Release A Day #6 ~ Alchemical Reaction
As I stated in my launch post, creating or birthing music has been a vital tool for me over the years to manage my emotional landscape, to give form to significant experiences, and to have a release valve for challenging passages. Music has been my therapist, and the conversations we’ve had have been captured in these recordings.
My 12 string guitar has been a primary vehicle in this particular vein of emotional and spiritual exploration and has served me well in this capacity. We’ve been through a lot together, and I consider her to be one of my best friends and teachers.
I am choosing to share this particular piece of music today because it is full of turmoil and the facing of conflict ~ it feels like an apt musical metaphor as we collectively stare down the barrel of societal threat. To stand in the face of an oncoming storm is to confront destiny ~ we are shaped by the experience, knowing we cannot run and we cannot hide. There’s a vital exchange of information, of surrender, and embrace, and the currency of this transaction is transformation. We emerge from our turmoils diminished or strengthened, compromised or forged into a deeper presence.
This piece was born in the murky depths of personal turmoil as I was steadfast and determined to stand tall throughout, face my fears head on, with the hopes that once the tempest had subsided I would emerge tempered and fortified for the days to come.
The title of the piece is derived from a quote by Carl Jung ~ “The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
I’m going to add an additional layer of interest to this particular offering ~ I’m thinking that after the video I made today playing this piece (with really cold fingers…) I’m going to tack on a studio recording version of the piece from a couple of years ago with deeper instrumentation as that’s definitely closer to what I hear in my head. It’s a short piece, so the two versions back to back still come in under 4 minutes.
I’m also feeling strongly that by throwing this piece out now as we collectively brace ourselves for the sustained winds of hurricane corona as it blows through our communities, I invoke the strength and courage to face fears that this piece was born from.
Listen to Alchemical Reaction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyl4udns7T0
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