#53. The One Sound

I’ve mentioned before how at a young age I had a lot of friends interested in consciousness.  One big reason for that may have been the influence of my friends uncle, Stuart Davis.  There’s a painter by the same name but I’m talking about the musician from Minnesota.  He’s been featured in Time magazine and his music centers around introspective zen.  I was a lucky enough kid that I got to spend a lot of time talking with him and a Buddhist priest he toured with, and occasionally I got to be a ticket taker and our group got to sit up on stage with him during his concerts.  I can’t remember at exactly what point I got into meditation, but a song called “Transpersonal Cowboy” got me thinking about the “Om” sound some people apply while meditating.  My research shows a lot of interpretations of the Om sound, a few from Shape.com, such as “Everything and Everyone” and, but the interesting one is this: “In several ancient Indian texts, is described as a “sound from which all other sounds and creation emerge,” and represents a “Supreme Power.”” So once while alone in my friend’s sauna, I started meditating, and I tried making that sound for a while, and I noticed something I thought was interesting:  After a short while of making that sound, I noticed I could no longer tell what exact sound I was making.  It was as if it’s all the same sound at the core.  I couldn’t tell if I was making a long A, an E, or an Ah sound, and the oh got lost.  It would seem that reference has a more important roll in our interpretation of sound than one would guess.  Perhaps that is the goal?  The supreme vibration of sorts, revealing the oneness of the universe?  I’m not implying that I “figured this one out,” I’m convinced there’s more to be discerned from the practice, and I can’t say for sure I’m right, either, for as it’s been said, if you see the Buddha, go the other way.  Also, if you’re into my writings, I recommend heading over to Youtube to check out some classic acoustic Stu.  “Ommmm, little dawgies…”