You know trying to experience life outside of the group think or group sink as I like to think is the dillemma of the world trying to experience Bliss. We all want a piece don't we? I know I do and to do it you have to acknowledge the balance of suffering to really get that bliss thing resonating. Both simulataneous move back and forth like a slalom getting a good edge on both extremes keeping you center of gravity yet letting your soul fly free. Like athletes or dancers or musicians in the zone they can't tell you why, but they all say they weren't thinking about anything they just knew it was happening. They dropped the "group think" and just were and they were their best. no convention, Peak experiences. Rubbing the walls of the supernatural thin enough to see God, both mask the good bad, yinyang, smilin buddha, or black dragon. Unknowing, experiencing the moment in totality. Fuckin' groovin.

Great Experience at the Medeski, Martin, Wood show. They offer up what is power Jazz trio at times ie Headhunters, and then slip into what universal joy of say the funky Meters, then dabble with Ornette Coleman and Bitches Brew and what not all the while with viruosity and a pioneers spirit. Will try not to miss them ever again. Crowd was beautiful in all its contrasts. No more judging for me, at least trying to. The totality is beautiful the conflict, the harmony etc. Not judging I am going to characterize the three groups, groups all of which I bounce around with and maybe that makes "my think" which is all I got... be bliss. The only reason I say this I randomly met Todd and we started talking and out of know where he goes into this hero's journey and we start talking about music, why some connect more than others etc. Jazz mainly was the conversation, he quickly realized he had found an audience, and everyone who knows me knows I would rather talk than listen. Slowly that is changing. Jazz and the moment the idependence of thought and form that finds a way to connect with the unit in between beats or moods or modes as Miles would say, Fields of energy and trying to connect but not let go of original ideas, just knowing they aren't group thought, but work perfectly with the group. Not that many jazz fans left in the world, at least not truly obsessive lovers of the vast AMerican medium. It takes patience openess, discomfort, joy, confusion, moments of bliss, in some cases all in one song, of course its all one song, the Universes God's etc. but can you listen to it without having to go back to some solid seemingly safe ground. Jazz asks you to surrender to the mystery and mastery. So mmw, you have jazznicks sitting on one side of the stage soaking in every note, good bad indifferent. You have neo-hippynicks grooving to every ounce of rhythm and texture they can find. You have a majority of groupthinkers there to see and be seen dabbling in the experience. I mingled in all three. All of us with egos but I love to see the differences of how music do's it for me and people. First set they went out on some awesome audible limbs, scraping the edge of whatever it is they do. They do it well by the way. The jazz folks ease back into their seats with a heightened stillness, thats me during that part of the show, let the randomness engulf them then find the emotion they want to find in those obscure but spirit edifying moments. Joy. The hippynicks, I am that guy and girl too, try to find texture to rub up against but because the rhythm is not pronounced in a specific time or connected to the vibe of the whole. They bop curiously and it becomes struggling. That is an authentic moment too but away from he bliss that might be happening through music.
I had a great conversation with a broher at the show.. about Space in the Grateful Dead experience and how my first probably 20, 30 shows it was a novelty and "trippy" for lack of a better word at best. Fortunately later in my history with them they started playing "Dark Star" again Joy fucking joy. With Space... by the time I had seen 50 to 100 shows it was my place, and we all know "space is the place" It was the vehicle of transcendence for me with the musicians, audience time and space, don't get me wrong throwing yourself into the groove and feeling the rhythm and accents pushing and pulling you around in your space ultimately is what has made me love music and dancing and of course songwriting, Song writing is the elementary you can't start your journey without a song and what it means... what lyrics mean and how we only really have language to veil what is the spirit, and not everyone can hang the veil of language on something as fleeting as feelings, the spirit world, god with virtuosity... so when you find artist or teacher etc who can... soak that shit up people. So back to the avant wierd part of the show. Jazznicks, Hippyfoolendentals, and group thinkers. As the show gets into those places near the edge of the cliff the group thinkers, at least in my mind become terrified, "this ain't what the manual said and I know there are other people experiencing this as cool so I want to but damn I can't take the moment I need to move on.ah clousterphobia bitch" So during these wonderful music moments the group thinkers get distracted all start talking to their neighbors shut off the music experience completely, have tea, pull themselves out of the field of experience and go into, "can you believe what happend to John, or She and I never really clicked" or "are you going to the other music show this weekend that won't make me feel as weird" I should mention I like those shows to, raw, or even popular say from and R&B standpoint, If you don't love Marvin Gaye and Aretha etc you need to re-visit. Its not Miles/ McGlaughin or whatever but it is wonderful. So the thinknots or at least acknowledge less and defer to the "community prevalent box of thought" start their conversations detach from the moment and in my mind invite Samsara into a experience that is transcendent, which is experiencing music. Hey I don't think there is anything wrong with not liking parts of things and line-item vetoing and what not, and more importantly I will give all music a chance and if I can't quite identify I will leave. Velvet Underground would say "somebody's got the right" not sure who that is always, or