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MindSpring Memories

The ever-prolific Baltimore-born producer Angel Marcloid, also known as Fire-Toolz, drops slushwave vinyl release Magical Realism, along with an extensive selection of five ways of looking at things—spiritually-speaking

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When A Soul Lets Go Of Its Body

Morning Greeting

Mindspring Memories

"If a spiritual tradition or philosophy or genre of mysticism is not leading you to love others and yourselves, throw it out," writes Angel Marcloid, concluding her voluminous response to what began as a relatively simple request to share her five favorite approaches to spirituality for Qrates' regular Select Series. It's no surprise she would have so much to say on any subject, given the breadth and diversity of Marcloid's own musical catalog, which—along with her well-known Fire-Toolz project—comprises over fifty musical monikers and countless releases. That's even more so, when on of them includes a MindSpring Memories release called Magical Realism, dropped via Skyline Tapes and available for vinyl preorder via Qrates until January 14.

There, tracks like the 11-minute epic meditation of "When A Soul Lets Go Of Its Body," and the four-minute euphoric anthem of "Morning Greeting" burst with the ecstasy and joy of divine intervention. Combining elements of vaporwave and ambient into a melodic saturnalia of "experiencing both the mundane and profound as equally real and magical," the Baltimore-born musician and producer's latest release is a celestial depiction of a world beyond our own.

That's why we asked Marcloid to share her top five spiritual perspectives, and, happily, she returned with a detailed rundown of some of the most interesting, and universalist approaches to transcendence and healing from across a very broad spectrum of practices—along with the important disclaimer of only engaging with ones that preach love and kindness. Otherwise, "put it in the garbage can, push it down, and toss your senior dog's urine-soaked diaper on top of it, and then maybe the left over salmon from last week you forgot to eat. Then take the garbage out so it doesn't stink up your house anymore."

Read on for enlightenment!

Angel Marcloid

Angel Marcloid

    #1
  1. Advaita Vedenta

    I would say that Vedanta is most akin to my view of consciousness and reality itself.

    While a good portion of the mystical sides of every religion are concessions to this philosophy, Vedanta really gets down to describing the most primal aspect of existence. Or... maybe "existence" isn't the best word, because to exist means to "stand out" (etymology). Vedanta speaks to all ultimately being one thing (Brahman), or if you're Buddhist, Śūnyatā (emptiness). They are not the same thing—one identifies the Self with the ultimate reality of Brahman, and the other claims there is no Self by stating the inherent nature of things is empty. But they both describe the essence of reality in a way I resonate with, because I consider them two paths up the same mountain.

    Advaita means "non-dualism," or "non-duality." It is one of the six basic disciplines and philosophies in the Hindu tradition(s). It more or less says that we and everything are ultimately illusions, which does not intend to undermine the meaning and significance of consciousness and the world, as it also claims we are real. This stuff is full of seeming paradox, but it's really just dialectics and "both/and" ways of thinking.

It took me a while to get it, and I don't think it's really possible to fully get it.

Angel Marcloid

This philosophy and spirituality says we are part of a divine play (lila), floating through illusion and delusion (maya).

The Christian mystic and orthodox Catholic priest Richard Rohr calls this a divine circle dance. And it's not that our souls don't have an agenda... the "agenda" is to evolve through many lifetimes, until we reach a point where there is no coming back here, having learned all that there is to learn in life school, essentially merging closer and closer to this ultimate reality of consciousness. This is called escaping samsara—i.e. evolving into fourth density according to The Law of One, which we will get into later. It says that everything ultimately is made of consciousness and being itself, and the essence of that consciousness/being is bliss (ananda). At the same time, we already are this pure consciousness, this Brahman. We are made of it. It is the ultimate reality. See? It's a paradox. Non-duality contains duality but sees it ultimately as non-dual in essence. So it is true to say that devotion to this source from our seemingly individual selves is an illusory task, but it is a worthy concession in this seemingly existent world to experiencing and consciously realizing the divine.

It took me a while to get it, and I don't think it's really possible to fully get it. I think if you fully get it, as a realization in your body and mind, you're probably done incarnating. And of course, this isn't attained simply by having some spiritual awakening experience like many might think... the evolution of your soul is required, and that is done through suffering, being aware of that suffering, and finally transcending it.

I don't think our goal should be to transcend suffering. I think our goal should be to love, which automatically contributes to healing not only our wounds, which give birth to suffering, but others' as well. If we don't see this globally, collectively, it's all for nothing. And if we see this as personal attainment, we are only serving ourselves, which in the end isn't serving us at all.

    #1
  1. Christian Mysticism

    "Oh boy, this is where my readers are going to start to feel triggered.

