The Central Line is a lot like the “force” in Star Wars. It’s an energy, a vibrant presence that you can find in any room where two or more are gathered. Although it may sound a bit dogmatic, this idea is less concerned with religion and more concerned with collaboration, especially within the confines of creativity.

Now, the Harvard Lectures by Bernstein are absolutely what drew me to this idea, but similar to my misquoting of Yoda in the Empire Strikes Back, I took something Bernstein said and ran wit it in a different direction. You see, when Bernstein refers to the “central line” in these lectures, he was simply talking about the central figures in music, the most important line in the music, like a motif or a melody. The conductor, the musicians in the orchestra, they serve the central line at any given time in a piece of music. The neurons in my brain formed and accepted this connection, but the scope of the idea was enlarged, as well, almost simultaneously. What if the central line is present in any situation where collaboration is concerned?  

Like a photograph of the sky meeting the sea, the Central Line lies in the middle of a dichotomy. It is also a slightly more metaphysical version of “the best idea in the room wins”. It begins with the natural order of things: the light in the room, the temperature of the air, registering every inch of yourself, sending every inch of yourself its own bodily electricity, the gravity keeping your feet on the ground, the Earth is the third planet from the sun, our solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy, and so on and so forth. It really is electric.

Next is a journey inward. Every experience you’ve ever had, every skill you’ve ever learned, perfected, every incredible thought you’ve ever had, made available to you right here, now.

And then?

Gently dismiss it all. Simply be present, hopefully with a grin of opportunity. Let the ideas rip. By acknowledging all that you are and everything around you, you create a space for your ego to operate without the impulse for attention. The impulse is to serve. Not the Central Line, mind you. The Central Line only requires acknowledgment. Serve the others in the room (ideas included). Serve this good earth. Serve the cosmos. All the while serving yourself because your ideas (whether utilized or not) are emanating from you.

Dichotomies and paradoxes await.