Archive for the Lucerne Village Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Ice Block

Posted in Lucerne Village, Sacred Geometry, World Myths with tags , , , , , , , on June 28, 2012 by javedbabar

It was the coldest winter ever and Matt could barely sit on his ass. Even the chair was chilled, it made his butt clench. But his security company, Rapid Response, required someone to man the office. All of its computers, screens and phones were here.

Matt picked up the iced phone – his breath must have frozen on it – and called Danny, who was on duty tonight at the Transparent Temple – nickname for their community centre. “Hey Agent D, how’s the weather over there?”

“It’s bloody freezing! You should know. Don’t you have temperature readings on your monitors?”

“Yes, I do. But they’re telling me minus fifty. Is it really that cold there?”

“Well it’s zero in the office with the heating full on. So that’s probably right.”

Matt said, “Jeez, what’s happening this winter?” He’d heard reports of early frost, growing glaciers and icecaps, and record snowfall, then corrections saying that this winter there would be the least snowfall ever. Snow only forms at -1°C to -4°C; it would be way colder than that.

“This whole village is freezing in,” said Danny. “That’s what’s happening this winter.”

Matt had noticed already that people were minimising their movements. Rather than popping in and out of town, they’d only visit once a day and get all their jobs done. Stores and cafes were suffering. Surprisingly it was the ones on the highway that had first put up notices saying “closed till further notice”, as people were no longer visiting, or even passing through, Lucerne. The stores downtown were still operational, just, because of local business.

A week later however, they also were closed. People bunkered down in their houses. Woodstoves became lifesavers as people’s gas and electric heating systems began to break down. Their stoves were burning around the clock, with neighbours pressed around them – the more body heat the better – in blanket rooms, built within regular rooms. People ate from their root houses and larders. They knew they couldn’t feed their pets, so killed, and sometimes ate them. Livestock died off quickly, and the one good thing about this cold was that their meat stayed well preserved.

Rapid Response’s control room remained fully functional. Matt had refused to abandon his customers, all signed up for annual contracts. They needed to feel secure in this difficult time. He was sure they would repay him with loyalty when the village returned to normal. They wouldn’t go with cheaper rivals who were trying to steal his business.

Matt however had stopped moving entirely. His last thoughts remained in his mind forever, as they do for those who die frozen. He was comfortably seated, protecting people in a happy, safe, warm land, surrounded by racks of pressed white flowers, all of them six-petalled.

Leave a comment »

Man in the Moon

Posted in Classic Sci-Fi, Lucerne Village, Mystical Experience, World Myths with tags , , , , , , , on June 27, 2012 by javedbabar

Guru Baba stood in a field near his house, staring at the moon. There was the Mare Imbrium, and Mare Serenitatis, looking like a pair of eyes; smaller M. Vaparen and M. Insularum, joined into a nose; M. Cognitum and M. Nubium forming a mouth. There he was, formed of dark seas and bright highlands, the Man in the Moon. His monochromatic light play had amused humans since the dawn of their time.

He motioned to his assistant, Sami, who walked right over. “Are you wondering why I brought you here?” he said.

“Sort of,” he said. “But I’ve stopped wondering about most things since I began working for you.”

Guru Baba’s face dropped. He wondered, what did he mean by that?

Sami continued, “The things you say and do defy explanation, so there’s no point wondering. I’ll never understand.”

“You must never stop wondering!” shouted Guru Baba. His voice was harder than Sami had ever heard it before. He realized he had made him very angry. Guru Baba’s next words, however, were calm.

“Come, look at the moon with me.” Guru Baba became silent for a while, wondering if Sami was ready. Was he ready to be taught? He could end up like a Russian shaman he knew, stuck in the moon. It was spiritually rather than physically, but that was just as bad, if not worse. He decided that this one bad egg – whose ego exceeded his skill – should not be his benchmark. There were many better stories. Had he not succeeded himself?

He said to Sami, “What do you see?”

“I see the moon,” he said. “And the Man in the Moon.”

