“GRATITUDE is SO VERY therapeutic .The world changes around you…” This month’s composer’s choice is called Gratitude. Im just about to start a practise-led Masters of Philosophy at Notre Dame University Sydney. A practise led masters is based on, in my case, a 50% practical component which will culminate in an exhibition of works and/or a musical performance and recording. Of course I have to come up with an idea/theme to pursue which will sustain a whole lot of investigation and nuts and bolts work. My mind has been racing : Will I investigate the negative space or the “void” in western and eastern art ? Or what about delving into the world of western and eastern mystics and how prayer and meditation have been explored ? What about cymatics, musical frequency and sacred geometry… Just a few topics out of many that are knocking on my brain door… In our live broadcast a few weeks ago ( go here to listen to the precession chat ) I discussed a dream I had where there was a little black spot on my right eye which I could not remove. Being a big Jung fan I knew that my subconscious was sending aThe Gift of Gratitude – by Stephen Fearnley
Uplift: Lighter Than Air-ness – by Stephen Fearnley
Suspension is a regular theme in my pictures and music. I had the title “ She Moved Through the Air “ in my head before I made the music – after the Irish classic song She moved Through the Fair. However I felt it was a bit rude to appropriate such a brilliant title ( of such a brilliant song ! ) I wanted this month’s music to be “ lighter than air-ness “. A term I use for any art I make with an airborne/suspended theme or feel. As a child I couldn’t get enough of flying cartoon characters, levitating tibetans or even flying nuns for that matter. So heres some music that embodies that quality…and a Fairy Dog too ! A nice way to enter 2017. Steve Stephen Fearnley is an award-winning filmmaker, artist and composer. He composes transformational soundscapes for the meditation journeys guided by Naomi Carling and facilitated by Naomi Janzen for One Mind Live – a unique worldwide online group meditation community. To sample One Mind Live, go HERE
Circle Dance – by Stephen Fearnley
O People, learn to dance, or else the angels in heaven won’t know, what to do with you Attributed to St.Augustine We have all heard of christmas carols but did you know the carol was also a dance from the middle ages ? France named it “Carola”, or Carol. In Northern France it was called “ronel” and in Germany the “Reigen”. The circle dance, where people formed a circle and held hands and sang or chanted. I remember doing this as a kid but not these days. It seems the circle dance has largely vanished from the west, perhaps only holding on in cultural strongholds like Norway and of course indigenous ritual and ceremonial circles. The circle. People holding hands around a table to pray over food, where energies are contained, magnified and transmitted.The circle, a sacred configuration where people are connected through meditation and intention. Thanksgiving. There is something very powerful when people as a group set their minds to things. This months music is a carol – albeit a long and slow one at 48 minutes ! The theme is a returning one – a loop and it uses simple instruments : 3 pianos, a harp and aCircle Dance – by Stephen Fearnley
The VOID in Art, Music and Meditation – by Stephen Fearnley
When you do an image search in google for the word “VOID” you get a plethora of black holes and nasty vortices . “The Void in Art” is even more apocalyptic. It seems to indicate that the idea of “ nothingness” is a scary place to go- that “the space” always needs to be filled… In Art we call it negative space and in music it’s referred to as silence or the pause or the absence of noise. In Meditation its called antar mouna – The stillness of a calm mind. This months’s composer’s choice ‘Sapphire’ is all about the void. Its like musical facets of light and reflections appearing out of white space or silence. I’ve imagined a misty world with nature emerging from the whiteness, much like a chinese calligraphic landscape. In the East – the white background is the negative space or VOID. It is a representation of nothingness or the place from which all forms emerge. Its a way of illustrating a cosmological point of view- as well as simply making a beautiful picture. There is also a rhythm in this composition that refers to a Shishi Odoshi – a Japanese bamboo garden feature which whenThe VOID in Art, Music and Meditation – by Stephen Fearnley