I have been wanting to create SoundScapes for many years now. I love going to beautiful places in Nature, and tuning in to the sounds. I feel a kind of mission about preserving those sounds before civilization encroaches.

It ‘s already almost impossible to do recordings in Hawaii or in the Southwest because of the omnipresence of air traffic, automobiles and dogs. So I’ve been excited about the prospect of recording here in Bali, during the early morning hours, when such things are at a minimum.

I’ve been waiting for the perfect recording device, and when I bought this laptop over a year ago, I expected to be able to use it that way. But there were complications; I already had a great stereo mike, but I needed an adapter so I could plug it into the computer. Then I needed a program so I could do that kind of recording (Final Vinyl is what I’m using now). Then I needed to learn how to use the program.

It finally all came together here in Bali. First I recorded the nature sounds that you hear at the beginning of this blog [soon to be installed]. Then this morning, as I finished meditating, the sounds flowed out of me as they often do, especially when I’m outdoors.

It began in Hawaii. After Raphael died, a bright red cardinal began visiting me. He would fly right up to the window and peck and peck on the glass. People said he had fallen in love with his image in the glass, but I felt something else was going on. I would walk up toward the glass, and after awhile the bird would stay there and allow me to approach.

I wondered if it was Raphael’s spirit, coming to visit me? I named him Bright Spirit, and every morning he would come into one of the trees next to my lanai while I was meditating, and when I broke out into song, he would join me. Such a high, to sing with a wild bird!

My friend Karen was my housemate at the time, and she told me that when I went out-of-town Bright Spirit rarely came to the house. But as soon as I returned, there he was again!

In the Spring, he showed up with a mate. She was shy, and rarely came close to the house, but I was glad to see he had a partner.

Then one day, in the middle of the day, he came flying up to the house making a racket. “What on earth is going on?” I asked, annoyed at his incessant noise. Then it occurred to me to sit down and tune in on him, to see if I could understand what he was trying to tell me.

I sat down and opened my consciousness, and within a minute I had a vivid image of his mate flying into the woods and something terrible happening to her. Then I noticed that she wasn’t with him.

I went to find Karen, who is an animal communicator, though the main animals she talks to are cats. I asked her to listen to him. “Oh, he’s probably just looking for food,” she said flippantly, but I implored her to actually sit down and LISTEN.

Karen went out on the porch, and closed her eyes, and consciously tuned in. As I studied her face, tears began to roll down her cheeks and I knew I was right. I went outside and tried to let him lead me into the woods, but there didn’t seem to be any way that I could be of help. So I just sat down on the lanai and I toned to him from the deepest place in my heart. That seemed to comfort him.

After that he went away. I always felt that his mate had been upset with him for spending so much time with human beings. And now it seemed that he needed to find a new mate. About a month later he returned to show us his lovely new lady, and they flew away together. Just occasionally he would return after that.

But from that time forward, I always tried to meditate outdoors, and I began to sing with ALL the birds. After my morning meditations, I would break into song (sometimes I wasn’t even aware that I was singing until I heard the sounds!) and the birds—whatever birds were around—would start singing with me. I’ve always wanted to record these wonderful sounds, and this morning, here in Bali, I had my first opportunity.

I don’t always sing on key, and toward the end there is the sound of the gardener moving things around, but the bird doesn’t care. We just go on enjoying our sounds!

SOUNDS OF BALI

Soon I will head out of the very fun town of Ubud and head for the ocean. I’m loving it here. Life is very rich and full. Like last night, just passing an outdoor temple and seeing a large group of men, shirts off, muscles glistening in the light, sitting in two groups across from each other with two elder men seated in the middle calling out chants as the alternating groups of men made staccato sounds that shook their whole bodies as they swayed together or bounced up and down, making these incredible animalistic sounds that built in intensity (I’ve heard them from a distance in the night and it sounded like building to an orgasm).

Further down the street another temple is alive with similar sounds, but his time I looked in to see a similar group surrounding a bigger-than-life portrayal of what looks like a god (I’m guessing that the actors are enacting a scene from the Ramayana, from the sacred Vedic scriptures), making grand gestures, and a couple of female figures in elaborate costumes.

I know the people all over the island have been preparing for two days now for a ceremony that happens just twice a year.