Mapping Thresholds in the Space Between Sound and Silence
Dear Metapsychonauts,
As I prepare this email, I am listening to our growing Acousmatic playlist, feeling my body’s cells awakening and vibrating somewhat strangely, my brain beautifully buzzing, attuning to the intensities of the unknown, the mellifluous magnitude of the mystery of being. In truth, there is something also unnerving about these sounds… especially in the unexpected moments when they disappear.
What happens in these sensitive spaces between spaces? What possibilities emerge when we dwell at thresholds rather than rushing anxiously across them? This week’s offerings invite you to pause at these liminal zones where transformational experience becomes possible.
Dean Wilcox leads us through the boundary lands of memory, reality, and artificial imagination in “Threshold Mapping: Musing on a forgotten video game, Borges, and the worldmaking potential of AI”. Beginning with recollections of a mysterious NES game that allowed players to traverse parallel worlds, Wilcox weaves a philosophical meditation that spans Borgesian labyrinths, fractal coastlines, and the uncanny valleys of AI-generated realities.
“If a threshold is considered not merely a transition but a space of its own,” Wilcox writes, “its liminality between the real and the imaginary may have the infinite self-similarity of a fractal in which one ‘reality’ endlessly bleeds into another.” This essay was contributed to our ongoing series on Crossing Thresholds, inviting us to consider our own personal thresholds—those spaces where certainty dissolves and new possibilities emerge, alluring us from our own intimately unknown futures.
Meanwhile, our Acousmatic Crossings series continues its exploration of sonic boundaries. This week in the series, we present two pieces that beckon you into an evocative world where sound becomes symbol and silence speaks louder than words. Martin Rodriguez’s “Scales” uses sonic poiesis to explore childhood, inequality, and the soul’s search for meaning. Meanwhile, Leonie Roessler’s chilling “Hi, my name was…” captures the vanishing voices of children in conflict zones, transforming silence into a haunting cry against erasure. Two powerful pieces, one unforgettable journey into the imaginal realm of sound.
Both works occupy the charged territory between presence and absence, utilizing silence not as emptiness but as a space of potentiality—much like the thresholds Wilcox explores in his essay. Under the curatorial guidance of Michael Eisenberg, “Sounds and Silences” asks us to attune our perceptions to what remains unheard, to witness the boundary where sound dissolves into silence and silence gives birth to meaning (or something like “meaning,” but never quite gelling so that the mind can grasp it).
For those intrigued by these sonic explorations, mark your calendars for our first Acousmatic listening session and discussion with composer Paul Dolden, scheduled for May 22 at 12 pm MST. This live event will offer a rare opportunity to explore the depths of Acousmatic music with one of its most accomplished practitioners. If you haven’t yet experienced Dolden’s “Beyond the Walls of Jericho” in the first installment of our series, “A Sonic Deluge of Transformation”, we highly recommend revisiting it with your finest headphones and an open mind before the gathering.
Writers and readers, this is also your final opportunity to join senior editor, poet, and novelist Mary Thaler’s Writers’ Circle, which begins on Monday, April 14. Only one spot remains in this intimate gathering dedicated to nurturing creative practice and crossing thresholds of expression together.
Both of these offerings are available to Metapsychosis Patrons and Cosmos Co-op Members. Your patronage not only grants you access to these special events but also sustains our ongoing mission to publish transformative writing and art that explores the boundaries of consciousness and creative expression. Members also gain access to our private community discussion forum at Infinite Conversations, where many of the ideas presented in our publications continue to develop through engaging dialogue.
Finally, if you’re in the Colorado area (or wish to join virtually), our next “Stellar Sunday” Community Potluck and Creative Showcase takes place tomorrow (Sunday 4/13, from 4-7 pm MST) at Longmont Public Media. This month’s event features RasMoses & Vinayak Bringi performing reggae classics, C. Savery offering poetic priestessing with ceremonial songs, Sally Fulton sharing contemplative poetry, and Michiko Stas continuing her storytelling journey. Learn more and RSVP here.
As always, we welcome your reflections on any of our publications. The conversation continues where the text ends.
Sincerely yours,
Marco V Morelli
Editor-in-Chief, Metapsychosis journal
Co-Creator, Cosmos Co-op