Ah good, thought Guru Baba. He is attuned. “But what is the Man in the Moon?”

“Well, I remember my Grandma’s stories. She loved folktales and myths. She said he was a man punished by God for gathering sticks on the Sabbath. She also said he’d been banished for stealing his neighbour’s hedgerows, and other people’s sheep. There was a Chinese story of a woman who drank a double potion of the Elixir of Life and then lived there with her rabbits. She was the Woman in the Moon. Polynesians said he was the world’s greatest sailor, riding a boat of light in the sky…”

“Very good,” said Guru Baba, thinking what a fine choice of assistant he’d made. “They are all true. But the real Man in the Moon is greater than all of those together. Look at his light and dark parts, expressing the duality of the universe. Look deeper. What do you see? That’s right; he holds the Taijitu – the Yin-Yang symbol. See his dark parts to the top and left, and bright parts to the bottom and right. They swirl around each other. He takes the light of the sun and reflects it wholly, but also holds shade. The Man in the Moon is our supreme teacher. Are you ready to learn his lessons?”

Leave a comment »

Deepest Desires

Posted in Lucerne Village, Mystical Experience, Unknown with tags , , , , , , , on June 26, 2012 by javedbabar

Guru Baba had retired as a holy man three years ago. He’d announced to the world that he would withdraw from active spiritual life, and live simply in “that lovely little village with the white mountain above it,” known as Lucerne.

In those three years, however, he had learnt that one can never really switch off from the spirit. Once you connect with the heart of life there’s no way to stop vital force pumping; you are forever part of the flow. Sure, you could have the spiritual equivalent of a cardiac arrest, but those at one with life rarely died in such a fashion. There were usually other factors involved such as mental illness, aggravated genetic conditions, or political intrigues.

For some time now, he’d felt strange energies at play in Lucerne. He couldn’t quite point his finger at them, but they tingled his palms. He had known this place was rich and holy – that’s why he’d come here. The black and white peaks at opposite ends of the valley, the silent red forests, the icecap to the west and desert to the east, the pale rivers, dark lakes, and mysterious ancient places, all came together powerfully. They held energetic lines converging, forming zones of pure potential.

Guru Baba’s young assistant, Sami, brought regular reports of mysterious happenings; “Strange goings-on” as he called them. There were scented bubbles at a natural spring, a Tea-Jay using ancient herbs and rituals to entrance vast crowds; a girl and her uncle lost in the realms of their own drawing; Botanical Gardens with evil-minded plants evolving; a seniors centre where lost lovers cast new souls; a dark harp whose vibrations brought down buildings; “light water” revealing heavenly constellations; healing machines that mixed patient’s intentions with technology; even reports of android spiders from Mars. The latter was probably a product of Sami’s imagination.

Such strange occurrences were usually seen only at temples or in the presence of prophets. Guru Baba didn’t mind saying though that he’d seen a few himself.

He phoned his office at the Transparent Temple – nickname for their community centre – and said “Sami, please bring the truck.”

“Why, Guru Baba? Should you not be resting today?”

“I wish to visit the natural spring you told me about.”

Guru Baba spent an hour there, its ginger-honey bubbles popping around him. He was infused with passion and reverence. Time and space dissolved…

He returned to the truck only when his deepest desires were fulfilled. Not those of being young again, or world peace, or for an end to hunger, or for all people to be equal and happy. Those were superficial. His truest desire was to be here now. What more could anyone want?

1 Comment »

Light Water

Posted in Lucerne Village, Mystical Experience, Sacred Geometry with tags , , , , , , , , on June 25, 2012 by javedbabar

Danny stood on the far side of the car park, looking down. Sophie indicated for him to walk towards her but he didn’t move. “Come on, love,” she called out, “Let’s go.”

There was still no motion, so she walked towards him instead, and put her arm around his waist when she reached him. “Are you all right?”

Danny looked up at her but said nothing, then again looked downwards. She followed his eyes and saw what he was looking at: a large pool of water reflecting the stars, and also the two of them. It wasn’t a normal reflection though. Their images were repeated all over the pool in different sizes, with different opacities, and orientations. They seemed caught within an infinite mirror, with stars all around them.

