At NR?!

The hell are we here for then?

J

"When you were talking about a natural 4/4 rythym i think that it serves a purpose but i don't see how the 'ONE two three four' rythym can be tied in with creativity.  Staying in the 4/4 time seems to me like it's closing the doors to creativity rather than opening them. [...]  I find it hard to accept that the 4/4 beat promotes spiritual progress and spiritual progress creates creativity.  I think only the latter is true."

I wasn't suggesting that the natural 4/4 rythym [with the syncopation on the first beat] is the only natural rythym.  There are many others including the 3/4 time which is also the human heartbeat and which is found in some of the old world folk music and the Strauss waltzes... and many other rythyms eg. 2/4, 12/8 etc...  When we are in harmony with the universal forces, including the rythyms of life, our capacity to create is far greater than if we are working at cross purposes to it.  Harmonious influences can connect the creative soul to the creative spirit.  That growing connection is spiritual progress and out of it comes a creativity which can now barely even be imagined.   Conversely, inharmonious sounds and jagged rythyms are calculated to keep one focused in the human levels of consciousness and divorced from the higher creative spirit.  Some people are more vulnerable to that effect than others but it has it's effect on all and upon the earth as well.

I was attempting to explain that the 'corruption' of natural rythyms can hypnotise the listener [call it what you like] into a state where the light energy or lifeforce is raped from the chakras and nervous system.  Shifting the syncopations in musical time can be a great exclamation mark to change the direction of a song into a new musical section.  It can be used to great dramatic effect.  But settling into a groove [grave?] with the syncopation placed repetitively where nature does not place it, is the problem.  We humans have tremendous capacity for spiritual creativity [in harmony with nature] and for destructive behavior [at odds with nature].  Sometimes we "know what we do" but sometimes we "know not what we do".   The passions of the average person are usually well intended but are not always in harmony with universal forces.

We now know [eg. from water crystals] that some sounds reproduce the geometry of life in beautiful patterns and that other sounds distort the divine geometry of life.  That is, some sounds represent the harmony of nature's patterns and others 'corrupt' them into ungeometric forms.   Spiritual energy flows freely through geometric forms and is to some extent damned by ungeometric forms.  Energy flows through all forms and can have either a benign or malignant effect.

When natural rythyms are 'shuffled' around for the purpose of forcing our vital energies to move against natures intended flow, then a disintegrating effect on the human organism results.  Subtle energies bathe the CNS and organs including the medulla oblongata and these energies can be forcibly sloughed off by the force of some rythyms.  The rock beat is one of the main 'offenders' in western society.  It's playing in the hospital when you are born... it's all over TV, movies and commercials... it's all over you while you shop.... it's in schools now... it puntuates virtually all of life's human milestones and you will probably be buried with it at your funeral.  It now totally saturates western culture and it's influence is virtually inescapable.   People can no longer refuse to participate in it unless you switch everything off and stay home.... not dissimilar in that regard to tobacco smoke in past years.

Like any addictive human activity the process of losing the lifeforce is very enjoyable because energy is flowing from the chakras in a heightened sense.  Energy in motion [emotion] is the reward for participation.  "Just make me feel alive... i don't care how long it lasts... i can always come back for more".   The energy is flowing down the spine and down the drain. [sometimes in a hysterical and violent release].  The chakras are turning and releasing energy.  Even though you feel temporarily energised it is a net loss to you and a net gain to the feeders in the astral realms.   Death is not always a bitter affair.  It is made as sweet and desirable as possible so that it is defended more than life.  It is self administered with the desire of a true lover for the beloved.

But i'm not black and white in my own analysis of modern songs.  The rythym is one influence in any piece of music.  I often find layered influences at cross purposes to each other in the same song.   ie... The rythym may be natural while some of the instrumental is discordant ... or vice versa... and then someone with a reasonable personal vibration singing over the top.  Or, some gutteral fiend might play with your emotions with the sweetest intro, before decapitating you with a violent assault to the senses.  When unnaturally  syncopated rythyms are mixed with distorted, discordant instumental sounds and topped off with some beastial wailing woe of a vocal, it can tear you to shreds at the more subtle energetic levels of being.  And the physical atoms themselves are being hammered for all they're worth.  I am attuned to that now and no matter how good the themes might be in a song or a band ... they have lost me if what they produce does not respect the flow of life within me.  That's one way to put it.   Sometimes it can't be avoided though.

I'm sure there are others like him about spreading whatever it is they put into music. You guys are definately right though. I listen to a lot of anti-government type music, so on the one hand it sets me free from the system, but also I feel incited to rip the system down which ultimately is not a positive thing, so i'll have to be more selective about what I listen to. Certain music has an uplifted effect, touching my inner being and true self I suppose. This is the kind of stuff I need. Any suggestions?

Rock music is a dumbing down of creativity and so it is ultimately dis- empowering.

I agree that some music is inherently harmful.  I think most if not all popular music today is inherently harmful.  But I have a problem with the statement about creativity.
Most modern music is not creative.  But many artists that could be considered rock who are not on the radio or any major labels are very creative.  When you were talking about the natural 4/4 rythm, I think that it serves a purpose but I don't see how the ONE two three four rythm can be tied in with creativity.  Staying in the 4/4 time seems to me like me like it's closing the doors for creativity rather than opening them.  The most creative artists I think are those that play in time and notes that are unpredictable.  I think that these artists open people's minds and get people thinking differently.  It let's your mind wander and think that there are different ways of doing things.
I find it hard to accept that the 4/4 beat promotes spiritual progress and spritiual progress promotes creativity.  I think only the latter is true.

