The Musician's Walk: An Ethical Labyrinth.* The Musician's Walk: An Ethical Labyrinth labyrinth (lăb`ərĭnth), intricate building of chambers and passages, often constructed so as to perplex and confuse a person inside. , by James Jordan James Jordan can refer to any of the following individuals:
Punctuated by lush photography and insightful quotes, The Musician's Walk: An Ethical Labyrinth, articulates the ethical wanderings of the musical soul through the lens of the labyrinth. Author James Jordan's advice to experience a real labyrinth is well taken--the of physical space is akin to the and spiritual space book requires. A bit abstruse, this book is anything but a traditional look at the musician s life. A healthy portion of it discusses the ethical dilemmas An ethical dilemma is a situation that will often involve an apparent conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. This is also called an ethical paradox that musicians face in the 21st century, including how to treat each other and our art, how to protect the rights of those who create and publish music and how to uphold aspiration and excellence. It also explores diverse topics such as Qi (vital energy), crystal bowls as healing objects and the role tones, such as those produced on a didgeridoo didj·er·i·doo or didg·er·i·doo n. pl. didj·er·i·doos A musical instrument of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, consisting of a long hollow branch or stick that makes a deep drone when blown into. , play in healing the body and soul. The Musician's Walk is the third in Jordan's trilogy about spiritual music making. The paradigm of the labyrinth is effective. It not only conveys the difficulty of our path but of the three stages of the journey. The first is the journey to the center, the path that at times arrives at a dead end or offers difficult turns to be negotiated. Jordan cautions we must be in the "right space" to take the walk. These pages are filled with anecdotes and findings about the human self and the musical self from the perspective of Jordan and his contributors--engaging descriptions of the differing ways they experience awareness, love and compassion in the modern world. At the heart of the journey is the center of the labyrinth, the place where we find our centeredness and arrive at our definition of what it is to be ethical. Curiously, this section is devoted primarily to the church musician, and a decidedly religious tone prevails throughout these four chapters. Regardless of one's thoughts about spirituality, these chapters are both maze and mirror. Once settled in the center, one can begin the walk back out into the world, cultivating an authentic presence by maintaining a "state of constant awareness about both ourselves and our place in the world." Jordan provides tools for reflection, including "My Ethical Notebook"--copious blank pages for recording thoughts and completing guided journal entries and a space for creating a personal ethical statement, which he encourages we carry with us. If this book has any weakness, it is very minor and can be found in the inconsistency in·con·sis·ten·cy n. pl. in·con·sis·ten·cies 1. The state or quality of being inconsistent. 2. Something inconsistent: many inconsistencies in your proposal. of voice and presentation of ideas inherent when differing authors share unique perspectives. In any case, The Musician's Walk is a book that should be read, and read often. It is an important look at our walk through the ecology of life and a beautiful reminder that when we choose to tread ethically, we will leave behind footprints of love, compassion and brilliance. Reviewed by Julianne Miranda, Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Putnam County, Indiana, United States. The population was 9,880 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Putnam CountyGR6. . * The items marked with this symbol can be ordered via the MTNA MTNA Music Teachers National Association MTNA Middle Tennessee Nursery Association (McMinnville, Tennessee) Website through our affiliation with Amazon.com. Go to www.mtna.org, click On "Resources and Services" and scroll To continuously move forward, backward or sideways through the text and images on screen or within a window. Scrolling implies continuous and smooth movement, a line, character or pixel at a time, as if the data were on a paper scroll being rolled behind the screen. See auto scroll. down to the Amazon.com section. |
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