All she could say was, “Wow! Babe.” Sophie was no scientist, but figured it was something to do with crystals melting into water. There had been frost warnings this week, and she’d seen snow plows spreading rock salt. It must affect the water somehow.

She had heard the term “heavy water” on a news story about proliferation of nuclear technology in the Middle East. Was it something like that? Then she realized that if anything, this was its opposite: light water, water filled with light.

Sophie was mesmerised by the mirror. She stood beside Danny, together, forever it seemed. Forever and ever. Here they were in Lucerne. There, in the City, before they’d met. And there, living in a beautiful cabin in the valley. Elsewhere, at the Taj Mahal. She was hallucinating surely. Meditating. Obsessing. Entranced.

This water was filled with the wonder of the universe. The stars all around them knowing each other, connecting and signalling, making constellations.

His Taurus strode towards her Leo, but rather than fighting, they lay down together in velvet. Aquarius carried over a pitcher of cool water with Pisces swimming within it. Gemini said, “Hello! Hello!” to Capricorn, who replied with “Mehhn!” Cancer and Scorpio pinched each other playfully. Virgo herded Aries along, while Sagittarius used Libra to balance his arrows. Was this an image of the “heaven on earth” spoken of in holy books? A moment of union with all that exists?

“Hey! What are you two looking at?” shouted their friend Shama, pulling his truck into the car park, on his way to the bottle shop. “Get out of the way or you’ll be pretty flat soon.” Danny and Sophie looked up as he drove through the light water. It rippled and became dark.

3 Comments »

Bricking It

Posted in Classic Sci-Fi, Lucerne Village, Sacred Geometry, Unknown with tags , , , , , , , on June 24, 2012 by javedbabar

It was always fun to play in the forest, and now they had paintball guns it was better than ever. Running through the trees and crawling through bush, they were warriors with semi-deadly weapons, each ready to kill or be killed.

Hiding in tree holes and ditches was also fun, getting to know the bugs and spiders, picking their legs off, one by one. There was a tipping point though, and you could only wait for so long. If nobody was available to ambush, then they were probably creeping up to ambush you themselves.

“What about that pile over there?” shouted Sami. “Let’s take a look.” It would make a good fort. However as they approached it, they saw that it wasn’t a wood pile, but a squat brick building, ten feet square, completely enclosed with no obvious entry point. Vegetation around it was disturbed and some trees were smashed. It looked like it hadn’t been there too long. Who had built it, and how?

Sami did a full reconnaissance. There was no door, no windows, no chimney, and no drains. No warning signs either. The building’s only notable features were eight brick buttresses – one at each corner, and one at the centre of each side. He’d seen such features when visiting French cathedrals.

Boys with guns and anonymous buildings, it was a good combination, and there was only one thing to do. The building became their official target.

They made a range on every side. There was a swamp range, shooting uphill through rushes; a mountain range, firing downhill through roots; an east range, aiming through tree trunks; a west range, blasting across flat, rocky ground. They agreed to have a shooting match each day, with teams moving around the ranges.

Four teams of two were established and given different coloured pellets. They counted out one hundred pellets per person. At the end of four days, the differently coloured hits would be counted and the winners declared. If people were caught in cross fire, so much the better!

Sami and Jonah were blue brothers in arms. As they started shooting, they heard noises within. “There must be some machinery inside,” said Sami. Should we stop?”

“No way”” said Jonah, and they continued firing with a pretty good hit rate.

On the third day, when the building had been hit exactly 1,028 times, it suddenly rose up and the buttress roots emerged from the ground. The android spider had been very patient, but every creature has its limits. 1,028 hits, coming from all directions, were a sure sign of attack, and it was programmed to defend itself. It squashed one fleeing humanoid with each armoured leg, and fed them into its underside. It had been resting for too long and was feeling damp and kind of rusty. Their fats would provide good lubrication.

