The Truth Of Being

The Truth Of Being – Spotted Peccary Music SPM-3801

The Truth Of Being is an epic journey through time and space, with no words. It has a vast palette of sonic colors and instruments, ponderous meditative oceans and skies, vistas of ambitious peace and harmony. Intentional creativity is a path to accessing the language of the heart within. It is an approach to creating that yields greater access to what is possible for us and our unfolding future. The winds carry wisdom while the deep waters flow endlessly. Madhavi Devi conveys much to us about creativity and expression, we can benefit from her complex inner visions for healing, growth, benevolence through creative action, honest witnessing of all outcomes, and ageless devotional music.

About Madhavi Devi

A very peaceful, deep, warm journey, drifting and floating in dark jeweled caves and through brilliantly colored sunrises. You will hear 58 minutes and 21 seconds that feature the freshness of dawn, the sweeping sound of wind and slow ocean waves in the distance, a gentle hiss that rises and falls like a slow ocean surf with huge swells, very slowly building up but never reaching a climax, always meditative and evenly peaceful.

The music is gentle and uses a variety of instruments, built upon a foundation of richly layered synthesizer and piano glow, sometimes with delicate percussion, strings, harps, Tibetan bowls, monks chanting, sprinkles of chimes and little bells. The album’s last songs feature luminescent electronic percussive weavings and ethereal vocal sounds. This album will nourish and inspire you long after the music finishes.

The legendary name Madhavi Devi originates in the ancient writings known as Antya-lila of Chaitanya-charitamrta. She was a religious devotee of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who was born in 1486 and died in 1534, in what is present-day Nadia, of West Bengal, India. The same hallowed light that reflects from that time, easily and possibly unconsciously inspires this music. Creative muse, visual artist, harpist, electronic musician, and meditative sound painter, as well as a proponent of the Intentional Creativity Movement, Madhavi Devi, aka Cheryl Gallagher, expressively paints, creates meditative arts, composes music, and conducts transformational art workshops for a more integrated, fulfilled, and beautiful life.

Cheryl Gallagher works in Austin, Texas. Howard Givens (ambient guitar, synthesizers) and Stephanie Britten Phillips (viola) joined her for this album, The Truth of Being. The sound has almost no strong melody or message beyond the infinite meditative call of enlightened bliss, there are no words, only pure music from the inner places where the truth simply is.

The album “The Truth Of Being”

The album opens with a delicate sound of magical bells at dawn easily rising over a breezy ocean, “Translucence Reflected” (9:34). A meditation played on something that sounds like an angelic electric harp emerges about halfway through. Meanwhile, sweeping celestial objects visit and pass by, and an ancient sounding stringed instrument is bowed. Eventually it returns us to the breezy ocean to continue our wordless contemplation.

”Jade Breeze” (12:28) eases in with a celestial organ that sparkles and chimes, with celestial light making the way for an imaginary growing choir. A brass cymbal sounds gently like a tapping timepiece while the glow grows and shimmers gently. Also, percussion emerges with a slow piano melody, an orchestra of peace awakens about half way through as the percussion strengthens into a morning walk with the rising ethereal choral accompaniment, eventually the gentle timepiece taps a few more times and brings the whole thing to a satisfying conclusion.

The third truth begins with the majestic sound of a promising new dawn created with a synthesizer, and the viola tells us about the “Cloudbreak on Ilsa” (6:21). This is a tale with no words, and it could be about a princess named for an ancient river flowing from grand old mountains through many traditions and interpretations. Above all, there is no diminution of clarity, nor does the song require specificity, it just is.

There is a windy void and…

…monks are chanting, and there are vast echoes. Also, the viola tells a new story of a journey and is accompanied by rhythmic percussion, step by step through an astral soundscape. You hear small bells in the reverberating cave. This is the “Breakthrough” (4:51). Madhavi Devi has captured the story of another journey and moved it inwardly, bringing the elements closer together. Towards the end there are clattering symbols, and then it fades like a dream.

The jewel of this collection is the track that is titled “Inner Vision – Cave of Light” (15:14). What you will hear is an astral breeze, a gift of light, a new vision inside. For example, a reverberating synth glow and sweeping winds playing overhead and a new ethereal choir is rising and holding in the air above. Meanwhile, a sequencer begins its dancing melodic experiments with motion in the darkness, a harp joins in the melodic developments, rushing wind and water below us, as we warm to the center, nothing is lost when there is peace.

”Luminescent Hue” (7:50) deeper into the cave echoes of glowing jewels a breeze with angel choirs tinkling chimes emerging throb of sequencer spring dancers shimmering in the darkness of the cave voices but no words towards the end there is a rallying of the spring dancers with rays of rainbow light and majestic galloping shivering wonderment.

You can buy The Truth Of Being at the store of Spotted Peccary Music and Bandcamp.

Written by Robin James, April 12th, 2019