Featured photo | Immersive Art Show: ‘WERK in Progress’ | CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
“For millennia, gathering around fire has been inspiring conversations that evoke the imagination, help people remember and understand others in their social networks, heal rifts of the day, and convey information about ways of being that generate productive behavior and relational trust.” -Polly Wiessner, Anthropologist
For those of us who strive to remain grounded, awake, sensitive, and conscious of what’s going on in the world today, it’s clear that we are living in a defining epoch of earth’s story, and of the story of humanity itself. We are witnessing precipitously rising levels of ecological degradation, species extinction, violent conflict, authoritarianism, and economic disparity.
In my journey as a lifelong musician, and as a social artist committed to crafting transformative experiences, I have aimed to bridge divides, heal wounds, realign spirits, inspire souls, and unify the fragmented aspects both within us and in the world around us. This dedication has convinced me that there is an evolving, more engaged role that the arts must serve in our society if we want to leave a world where our children might not only live, but truly flourish.
The Immersive Arts | Catalysts for Coherence
What exactly are the immersive arts?
Immersive art forms have the power to deeply resonate and transform people. They intentionally combine experiential elements such as music, spoken word, and poignant imagery to catalyze proactive changes in our emotional, somatic, and spiritual states. When the need for compassion and tolerance is more important than ever before, it’s vital that we explore new ways to tap into these arts strategies. They can subtly influence us to evolve into more holistic individuals, fostering open-heartedness, receptivity, and presence. As the world’s complexities mount, these forms of expression become essential bridges, guiding us towards more humane interactions and understanding.
For the last twenty-five years, I have devoted myself to creating immersive music, transformative and healing media, and musically enhanced art forms for health and well-being. My aim has been to inspire individuals to navigate both their professional and personal journeys with heightened mindfulness, resilience, compassion, and gratitude for the preciousness of life.
By integrating immersive arts modalities in a certain way, and at a certain time, I discovered they could help counteract the insidious numbness of social disengagement, potentially even rekindling an inner vibrancy. My hope is that this offering might embolden you to discover your own versions of the principles I share here, taking the time to notice what happens within you when you engage with immersive art forms.
What started me on this journey? I began playing the piano at five years old, when I could basically play any tune I heard. My formal education led me to institutions like Oberlin Conservatory where I focused on composition and ethnomusicology, (which was an early clue about my fascination with immersive art forms). After years of yearning to be a film composer, I mastered the art of film scoring —the craft of creating music that subconsciously resonates emotionally with the viewer, enhancing narratives and evoking emotions. By the early 1980’s, I had founded one of the most successful music production companies in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I spent the next eighteen years scoring national television shows, feature films, and commercials.
However, in 1998, after nearly two decades of success, a serious bicycle accident left me wondering if I would ever play the piano again. Not long after, I experienced a heartbreaking separation from my wife, with whom I was blessed to have a daughter. Having recently lost my father, the series of profound losses forced me to reevaluate my identity and purpose.
As luck would have it, I was approached at this time by pioneering healing team Michael and Doris Stillwater to explore how we might musically support those facing death, dying, and the end of life process. I ended up pouring my soul into the creation of some of the most powerful music that ever came through me. The project, entitled Graceful Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying, resulted in a globally acclaimed listening resource that carefully edited, curated, and musically enhanced the spoken messages of solace and support from world-class visionaries such as spiritual teacher, Ram Das, death and dying pioneer, Elisabeth Kubler Ross, renowned Buddhist teacher, Thich Nath Hanh, and nationally known Rabbi Zalman Shacter- Shelomi, to name a few.
As Graceful Passages became known more around the world, I dedicated myself to exploring more ways in which music and sound modalities could meaningfully impact the psychosocial healing process for patients, professional caregivers, family members and even our social networks and institutions, especially during the most significant passages we will ever traverse: birth, serious illness, and the dying process.
I wondered, can we harness these art forms to awaken multi-dimensional coherence on a personal and collective scale? How could these art forms play a role in fostering more peaceful and collaborative ways of engaging with each other, or even with ourselves during the most significant transitions of our lives?