Leave a comment »

Archway

Posted in Conceptual Art, Lucerne Village, Mystical Experience, Sacred Geometry, Unknown with tags , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2012 by javedbabar

Sophie loved wandering in the Botanical Garden; it was a great way to wind down after work. She knew the main path well, but there were always new side-trails appearing. She often crossed paths with this haven’s creator, The Gardener, and young crews who, he said, were studying Extreme Gardening.

She’d been upset by her argument with Danny. Last night had started well. He’d bought a cheap but surprisingly good wine; they’d cooked together, watched a movie and gone to bed. After making love, he’d brought up the subject of marriage. God knows why. Wasn’t that the girl’s job? He’d said, “Sophie, do you want to be with me forever?”

She’d said, “Let’s take it slowly, love. We’re only just getting to know each other.”

After a brief silence, he’d said, “But don’t you think that when you know, you know?”

“Well, maybe, but I don’t know yet.” That had been the end of the conversation and the start of the fight.

Sophie saw an arch in the distance, covered with red flowers. It appealed to her anger, and she walked towards it. What kind of flowers were these? Their petals seemed as if made of glass. She was afraid to touch them in case they shattered. Their red was hot, evoking power and anger, also passion and danger, and blood.

Sophie sat in the garden for a while. The sun appeared from behind dark clouds and the flowers on the arch seemed to change colour. They were now yellow, making Sophie think of summer, gold and joy, and the wheatfields of her uncle’s farm in the prairies, where she’d spent so many childhood summers. Wasn’t it amazing how colours changed your moods?

The sun continued its daily journey, now slipping beneath the tree canopy. There was a new coolness and freshness. The flowers on the arch appeared to be green. What neat shadowplay there was in this part of the garden. These strange verdant flowers cast a spell of fertility upon her filled with health and youth, and if it was too late for that, at least renewal.

The sun dipped below the horizon. Sophie realized that she’d been here from six to ten pm – four hours! She better get home; she rose to exit the garden.

The flowers on the arch now seemed blue; the colour of sea, sky and mountains, also of deep space. It was a colour that brought peace to her soul. Calm. Stability. Harmony. A colour of acceptance of the larger things in life; awareness that she was a tiny character in a vast cosmic story.

As she passed through the archway, she saw movement ahead. Danny was rushing towards her.

He said, “Where were you, babe? I’ve been looking for hours. I was worried.”

“I’ve been here,” she said.

“You missed dinner. I couldn’t get hold of you. I feared the worst.”

She looked at him with kindness. He really cared for her.

He calmed quickly and said, “For some reason I thought you might be here.”

The archway’s colours had transferred from the outer world to her inner realms. She said, “You were right. Now I know.”

1 Comment »

Eternal Antiques

Posted in Lucerne Village, Mystical Experience, Sacred Geometry, Unknown with tags , , , , , , on June 22, 2012 by javedbabar

Danny wanted to buy a nice present for Sophie. They’d been dating for three months; there had been some bumps but overall their relationship was progressing well. Because they’d first met at Lucerne’s Botanical Garden, Sophie told people it was “blossoming”.

He was strapped for cash; what could he get her? She liked cooking, maybe some pots and pans. The good ones in the hardware store cost $200 per pan. Who pays those prices? Someone must. He’d noticed that her boots were tatty; she would appreciate a new pair. He went to the general store to find similar ones; they were also $200. Maybe something special to celebrate their relationship? The best bottle of fizz in town? It was $200.

“Isn’t there anything cheaper?” he asked the cashier.

“Sure there is, pal. We’ve got beer at two dollars a can.”

On his way home, Danny noticed that the thrift store’s For Sale sign had been replaced by a new sign saying Eternal Antiques. He’d never seen any staff the few times he’d visited, just piles and shadows and an honesty box; no wonder it went broke. The “new” place may be worth a visit. He wandered in.

There was a good selection of books, clothes, games and sports equipment. Downstairs were house wares and cookware. Danny rummaged around but didn’t find anything special. On his way out he heard faint music and followed it to a room, reached by pushing through a rail of coats and dresses.

