Encounters with the Cosmic Messenger: Collected Essays about Seeking, Finding and Embracing Wisdom

(Paperback)

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"Encounters with the Cosmic Messenger" is a collection of essays by guitarist/composer/author Michael DeLalla, culled from his journals and tour blog that document a musician's life immersed in creativity and his never-ending search for Beauty, Insight and Wisdom. Michael's travels include all 50 United States (with performances in 44 of them), as well Canada and Europe. Throughout these travels, Michael endeavors to immerse himself in whatever place he happens to land by walking or biking around, never wasting an opportunity to chat up a local.
The 28 essays that comprise "Encounters with the Cosmic Messenger" are divided into three sections: 'The Mysterious Wisdom of Strangers,' 'The Road Speaks Fluent Wisdom,' and finally, 'Seeking Beauty, Finding Insight, Sparking Wisdom.' Along the way, the reader will meet fascinating people, including a tennis-racquet wielding monk, a 103-year-old mentor, the villagers of a small French village who are arguing at lunchtime and romancing by mid-afternoon, a 'wine-whisperer' who knows how the land can inform a vintage, and countless meetups with nameless strangers that have touched Michael over the years and fostered his own unflagging optimistic quest for insight to the human condition.

Author Bio

Throughout a career spanning decades, Guitarist/Composer/Author Michael DeLalla has been writing, recording and performing music that draws on traditions gathered worldwide, tempered with his classical training and seasoned with his jazz, and folk influences. He tours regularly, having performed across the US, as well as in Canada and Europe. He has composed music for both film and dance. His discography includes several recordings of solo guitar compositions, as well as his work with the seminal world chamber ensemble Oxymora and his Celtic trio The Unfortunate Rakes. He has appeared as a guest artist on more than 40 recordings. He conducts workshops across the country based on his first book The Mindful Guitarist, guiding readers and participants through artistic principles we all can employ to create a cohesion and connectedness in all our daily endeavors. He also teaches music and humanities classes at Front Range Community College in Colorado, and private lessons both in-person and virtually.
Michael and his wife Elaine C. Erb currently live, bike and cook good food in Niwot, CO.