AN Live Club

We arrived into Athens and got much needed sleep after again pulling an all-nighter. The next morning Chris and I made our way to the Acropolis. We walked the entire grounds above and below, and took some pictures near many of the ancient monuments. I told Chris that since we arrived into Athens something felt familiar. I knew this city in some odd way. After our visit, I returned to the hotel just in time for an interview. The two kind gentlemen who interviewed Sean and I informed me that when visiting the Acropolis, I went unknowingly to the place where Diogenes lived. He was the original Cynic, and from where the name was born. The tour was cosmically complete! When Diogenes was asked "where are you from?" he would respond, "I'm a cosmopolitan". A word he originally coined and defined as "to be a citizen of the universe". I love that answer and completely connect with it. The density of that perspective alone is enough for me to have huge respect for Diogenes and his teachings. No boundaries. He was going around saying happiness is an internal experience. The outside has no true bearing on our ultimate peace and sanity. He forfeited all his possessions, basically living homeless as a beggar. I'm not sure that his ways (some of which being very extreme) were for everyone, but there are some gems in his teachings that represent the best of universal wisdom.

Many years ago I was given a book by Jospeh Campbell titled 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces', which eventually led me to the epic 'The Power of Myth'. He's a tremendously influential writer. I've found a lot of inspiration for lyrical ideas and just good psychology over the years from him and other myth interpreters that come from the Carl Jung 'archetype' school. Over time, I read all the books of the author Robert Johnson who also uses Jungian psychology to interpret Greek Myth. Johnson tells us why myth is so important to us as humans. It's the truest, clearest records of ourselves. When a myth is passed on from one generation of storytellers to another, it should ultimately get refined and slowly given it's truest shape. Outside of meditation, I've found tremendous metaphorical insight into our complex nature as humans within Johnson's work. The inspiration for 'The Eagle Nature' was taken directly from one of his books titled 'She'. This book explores the myth of Psyche and Cupid. Basically Johnson explains how the feminine nature of a human must go through certain rites of passage in order to develop fully. In the book, Psyche is assigned four tasks by Aphrodite. Failure to complete any of the tasks before nightfall will result in death. The tasks include collecting golden fleece from rams, filling a crystal goblet with water from the river Styx (The Eagle Nature inspiration), sorting a pile of many different seeds, and collecting a cask of beauty ointment from Persephone, goddess of the underworld. Johnson explains how each of these tasks represents an evolution in a woman's life (gathering the fleece as acquisition of a bit of masculinity necessary to survive in the world, choosing one of the many seeds a man gives to a woman to begin the miracle of birth, the single goblet of water from Styx as focusing on a single item at once from the vast choices in the universe). Years later I read Robert Johnson's moving memoir 'Balancing Heaven and Earth'. I highly recommend this book as your first introduction to the man behind this work, if you haven't read anything else. Truly inspiring.

'An Club' in Athens has a historical punk rock club vibe. If these walls could speak! I sensed a cool music scene with many spirited beings. The show was stirring and poignant. Without getting too caught up in the impermanence of this little tour, I couldn't help but feel a bit melancholic as we reached the end of what has been a dream-like reunion. Another packed room with loving intimate vibrations throughout the night. Contest winner Costas was a sweet and tender sprit who came up and delivered killer vocals on Uroboric Forms. I'm left with a heart full of gratitude for all the generosity and reciprocation we felt on those stages. Thanks to Harry and friend for all the assistance and for an unforgettable final date to our western European trek...and to Andy, Lauren, Marlene, Mike, Brett, Simon, Mahasukha, the bands, and everyone that lent a helping hand along the way. Also thanks a million to the readers of this blog for your patience and allowing me to indulge in my own journal like thoughts and entries. I feel safe here. Much warmth to each and every fan that appeared with open hearts to these shows and gave so much of themselves.
We love you. Stay tuned...

Paul

AN Live Club set list

Veil Of Maya

Celestial Voyage

The Eagle Nature

Sentiment

I'm But A Wave To...

Evolutionary Sleeper

Textures

Uroboric Forms

Meeting Of The Spirits

Cosmos

How Could I