Suddenly the music seemed loud and dramatic – bassoons and drums, like elephants trumpeting and running. “Hello,” said a woman from amongst deep shadows. “I’m Sybil, the new owner.”

“Oh, hello, I’m Danny. It’s quite the shop you’ve got here. Did you have it renovated?” He realized this was a silly question. Yes, there was a new sign outside, but only more old stuff inside, including all the stuff the previous owner hadn’t sold in years.

“No, why would I?” she said. “My business is preservation.”

Danny saw she kept the better stuff in the office. There was rose-patterned bone china, cracked old paintings, ancient books, and objects that could be obscure cutlery or implements of torture. “Can you help me please? I want to find something for my fia…” He realized that she was only his fiancée in his mind. “For my girlfriend.”

“Close your eyes,” said Sybil.

“Why should I do that?”

“Because that’s the best way to find anything.” Her eyes smiled.

“Okay, they’re closed,” said Danny, holding the corner of the desk for support. “Now what?”

“Spin around and point to something.” He did so. “Good, that’s it.”

Danny opened his eyes and saw a fat, blue, dusty bottle. He said, “What is it?”

“It’s a potion for young lovers. That will be a dollar please.”

“What’s in it though? I can’t just take a random medicine.”

“You’re right. You can’t.” Sybil removed a small, framed painting from the wall and handed it to Danny. It was a radiant Christ with sacred heart. The heart had wings on either side and a crucifix above; light poured from it in all directions. “The potion has intention, and the painting has love. They work together to make heavenly magic. People today don’t like the word religious, or the idea of God. They prefer to say they are spiritual and chant OM. But it’s all the same old stuff. Intention and love. Wish for what you want young man, but there is one downside that I didn’t mention.”

Danny became scared. Was he meddling with dark forces?

“The painting is two dollars. So that’s three bucks total.”

Leave a comment »

Communicate With Confidence

Posted in Lucerne Village, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , on June 21, 2012 by javedbabar

Danny wondered if there was there one truck in many places, or many trucks scattered around? They all looked the same; silver Nissan 4WD’s with canopies saying Communicate With Confidence, and a telephone number.

He never saw any of them driving around, or anyone inside one. The truck, or trucks, were parked around the village in various locations. He’d seen them in condo visitor parking lots, the long driveways of acreages, outside Village Hall, even at the police station.

Danny was intrigued and called the number. There was no music or welcoming message, just two rings, a click, and a robotic voice saying “Leave a message.”

Danny said, “Hello, this is a message for the person at, erm, Communicate With Confidence. I’ve seen your truck, or trucks, around the village, erm, Lucerne, that is. I was wondering what you do exactly. Can you please let me know. It’s Danny here. Thank you. Oh, my number is…”

The message clicked off before he could leave his number. He called back and repeated the message, but it again clicked off early. A third attempt had a similar result.

It was really annoying. What a stupid voicemail system; he wondered how they got any business. They must be successful though, because their truck, or trucks, seemed to be everywhere.

Danny saw a Communicate With Confidence truck in the car park of the Transparent Temple – the nickname for their glassy community centre – and decided to investigate. He asked the receptionist if there was a session in progress, and was directed to Room One. Danny peered in. About a hundred people filled the room, chanting. A sign at the front said simply Communicate! Many of the students turned towards him; Danny felt self conscious and walked away.

When Danny got home, he started thinking, what was it that he wished to communicate, and to who? Was it a message about looking for work? Was it a request to his bank to reduce his credit card rate? Was it a comment about the unfairness and unpredictable nature of the world?

He realized that what he wanted to say was, “Sophie, will you marry me?” They’d been dating for six months now. You either know, or you need to know. He’d been in this position with a previous partner and tried to do something about it. He’d done the right thing; he’d asked her. But his words had come out wrong. It had all gone wrong.

He re-called the number and left a message saying, “Hello, my name is Danny. I am in love with Sophie, and I wish to ask her to marry me. I wish to communicate this with confidence. Please help me to do this. My number is 604 698 6868.”

