Author: Eden Bloom

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The 3rd Day on Gratitude

Moving back into everyday life.
Normalization, if that is what this is.
Re-indoctrination is more like it.

On the 3rd day it became a challenge to find my way to the page here. I write in my handwritten journal everyday, but that is for a different purpose than the words here. That writing counts immensely, but it does not count for this project.

As part of this project I’ve been meditating on gratitude. Specifically over the last day, I’ve been thinking about how a stance of gratitude can be used to gloss over issues and carry forward selfishly without concern for others. Thank you can be weirded as a machete to cut through any resistance.

There is a deeper gratitude, one that also exudes care and concern. It is a place I want to be able to go with more people, but its so beyond transactional, it seems a major shift. At least that’s how it is for me.

This post really captures that live journal feel I was going for here. LOL.

 

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My Post Social Media Existence

Today, I successfully removed Facebook, Instagram and Twitter from my phone. Deactivating and deleting my accounts. I’ll maintain the EL Facebook page for a while as that seems to be where I am connected to those I am most interested in sharing with.

It is interesting to be reduced to one channel for communication. As noted, this is part of my motion toward my immediate and intentional communications and relationship building.

Social media has created a false surrogate for community and based upon my history of personal loss I have to admit that I fell for it and into it. While many of my old friends are connected through these platforms I am looking forward to seeing how many of them I can connect with in real life.

There is an aspect of passive vs active attention at play in my decision as well. Social media “friendship” can be a very passive act, a like or a comment on an algorithm fronted post and we are connected.

I’m more interested in sharing with those of like mind who seek myself and others out based upon the work and themes rather than an AI generated audience who may or may not vibe.

 

 

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2023 New Year’s Day Missive

All our best to you and yours in the coming year. While I deplore the Gregorian calendar, I do thoroughly enjoy numeric correspondence, recognize synchronicity and embrace emergent opportunities for transformation. There’s a huge shift between 22 and 23 and there are worse devices to hitch our dreams upon these days.

This year our recognition of the solstice expanded to include our family joining a vision boarding session with Lottie Spady hosted by Earthseed Detroit and Healing By Choice. This awesome virtual workshop challenged us to do a ‘free write’ as part of our process. This 2023 Missive is a formalized expansion on the workshop free write. Thank you so much to Lottie for providing this space. 

2023 New Year’s Day Missive

Write Daily – My intention is for this New Year’s Day missive to be the first of disciplined daily output throughout 2023 and beyond. I feel as though my retreat from the fray to raise up these kids is coming to a close. It is time once again to reconsolidate and more adequately integrate my creative and artistic pursuits, my identity, with my day to day existence. I do not know the form that this expression will take, though I’m going for a level of exposition above and beyond social media.

Bail on Social Media – My intention is that this will be one of the last messages posted to social media in 2023. I will attempt to maintain Eschaton Life’s presence here as this is my sole connectio to some people and projects I hold dear. I have ceaselessly threatened to leave these platforms for years. The pulleys of my mental well-being have become too intertwined with those of algorithms and apps. After failed efforts to balance or manage theme their removal now seems the path of least resistance. This extraction will support the requisite realignment of priorities.

Get Our House in Order – Taking back the time and emotional energy that these platforms vamp, I intend to establish new connections and address foundational issues I have perpetuated on the mundane plane. The last 13 years have been about basic survival. The resources we have slowly accumulated while struggling to get out from under poverty have been pieced together haphazardly. They need to be reworked to be compatible with dominant systems if we are going to make it out of survival mode.

Family First – To survive without overtly endorsing the occupation of Detroit I monetized my talents to support deep community organizing. While this work matters to me and has impacted perceptions of power through some circles of influence, my personal power and relationships have been left behind. I intend to reprioritize what I expend my energy upon. My kids and partner need me more than I anticipated they would at this stage, and that is OK.  I believe that we can provide what they need to eventually live their lives on their own terms.

For the Old Gods – Part of meeting those needs will be actually working to live my life on my own terms. While that is extremely easy for me to surf community as a CISWHT guy, I have experienced difficultly as a heathen.  I struggle to bring myself and my relationship with the divine into the public sphere. If one of the reasons I strive toward liberation for all beings is my own unique manifestation and I have struggle so hard to keep that identity, I intend to and must represent that identity in community. 

In 2023, I intend to refocus to write daily, bail on social media, work on foundations, put family first, foster new relationships, and advocate for the divine as I experience it in the communities I share in. 

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Bandcamp Friday – Lost Planet

Eden Bloom – Lost Planet I don’t know where I’m going I can’t remember where I’ve been I landed here on this planet And I’ve just been trying to fit in I sit with every sunset Chart the stars and draw the maps Light the fires on nights I think are special I keep on calling… And I wake with every sunrise Try to put it together best I can I do it for the people I’ve fallen in with here It was lonely so I’ve taken up with them. And I don’t know where we’re going Hate and greed may bring it to an end. My soul was brought down on this lost planet. Now our children carry the star with them. So I wake with every sunrise Try to listen to the spirits, the people and the land. I light the fires on the nights I think are special. While we spin I keep on calling…
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Symbols and Spells Fall 2022

Welcome to the first full edition of Symbols and Spells. This has been a long time coming and now that it is here I am not sure what to say. I should start at the beginning I suppose. This year I changed my name to Eden Bloom. There are numerous reason for the change but here I’ll highlight the positive. What’s in a name.

Our family is well. We continue to work (slowly) on the house and the half acre of land that we are attempting to keep up. The biggest news is our new roof. Now that we are no longer dealing with water damage we can begin restoration of the “other” side of our house. We are also actively seeking investors to support this work and the creation of a space that we can share with our community.

I’ve been playing guitar quite regularly, almost every day. While I managed to eek out Lost Planet earlier in the year, I’ve been challenged to find my way to writing new material. I’ve started working on a project I’m calling Golden Age, which is basically a covers project. I’ve been posting them frequently to YouTube.

Before Stranger Things brought Kate Bush back into the charts I started working on a cover of her seminal nuclear protest track Breathing. Breaking from the simple live recordings I’ve been making in the dining room I attempted to multitrack this one. I also began working with lyrics that reflected our current struggle for clean air here in Detroit. If it were vinyl I’d release Breathing Stellantis as a b-side.

Earlier this year I self-published Eschaton Life. Supporters copies are still available and you can download a digital version.

In Respect and Gratitude,

Eden Bloom

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A Reintroduction

Welcome to Eschaton Life. While the meaning of the name may be available to some, I will always express that this is not an endorsement of any fascistic or dogmatic movement, but rather an expression of creative resistance to systems of ‘control’ operating in what many perceive as the end times. In short, living in or through the eschaton.

Eschaton Life is an  attempt to catalog Eden Bloom’s work and archives. On the Spring Equinox of 2021 my family and I began the process of changing my and our name. By default, I’ve lived with my father’s name for 50 years. While I have always dreamed about the change I’ve never been stable enough to make it happen.  Eden, rather than biblical, stems from my engagement with the Temple of Psychic Youth in the 80s and 90s and Bloom was the moniker used to signify my spiritual/creative efforts since that time. 

My internal reasoning for the existence of Eschaton Life is to document my ‘stuff’ for my family in a way that  make sense. My experiences with what I’ll call here ‘the divine’ have rarely been mediated by easily ciphered knowledge and practice. While there are certainly influences, patterns and systems that resonate throughout, translation, as always, remains a problem.  This is an attempt to organize the threads that have mattered.

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Song Study: Lady Rachel – Kevin Ayers

Lady Rachel by Kevin Ayers

From all music.com

One of the undisputed masterpieces in Kevin Ayers’ catalog, “Lady Rachel (Lullabye For Children)” was first sighted on his solo debut album, 1969’s Joy Of A Toy. A vaguely supernaturally-themed ballad, alive with fantasy elements and whispered dream sequences, “Lady Rachel” was powered by treated guitars, a quavering horn, and a wealth of muted sound effects that certainly bespoke the accompanying Soft Machine’s musical dexterity, but detracted somewhat from the majesty lurking within the song itself. The album itself was recorded in just three days, with the bare minimum of overdubs, and “Lady Rachel” unquestionably suffered from the experience.

That injustice was rectified two years later when Ayers, now accompanied by his Whole Wide World band, returned to “Lady Rachel” for a projected single. The release was eventually cancelled and the session remained unreleased until 1976’s Odd Ditties compilation. However, it was worth waiting for. Considerably slower than the original LP version, the song was built now around boiling horns, while a female backing chorus soared hauntingly behind the chorus to further color the mystic lyric. This same arrangement also fires the punchy 1972 live version found on the BBC collection Too Old To Die Young. Ayers also turned in an effectively skeletal solo acoustic rendition on a BBC studio session in July 1974.

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Golden Age – A Healing Project

23 Ever Changing Covers: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIybaZSX3lSEIJF-IBwllYRxBnm8upK2

If you’re looking for something that was here check All Covers – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIybaZSX3lRElLNKiZiZfezt_W0ykZ5k

The majority of these covers were recorded live with my iPhone 13 Pro in our dining room in Detroit. The kids can often be heard in the background. Many songs are filled with flaws, fumbles and misremembered lyrics. I typically use too much reverb on the vocal mic and record hot due to my hearing issues. These are intentionally extremely unpolished sketches. Some of my rearrangements are intentional, some of them due to the limits of my own ability. I don’t own the rights to lyrics or music.

These sketches are part of an ongoing healing process. I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I kicked alcohol in the spring of 2017. A great deal of my life has been metal and emotional detox since then. Removing alcohol from my daily routine has brought an understanding of how booze was intertwined in all my relationships. Drinking had also become integral to my connection to music as it was key to the connection with and adoration of my muse(s).  Suffice to say, creativity without alcohol has been fleeting at best. I’ve struggled with the transformation and with attempts to write new material without reaching toward inebriation.

These tracks are part of a healing process and an attempt to rewire some of my internal connections; to establish relationships, sometimes for the first time, that are not fueled by or based upon alcohol.

  • Some of these songs are from my childhood and somehow connected to my interest in altered states.
  • Some of these songs, and the challenges and emotions they extoll, have transfixed me since I first heard them.
  • Some of these songs have perplexed me. All of them have challenged my technical ability, coordination and focus. 

For the past five years, being unable to write anything new without unleashing demons, I have turned to these songs as gestures toward laying a foundation. To connect my fingers to the strings without lubrication, to find my way back to worship at the temple of my muse(s) without wine.

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Dreamachine Homage

Robotnik TV In association with The World Network System The Hafler Trio The Archives of the Temple of Psychic Youth The Halfer Trio and The Temple of Psychic Youth present Brion Gysin’s Dreamachine

October 23, 1991 – From the TOPY IO Archives. Pulled this for the full view of the Dreamachine I built In 1990. The majority of the DIY dreamachines dropped a hanging bulb from the top. I figured out how to wire through the center of the turntable base. This made it possible to move around independently. More coming.

Shot on 8mm video with analog effects. THERE IS NO AUDIO! Based on the design by Brian Gysin as distributed by the Temple of Psychic Youth. This was a cabinet on rollers and I wired the bulb from the center of the record player. It was an awesome design and we didn’t have to drop a bulb from the ceiling. More footage coming. @Eschaton Life

November 29, 1991 – I loaded up the dreamachine and joined with Coyotes and Kalis from across the country for an amazing night, and weekend, of ritual. More footage coming soon. If you were involved in this gathering please get in touch.

From 8mm video recorded in 1990.

well, I woke up this morning
had a dream last night it was really bizarre
woke up this morning and I went searching for something
I went searching for TVs

This TV became central to my ritual work.

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Oversight Committee Testimony

August 25, 2022
Eden Bloom, Testimony
Oversight Committee’s Environment Subcommittee Congressional Field Hearing, Detroit

Good morning. I would like to thank the Environmental Subcommittee for this opportunity. I would also like to recognize the environmental justice neighborhoods throughout the city of Detroit. My name is Eden Bloom. My family and I live in the impact area of the Stellantis Detroit Assembly Complex. I also serve as the Public Education and Media Manager for Detroit People’s Platform. DPP is a Black woman-led org that has been active since 2013. Part of my work is organizing for better outcomes for Detroiters impacted by large public funded projects like Stellantis.

