The Future Sounds Like This

Imagine the Earth, your community, and your life in 10 years. What does that vision feel and sound like? Is there a song or sound that captures the feeling you want for the future?

I have spent the past months thinking about how we can build our way out of the societal mess we are in. There has been a huge amount of awareness-building in recent years, from global warming, BLM, to Gaza, the Congo and Sudan. Many more people now know about these systemic injustices, all driven by the same colonial, extractive system. Awareness has intensified in the last two years, especially as Israel commits a live-streamed genocide in Gaza.

Never before have we witnessed such violence in real-time on our phones. This level of awareness has permanently changed how many of us think and feel. The problem is no longer awareness; the problem is that most people are mentally held captive by a failing, corrupt system. They’ve lost hope.

There comes a point when awareness alone is no longer enough, and I believe we have now reached that point. We have educated, advocated, marched in the streets, raised our voices in solidarity with the oppressed, and held space for the pain that injustice leaves behind. All of this must and will continue.

Yet I have come to recognise a brutal truth: those with the courage to challenge injustice are already active, outspoken, and dedicated. Those who stay silent or willingly ignore overwhelming evidence and moral duty have, through their silence, chosen their side. Their voices may feed the dominant narrative, but they should not be the ones shaping our future.

This newsletter edition is a love letter to those who are fighting. I know most of you are burnt out. I hope that by the end of reading this, you feel a renewed sense of energy and find solace in the fact that its your vision our world most needs for the future.

Over these months, my train of thought has centred around a question: how can we inspire the good, sane, and moral people to use their precious energy to help build the future we all need?

In Ailton Krenak’s book Ideas to Postpone the End of the World, he argues for dreaming as a vital act of world-building, claiming that society must reimagine futures grounded in interconnection, ecological balance, and respect for the Earth, since the dominant worldview envisions only exploitation.

In our current system and culture, imagination is not positioned as a core strength or a muscle that young people need to flex. In my first newsletter of 2025, I argued that hope is a muscle and that we need to work on our hope for the future we are building. The same logic applies to our imagination. We should actively train our brains to imagine positive futures and outcomes.

I recently watched a weird but interesting video on YouTube about why so many “Simpsons prophecies” have come true. There's been commotion about eerie predictions on old episodes (i.e., Trump as president, etc.).

Despite it all being quite ridiculous, people have questioned this seemingly unexplainable phenomenon. The video explained that because The Simpsons was such a cultural phenomenon watched by millions of people, messages in these episodes somehow landed in the collective consciousness, creating a feedback loop, where some of the ideas actually came true.

It’s not that they were prophecies; it’s that collectively, the power of our imagination is what created new realities.

The power of The Simpsons, she explained, is that it’s a made-up world, so we feel relaxed watching it because we aren’t associating it with our own lives. Multiple spiritual concepts also suggest that being in a very relaxed and present state of mind can help us connect with the divine better.

It may be bizarre to many, but to me, this concept makes sense. If enough people have an idea in their imagination and it therefore exists in the collective consciousness, then it is more likely to materialise into reality.

And for those who think ideas around a collective consciousness are complete rubbish, I have one thing to say. Whether it is true or not, doesn’t matter; the fact is that our chances are better using our imagination in this way than the alternative.

So, how can we tap into our imagination and start picturing, or training for, positive new realities?

I have been experimenting with this question through song. I find a song whose feeling, meaning, and expression give a sense of something important we need in our future. There is, of course, no one song, sound or voice that represents this; I could probably think of hundreds. But in this experiment, I sink deeper into the chosen sound or song and let my mind let go. In a space of presence, I let the song wash through me, and I use it as a guide. How can I incorporate this feeling into my daily routine or overall week?

I imagine a world where the positive feeling or message is present by default.

My choice for this newsletter edition is a beautiful Persian song that recently went viral on social media. The video begins at the most emotive part, but please listen all the way through if you have time.

Tap play to listen -

You do not need to understand the words to feel the emotion.

The song, عاشقانه‌ها (Aasheghaneha, “Love Songs”), is a mystical meditation on love in the Persian Sufi tradition, blending imagery of nature, eternity, and the soul’s liberation.