The voicemail accepted the full message. Five minutes later he received a text saying “We will be there at 9am.”

At exactly nine, the CWC van pulled into the car park of his condo complex. A woman in white overalls and flat cap handed him a business card saying, Mavis, 3C which she explained meant Confident Communication Consultant.

“How much do you charge?” said Danny.

“A dollar a minute,” said Mavis.

Danny received intensive counselling about Positive Thinking, Creative Visualization, the Law of Attraction and the Law of Karma. Mavis said that all of these affect your life deeply. Time flew by. When she ended the session he checked his watch, and saw that four hours had elapsed. He gulped.

“Don’t worry about that now,” she said. “We never chase customers. Our terms are payment upon results. I can say with confidence that you’ll pay us within three months.”

Leave a comment »

Ivories

Posted in Conceptual Art, Lucerne Village, Unknown with tags , , , , , , , , , , on June 20, 2012 by javedbabar

Donna felt swallowed by Christmas. It was meant to be about a lowly manger, a guiding star, three wise men, and a saviour child; add to that a huge turkey, your family, and good cheer. But all of this was eclipsed by present buying, which was all that anybody cared about these days; what I bought you; what you bought me; was it a good gift; did you get it cheap from somewhere; was it a fair exchange?

She decided that the best way to get unusual gifts at good prices was to visit winter markets. They followed the same ethos as farmers markets – you must grow, make, or bake it yourself – but with more focus on making than growing. She often bought consumable goods such as jams, cakes, and cheeses; soft things that she could also try herself; her dentures didn’t like toffee or nuts. She also got some items that lasted, so people would remember her gifts.

Lucerne’s winter market took place two weeks before Christmas, featuring a mix of artists, sculptors, farmers and housewives, and students and single mothers supplementing their incomes. “Hello there!” said a woman selling jewellery. “Would you like to try on anything?”

Donna cast her eye over the stall. It wasn’t quite to her taste – irregular beads strung together; some matched in pairs of ascending or descending sizes – but the style seemed somehow familiar; also the woman seemed familiar.

Donna said, “I feel I know you from somewhere. Do you live in Lucerne?”

Rather than smiling, the woman looked worried and turned away, saying, “I’m not from Lucerne; I’m just a visiting trader.”

“But it seems like I’ve met you before. Were you here last year?”

The woman saw that Donna wasn’t leaving so decided to distract her. “Why don’t you try on this necklace?” she said.

Donna examined the white chunks strung on a slim golden wire. “What beautiful stones. What are they, chips of marble?”

“Erm, not quite.” It seemed that the woman wanted to talk, and not to talk, at the same time; she had something to be proud of and also to hide. Donna persisted with questions till she had no option but to tell the truth, which is always easier than lying. “I make jewellery from teeth,” she said.

“Teeth!” said Donna. “Those are all teeth? What kind of teeth?”

“Well, all kinds of teeth. I get them mainly from vets and zoos, and people send me teeth when their pets die, to fashion into sentimental items. Did you want to try this on?”

Donna was not so sure. “What’s it made of?”

“It’s sheep’s and goat’s teeth. I stain and polish them individually, that’s why you thought they were marble. But stone quarrying is a dirty business; mine is entirely clean; there’s zero carbon footprint.”

Donna had to admit that the necklace looked good on her. The teeth together looked like the crest of a wave, or a small mountain range, curving over her bosom.

“What’s that one?” she said, pointing to a bracelet.

“That’s made with dog’s teeth, and the next one is cat’s teeth. I’ve even made one with mouse teeth for a girl with cancer.”

Donna tried on some shark’s tooth earrings, then some made of dolphin’s teeth. The woman said, “Teeth aren’t all solid you know. They’re made of multiple tissues of varying density and hardness. And herbivore’s and carnivore’s teeth are very different – being used to chew and grind, versus hunting prey and tearing meat. Different species can have one, two or many sets of teeth, and you can tell the age of horses from their tooth eruption patterns. Elephants’ tusks are specialized incisors for digging up food and fighting. Narwhals have one giant unicorn-like tooth, containing millions of sensory pathways…”

Donna wondered why she was talking so rapidly, telling her all of these strange things about teeth. Was she feeling nervous about something? Maybe her jewellery was junky. Donna returned the items and walked away.

