Blog #2

 06/01/2021

I'm up early and don't know what to do, so I'm gonna type out some thoughts. I might come back later today, who's to say? 

My going to bed early last night didn't work so well. Got into bed at half eleven, was still up at half one. I wasn't tired I guess. So I only got about 5 hours, but I think the sleep battery is charged up enough that I will be functional today. I've also reset my sleep schedule as a side effect of the small amount of kip. I usually avoid playing on my phone when I'm trying to sleep. Constantly reminding yourself of the time is a great way ruin your night. Last night however, it was obvious to me that I wasn't in need of a great amount of rest. This resulted in me listening to music amongst other things that would have got me into trouble; if I was eight years old anyway.

It was the late Harold Budd I was listening to. I was sad to learn this morning that he passed away in December. A casualty of COVID. Sad, but not tragic. He was of an age where the chance of me seeing him live was close to zero. He did seem to be a humble musician with a good philosophy surrounding his art. His legacy is one that I will continue to enjoy. 

I was listening to Avalon Sutra. At one point Budd called this album his last. For some reason it shuffle played and I ended after twenty minutes, because I landed on the hour long meditation piece at the end of the album; Too droney for me. The tracks before hand however, presented me with a beautiful experience. I think it was something to do with my half asleep state. My mind was forming very vivid images based on the music. It was as if my half asleep brain could fully focus and develop these scenes without wandering. They were all set in a black and white world. shaded in an infrared pallet or from the light of the moon. There's no use describing them further, because this experience was as personal as it gets. I can honestly say it was euphoric.

This is not the first time I've experienced this kind of movement from music. There was another time that I lay on my bed and listened to Birth of a New Day. I'd closed my eyes, but was still fully awake. Towards the end of the album, at a climax, there was this moments where the light from a lamp across the room became blindingly bright through my shut eyes. It was like a moment of ascension. 

The thing these two have in common are that I was totally relaxed and focussed only on the music. In a way it was almost like meditation. I remember watching a David Lynch interview where he spoke of his creative process. He described a type of transcendental meditation that he practices, where he is between reality and dream. This is apparently how he comes up with all his films. Maybe I'll try focusing these ideas further. The experience of such strong mental imagery is one that I enjoyed.

    I'll leave you here for now. I have to get on with my day. I'm just back from taking my mum for a COVID test, after the nurse determined she definitely has a virus. This came as a real shock to me. I think I may half be lulled into a false sense of security. Whether my mum has COVID or not, this is a much needed wake up call.

Thanks for reading, I may be back later today. x