Post by michaelsvenson on Dec 17, 2014 21:36:03 GMT
Hi everyone, I'd like to share my story about how I found the guzheng, and how it has changed aspects of my life up to now.
The year is 2011, early spring in southern Oregon, and I am visiting a friend nearby my home. I saw an interesting stringed instrument piled with dust in the corner of his living room and asked, "what is that thing?" He answered, "oh, thats a #&$*#&# (some jumbled chinese sounding word), my wife made me buy it for her when we went to china town a few years ago". I asked if I could play with the strange instrument and sat with it, quickly realizing it was way out of tune with itself. I have played guitar long enough to understand strings a bit, and after noticing the movable bridges, I tuned it best I could and gave it a glissando low to high. I was instantly mesmerized by the sound and immediately asked, "can I borrow this thing"? He replied, "um, yeah i guess, she wont miss it and you only live a mile away so, you sound like to know what your doing anyways with that."
I brought it home and what happened over the next 2 months was amazing. With no guidance I simply played intuitively whenever I was feeling it, and something very special happened. The sound of the strings calmed and excited me, it felt as if when I plucked a string, a string in my soul and in my heart vibrated correspondingly! It was as if I was the guzheng! I had played guitar, drums, trumpet in my life (mostly guitar) but never have I EVER felt such a sensation. I knew then that this instrument was my match. I let it in, I truly felt it, and I accepted it.
Thats when it (the guzheng) started to work on me. It became a perfect reflection of me. I remember this one experience, I was suddenly overcome with immense sadness which was welling up from deep within me. My mind was frantic, and I wasn't sure if I could even predict what I would do with myself, I could not handle it. I sat down in from of the guzheng and began playing. It expressed me perfectly with its left side dissonance, and its soft reflective single low notes on the right, bending slightly. My roommate entered the room, as I cried woefully, "what is wrong"?, he asked. I cried, "This is how I feel!!", as I slowed my playing to a close, and settled my emotion.
I was now clear. I was cured and I was healed. I accepted my self, and the ancient spirit of the guzheng forced me to. It was a hardcore therapy, but I was ready for it, and now I was ready for the next level. I had let go, the dust had settled, and finally what lay under the rubble could be discerned.
I was now able to enter a deep meditation like never before, and also able to summon the hidden feelings and memories of others with the power of the strings.
What happened next I could have never been prepared for. I was holding space for a buddhist friend, who was embarking on a deep meditation into the astral realm. I sat with him for about an hour setting the space with the reflective notes on the guzheng. Suddenly, about half way into the meditation, I began to speak, in between carefully selected, intuitive riffs, of which I had never heard before. I too had just entered a deep state that I was unfamiliar with, yet it seemed very natural. I spoke of the nature of being, through the perspective of the source of consciousness. I explained things automatically and unrehearsed, which happened to be exactly a reflection of my friends mind as he wandered in his deep meditative state. How do I know? Because he told me this is what he experienced, and all I could say about it is that I suddenly was overcome with something, a connection was made to something huge, and I just went along with it, as it became me. He said afterwards that my playing had actually caused his meditation to go deeper than he had ever gone before, and that he had become lost to the point where he felt he would not be able to come back. The playing and the words that spoke through me had actually guided him back into his body, and with a new deeper understanding of his reality. He hasnt been the same since, and it took a good while to integrate his experience. In contrast, I felt rather natural and ok about what had happened, after accepting my role as a vessel, a channel if you will.
It had been 2 months now, since I had played my first glissando, and the house I was renting was going up for sale. I was forced to move out, and an opportunity to work glass blowing with a friend in Arizona popped up. I returned the guzheng to my friend down the road, and drove to AZ. While living there, I developed meditation techniques, including manifestation exercises and past life remembrance. I missed playing greatly, and began to look online for what actually this instrument IS, and where could I actually find a real one? My friend in Oregon had told me that his was just a cheap version. One day I met someone who was very intriguing, his father is a famous sound healer, and uses vibrating tables to induce higher states of awareness. He told me he was looking for a place to stay and without questioning, I immediately said he can stay with me and make my home his own. He was elated and we became good friends. I told him about this amazing instrument I wished to acquire, and he said, "hey my good friend has one of those and I'm sure he'll let us borrow it". Wow, so hear comes this instrument right back into my home in the most unexpected way. It too was a "toy" version, but gave me the opportunity to further my interests.
