At fifiteen, my passion was creating my own music cassettes, recording my favourite bands and (as teenagers do) playing them over and over until I knew every word and note by heart. I started to experiment with cutting up pieces of music and sound and static and creating audio stories. I would use people’s voices, household sounds, traffic sounds and string them together. The stories for me were mostly built around spirits and visits from other realms. In a sense, I conjured up stories and then built sci-fi soundscapes around them. I think I hoped that in some way my creations would open a portal through which I would be inspired and maybe even informed. I suppose I was looking for messages and of course for escape.

A year later, I had my first experience of plant magic. The experience seemed to burst open portals. I remember lying on the grass with my boyfriend, watching the stars and feeling so connected to the universe. Holding hands, we talked as much as we could about art and philosophy and love. We spent that night lying together under the stars, trying to decode all of the secrets of the cosmos. Interestingly, I had a vision of a cityscape and a small loft apartment. The vision had been so intense that the following day, I drew a picture of it. Three years later, I found myself living in that apartment in New York. A lot of synchronicities happened for a couple of days after that experience. As is often recorded, colours, tastes, sounds had all been more vivid and in harmony.

The experience was replicated some years later without any mind altering substances. Again, synchronicities abounded as did the feeling of connectedness with the cosmos. This time, it was accompanied by an awareness that there is a balance, a harmony that can only be found through staying in the heart.

photo : Karime Limon