The Parts of a Radio

Go through the different parts of a radio, make references to the equivalent possible human job. Outline the process of "reception" and "tranlation"
2 Isomorphisms: to a group of people and to an individual
*Emphasize Group Work

The Energy Source

In order for the radio to function, there must be a source of energy. This can be an internal battery or an outside electrical outlet. The circuit must be fully formed and functional in order for the energy to flow into, through and out of the radio. This energy brings the radio to life and without it, nothing else can happen.

In our work we must identify, create and nurture our energy source. This can take many forms and shapes (some of which we will point out, some of them you will have to discover on your own). But it the importance of the energy source cannot be overemphasized. It is a common mistake to try to form and operate a radio without energy.... only to to become disillusioned and dismiss the possibility of a radio out of hand. "Such things don't exist. Let's go back to regular life..." If only we had found an energy source and connected it properly before giving up!

The  Antenna

The antenna picks up a wide variety of signals and frequencies and sends them to the receiver. In doing this, there is no "preselection". All signals that the antenna is capable of perceiving are sent to the receiver. The vast and infinitely complex white noise of the void is presented in its full glory! The more powerful the antenna is, the wider the range of frequencies that will be picked up.

The Receiver or Tuner

Once we have an energy source and an antenna properly in place, we must be able to separate the correct frequency or "channel" from all the noise in the ethers. The tuner picks one frequency out of many to send to the detector and preamplifier. It is the tuner's job to be able to discriminate between frequencies and to filter out all the noise, so that the pure signal can come through.

The Detector

The Detector will, as its name implies, detect a "message" in the chosen frequency. Even though all frequencies are available at all times, not all frequencies will have a message that we can detect. It is the job of the "Detector" to detect the message.

The Preamplifier

The message wil be faint and barely audible, it will seem almost a ghost of a sound when it first comes through. It has to be amplified to a point where it can used by the radio as a clear signal that can then be further processed.

The Amplifier

The main amplifier does a similar job to the preamplifier, but it starts from a clearly defined signal and now blows it up to a signal that can be sent to the speaker and heard by ears outside the radio...

The Speaker

The speaker vibrates the signal sent by the amplifier and it projects it out, as loud as possible so that it can be perceived all around the radio.

The process in short takes a faint ghostly message, completely invisible and inaudible to human ears (yet already existent around them) and expands it and transforms it to a shape and form that can be directly perceived by them. What is being processed? What is it that makes that jump from apparent nothingness to the receiving apparatus of the human consciousness?

Experiment (ANTENNA)

Try this Experiment with a partner.  One of you will be the antenna, and the other the ground wire. 

Put any of the Shaman Music Series discs on your CD player (the Clear Light or the Journey to Alpha might be good suggestions here, but feel free to experiment with others in the series).

The antenna is to be blindfolded, so as to use only the ears and the sensing.  The ground wire will hold the antenna by the arm and shoulder. 

The antenna will pick up the music, and follow the music where it leads trusting the constant, silent, and unchanging support of the ground wire.  The antenna will move whenever and wherever the music leads.  The music comes to the antenna, which in turn transforms the signal into movement and direction.  Sometimes, stillness is also a direction.

The only constraint the antenna has is the ground wire.  The ground wire provides safety--grounding.  The ground wire will simply follow the antenna.  It will not direct, talk, project, or interfere in any way.  The ground wire is simply there, with the antenna, silently providing support and protection.  The only time the ground wire will react is if the antenna moves towards physical danger.  The ground wire will subtly but firmly direct the antenna away from obstacles such as furniture and walls (unless they happen to melt away as the antenna approaches them). 

While accompanying and supporting the antenna, the ground wire will use sensing to be in constant and unwavering contact with the antenna. 

When the Experiment is over, draw a picture (which can include words) of the impressions the antenna had of the space.

Switch roles.  Repeat.

Experiment (Tuner)

Put on a CD. It can be a "Shamanmusic" CD or any other CD that you have available. Preferably it should be music without lyrics, so that the content of the lyrics won't distract you from the exercise.

1- As you listen to the track concentrate on the bass. Try to focus as directly and completely as you can on the bass (the lower notes that you can hear in the recording).

2- After you listen a couple of times, concentrating on the bass, write a short paragraph that describes what you heard. This could be a description in musical terms or in metaphor. Any way that you can describe it is fine.

3- Now listen to the same track again and concentrate on the percussion. Any drum sound that is in the piece is fine. If the piece doesn't have any drums in it, concentrate in any noises or other "non musical" elements that may be present.

4- After you do this a few times write a second short paragraph that describes what you heard.

5- Continue with each element that you can distinguish in the piece: melody, harmony, sampled words, etc. Try to separate as many as you can. For each one write a separate and distinct paragraph.

Experiment - Detector

1. Put on a CD of music. Pick a piece that lasts between 5 and 10 minutes.
2. Listen carefully to the music with a pad of paper and a pen in hand.
3. Try to leave all thought aside as you listen, but when particular throughts insist on appearing, write them down.
4. When the piece of music finishes, look over what you wrote. Try to summarize it in some way. Today, this moment, what was the message of this piece of music for you?

To make this experiment more practical, more effective and to put more on the line, try to make sure that the message that you write down implies some course of action on your part. Make it clear so that you can actually perform the action in the near future (or even inmediately). It should NOT be some vague generarility about the oneness of all the Universe or the beauty of little animals! Make it a clear and precise instruction that can be definitely carried out without any ambiguity.

[ The Parts of a Radio ] [ Bringing the People Together ] [ Each Part Does Its Job ]