakes. What mindful lessons can we take from the experiences of performing, singing, being an artist, and being a parent? 

Music and mindfulness practice enhance your ability to perform - not just on a musical stage, but in so many other areas of life, including fitness! On this episode, Bryan's joined by Marlon Birbridge - a personal trainer, fitness coach, and wellness speaker - to discuss their musical and athletic experiences with mindfulness and performance. 

We can learn something from that feeling of being addicted to a certain song - that urge to play it over and over. Let's talk about the neuroscience behind this habit, and and how a mindful approach can generalize to other addictive habits in our lives - it's a lesson in enjoying the pleasures of the present moment, without clinging. 

Chords are the magic ingredients that influence the emotional flavor of any song. 

On this episode, we're joined by the inimitable multi-instrumentalist, Joseph Gibson, to discuss how certain chords can give different emotional meanings to songs. Being mindful of the emotional color of a song is much like being mindful of the state of your own mind, and can bring valuable insights to your own self-perception and experience. 

If life is like a song, the melody is the emotional story arc. 

On today's episode, Bryan is joined by Dr. Mario Evon Guthrie - singer, and host of the Podcast, "Talk Truth", to explore the how we understand the melody of a song in technical terms and, how we understand it metaphorically as the unique story each of our lives has to tell. 

On this Episode of the Be Here Podcast, we're joined by Counseling Psychologist, Jessica Thompson from the private counseling practice -"Centred" based in Kingston, Jamaica. This time, we're exploring what it means to find your mindfulness centre, as well as your musical centre. What does this look like in practice, and what benefit does this have in your daily life? 

On this episode, we're joined by special guests: Caelan and Gigi from the Contemplations Podcast, to answer the question - why do we like the music that we like? What parts of a song get us excited? And why do we so often look to have our experiences, desires, and identities reflected and validated by the music we listen to?  

The secret to success in mindfulness, music, and just about any domain, is the mastery of intentional breaths.