STARSEED JOURNALS is a multidisciplinary format that combines sound art and storytelling to transport the listener to a very intimate, safe space. It is meant to be an audio series, capturing and channeling the essence of the human experience.
The name refers to the concept that we are made of stardust, therefore we all are starseeds. Remembering that and staying grounded in the sheer multidimensionality of existence, provides immense support, allowing us to experience our own life in its fullness, with gratitude for all nuances.
This first chapter of THE STARSEED JOURNALS is dedicated to the homecoming one experiences in the process of diving inwards. The project is inspired by the practice of Transcendental Meditation (taught and spread worldwide by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) and the ‘10,000 for Peace’ World Assembly, organized by the TM movement. It was developed at the Capital of the Global Country of World Peace in Netherlands and is influenced by Maharishi’s teachings.
In November 2023 I joined MERU (the Global Capital of World Peace of the TM movement) in the Netherlands, where I learned Transcendental meditation. This happened right after a very difficult period of my life, a 'dark night of the soul' as one may say. At that time I knew that I need to focus on my spiritual journey and leave everything behind in order to heal rediscover and reinvent myself. So I wished to find a special place where I could feel supported in my transformation and a miracle happened - I found MERU. Becoming part of the community and practicing TM helped me deal with my grief and process a lot of trauma, accumulated throughout the years.
The idea for a project with such format had been shaping in my mind for a while, as it is a cross-junction of my skills and previous experience when it comes to music production, poetry, theatre, voiceover, singing. The topic of spirituality and the Divine Source we all come from (and all art comes from) has been prominent for me my whole life but it wasn't until 2017 that I started diving deeper in Buddhism and other Eastern practices. I was familiar with different types of meditation and ecstatic experiences but TM is nothing like what I had tried before. In addition, it was tremendously inspiring to become part of an international community of meditators, living so close to nature and experiencing life at a much slower pace than what we're used to nowadays. I wanted to capture all of that and turn it into a work of art that reminds people of the Higher realms of existence - something that I believe is vital for this day and age, in which our world is being torn apart and transformed like never before.
The title AETHERIA is a wordplay between the Greek word Aether and the name Eleftheria, with the first one referring to the fifth quintessential element and the latter meaning ‘freedom’. Moreover, according to the Ancient Vedic knowledge the fifth element (called ‘Aakash’) represents space - there where everything exists. And so I like to perceive Aether/ Aakash as the everlasting and omnipresent invisible field - a source of immersion and stratum of action for the other four elements. It contains all layers of being and represents the metaphysical plane of existence and the very ‘substance’ one dives into throughout meditation. Engaging with that field of supreme consciousness is a moment of reunion between the Divine Source and the Divine Self (beyond the human shell and form whatsoever) and thus a prerequisite for true liberation.
THE STARSEED JOURNALS: AETHERIA is meant to offer an ecstatic experience and similarly to a guided meditation, to create a sensation of inner expansion. SJ:A celebrates the deep connection we share with the whole Cosmos (the Divine Sourche of All Existence) and is meant to inspire people to try meditation as a way of re-connecting with the Source within. Our world constantly changes and if we seek to grasp and hold onto something on the outside, we’d be gone and lost. It’s on the inside, deep under the layers of thought and emotions, where we can truly anchor ourselves and remain stable and secure no matter what comes our way.
THE FIVE CHAPTERS of AETHERIA (with the number 5 again referring to the elements) represent the different aspects of the process of going inwards throughout meditation.
THE COVER ART of the project refers to the magic and the enigma of existence. On one hand, the soap bubbles which mesmerize but disappear so quickly; on the other, the observer, who is captivated and caught in the moment while enjoying their beauty and ethereal movement. Just like a meditator observes the thoughts, without following them but staying grounded and anchored instead; in addition, both the observer and the bubbles(thoughts) are 'situated' in the same substance. Everything exists together, comes and goes from the same place; everything is pure Being and pure Consciousness, whether it's part of the physical reality or of the unmanifested existence.
The thin membrane of the bubbles symbolizes the invisible
