After years of searching online, I found this piece I wrote in 2003 to begin to flesh out ideas that I desperately needed to get out of my head. Very neophyte, very brave. At the time, my primary motivations were Ken Wilber, perineal philosophy, integral spirituality, Hiphop and NTU psychotherapy and they're all smashed in the here together. However I feel that this paper is very important to the world of Integral, Hiphop, spirituality and academia. After I wrote it, it was mysteriously posted to a blog called C4Chaos where it was read by my good friend Corey Devos who works as Ken Wilber's editor and website manager. Me and Devos has rapped for years about fleshing out Integral Hiphop and I'm hoping that we can get some time to really make it happen one day. Devos asked me in 2003 if I wanted to be featured on Ken Wilber's Integral Naked website, to which I quickly replied "hell yeah". That led to a song that I created called "Dream Drumming" being featured as the first Hiphop song on Integral Naked and probably Integral anything...Jerry Katz found this article online in 2005 and paid me to use it in a book he was writing, an Anthology of Non Dual Writings. That was the first time I received money for something I wrote. Thank you Jerry.
So this article did a lot for my confidence and to introduce me to others in the world of the transcendent and transformative. The last part of the paper that discusses injunction has been altered/edited (not by me) and I don't know what happened to it. Had a good piece about Jeru the Damaga in it....
Anyway, this lays out some basics on my view of Integral/Non Dual Hiphop, Freestyling and the Cypher. Dig it.
Freestyle: Gateway to the Beyond Within
by Justin Miles
Six youths gather on a corner in any given city in the world. They form a circle and engage in a few seconds of discourse concerning what is about to happen. One opens the top to a 22 ounce of beer, pours some on the ground for “those who ain’t here”, drinks some and passes it to his comrades. Members of the neighborhood glance in from the outside and wonder what is about to occur. A concerned citizen thinks that they should call the police before a crime is committed, thinking “there has been an increase in break- ins and thefts in the area lately, and someone has got to do something about these drug dealers.” All of a sudden one creates a rhythmic pattern using their mouth, hands, a foreign object, voice or all of the above. The others begin to move their heads in unison, and one opens his mouth and begins to speak, juxtaposing his words over the rhythm. The neighbors calm a bit and watch out of curiosity what they are witnessing; six youths moving in unison to one rhythm, each expressing different emotions and thoughts through different styles. There is no fighting, drug dealing, or crime committed. The event lasts for two hours and then the circle disperses, promising to meet up the next day and do it again. The neighbors watching catch on to what just happened. “Oh, they were just rapping,” says one. A youth watching smiles and says, “naw… they were having a cipher.”
Cipher: 1. Code, hidden meaning. 2. Nobody, a non-entity. 3. An enclosed circle of hip-hop practitioners and listeners, engaging in authentic discourse (Freestyling) with the aim of A) strengthening self-awareness, self-worth, knowledge of other practitioners and their styles, lyrical skill, or ones connection to a creationary force through offering words of harmony (verbalizing a connection with group and creator), awareness (verbalization of issues which cause difficulty within ones life or issues that bring joy into ones life), alignment (verbalized understanding of ones issues as being their own), actualization (verbalized plan of change or continuance) and synthesis (verbalized unity with creationary forces of change and continuance as to actualize new behavior or continue old behaviors). B) Sharing a message of personal importance with the congregation in order to increase another’s self-awareness, self worth, knowledge of one’s self and style to another practitioner, and the collective’s ability to connect to a creationary force by maintaining harmony, balance, interconnectedness and authenticity.
To a hip-hopper the cipher (or cypher) represents the womb, an urban placenta that gives birth to emcees and beatboxers through the sharing of spiritual energies, transferred around and through a cosmic circle of combined rhythms. It is the training ground for those who aspire to reach the heights of the greatest emcees, a soapbox for the believers in a higher mode of expression and communication, a forum for those who wish to just enjoy in an individual-collective experience, or a combination of all three. The cipher embodies the sacred principles and dynamics of relationship found in and between all things, even if the practitioner is not cognizant of the subtle events taking place.
Think of Hip-Hop as being the binding energy of the cypher, existing between things and individuals. It is what helps Hip-Hoppers acknowledge each other and distinguish between authenticity and falseness of an individual, group, or their beliefs. It is important to note that the description of this energy or force is not done for convention, but to describe an existing non-entity that would be associated or equitable with chi, prana, spirit, essence, the All, Ultimate Reality, Truth, etc. These words are used to describe an ever-present Reality that pervades all substance, but which could never be fully described. To practitioners and listeners, Hip-Hop is that force which allows one to create, provides the atmosphere for creation to exist, and is the foundation for all creation of the music. It can be described as a feeling of elation, bliss, ecstasy, etc. that one feels when one is in the environment that Hip-Hop is played, cultivated, or demonstrated. This bliss is associated with the connection between one and the creative force itself, the same connection described in Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, all of which describe an ethereal feeling of oneness, once one is connected to the All. It is also important to note that this feeling or experience is just as subjective as the experiences found in the ways of life described above, but can all be validated in the same way, through the prophets, saviors, avatars, sages, seers, and masters that act as archetypes of those who experience the Ultimate Reality respective of their belief systems. It is in this same way that we begin to assemble a spectrum of consciousness that acts as a pathway toward the experiencing of the Reality of Hip-Hop music. A Reality that the prophets of Hip-Hop have achieved, and in the same way as the ancients, predict and influence the current and future culture towards greater actualization, liberation, and freedom from oppressive agents and forces external and internal of the people.