It uses the language of human love to speak of the transformative, liberating, and eternal nature of divine love. It celebrates love as the reason for life, the source of renewal, the force that protects from death, and the key to freedom, set in imagery that ties human emotion to the rhythms of nature and the cosmos.

In this song, love is the lifeblood of the world, the water that revives the heart and the spring that turns bare branches green again. It is the force that frees the soul from captivity and the shield that renders death powerless. Love is both shelter and sun, their presence woven into every dawn and nightfall, their absence turning the sky to mourning. This is not only human love, but the divine current running through all things, binding us to each other, to the earth, and to eternity. In its embrace, the future is already seeded, waiting only to be sung into being.

I chose this song to represent my vision for the future: a place where we are no longer prisoners of our own fears.

In the West, we are captives living in an illusion of democracy and freedom- why else would so many have remained silent on Gaza for two years? We are captives of powerful narratives and fears of exile from jobs, from community.

I believe in a future that sounds like genuine liberation, and this can only begin from within our minds, hearts, and souls. Collectively, we are repressed, and we live in a world where unregulated humans make decisions that serve their egos and cause horrific destruction to millions. We do not have to put up with this or deal with it politely. But we do, because we are captives.

The longer we fail to free ourselves, the longer we hold others captive under the systems we uphold. This is as literal as it is metaphorical. We are captives of consumerism, and most of the Western world buys into an incessant need for new technology. We know that much of our tech consumption contributes to the enslavement of children and subsequent genocides in the Congo, yet we still want that new iPhone. We are captives.

We know that our constant craving for new wardrobes and cheap goods fuels sweatshop labour, yet we still, guiltily or not, make those orders. We are captives, and the sooner we acknowledge it, the sooner we can work towards freedom. Awareness is essential, but now that we have it, the question becomes: what do we do? Let’s start using that light of awareness to guide us forward.

For me, that light has always been music. It helps my mind cut through layers of confusion, fear, or conditioning, bringing me into presence. I believe music can guide us forward if we use it as a tool for presence and as a torch to help us see more clearly.

True liberation of the soul can only come from first seeing reality as it is, and knowing that we are far more than what we see or hear. I want a future that treasures the deeper dimensions of the heart, is rich in imagination and hope, and is driven by love for each other and the Earth rather than individualism.

This newsletter is a call to go beyond resisting what exists, and to begin imagining and articulating what could be. In fact, it marks the beginning of a new thread of work I will focus on more intensively in the coming months.

The world we desire will not emerge simply by dismantling oppressive systems; it must also be built on a foundation of clear-eyed vision, imagination, and hope. Now, more than ever, we should be speaking openly about the future we wish to inhabit, and articulating clearly what justice, community, and solidarity could sound like, feel like, and ultimately become.

The right music has always been a powerful vehicle for this mission. Throughout history, it has been the heartbeat of resistance, the centre of community, and the soundtrack of liberation. There are songs which can articulate our pain while also embodying our aspirations. Music unites us, allows us to move as one, and connects us deeply across cultures, languages, and borders. It can transcend barriers, transforming personal hope into collective action.

The future is not a hazy, distant reality to passively await; we can begin building it in our minds now. Fill your ears with a sound that ignites your heart and makes you feel excited and hopeful. Articulate it; what exactly are you hoping for, and why? Are your hopes from a place of love or ego? Be self-aware and fine-tune your vision, then use it as a guide. Having a vision for the future is such a powerful personal asset; it gives purpose and helps align all decision-making.

Share your vision with those around you, and let them be inspired. Give someone the gift of hope during times of pain and turbulence.

So, while you are here reading this small newsletter in the corner of the internet, I invite you to imagine: what does the future sound like?

I’d love to know what the future sounds like to you. Drop your songs and thoughts in the comments.

With love, sound, and solidarity,
Ariana

P.S. I am working on an exciting project around the theme of this edition. I am looking to interview a small number of inspiring people who work at the intersection of music and mental health or liberation. Please reach out to me at asefre@proton.me if you know someone I should speak with!