sounds, mind and evolution

Golden Path

From my discovery and reading, what I realize is liberation isn't that difficult.

Become aware during the day, and practice awareness during your dream. Become aware during your dream and sleep in your dream. Wake up in the 'wrong' dimension and come into an out-of-body experience.

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You can use Yarrow sticks as a divination tool for an i-ching reading. I am unsure why Yarrow, although it grows everywhere in China and offers a pretty sturdy and straight stick. But in most of my research and reading, Yarrow sticks were the tool for the task. I was excited to harvest some wild yarrow as it grows freely around here (although it seems to be growing worldwide!)

Processing Yarrow

Yarrow likes to grow in sandy rocking soil. It makes it easy to harvest as the root system all comes out. The flower has a strange smell at first. This lovely honey smell comes to you when you smell it a few more times. I read there are a lot of medicinal properties for this plant. Even some that could be beneficial for me. I'll have to investigate further.

I kept the flower dry so that I could try it as tea. I can imagine at one point how you would harvest Yarrow, take the stalk for divination and use the leaves and flower for tea to complete the whole ceremony.

As I prepare for my music Sadhana with the i-ching (you can read the previous post), I wanted to be able to pull different hexagrams at random at first. Another way to do this involves flipping coins, which I thought wasn't poetic.

Using Yarrow sticks is a somewhat convoluted way to go about it, as it takes up to half an hour to create a hexagram. But as I read in a comment on the question, the whole process is meditation. In that meditative state, you can interpret the message the i-ching has for you. I like this perspective; I'll try to see how that goes!


My first teacup, not shaped yet.

I made my first teacup. I am debating about putting it back in the water to try again or finishing it, polishing it and baking it in the fire. The first try has some romantic attachment to it. The act of putting back into the water also has this poetic, alchemist-like power. Maybe taking a picture of my first attempt is enough for posterity?

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I-Ching

I am starting a project to practice more with my gear. I will be doing 72 pieces of music inspired/motivated by the I-ching.

It's not so much an interpretation of all the symbols but a way to get me motivated to publish some tracks regularly. At the same time, it makes me read about the i-ching, which has a fascinating history.

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Cleaning up the forest by the beach. So much wood to burn. The fire can take it all.

Only a few coals left in a fire next to Kootenay lake

I make the fire by the lake, almost touching. Maybe I should leave a margin around my work. The lake is happy about it. It rarely has a fire touching its sides.

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Le Fol, the original name of the Fool, or 'Le Mat,' the first card of the Tarot, has always grabbed my interest.

From Le Fol to Le Mat

Again today, I feel attracted to the card. I am wandering on the path. Somehow I know it's going in the right direction. I always had déjà-vu, and the more I have, the more I feel I am on the right path. Lately, I have been having a lot of déjà-vu. Something is aligned. But what is aligned to what?

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The concept of culture has been hard to grasp. As a kid, I was yearning for more 'culture' and wondered why other countries seemed to have ancient cultures while we didn't have something similar.

Why did Japan have martial art, Zen meditation, flower arrangements, and sushi while I was left with poutine and beer? I was jealous, and it created the nagging feeling that there was more to life than what was presented.

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In one month, we got from zero bunnies to 13 bunnies. It's a little bit hectic. The energy in the air is quite intense. We lost the mama twice already; she got spayed by our local skunk (she has been living happily in our compost for many years now – hanging out with our cats). But it seems like the bunny kicked the skunk's ass.

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We lost our mama bunny; we now have 11 baby bunnies to care for. Connecting with life and nature this way is surprisingly touching.

A few months ago, I spent four days skinning a bear. The process brought me closer to nature, connecting to life and relating to the animal world. I didn't kill the bear. My friend had to kill the bear and invited me to his pelt. I felt honoured to work with the bear, but I also thought I was honouring the bear by using his skin.

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I am not sure why I am playing music. Something keeps me going forward, and I don't know what it is. My mind wants to know why I am going in that direction; maybe you will be famous, perhaps it will be a job in the future. But I know this is not what is going on.

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