The Culture and Tradition of Spontaneaity

There are many cultures in our human family, with amazingly diverse and innovative ways of using song, dance, drama, and art to give a voice to their shared and unique ethnological riverbeds, as they have been shaped and carved out by the currents of experience. These expressions of identity keep alive the connection to a creative force, giving us hope, strength, and fellowship, even in the most adverse conditions.

The proliferation of cultural songs, dances, myths, stories, and depictions can shower people with a sense of family, belonging, and harmony in a world that often appears chaotic and senseless, especially in societies which have dismantled their ancestral and communal heritage.

I have experienced the difference between a song that is a creative expression, and one that carries within itself the seed and knowledge of ancestral experience within the context of family and belonging.

Each tradition carries unique qualities and attunements toward life, celebration, and creation. The passing on of these traditions is wonderfully important, especially to the machine nations who traded in their masks and quilts for homogony, uniformity, and production.

So what do the traditional songs of cosmology and consciousness look like?

If we can say that our social fabric was once quilted together by distinct patches, with well defined borders, and no chance of crossing over, I would say that we are moving into the liquidation of our social fiber.

I don't think this means that tradition can't exist anymore. On the contrary, I think that we are giving birth to the possibility of allowing very specific forms and traditions to exist, while simultaneously allowing other means of expression that don't fall into specific weaving patterns of known traditions to exist as well.

Translated into practice it means the following. In order for people to participate in a traditional song, for instance, they must know the specific melody, words, and perhaps even language of the song. Those who don't, can't participate.

However, if people decide to sing together, tapping into the field that exists moment to moment, expressing themselves through each person spontaneously, with impulse and improvisation, it is possible for everyone to participate, regardless of vocabulary, skill, or background. The only requirement is that one is present. A cultural identity is formed based on that very specific, unrepeatable, and unique event. Yet, the identity is only as long lived as the event itself.

I want to stress though, that I don't see this as replacing tradition. I merely would like to say that to me, this represents a "Tradition of Consciousness", as it unfolds moment by moment. It is the underlying substance that holds all traditions together in a way.