Blocked blog unblocked blog blog blog (sung to Camptown races)

This morning I was "locked out" of my blog for email address reasons but figured it out with help from a friend. Just the usual having to log on and forgetting details like which email address to use. All better now (Thanks KCM)

I've been meditating on the message: "Ephemeral love is not real love: Eternal love is necessary" attributed to Shri Lahiri Mahasaya. Wow! the more I act that way or think that way intentionally, the more peace I have. For starters we are all in that eternal stream and Loving the eternal is not an option. One of the things I've noticed is that with that goal in mind, one can perhaps get the feeling of "starting from here" and a kind of peace and independence from all real and imagined social disturbances in the mind, seem to evaporate as it is now up to oneself to do this. Social responsibilities/duties of course still have to be maintained. So forgiveness can be hoped for, presence of mind can be hoped for, escaping the ego mask can be hoped for (it IS necessary). The benefits: of clarity, open-mindedness, and the understanding the presence of the Universal Mind behind every action and every structure— can be hoped for (prayed for) and accepted with problematic-delusion's fading away.

I confess: to being a humble egocentric —a work in progress. Music being so-in-the-moment can be "composed" in the best sense of the word, by "listening" to the silences behind a phrase as it peels out. When "other" internal voices are heeded or created during the process of music, they quickly take over and suddenly one is fresh out of musical gas. This I know. The trick is to be steadily intensional regarding Thee Eternal. You'd think it would take only one musical negative occurrence to make one cured of egocentric thinking. I try to release that (delusion fades) and in the process of doing that I sometimes am inspired to go off the musical "rails"

But! After all, form needs to be followed (thinking improv here), harmonies have to be incorporated or at least related to. A whole phrase can have a way of resolving by a different route perhaps circling back on themselves a few times. Through intention towards the moment (towards the Eternal), errant motifs might seem to have a mind of their own blasting through some preconceived idea only to resolve in some other hopefully great way.

I was playing a "magic show" at the Jube many years ago when I ran into a kindred spirit. The conductor of the show was from LA (not Leduc!) and had written film scores. We were talking about the creation of such score and he said that he watched the film and then just "Listened" and the music emerged right there and then in his mind. He was a nice man, really down home, nothing fancy but this was his process and he was delighted to share it. I believe that improv can be conceived in much the same way. We as improvisers don't have a film but the rhythm, form, harmony and melody are already there and that is our film, our guide our structure. Sometimes just "listening" may result in only space... that's OK too although sometimes I find myself "waking" up the process by proceeding with some motif or melodic material from the tune to just to prime the pump. Truly the music you make fits around what you leave out in a sense: the groove can feel so good on it's own —I used to say (and still do): You don't know how good you can feel, i.e. there's no conceivable end to that. One would think.

Peace everybody !!