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The first step towards writing Music is playing it
The first step towards playing Music is feeling it
The first step towards feeling Music is living Life.
Music is much like Life:
it begins and it ends
it goes through stages
it has an ebb and flow
it is arbitrary yet structured
it is abstract; relative only unto itself
and once it stops, it's over.

The first thing that happens
defines a point of relativity
and around that rhythmic, melodic and harmonic axiom
everything else is free to move;
but, once it has ended,
silence;
perhaps applause.

Otherwise, peace.

An encore wasn't in the contract.

The only dissonance
is internal;
cognitive.

But,
once it has happened,
if if it significant enough,
it creates waves that ne'er cease to ripple and refract
and in such a way they are immortal
and in such a way they are free
to have a causal effect on the rest of Humanity;
on the rest of Reality.

Music, much like Life,
comes from Void
into Existence,
then it suffers the physical world
and then it returns again
to motionlessness,
perhaps even Void again,
and from there,
who's to say?

So, I suppose, the moral is
to not be afraid of who you are;
learn it and come to terms with it
and learn what drives it forth
and then utilize that
and do it to the utmost
that others may see thy, as well as their own, Light
that they, themselves, may be inspired
to shine bright
that Light of their own.

In that way and that way alone
shall we bring forth an Enlightened World.
Music is my Deity
and so benevolent is it!

A mystical Tapestry
woven upon Silence and across Time,
what about that is not Divine?

Music doesn't divide, it unites.
It attracts expressive minds, creative minds, empathic minds, logical minds.
It creates an abstract temporal psychosocial middle-ground;

You don't have to be a virtuoso
to drum along or dance or vocalize.
You don't have to be a virtuoso
for practice to reap it's rewards.

We speak with Music:

Language is a Musical thing;
it employs Rhythm and Pitch and works through Time.
Music is a Linguistic thing;
it communicates things that otherwise cannot be said
while also having room for Language itself.

Music is no singular aspect;
Music is not defined by medium,
nor is it defined by orchestration.

Music is wholly Abstract,
relating only back to itself.
Music is defined by context;
Music is a matter of perspective.

Footsteps are music, in 2/4 time.
Heartbeats are music, in 3/4 time; this defines "swing" feel.
A Clock is music, in 1/1 time at 60 beats per minute.
A year is music, in 365.25/1 time at 1 beat per day.

The duration of the Moon's orbital period and Day are a Unison; 1:1.
The four Galilean moons of Jupiter orbit with the resonance of Octaves; 2:1 ratios of wavelength.
The ratio of the lengths of Mercury's Year to it's Day is nearly a Perfect Fifth; 3:2.

Music is implicit.
Music is mystical.

Music is a Metaphor manifest,
for the nature of the Universe;
even the very word "Universe"
means "The One Song".

Music is truly intrinsic;
I am a Shaman of Music.
It is an Honor.
-
If that makes any sense.
Maybe even moreso if it doesn't.
Who knows? ;)

..raw..
-
Thought and Prayer
be but the same,
to me.

Thought is to Prayer is to Speaking,
as Meditation is to Listening;

Music is my Prayer.
What is yours?
Noise is not always Music
and Language isn't always Poetry,
but, when it means some thing to you,
Noise becomes Music
and Language becomes Poetry.
"Everyone has different style, technique, and taste;
that's much of the beauty of true Art."
You don't owe the World anything but Respect
and don't let anyone mislead you into thinking otherwise;
and likewise the World doesn't owe you anything,
so stop lying to yourself and inflating your false sense of entitlement
and come on out of your ivory tower of ire and glass.
Tough situations never last
but tough people *always do.
Be as you will;
the rest will be as it shall.
"Life isn't going to get me,
I'm going to get Life!"
Maternal advice.
Hello Self,

How are you?
How the hell have you been?!
Long time no see..
You see,
everything has changed since you were last around-
I don't even know where to begin.

How was it, off on your journeys?
Did you learn the secrets of another realm?
Have you brought anything back for me from that distant place
where you can go, but I oughtn't follow?

I feel like I don't know you anymore-
like I must get re-acquainted with a distant schoolmate:
Your face is no longer familiar...
You're so much taller than when you left
yet so much smaller than I seem to recall.

You once told me of your great plans. Your secrets. Your hopes. Your ambitions.
Your fears.. our fears. Our dreams and our fears.
It seems I've forgotten all but a few of these precious, irreplaceable things
but the ones I do remember I cling to with my life.

