“The richness of a moment comes when it’s both full and empty at the same time. The truth is, we live simultaneously in time and timelessness.”
Soundbath
Gateways to Now
Years ago, I had an epiphany while listening to Eckart Tolle’s Gateways to Now . The recording/talk, Gateways to Now, was given at the Findhorn community in northern Scotland. It was a fascinating and enlightening talk. However, there was one point he made that I found upsetting.
This is what I heard: He said that Gateways to now are right here, right now, always and it takes nothing special except awareness and attention to live in the now. Some people will spend their entire lifetimes meditating, doing yoga or some other “spiritual” activity to come to it, but it’s always right here, and then he kind of chuckled in that special Eckhart Tolle kind of way, as if to dismiss any activity or exercise related to mental awakening.
That kind ticked me off. I listened that section over and over trying to understand where he was coming from. In hindsight, I’m confident what I heard wasn’t really what he was saying, but it became a point of contemplation for me. After all, I had spent years dedicated to meditating and reading spiritual books to achieve exactly this thing he was now chuckling about, seemingly, in mockery of my dedicated practice!! Gateways to now are nothing special and they’re everywhere, all the time, I thought angrily in disbelief, harrumphing and crossing my arms in frustration.
But, he was right…
It took a handful of years, maybe ten, for me to realize he was right. I came to understand this while working through Michael Brown’s The Presence Process, a remarkably, practical book for “achieving” presence. In some ways, I would say that it’s the practical manual to achieving the things that Eckhart Tolle talks about in The Power of Now and later, in A New Earth.
All of this is to say, that gateways to now are everywhere, all the time. One of the primary gateways to now, for me, is the Ambient Soundbath. I don’t listen to the Ambient Soundbath as the composer or creator, but rather as somebody just looking to get centered, aligned with the now and aware of the present moment. I’ve found a way to remove my ego from “my” work and just immerse myself in the sound. I can use the Ambient Soundbath to wash the troubles of the day away and bathe in the pure sound of the present moment. Eckart was right: Gateways to now are always right here, right now.
Do you use the Ambient Soundbath as a gateway to now, I’d love to hear about it:
A Gateway to Inner Peace
Recently, I changed the Ambient Soundbath tagline to: ‘A Gateway to Inner Peace’. I realized that a focus of meditation, sleep and even relaxation focused on ways to work toward inner peace rather than being in a state of inner peace. This led me to consider the Ambient Soundbath as a gateway to inner peace.
Let me explain.
When I started the Ambient Soundbath in 2011, I wanted to create an outlet for my music, but I also wanted to create a place to feature artists who’s work inspired me. Programs like Music from the Hearts of Space, Star’s End from WXPN and countless long gone regional new age radio programs were also an inspiration. I didn’t have a radio station, but podcasting was new, accessible and freely available to all. In fact, I imagined something, almost like a public service, where people could recharge, take a break from a stressful day, bathe in calming sounds and access a gateway to inner peace.
These were lofty goals.
Podcasting was still new in 2011. The primary feed player was iTunes. There were no feed aggregators, Alexa or IoT devices to play your favorite podcasts. Even smart phones were pretty new. There was also no real accepted interval for putting out new episodes; an area where I’ve struggled mightily to be consistent. Nevertheless, I persevered, urged on by you, the listeners and fans of the Soundbath.
It never should have worked, but somehow it did.
The listenership of the Ambient Soundbath, like most podcasts grew slowly to where we are today: 3,000 subscribers and hundreds of thousands of streams. I’m grateful and humbled by that, but that’s not the most important part.
YOU are the most important part. And through the years, hundreds of Soundbath listeners have written me moving emails about their experiences with the Soundbath. I’ve heard that people use it for meditation, sleep, physical therapy, mental health, yoga, trauma, stress relief, etc. And in all of these applications, you’ve told me that the Ambient Soundbath is a gateway to inner peace. I hold these notes from you among my greatest honors on this human plane.
As we move into the future, it’s important for me to call the Ambient Soundbath what it is. It’s not one of a million music podcasts. It’s not a talking head espousing some perspective punctuated by advertisements, nor is it some meditation, sleep or wellness-adjacent tech tool. The Ambient Soundbath is our gateway to inner peace and I look forward to our continued journey together.
-Matt
Tell me about your journey with the Ambient Soundbath:
Ambient Soundbath Podcast #102 – To Be Alive
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
―
Ambient Soundbath Podcast #101 – The Giving Expanse
The gift lies not
in the receiving,
but in the open
embrace of kinship
and connection.
Ambient Soundbath Podcast #100 – Cahokia Sunrise
Ritual dance.
Solstice.
Kaleidoscope of life
Oranges and yellows
of rebirth
and renewal.
Ambient Soundbath Podcast #98 – Aerochord
Deep meaning,
floating towards
fulfillment revealed.
This program exclusively features the work of Lauge (aka Henrik Laugesen) and the recording Latitudes. The work of Lauge is a new find for me and the work is some of the best, freshest ambient and drone music that I’ve heard in a while. Lauge also curates a great playlist called Ambient Soundscapes on Spotify.
Program/Track Index
00:00 – Floating
04:10 – Aerochord (Ambient Soundbath Edit)
14:10 – Altanen (Drone Edit)
18:10 – Windy Cooridor|
21:40 – Thule (Stretched Edit)
29:30 – Latitude North
42:00 – Harbourfront
44:20 – Sollys (Latitudes Edit)
48:30 – Nautilus
53:20 – Aerochord Reprise (Ambient Soundbath Edit)
Ambient Soundbath Podcast #97 – MindSpace
There’s mindspace,
well-layered motion
without reversal moving us beyond
Ambient Soundbath Podcast #95 – Still Space Journey
Still space journey
the known world’s eye
focusing on forever
Original music by Matt Borghi – Spotify – Bandcamp
Ambient Soundbath Podcast #94 – Reflection of Self
Our life is a reflection of our self.
Let the poetry of meaning wash
over the experience of living…
Anthene – For the First Time in Years
Shape of Things – Alaskan Tapes
Sunset form the Ethereal Shore – Lauge Rework – Spacecraft/Lauge
An Ode to Fring – Good Weather for an Airstrike