Saturday, September 06, 2008

DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?



"Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, I hear them all at once. What a delight this is! All this inventing, this producing, takes place in a pleasing, lively dream." — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart


"I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied; then, in my head, I begin to elaborate the work in its breadth, its narrowness, its height, its depth…I hear and see the image in front of me from every angle as if it had been cast and only the labour of writing it down remains." Ludwig van Beethoven


"The inspired moment may sometimes be described as a kind of hallucinatory state of mind: one half of the personality emotes and dictates while the other half listens and notates. The half that listens has better look the other way, had better simulate a half attention only, for the half that dictates is easily disgruntled and avenges itself for too close inspection by fading entirely away." — Aaron Copeland


"You do not even have to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has not choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet."
— Franz Kafka



"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." Vincent Van Gogh





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posted by Señor Enrique at 12:13 AM


24 Comments:

Blogger Photo Cache said...

I could use that gadget. Somehow, Q-tips doesn't address all my ear canal needs. :)

September 06, 2008 2:25 AM  

Blogger  gmirage said...

Oh nice, I don't have that here...could be the reason why hubby once went to the ear doctor is because of this ear cleaner's absence lol. Hindi sapat ang cottonbuds!

Musta na po Senor? Busy busy sa school di napadaan, natuwa naman ako sa foto na ito! ;-)

September 06, 2008 4:28 AM  

Blogger nutart said...

hahaha! I just can't help but laugh at the wit of this post!

I have seen these q-tips even as a child and wow! how they have evolved!

The quotes of the great Masters are something to reflect on. The spiritual lifestyle is often marked by disciplining the mind to be silenced. Then the creative mind comes in (as I would call it that of God's guidance)and then we hear our Higher Minds speaking.

As you have ingeniously shown here, just sharpen your inner hearing, folks, by clearing your passages! That is why I laugh :-)!

September 06, 2008 8:34 AM  

Blogger FilMasons NSW said...

Nice one. I remember Anthony Bourdain travelling to China and encountering this professional ear cleaner (using similar "ear cleanign tool") at a park. It was bit weird and unsanitary I suppose as the tool is not disposable.

I have a problem as well with one of my ears (Is it too much information?) that one of my ear canals is slightly abnormal, so the more I clean with cotton buds the more I push the wax in. The solution is for me to use ear drops and my doctor to flush the accumulated wax via a syringe with warm water once a year or two. I hope this helps those who have the same problem.

September 06, 2008 10:10 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

It's only five pesos, Photo Cache. You can actually just ask a local friend or relative to insert one in a greeting card to mail to you :)

September 06, 2008 11:39 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

Trust you're doing well in school, Mirage :)

As I told Photo Cache, just ask a local friend or relative to insert one in a greeting card to mail to you. But be careful in using it :)

September 06, 2008 11:41 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

When I first returned to Manila, a cousin kept talking about this legendary old Chinese woman who could clean your ears in a few seconds, but no one knew where she could be found in Binondo. So, I thought my cousin was only pulling my leg. But now that you mentioned about the pro ear cleaners in China, I should apologize to my cousin.

I remember when as kids we'd all line up in the afternoon for our mom to clean our ears with this thing.

Thanks for the tip! Personally, now and then, I dab a Q-tip with virgin coconut oil just soften whatever ear wax I may have, and then I clean it up with a dry Q-tip.

September 06, 2008 11:50 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

Glad you got a kick out of this, Bernadette :)

I think we've discussed this once before how some masters like Mozart are able to hear complete symphonies inside their head; thus, all he had to do was just write them down. I had no idea Beethoven was gifted with the same blessing.

Yes, we have to fine tune our inner ears, so to speak, so as to clear the lines between us and the universe :)

One effective way is meditation.

September 06, 2008 11:52 AM  

Blogger ka tony said...

Hi Eric,

I guess this is what the world needs now!!!

...everybody wants to be heard, but no one wants to listen! ...everybody preaching, without hearing!