I may not embody what you had once hoped I would,
but I believe that the skills I've gained and the pain I've suffered
have given me the tools I've needed to endure this beautiful and abrasive life I've been granted
and to become the person that you see before you now:

I may still be young, at only 21, but that isn't to say I haven't experienced a lifetime.
I am indeed quite imperfect, but I don't think that is to say that I'm unworthy.
I have made mistakes, but those mistakes are partially responsible for my perspective.

I haven't forgotten you, my oldest Friend.
I welcome you back with open arms and a warm heart.

I haven't forgotten you, my oldest Friend.
I truly hope that you have also not forgotten me.
"If you've got a better idea, go and do it yourself."
They who say it's impossible
oughtn't interfere with those who are busy doing it.
If there's no room in your Mysticism
for Others' Mysticism,
then, I venture to say,
there's no room for your Mysticism.
Psychedelics are akin to Mysticism

but that does not at all begin to mean
that one must do Psychedelics to be Mystical;
it simply means that in the proper context
Psychedelics can reveal the importance of things
the significance of "it all";
the inherent Mysticism
to which we ourselves
are akin.
Seems to be a phase of mine
to write about Psychedelics.

Funny, that. :p
Logos matters not
in matters of Mythos:

For instance, some stuff about my birthday

My number is Twenty-Two.
Writ as two twos, 2(11), 2(5+6), 5(2)+4(3).
Of the 30 days of my birth month,
22/30 = 11/15 ≈ 0.7333 ad infinitum.

My month is Four.
2 to the second power,
defining a square;
the third positive square number.

My numerically symmetrical year,
which is evenly divisible by neither two nor three,
sums to 20 and multiplies to 81.
(1+9+9+1); (1)(9)(9)(1)
20=4(5); 81=9(9), 3(27)
Or, bisect the written year and add the sides within themselves
(1+9)(9+1)=(10)(10)=100.
Then, you can even add the three interpretations of the year:
81+20+100=201
201/3=67

I digress;

My sign is Taurus and thus my element is Earth.
Taurus is the second of twelve signs in western astrology.
In terms of Music,
I am an ascending minor Second above Ares,
one step up;
Scorpio is my Tritone
six steps up,
and Sagittarius is my perfect Fifth
seven steps,
where Leo is my minor Third, Virgo is major,
three and four steps up, respectively.
Pisces is my minor Seventh
at ten steps up or two down,
I have many Pisces in my life.
Bluesy.

As a Taurean,

My day is Venus,
my night is Moon, whereas
Mars can bring chaos.

This coming Monday,
I am to turn Twenty-Two;
on the day of Moon.

I am a Metal Goat by the Chinese Zodiac,
with Yin, the season of late-summer, and the element Fire.
The 8th sign; 2 cubed.
|-|-|--|-|--|--|-|--|-|-|
I do not feel that these things
predetermine anything in me or my life
but I do believe that these things
hold a certain power,
a sort of resonance
with me
and that is inspirational
and that is worth living for.

If one is keen enough to Mythos
then one can make anything relevant,
and one can draw a subjective lesson;
a sort of personal interpretation,
conducive and pertinent to one's self.

These things are not arbitrary;
they are a sort of time-stamp for life;
a frame of reference,
a milestone marker upon the path.

Of course, when I said "are"
I truly intended "could be seen as",
and from there "hardly ever to be taken literally";
Literal interpretations dwell within the realm of Logos:
(One can only describe so much, the rest is up to interpretation!)
--
Logos enters not
in matters of the Mythic,
yet they copulate.

Mythos is a realm
wholly separate from Logos
yet they interplay,

This dynamic play
in a mythicly tuned mind;
akin to wisdom.

Mythos and Logos
dancing cosmically onward
as if Yin and Yang.

To shun one and cling
zealously to the other
is tantamount to

fearing Death until
the day it's icy finger
points itself at you:

You miss out on all
the wondrous things in this life;
Enjoy here and now.
-
If you seek clarification on my definitions,
I shall be compiling a dictionary of my own conno- and denotations, with examples in context.

In the meantime and forever more, fear not to ask :D

Being born on April 22, I have the lingering trace of Aries; fire.
I'm seeking to amass a Collection
of the World's spiritual, mythic and philosophical codices.
I want to collect them out of veneration
for those who came before who have tried to illuminate the Paths:

The following is my library of such books of yet.
Entries in bold are my recommendations;
entries italicized are strongly recommended.

