A 2024 peer-reviewed study came out of Berlin that looked at how the Lucia Light (yes, the exact one I use at RE:MIND) affects how people emotionally respond to music. Not hypothetically. Not in a “this seems cool” kind of way. In a lab, with actual data, using actual people. I’ve been offering Light meditation in Vancouver for years—watching people walk out of sessions feeling lighter, clearer, and more grounded. That being said, I’m not a university, I don’t publish peer-reviewed studies so when I stumbled across one that confirmed what I see in my sessions? Hell yeah.
What the Research Actually Looked At
The Lucia Light isn’t just meditation with light. This is a piece of tech used in university labs to study emotional processing, altered states of consciousness, and how we experience music. The exact model I use at RE:MIND—the Lucia N°03—was part of this peer-reviewed study. So when I say there’s science behind what I do, I mean actual science. With data. And ethics approval. And the whole academic shebang.
Here’s what they did: they had 22 participants come in (screened for safety—no epilepsy, no psych meds, no migraines, etc.), lie under the Lucia Light with their eyes closed, and listen to instrumental music through high-end noise-canceling headphones. Each person went through two sessions: one with the light flickering at a steady 10 Hz (which is that calm-alert alpha brainwave zone), and one without any light at all.
The music? It wasn’t random. It was the exact same playlist used in a previous LSD study—ambient, instrumental tracks specifically selected to be emotionally evocative. Think Brian McBride, Ólafur Arnalds, Greg Haines. The kind of music that already has emotional undertones, even without lyrics.
And the results? People felt more. Specifically, they felt more of what the study called “Joyful Activation” (because academia can’t just say “big feelings”). That’s things like emotional energy, inspiration, awe. The kicker? The stronger the visuals they saw behind their eyelids during the light session, the stronger the emotional punch the music packed.
So… What Happens When the Music Matters?
Which is fascinating—because these weren’t even songs the participants had any personal connection to. So if neutral music paired with the Lucia Light could do that? Then what happens when you listen to your music under the light—the stuff that already matters to you? Songs tied to your life, your body, your memory? That’s the question that’s been bouncing around in my head ever since I read the study.
So I’m trying it. I’m picking a few songs to try during my light meditation in Vancouver session that already feel like part of my DNA and finding instrumental versions of them. And then I’m listening to them under the light. Not to recreate the study—but to take it personally. To see what surfaces. To feel what the light brings up when the music already has meaning.
My First Song: Why “Happy” Still Hits
One of the first songs I’m going to try is the instrumental version of “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. That song got me through one of the most chaotic and terrifying times of my life. I was newly diagnosed with cancer. Still pregnant. Still spinning. I didn’t know the stage yet or how far it had spread beyond my colon. Total fucking chaos.
And somehow that song helped me stay in a mindset that wasn’t just survival. I danced and I cried. I repeated it over and over until my nervous system got the message. I’m going to listen to it under the light and I’m writing this before doing it. I’m not chasing a specific feeling—I’m just open. I want to see what happens when the light meets a song that once carried me through.
But that’s just me experimenting. In the original study, they used music the participants didn’t have any personal connection to—just carefully chosen, emotionally evocative instrumental tracks. And even that was enough to create a measurable emotional shift.
Want to Hear What They Heard?
You can actually listen to the two original playlists from the study. Here they are on Spotify:
Light Meditation in Vancouver
I don’t know exactly what this little experiment will turn into. A new offering? A playlist series? Maybe just a way to feel more. But I do know this: the light and music together do something real. And now, there’s science to back that up.
The science is starting to catch up to what I see in sessions all the time.
This might explain why I always recommend the Lucia Light when someone’s feeling stuck. The visuals aren’t just pretty—they seem to help people let go and actually move through emotions. It’s like the light gently turns up the volume on whatever’s under the surface, so you can finally hear it—and feel it.
So if you’re curious what your music might feel like while experiencing light meditation in Vancouver, the kind that already lives in your bones—you know where to find me.
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