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Music and Spiritual Practice - An Overview of Poligraf
Music has been an essential part of my life since the end of the 80s.
The adventure began during the second of my four years of studying electrical engineering at Université Laval in Québec City. Through various friends and contacts I reconnected with progressive rock, a form of music to which I had already been exposed to in my youth thanks to my older brothers and sisters. Hearing the music of bands such as Yes, Rush, Genesis, and King Crimson felt like meeting old friends, and quickly I knew I just had to do as those musicians did, although my prior experience with music had been minimal at that time.
The feeling was so strong that not only did it led me to buy various instruments so I could learn how to play, but it was also the main force that made me decide to change direction after my first semester as a graduate student in computer vision and systems so I could build my life around music. And perhaps more importantly, when it became clear that I would compose music of my own, it spawned the question « what should the songs be about ? » which powered me into many years of exploring a multitude of domains of knowledge including science, philosophy, psychology, art, mysticism, and the occult.
Music for me is also spiritual practice. The inspiration and elevation it provides is undeniable, and the many insights I have had while practicing an instrument or rehearsing a part are too numerous to recount. Music picks me up when I let reason bring me down, restores my energy levels when I feel tired, sustains me through lengthy work sessions, and generally brings me to a state of inner peace and deep joy.
My objective as a musician is to communicate that energy in the hopes that listeners will experience that very same elevation and inspiration. It is also my intention to share my experiences and discoveries and thus hopefully help others reach understandings that can they can use on their own journey.
Buddhism has been an essential part of my life since the mid-90s.
The adventure began when I stumbled upon a feature in an encyclopedic dictionary that highlighted the Four Noble Truths. That finding immediately sparked my curiosity and a few days later I was buying a copy of The Dhammapada at a local bookstore. While slowly digesting the aphorisms in the weeks that followed, I found that its teachings were in continuity with a process of introspection that had begun during an introductory course on neural networks (i.e. systems designed to emulate some of the capabilities of the human brain, such as pattern recognition and associative memory), the study of which had triggered the question « what does this tell me about my own inner workings ? »
From then on I pursued my explorations and plunged into the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, which was quickly followed by various Mahayana sutras. I also bought a guide to learn how to meditate and started experimenting with the practice.
During the years that followed, I plowed through most of the major Mahayana sutras, progressively adjusted my lifestyle and behaviour to accord with the precepts, refined my meditation practice, memorized mantras, and became a vegetarian.
Poligraf has been an essential part of my life since its inception at the beginning of February 1998.
The adventure began after the collapse of a band that arguably never really existed as it only had a handful of rehearsals, but for which I had already written a lot of material. Left alone at the helm, I connected with a group of experienced musicians via a co-worker friend and after agreeing on a general aim and formula, we raised sail and headed to the terra incognita of progressive rock.
Over its eleven years of activity in various incarnations, Poligraf has yielded enough music for over five full-length albums, but never really had a chance to officially record any of them, although some of the material has been demoed and performed on stage on various occasions.
Most of the music documents my own spiritual path and presents some of the lessons that life has taught me on the way. Some pieces are directly inspired by Buddhist texts or teachings. For instance, « Between Worlds » is directly inspired by the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, and « The Idler » and « Creeper » have been inspired by aphorisms of The Dhammapada. « Void » illustrates the Buddhist concept of emptiness, and « SubjeKctiv » serves as a reminder of the subjectivity of experience and the coextensivity of worlds. « Entering the Stream » is a trilogy, counting a total of nine chapters, that depicts the trajectory of an individual fed up with the mundane who decides to retreat into an ashram for some heavy introspection before returning to the ordinary with a renewed perspective on life.
Throughout all these years, if the Mahayana has provided the vehicle, then Poligraf has certainly provided landscapes, path, and drive, while the buddhas have completed the picture with their timely, serendipitous, and often magical interventions.
I don't know why I feel so strongly about music, progressive rock, and Poligraf in particular, but I just know I do and I trust that feeling to the best of my ability. My connection to Poligraf runs so deep that whenever I let hardships or circumstances turn into reasons to believe that there's no viable future for the band, then I retreat into apathy. That is, until that unmistakable feeling breaks through the veil of confusion to drive me again. To the best of my present understanding, my own self-realization seems to be linked to that of the band, if not as the culmination of my spiritual practice, then at least as an essential stepping stone towards it.
