Mark Epstein is fantastic! "Just be a good friend, and see what comes up; lead with kindness as a way of counteracting that comparing mind."

Koans, therapeutic practice, John Cage, music, love, friendship--thank you.

second track from the Eternal Project- Edge of a change in occurrence.
Metaphor for the pause between two circumstances-
inside of your mind........at a point in time

The Eternal Project -Precipice

Psychotherapist Mark Epstein is often asked how he incorporates his Buddhist practice into his therapy sessions. His latest book offers an answer to that question. In "The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life," Epstein documents dozens of therapy sessions over the course of a year, tracing the Buddhist themes that arise. Weaving together psychoanalytic theory, Zen poetry, and the music of John Cage, Epstein presents a compelling model of therapy as spiritual friendship.

In today’s episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle editor-in-chief James Shaheen sits down with Epstein to discuss Zen koans, the improvisational nature of therapy, and the art of listening.

The Zen of Therapy with Mark Epstein

Two black woodpeckers hammering in duel, a wren can be heard in the background. 

Recorded :  24.03.2022,   3 pm.
Location:   Siebentischwald, Augsburg/Bavaria - Germany
ZOMM F8 - RODE NT5 MP - ORTF - Sourcefile: 96 KHz

Black Woodpecker - Wren Wood - Ambient - Forest - Field Recording - Nature

When poet Ben Okri was just seven years old, he and his family moved back to Nigeria on the eve of civil war. Ever since, he has been fascinated by what he calls “cusp moments,” the periods just before catastrophe strikes. His new novel, "The Last Gift of the Master Artists," takes place in an African society just before the Atlantic slave trade. In the book, he sets out to examine the spirit of a culture on the eve of its destruction.

In today’s episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor in chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Okri to discuss how writing can help us face what we refuse to see, how Buddhist teachings have influenced his work, and why he believes that art is most powerful when it brings us to a point of crisis.

The Role of the Artist in Times of Crisis with Ben Okri

A long soundscape across Dawn in the Queets River Valley rainforest of the Olympic National Park. Starting in Astronomical Twilight, a small herd of Roosevelt Elk walks in from a distance, though a small forest glade, an away towards the Queets River bed.

Early Autumn rainfall and dropping Maple Leaves are the dominant sounds to begin, their pak-pak-spaks are a reminder that time passes, even in the still quiet of a moss-covered forest.

Highway 101 in less than 12 miles away, and distant traffic is funneled up the Valley, showing the difficulty of escaping human-generated sound. This has been mitigated somewhat with light processing, but close listening and inspection will make remnants evident. There are no other edits or processes committed.

I love the crisp cold air of the rainforests in the fall. Sounds, natural and human generated, carry into the distant. Tucked into my sleeping bag, I lay back in my small tent, listening to the forest awaken. Where once there was just the soft distant wash of the river, the elk are joined by the local birds. Steller's Jays shriek their song with grating-yet-amusing "CHA-CHA-CHA-CHAs". A Northern Saw-whet toots in the forest canopy. Young Varied Thrush practice their songs, not quite reaching the beautiful and haunting signature fluting of their predecessors, instead emitting a silly buzzer-bell-like noise. Pacific Wren singing at the end of their season and the occasional Kingfisher make an appearance as well. Noe of these complete with the sheer vibrance of the elk.

Roosevelt Elk or Roosevelt's Wapiti or Rainforest Elk are the largest remaining elk species in North America and thrive in shadowy silences of the Pacific Northwest's temperate rainforests. Bull's bugles and roars echo through the trees, becoming one of the signature sounds of the Olympic Mountains. The cows mew and squeal in return, listening for one another to not wander far astray.

The small herd is a tight-nit family group, a with one, maybe two, dominant bulls, five or six cows in their harem, and a handful of young. The dominant bull leads the group on a daily hike, down from the upper valley to the river and back again. Their bugles urge the group, both signaling the direction to go and scolding those that dawdle. As they pass through the glade, their heavy footfall on the vegetative floor thump-thump-thumps their presence as much as the vocalizations and the continued crushing of vegetation as they push by.

I can't get enough of their energy. They pull back frequently. No matter how many times I encounter them, Elk never cease to awe me.

Click through the comments below for some highlights!

Northwest Soundscapes

Queets River Valley Rainforest Dawn with Elk

Comparison of Nevaton MC 59 interchangeable cardioid and omnidirectional capsule at the calm sea hitting the rocky coast. A simple ORTF. Unedited.
 
