This course is best described as a seminar/workshop that is heavily weighted on experiential learning and practising what you study to inform and improve your understanding.  Throughout diverse cultures of the world, music, specialized sound and related practices are employed to access altered, higher states of consciousness to achieve specific goals.  Through readings, lectures, recorded and live musical examples, class discussion, and experiential projects, we will explore the subject of music, the mind, and meditation from a holistic perspective.  Through our exploration, we will learn about the role of music, sound and the mind in the process of meditation in diverse cultures, drawing attention to features, principles, and processes that are culture-dependent and those that are culture-transcendent and universal.  Moreover, we will explore how this can be relevant and practical in our own lives.