Eric, napakaganda, napakakulay at napakadami ng mga panghinuli ang nasa larawan mong kuha!

Subalit kahit na ganito kadaming panghinuli, kung tayong mga Pilipino ay magkukunwang parang bingi...

hindi sapat upang matangal sa ating tainga ang mga tutuli!

Salamat Eric,
ka tony

September 06, 2008 12:22 PM  

Blogger EQ said...

Excellent blog.Featured your blog today! visit The Equalizer.
http://mav-equalizer.blogspot.com/

September 06, 2008 6:37 PM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

Oo nga, Ka Tony. Hindi lamang ang tenga kundi dapat pati na din ang puso ay gamitin nating mga pang dinig ng katotohanan. At simula nating gawin ang makakayanan para malutas and mga hadlang sa ating kaligayahan at kalusugan ... kahit paunti-unti lamang sa araw't araw.

September 06, 2008 7:34 PM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

Thank you, EQualizer. Truly appreciate it :)

God bless!

September 06, 2008 7:34 PM  

Blogger -= dave =- said...

Oh, I recall an image in some history book showing Chinese immigrants doing the ear-cleaning back during Spanish times.

It's interesting that you have quotes about the creative process at about the same that I've resumed blogging :)

September 06, 2008 11:54 PM  

Blogger ka tony said...

"Hindi lamang ang tenga kundi dapat pati na din ang puso ay gamitin nating mga pang dinig ng katotohanan."



...tumpak Eric,

Really amazing that W.A.Mozart started composing at the age of 5. Like you said, not only that he can hear the complete symphony while composing, but he can also hear the different instruments & vocals, wrote it separately, in which part of the symphony to come & play ...as a part of whole opera he created! Don Giovanni was a good example!

L.van Beethoven loss his hearing at the age of 26, but didn't stop him from composing! He attached a piece of thin metal on the piano & the other end he would bite, to feel the vibrations from the piano to his jaw, using this intuition while composing.

With all the fast moving technology we have today, we are "deaf" when it comes to creativeness of the past!

Thanks Eric,
ka tony

September 06, 2008 11:56 PM  

Blogger NOYPETES said...

Para kayong nag-babalagtasan ni Ka Tonying sa mga palitan niyo! Nagiging makata ka na rin Eric!

Marami rin sa atin ang malikhain sa isip pero di lang ma-ilagay sa tamang salita at sulat ang laman ng kanilang utak. Nuong maliit pa ako, mahilig akon'g nag-lalaro ng mag-isa sa likuran ng bahay namin. Madalas akong naka-karinig ng mga iba-ibang huni sa loob ng isip ko. Minsan ay sinabi ko ito sa aking ina. Ang mabilis niyang sagot ay, "mag-bihis ka at pupunta tayo ka-agad sa seminaryo!" Pag-dating namin sa seminaryo ay may duktor na duon at isang pari na nakahanda na akong bindisyunan. Baka daw nila ay may masamang ispirito na nag-lalaro sa isip ko!

The Chinese method of ear wax removal is the best!

You can buy the kit here in California.

September 07, 2008 12:50 AM  

Blogger nutart said...

just to add...Handel composed his "Messiah" in a trance daw (listening inwardly then taking down the notations). So, he actually composed "Messiah" in so short a time!

September 07, 2008 8:34 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

That's cool, Dave, but I'd rather read one of your novels at least before the end of my days ... hehehe.

I've got to check out if there are anymore old school ear cleaners here in Chinatown. Would love to make photo essay of it.

September 07, 2008 9:19 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

Hi Ka Tony,

Bernadette and I had previously discussed about these artists who are able to hear or envision their great works prior to actually putting them into tangible or audible form.

And we also attributed it to Carl Jung's "Theory of Synchronicity" -- that whatever happens on the spiritual also happens simultaneously on the planetary plane. Thus, we should become "prepared observers" so as to tap into this awesome "frequency."