-Old Works:

Egyptian Book of the Dead
Tibetan Book of the Dead
The Bhagavad Gita
Euclid's Elements

Tao te Ching (I have 3 translations)
I Ching (2 translations and a workbook)
The Qur'an
The Bible

-Newer Works:

Plato and a Platypus walk into a Bar: Philosophy explained through Jokes
Quadrivium: Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology
The Pulse of Wisdom - College Eastern Philosophy Book
Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna
The Elements of Reason - College Logic Book
1001 Perls of Buddhist Wisdom
Net of Being by Alex Grey
Art Psalms by Alex Grey
The Portable Nietzsche
The Red Book of Jung
The Portable Jung

The Subtle Body - Encyclopedia of chakras, auras and other personal energy systems.
Who are you? - 101 Ways of Seeing Yourself
--

I seek to compile this Collection
not to have a nice looking bookshelf;
nor do I seek to find which one is right.

I seek to learn from each of these
the lessons that are intrinsic in our Lives;
they're all matters of perspectives.

I want to compile the aspects of each philosophy with which I resonate
and integrate them into my own,
forging a dynamic and holistic individual philosophy.

All of these books are Mystical masterpieces.
All of these books provide insights to the nature of our Holy Reality.
All of these books ultimately attempt to express the same ineffability.
All of these books are interpreted then translated and interpreted again.
The way I see it,
I may as well do it for myself; draw my own conclusions:
Think for myself.
If anyone seeks further information
such as publishers or Authors not mentioned, please let me know.
If anyone has suggestions for additions to my collection, please let me know. :)

Quadrivium is simply and unequivocally badass.
"I enjoy wearing weird clothing.
Sometimes I wear it when I perform.
It's been reaching a point
where all I have to do is show up
and play guitar on stage
while everyone else mythologizes for me.

Though I tend not to care for it,
some of the more inspired remarks can be rather amusing."
If everything is as it should be
perhaps it is our dharma to discover
why it is as it is
This implies a necessity of myth (in the sense of "significance, meaning") within logic, and vice versa.
take whatever meaning from it you can. That's the point.
That said, do so with discretion and moderation, lest you miss out on other things from which to draw a lesson, and so on, ad infinitum.
Seeking meaning,
it abounds.

Assuming none,
none is found.
If one can find meaning
in whatsoever it may be,
then very little shall be irrelevant.
The fact that we (may) disagree
doesn't at all mean
that we cannot agree;
in fact, as I see it,
all it means
is that we are both
mutually unique-

Fancy that.
We are individuals.

Maybe it is
that the greatest good can come
from the mean of our viewpoints,
and, hence,
the philosophy
of democracy.

If only
such a philosophy
was popular
among thy
who decide
our policy;
that is to say,
the Media:

it isn't democracy;
as long as you have faith in them,
it's whatever the **** they tell you;
whether you realize it
or not.
(Preferably not.)

Anyway,
the discrepancy between our viewpoints is not a sign of mutual distancing, but rather a sign of alternative philosophies.

According to Statistics,
larger "n" values (sample sizes)
lend themselves to a greater degree of accuracy.
Such known,
why do so many adhere to a perspective
that deliberately depends on limited n values?

I suppose
that an answer to that is
'the Shadow.'
Juangians, raise your hands! Yeah!

As an artifact of the Id and Ego,
(Freudians, raise your hands!),
it is ever-evolving;
yet, as an artifact of the Mind,
it is ever-apparent:

Command it,
or is shall command thee.
So, when someone disagrees,
do not meet them with resent,
but seek to meet them with respect.

Through compassion and respect
shall we re-inherit this Earth
from they, who seek control
via daemons of aforementioned
'public opinion.'

But, then again,
that's just my opinion.
Such a naïve philosopher can I be,
not opposed to a skeptic philosopher,
but rather in tandem with it.

Such a naïve philosopher,
not necessarily in terms of Realism,
but certainly in some terms.

Such a naïve philosopher,
yet such a skeptic one as well:

I'm not the best of both worlds,
maybe the rest of both worlds;
I'm testing both worlds,
contesting both worlds;
ingesting both worlds,
detesting both worlds;
bereft of both worlds,
in jest of both words:

I don't
exactly see
how the two
are mutually
exclusive:

Naïvety and Skepticism
seem to be a match well made.

But, by inner Skeptic
is calling me Naïve.
I have no idea whence this came,
but here it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na%C3%AFve_realism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_skepticism
Naked Branches
cracking the ocean of blue sky,
as I lay on my back writing as I am.
Petrified lightning.
Calls of various birds.
Various noises of various bugs.
My Cat-roommate eats a strangely animate leaf, crazy beast.
My Dog-roommate lies next to me in the Sun.
Solar warmth.
Wooden deck.
Sleep.
How vein 't'is
to wish Others
be more like you.