A year had passed, and the heat of the summer was pushing me back up to Oregon. I had saved enough money to buy a legitimate concert quality guzheng, and through my research I had found soundofchina.net based in Hacienda Heights, CA. I executed my plan to the tee, and left Arizona, stopping by Carols store on the way to purchase my new love, my first real Guzheng. Now it was on! I moved into a friends house in Oregon to help me get established and find my own place. Little did I know, that I had just moved right down the same street from a famous retired guzheng master! It took me about 6 months to realize this, and after I had produced my first intuitive album, I finally ran into her at the local bakery. She was very surprised to see a young american who was taking this seriously, and soon afterwards I was invited to take some lessons, to learn "real" chinese music. I was so happy to see my wishes coming true, and learning the traditional music has helped me tremendously in appreciating the original culture and soul of this instrument. My teacher even gave me a chinese peremptory name to help me become integrated into the community. I'm sure Fuxi would be very pleased!
Today I continue my work. Its been almost one year since I met my teacher, and 2.5 years since I finally acquired my guzheng. My path with the guzheng is traveling in many directions simultaneously, as I am becoming a performer, as well as a healer playing intuitive music during rieki sessions and assisting old folks heal themselves during their big transition into the afterlife. I have several of my own compositions that I am getting ready to record for a new album, and my first album "Epiphany of an Eternal Blossom" continues to inspire seekers of all kinds. I am so grateful for this new aspect of my life, my second job as a glass artist compliments my musical path greatly. Here is a link to an article about my glass and my music. richcat-richcat.blogspot.com/2014/12/chinese-zither-music.html
Thank you everyone who has allowed me to achieve my new life, I am grateful to stand on the shoulders of giants.
Blessing to you all,
Michael Svenson (Shi, Wen-Sheng)
The year is 2011, early spring in southern Oregon, and I am visiting a friend nearby my home. I saw an interesting stringed instrument piled with dust in the corner of his living room and asked, "what is that thing?" He answered, "oh, thats a #&$*#&# (some jumbled chinese sounding word), my wife made me buy it for her when we went to china town a few years ago". I asked if I could play with the strange instrument and sat with it, quickly realizing it was way out of tune with itself. I have played guitar long enough to understand strings a bit, and after noticing the movable bridges, I tuned it best I could and gave it a glissando low to high. I was instantly mesmerized by the sound and immediately asked, "can I borrow this thing"? He replied, "um, yeah i guess, she wont miss it and you only live a mile away so, you sound like to know what your doing anyways with that."
I brought it home and what happened over the next 2 months was amazing. With no guidance I simply played intuitively whenever I was feeling it, and something very special happened. The sound of the strings calmed and excited me, it felt as if when I plucked a string, a string in my soul and in my heart vibrated correspondingly! It was as if I was the guzheng! I had played guitar, drums, trumpet in my life (mostly guitar) but never have I EVER felt such a sensation. I knew then that this instrument was my match. I let it in, I truly felt it, and I accepted it.
Thats when it (the guzheng) started to work on me. It became a perfect reflection of me. I remember this one experience, I was suddenly overcome with immense sadness which was welling up from deep within me. My mind was frantic, and I wasn't sure if I could even predict what I would do with myself, I could not handle it. I sat down in from of the guzheng and began playing. It expressed me perfectly with its left side dissonance, and its soft reflective single low notes on the right, bending slightly. My roommate entered the room, as I cried woefully, "what is wrong"?, he asked. I cried, "This is how I feel!!", as I slowed my playing to a close, and settled my emotion.
I was now clear. I was cured and I was healed. I accepted my self, and the ancient spirit of the guzheng forced me to. It was a hardcore therapy, but I was ready for it, and now I was ready for the next level. I had let go, the dust had settled, and finally what lay under the rubble could be discerned.
