On this dark and rainy afternoon I have been re-reading a book published in 2020 called Sense of Wonder, Encountering Van Morrison by Bart Hendriks. The book came to be written because of Bart having a chance meeting with Van Morrison in a Belfast coffee shop in 2014. They discussed life, philosophy, and their work, which led to Van inviting Bart to lunch when he was in Rotterdam in 2017. I think Bart must have impressed Van because he didn’t talk as a ‘fan’ speaking to a ‘music star’, but as a person speaking to an equal on subjects of mutual interest. Van gave his permission and encouragement to Bart to publish an essay of his ideas if it wasn’t sold for financial gain. Subsequently, only production, packaging and shipping costs were charged for this very attractive hardback book. The picture on the front cover is from a painting by Lisbeth Sorensen. To my knowledge it is only the second book published about the work of Van Morrison that had his co-operation and approval. The previous book was Into the Music by Ritchie Yorke in 1975.
I think a possible reason Bart and Van got on so well is because of their mutual interest in the healing power of music. Bart is a psychotherapist /contextual therapist and is influenced by the work of Martin Buber (1878-1965) who was an Austrian, Jewish, and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centred on the distinction between the I–Thou relationship and the I–It relationship. To me that means two people having a dialogue not as subject and object, but as two equals. Another person who has influenced Bart in his work is Ivan Boszormewyi-Nagy (1920-2007) a Hungarian American psychiatrist and one of the founders of the field of family therapy. I had to learn some new words and phrases reading Bart’s book, such as phenomenological stance and hermeneutical encounter, but I think I managed to understand it, just about.
Although I hadn’t heard of some of the people he quotes in the book, I found that lots of the ideas expressed were in line with other people I have read in recent years such as Jiddu Krishnamurti, Eckhart Tolle, Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Bart discusses songs by Van which he has found helpful in the therapy of his clients, such as Sense of Wonder, Enlightenment, Take Me Back, The Healing Game, That’s Entrainment, On Hyndford Street, and many others. One theme that re-occurs in Van’s music is the idea of the eternal now. It’s always being now, as Van has often said. I have learned that by reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I think that Van understands that Now is the only time that exists, and by living in the present moment without the burden of the past or future is a very healing thing. There is a quote in the book by Socrates, ‘Wonder is the beginning of wisdom’ which ties in nicely with A Sense of Wonder as Van knows. He sang, ‘You may call my love Sophia, but I call my love philosophy, Didn't I come to bring you a sense of wonder, Didn't I come to lift your fiery vision, Didn't I come to bring you a sense of wonder in the flame’. Sophia was the Greek goddess of wisdom, which is where the word philosophy comes from.
Van’s lyrics are littered with childhood memories, that is because children live in the eternal present and have a sense of wonder about all they encounter, as seen in such songs as Song of Being a Child. Adults tend to lose that as they grow up. They can be childish which isn’t good, but can re-capture the joy of being child-like with the proper attitude. By listening to Van’s songs, you learn about him, but you also learn about yourself. His descriptions of child-like visions can also trigger memories and emotions in the mind of the listener. That is why Van is reluctant to discuss the meanings of his songs because he knows that the listeners will interpret them in many different ways, which is fine by him. I have enjoyed reading this book again today. A lot of books about Van Morrison that I have read have been very disappointing, but this book by Bart Hendriks isn’t another biography. It written by somebody who understands the healing power of Van’s music. That is what is important, and is what he wanted to write about. Well done.
