Sound Bath Chapter Three — Sojourning into the Present Moment

Mat Creedon
Jan 5
5 min read

Sound Bath Reflections on How the Mind Avoids the Now

Welcome to another Afterbath Session with Mat Creedon 🌿

This Sound Bath chapter explores something most of us live with every day, yet rarely question:

the way the mind quietly pulls us away from the present moment.

We often assume the mind is here to help us — to solve problems, plan ahead, and keep us safe. And to some degree, that’s true. But left unchecked, the mind doesn’t just solve problems — it creates them.

This Sound Bath reflection isn’t about silencing the mind or making it disappear.

It’s about seeing how it works — and noticing what becomes available when it no longer runs the show.

A man plays a flute into a microphone, sitting against a plain white background. He's focused, wearing a dark shirt and jeans. Black and white image. — black-and-white photo of Mat Creedon playing a bamboo Flute

Sound Bath and the Illusion of Problems

The human mind is a problem-solving device.

That’s its job.

But here’s something worth noticing in the context of Sound Bath and awareness:

To have a problem, you need a solution.

And that solution always exists somewhere in the future.

The strange thing is — we never actually arrive in the future.

So what we often call a “problem” is really just a situation.

And with a situation, you always have options.

You can take action.

You can plan to take action.

Or — if nothing can be done — you can accept the situation and meet it as it is.

The mind tends to resist that last option.

Acceptance doesn’t give it much to do.

Sound Bath practice gently reveals this resistance by bringing attention back to what’s actually happening now — not what the mind thinks should be happening later.

Sound Bath Awareness and Meeting What Is

Imagine there’s an alarm going off outside your house.

Getting angry about the sound doesn’t help.

But you still have choices.

You could investigate it.

You could call someone.

You could plan to deal with it later.

And if none of that is possible — you’re still left with the sound.

This is where Sound Bath awareness becomes interesting.

Instead of labelling the sound as “annoying,” you could listen more closely.

Notice its rhythm.

Its pitch.

Its texture.

You might even try something counter-intuitive —

amplifying the sound in your awareness.

The mind struggles with this approach.

It wants control.

When you move toward discomfort rather than away from it, the mind often panics and tries to create a new problem elsewhere.

This is one of the great revelations Sound Bath listening can offer:

the mind isn’t really solving problems — it’s creating activity to stay in control.

Sound Bath, Boredom, and the Mind’s Need for Labels

Boredom is another strategy the mind uses to avoid the present moment.

Boredom isn’t a lack of stimulation.

It’s what happens when the mind runs out of labels.

The mind labels everything to feel safe:

“This is boring.”

“This is familiar.”

“This is nothing special.”

But labels are not experiences.

You can label a flavour as sweet,

but how do you describe sweetness to someone who has never tasted it?

No matter how many words you use, the understanding only arrives through experience.

Sound Bath works in the same way.

It bypasses labels and invites direct experience.

Once something is labelled, the mind stops looking.

It feels settled — briefly — until it gets bored again.

Sound Bath and the Difference Between Experience and Knowledge

As children, many of us memorised facts, names, and dates.

We learned about things rather than experiencing them.

Labels can make the mind feel knowledgeable, but without lived experience, they’re hollow.

It’s far richer to have an experience you can’t explain

than a label with nothing underneath it.

Sound Bath invites this kind of wordless understanding —

a knowing that comes from listening, feeling, and being present.

Sound Bath and Drama as Distraction

The mind also avoids the present moment by creating drama around the past and future.

Memories.

Regrets.

Plans.

Anxieties.

Excitement about what’s coming next.

Yet some of the most meaningful moments in life are the quiet ones.

Sitting with someone you love.

Sharing a cup of tea.

Not needing to say anything.

The mind often dismisses these moments as “boring” because there’s no narrative to chew on.

Sound Bath gently reveals how much richness exists beneath that judgement —

when we stop needing life to entertain us.

Sound Bath and the Noisy Flatmate in Your Head

The mind can feel like a noisy flatmate who never stops talking.

Complaining.

Judging.

Replaying conversations.

Inventing problems.

Over time, it’s easy to start believing everything it says.

Sound Bath creates a different relationship with that voice —

not by fighting it, but by noticing it as just another sound arising in awareness.

Once seen clearly, its grip begins to loosen.

Sound Bath and Turning Life into a Means to an End

Another subtle habit of the mind is turning the present moment into a means to an end.

Chopping vegetables becomes something to rush through so dinner can happen.

Work becomes something to endure so money arrives.

Life becomes something to get through so retirement finally begins.

Sound Bath presence asks a simple question:

What if this moment mattered too?

Even activities we don’t love can soften when met with attention rather than resistance.

Sound Bath, Meditation, and Winding Down

Many people say they can’t meditate because their mind is too noisy.

That’s precisely why Sound Bath and meditation are helpful.

You don’t need to be good at it.

You don’t need to achieve anything.

If you’re wound up, doing more stimulating activities won’t help.

You need to wind down.

Sound Bath offers a direct way to do that —

even briefly, even imperfectly.

Sleep is important, but sleep reflects your waking life.

If your days are chaotic, your nights often are too.

Sound Bath invites rest while awake.

Sound Bath and the Illusion of Importance

The mind also distracts us by convincing us that everything depends on us.

That our role is irreplaceable.

That the weight of the world rests on our shoulders.

But life continues.

When we believe we’re carrying everything alone, the present moment becomes something to survive rather than inhabit.

Sound Bath gently reminds us that we can put the load down —

at least for a while.

Sound Bath as a Return to the Now

If you look closely, you’ll see that the mind creates endless drama in its search for peace.

And never quite finds it.

Peace isn’t in the next thought.

It isn’t in fixing the past or predicting the future.

It’s here.

Sound Bath doesn’t add anything to this moment.

It simply helps you notice what’s already present.

A 15-Minute Sound Bath Invitation — Sojourn

To support this chapter, a 15-minute Native American Flute Sound Bath called Sojourn has been created as a direct invitation into the present moment.

This Sound Bath isn’t something to analyse or understand.

It’s something to enter.

🎶 Listen to the 15-minute Native American Flute Sound Bath Sojourn here:

👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSvP5ibuCSc