Last year, our oldest who is in middle school, wrote Governor Gretchen Whitmer about living near a paint plant. In the letter he asks; “have you ever smelt paint fumes? Have you been outside for too long that you can’t breathe? Do you know what it is to suffer? Well, the Beniteau residents do. The FCA plant creates Jeeps. It’s a big plant and people are suffering, especially on the streets closest to the plant.”

As a parent, when it was announced that we’d be living near a paint plant my initial thoughts were what it would mean for our 3 kids: for their development and life expectancy. An article from Planet Detroit answered some of my concerns. It reads, “Residents in the neighborhoods around Stellantis suffer a high number of serious asthma cases, and some suspect the high pollution levels are linked to a life expectancy of 67.8 years, which is among the state’s lowest. Residents 20 miles north are expected to live nearly 87 years.” The article goes on to share that those born in Oakland County on average live nearly 10 years longer than Detroiters. Source:

I think about what that means for my family constantly, but I’m also horrified for our neighbors who live right up on the plant. Our neighborhood is 94% Black and I’m concerned about those who have more formidable health issues and, due to the extreme poverty prevalent in Detroit, have less resources to try and manage or mitigate their exposure.

I have attended every public hearing and one of the most frustrating and counter intuitive aspects of this process has been EGLE’s compartmentalization the project from the people. After the first few public hearings it became apparent that EGLE couldn’t hear us. EGLE’s website reads, “Some issues EGLE cannot consider include popularity of the action, emission sources that are not part of the action, indoor air pollution, traffic, hours of operation, noises and lighting, and zoning issues.” How is it possible for our state regulators to protect frontline communities they can’t see or hear? The parameters they have established to make their decisions also become a justification for their abuse.

They can’t consider that in the U.S., Black children suffer disproportionately from asthma, and are seven to eight times more likely to die of asthma than white children. The fact that communities of color face nearly 40% more exposure to toxic air pollution than white communities is not just lost on EGLE, it can’t be heard. I wonder what would have happened if EGLE would have listened to concerns raised in their hearings. Would they have looked more closely at the ventilation plans? Maybe these air quality violations would have been averted.

In addition to these health issues and the injustice baked into the permitting process, it is vital that we recognize the Stellantis Detroit Assembly Complex as a public funded project. It is unconscionable that Stellantis, the fifth-largest automaker in the world with a reported net profit of $8 billion in the first half of this year, has accessed nearly half a billion dollars in local and state tax incentives, abatements and tax capture AND is having a detrimental impact on residents. The project will capture $93 million in local and school taxes generated at the site over the next 30 years. The economic impact of the project on our tax revenue is long term.

Source: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/economic-development/tax-incentives-fca-plants-southeast-michigan-may-top-400-million

This extensive use of Brownfield TIFs in the Stellantis project is reflected in economic development projects across the city. This appears productive in a post-industrial city, but Brownfield-funded redevelopment, while cleaning up the site for developers can create new environmental and health risks, new frontline communities and subsequently the displacement of long-term Black and Brown residents. Neighbors are made to live through increased truck traffic, diesel emissions, fugitive dust and potential damage from construction. Depending on the use of the facility, these issues can be long term.

One final note on Stellantis’ and other manufacturers shift toward the production of electric vehicles (EV). While the Inflation Reduction Act strives to address environmental and climate concerns, based upon residents’ experience here on the east side, there needs to be more intentionality. Alternatives to aspects of production that contribute to climate change, like the paint process, must be implemented. There is also concern over the raw materials required for EV battery manufacturing and the storage and disposal of waste. Without intentionally the opportunities of the Inflation Reduction Act could replicate rather than reduce frontline communities.

To conclude, in addition to this increased pollution Detroiters are living through extreme weather and flooding due to climate change. It is disturbing that funds and resources that could be budgeted toward infrastructure repair and improvements have been used to finance a project that is hurting everyday Detroiters. Decision makers approved this project based upon economic promises and flawed engineering models rather than health, economic and climate reality of Detroiters who are now being made to live in and through violation after violation.

Thank you for your time, your consideration, and your efforts to address the injustices presented and discussed here today.

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