Music, States and Stages

Music has played an important role in my life, helping me to define and recall the states and stages I've moved through over time. When I listen to songs I played at a certain period of my life, my heart and mind touch base with that time again, sometimes in a very vivid way. Long ago I became aware of the fact that, whenever I am moving into a new stage of my life, sooner or later I find new music, which then further defines the new period of my life. Upon realizing this, I began to use this fact quite deliberately; if I find myself in the turmoil of transition, I will begin to deliberately look for new music. Often, if the change involves a new person in my life, I will seek to know and be involved with music that person enjoys, which also helps me to resonate with them and get to know them more deeply. Conversely, if I need to touch base with a person or a period in my life, or a particular quality or aspect of my consciousness, I will play music that resonates with that.

That quality of music, helping connect me with various aspects of my being on an intuitive, feeling, non-rational level, has long been a source of fascination to me - particularly as I am someone who has tended to lock myself up in my headquarters and treat my body like a meat puppet (which has changed a lot over many years, but that's where I'm coming from, and is still a strong tendency).

As for association with states, music played during altered states can strongly bring back a feeling tone of the experience, and helps to anchor and integrate it with the rest of my life. Two notable examples are: chants that were sung during Ayahuasca sessions in Peru several years ago, and songs played in workshops with Robert Augustus Masters.

One more aspect of music I'll mention is the lyrical content; I love music that really speaks to me on a cerebral level as well, particularly if it has a strong spiritual content or speaks deeply to me of some significant aspect of the human experience (e.g. love, loss, longing). Three of the most beloved singers for me in this way are Bruce Cockburn, Stuart Davis, and Leonard Cohen.

arthur