Let go;
allow individuals
to be individuals;

enjoy the story
as it is written-
write but thy own.

Turn thy scrutiny inwards
and see how you fare
against thy own glare.

Begrudge not others their character;
simply play along with those you may enjoy
and from which you may perchance learn.
Tolerance and Compassion at work.
Christ-mind is not for the faint of heart.
No wonder the selfish so loathe such spirit.
Natural Selection
is not limited to the living:
Ideas and other conjurations also evolve or die off,
unless artificially preserved,
once they've become obsolete.

Such is our reality.
The Near-Future is largely overrated;
Now is when it's at.
There's something zen about some of these things I write at work.
All the great records we have
like science, albums, and books
make me reel in awe at the magnitudes
lost to the ages by lack of recording.

Aye, but therein is the hope:
what is to come?
We know yet not!
Every evening, she slips over my world
effortlessly extinguishing the light of day
yet illuminating so very much-
Night is upon us.
Her touch and cool breath soothe the pains of life.
The silver albedo of the moon throws waves of pale light
which break and crash on all we are and perceive:

Night and I lay together on the grass
looking up at millions of years ago

She leans over to me as if to kiss me on the cheek
and my eyelids become heavy
and will no longer tolerate my futile resistance.

I drift to sleep for what I swear is but a second
then startle awake in cold sweat and fervid confusion to find
that she has gone. Now it is morning.
She left no trace behind save for the chill still in flight
O, how I long for our rendezvous tonight.
This poem is from over a year ago, I just decided I oughtta upload and share it.
First-rate minds
greet new ideas
with wonder and joy.

Second-rate minds
greet new ideas
with contempt and fear.

Third-rate minds
do not greet new ideas
at all.
https://soundcloud.com/apexparadigm/11-11-demo

25/16 time. 6+6+6+7. Enjoy.
This new Self
sees how it can be best
to do part of something
rather than all of nothing.
I've recorded several of my newer poems, the links to these recordings follow:

https://soundcloud.com/apexparadigm/music-is-much-like-life
https://soundcloud.com/apexparadigm/temple-of-my-earthly-goddess
https://soundcloud.com/apexparadigm/treading-water-in-the-ocean-of
https://soundcloud.com/apexparadigm/on-attempted-censorship
https://soundcloud.com/apexparadigm/polyamory-is-not-a-sin
Check back often, as I usually edit and add to the things I post. If you're so inclined, that is.
New version of Within, fresh off the press:
https://soundcloud.com/apexparadigm/within

I recommend headphones if you don't have full-range speakers.

In the key of F# minor, about 90 bpm.
2 Guitars, Bass Guitar, Piano, Drums.

Feedback is welcomed. :)
"Check out these fountain pens!
They're so ******' badass,
and pretty cheap, too!"

"What,
like $3
for two of them
at Staples?"

"Yeah, basically!"

"Hah, well,
for the record,
if you ever wanna get me a gift
you can know I'll love and use,
get me a nice-*** pen or two.
That's why I write
with calligraphy pens and brush pens
just for fun.
Though,
I never really know
what to do with them
other than waste ink,
but I ******* love me
some nice-*** pens."
Dialogue between a roommate and myself.
The bit about wasting ink is supposed to be a joke in a few ways, but also, not really.
Nichts dauert für immer.
Warum haben wir Lust vom Diesseits wegzulaufen?
Diesseits ist alles was besteht:
Genießt es, meine Freunde.
--
Nothing lasts forever.
Why do we desire to run away from the here-and-now?
Here and now is all that exists:
Enjoy it, my friends.
Nicotine can be one hell of a drug.
I heard you knocking
with the long red rays of sunset.
Tranquility falls over the land as the sky blackens.
You step into my chamber and disrobe.
Before me now is the Night, in all her bare, transcendent beauty.
The icy fingers of wind which which whip over our bodies do not discomfort us,
in fact they welcome us into her realm.
As Night embraces me, we sway with the wind.
We take in the energy of the moon
and the beauty of the crisp, clear, dark and speckled night sky.
This poem is from over a year ago.
I feel so much more at home
when the Sun isn't shown;

Walking the streets at Night
while my side of the World sleeps.
Not for some sought after seclusion,
but rather because I just like it.

Billions of specks perforate the blackened sky
as billions of Neurons fire and forget.

Nighttime is mystical;
the inner self has more space to fill than in the daytime,
wherein the gaps are filled for us
by ******* in fancy offices we pay for
who weave tapestries of demagoguery
in front of nice cameras
and behind closed doors:

Clear as Day,
Clever as Night.