if its me or if it is me who has it, but we should know. Its our right. Now lets talk about the bliss of funking out taking this physical form and expressing bliss and beauty.. Always my favorite part of shows. Dancing mind and body experience acknowledging the shell and letting the spirit or aura come into view of everything in your energy field at that moment. I love to see people dance... ones who do it with sexuality, sensuality, artistry, cosmic wonder, clumsiness, contrived movements, instability, perfect balance. The point is I will never judge a dancer as anything but someone not scared to take a leap. Expose your spirit, If someone dances funny that is joy I don't judge, If someone dances sexy, thats nice too, If someone is spewing bliss and the moment in every bow and bend movement then I revel in it. I like to think of myself in the later but some dancers are a fountain of joy, a waterfall of joy, a trickle in the dam, But its all good. Sweat I love that another way the body says all my organs are really opposed to each other and they all want a little something different, but by putting them to work they find rhythm and harmony even though they don't really agree with one another. Sweat, "anyone who sweats like that must be alright". No one wants to fight theres no black eyes, Fucking cats down under the stars tonight. We are all one, and that is the most obtuse but true statement we as man and women will ever have to come to grips with. And so I think you know, part of dancing for me is showing off because I like how people react to my dancing,, always have, I like that some people are attracted to me incredibly and others judge, or are quite frankly scared to freaking death and scared of death. But ultimately I am doing it for them and the people who feel joy from it send it back and the people who are scared send that back, but that brings me to the overriding feeling of joy, the joy that gets sent back squashes or at least minimalizes the skeerdy cats, and somehow hopefully lets them know it is ok to be embarrased in fact embarrasing moments are teachers. Dance creates courage and courage creates the ability to experience life with bliss. Follow you bliss. Still trying to figure out what ole Joe Campbell meant, its pretty basic, and whether god is the element or vehicle to which we know bliss, all we have to know is that is the greatest gift and the only thing to pursue. Dance is physical but it rubs the walls most thin, Meditation is physical but takes down walls. All my other favorites like whisky, sex, eating, dope etc. are fleeting... temperance is so hard b/c some of these things on the physical plane are what we see as peak experience, but the trade offs for short term physical aliveness, is suffering from the need to repeat those thing.. Group think says oh I just repeat what just happend and the ingredients are 3 Wild Turkeys, flirting with woman that leads to physicological explosions and yummy fucking, some roasted garlic and brussels sprouts with my huge bloody yummy peice of meat and a couple glasses of a big ole' Cab, one bong hit, some silliness and laughter and another Wild Turkey, and more sex equals bliss. It all sounds good but it is music being played be not virtuous musicians. So some of the ingredients some of the time work out, just can obssess on the salt or the spice or whatever because it will ruin the overall dish. Mostly you have "be mindful" and with that comes the realization that you don't concoct bliss it is created diving and that leads to heightened awareness of the oneness of the world and everything. Tap it pure Bodichitta, compassion, love the goofy dancer maybe even more than the artist. Love and feel compassion for the group thinker and wish great things for them, so that lord forbid one day they experience the show for the moment and even dance even if they have never tried. Those that you see and say with ease "I love the spirit they are letting out" revel in it and let go and watch the cycle of energy move among a group of like or semi-like people. The church of the musical experience, I never thought of City Hall as a Cathedral or an open field in Telluride, or a Awesome art deco dinner theatre in Birmingham as Cathedrals but they are, its really easy to know. Then take the traffic jam, your boss putting stress in the air, confrontation of energy b/w you and someone at the grocery store, those are cathedrals too. No doubt some cathedrals more cosmically important, places where many have decided that is where the fill their cup and those places have to be sought out regularly. A mountain top, your church, your meditation group, be and always be mindful of the minor cathedrals you end up at, you are there more often, but as the sioux say on the plains this is the mountain top the greatest most significant, tallest mountain, in the universe. Convention would say have you heard of Everest or McKinley and Sioux would say yes but no mountain is greater than mine. Your mountain is where you are. Be on the mountain top observe the good and bad and know that your view if honest is from the most magnificent peak even if you are from the Valley. Sit on your mountain top it is a journey you will come down from the mountain that is the physical world gravity samsara whatever, but, its only a short hike back once you have bagged the peak, you know its there just a short hike back up there to see clearly again and enjoy your bliss.. Joe says follow your "bliss". Bliss is your only clue chase it. Then the mystery becomes joy. It gets lost in the woods among the timbers sometimes but when it jets out into the open follow it for as long as you can, knowing (which is unknowing) that you will lose it again but knowing you will also find again. You have no fear of getting lost chasing it or that you are wasting time(Wasted Time the Eagles SOng song) b/c you know it will probably slip back neath the foilage for a while...just chase it and see where it leads it leads to Love an Pain accepting them is bliss. Love..eternal, can't be described, pain simple this world the physical plane. Chase what you can't know and it finds you.... I love you and you love me. Believe it or not its true. But Believe it. You are going to wake up from the good dreams and bad dreams, its all dreams.