Interview Two with Jacob Haqq-Misra:
Beyond the Intersection of Art and Sustainability
by Willi Paul

"Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by
You never get to stop and open our eyes
One minute you're waiting for the sky to fall
The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all
Lovers in a dangerous time-
These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This fragrant skin this hair like lace
Spirits open to the thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste-
Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
Got to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight"

Lovers in a dangerous time
Stealing Fire, Bruce Cockburn


Robyn Hitchcock told me that music is a form of alchemy – perhaps an invisible attempt to alter people's moods. Your reactions?

Music certainly has the ability to alter a person's mood, induce emotion, and even lower inhibitions. Some music, like classical symphonies or Pink Floyd studio albums, take the listener on a journey and tend to emphasize lyrical elements and emotional motifs. Other forms of music, such as jazz and its derivatives, are more groove-based and emphasize movement and dance as an expression of participation. One way of identifying a culture, subculture, or counterculture is to observe the types of music that are used to form social cohesion. That is, groups tend to rally around certain behaviors and ideals that are typified in certain types of music.

Hero. Define yours? Are you a hero?

Heroes are the champions that rescue us from peril that we could not have escaped otherwise. Some people have heroes, but I suspect many more people have role models instead. Heroes tend to be idolized, whereas role models provide examples to live a fulfilled life. My role models include Desmond Morris, Joseph Campbell, Jesus of Nazareth, David Byrne, Carl Sagan, and many, many others. To my knowledge I am not a hero to anyone, though I try to constantly be a role model to others.

What are the sounds from pre-history? Do you sample nature? The City?

Music is everywhere, and I typically leave the iPod at home when walking around outside. Cities sound different from lakes and forests, all of which are bustling with sound when we take the time to listen. It's becoming increasingly rare, though, to experience a sound scape devoid of human-build machinery. Even at a remote campsite you can often hear the quiet yet distinct hum of the electric generator! I've noticed that the quieter an environment I create, the more easily I can hear the soft electric murmurs that I typically ignore. I don't sample many sounds at all, as I play most of my music acoustically.

Is the era of sustainability a form of religion? The end of a world? What's next?

In short, if humans want to live for long periods of time (tens of millions of years), then we must transition to sustainable development. If we decide this isn't important, then that's fine, too; Earth will continue just fine without us. Getting people to think on longer timescales is the tricky part, and I do think this crosses into the realm of religion. Sustainability itself is not a religion, but achieving sustainable development will require world religion to adopt a view that is compatible with sustainable living.

What effects does commercial music and television have on our well-being?

Commercial music and television serve two primary functions:

1) entertainment and

2) marketing. Both of these goals are achieved at low-cost in order to maximize profits, without necessarily considering artistic merit. As a result, a radio or television consumer is constantly updated with products, events, ideas, and other forms of cultural identity. This media mythology becomes a part of the consumer's knowledge and inevitably affects their view of the world.

Do you know any angels? Can I meet them?

I haven't met any so far.

What are some of the initiations that you went thru? Still working on?

Writing my book was a form of initiation. I'm still working on my educational initiation, just about a year away from my PhD! I never took a break from school, so I'm looking forward to the culmination of my 20+ year scientific initiation.

What is Gaia? Where can we see / hear this force?

Gaia is the Earth system, the super organism in a sense that results from the interactions of life, climate, and geologic processes. We see and hear this force everywhere we look and listen, for every species and every ecosystem is necessarily a part of Gaia.

What is Tao? How does your music work with the mind – body - spirit triad?

Music can induce dance, create thought, or provide mystic enlightenment. In many cases, music finds the performer or listener to provide what is needed at the time.

How are you a Shaman? Is this a title that you apply to yourself or one that others have given you? How would know if I am one?

If a Shaman is one who seeks after spiritual knowledge, then I could be counted as one. That said, I never apply the title of Shaman to myself. Many people interested in psychedelic substances will validate their experiments by pointing to tribal shaman leaders who also used psychedelic drugs. I think this comparison is often misguided, though, for the tribal shaman was probably the only member of the entire tribe privileged to commune with the divine in this way.

Indeed, I'd be willing to venture that the societal structure of tribes based around psychoactive plants resulted as a need to keep the power of the plants from abuse by the common folk. A shaman who carefully prepares to enter the unknown can then take the mysterious knowledge of the plant drug and pass it on in a useful form to the rest of the tribe. In today's culture, though, we assert that everyone can be a shaman. I agree that everyone can (and should) explore their own spirituality, but I would consider a shaman to be a protector of a divine mystery for the sake of a community.

When are dreams not just "9-5" dreams but messages from another energy source? How do you incorporate scenes and beings from your dreams in to your waking hours?

All dreams provide an insight to our unconscious minds. Some dreams may be rote and boring while others are frightening or adventurous, but all dreams give us a look at how our minds are preparing for the coming days. In this sense, any dream we remember is potentially useful in waking life.

Do you write music based on your dreams?

I haven't yet written dream-based music. The character Greta in my book is based on one of my dream characters, though.

How do you think women's reverence for the sacred differs from men's?

In my observation, women tend to value the expression of the sacred differently than men. Men tend to be the pastors and clergy of a religious organization, but it is the women who make a point of bringing their children and families to worship. Some women also seem to have an easier time moving past any logical objections to religious or spiritual pursuit.

Define myth. What myths are critical to your spirit these days?

A myth is any story that explains any aspect of what it means to be human. A myth is a vehicle for communicating an idea without any regard to its historicity, plausibility, predictability, or factual truth. David & Goliath, King Arthur, the Big Bang, and the Industrial Revolution are all mythological because they are all stories that address the purpose and meaning of human life.

Personally, I find myself returning to the New Testament gospels in terms of a religious text. Through my studies I am steeped in scientific myth, which I find tremendously valuable, and for comic myth I find myself attracted to the South Park animated series these days.

What are your three favorite sci-fi movies?

• K-PAX
• The Matrix
• Spaceballs

Your posted song, Grapesmoke (hallucination) on PlanetShifter.com, https://www.planetshifter.com/myth/1260, is a hybrid of emotions. Nicely layered. How does it make you feel?

For me it is important that music induces movement. The layered rhythms underlying this song persist even through changes so that a dancer is kept up and moving the entire song. Even with aggressive drums, this song makes me sit on the edge of my chair, head bobbing, alert yet relaxed. It's good music for a drive.