I found this book in the library and am interested in learning more about music and its relationship with humans. This one on consciousness spoke to me, so I read it, and I have a few quotes to discuss that I found particularly interesting.
Firstly the book is quite religious and spiritual, which is not an issue, but at times, when it started speaking about god and meditation, it put me off. I find these practices interesting, but I wanted to understand more about how sound affects humans, specifically music. What is it about music that connects with us and resonates deeply?
I was discouraged from finishing the book entirely, but I skim-read every page.
The universe is no longer seen as a mechanical system composed of elementary building blocks but rather as a complex web of interdependent relationships. The network of relationships, moreover, is intrinsically dynamic.
I think this resonates with me as well; through reading a lot more, I have opened my eyes and ways of thinking about others’ opinions and forming my own. I agree that nothing is concrete or regimented but a web of relationships. You can’t have one without the other, a reaction without an action. Music and its relationships with humans stem deeper than just enjoying sonic qualities.
The present book explores the ancient proposition that “the world is sound” Nada Brahma
This quote stood out as it is very simple, sound is the world. Strange, but perhaps to some people, it speaks volumes.
He argues that for the past several hundred years our western culture has overemphasised seeing and neglected listening.
Ocullarcentrism is a very alive and thriving thing within our society; this quote further reaffirms other beliefs of other theorists. We overemphasise sight over sound most definitely; what are the outcomes and reflections of society that mirror this statement?
Nada Brahma means not only: God, the creator, is sound; but also (and above all): Creation, the cosmos, the world, is sound. And even: Emptiness is sound. And finally: Spirit and soul are sound.
I have issues with the word God and how to represent it. To me, God is not something I like reading, listening to, or hearing. It’s a strange symptom, but this quote reflects that god is just a word that we use and does not mean a creator. To label sound as a god because it creates existence or space, the same way in Christianity, God created the earth, is an interesting reclaim of the word. I like it. In that way, musicians and sound artists are all Gods as well?
Koans are formulas, questions, or problems that seem to be rational and yet have no rational solutions. You can solve them only by meditating. And you can solve them only for yourself. No one can use anyone else’s solution. Were I to know the answer and write it down here, it would be absolutely meaningless for other, even if that solution had changed my life—and thats what the answers to a koan does: it changes one’s life.
This book also reflects on meditation and Indian/eastern philosophies from Buddhism. It describes this idea of a Koan, something that one has to ponder, a question that has no answer or a rational solution. You can only solve them by meditating. Perhaps meditating could be sitting and closing one’s eyes and thinking and also in a flow state, creating and editing audio and music. I also liked the idea that one answer for someone is not the same for anyone else; I relate this towards practice as well; as artists, we constantly seek the answer of being efficient, being successful even being happy. But we must understand that everyone is different; the answer comes from us, not someone telling us the correct way to do things.
The vowels have a cosmic reference. They correspond to the planets: A to Jupiter, I to Mars, O to Venus, U to Saturn and E to Mercury. In other words, there is a correlation between the vibrations of the vowels and those of the planets, as was pointed out by the great astronomer Johannes Kepler
Cosmic reference is perhaps too deep for me, but ordinary reference is interesting. I’m trying to allocate philosophical ideas within the work I will produce. Perhaps this is one way; if each planet is a vowel, maybe each vowel has a power associated with it. Each planet in greek mythology was related to a different thing; mars are for men women came from venus.
Overall, this book was a great way of thinking about music on a deeper spiritual, conscious level. But at the same time, it made me want to put it down. I’m taking the benefits and applying them to my work.