Some meditate; I rock out. →[More:]
As a kid I played violin, and was made to practice every day for thirty minutes to an hour. Eventually I sounded good enough that practice became a creative process and a form of meditation: concentration, discipline, and a sense of having sorted out my energies have been a part of practice since I was good enough to enjoy listening to myself.

I started playing guitar as well in junior high. I have no guitar training, but my practice habits and feel for stringed music have certainly shaped my approach to the instrument. Now I play violin rarely, and I rock out on guitar for an hour or so every day.

Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese buddhist teacher, speaks of washing the dishes to wash the dishes, not in order to make them clean. His point is that the most mundane tasks can serve as meditations when a mindful person approaches them as such. And that accomplishing mundane tasks in a mindful state renders the everyday, meditative, and can lead to a life of inner peace.

When I rock out, I am washing the dishes to wash the dishes. It gives me great pleasure to make music. But it focuses my mind -- it requires my mind -- and that, I think, is my greatest benefit from rocking.

When I finish rocking out, I feel focused, and smart, and in tune. I get better at playing every time I do it. I get better at focusing, too.

Long live rock and roll. Any of you guys have this sort of everyday meditative practice?