Ready Please Mr Music: A Synchronicity of Song

John always took the helm, choosing the music for long driving trips – still does!

Ubiir Rock Art: Kakadu NP. Taken on one of our road trips, May 2016.

Perhaps Australia’s formidable breadth is what makes for the ubiquity in desire to undertake the ambitious lap of her contour? Overlay Australia on any other section of the world map and you will soon get the picture. To experience her heart; the central regions of Australia, the more nomadically inclined and suitably equipped abandon the bitumen for the unpredictability of the few spidery veins that meander pathways through traditional indigenous lands; roads forged by pastoralists establishing cattle stations. The corrugated red dirt roads of the outback invite you to engage with The Dreamtime; Aboriginal stories of creation.

Believe it when I tell you that the rust-hued, powdery red dirt lodges in places you had never dreamed; you will continue to mine it from every orifice weeks after leaving! However, The Dreaming magic prevails.

One of our first trips into the sacred landscapes of outback Australia included travel on The Ghan; a train journey that dissects Australia straight up the middle, linking the mild temperate zone of Adelaide to the tropical high humidity of Darwin. An enticing 2 night, 3 day train trip. Scenic wonderment escalates the anticipation of what awaits destinations along the route. The vibrational rhythm of the train’s sound and movement had an animistic, nurturing quality. Coupled with cosy quarters and ample beer and wine, we were lulled into cocooned, restful slumbers.

In Darwin we hired a Troopy and set off on our adventure seeking. First in the NT before bumping along the 650km unsealed, corrugated track - The Gibb River Road, crossing the border into The Kimberley region surrounding Broome, WA.  I cannot give justice to experiencing those landscapes here, suffice to say this was the first of subsequent trips in pursuing various compass points across the beauty of this country.

The lure is sensual; the changing palette of sky; her continual transformation into a sweep of colours and textures – elemental offerings - gestures steeped in ancient wisdom. Mystical and transcendental; our love affair with the outback was unearthed. We shared an ardent admiration for her.

Our longer road trips were invariably taken over the Xmas - Summer school holiday period, thus affording a 3-4 week opportunity to seek new and repeat destinations. Australia hosts the Boxing-Day Cricket test and as a sports aficionado, John would tune- in, listening to the day’s play on the radio. For those unfamiliar with test cricket, it isn’t the most fast paced of sports. Lulls, pauses between each delivery direct the tenor of the commentary. What can start as a near hushed whisper; announcing the slow, curved delivery of a spin-bowler, can erupt into a cry of STUMPED in an instant. Many a time I was jolted out of a hazy day-dream, mesmerised by the passing landscape. John would notice my return and offer updates, that’s the fourth wicket and we haven’t had lunch yet, a smiling fist pump.

We could be driving for as many days as the test match on those summer holiday camping trips. The broadcast was often interrupted through a lack of radio reception. Other times, by interludes of our usual banter or extended silences; engaging with the external and internal landscapes offered respite from the cricket. I am not a huge fan. Thankfully, for the majority of time we listened to music. Music was a shared passion. John was a maestro of sorts, researching music was a hobby. He was a font of musical knowledge; frequently introducing me to new artists and keeping up with our favourite musicians and their collaborators.

Prior to digitalised music, John would be resolute in his selection of road-trip CDs. The blended genres of Americana a favourite. Ready please, Mr Music, was the catch-phrase I used; evoking John to pop-on a CD ... particularly on the prolonged monotony of some stretches of highway. John continues to favour song as a means to connect, to check-in, as I have come to understand his signs.

The quantum mechanics behind such manifestation has subsequently become an interest. Having spent my life not being scientifically inclined, I enjoy reading about how those in the field are unravelling the mysteries, the WOW moments. Metaphysician and author, Maren Muter’s website outlines common forms of After Death Communication (ADC). Clarifying how physical phenomena functions, she notes:

This communication style can be expressed as moving of items, cloud formation, electrical manipulation ... Physical phenomenon is a natural phenomenon involving the physical properties of matter and energy. Many times these are signs showing you they are here, and thinking of you.

As it happens, John is deft at manipulating energy.  All of which leads these musings to a recent visit to the dentist. Being in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, the dentist is a near 2 hour drive each way. Mostly, on a major freeway. I drive to Melbourne often enough that I routinely slip into automatic pilot. Podcasts, music or silence keep me company. The podcast I was listening to finished about halfway home. At this stage of the trip, the outer skirts of suburban Melbourne have dissipated and there still remains enough open land to view The You Yangs mountain range before the municipality of  Geelong’s urban sprawl further encroaches on the shrinking market garden space.

A further 30 or so kilometres down the highway, Geelong too, is distant. What remains of the trip home is open farmland, save passing through a neighbouring small town which prompts that nearly home relief. I Dream A Highway pops into my head. I let the thought float through, content in the silence, bar the rumble of my car. I Dream A Highway  drops back in a few minutes later. This time I sing the title, a repetitive line in the song, I dream a highway back to you ...  love.’  I yield, opening my phone to Gillian Welch’s album, Time (The Revelator), 2001. It is the 10^th and last track on the album. I notice it is listed twice. Unusual, I thought. Being a ballad with a 15 minute duration, I would be home by the time it played twice. It opens:

                  Oh, I dream a highway back to you, love

                  A winding ribbon with a band of gold

                  A silver vision, come and rest my soul

                  I dream a highway back to you

In that moment I feel John’s familiar energy,  Are you here?, I enquire. I look again at the playlist. I Dream A Highway still appears twice. OK, I smile. Gillian Welch, one of our favourites. We often played a DVD of the Revelator album, a chronicle of her studio recording and video clips; a collaboration with partner Dave Rawlings. John and I were fortune enough to see Gillian Welch and the Dave Rawlings Machine, live in Melbourne, Feb, 2016. An additional treat was Willie Watson, showcasing his album, Folk Singer. Vol. 1. We had a fabulous night at Melbourne’s iconic Festival Hall. Unbeknown to us at the time, that was the last concert we attended.

The first run had finished. Ready to croak the opening again, I hear the lyrics to another song on the album, Red Clay Halo. The chorus asks before finishing:

                  But when I pass through the pearly gate

                  Will my robe be gold instead?

                  Or just a red clay robe with red clay wings

                  And a red clay halo for my head?

                  I’ll take the red clay robe and the red clay wings

                  And the red clay halo for my head.

Astounded, I looked at my phone. Red Clay Halo is the fourth track on the album. Just keeping you on your toes, I felt John laugh. Once it finished, John then skipped back to the second rendition of I Dream A Highway. I was soon home.

These synchronicities speak to me on many levels. I always receive signs with awe and deep gratitude. Just a WOW, every time! I have said before that these musings are a collaboration with John. When I seek connection with John, it is through meditation as it enables communication through a resonating, vibrational frequency. When John is the seeker, he clearly enjoys utilising his energy to manipulate physical phenomena ... representative of his quirky, playful nature ... and he doesn’t need to wait for me!

It is with deep gratitude and love; this realisation, manifestation of a universal truth ... the continuing evolution of our soul connection and expansion.

And so it is.