I had once blogged about this. Here's an excerpt:

quote

And this may be why Albert Einstein, whenever stumped, would opt to take a nap. And upon waking, voila! He had the answer in mind. The same thing happened with Alan Turing whose work helped made personal computers a reality. While lying on the grass in a meadow and just about to be lulled to sleep, a certain algorithm came to his mind which soon led to his creation of the Turing machine — able to turn thought processes into binary numbers (ones and zeroes). It was a form of artificial intelligence aimed to solve a problem or task, which eventually became one of the key turning points in the history of electronic computing.

unquote

http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2006/11/duet.html

And compare that agains Franz Kafka's quote I had used for this article:

"You do not even have to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has not choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet."

Amazing, ain't it?

Thanks Ka Tony!

September 07, 2008 9:29 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

Oo nga, Pete, nakaka-inspire si Ka Tony. Mabuti naman at medyo nahahasa ang Tagalog kong napaka babaw. Aba eh, di ata madali ang Pilipino. Grade ko nga sa high school puros passing lang duon. Hindo madaling subject ang Pilipino.

Lol ... your mother brought you to an exorcist! Be thankful that the doctor who was with the priest didn't think of subjecting you to a lobotomy. By the way, one of JFK's sisters underwent one, and never fully recovered from which.

I wonder if they have those ear cleaning kits here in Binondo. Now, I'm curious.

September 07, 2008 9:34 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

That's awesome, Bernadette.

Much like we once talked about -- Theory of Synchronicity by Carl Jung (see my reply to Ka Tony's comment).

Supposedly, the mental state between waking and sleeping (similar to bein on a trance) is most often "the point in which humans are subconsciously able to draw from the spiritual plane. At other times, it would be what some would nowadays refer to as the zone."

I had once blogged about this:

http://senorenrique.blogspot.com/2006/11/duet.html

Here's another excerpt:

quote

Ever notice when you’re tinkering with your car or some mundane household chores when a brilliant solution to a nagging problem suddenly comes into mind? What about the time when you unexpectedly find yourself drawn into buying a certain newspaper or magazine which you never have purchased before only to discover in one of the articles or press release blurbs about a clue that would soon lead you to that elusive solution?

Or how about this: the Copyright Office of the American Library of Congress states that a copyright does not protect an idea; rather, it is the unique expression of that idea that can be protected with a copyright. In other words, if I were to apply for a copyright to protect my idea to turn white metal to gold, that application would be summarily rejected. However, if I were to include in my application how I intend to turn white metal into gold, I would then be issued copyright protection.

I mention this because for any particular idea, the Copyright Office would simultaneously receive an average of three thousand applications pertaining to that very same idea. Now here comes another question: ever notice that Hollywood sometimes churns out two or three films with basically the same theme? Or how about this: you hear a certain song on the radio for the very first time yet it seems so hauntingly familiar.

unquote

Enjoy your Sunday!

September 07, 2008 9:42 AM  

Blogger nutart said...

great!!! kaya nga there is a Pinoy saying about talents and mental gifts---"hiram sa taas". For me, it's kinda saying they got it from the ethers or as you say "synchronicity!"

September 08, 2008 10:30 AM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

That's right, Bernadette. We are but mere receivers and messengers as they say :)

September 08, 2008 7:55 PM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

kung sa paglilinis lamang ng tenga ang pinag-uusapan eh mayroon niyan dito sa pasay.

there's a barbershop here in pasay where they offer that service. i once had a haircut there and beside me was a old man who was having his ear cleaned. i made the mistake of looking at the customer's reflection on the mirror while his ear canal was being dredged by the barbero and boy, did i regret being curious. the barbero plucked out from his ear a huge blob of the amber colored gooh!

that was the first and last time i had a haircut there.

September 13, 2008 2:05 PM  

Blogger Señor Enrique said...

Oh, no ... lol!

Did the guy raised it for everyone to marvel at like some prized catch or something?

September 13, 2008 3:09 PM  

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