The music I’ve called “Heart Drum” came about as an exploration into my ancestors, namely the side of my family where I get the name Fearnley. The making of this music was primarily a journey into myself to connect with two people in particular – my lovely father Jim and his mum, my beloved grandmother, Theresa.
Both these people were all heart. They simply LOVED, unconditionally. Deep, deep beauty – the honest heart, the unguarded innocent and the unwavering friend.
By making this music, I connect with them and say hello. It’s an invocation as well as a gift of love I send them. It’s a bridge where we can both cross and meet halfway.
I’ve always liked the idea of ancestors – that we can connect with them, ask for help, ask for advice, have a chat. But in western culture it’s seen as superstitious even though the pre-christian era European had a similar and intense relationship with their ancestors – much like the Chinese do today, an age-old sensibility and practice which simply hasn’t gone away…
I also see ancestor connection as a way of sourcing information – activating pockets of memory within us that have come through our DNA. Fanciful ideas?
There’s plenty of new science happening out there – telling us things we already sense and know. Check this out:
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-25156510
This suggests that experiences are somehow transferred from the brain into the genome, allowing them to be passed on to later generations.
Well, bring it on, I say! Let’s crank up the volume of our mindfulness and find ways to communicate with our ancestors…Let us reconnect with that profound information bank. Let us pull from the deep waters of our heritage the genius of those who walked the paths before us. Let us invite them to awaken in our dreams with advice and guidance. Let’s not let them lie dormant, their actions and hard work unused and unappreciated. Let us realise that there is a greater form of our selves sleeping within.
The image above is a waratah flower growing in my garden. A great big heart.
Stephen Fearnley
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