Mystic Chords: Mysticism and Psychology in Popular MusicRock and roll, and archetypal symbolism? Citing baby-boomer favorites including Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, the Beatles and other Rock greats, the author shows that they have drawn on the same primal source from which mythology, dreams, and poetic insight arise. Does today?s music of the masses deserve a place in the pantheon of traditional art forms, next to classical music, literature, and painting? Manish Soni shows that it does. Using illustrative references to passages from the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, Joseph Campbell and the Tao Te Ching, he highlights some of the parallels between psychology, mysticism, religion, and contemporary art forms, as they all contribute to our human quest for greater meaning. He is persuasive in demonstrating how the same elemental well from which poetic revelation surfaced in ancient mythology is nowadays the inspirational spring for popular music.The author?s Indian heritage and his deep immersion in the Western culture, in which he was raised and educated, has given him a special perspective from which to synthesize both cultures and religious outlooks. *Manish Soni was born in New Delhi, and has lived in Moscow, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, London, Sydney, and Boston. His formal education includes a BS degree from the University of Sydney, Australia, and an MS degree from Tufts University, Massachusetts. |
Contents
| 3 | |
| 11 | |
The Nature of the World and the Self | 29 |
Awakening of the True Self | 47 |
The Mystical Perspective | 79 |
Psychology and Mysticism | 103 |
Mind World and Projection | 115 |
Society and the Individual | 139 |
Expansion of Consciousness | 167 |
The Call to Adventure | 195 |
The Struggle and the Return | 209 |
Conclusion | 225 |
Appendix | 237 |
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Common terms and phrases
activity adventure Alan Watts archetypes Beatles become Bob Dylan Bob Marley body Brahman C. G. Jung chakra circle collective unconscious completely concepts consciousness cosmic creative culture D. T. Suzuki dark David Bowie divine dream earth energy Erich Fromm Erich Neumann eternal existence experience eyes fact feel following lines following lyrics forces Freud function heaven hero heroin higher human hyperbody ideas imagery images individual infinite inner John Lennon journey Jung’s knowledge kundalini light living Maya means mental mind modern mystical myth nature ness nirguna object ocean one’s original perception person Pink Floyd primitive primordial psyche psychedelic psychic psychological reality realization realm represents rock Rolling Stones saguna says scious seen sense Shiva simply social society song soul spirit symbols Tao Te Ching There’s things thought timeless tion transcendent true truth uncon unity universe Upanishad Vishnu vision words yoga yogi