March 2020 Update: Poligraf is currently hibernating, and probably not coming back to life, at least for the foreseeable future. Still, I have been writing new music steadily since the band was last active, a mix of songs and instrumentals influenced from progressive rock and which have been written for Poligraf, and also singer-songwriter tunes that are closer in their essence to folk-rock or even pop, pieces for solo classical guitar, and occasional electroid experimentations.
If you'd like to know more about my musical activities and support me in my efforts to bring more artistic beauty into the world, please visit my website (see the first icon below) where you can learn more about my various projects.
For me, your support represents an opportunity to go to the next level, reach a wider audience, and ultimately become a self-sustaining music producing unit that can function independently of a record label.
Thank you for reading thus far, and best wishes to you on your journey.
joy is feeling
looking upwards
skies enrapture
the sorry self
and its grievance
joy is seeing
looking westwards
social fracture
healing itself
from insurgence
joy is knowing
looking eastwards
proper culture
relieves oneself
from ignorance
joy is seeing
looking outwards
events mature
the early self
from…
Posted on March 28, 2023 at 12:31pm
joy is knowing
the best of views
fuels volition
to climb the mount
joy is having
freedom to choose
which obstruction
one must surmount
joy is knowing
hearing the muse
is like drinking
from the youth fount
joy is having
nothing to lose
and yet having
blessings to…
Posted on March 21, 2023 at 12:23pm
when gloominess
deflects the gale
joy is the wind
that fills the sail
when despair is
tricking the scale
joy is the clue
that tells the tale
when spleen is thick
and hopes are pale
joy is meaning
that lifts the veil
when no reason
can find the trail
joy is compass
towards the…
Posted on March 13, 2023 at 2:14pm
though worries hurt
and fears injure
joy yields healing
beyond measure
though gloom has roots
deep in culture
joy at all times
sages nurture
though the reasons
may outnumber
joy is the wealth
wise ones treasure
though the mundane
exerts pressure
joy is accord
with one's…
Posted on March 8, 2023 at 12:37pm
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Happy New Year , i mean ha ha lets stay save and economic alive !
Christopher ... i am glad you are coming here and you are active
great profile
hi best wishes brother
just show n get happy
few thinks search about u and are very appriciated
now going back to my studio today start rehearsal with an African oldman musician becouse we play in few days
i will come tomorrow again to learn more of u and about you
i am active Architect from the begining
the page u add is my 3rd!!!
actually period here
- artemi
Hey Christopher, Welcome!
Thanks for being in touch. I love your music, it reminds me of so much great instrumental I listened to in the 70's - Jean Luc Ponty, Frank Zappa, not the same but in the stream nevertheless. Nice to meet other intentionally spiritual musicians here.
Love & best wishes,
Rupert
Hi Christopher,
So wonderful to connect with you, beautiful soul. Have a wonderful week!
Love and joy, Colleen
Hello Christopher,
My dear friend, IamAnotherYou, has told me that you have so kindly given him advice and support on his wonderful new books. Any friend of his is a friend of mine, so I would like to thank you. You have some interesting articless on your page...I will check them out. Love and joy, Colleen
...I AM SOOO GOING WITH YOU :)
...NOT ALONE :)
...NEVER HAVE BEEN, NEVER WILL BE :)
...WE ARE THE BRANCHES OF THE TRUTH,
THE LIVING TREE... :)
...LEARNING TO DANCE,
LEARNING TO DANCE AGAIN... :)
...CHRIS - YOU ARE UNBELIEVABLY-BELIEVABLE !!! :) :) :)
ONWARD !!! :) :) :)
...JUST KEEP ON BEING :) :) :)
...WHEN I AM IN YOUR VORTEX...
...BACK FOR MORE (DEMO)... :)
...ALBUM-LESS, EH ? ...
CHRIS...IT IS ENTIRELY BEYOND MY ABILITY TO COMPREHEND WHY I CAN NOT SHOVE YOUR CD IN MY PLAYER...I AM LOVING YOUR TUNES !!! :)
...SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT IT...AND IT WILL...
ALL THE ZEN-POWER TO YOU !!! :)
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