The diunital existence of nature which is the same as hip-hop, consists of self and other and is the binding dynamic of the cipher. A practitioner enters into the cipher for one and two reasons. 1.) To act as a part within a whole for the self-benefit of one’s ego-mind, curiosity or spiritual expression and enhancement. 2.) To act as a part of a whole assisting in the sharing of energies to facilitate the transference of knowledge of self to other, or group to creator. The word used to describe this relationship, diunital, suggests that phenomena are unions of opposites that are mutually dependant on each other (Myers, 1988; Nobles, 1980 Phillips, 1990). When our internal and external forces are joined and balanced we experience an increase in well-being and harmony. It is the ability for one to express oneself in an accepted manner and arena that allows for harmony to exist in a cipher. In the home, when speaking to parents, a school setting with a teacher, or in the streets when engaging with law enforcement officials, youth may feel hesitant to express themselves with the same authenticity as in a cipher, and not because he or she is with their friends. The binding force is the hip-hop within the cipher itself, complete with willing members, which can exist in the home, in school, or in the streets.
It is the elements (practitioners/listeners/facilitators) present that determine the outcome of the cypher. For example a youth and parent may have a disagreement. It is the understanding of the parent of the youth’s culture that will allow for the proper communication to occur. Because the child may not have an established system of principles, it may be necessary for the parent to be the facilitator of the cipher between he/she and the youth.
Having a cipher with one’s child includes but is not limited to rapping or creating a beat; it will however always incorporate authentic discourse and a rhythmic exchange of energy. The communication style of the facilitator must not only include traditional techniques such as eye contact, reflective listening, and usage of I statements, but also respecting the others style, speaking with the same dialect, and being cognizant of one’s own communicatory (emceeing) style. The diunital nature of the cipher does not change because of location, situation, or circumstance. The goals of self and other are the same. For self it is to express one’s inner feelings with the aim of being heard, and receiving feedback to hopefully make one feel better about one’s thoughts, emotions, or behavior. In terms of the other, one attempts to share feelings for the betterment of the situation and/or for the enhancement of the spiritual/subjective relationship between members.
The formation, recognition, and maintenance of a subjective relationship creates and maintains bonds between phenomena. A recognized objective relationship can be disrupted or even destroyed when there is a break in the subjective atmosphere between both parties, and object and subject can function only with mutual understanding. It is the recognition of an agreement between values, not familial relationships that is driving the youth today to cling to each other as support systems, and not their parents. The problem seems to lie in the perception of the morals and values upheld by today’s youth. Because hip-hop and it’s elements (emceeing, djing, b-boying, graffiti, ciphering) are seen as only possessing value for youth, or as a marketing tool for products, it’s potential for forming relationships and healing is never maximized.
The youth practice hip-hop and ciphering as spirituality without knowing it. The youth gather freely on any given day/s in order to have a unified experience that involves the expression and sharing of feelings to others. The goal of the cipher could be for everyone to express the best that lays within him or her in regards to vocabulary, intellect, or who can be the best gangster. Regardless of topic, the practitioner attempts to shine. Just as a choir member would “make a joyful noise unto the Lord,” a lyricist offers up words to and from a creationary force. The difference is guidance. A church member has the benefit of a pastor, priest, or other spiritual guide to walk with them along a path towards greater fulfillment. The lyricist possesses the same spiritual guides, but without direct guidance to get them to the point where the guide is no longer necessary. With the rise of mainstream hip-hop music that focuses on making money, misogyny, and violence, youth and adult listeners aren’t privileged to the conscious and positive members of hip-hop that guided the conscious movement of that began in the early eighties and continued through the early nineties. The movement continues but is overshadowed by radio and industry control. Within hip-hop and freestyling are the spiritual lessons that enable youths to understand themselves in relation to their music and their culture. Let us imagine for a minute, that a youth who appears to need guidance in their lives is shown a spiritual path of their own derivation. Meaning the path that they seek is an extension of their current beliefs and does not need convincing, cajoling, or proselytization. This path already has meaning in their lives, the spiritual energy of hip-hop itself has already been cultivated, the dynamics and place of worship(the cypher) has already been established.
But there is nothing that exists like this, formally, for youth or adults, which is why many youth seem to meander throughout their lives without a connection between them and the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of existence. Because of the separation created by Western institutions, their mechanization, alienation, disparity between economic sectors, and their despiritualization of the human existence youth and adults have slowly been detached from the subjective foundations such as family, school, place of worship, and agents of social control who in turn shape the way that people form relationships with others. The “machine” since the Industrial Revolution, has begun to eat itself quicker and quicker as the “progress” towards individualism, personal power, and economic success have grown and been taught to be the appropriate paradigms for an optimal lifestyle. What we now have is a situation where young adults from the ages of 13-25, exist on a developmental level that is equitable to the lower levels or periphery of consciousness, simply because there is no push to form a subjective relationship based upon where they are. For anyone unaware, where the youth are, where the young adults are, where we are, is in the world of hip-hop.
