Sleep Song

Music adapted from Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III’s Meditative Story, "America’s jam session."

An hour of music that moves from action to contemplation, from solo sounds to ensemble magic. A jazz combo comes together on the fly, each instrument – piano, harp, bass, and more – playing a singular part in a gently energizing tune that shifts from jazz-club swing to a nightclub groove. The instruments are joined by a glorious human voice, as the music coalesces into a shimmering chorus that channels the energy of each instrument and allows the tune to travel to a place of reflection and rest.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Bishop Mariann Budde's Meditative Story, "Three moments of clarity across the arc of a life."

This spacious hour of music is anchored by a mellow piano line that repeats and varies, twists and turns. Clouds of sound drift across the melody, pulling in and out of focus, creating a sense of movement in a direction yet to be known. A gentle rumble of low tones begins a passage that evokes the global palette of sacred music, from singing bowls to devotional organ, creating a space made expressly for contemplation.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Robin Arzón's Meditative Story, "Even a superhero starts with small steps."

As the music begins, a bed of synths and strings creates a quiet starting point for this composition that mixes gentle rhythm and wide-open sonic space. Shakers and subtle percussion move the music along at a soft, steady trot, propelling forward to meet a chorus of violins that lift a bright melody. Rich, chiming electronic sounds connect and diverge, loop and stretch, like electric wires high above the roadside as you pass by.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Joel McHale’s Meditative Story, "One beating heart."

As our Sleep Song begins, a lilting melody on guitar plays against a chorus of delicately ringing celesta and chimes. The sound of a singing bowl cues in a mood of reflection, introducing a passage of swirling synth lines. The mood of the music smoothly alternates between bright and quiet, as between scenes of action and scenes of reflection, each in turn, before we move into a contemplative space of piano and glowing synths, where notes and chimes drift in and out as the mind grows quiet.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Omar Wasow’s Meditative Story, "Getting unstuck, reframing the question."

In this quiet gathering of sounds, a soulful chorus of voices and guitar vibes play above a gentle bed of echoes. As the music progresses, a synth line rises ever so slowly into a bright open soundscape, creating a space for slow realizations and spacious thoughts.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Majora Carter’s Meditative Story, "Do great things – and take your flowers."

As our dream scene opens, a quiet piano theme evokes a feeling of childlike curiosity – looking this way and that, walking slowly, lightly, with no destination in mind. A subtle wash of synthesizer mimics the clouds drifting overhead in the blue sky. The dream scene shifts into a relaxed groove, with a chatty piano line and brushy cymbals, creating a rhythm as we walk along. As in a dream, we pause, contemplate the sky, then keep moving down the sidewalk on this perfect day.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Wayne Little’s Meditative Story, "A nurse's story."

This sweeping composition begins with a single piano describing a plainspoken melody. As the piano strums along, synth effects join the sonic field, creating small slivers of space to reflect on the passage of time forward and backward. More musical voices begin to join in: rich bells chiming, beds of strings creating a wash of quiet drama. The composition returns again to this simple melody on piano, now joined by more voices, complementary sounds that draw together in this shared space.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Stephen Wilkes’s Meditative Story, "What's most vital is right in front of me."

A movable feast of sound, this Sleep Song mixes a gently rippling synth melody with piano pauses and bright sprays of harp and strings, perhaps evoking the motion of the African savannah as animals large and small, walking and flying, move across a landscape as old as time. As the scene changes, a cello theme evokes an early-morning scene on a city street, following the sun as it begins to move across stone facades. In another scene, intimate piano makes way for synths that evoke the anonymous bustle of a public gathering, or a rippling field of flags. Scene follows scene as the music threads through your dreamscape.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Florence Williams’s Meditative Story, "To chase the sunset."

Shimmering strings hover above a quiet piano line, evoking the wide sky and far horizons of the Oklahoma plains, and creating a spacious music that allows room to pause and breathe. Gliding harps come in, holding a conversation with voice lines as they explore and embellish a simple theme, questions and variations playing one after another.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.

Music adapted from Nate Berkus’s Meditative Story, "Designing your space in the world."

After a short welcome from Rohan, the listener enters a musical landscape inspired by a curious young collector. Linked by a quiet piano theme, the music wanders from sound to sound, exploring potential in airy synths, organic found sounds and the many timbres of the human voice – from a soaring chorus to an intimate whisper.

Original music from composer Ryan Holladay.

Meditative Story combines extraordinary human stories with meditation prompts embedded into the storylines — all surrounded by breathtaking music. Think of it as an alternative way into a mindfulness practice, through vivid stories and cinematic music and production values. Find Meditative Story wherever you listen to podcasts.