Music From A Thin Place

 I spent one life changing week on the island of Iona in June of 2005.  Although I've had 7 years to process my experience, I still struggle to explain what happened to me on that storied Scottish isle.   

Iona is one of those places the Celts refer to as a ‘thin place’, a spot where the veil between heaven and earth is exceedingly thin.  I wish I could describe the feeling I had there. If you’ve ever felt the presence of something supernatural and  fully expected to meet a time traveler or an angel with a special message just for you; if you’ve ever  suddenly seen into the very essence of  rocks and tall grass; if you’ve ever had an 'aha' moment when you've 'known' that all things seen and unseen are made out of the same energy that you are; then you have an inkling  of what I felt 7 years ago.

 I wrote down a song on Iona, called "Look For Me". It is the the title song of a CD I released this month. The song “Look For Me” is music from a thin place.(If you want to hear Look For Me, click on the song title in the last paragraph of this entry.) It  expresses what Iona showed me.

Strangely- even though I desired to share my Iona experience with everyone, I also felt a competing inclination to keep it hidden. Therefore I did something quite different with one verse in the song.I purposely hid the meaning by having that verse translated into Irish Gaelic. I can’t quite explain why I wanted Irish Gaelic because I was in Scotland and one would think the Scottish form of Gaelic would be more fitting. But I knew immediately that I wanted the verse to be in the Gaelic of ancient Ireland.

The translation came surprisingly easy and very quickly! All I did was ask my  new Iona  friend,  Florence. Florence  is from the city of Cork in Ireland, so I thought she might know someone back home who could aid me. To my astonishment, Florence said “Yes! I can do it!”  Within a couple of hours she had the translation, phoning her sister in Ireland once for a little assistance.

That very evening Florence  sang her newly translated verse into my small voice recorder!

How could my idea turn into reality in such a short time?

Some might call this a  happy coincidence. Others may recognize synchronicity in action. I’d say “This is just the way music from a thin place works-it's all right there when one's heart is open to it!"

Step by step I continued to follow an unseen guide after I returned to the States. Four months later I followed this unfolding musical path into Bill Stine’s recording studio near East Petersburg,PA.  My old friend  and songwriting mentor,Nancy Honeytree Miller, a legend in the field of contemporary Christian music, accompanied me. Nancy sang the Gaelic verse and also played both guitar parts for the recording of “Look For Me”.

Now I’m ready to tell you what I’ve kept hidden for these 7 years.

On Iona I had a profound sense that all is one and deeply connected. That's called a mystical experience. Many have had one. Mine was somewhat different however. I can best express it in the words of my Gaelic verse which I here return to the original English.  

“Music, the heart of life.

Life, the heart of music.

Music on the first day.

Songs forever after.

 Fields of music.

Orchards of song.

Multiply! Multiply! Multiply!”

All from me. All from me.”

That's my poetic way of saying "Everything is made of music!  Everything IS music!"

 Leonard Bernstein evidently saw this or something close. The great composer once asserted that the best translation of Genesis 1:3 is not, “And God said.” The best translation from Hebrew is, “And God sang.” God sang the universe into existence!

Here's one more way to say it:
Iona showed me something in plain sight that can't be seen. Except when one has eyes to see. Iona sang me a symphony that is everywhere yet can't be heard. Except when one has ears to hear.
Got it?

The recording of “Look For Me” still has the Gaelic verse. But now, when you hear it , you’ll be able to catch a bit more of the mystical meaning and I hope you will find yourself transported to a thin place.