SOL LUCKMAN
Itās hardly surprising that one of the most iconic and bestselling musician biographies of all time, and the first (of a veritable āSpanish Caravanā) written about the Doors front man Jim Morrison, was titled NO ONE HERE GETS OUT ALIVE.
The lyric is a line from āFive to One,ā a perennial fan favorite penned by Morrison but credited officially to the Doorsāand it has stuck in my mind (as it has in countless others over more than half a century since its 1968 release) like a splinter, to reference the movie THE MATRIX that also figures prominently in this book.
When I was living in Paris in the early 1990s, I became obsessed with Morrison, and not just his music but his often macabre poetry as well. This was shortly after the release of Oliver Stoneās uber provocative rock biopic that put to shame all other rock biopics, THE DOORS.
As a birthday present, my girlfriend gave me a bilingual copy of THE LORDS & THE NEW CREATURES, Morrisonās first volume of poetry replete with dark meditations on sex, celebrity, drugs, and (of course) death.
While riding the Metro, sitting on the steps of Montmartre and sipping espresso at cafĆ©s, I found myself reading it alternately in English and the French translation to capture more and more nuances of Morrisonās cryptic, multilayered thought.
Jim had died in Paris and was buried in the cityās famously lovely necropolis, PĆØre Lachaise Cemetery. His graveāwhich once featured a stone bust with his big hippy hair made by a Croatian sculptor and stolen in 1988āwas, and still is, a literal shrine to many tourists, fans and hipster locals making rock ānā roll pilgrimages from near and far.
Practically as controversial in death as in life, ever since his untimely demise in 1971 that rocked the rock world, Morrison has lingered in a sort of public half-life.
Simultaneously, he has been an inspiration for counterculture and music lovers; a nuisance for Parisians fed up with the incessant drinking, smoking and carousing that have turned his grave into an eternal party; and a would-be prodigal son to his home country, where a Florida politician bizarrely (and unsuccessfully) sought to have Jimās final resting place relocated to his birthplace, the Space Coast!
My girlfriendācall her Kateāand I regularly visited Morrisonās final resting place, and often partook in the festivities, which I must admit were exemplary displays of Dionysian behavior ā¦ if inevitably a regretted hangover source.
Filled with more cemeteries, church crypts and bone-lined Catacombs than you could shake a Gauloise at, Paris invited an ongoing meditation on the afterlife. Like HARRY POTTERās Myrtle without the moaning, I regularly found myself contemplating the seeming inevitability of death.
And then one overcast Parisian winter afternoon half a decade later, when I was back in town visiting a new girlfriend, while standing in front of Morrisonās grave strewn with flowers and cigarette butts yet again as if no time had elapsed and nothing had changed, the doors of my perception (hat tip to William Blake and Aldous Huxley) suddenly burst wide open when a still small voice inside me asked this simply disarming question:
āDoes no one here get out alive?ā
Copyright Ā© Sol Luckman. All Rights Reserved.
š„ BOOK DESCRIPTION š„
RIP ā¦ Death?
Longevityās overrated. Live forever instead.
In this deep dive into inner alchemy, shamanism and energy medicine, bestselling author and renowned sound healer Sol Luckman addresses mortality head-on ... and shares a nondogmatic solution to this āproblemā that will shock and inspire you!
You donāt need to create your inner Philosopherās Stone and āget out of here aliveā to benefit massively from the authorās wisdom.
You donāt even have to practice the potent techniques he teaches for recovering energy, erasing trauma, and restoring mind-body-spirit health.
Uniquely and elegantly, this book will upgrade your life in the here and now by empowering you to ā¦
ā¢ Simplify your existence
ā¢ Digital-detox your mind
ā¢ Maximize the power of silence
ā¢ Procrastinate your way to creativity
ā¢ Connect with the superpower of your uniqueness
ā¢ Establish a beneficial relationship with your shadow &
ā¢ Follow your bliss on your own Heroās Journey to wholeness and authenticity
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