What a Toledo Musician Taught Me About Mindful Living

Evelyn Reed · 2026-10-16

When I first heard about Thaddaeus Washington, I have to admit I was skeptical. A musician in Toledo, Ohio, claiming that his original compositions could work as meditative practices? It sounded a little too neat. But the more I dug into his story — and the story behind MIND Music — the more it started to make sense. And honestly, it made me rethink a few of my own assumptions about what mindfulness is supposed to look like. ### Music as Medicine Isn't Just a Saying Thadd doesn't treat music as background noise or a nice-to-have. For him, it's an actual tool. He composes pieces specifically designed to slow you down, pull your attention into the present, and give your nervous system a break from the constant churn of the day. Think about that for a second. Most of us reach for music to get pumped up, to power through a workout, or to drown out the silence. Thadd flips that. He asks you to *listen* — really listen — and in doing so, to notice what's happening inside you. That's the part that stuck with me. Mindfulness doesn't always have to mean sitting cross-legged on a cushion, counting your breaths while your knee falls asleep. Sometimes it's just paying attention to a single note as it fades. ### Why This Matters for Anyone Building a Mindful Practice If you work in the mindfulness space, you already know the biggest hurdle: getting people to actually *do* the thing. Meditation apps get downloaded and abandoned. Journals get filled for a week and then collect dust. So when someone finds a doorway into presence that doesn't feel like homework, that's worth paying attention to. Music can be that doorway for a lot of people. Here's why it tends to work: - It meets people where they already are — most of us listen to something every day - It doesn't require instruction or a learning curve - It gives the restless mind something gentle to focus on - It can shift your mood in minutes, not weeks That last point matters more than we often admit. Mindfulness isn't just about calm. It's about noticing what's actually going on with you — and music has a way of surfacing that. ### The Bigger Lesson I Took Away Here's the quote that keeps rattling around in my head, paraphrasing Thadd's whole philosophy: *music is medicine, and the prescription is simply to listen.* It sounds simple. It is simple. But simple isn't the same as easy. Slowing down long enough to actually hear something — without scrolling, without multitasking, without planning your next move — takes practice. That's true whether you're a seasoned meditation teacher or someone who's never tried any of this before. What I love about Thadd's approach is that it's not precious. He's not asking you to buy special equipment or sign up for a 30-day challenge. He's a working artist in a mid-sized American city, making music and offering it up as a practice. That's it. ### How to Try This Yourself You don't need Thadd's compositions specifically, though they're a lovely place to start if you're curious. You can test the idea today: - Pick one song — something without lyrics, ideally - Put your phone face down and close other tabs - Listen from start to finish, noticing when your mind wanders - When it does, gently bring it back to the sound That's it. Five minutes, maybe less. No app, no subscription, no $200 course. If you're someone who guides others toward mindful living, this is a practice worth sharing. Not because it's trendy, but because it's accessible. And accessible practices are the ones people actually stick with. My own journey to mindfulness hasn't been a straight line. It's been fits and starts, apps abandoned, cushions ignored. But finding teachers like Thadd — people who make presence feel possible rather than intimidating — that's what keeps me coming back. Maybe it'll do the same for you.