    And understandably so, considering the horrors and atrocities committed in the name of God, or Jesus! A good medicine for that recoiled feeling when hearing words like "Gospel," or "Holy Spirit" or "Jesus Christ, Son of God" (as if we all aren't these "sons!") is checking out the Gospel of Thomas. Don't worry, it's not in the Bible! Shit gets too real in the gospel of Thomas, and sounds too much like Advaita Vedanta, or Buddhism for the modern Christian church to feel at all comfortable. Check out the video about it on the Let's Talk Religion YouTube channel.

    Christianity is one of the most diverse religions in existence. Since the first century A.D., it has been splitting into micro-sects. There were radically different interpretations of Jesus's teachings ever since the very beginning of the formation of the religion (which wasn't founded by Jesus, as he would've never have attempted to establish a religion). There have been many interpretations and translations of the original Biblical scriptures, and just as many edits. Learning from scholars who study the original Aramaic, Greek, etc., are better off communicating to you what certain sentiments really meant than your average modern-day pastor, at your average modern-day church. Different institutions wanted to push certain ideologies, and many of the ones who had more power were the ones who were able to perpetuate versions that were used to implement more control over regions and nations. Now, the church down the street is teaching mostly post-Reformation, post-Calvinistic theology. I am not going to try and objectively claim these are "wrong" or anything, but I don't necessarily vibe with them, their atonement theologies, and their worshipping of the name of Jesus, which he wouldn't have wanted either. Eastern Orthodox churches are more appealing to me, but even they can be pretty fundamentalist. I do think the Quakers have the right idea, as well as every single teacher/ preacher involved with the Center for Action and Contemplation, a Christian non-profit focusing on contemplation, mysticism, non-violence, compassion, nature, and self-transformation.

    I prefer the mystical side of things. Of course, the Bible itself is really helpful for that, as it contains a lot of Jewish mysticism, Greek mythology, paganism, and, of course, it has major accounts of Jesus's teachings, which are thoroughly important—I mean, it's called Christianity, after all. I think context is needed however, so I can't imagine the Bible being one's sole source of wisdom. I do not believe the it is infallible, and that every word is inspired by God. This is going to alienate me from much of this religion's followers, but so be it. Figures like Meister Eckhart, Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr, Hildegard von Bingen, Guigo II, John Of The Cross, Jim Finley, and Mirabai Star (an interfaith unitarian who educates people on women mystics like Teresa of Ávila) have had far, far more influence on me than any of our modern institutions, many of which I consider to be varying degrees of toxic, or at best just missing the point.

    In this mysticism God's nature is more akin to that of Brahman than Zeus. There is a lot of devotionality (kind of like, bhakti in Hinduism and Buddhism), but it is a dualistic concession to the ultimate non-dual nature of God. This is why Advaita is essential to my Christian leanings. Christian theology kinda just takes you so far. I think the Vedanta philosophy gets you the rest of the way.

Feel free to use the word 'spirit,' 'source,' 'loving consciousness,' or whatever feels good to you.

Angel Marcloid

I know, I know. That word, "God" can be triggering.

But, seriously, feel free to use the word "spirit," "source," "loving consciousness," or whatever feels good to you. That is all it means—to me anyway. And none of that is meant to be reductive. If anything, it makes God much bigger and omnipresent, and makes reality more pantheistic and panentheistic. Christian terminology can be a turnoff—it's sexist and patriarchal, for starters—but that's just how the culture was at the time things were written down and practiced. I came from a laid-back Protestant church, which drove me right into agnosticism and atheism. I then rediscovered spirituality through an entirely new lens, and am able to internally translate this type of language. Of course, all the modern figures I pay attention to avoid using pronouns for God as much as they can. It's a bit hard when you're looking at the "Father" part of the trinity, but it can be done. Updating our language and filtering out problematic ways of thinking and applying spiritual principles are part of what the Christian tradition was meant to inspire. As my friend Rick says, "administrative types take over when a religion gets started, and pretty soon they start persecuting the mystics who are actually having the experiences the founder [or central figure] of the religion was talking about!"

I'll throw in a shout-out to A Course In Miracles. It's a channeled work but it definitely fits under the umbrella of Christian mysticism. It's pretty fucking radical. It's basically a body of work that attempts to clarify the non-dual teachings of Jesus that were wildly spun out of whack as the religion evolved. It regards miracles as instances of awareness of God's love and presence. Tie that in with Vedantic philosophy, and you've once again got the idea that consciousness equals reality, equals God, equals love. God isn't loving, God is love. God does not love us, God is us. God doesn't give birth to our being, God is Being itself. That's Being with a capital B. It might sound convoluted, because it kind of is, ACIM is hard to read. It gives me a headache sometimes. You just have to spend some time with it—you're better off watching videos of people teaching it than you are just starting the book. In fact, the book has a whole section for teachers.

