Author’s Note: This essay is an excerpt from my eBook, “Chronicles of the Forbidden Scripture: Book I – Origins The Primordial”.
I love telling a story about things that are unbelievably true. Stories that can inspire people to transcend their boundaries, to take that leap of faith; stories filled with myth and magic to potentially propel us into a state of never-ending ecstasy, peace, and joy. But I do not want to tell stories that are fictional or speak of events that I have not personally experienced. If I am going to speak of myth and magic, I hope to have experienced a bit of it first, so that anyone can experience the essence of it through the written word.
Meraki is a Greek word that appeared on my Facebook feed sometime during the year 2013. Roughly translated, it means “the essence of yourself that is put into your work; the soul, creativity or love put into something.”[1] I instantly fell in love with the idea of the word because it was succinct in describing my goal to express my creativity inspired by the dreams I have had and continue to experience. I want everything I do to be imbued with the essence of myself. Our dreams are closer to us than the blood that runs through our veins. They are at the foundation of our thoughts, beliefs and creative output.
The narratives in my book are meant to embody an aspect of my origin story. Ultimately, that is what the Meraki Epic seeks to achieve: to provide an epic vessel crafted from the creative weaving of words.
What is an Epic?
In addition to meaning something phenomenal or spectacular, it is a long narrative that recounts the heroic journey of one or more persons. It is distinguishable from other genres of writing via its elements of superhuman achievements, stylized language, and spectacular adventures.
Writing a Meraki epic is a means to transmit tradition from one generation to another – from the intangible to the tangible and requires the aspirant to utilize a variety of resources to express themselves, transcendent experiences being the required element to draw upon for inspiration.
One of the key mediums used to support this process is a genre of music created solely for storytelling, called epic or trailer music. This type of music does not carry with it the composer’s emotional imprint, leaving a perfectly blank canvas on which to create something new in each listen. Music expresses feelings and themes which effects people on a deep spiritual level. It can change the flow of energy within and the mood of listeners. To listen to a composition that is created specifically for storytelling, providing a blank canvas at every new listen, is a supportive means of honoring the integrity of the information that is being transmitted.
Why epic music? Remember, the goal here is to transmit the essence of your transcendent experiences from one generation to another, whilst maintaining the integrity of the information. While all personal reflections and private journal entries are of value and considered worthy of passing down from one generation to another, keeping in line with the essence of an epic and the nature of dreamwork, epic music is the perfect choice for this genre of writing.
This form of creative writing seeks to be an authentic, creative and experiential process of writing and storytelling.
(Meet Mago Contributor Alaya Advaita Dannu)
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[1] An untranslatable word pronounced as may-rah-kee. It is not found in a common dictionary.
From Sara Wright:
Very interesting article – I did not know what the word Meraki meant… The use of the word transcendent bothers me though because so many associate this word with leaving our bodies behind, and as feminists this transcendence is the worst thing we can do. We need to divine immanence – our dreaming bodies know this truth and speak of it through dreams.