What a Toledo Musician Taught Me About Mindful Living

Evelyn Reed · 2026-10-16

When I first heard about Thaddaeus Washington, I wasn't sure what to expect. A musician from Toledo, Ohio, who calls his work "music as medicine"? It sounded a little woo-woo, honestly. But the more I sat with it, the more it made sense. And the more it made me think about my own winding path toward mindful living. Thadd is the founder of MIND Music, and he composes original pieces meant to be used as meditative practices. Not background noise. Not a playlist to fold laundry to. Actual, intentional practice. That distinction matters more than most of us realize. ### Music Isn't Just Sound — It's a Practice Think about the last time a song stopped you in your tracks. Maybe you were driving, or washing dishes, or just sitting on the couch. Something in the melody pulled you out of your head and into the moment. That's not an accident. That's presence sneaking up on you. For Thadd, that's the whole point. He doesn't treat composition as performance first. He treats it as a doorway. You press play, you close your eyes, and you let the sound do what sound does — slow you down. - You don't need training to benefit from it - You don't need a fancy meditation cushion or an app subscription - You don't need to "clear your mind" (nobody actually does that) - You just need a few minutes and a willingness to listen That's it. That's the practice. ### My Own Journey Wasn't Linear Here's the thing nobody tells you about mindfulness: it's not a destination. I spent years thinking I'd "arrive" someday — calm, centered, permanently zen. Spoiler alert: that day never came. What came instead was a series of small, unglamorous moments. A deep breath before a hard conversation. Noticing the weight of my feet on the floor. Listening to a piece of music without reaching for my phone. > "Mindfulness isn't about emptying your mind. It's about noticing what's already there — including the noise." That reframe changed everything for me. And it's exactly what Thadd's approach to music embodies. He's not asking you to escape. He's inviting you to stay. ### Why This Matters for Busy People If you're like most people I talk to, your days are packed. Work, family, errands, the endless scroll. Adding a 45-minute meditation session to that list feels laughable. But music-based mindfulness doesn't demand that. It meets you where you are. You can try it right now, actually. Pick a song — something instrumental, something slow. Put on headphones if you have them. Close your eyes for three minutes and just listen. Notice where the sound goes in your body. Notice when your mind wanders, and gently bring it back. That's the whole thing. No pressure, no perfection. ### The Takeaway Thaddaeus Washington's story is a good reminder that mindfulness doesn't belong to any one tradition or type of person. It shows up in studios in Toledo, in kitchens, in cars stuck in traffic. It's available to anyone willing to pay attention. So the next time you hear a piece of music that makes you pause — don't rush past it. Stay there for a second. That pause? That's the practice. That's the journey. And honestly, it's a journey worth taking, one note at a time.