Lastly, for those of you who debate whether Jesus existed. First of all, scholars have studied this extensively and have determined he probably did. Secondly, it doesn't matter to me if he did or not! It's not about that... it's about the teachings, self-transformation, and connectedness with divinity.

    #1
  1. Eckhart Tolle

    Tolle is a modern spiritual teacher, and an author best known for his book The Power Of Now.

    I know, so much, how corny that sounds. I also know that my favorite book of his—A New Earth—sounds like some New Age BS but I am telling you, it is all mostly ancient wisdom repackaged in a modernized way—psycho-spiritual teachings for the borderline non-religious folk. Mysticism definitely exists in his work. He quotes Jesus, Buddha, Meister Eckhart, Advaita philosophy, A Course In Miracles (often), and a lot more. But he has been able to present it to the average Joe/ Jane/ Jinn (I'm trying to think of good non-binary names here) on the path to healing and self-realization.

    Tolle basically teaches that the present moment, the "Now," is the only access we have to the richness of life, and that is God itself. It's not power, as in some kind of egotistical self-centered control-oriented ability, but more like... the power of life; the power in the life in our bodies and minds. This works perfectly with the two modalities I already described—presence is a huge focus in Buddhism, as well.

    The thing about Tolle is that he realized a lot of these things himself, without much prior spiritual education. He found it all through enduring suffering. It just turns out that many others had similar realizations (Buddha, Jesus, etc.) and so further spiritual education only strengthened and elaborated on what already had arisen in him.

References to his teachings are all over my music.

Angel Marcloid

My wife brought up something important though... suffering isn't strictly required for evolution anymore.

At least, not for some people at certain eras of their evolution. Both ACIM and medium Paul Selig point us to an alternative, which could occur alongside the suffering (but doesn't have to). It is a "choice" of sorts, though calling it simply a choice that one can spontaneously make isn't a trauma-informed teaching. This alternative, however, can occur seemingly spontaneously, if it is our time to experience it in our journey, and it is the full awareness of all as divine. It can also occur using willpower, as it is available indefinitely, but failing to do so is not a sign of failure... it is simply a sign that we are still evolving! This idea is slightly off the path of Tollean wisdom, but not completely.

Tolle says that it is important to focus on the "inner energy field" of your body, and commit to presence, as it has the ability to break down our barriers, open us up to radical love and self-acceptance, and assist in transcending "the ego." Ego is a loaded term with many different definitions, but just reading a fraction of his books will give you an idea. I don't think complete transcendence of the ego is possible in this lifetime, as we are only partially evolved souls, if we are still reincarnating here. Many have had momentary experiences of this transcendence, but those experiences are to be used moving forward, rather than as a way to prop up the idea that one is finished with ego. Tolle sees his ego... but that's the thing, he sees it. He is present, so he watches it, rather than identifying with it—most of the time anyway. He is far from some kind of guru, saint, or perfect painting of a person. He is probably one of the most humble people teaching anything spiritual today. You'll have to take in his work to understand, as I can see how what I've shared here would have you raising an eyebrow. The whole world of spiritual teachers and gurus has a well-deserved shit reputation—so much corruption and abuse, and it still goes on. That is why he knows we must stay present and truly see ourselves, rather than bypassing our conscience for the sake of some spiritual concept, which is rampant in the Advaita scene.

Also, as a caveat to this "inner energy field," it's not how it sounds. Tolle isn't injecting any New Age pseudo-science into this, it's just a word to describe the experience of pure presence and the buzzing of life within us. Please, scientists, don't come after me, because I am not talking about that kind of energy.

Tolle's work has radically changed my life. I consider his messages as operating at the heart of my personal healing journey. Unfortunately, at this time my ego is so out of whack that I barely apply a lot of it like I want to but I have the utmost faith, verified by experience, that his universalist therapeutic ideologies and worldviews are paths to deep healing and personal freedom. References to his teachings are all over my music.

    #1
  1. The Law Of One

    This is where things could get weird, because I could talk about aliens and sixth-density social memory complexes and stuff.

    Instead, I will focus on its wisdom, which has the potential to be even more down-to-earth than Tolle's teachings. The Law Of One is a channeled work. I won't get into the channeling part of it—I know that's a touchy subject, and there isn't a lot of hard science to measure it—but I will briefly unpack some of its philosophy. This material, called the Ra Material, is not a religious group or anything. It does reference spiritual philosophies and worldviews but it also kind of transcends them in a lot of ways. I will give you a quote. You can see its similarities to the aforementioned:

    "Consider, if you will, that the universe is infinite. This has yet to be proven or disproven, but we can assure you that there is no end to yourselves, your understanding, what you would call your journey of seeking, or your perceptions of the creation. That which is infinite cannot be many, for many-ness is a finite concept. To have infinity, you must identify or define that infinity as unity; otherwise, the term does not have any referent or meaning. In an Infinite Creator there is only unity. You have seen simple examples of unity. You have seen the prism which shows all colors stemming from the sunlight. This is a simplistic example of unity."

