Tag Archive: meditation


Conspicuous mindfulness

Filed under: Health and fitness, Humour, Poetry — 1 Comment
February 13, 2021

Image from zeninthecity.org’ website

The young son of a friend of mine is experimenting with meditation in order to cope with the kind of anxiety people of all ages are suffering from right now.

While applauding this practical attempt to his improve mental wellbeing, my friend also expressed some irritation. “He does his practice so conspicuously”, he said, “So you could be traveling on a bus or train with him and suddenly realize that he is physically present but mentally elsewhere.” 

The image of his son entering into a higher plain in a public space made me laugh and inspired me to write the following poem:

Conspicuous mindfulness

 I’m conspicuously mindful

I meditate on trains

My head is in a sacred place

Not earthly bound in chains

 

I’m conspicuously mindful

I ruminate on stars

My days are spent in secret zones

Not hanging out in bars

 

I’m conspicuously mindful

I worship where I please

My arms embrace eternity    

While you’re still hugging trees

 

I’m conspicuously mindful

I brood without a sound

And though I rarely make a noise

You know when I’m around

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

A SCEPTIC’S GUIDE TO TIM PARKS

Filed under: Books, Italy — Leave a comment
May 23, 2011

Because of the Anglo-Italian connection and the fact that Tim Parks is about the same  age as me, people tend to assume that I can identify with and admire his work as an author, translator and essayist.

However, I have never been particularly drawn to his fiction, and didn’t like his anecdotal accounts – An Italian Education and Italian Neighbours  – based on his life as an ex-pat in Verona . These are supposed to be full of “anthropological wryness” but I found them to be smug and clichéd.

My low opinion is also swayed by accounts of a number of friends and colleagues who have met him. All describe him as an ego on legs who loves the sound of his own voice; good company only  if your idea of fun is spending an evening listening to someone telling you ‘why I write such brilliant books’.

Big-hearted guy that I am, I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt as I embarked on Teach Me To Sit Still which a friend bought me as a birthday gift.

I was relieved to find that it was not a novel and not ostensibly about an Englishman’s experiences in Italy.  Its subtitle is ‘ A sceptic’s search for health and healing’. It is a book about illness, self-doubt and meditation – part autobiography, part self-help guide and ultimately what Parks says is his “transformation book”. 

It documents how the onset of chronic pelvic pain had a major impact on how he sees  his life and work. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

A condensed history of drone music

Filed under: Music — Leave a comment
May 11, 2008

A HIGHLY CONDENSED HISTORY OF DRONES IN MUSIC AND SOME BLOG-SIZED THOUGHTS ON WHY PEOPLE STILL LISTEN TO THEM
In Indian music the four stringed tambura is used to produce the drone which is commonly known as a ‘Raag’ – a colloquial word for the classical term ‘raga’. This describes the scale pattern and melodic motif as well as being a word that embraces the philosophical and moral ideas defining a musical performance.
In Northern Indian classical music, improvisation takes place with the musical anchor of any one of 200 main raags. Each one is different and contains its own complex set of rules. In India another way of saying ‘drone’ is ‘Nada Brahma’ (God is sound).
American composer, La Monte Young is generally credited with bringing the drone from its Indian roots into the Western classical environment. Check out his Notes on Continuous Periodic Composite Sound Waveform Environment Realizations for some un-light reading & audio samples.
John Cale, himself a former pupil of La Monte Young, helped redefine this radicalism from Avant-Garde modernist backwater into the realm of popular music on tracks like The Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus In Furs’.
The use of single repetitive tones is in marked contrast to the conventional sound of Western Pop’s structured hooks and climaxes.
So why do people still listen to them?
John Blades, a radio programmer from Australia put forward a convincing explanation:
“in recent years, there has been an increase in total listening, and drone listening requires total immersion in the sound environment. I also believe that, with the global atmosphere of violence and terrorism, meditative and total listening experiences are more highly regarded”
In other words drones can connect the listener to the need for a sense of permanence and stability. Those who criticise the lack of variety are missing the fact that this is also a significant part of its appeal.
While New Weird links to ethereal acoustic folk can clearly be heard in modern drone-based artists like Pelt, Double Leopards and Six Organs of Admittance, drones are also a key element in the psych-rock tribalism of more noise orientated bands like Animal Collective, Yellow Swans or Vibracathedral Orchestra.
An actively engaged listener can see the monotone not as monotony but as possibility -an absorbing sonic canvas which can create meditative moods, disorientation or a healthy combination of both.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment