On the Edge of a Dream. Michael WieseЧитать онлайн книгу.
“Wiese deftly re-creates that magical, and all too brief moment in history when Bali stood poised between her timeless past and her touristic future, with old demons and new ones coming face-to-face across the frontier of myth.”
Lome Blair
Author, Ring of Fire
“This quality of book is rare, as are the rich insights of the author. He honors the culture and people of Bali with his writings, and he honors the reader with his integrity of expression.”
Caroline Myss, M. A.
Author, Anatomy of Spirit
“Wiese writes truthfully and sensitively about Asia and Asians. Read it!”
Garuda Readings, Garuda Airline Magazine
“ON THE EDGE OF A DREAM evokes Bali as it was when it stood poised on the brink of entry into the modern era, when foreigners were still followed by crowds of cheering youngsters. Then as now Bali contained powerful magic. The gripping narrative brings to light the effects those strong forces exert on a pair of free-spirited Western adventure travelers in search of the marvellous.”
Dr. Frederik E. DeBoer
Editor of Bali Arts and Culture News
ON THE EDGE OF A DREAM
ON THE EDGE OF A DREAM
MAGIC & MADNESS IN BALI
MICHAEL WIESE
Published by Michael Wiese Productions, 11288 Ventura Blvd., Suite 821, Studio City, CA 91604 (818) 379-8799, Fax (818) 986-3408, Homepage http://www.home.earthlink.net/˜mwp
Editor: Geraldine Overton
Cover Design by Art Hotel, Los Angeles
Cover photograph by Walter Spies
Photos by Michael Wiese
Additional Photos by Geraldine Overton and Walter Spies
Illustrations by the painters of Sindu
Copyedited by Robin Quinn and Shyama Ross
Printed by Braun-Brumfield, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI
Manufactured in the United States of America
Copyright 1995 by Michael Wiese
First Printing April 1995
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this book are fictitious. No identification with actual persons, places, buildings, and products is intended nor should be inferred.
For a catalog of other books by Mr. Wiese, please write the above address.
Wiese, Michael 1947-
On the edge of a dream : magic and madness in Bali by Michael
Wiese.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-941188-19-1 : $16.95
1. Americans—Travel— Indonesia—Bali Island—Fiction. 2. Magic—Indonesia—Bali Island—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3573.I36805 1994
813’.54—dc20
94-35198
CIP
To the people of Bali who opened my eyes to a new way of being. I shall be forever grateful.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
9 Sindu Be-In
10 Temple of the West
11 Dogs of Bali
12 Trance Dance
13 Letters
14 To Make Our Demons Flow
15 Dance Fever
16 Painting Myself Into a Corner
17 Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down
18 The Children’s Club
19 It’s Taboo
20 It’s Okay, I’m With the Band
21 Invitation to Trance
22 Payback
23 Offerings
24 The Volcano
25 The Return
26 Rope Tricks
27 Klungkung
28 Escape
29 Epilogue
Glossary
Chapter 1
TIBETAN SEAMSTRESS
San Francisco 1969
It’s midnight. Full moon. I stand at the back of the Chinese theater. The flickering light from the projector is heavily filtered through sweet-smelling smoke. Shadowy figures stand against the walls. Two thousand people dream together in North Beach.
On the screen, a rugged young man traverses a difficult mountain pass carrying a sacred scroll. A Tibetan seamstress floats above and whispers ‘messages’ on which he must rely or perish.
The audience is into it. My stomach churns. So much is at stake. We’ve been showing Midnight Movies here for a year, but never our own film. Until now. I want it to last. I want it to be over. I can’t take it anymore, and go out into the lobby. Adrian follows, pacing back and forth.
Just then, the electronic music Crescendos. The audience cheers. “We did it, we did it!” he cries.
The doors into the lobby burst open. I am suddenly adrift in a sea of feathers and fur. Bottles of champagne pop. Someone pours a bottle over my long hair, dousing my tiedyed velvet suit. My friends from film school stand around and laugh. Joints are passed through the crowd.
This is a real ‘coup.’ We premiered “The Various Incarnations of a Tibetan Seamstress,” a twenty-five minute 16mm black-and-white student film, and the whole town showed up.
Most of the costumed audience has, is, or is about to partake of their hallucinogen of choice. Besides hippies and artists, the San Francisco society set is here, dressed in velvet, fringed leather and fish-net stockings,