Windshield: Rode WS9
Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre I

Calm Adriatic Sea - Nevaton MC 59 Cardioid/Omni Comparison

This past fall, writer Sandra Cisneros published her first book of poetry in 28 years, "Woman Without Shame." Cisneros, best known for her 1984 novel "The House on Mango Street," is a poet, novelist, performer, and artist—and she’s also a Buddhist. In her new poetry collection, she offers insightful and characteristically blunt meditations on desire, memory, and how she has learned to love her aging body.

In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor in chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Cisneros to discuss her writing process, how she combines Buddhist practice with the indigenous spirituality of her childhood, and what it means to be a woman without shame. Plus, at the end of the episode, Cisneros reads two poems from her new collection.

Learning to Live without Shame with Sandra Cisneros

La voz es un instrumento de la memoria, un organismo que establece su propia forma en el acontecer de su resonancia. La voz también es un dispositivo de la imaginación y tiene un papel esencial desde el momento en el que un cuerpo en formación, es capaz de percibirla. Antes de conformarse como herramienta del lenguaje y articular un sistema fonético complejo, la voz se instaura como un puente con la realidad a través del canto, en ese sentido, el arrullo podría representar la experiencia primigenia con la lengua y su arraigo en el cuerpo a través de la escucha sensible. 
¿Qué escuchamos en ese murmullo que determina la identidad de cada lengua? ¿Qué resuena en ese esbozo del lenguaje, donde la palabra se origina como una vibración profunda? 
Cada voz recrea un lenguaje propio que contiene la memoria de un cúmulo de escuchas, asentadas en la huella sonora de su timbre. El canto, es el catalizador de ese lenguaje. 

Arrullo retoma esta serie de disertaciones y cuestionamientos para recrear una evocación latente de ese primer contacto con la voz a través del canto y la memoria. 

Créditos:
Fernando Vigueras: Concepto, grabación y edición
Voces: Sarmen Almond y Maricarmen Martínez López

Listening Biennial

Arrullo - Fernando Vigueras

I felt inspired to have a go at this week’s Junto as I love field recordings and I am also pretty immersed in playing with rhythms at the moment. It was a natural fit and great fun.

For the process I loaded the original field recording into Ableton’s Simpler and used Split mode, one of my favourite features. I done similar on another channel with a sampled drum loop. Between the two they made a complex polyrhythm. From here I mapped up some parameters and jammed out a long take, most of which remains untouched in this piece. I then layered sub bass below using the Model D and used a sample from 2001 Space Odyssey I took from vinyl a few months ago for the primal style scream halfway through. I felt it fitting with the tribal nature of the drums.

I think the piece is quite a challenging listen but very honest. Great fun was had too :-)


Thanks to Scott Fletcher for having provided the original material. It is used thanks to a Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0). Original track at: https://soundcloud.com/disquiet/helsinki-downspout/

Flying Tulpa - Disquiet0581 - Helsinki Downspout

Early in the morning in the Amazon rainforest - the air is thick with humidity and wildlife sounds. The insect chorus is deafening, and birds are trying to do their part by calling incessantly everywhere. Long version at https://youtu.be/2KWrudRbgO8

The Amazon rainforest wakes up

iRest Meditation (Integrative Restoration) is a modern-day evidence-based, mind-body approach to health, healing, wholeness, and well-being. It is based on ancient transformative meditative practices, derived from the teachings of Kashmir Nondualism and Yoga Nidra (yoga = experiencing our interconnected wholeness with our self and the entire cosmos; nidra = no matter our changing states of consciousness).

iRest has been developed by Dr. Richard Miller over the past 46 years through observation, hands-on application, and research. The iRest protocol teaches self-regulation skills for managing sensations, emotions, and cognitions, and physical and mental well-being. iRest is designed as a secular practice, that has been developed to be accessible to all populations, from children to adults, across issues ranging from the enhancement of well-being, to healing PTSD, chronic pain insomnia and chemical dependency. It is easy to learn, apply, and integrate into daily life and routines. There is also a certification process for training teachers. Visit www.irest.us

Winter Feast Meditations

Richard Miller - 01 Nourishing Intentions (2017)

Tricycle Talks: Listen to Buddhist teachers, writers, and thinkers on life's big questions. Hosted by James Shaheen, editor in chief of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, the leading Buddhist magazine in the West.


Life As It Is: Join James Shaheen with co-host Sharon Salzberg and learn how to bring Buddhist practice into your everyday life.


Tricycle: The Buddhist Review creates award-winning editorial, podcasts, events, and video courses. Unlock access to all this Buddhist knowledge by subscribing to the magazine at tricycle.org/join

The Zen of Therapy with Mark Epstein

Tricycle Talks

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