It just teaches that we can use unfortunate and oppressive circumstances for healing and positive evolution.

Angel Marcloid

The Law Of One says we are all healers, or can be.

That's not necessarily in the "curing Lazarus of diseases" type of way. More so, that we can heal each other by loving. It also looks at trauma, disaster, ailments, hatred, harm, etc., as potential catalysts for healing. It doesn't ignore the negative implications of those catalysts whatsoever. It just teaches that we can use unfortunate and oppressive circumstances for healing and positive evolution, which is called the service-to-others path. It sees that others are us, so the service-to-others path is for our collective evolution, with our individual selves being included within it.

Disclaimer: The Law Of One, like a good handful of mystical traditions, speaks on this idea of "no right or wrong." This is not to be taken as a morally bankrupt way of spiritually bypassing ethics and love. It is more of a statement on how everything is ultimately love and unity, whereas what you and I might consider "wrong" is a selfishly distorted and (unconsciously) toxified application of that love. Another disclaimer, because I know there are many of you whose stomachs turn at the sight of the phrase "love and light." Just imagine it wasn't representative of the things it makes you think of; forget about white dreadlocks and yoga studios for a moment. "All is one, and that one is love/light, light/love, the Infinite Creator."

    #1
  1. IFS Therapy

    Last but not least, something tangible for those who aren't interested in anything mystical, anything spiritual.

    Though the founder of this modality has his spiritual leanings—as do many of the therapists who work with IFS—that spirituality is not at all needed for this modality to change your life and lead you on a path of self-realization, trauma healing, inner peace, inner acceptance, the relinquishment of shame, the exorcising of one's demons (so to speak), and ego transcendence (or "ego relaxation," as coined by Miranda MacPherson, a spiritual teacher whose teachings could be considered a runner up to this list).

    It is an evidence-based form of therapy, and it is truly transformative. It is increasingly scientifically-accepted, and I work with a therapist right now who does IFS with my wife and me, as well as another therapist who uses IFS for his couple's therapy (but not our individual therapy).

    It is based on the idea that our minds (for lack of a better word) are made up of many distinct but intertwined personalities, or "parts." Instead of thinking of our beliefs, opinions, preferences, traumas and scars, reactions, ethics, fears, needs, desires, etc. as "us," or even as our inner adult and inner child, we think of them as parts. We think of (and treat these parts) as inner-entities that pawn all of these things, that are behind the wheel, informing us, influencing us, providing our foundations for living. Parts that make up the whole, like cells in our body, water molecules in the ocean, or seeming individuals in an ultimate reality of oneness. For those of us who have personality disorders, or suffer from depression, anxiety, anger issues, avoidance, or even disorganization, looking at things through the lens of IFS provides us with the opportunity to sort through these parts, ask them questions, learn from them, and facilitate dialogue between them and you, or each other, which can lead to healing and huge strides.

The Self is our core essence, which is in everyone who exists, and it is where our trustworthy intuition and power is found.

Angel Marcloid

IFS helps us integrate and/or unburden these different parts to where we are operating from the Self.

Often healed parts remain concerned with the same things they started out being concerned with, but they become extraordinarily more wise and not exiled from other parts—burdened or not. With these healed or more evolved parts active, we operate from/as the eight C's: compassion, curiosity, clarity, creativity, calm, confidence, courage, and connectedness. This defines the Self. The Self is our core essence, which is in everyone who exists, and it is where our trustworthy intuition and power is found, which is an idea found in much of the spiritual wisdom I've already shared about, though IFS does not represent itself as a spiritual teaching. As the Self, we can nurture these parts by approaching them curiously and lovingly, to the point of confidence, fearlessness, stability, and the ability to process and work with new traumas.

There are parts referred to as exiles (those usually formed during childhood that are fearfully stuck in the past, stuck in trauma states). Protector parts protect the exiles, which can include managing them and trying to control them, or our environment, with the purpose of avoiding perceived danger. Protectors develop in reaction to the exiles. This keeps the exiles contained and untrusting of the Self. The Self has the capacity to handle pain, and part of the unburdening is letting the Self witness and hold the pain for the exile in a way that is healing. We all have exiles and protectors.

IFS can be incorporated into virtually every other form of therapy on the market. CBT, DBT, EMDR, EFT, etc. It can also be easily combined with all spiritual practices or philosophies mentioned in this lengthy write-up.

By Steph K
January 9, 2023

NOW ON QRATES

Mindspring Memories / Magical Realism is now available on Qrates.

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