This composition is the second in my ‘Mountain Series’ – part 2 of last year’s Composer’s Choice ‘Shambhala’. I have had reoccurring dreams of living as a Tibetan monk since I was a small child. In these dreams nothing much happens – just everyday life in a monastery – but its consistent and vivid every time. And yes I do think this is past life recollection. I don’t come away from these dreams with any great conscious insight but I do take away a lasting feeling of peace and happiness. It always feels like Ive been “topped-up” with peace. I have composed Northern Lands fresh from one of these Tibetan dreams. I have included a header image by Bireswar Sen. Sen was a master miniature watercolorist, influenced by Nicholas Roerich (as mentioned in my Shambhala blog) and the teacher of my teacher Frank Wesley. All of these artists painted the Himalaya for its deep religious and spiritual associations. Then there’s Krista Rodin who mentions in her book “Mantra and Metaphor in Nepali & Indian Himalayan Communities” the deep connection between the mountains and the beginnings of language and associated vibratory tones developed in Hindu and Buddhist mantras from the region:Northern Lands – by Stephen Fearnley