Contemplation night

Kat here.  I will tell anyone that rock + roll is my creator and savior, to put it in some terms that people understand.  This will never stop me from learning all I can from any variety of other practices, religions and belief systems, which is why I finally got around to attending the contemplation night at the local Unity church last Wednesday. 

Here are my notes:

I sat down in the sanctuary and the woman facilitating the contemplation session put on some relaxing music.  The music started out slowly and made me want to listen to some Pink Floyd, which opened an internal discussion of what music I’d play if I were facilitating a similar rock + roll contemplation session.  If you've got any suggestions, leave a comment! 

The next question my Pink Floyd thought provoked was that of drugs.  Do they have a place in contemplative rock + roll?  The reply in my soul was that contemplative rock + roll is not straight-edge, but neither does it have a high tolerance for any drug that removes one from one’s own connection to the life-saving force of rock + roll.  Drugs can connect a soul to rock + roll, but I suspect for the most part it connects to the variant of rock + roll that tears apart, the sex, drugs and rock + roll kind. I respect that, too - I'm just meant to work on the other side of the coin.  

Next, the woman lit a stick of incense and walked with it throughout the sanctuary and the altar.  It wasn’t the intense, nauseating incense of my Catholic upbringing, it was the nag champa that the Band of Heathens (and many other bands I’m sure) always lit on stage before their performances.  It was a nice reminder of the reason I was there. 

The woman opened the session and throughout, maybe every 10  minutes or so, said a few words about peace and abundance and God, but I heard rock + roll every time.  Contemplative rock + roll is aligned with universal truths, so many things about it will coincide with conventional religions.  

Being my first contemplation session, I’d not yet let my mind slip into the quietude that I one day will.  But as I sat there, I considered the monks who exist and with spend their entire lives meditating and praying with the goal of raising the consciousness of the entire earth and all mankind.  How much time could (can!) I spend contemplating rock + roll with the goal of raising the rock + roll consciousness of the planet?  

So I know that as I go forward, part of this crazy mission will be creating a quiet space for rock + roll.  Different than the traditional “If it’s too loud, you’re too old” rock + roll.  This is about getting quiet enough to access the inherent rock + roll in your soul so you can bring it out into the world.  And I do believe that requires a quiet space.  Or, earplugs in a very loud space.  Anything that lets you go into your own soul with a clear head. 

I’m planning to go back next week.