Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
Religious Music and Entertainment
Miracles Are Only Temporary

Miracles Are Only Temporary

Last updated on: March 11, 2026 at 12:53 am by Tom Swiss

0 Comments

Miracles Are Only Temporary 2026-03-11T00:53:49-04:00 Tom Swiss

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

On April 20, 2012, my life intersected with the life of musician and spiritual explorer Ian Hesford in a very strange way. I found myself trying to breathe life back into him after he collapsed and literally died on stage, a sudden cardiac arrest during a show with the band he helped found, Telesma.

For almost 14 years, I got to joke that “yes, Ian died on stage, but he got better.” I’ve written before about the moment and the train of synchronicities that led me to be there, to be part of a medical miracle; his survival after over an hour and a half without a pulse; and his return to a vigorous and healthy life. On bad sleepless nights, when I lay awake at 5am wondering if my life had significance, I could think of my role in his resurrection, and all the lives he touched through music, and reassure myself that it all “meant” something.

Without a doubt, the biggest grin that’s ever been photographed on my face was when I encountered Ian out and about at the Sowebo Festival a few weeks after his death and comeback.

Tom and Ian at the Sowebohemian Festival 2012. Photo by Theresa Keil.

But it was only a temporary reprieve. On February 13th, Ian suffered a second and final sudden cardiac arrest. (Friday the 13th, and the day before Valentine’s Day…even at the end he was living the irony, the synchronicity, the symbolism.)

Even miracles, it turns out, are only temporary.

It’s tempting to get angry about that, to shake a fist at the sky and demand an answer from the universe about how it can give us something wonderful and then take it away.

My friends, don’t let that temptation lead you into forgetting that you had something wonderful.

In 2014, the local online magazine What Weekly asked me to write a piece on Telesma for the band’s 10th anniversary, with photos by Philip Edward Laubner. I hadn’t thought about the piece in a while; What Weekly concluded its run and went off the web, and the band had gone on indefinite hiatus.

But the Internet Archive remembers, and I’ve re-discovered it. It’s reminded me of the community connections, the web of threads that wove Ian and I together before we even met. Because the story of Telesma is wrapped up in the story of the Starwood Festival.

Ian was inspired by his experiences at Starwood 2002, his first week-long festival. 2002 wasn’t my first time at Starwood, but it was my first year on the speaker’s roster. (I’ll be back this July.)

It’s probable that during that week I heard his didge from across the field, or danced around the fire to his drumming. Maybe he heard me chanting. Some connection in the sea of magick that is Starwood, almost a decade before that strange and fateful night when I was breathing for both of us for a few minutes.

Re-reading that What Weekly article, I rediscovered a metaphor I’d forgotten: “Hesford came out of the hospital with an implanted cardiac defibrillator. And maybe that’s a great image for what Telesma is all about: the most primal human rhythm backed by the creative and nurturing potentials of technology.”

Tech seemed more hopeful then, enshittification wasn’t yet the rule. But I want to keep that image in my mojo bag, next to Brautigan’s line about “machines of loving grace”, as a positive potential.

Ian has gone before us into the unknown, the undiscovered county. In my idiosyncratic reckoning that makes him an ancestor, and I’ll be enshrining him on my altar this Friday (another 13th).

New Visions

Religious Music and Entertainment

Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart

Because I Could Not Stop For Death

My Blogging Life and Times

Ian Hesford

Starwood

Telesma

Previous Post

February 4, 2026

Thank You, Ms. G.

Next Post

August 5, 2026 Starwood 2026 -- This Is Not A Review

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"taking on the role of the mailman in several games of postal chessOK, I gotta ..."

lowtechcyclist

Chess Grifters, Chinese Rooms, and AI

"Welcome back! Looking forward to new posts from you. I like the idea of an ..."

Laurie

Partnering Up in 2026

"What's the attendance at Starwood these days?"

Penny Moulder

For Best Magical Resilts, Set Your ..."

"1. It wasn't a metaphor. To suggest otherwise is blatant dishonesty; and seems to be ..."

Encrypted Dude

Deconstructing the Bears Vs. Men Memeplex

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2017 52 Makeup 2020 52 Makeup Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart Art Because I Could Not Stop For Death Caught On Video COVID-19 Culture Discordianism Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living History Magic(k), Ritual, and Mysticism My Blogging Life and Times Philosophy Podcast Poetry Random Wednesdays Religion & Politics Seasonal Musings Techno-Pagan Theology Uncategorized Warrior Path Zen

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 June 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the king who arranged for Hezekiah's scribes to compile additional Proverbs?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hezekiah Jeroboam Ahab Solomon