Midweek Crisis #9
Inspiration Station September vol II 🎶✍️🧘♀️ Featured: Balance & Notion apps, sir Was, Louis The Child with NoMBe & Big Gigantic, Saint Jude, BKA Iz, Jon Hopkins, Ram Dass, East Forest
Hi there,
Today, we will listen to something chill & soothing. If you’re feeling a bit stressed or overwhelmed lately, I think you may like this short issue.
If you prefer, you can jump straight to the Midweek Crisis #9 - Inspiration Station September vol II playlist🎧, or stay with me and get more inspiration. This time, next to the selected songs, I prepared a couple of life-changing app recommendations 📲.
As I said last time, September is an important month for me. Each year, at this time of the year, I sit down and reevaluate my life. Summer is about to end, the new season is incoming. I feel excitement mixed with a dash of anxiety. But I do not scribble a hundred-mile-long TO-DO lists. Instead, I reflect on what my needs are, and what I want to focus on, during the last quarter of the year. I write the essentials down, group them, and prioritize them. For a couple of weeks, I’ve been using the new tool for this purpose - the Notion App.
I make not only notes, but also schedules, lists, tables, and calculations. Styling them with different colors, cards, images, GIFs, and widgets with progress bars and quotes is always a great pleasure for me. What I love about this particular app, is that everything is stored in one place. It’s like an online bullet journal, but interactive, with more options. And you won’t ruin it with poor handwriting 😉. It’s aesthetic, minimalistic, and very functional. To get familiar with its features, I had to spend some time clicking and discovering. But once you figure out how to use it, and what to do with it, you’ll probably fall in love with it, as I did ❤️.
The other thing that I want to introduce to you, is meditation with the Balance app. For the past couple of years, I’ve been trying many different applications for meditation. Balance app is the first one that I’m not bored or annoyed with. We stumbled upon it with my husband Tomek last year, during the hardest time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We both got struck by how much it helped us to function well, sleep, and focus better.
With the soft and calming voices of Ofosu and Leah, we rediscovered meditation. They are amazing guides who share not only useful breathing techniques inside the application. They also share on Instagram many tips and tricks of how to stay on track, or how to add meditation to our daily habits.
Thanks to the Balance app team, we both reach for the meditation more often, than ever. When I had trouble sleeping, I picked sessions from the “Sleep” section. When in pain, I choose “Singles” sessions, like “Pain”, or “SOS”. Balance offers bigger plans and smaller ones. You can choose how long you want to meditate and what techniques you’re interested in practicing.
What also is awesome, is that the Balance currently has a limited-time offer to get the first year free. It’s worth checking it out, not only if you’re stressed, can’t sleep well, or easily get distracted. I like to think of this as a tool for daily mind-hygiene.
If you know the tools I’ve been talking about, don’t hesitate to tell me how you use them. I’m also curious about your own recommendations in that matter. Remember, that you can always connect with me here, or on Instagram.
Have an awesome day, and enjoy todays’ short selection of songs 🎶.
Love,
Stygi
Something Chill ✨
sir Was - Waiting For The Weekend
Today we start with a dreamy tune by Jude Woodhead, a.k.a sir Was, the Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist. The song tells us about the time passing by, tiredness, new things to accept, and chasing peace of mind 💭.
It’s musically smooth, kind of cheerful, but also feels nostalgic. What is causing the specific mood of this song is the health rollercoaster that the musician experienced last year 🎢. During the work on his album, sir Was discovered he has a rare genetic condition that can cause multiple strokes. Me, myself, as a person diagnosed with thrombophilia at a young age and who experienced thrombosis I know how shocking news like this is. It turns one’s life upside down, forcing one to face own mortality.
The whole “I Need A Minute” album is in a pleasant, mellow tone, orbiting the subjects of desires, feelings, and time ⏳. If you like this kind of music, take a look at it - you won’t regret it.
Something Heartening ❤️🩹
Louis The Child - Save Me From Myself (with NoMBe & Big Gigantic)
It’s one of these songs that take people out of the world of worries ☀️. The lyrics are about facing anxiety attacks and fighting voices in the head. One of the authors, NoMBe supposedly admitted on his Instagram, that he wrote the lyrics at the time when one of his best friends relapsed.
“Save Me From Myself” raises the subject of depression, but it’s not all doom and gloom - it’s touching and energetic. It has a therapeutic effect and gives ease to the listener. When I’m in a messy state of mind I really like to comfort myself with this electronic tune.
Something Comforting 🫂
Saint Jude - Keep the Light Inside the House
I have had this song stuck on repeat for weeks. The vocals of Saint Jude, a producer & songwriter straight from London, give me chills ✨. Together with its hazy melodic with an electronic twist, it sounds for me like the mix of The Streets and Foals, who I adore. “Keep the Light Inside the House” is about remaining strong during dark times. When it was released the COVID-19 pandemic kept people indoors, and everyone needed songs like this.
The video clip is worth checking out. It was inspired by a kind of spooky and odd movie -“Mirror” by Andrei Tarkovsky. The clip is dark, full of religious symbols, shots of the moon, butterflies, hands, dance floor lights, and city-by-night views 🌃. Between these images, we can see the performing author. All of this contrasts with uplifting lyrics. With this song, he calls for keeping the faith, and seeking the light in isolation 🕯.
Something Film-Related 🍿
BKA Iz - The Feels
An insanely pleasant, jazzy/hip-hop beat with a delicate touch of piano chords is a thing that gets stuck hard in the head. It opens with one of the most iconic scenes from "Her" movie. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to catch up. It’s a moving, dystopian film about a man falling in love with his operating system. The song is made by BKA IZ, the emcee & beatmaker from the USA. I recommend you to accept his invitation, from the first verses of “The Feels”, and “if you need an escape, just follow the tracks” 🛤.
Something Experimental 🔬
Jon Hopkins, Ram Dass, East Forest - Sit Around The Fire
As a final song, I picked something special. I encourage you to follow my directions to experience this song as fully as I did. My goal is to help you hear what I heard 👂, and pass down the thrill to you ✨.
It will be a stimulating experience, a meditation exercise. Follow these 5 steps to feel true bliss:
Choose the place where it’s most comfortable for you to lie down 🛏
Prepare your headphones next to you 🎧
Find a restful position, lying down 🛌
Close your eyes 😌
Put on your headphones, and let this song guide you through its world 🎶
Prepare for over 8 minutes of the inward journey, with calming sounds of a crackling fire, accompanying the soothing voice of the famous spiritual teacher, Ram Dass 🔥. This one really resonated with me, releasing the stress, causing the goosebumps, and making my eyes water. I have my fingers crossed for you to have a truly relaxing listening session 🎶. The clip is really worth watching! Beautiful animations are perfectly harmonizing with the audio.
That’s the end of this issue. Here you have a complete MC #9 playlist:
Remember: inhale the good shit, exhale the bullshit, and have a great day 🧘♀️.
See you in 2 weeks!
Stygi
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I'm late to reading this one, but I enjoyed the Saint Jude (totally see the Tarkovsky vibe in the video 😂) and BKA Iz songs. The John Hopkins meditative track was great as well, and I really needed that today so I'm quite glad I was a little late to reading! Thanks Stygi!