Transformances | Awakening the Art of Interconnectedness
Over 400,000 years ago, humanity embraced the elemental power of fire in tribal rituals, awakening a primordial connection with themselves, the planet and one another. Beyond its practical uses, it was a communal touchstone, bonding people through shared rituals and gatherings, reflecting our connection with the cosmos.
In today’s digital age, many of us crave that deep-rooted connection. Yet, through immersive art modalities, we can harness online platforms to foster these primordial bonds around zoom’s digital “fires”. When we become more emboldened to engage in more heart-centered practices in professional contexts (supported by the science, of course) we can elevate our community gatherings into more unitive and memorable experiences. This approach embodies the principles of Emanuel Kuntzelman’s seminal compilation of essays entitled “The Holomovement”, which urges us to recognize the unity of all things, inviting us to actively participate in our culture’s transformative shift from the ‘ME’ of individualism to the “WE” of a global community ethos.
In a quest to spark this sense of global unity, I collaborated with author and visionary Sarah McCrum to produce a series of short, contemplative films that I entitled “transformances.” These short, evocative pieces were commissioned by Unity Earth executive director, Ben Bowler to provide the 2022 World Unity Week with transcendent shared experiences for the global online program. They served as immersive catalysts, inspiring thousands of people from around the world into a shared collective introspection. I share with you this one – Invitation to Unity, – which we extemporaneously created to share at the beginning of meetings, as an instrument for deeper, more connected and collaborative social interactions. Many of us observed that the effect was immediate; hearts opened, boundaries dissolved, and people breathed more deeply, fostering a collective environment of unity, connection and understanding.
In our age of divisive media and dwindling attentions, these art forms offer a rare refuge. They provide moments to pause, allowing participants to rest their cognitive minds while grounding themselves in gratitude and connection. It aligns us with the intrinsic interconnectedness that indigenous wisdom and modern science both recognize.
Imagine major institutions adopting such modalities—starting business meetings with two minutes of beauty and insight, cultivating an atmosphere of collective intent. When organizational leaders adopt such immersive formats, they champion collective well-being, for the good of the whole. Such artistic pauses have the potential to shift outcomes, broaden horizons, and reconnect us with our shared human legacy.
The Power of Vibration and Frequency
In the vast celestial dance that binds the universe, everything vibrates – from the palpitations of our hearts to the oscillations of distant galaxies. As our societies struggle through storms of change and uncertainty, an understanding of frequencies and vibration becomes imperative.
When we transcend entertainment, music can serve as a vibration-based vessel, navigating our way to ignite empathy, bridging cultural divides in shared communal experiences, and elevating our ability to become more centered in our hearts. And when we utilize music to help people connect the sacred stillness within themselves – in these times of over-stimulation, violence, and heart/mind fragmentation – we are given the chance to come back home to ourselves, to our sense of belonging.
Merely relying on intellect to address global challenges is a misstep. Real change emerges when the mind’s brilliance aligns with the heart, where the arts come alive acting as bridges, transcending cultural barriers, promoting compassion, and highlighting our shared humanity. In our fast-paced world, intentional pauses are vital. By aligning with the beautiful frequencies of nature, we can elevate individuals and communities, fostering holistic engagement and deeper connections.
Visualize city councils invoking shared purpose through multi-sensory experiences, or corporate boardrooms reconnecting to humanity before making decisions. Envision classrooms worldwide beginning with videos that foster mindful collaboration and curiosity. This is the immersive arts’ magic: recalibrating our collective intentions and awakening to what matters most for our collective well-being.
Now is the moment to integrate these immersive arts strategies to craft experiences that know no borders. Let’s start inviting artists who are dedicating themselves to applying these modalities towards the Greater Good to wield their transformative power, celebrating our interconnected essence. Together, we are called to resonate, align, and architect a harmonious future with a more courageous intention to allow these compelling experiences of coherence and beauty to have its way with us – aligning our life-generative intentions, awakening our interconnectedness, and catalyzing a felt sense of our unity with all life.