Though Day has it's place,
Night is it's balance.
Night is the supple ripeness of potential
where Day is the actualization of potential.

Nyx is the Goddess of the Night;
mother of Sleep, Dreams and Death.
A strange and shy Goddess of Occlusion,
Keeper of the darkened Gateways
of deeper and truer Understanding.

Night is a Dream;
a magical time of mythical atonement
for both Body and the Mind:
a time nearly separate from time,
a time of my own.

Alas, daybreak is neigh.
"There is
nothing noble
in being superior
to your fellow man;
true nobility
is being superior
to your former self."

-Hemingway
There is no blame.
There is no blame.
There is no blame.
There is no blame.

There is no shame
unless you blame
or forget to learn
there can be shame,

but there is no blame
there is no blame
no room for blame
nor time for blame,

there is no blame,
no blame at all
there is no blame,
it will only stall.

No blame.
No blame.
Make thus thy mantra:

No blame.
::
THERE IS NO BLAME
AND NO SHAME
UNLESS YOU BLAME
THEN YOU BRING SHAME

for there is no shame
nor any blame,
unless you forget to learn,
or you yet yearn
to call for blame;
and endless shame
but there's no room for blame in this life of limited time
nor room for shame
nor to refrain yourself from anything but yourself;

no time for that
no room for that
it is only hate
and a grudge,
what a shame.

Work towards improvement.

I hold no blame
and try for no shame
in who I am and what I do.
Yet there is blame
and with it, shame
but what a shame
is this blame;

Work towards improvement.

There is no blame
in the face of such blame.
I cannot blame you;
but still I maintain
that there is no blame,
nor begrudging shame.

Work towards improvement.

There is no time for blame
nor room for shame,
nor need to blame;
I hold no blame.

No blame.

Gain.
There is no blame; blame is an artifact of Ego and Shadow.
Non-blame is an artifact of compassion.

Also, after reading this, the word "blame" seems to become weird.
There is no External;
Everything you experience
is a result of your existence
and is thus Internal.

Your Neurons synthesize your mind
your Mind in turn determines Neural networks;
It can thus be said
even in the realm of Neuroscience
that you create your reality;

Your Shadow precedes you in time:
Tread lightly. Learn yourself with care.

These are your final days, Self.
Each frame of 'Reality'
presents itself to an entirely new "You"
for "You" are a fleeting image, a frame,
supported by Neurons
for a brief
yet continuous
moment.
Nothing is eternal.
Only that which dwells
outside the realm of reason
is forever eternal.

No, it isn't "God"
but it is what it is
that is so often misinterpreted
by so many as "God".
""God" is just another thing we've created
to try to make the unfathomable
fathomable.

So is Tao. So is Brahman. So is Allah. So is YHWH/Yahweh.

These are just constructs for our limited perceptions and ignorance; for our need for words.

Because nothing is eternal,
everything is sacred.
Divine.
Holy.
Transient and shifting.

Not in a dogma sort of way, for that diminishes the possibilities.
More of a dynamic spiritualism kind of way.
Forever changing, recycling, pulling and pushing.
Like water, or good music.

There is peace in this existence.
You've just gotta learn to allow it to embrace you.

The more you deny, the less you experience.
God is a concept.
The same sort of concept as the Tao.
A name for the nameless. The origin. The ineffable, unfathomable, numinous-ness of our reality.
Also, I notice that if one writes about "God", suddenly everyone has something to say.
No matter how much
you feel is going on within you
yet more is going on
on the other side of your veil of self:

No matter how little
you think you matter
you are an entire realm;
a Universe unto itself:

No matter how alone you feel,
know that you are your own Shaman,
that you are your own Savior
if only you'd let yourself be.
Don't pick sides
unless you know all the details.

Yes,
that may mean
giving the benefit of the doubt to both sides
and yes,
that may mean
spending a lot of time on the fence.

Forge thy alliances with great tact.
Faking it 'til you make it is one thing,
but there's truly no substitute for the real thing.
Being that I am not a morning person,
I acquire a tall glass of water,
I draw a warm/hot bath,
and pour myself a nice glass of red wine;

under those circumstances,
with all things considered,
mornings can be made to be
not so bad.
If drinking before noon is a sin,
I'll send you a postcard from hell.
Notice more, rather than less-
lest we castrate consciousness!
Our biggest limit
seems to me to be
that to which we limit ourselves.
I had that idea one day, then wrote it on a piece of paper and then taped the piece of paper to the back of my computer monitor over a year ago now. It's a bit tattered, but it is still there.
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