Interview:

For the context of this essay on music and spirituality, Dr. Zoltan will declare that there are two categories of humans: those who believe that this life on planet Earth is “enough” and those who do not. Those in the former group are soldiers, employees, and ants, marching in repeated and predictable patterns, attaining goals of mundane survival and amusement until the day they die. Those in the latter group are of the utmost value to the future because they pursue extra-terrestrial activities, such as the arts and sciences. They make attempts to reach beyond the boundaries of their world, out of a sense of wonder and curiosity. What normal life offers is just not enough for them! They require mystery, and mysticism is the science of the mysterious. It is an open-minded inquiry into the chaos of the unknown, filling in the blanks with the gift of imagination. Demons, aliens, and vampires are the human mind’s own fear of the unknown; a process of putting a face on unexplainable phenomenon. The good news: many strange things happen on Earth, and they will only get stranger as humans become more complex beings.

Music and spirituality are personal pursuits within the realm of the mysterious, but the Do-It-Yourself Ethic has been lost and perverted into the form of standardized industries. The perversion of spirituality is the Church. The perversion of music is the Rock concert. In both cases, the participants are divided into 1). An all-powerful leader, and 2). The followers. Personal power is handed over and unequally distributed into a top-down hierarchy. The all powerful leader is showered in praise, glory, and gifts. The followers huddle together and imitate each other’s every move, reacting to the whims of the leader. Group think. Safety in numbers. Mass hypnosis. Vigilance and responsibility are surrendered. What was once a magical process of discovery and exploration for all is now a system of rules. Those who are too unimaginative to study their inner world are offered a simple step-by-step methodology. A formula. Both have become systems of uniform, mass marketed dogma, packaged for easy consumption. Reduced to copy and paste costumes, symbols, and decorations. The encyclopedia of deities and chord changes that someone else invented. But the essence of music and spirituality is a relationship with the mysterious. Those who embrace it will change the world.

“The essence of music and spirituality is a relationship with the mysterious. Those who embrace it will change the world.”
– Dr. Zoltan Øbelisk, Hollywood’s Premiere Anti-Motivational Speaker