Steve Swallow — American Musician born on October 04, 1940,

Steve Swallow is a jazz bassist and composer noted for his numerous collaborations with musicians including Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar... (wikipedia)

Occasionally, when I run into a great bass backstage at a festival I'll play a few notes on the low E string, just to feel the instrument vibrate against my belly.
I don't meditate before I play or compose, but I see playing and composing as meditative acts.
I found it liberating of necessity to devise my own style and my own tactics and to look for a voice on the instrument because there weren't really any that impacted strongly on me.