Venezia

Saturday, I was writing about natural gateways into a meditative state. In the paper the next morning, I came upon the following:

I challenge all of you musicians and “music-o-philes” out there to listen all the way through a locust [cicada] chorus show one evening. Give it your main attention one evening, say 6 to 8 p.m. And be warned: You’ll need to be alert and strong going in to this thing, for they will transform even the slightest bit of dreaminess/wistfulness or fatigue on your part into an ultra-mesmerizing ride into, well, somewhere in the universe.

If you can somehow maintain some semblance of scientific objectivity through at least 10 to 20 minutes of the show at a stretch, you’ll note not just a variation or two, but actual layers of chorusing, all rolling—cycling—in a sort of elliptical fashion.

Eventually, though, I predict that you’ll succumb to the pure power of the show, and allow it to take you where it will. In order for this to occur, all you have to do is quit thinking. The intensity of the experience is in proportion to the degree to which you can suspend thought and maintain awareness.

Bill Fontenot
Nature Notes
The Advertiser
Sunday, July 20, 2008