And as far as finding good music out there today, it is definitely hard.  I don't think it can be found on the radio and most certainly not on MTV.  I generally look for the motivations and intentions.  Sometimes it doesn't even matter if the music is well put together at all, as long as you can tell that the musicians are playing with sincerity and with their whole hearts.  I find the most beautiful music doing random searches on the internet or going to free concerts.  You can find some of the most sincere, talented, open-minded musicians that way.
myspace.com/teramelos - I guess you could consider them rock.  You can't tell me this band is not creative.

A good music is the one that aids one's inner development or being.  I notice some music improve my emotional center as it evokes certain pictures and emotions in my mind.  Some complex music helps me evoke my intellectual center because it makes me want to analyze it (I used to study music theory, although not a music major.)

Some music can hinder your inner work.  Some music can evoke negative emotion or has hypnotizing effect like excessive base or can hinder your meditation.  My original concern came about after the fact that a lot of the music I listened to hindered with my meditation, but there are some music that doesn't do that or does that to a less extent. 

But anyways, I sorta changed my opinion about this, but I think people who are doing inner work still have to be very careful about their exposure to certain types of music.

But I am. That's because music is and has always been my esoteria. Many members will mention books, authors, or teachers they had when trying to offer a different view on things. Which is great, I have looked into many of those suggestions.

I must have a bit of a reputation as being a mad-lyric-dropper by now, and I promise I won't stop. I have a hard time with hearing about someone who has given up on music, it seems to me maybe they are not looking hard enough, or in the right places. I simply can't imagine life without music. I do acknowledge the importance of being able to intuit the effects of  what various types of music will have on different people. We've had a few very engaging discussions about that here.

We've talked about the ability, or trait of transmutating dark music, to light, and visaversa. I am one of those who finds pop-ish music to be horribly depressing and lacking in any originality. That doesn't imply that all dark music makes me feel good either. It is a tough one to explain.

I listen to almost everything, from Amon Amarth to Frank Zappa. The only genre I never acquired a taste for is Country. High doses of "artists" singing about their tractor, or their latest heartache, and their pickup truck make me want to chew concrete.

But I actually do like some kinds of Bluegrass, and real (original) Country. The difference is obvious to some of us. It's when these styles have been packaged, they are corporatized versions of what once came from the heart. To the robots, these would sound the same. But they are hollow non-reproductions that are having a damaging effect on the masses who can't make the distinction.

Classical music, as an example- I have an absolute appreciation for. But I don't 'like' it. It's not a sound that resonates with me, but at the same time I have immense respect for the composers and the performers alike. Especially because I don't have an ounce of musical talent. I could not read music or play an instrument to save my life.

I need music that is energetic, even intense. And if it's not intense, it must be complex, layered, and intricate. 

Which would fit the description or Classical music, don't ya know! But not me....

The lyrics to many metal songs, among other styles, have done more to open my eyes over the years to 'forbidden' things
than any book ever could. And I don't care if you hate metal. Read some Therion lyrics. Some Megadeth lyrics. Especially the album "Rust in Peace".

By the way, the name Megadeth comes from the desire to expose and defy a nuclear armed world's insanity. Mutually assured destruction, aka mega death.

"""don't judge a book by it's cover"""

I _guarantee_ you will take something from these words, and spare yourself from listening to the music that may not vibe with you.

I could go on, but some of the older members probably want me to shut the hell up already......

       J

and the overly aggressive, "punk rock", and other manufactured "rebellion" songs.
i'm not gonna be like you.  i'm my own person.  i'm an individual.  i'm a rebel.  i'm tough.

but there are others, probably those that aren't on major labels that are sincerely trying to send out loving and peaceful energy to their listeners. 
and the major label artists that are, they are expressing their ideas through words with hidden/double meanings or its the music itself that is doing the talking and the words are secondary.  or there are ideas so simple that the people can't see it, because it is so simple.

like the wilco song,

"what light"

If you feel like singing a song
And you want other people to sing along
Just sing what you feel
Don’t let anyone say it’s wrong

And if you’re trying to paint a picture
But you’re not sure which colors belong
Just paint what you see
Don’t let anyone say it’s wrong

And if you’re strung out like a kite
Or stung awake in the night
It’s alright to be frightened

When there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you

If you think you might need somebody
To pick you up when you drag
Don’t loose sight of yourself
Don’t let anyone change your bag

And if the whole world’s singing your songs
And all of your paintings have been hung
Just remember what was yours is everyone’s from now on

And that’s not wrong or right
But you can struggle with it all you like
You'll only get uptight

Because there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
There’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
There’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
There’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you

so beautiful. 
so truthful. 
and so simple, it gets dismissed as naive, especially by the so-called "critics" who only deride and mock what they can't themselves do. 
but those that understand appreciate it for what it is.

the right music can be a kind of salvation. 
and when you get down to it, some musicians make music because they want to do what they love and not work have to work at a minimum wage job that kills the soul. 
and if they are successful at it, and make music that inspires and makes the world a little better, more power to them.
the ones that do nothing but make lots of noise and scream "look at me!", they'll be forgotten. 
and if they keep making noise, maybe the more people will wake up and realize that they aren't saying anything at all.

-ERT