Notes and Images from a Small Island (Practice 10 Day 4)

The tide is high and waves collide in a gentle swell of shallow water.  The sun is bright overhead.  I play some music – Grieg, Chopin, Beethoven, Bach and Debussy to calm the chattering monkeys of everyday life, and at the same time encourages me into a meditative state, where my practice becomes intuitive and I reach a sense of dwelling by the water’s edge.  I become engrossed with how the sun glistens on top of the water and how tones of black and blue emerge from the wave movement.  It is mesmerising. I try to consciously press the shutter at the moment when the most interesting patterns emerge – that ephemeral moment when a hint of reality is revealed.  But, as I become more absorbed in my practice and the music, conscious activity is attenuated and the strains of the music enhance my ability to remain in a meditative state and become lost in the moment.  I continue to pick out the glimpses of Being in this liminal space where land and sea collide – where the awareness of reality can be felt.

I emerge from this dream-like state and blink to avoid the intense sunlight bouncing off the water.   As I regain conscious thought, I realise the power of music in encouraging a non-conscious engagement with objects.  It enables me to enter a creative zonal flow and dwell in the moment without conscious interference or interruption.  I look at my watch and realise that I have been working quietly for about an hour. . .

While I have used the technique of playing music a number of times in my practice (a strategy from the STAR diagram) and most notably to good effect in the aftermath of the trees being felled at Skinidin, I need to ensure I do not forget this powerful activation tool.  For me, it worked today!