The woman was relieved that Donna hadn’t noticed the case of platinum rings set with human teeth. She had briefly dated Lucerne’s dentist last year, and persuaded him to do her some favours, like extracting teeth from patients to order. She’d once pulled on a surgical mask and acted as his assistant, telling him which ones she wanted. Was this the woman he’d persuaded to have all of her top teeth removed?

1 Comment »

Acoustic Experiment

Posted in Lucerne Village, Mystical Experience, Sacred Geometry, World Myths with tags , , , , , , , , , on June 19, 2012 by javedbabar

“Walk two steps forward,” said Guru Baba. “That’s it. Maybe one step more. Okay, half a step back. How does that feel?”

Sami didn’t know what to say. It felt the same wherever he stood in the field. He had a view of Mt Alba at the end of the Valley and forests, rivers and cliffs on both sides. The guy standing opposite him about twelve feet away, Shama – was that his name? – would have a similar view, but seeing as he was facing west, it would be Mt Negra instead.

“Okay, you have both played flutes before?” said Guru Baba.

Sami protested. “Guru Baba, I told you…”

“Yes, I know that,” said Guru Baba. “I don’t mean professionally, I just mean can you get a sound out of them? Not orchestral flutes, just bamboo flutes. Here, take one each. No. Wait! Don’t move! I’ll bring them to you. Okay.”

Sami had been Guru Baba’s assistant for almost a year now, ever since the world famous holy man had made Lucerne his home. Guru Baba had been kept super busy by his constant stream of visitors and the demands of his many charitable projects. He rarely found time to get out of the village to pursue his personal projects. Today they had sneaked away for an “acoustic experiment”, though Guru Baba had yet to explain what this consisted of. That was his way – always mysterious. And they’d also picked up this rough-looking guy called Shama. Who knew why?

“Sami, can you please start with a steady tone?” Sami blew too hard initially, creating a rasp, but then produced the requested steady tone, which wavered within reason.

“Very good. Shama, can you please try to match his tone?” Shama did the same – a rasp, and then a steady-enough tone.

“Very good too. Now play continuously while I walk around. Yes, of course you can breathe, who doesn’t? But keep playing as steadily as possible.”

Guru Baba walked around them. At first it was a tight circle barely including them both, but he gradually widened his range till the circle was fifty feet across. He walked this steady perimeter four times, and on the fifth circuit began halting, stopping and starting, like a DVD getting stuck on the same scratch, again and again. He produced a can of orange construction paint from beneath his saffron robe, and marked places that he halted, about every fifteen feet. Sami stopped playing to ask something, but was shouted at and told to continue. Guru Baba continued walking, marking and remarking with orange paint.

After half an hour, the circle of markings was complete. Guru Baba said, “Sami, you wished to ask something.”

“Erm, yes. Why are you making those spots?”

“Music is multisensory. You can hear it, but you can also see and feel it. In all cultures oral traditions came first. Writing came later. The internet came even after that. It wasn’t always there you know.” He smiled to himself. “The past was not silent and neither is the present. We have so much to re-learn about the acoustics of structures and spaces. We must unlock them!”

Shama didn’t say anything, but Sami needed to know more. He asked Guru Baba a series of questions that made him smile, walk over, and take the flute from Sami’s hand. He said, “Now you walk and see.”

Guru Baba and Shama played steady tones as Sami circled. At first he heard just the sounds of the flutes together, but after some circuits, he sensed invisible bumps along his path. The interference patterns created by the two flutes acquired substance. Ancient music was inspired by naturally occurring patterns and rhythms, and was used to tune human emotions and states of awareness. Music attracted mates, communicated messages, and strengthened bonds. It enhanced early man’s chances of survival, and may provide hope for modern man also.

Sami walked round and around with his eyes shut. He saw and felt everything.

2 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »