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New World Music

2/27/2022

There is something not happening here. Music, or the way we conceive of it, popular, corporately-delivered, processed over the commercial airwaves, seems to be stuck, not going anywhere at all. A recent article in The Atlantic claims that 70% of the US music market is comprised of old music. Further, the new music market is shrinking.
Source: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/old-music-killing-new-music/621339/

So, nothing new here. If anything, this is old news. But The Atlantic is talking about the commercial market. That doesn't mean there isn't anything new under the sun. Quality is not defined by quantity. This is a new world. The old rules don't apply. I have an intuition the music world isn't as bad as it is presented to be. Although I am not a connoisseur of the contemporary art world, and basically too old and otherwise distracted to care a lot, I can still see there is much that lives under the surface. And that's where real art thrives anyway, isn't it?

Examples:

So, yeah. There is plenty of new in this old world. It's just found elsewhere in this new world. Dig it.

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Reflections Feb. 2022

2/25/2022

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Russia is invading Ukraine. Inflation is out of hand. The supply chain (the Royal THE) is nearly broken. We are still dealing with society-at-large's response to COVID. And as I arose from sleep this morning, the sun rose from the east. At least it appeared to.

There is a parable that has been floating around for ever, attributed to the Buddha--without sources, mind you. I think the original source is Herman Hesse, but hey. Anyway, this parable has it that a person utilizes a boat to cross a river. Once he/she reaches the other side, there is a choice to either discard the boat or to pick it up and carry it along the rest of the journey. The meaning here is obvious. But knowing when to drop the boat and move on is not as easy as it may sound. We become very attached to our boats.

Sometimes our boats leave us. Teachers and colleagues die. Sometimes they change in a way that doesn't work for us anymore. Sometimes we change in a way that doesn't synch with them anymore. Growth is to realize that and move on. But again, it's not as easy as it sounds. I figure that many folks don't move on. If the teacher dies, they make him/her a deity and the teachings become larger than life. If the teacher changes, the students often change with him/her, regardless of what the changes mean. If the student feels the need to change, he/she will often ignore it. This is the root of suffering.

Some time back it occurred to me that perhaps the fear of heights is in reality a fear of jumping. I am reminded of Simba trying to talk himself out of going back to the village to take his place as heir to the throne, when the monkey shaman hits him over the head with his stick. "Why did you do that?" "Why does it matter? It's in the past." This is our lot. This happening, this experience, whatever it is, is constantly moving, as are all things. The antidote to potential suffering is to face it (whatever it is) head-on. To leave the boat.

Seeing things as they are, rather than as they are imagined, becomes a sort of curse. Once we realize it's all bullshit, it becomes rather difficult to carry on the same way. Of course, we can carry on, but if we want to stay in the flow, we can't in the same way. Perhaps to the outside observer it looks the same, or perhaps it doesn't. Either way, chances are it isn't. Intuition, man.

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2/19/2022

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"A yogi has no particular path; he simply renounces imagining things. His mind then ceases of its own accord, and the perfect state just naturally occurs." Dattatreya. Avadhuta Gita; Ch. 2.28

The imagination, like all things, has its place. It is beneficial and harmful. It is incredibly useful when playing in the Fields of The Lord, Maya, the Tonal Reality. It has no place in the examination of the mind, reality, thisness. Like all things it is a contextual tool. The pathless path is just that, pathless, which implies a lack of definition. Imposing definitions in order to clarify the inexplicable only leads one in the opposite direction. Perhaps it is better to sit with not knowing.

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Refining Santi

2/6/2022

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I found the video below very insightful in relation to Santi practice. It is from a different style and lineage than I practice, but the main points are relevant. I thoroughly enjoy Hai Yang's videos. While he and I both practice a version of the Beijing lineage of Chen Style Taiji, I don't practice the other styles he teaches. However, there is a Xinyi (vs. Xing Yi) influence to the Hunyuan Taiji I follow, a good deal of Bagua concepts are found in the Dao Yin training I have had, and of course meditation is basically universal. So, I am able to get much from his videos. I recommend them to anyone interested in the internal arts.

In Hunyuan Taiji, Santi is both a static training method and a posture found repeatedly in the form. But the emphasis of this video is static training, which can be easily overlooked in favor of the instant gratification and challenge of dynamic form. However, there is much to be gained from static practice and Santi has challenges and delivers benefits that are in many ways very different from Wuji stance.

A common theme of Xing Yi, Xinyi, Yiquan, and Hunyuan training is intention. Working deeply with Santi is a good way to train intention. In this video, Yang gives a demonstration of subtle movement. This is an important and often overlooked aspect of static training. Once one is comfortable with standing for an extended time, he/she is advised to begin the work of intention. Yang notes that the movements should be smaller than what he is demonstrating. In Hunyuan we go much smaller, to the point of the movements not being visible to the outside observer, or further to only the intention itself--which is deeper and much more work than one would think before learning the practice. But, as we all know, the best way to do it is to do it. Just do it.

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New World Music

Reflections Feb. 2022

2/19/2022

Refining Santi

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