I was now able to enter a deep meditation like never before, and also able to summon the hidden feelings and memories of others with the power of the strings.
What happened next I could have never been prepared for. I was holding space for a buddhist friend, who was embarking on a deep meditation into the astral realm. I sat with him for about an hour setting the space with the reflective notes on the guzheng. Suddenly, about half way into the meditation, I began to speak, in between carefully selected, intuitive riffs, of which I had never heard before. I too had just entered a deep state that I was unfamiliar with, yet it seemed very natural. I spoke of the nature of being, through the perspective of the source of consciousness. I explained things automatically and unrehearsed, which happened to be exactly a reflection of my friends mind as he wandered in his deep meditative state. How do I know? Because he told me this is what he experienced, and all I could say about it is that I suddenly was overcome with something, a connection was made to something huge, and I just went along with it, as it became me. He said afterwards that my playing had actually caused his meditation to go deeper than he had ever gone before, and that he had become lost to the point where he felt he would not be able to come back. The playing and the words that spoke through me had actually guided him back into his body, and with a new deeper understanding of his reality. He hasnt been the same since, and it took a good while to integrate his experience. In contrast, I felt rather natural and ok about what had happened, after accepting my role as a vessel, a channel if you will.
It had been 2 months now, since I had played my first glissando, and the house I was renting was going up for sale. I was forced to move out, and an opportunity to work glass blowing with a friend in Arizona popped up. I returned the guzheng to my friend down the road, and drove to AZ. While living there, I developed meditation techniques, including manifestation exercises and past life remembrance. I missed playing greatly, and began to look online for what actually this instrument IS, and where could I actually find a real one? My friend in Oregon had told me that his was just a cheap version. One day I met someone who was very intriguing, his father is a famous sound healer, and uses vibrating tables to induce higher states of awareness. He told me he was looking for a place to stay and without questioning, I immediately said he can stay with me and make my home his own. He was elated and we became good friends. I told him about this amazing instrument I wished to acquire, and he said, "hey my good friend has one of those and I'm sure he'll let us borrow it". Wow, so hear comes this instrument right back into my home in the most unexpected way. It too was a "toy" version, but gave me the opportunity to further my interests.
A year had passed, and the heat of the summer was pushing me back up to Oregon. I had saved enough money to buy a legitimate concert quality guzheng, and through my research I had found soundofchina.net based in Hacienda Heights, CA. I executed my plan to the tee, and left Arizona, stopping by Carols store on the way to purchase my new love, my first real Guzheng. Now it was on! I moved into a friends house in Oregon to help me get established and find my own place. Little did I know, that I had just moved right down the same street from a famous retired guzheng master! It took me about 6 months to realize this, and after I had produced my first intuitive album, I finally ran into her at the local bakery. She was very surprised to see a young american who was taking this seriously, and soon afterwards I was invited to take some lessons, to learn "real" chinese music. I was so happy to see my wishes coming true, and learning the traditional music has helped me tremendously in appreciating the original culture and soul of this instrument. My teacher even gave me a chinese peremptory name to help me become integrated into the community. I'm sure Fuxi would be very pleased!
Today I continue my work. Its been almost one year since I met my teacher, and 2.5 years since I finally acquired my guzheng. My path with the guzheng is traveling in many directions simultaneously, as I am becoming a performer, as well as a healer playing intuitive music during rieki sessions and assisting old folks heal themselves during their big transition into the afterlife. I have several of my own compositions that I am getting ready to record for a new album, and my first album "Epiphany of an Eternal Blossom" continues to inspire seekers of all kinds. I am so grateful for this new aspect of my life, my second job as a glass artist compliments my musical path greatly. Here is a link to an article about my glass and my music. richcat-richcat.blogspot.com/2014/12/chinese-zither-music.html
Thank you everyone who has allowed me to achieve my new life, I am grateful to stand on the shoulders of giants.
Blessing to you all,
Michael Svenson (Shi, Wen-Sheng)