Quick update: new Practice Songs on the App

New material is added to the App on a daily basis. You’re probably used to checking the Latest Updates folder, but while those additions are chronological, we want to point out some new folders and specific categories where fresh material has been added over the last few months. 

Today, we will focus on music. Songs, chants, and natural sounds play an important part in the practice of mindfulness, and with the help of monastics and lay practitioners, we’re never short of new, inspiring material.

If you want to update your practice playlist, here are some places to find new material: 

Practice Songs

For new songs, go to Resources and click on Practice Songs.

Classics 

You can find most of the classic Plum Village songs, like ‘Breathing In, Breathing Out’ or ‘Happiness Is Here and Now’, in the Classics folder.

Many reworkings of Plum Village classics, by varied artists like Monica Max West and Bao-Tich Nguyen, can be found in the Be In folder.

Peace sounds

Many of the musicians mentioned in this article are part of the Peace Sounds project, which began as an album lovingly produced by Wake Up London & Friends. Now, the project has grown into a home for music and audio, singing and speaking for and about peace, and for similarly inspired recordings.

Although the majority of the songs have most in common with folk music, they don’t shy away from exploring mindfulness through rap, hip-hop, and ambient electronica. For more songs from Peace Sounds, check out the Be In folder too.

This is how I’d like my life to be
To live as trusting as a leaf on a tree
Let the seasons take good care of me
This is how I’d like to be

To not be fearful of the falling down
Not cling too tightly when my time comes round
Gladly sink into the winter ground
Knowing the best of me
Will come back around

From ‘Prayer’ by lay practitioner Betsy Rose

Please also consider supporting the artists personally by visiting them online. 🎧

Song tutorials

A new video series of casual Song Tutorials allows you to learn to sing practice songs and play them on guitar. These tutorials are taught by Joe Holtaway – a singer-songwriter from England who has worked with Wake Up Schools since 2016. He has recorded a number of Plum Village classics and prepared these video tutorials with the help of Yvonne Mazurek, also of Wake Up Schools..

In this folder, you’ll also find several audio tutorials for singing, where you can learn some Plum Village classics with Sister Chanh Nghiem. 

Musical deep relaxations

A great addition to the many other guided deep relaxations on the App, these relaxations are infused with guitar-playing by Joe Holtaway and last roughly half an hour or more.

Children’s songs

Some of Joe Holtaway’s reworkings of Plum Village classics for children (from the Plum Jam album) have been added to the Children’s Songs folder.

Albums

Under Practice Songs, you can enjoy full albums too: Mountains of Interbeing, Basket of Plums, Basket of Plums 2, One Buddha Is Not Enough (live in Colorado), and Healing Songs.

Additional songs

➛ In the Chansons folder of the App’s French section, you can now enjoy more songs en français
➛ Live songs from the Rose Ceremony (a celebration of parents) can be found in the Be In folder.

And these are just a few of the many wholesome songs and musical arrangements on the App. Remember to watch this space for more mindful music. 🙏

When we listen to the music, we consume. And […] the Buddha recommended that we consume mindfully so that we will not ingest toxins into our body and mind.

Thich Nhat Hanh

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 ☁️ As has been the case with Buddhist teachings for millennia, there is no charge for the Plum Village App and its digital content. However, if your means allow, please consider offering a donation to support our small team’s continued work on the App.