It is a whim of mine to imagine the possibility of greater “in sync” feelings for the cosmos, available – in reality – for each one & every one of us on this extraordinary planetary home we call Earth… a planet which has been described by our astronauts in space, a little ways out from their home, as a beautiful “blue marble”.
In connection with the pursuit of a deeper understanding of Solar Flares, I recently discovered a most satisfying book entitled “The Sun Kings”, by Stuart Clark. Among other things, Clark tells the story of Richard Carrington, the English amateur astronomer who first “connected the dots” (otherwise known as sunspots) on our nearby Star with the occurrence of bizarre electrical phenomena here on planet Earth, ca. 1859. It’s an extraordinary story… a little bit of which I will have to weave into my introductory talk to the Nov. 23 concert. I am reminded, reading of the struggles and sacrifices of Carrington in the cause of scientific understanding, of Isaac Newton’s famous statement: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” Truly, if we are to make progress in our understanding of all & everything, we must know something of, and respect the accomplishments of, at least a few of our predecessors! Even more – as R.W. Emerson said – a key to progress is to simply to: “Hitch your wagon to a star.” I really like that idea… both in the sense of respecting the thought leaders of previous times, and in the esoteric sense of intuitively or otherwise linking oneself to the Sun itself, the central & leading causative factor in the evolution of our solar system/solar family. This Earth, for which more and more people, thankfully, have a concern – as one might properly have for one’s mother – is not just a big rock unto itself. It is part of a highly evolved, multi-billion year old system. Going further with such speculations is not merely a mental exercise. Indeed, what we are required to do, is to go beyond the mind! And what else is art for? What else is music for?
Details about my Nov. 23, 2014 concert… http://www.allclassical.org/event/david-salminen-solar-flares/
… a quick note today to reiterate my invitation to friends & acquaintances, known and not yet known, to my November 23, 2014 piano concert in Portland, Oregon, USA. Details here:
http://www.allclassical.org/event/david-salminen-solar-flares/
Please join me in this musical meditation on the mysterious activities of our own star, aka The Sun, Sol, etc. By way of explanation… I’ve occasionally been told that such extra-musical themes are too abstract – not personal enough. However, to me, my and our relationship to the cosmos and the immediate cosmic neighborhood is actually very personal. All life on earth depends on the sun. Life is as “personal” as it gets! And we all have intuitions at times that connect the smaller cosmoses with the larger… A few of my favorite quotations hopefully illustrate this connection: “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” (Carl Sagan) – “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees & the stars…” (the Desiderata – authorship unclear) – “The solar system is our cosmic home and we should know it as a man knows his own hearth… we should seek to know the sun… as a manifestation of creative power, the carrier of the cosmic plan…” (J.G. Bennett, British philosopher-scientist – Vol. 1 of the Dramatic Universe, p. 442).
I ran across this a few years ago and was quite “struck” by the implications (although perhaps not intended by the author): “Just like living creatures on Earth, stars are born, change as they age, and die.” from the Illustrated Atlas of the Universe, page 152 – written by Mark A. Garlick (2006)
Maybe we have a lot in common with stars, planets, etc. Our cosmic belonging-ness is , at any rate, part of who we are, and I invite my friends and music fans in Portland, Oregon, to the November 23, 2014 concert, contemplating Solar Flares and other kinds of outbursts, the variety of effects that result, and the hidden forces within stars that bring such things about.
More details are posted at https://davidsalminen.com/2014/11/05/davids-fall-concert-portland-oregon/
SOLAR FLARES – AN EXCURSION INTO HIDDEN MEANINGS
3 pm, November 23, 2014
Portland Piano Company, 711 SW 14th Ave, Portland, Oregon
Map: http://portlandpianocompany.com/contact/
– open to the public – no tickets necessary – no admission charge for this event
– donations to support more presentations of this kind are gratefully appreciated
– for more information on the music & David, and how to purchase CD’s please call: (503) 762-6387 – or email: davidasalminen@yahoo.com
P.S. I’ve been really enjoying the contemplation of solar flares… so many people now seem to be registering some psychological or perhaps even spiritual influences (energetic, at any rate), when we are really “bombarded” by X-ray and other electromagnetic aspects of flares, as we were in late October, 2014. The scientists and scientific websites often talk about the upsetting of digital communications at these times, but as to the effects on living bodies… not so much. So I am looking at the metaphors. I am fascinated, for example, that there is something largely unpredictable going on deep inside the sun which results in spots that are creative in terms of flares and even CME’s. Here’s an informative science site: Coronal Weather Report: CMEs and Flares (Page 1)
our sun NASA-Europe photo- solar-system-NASA site PIA03149_br1
David Salminen 