Most, if not all, musicians and artists i know all share an experience of deep peace and oneness when they are deep in their work. When this experience happens, everything flows, there is an effortlessness and a blissful feeling of being ‘at one’ with the work being created.
It is a feeling i can relate to, and on many occasions as a performer i have also had similar experiences of oneness with the music, the audience, my fellow bandmates.
When i was in my teens and early 20’s It became a catalyst for a search for deeper meaning in my life.
I could feel on top of the world writing, recording, performing – and i usually did! But in life outside of music the feeling would leave me and i would feel lost, doubtful, fearful. I was not in a very good place.
The difference of being ‘at one’ and being ‘my normal neurotic self’ was overwhelmingly large.
I had a strong belief that those experiences were possible in ‘normal’ life, and that i was being taught something through all this. So i went on a quest to see if it was possible.
This led me to Transcendental Meditation. The effects are cumulative, in that the longer you have meditated, the greater the effects. In my case, It had an immediate benefit – my busy mind became a lot easier to live with, and i started to gain in confidence, and become more self-reliant.
Ive been meditating now for 25 years and i would highly recommend it to anyone. It is a beautiful, simple and effortless process that leaves you more energised, less stressed, and more creative.
More information on the Transcendental Meditation technique here:
Iain Petrie ‘ill stay by you’ 
Gary Miller ‘Reflections on war’ 
Iain Petrie ’I need to know’