Arizona Strings

In the middle of June the World Harmony Run brought me to Sedona, Arizona, a unique place for many seekers. A generous couple had learned that we were coming and offered to put us up for the night in their home. Situated on several acres of desert, and a few miles from any main road, the house had big windows, indoor and outdoor gardens and (God bless them!) a hot tub which we tired runners could use. The wife was a great reader, and kept a big personal library. As she had prepared beds for some of us in that room, I got the chance to look at her wonderful collection. I love old and unusual books, and her tastes were eclectic. I saw one book that I remembered well from college. It was J.W.N. Sullivan's: "Beethoven: His Spiritual Development". Published in 1927, it has never gone out of print. In the book, Sullivan presents his own philosophy of music, and then talks about how Beethoven's music is special because of the consciousness it reveals. Well-reasoned and powerfully written, Sullivan's book confirmed my own feelings towards Beethoven, especially his late string quartets. In the last three years of his life, Beethoven wrote these famous five string quartets. I think of them fondly because they gave me some clues as to what the spiritual life is all about. By listening to soulful, spiritual music like Beethoven's we grow as people, and we begin to think and feel out of the box. My former political science Professor, Barry, loved these quartets and played them every day at home. We would take long walks together and talk about...everything, but especially our shared love of Beethoven. I did not go to a "Brand Name" college, but I had wonderful Professors like Barry who introduced me to their own intellectual and spiritual interests. As I put the book back, I remembered something my philosophy Professor, Dominick, told me, that certain works of art go beyond beauty. They take us to a place or a state of consciousness which words cannot properly describe. He placed Beethoven's late music in this category. Dominick's very presence was special. A monk in his youth, in a contemplative order, he maintained a four-year vow of silence while cloistered. When he would lecture or just stand in front of his students, we could feel his silence and profundity. He embodied, in my view, a lot of what Beethoven expressed in his last works. One scripture that Dominick sometimes quoted in class, the ancient Isa Upanishad, summons the experience of the late quartets better than any critic ever has: "That moves, and that moves not; that which is near and yet that which is far; that which is immanent, and yet that which is transcendent." That night, I dreamt I was back at my old University. I was sitting in a classroom with my dear philosophy Professor, Dominick, and there was complete silence. The lights were dimmed, but sunlight poured in through the windows and I could hear strange, but beautiful bird calls. The calls reminded me of the slow movement of Beethoven's greatest and most unearthly string quartet- the opus 131 in C - sharp minor. When I woke up, I noticed I could still hear the birds. I unzipped my tent and looked around at the vast desert landscape with its sage and Joshua trees and brush. The sun had turned one edge of the sky a slight pink and the air was so wonderfully crisp and cool. I offered a short prayer of gratitude to the wonderful teachers I have had in my life, who have taught me to think deeply, live bravely and go forward continuously.