THE TIMELESS TROUBADOUR
(from The Road Song Papers - 1999-2000)


Free download,compliments of "Future Folk" Music-Betty Curtis- Each of 3 sections must be printed out separately.


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A Road Song


Page tint to ease screen reading. Does not print.

We hope you enjoy our Tribute to the Timeless Troubadour.
and share our interest in seeing the Troubadour role continue.
We welcome your comments.

Dedication
These pages are dedicated
to those who act as representatives
of the Troubadour Archetype
on the Road Of Life.

They offer a service
to both their times, and the Timeless.
as they carry songs of Life travel,
and soul ripening,
to all areas and people.

Without their gift along the Way,
the Long Road would seem longer,
and lonelier.
This is our Tribute in appreciation.
Betty Curtis

Page One















OLD WAYFARER

In a time of trouble, he walked the land,
guitar on his arm, heart in his hand.
He sang to the people , wherever he came,
and the message was always the same.

Love one another, and help where you can.
You don't have to yield to liars and cheats,
but give a good chance to woman and man,
children, and four-legged creatures you meet.
If any betray you, walk on your way.
They have a judge 'Upstairs'.
Try to be faithful, day by day,
and remember the 'lost' in your prayers.

No-one is sure where he's wandering now.
The world is his home, and always, somehow,
wherever he is, is where he belongs.
Wherever he is, he's singing his song.

Love one another, and help where you can.
You don't have to yield to liars and cheats,
but give a good chance to woman and man,
children and four-legged creatures you meet.
If any betray you, walk on your way.
They have a judge 'Upstairs'.
Try to be faithful, day by day,
and remember the 'lost'in your prayers.


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CONTENTS




FOLIO ONE
INTRODUCTORY PAGES
Background information about"Future Folk" and the author.(8 pages-16.3K)


FOLIO TWO
TROUBADOUR THEME
The Troubadour Archetype as a time-spanning figure on the Long Road;
the value of the Role.(5 pages - 10.8K)


FOLIO THREE
SCHOLARSHIP CONCEPT
A special type Scholarship for a specific purpose.
One purpose of this booklet is to present to future Scholarship recipients
a sense of the dignity, value, and importance of their Role.( 6 pages - 11.4K)


"Future Folk" Music
The Future Is Our Movable Frontier



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FOLIO ONE



WHAT IS MEANT BY "FUTURE FOLK" ?

"Future Folk" is just a term of convenience,used to suggest an attitude. It is the attitude of foward and onward,which is characteristic of people who have faith that life is pro-progress, with Purpose and Meaning, whatever the circumstances or events.

These are people who do not choose to live a life of'being-happened-to',as passive victims of circumstance. They do not choose to be negatively destructive. They choose to be creative agents for the Future,and conscious participants in their own Spiritual growth.Such choices do not guarantee an easy life, but they do bring Purpose and Meaning to their direction.

These people believe in a Higher Guardian Presence which is a structuring Source of Guidance in Life-Purpose and Experience.Their concept of the relationship is'vertical partnership', an interactive form of mutual exchange, which they work to apply in everyday activity,with increasing understanding. They sense this Presence as both pervasive and immanent.Though the 'name' for this Presence may vary, the concept is based in an Inclusive Intelligence of a Godly Nature.

They conceive of experience as a Road to their Goal of Spiritual Maturity. They embark on that Road as dedicated individuals, sharing a group affiliation based on similarity of values and motives.They do not regard themselves as having 'arrived', but are aware that they are on their Way. They are at times referred to as Wayfarers.

"Future Folk" Music, is simply a musical movement to give expression to experiences along the Way, offered in a form expressive of these basic attitudes. This is the attitude of the true Troubadour Archetype throughout time. It is a voice of both current times of passage, and the Timeless.

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ESSENTIALIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY

This is not entered as an ego thing. It's only that I know it is natural to want to know something about the person putting out what you're reading. This will be the essence of a biography, but I'm sure it will be understood by any Wayfarer.

When I was very young, I was painfully shy. Didn't know where I fit, or IF I fit. I felt 'useless'. Then,I learned to wear the facade, dress in the clothes of the day,drink beer to blur sharp corners. By doing a lot of things that never felt quite right, I seemed to fit in. I felt 'useful'.Time and miles passed. I got more and more in a submerged and confused state. Less in touch with the 'true' me. The facade was ossifying. I felt 'used'.The trip on the slide went on. I wasn't even sure how I got there. Then, one day, I felt 'used-up'.

After much soul-searching, and priority-sorting, I got back in touch with the Seed-Self, and found a wavering hook-up to Upstairs. I felt 'useful' again.But it was different than before. There were traumas to heal, errors to mend, and letting-go to do. After a while the whole harvest of experience distilled into empathy. That is the only 'legacy' I have to offer. It is in these "Songs For The Long Road" lyrics.

I haven't left out the troubles. I don't pretend that the answers to all Life's problems are in them. But one thing IS in them - a real fellowship feeling for Wayfarers. I've tried to show that none of us are really alone. That doesn't mean we won't 'feel alone' sometimes. I believe that any trouble we can sing about loses much of its power to intimidate, and any good times we share in our music, increases good times for all. It's a Journey of human fellowship, and we are moving down that Long Road, even when it seems like we aren't. Someday, we may even discover that some of our greatest soul-treasures were won in the times we thought were not-so-good.