Because of the introspection and extrospection that takes place within a cypher, freestyling is truly the gateway to the beyond within. Freestyling allows one to be “free” with whatever “style” that they choose to display. Within the cipher, lyricists are constantly challenged from themselves and others to remain fresh, which facilitates new thought and behavior. The ability to switch styles facilitates the exploration of different archetypes and sub personalities. If given the correct guidance, people would be given an opportunity to explore that which they witness as a part of themselves as themselves, which is the divine dynamic that exists in what is called the All, Absolute Being, Godhead, The Truth, God. This is the “mysticism” exempt from contemporary teachings of religion, the caretakers of the Ultimate Truth and Reality. There is nothing wrong with religions, they through their imagery, symbolism, mythos, proverbs, and paths teach through analogy, negation, and injunction the concept of the All. Hip-Hop music accomplishes the exact same thing only more directly. Representing the All analogically, Ken Wilber the head of the Integral Institute states,
“describes reality what it is like”. It uses positive and finite qualities that are so over powering that they can effectively hint at or point to the Absolute. These qualities are usually ones such as omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, infinite being, supreme bliss, unexcelled wisdom and love, infinite consciousness and so on. …..they are almost invariably accompanied by the imaginative type of elaboration evidenced in religious icons, paintings, crosses, mandalas, mythological imagery and narratives, etc. This analogical way is very noticeable in almost all popular forms of religion, but especially in Christianity, certain forms of Tantra, such as Vajrayana, and Hinduism.
And concerning the second way to describe reality, the negative, Wilber adds,
In Vedanta this is expressed by the phrase “neti, neti,” the Absolute is “not this, not that,” not any particular idea or thing but the “underlying reality.” Brahman (the Hindu expression of the All) is thus referred to in this context as nirguna Brahman—“nir” meaning “without”. Brahman in essence is without any describable qualities, for every quality ascribed to Brahman necessarily includes it’s opposite quality (e.g., if he is “good” he cannot be “bad”), and this places a limitation on Brahman, but the Absolute has no such limitations: it is “neti, neti,”
And to sum up the two modes of analogical and negation,
These two ways–the analogical and the negative—useful as they may be, nevertheless remain so much as gossip, as futile attempts to define or discuss reality that will “not submit to analysis or codification.” “And what will you find?” asks Zen Master Rinzai. “Nothing but words and names, however excellent. You will never reach [Reality]. Make no mistake.” The third way is therefore an invitation, in the form of set experimental rules, to discover Reality for oneself.
Hip-Hop music represents all three modes of experiencing the All. An MC’s lyrical arrangement is largely based on analogy, metaphor, and simile where the content of the song is relayed as a connection to other things, events, places, people, or modes of thought. This helps a listener associate with the MC through things that take place in their life, but in a way that is relevant enough to see the association in their own lives.
Traditionally this would take place in the form of a parable or story that assists a reader in associating morality with a current event, action, means of subsistence, or prominent figure. We experience negation in the songs which describe what is known as the “Wack Mc” which does not always but often leads to a separation between the alleged “mainstream and underground schools of thought. These songs describe other artists or their messages as being anti Hip-Hop, or against the spirit or essence of Hip-Hop music. Through the negation of the essence we begin to see what Hip-Hop is. Notable Wack Mc songs include “Wack Mc’s” by Del the Funky Homosapien, “Phony Rappers” by A Tribe Called Quest, “Partners Confused” by Kool Keith, and “The Intergalactic Rap Battle” also by Del the Funky Homosapien. The third way is what G. Spencer Brown calls injunction, which he states
…. Music is a similar art form, the composer does not even have to attempt to describe the set of sounds he has in mind, much less the set of feelings occasioned through them, but writes down a set of commands, which if they are obeyed by the reader, can result in a reproduction to the reader, of the composer’s original experience.
…. This third and injunctive way forms the core of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and can be found in the mystical aspects of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism….The Truth, insofar as it can be stated in words must always be a set of instructions on how to awaken the non-dual(diunital) mode of knowing, therein to experience Reality directly.(Wilber)
Music therefore possesses the ability to correctly demonstrate a path for those who wish to follow, faithfully and wholly, towards experiencing reality, just as much as the combination of the worlds largest religions separate or combined. This is the true power of Hip-Hop music. There are many paths described by Mc’s, all of which lie along a spectrum of consciousness which when made clear to the listener or practitioner can lead them to higher levels of development and an eventual external insperience of the All. Music awakens within individuals a familiar way to produce movement and change that is reproducible and that has guaranteed outcomes. Hip-Hop is responsible for providing people who otherwise may be silenced by the agents of influence, with an opportunity to voice their concerns about their present self and social situations, in a manner that is available to all, and producible in an infinitude of possibilities using an infinitude of sounds. This is the beauty not only of music in a general sense, but of Hip-Hop music specifically.
