A Weekly Reflection: The Tabula Rasa

I was recently listening to music to use for a piece of choreography and came across something called the Tabula Rasa by  Arvo Part.  Basically the music is a geometric structure of sound that repeats the same basic set of notes with minor variations and dynamics as the complete composition. The intriguing part is how the music winds around a central core of sameness.

Initially what attracted me to this piece of music was the title, “Tabula Rasa”. The term in Latin equates to the English "blank slate" (which refers to writing on a slate sheet in chalk) but comes from the Roman tabula or a  wax tablet, used for notes, which was blanked by heating the wax and then smoothing it to give a tabula rasa. I liked this idea of mind being molded by experience and the many permutations that it may take on, while still operating from a central core of knowledge.

I believe this principle to one that is a staple of spiritual progress. The idea that we go through (or better put- allow) our minds to periodically return to this state of the Tabula Rasa as we inch along the Path. And, by so doing new levels of thinking can be formed that are then integrated and woven into those that are firmly rooted. And, each of these periods when there is a pause, opening and influx of new information brings us to greater awareness of the process of mind, inspiration and creating something new from their union.

So, for this week:

May I be as the

Tabula Rasa

That the hand

of the Divine may

Write the words

of wisdom

Compose the

symphony of Life

And, paint the

new worlds

of the future.

 

Sample Music Clip

click on Tabula Rasa