I told you this would be a brief auto-bio, but it does cover a lot really. I certainly don't think it's a unique bio ! I think many travelers on the Long Road will think it sounds like the story of their life. We have lots of company ! Which makes for a very seasoned crew !

Good Passage, fellow Wayfarer !
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TROUBADOUR ROLE

I'm writing about something I believe is an important issue. It isn't a good 'campaign' issue, because most people don't recognize its true value and importance. Yet, failing to see the relationship of Music to the social climate, is to miss a very valuable aid to help people better assimilate their experiences. In these times of swift and major changes, which effect lifestyle of people on a Global scale, Music can be a great cohesive. It offers a fellowship that can be there even in the hardest of times. This is especially true of Folk and Country, the basic, simple, heart and soul genres.

These forms are not afraid to address the very real human uncertainties we feel inwardly, for which the high performance demand of current standards does not encourage a thoughtful form of expression. It's called corn, usually in a tone of ridicule. Yet,despite the scorn of more sophisticated mind-sets, these are among the fastest growth genre. This should suggest something to those observant and interested. No-one feels like being cheerleader all the time, and being louder,wilder, or more bizarre, does not really offer a healing expression.

For these reasons, I believe the Troubadour Archetype must be a continuing figure on the Long Road. This is why the concept of a Troubadour Scholarship is so important to me. I truly believe the self-sustaining Scholarship Concept to which I refer is a wave of the future. You will read more about this in the latter pages of these papers, as we offer the idea freely to any person,group,or facility which will adapt it to their needs. There would be a need for initial funding, until it grows to the self-sustaining stage - just like with all kids ! But, handled as basically outlined, it could become self-sustaining in time.

It seems apparent that more and more government and corporate funding will go to Science and Technology fields. Now is the time when those with successful careers in the Arts must set up Facilities to ensure continuance of those in their field who come after them. Most Music Scholarships offered lean to Classical or Jazz. Nothing wrong with that, but I feel the Troubadour Archetype is a very important, stabilizing influence, offering a sense of human continuity much needed during times of major change. It is too often under-rated and neglected in the educational fields. We need to see that provision is made for its future continuance.

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FOLK MUSIC AND THE AQUARIAN AGE


The purpose of these notes is to suggest the very special place Folk Music will have in the near future. You may have thought that Folk Music belonged to the past, certainly not at the frontier of the Aquarian Age. On the contrary ! It's role may not be as obvious as some more forceful forms, but its role is like the steady beat of a healthy heart, maintaining health to the whole body.

As often stated in these papers, the Troubadour Archetype is that of the singing traveler/musician on the 'Long Road': the Cycle. Accepting the fact that Life moves by constant change is an essential for a healthy psyche. The mature soul knows they own nothing material in a permanent sense. However, most also believe that, as Spiritual Beings, they have Life which pervades and passes beyond limited evidence of the physical form.

Music, Art,and Spiritual messengers of many sorts, are companions beyond time, IF they are based in a sense of pervasive Spirit. If they are based on a limited, specialized form, they add to feelings of sorrow and emptiness, because we cannot forever hold form. We must learn to accept and understand the seasons and tides of Life-Flow, and the purposes of health and progress, which act through circulation, rather than stagnation.

Folk Music, and the wandering Troubadour, in true Spiritual function, help us grow familiar with, and feel at-home in, the Life-Flow. They gather us into a fellowship of movement, which is beyond the need for one place, or one time, to confirm our Identity and Being. Such awareness will become increasingly essential for healthy adjustment to the message of the Aquarian Age. Our present world concepts are so focused on the material world as the only 'reality', that we are blinded to the flowing Spirit of Life, which is the Source Reality. We must learn identification with Life as Spirit, moving down the Road of ever-constant Change and Renewal.

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This is not easy to do in our times. We are on the frontier of new consciousness extention, and adjustments are all a part of it. Much of our present environment is in knots of specialized mind-sets, standardized forms, and non-defined long term Purpose. Folk Music, and the wandering Comforter, the Troubadour, can help us get back into the stream of Spiritual Flow. This does not mean an aimless surrender, it means working toward a 'conscious participation' - day by day.

There are other mid-wives of fourth-dimensional consciousness on the threshold. Some are very likely to be abused and mis-used for a while, becoming toys and addictions to escape. However, those who seek a Spiritual Awareness in steady attentiveness, will find a course of wise and steady progress. They will have aid when needed, but not intrusion.

'Virtual-Reality', Holograms, Holographs, Internet expanse, inter-active T V - all may indeed dislodge us from many static concepts. If we are not watchful, they may also replace them with just another set of static-concepts ! They will play a part in shaping a new type of consciousness (at least 'new' to us !). However, they may not offer a replacement of 'stability-in-motion' , such as old companions like Troubadours and Folk Music can offer in a root-deep human fellowship sense. The confusions apt to arise when many become exposed to the nebulous aspects of dimensional merging, may prompt many to seek a return to basics for a period.

One need not feel they are retreating, or retrogressing, if they follow the urge to tap their roots, touch their center, and slow down to take time for reflection as to where they are headed. Actually, such a process will result in a much more functionally stable transformation, than just rising into strange airs like a balloon carried away in unknown strata.

For those who seek such an assimilative pause, Folk Music could sing the songs that reflect their choice, as bugle and drum to accompany the march along the Long Road.

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Folio Two