Repetition

Select a new song by an artist to whom you do not typically listen–one that is not a song that you liked the first time you heard it,  and one that you have not paid attention to when it is being played.

Now listen to it again and again and again, and watch your mind discovering that certain parts of it are more pleasurable than other parts.

Watch as you slowly develop a favorite part(s).

Ask yourself:

Why did I reject this song so quickly when I first heard it?

DID “I” reject it? Or, did some”thing” else do that for me? How can I be more aware of my evaluation processes?

Have I, at least in some small way, changed my mind about this song now?

Because I have done this small experiment, have I fundamentally changed my way of listening to new songs?

Do I now want to listen to other songs by this artist?

What is the nature of mental repetition, and what is its effect on interpretation of the qualities of an experience?

Why do I begin to like certain parts of this song?

Why is it that the song is losing its power to annoy me?

What is the nature of repetition that it dulls my emotional responses?

Does this song now replay itself in my mind? Is my mind fickle or what?

Am I so powerful that I can find good in anything? Should I do this more often? What would the long-term payoff be to me to support this proactively?