AUDIOBOOK- read aloud by the author.
*This is an audiobook, not a course. There are no lessons, tasks, or exercises.
*You can choose to download the complete audiobook in seven parts (MP3 files) for offline listening or stream each chapter individually, for ease of listening.
*Diagrams and illustrations are embedded within each chapter.
Are we connected with the planets?
Since the dawn of time, mystics have talked of a heavenly music, audible only on a subtle level. Until recently, the theme of The Music of the Spheres was taken seriously in many cultures and religions around the world, and even in music theory. And yet now it has become mute. Or perhaps we have become deaf. Can we learn how to hear this heavenly music again?
Through personal anecdotes, listening exercises and philosophical inquiry- based mainly on Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy, Paul Lawrence explores this subtle sound in an exciting and masterly way. Your appreciation for music and its significance for human and world development will not be the same after listening to this inspiring book.
illustrations by Sophia Montefiore
In the age of Pop, Entertainment and AI this book serves as a gate to the passage from hearing to listening. When in the soul interest arises for the deeper meaning and mission of music, the work of Paul Lawrence offers the spark of inspiration to enlighten the vast cosmic background.
Miha Pogacnik Naval, Maestro of Violin, inventor of The Method: Masterpiece & Leadership
A remarkable achievement! Reading this book will take you on a rich soul journey from the origins of the universe to a possible distant human future, all through an inner experience of musical tone. By combining a sharp intelligence with a trained musical sensitivity, Paul Lawrence has made an accessible guide both to the essential nature of music, and to inner development through music.
Andrew Hill, CEO, Steiner Education Australia
The Music of the Spheres: A Listener's Guide is a beautiful and subtle guide to listen in with growing awareness to ones own music Gracefully, resonating Eternally. Laced with personal anecdotes, Paul gently takes us on a rigorous, clear and harmonious journey through Time into the realm of Eternity ... A sublime insight into the art of the science of the spirit ... evoking a further expansion of gratitude for our wonderful existence!
Brian Keats, Antipodean Astro Calendar
The Music of the Spheres: A Listener’s Guide by Paul Lawrence makes the convincing case through myth, legend, historic descriptions, the evolution of consciousness and mathematical-musical examples how the finished works of this our world are generative forms brought into being through the energet- ic, living vibrations of a sounding cosmos. This book is a subjective-objective exploration, in the Goethean sense, of how we can grow into an art of deep listening and hearing the world creation we are all a part of. At times chal- lenging for the non-musician, this is a manual and field guide to reconnect- ing with our inner being’s relationship to the Music of the Spheres.
Van James, Pacifica Journal
Paul Lawrence grew up in the bush on the out-skirts of Perth, Australia, where the vastness and stillness of the landscape helped shape his early imagination. A Waldorf music educator and trained classical musician, Paul’s work is deeply grounded in anthroposophy. His musi- cal path broadened through studies in Eastern traditions, including Balinese gamelan and dance and Indian kirtan, before he encountered the musical indications of Rudolf Steiner in 1999. Since then, he has developed and led mu- sic programmes at Waldorf schools in Western Australia, weaving Steiner’s spiritual-scientific understanding of music into classroom teaching, composition, performance, and teacher training.
This book, begun during a sabbatical in 2021, brings together the distilled insights of more than 25 years of study and creative exploration. Paul continues to lecture, mentor, and teach across Australia, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, while living in Bali and supporting Waldorf communities both locally and regionally. He is also the author of the song-book Songs of the South- West (2023).
Bonus background sounds! This audio book was recorded in our home in Bali. You may hear the sounds of roosters and other village animals in the background!
This audiobook is read and produced by the author. Your purchase directly supports the author.