No. 136

When we hear a singer and want to be able to sing like that singer, it is not only we who are recognizing the desire to sing, but our Voice which, upon seeing its mirror image, jumps with joy in recognition of its own beauty.  It is our choice whether to persevere and follow the path which the Voice then takes us on toward its own version of freedom, its own expression through our lives, or not.  What we are really experiencing is a collective Voice, a collective Love which travels the depths of all humankind until it finds the ones who will express It.  When we identify with a singer, it is because they have also been touched by this collective Voice, this collective Love.  They may be a little further in allowing it in their lives than we.  But what of it?  At least we can see, we can hear, and we can experience that Love, which has always been ours, even before we knew we could hear it.  

Alan Watts - Infinite Possibilities

Alan Watts: A Conversation with Myself - Part 1

The Unsettling Truth About Life

Alan Watts - "I"

No. 135: Walking Amongst Words

Water-drop me, unsuspecting,

into a world of clarity

where all the stories of our humanity

hit fertile Earth, honoring gravity,

and in their falling, vibrate Love

made of the dew of dreams,

which, set to vaporous music,

rouse me from sleep, it seems,

into a world where all is wonder

and words are what we eat

with music as our canopy, 

music, the forest floor at our feet.

The trees, the loving arms of God

which catch our stories to tell, 

stretch from their roots,

bridge Earth and sky,

and make both heaven and hell

the playground where all nourishment

comes from who we are

and fear and tears are stories

bright as any star.

Chocolate, Cheese, Meat, and Sugar -- Physically Addictive

An interesting talk about how food affects our existence! Lean, Mean, Singing Machines, here we come!!!

Quote of the Day 16

“Spiritual self-confidence fills one’s heart with a love that is not dependent on external circumstances for its fullness. It’s a love that is unshakable, unmoving, and indestructible. Such love – a love that transcends yet simultaneously embraces the world – is what compels human beings to evolve, from their own deepest depths, and to become better citizens of our world and our cosmos. Knowing the mysterious source of that love is knowing before thought that life is good. That inherent goodness is who we really are.”

– Andrew Cohen

No. 134

The untrained voice is the only weapon which is more dangerous before it is fully forged!  How are we preparing ourselves for the nicks and cuts, the 'lost limbs' which come along in this search for completion? We must believe in health and wholeness, and the Path thereto, to such a degree that one day we wake up and we know our weapon has become our friend, our Excalibur, our companion, made just for us, on a journey of Light, of Truth, and of the kind of Love which welds mind to heart and body to soul.  We become dancers with a mysterious partner whose secrets are revealed only to us.  We become complete in our joy, sure of our knowledge, and curious about the twists and turns which are sure to come when we follow the life of an entity which is not quite our own.  This is how we heal.  This is how we grow.

No. 133: Speak to Me

Speak to me

of where we are from

and I will hear words

of light, of joy,

of promise, of truth.

I will hear words of love

which propel me to

all I need to know:

where your words

began

and where they are going,

what they have truly been

and what they will always be.

I will know you

inside and out

because each of these

are the same:

you and I,

strength in all lightness

and all peace.

I believe in you.

I believe in me.

Ani Choying Drolma - CHÖ - Munich 08

No. 132

Singing and Loving are the same:

With both, we must forget the world and go as deep as we can imagine.

Once we have done this, we remember: here in this depth is the only world that ever mattered.

No. 131: As in the Forest

As in the forest

let the days of my past

fall like leaves to the floor at my feet

mixing with all the living things

who make it their business

to cycle life into love.

And may I see all the days past

of all those I love, of every living thing,

mixed with mine in an earthy depth of knowledge

which softly springs under my feet

as I walk amongst the trees

of my dreams.

Quote of the Day 15: Breaking Through Gravity

A human being trying to catalyze the emergence of a higher level of consciousness is like a rocket ship trying to break through the gravity of the Earth's atmosphere. The gravity that we are endeavoring to release ourselves from is the historical weight of our conditioning, both personal and cultural. If we can generate enough vertical momentum to propel us beyond the boundaries of who we have been, we will find ourselves in uncharted territory.

~ Andrew Cohen

No. 131

On this Journey of Me

the fire which brightens the path

can burn

or guide 

But I'm beginning to think

I'd rather be consumed by Love's flame

to the point where there is no pain

so I know 

that I am One

with All I seek:

No feeble flicker!

No scorching heat!

Just Love in utmost intensity

until I know I and my Way

are the same

and all there is 

is Light.

No. 130: What are we looking for?

What is a singer looking for?  We are taught "If you are a singer, you must sing!"  What does this mean?

It is tempting to follow other's examples, to try to define the path that a singer must take in order to be heard, to be free, to be able to express the deepest part of who we are.  However the path to each person's deepest Self is as unique as the individual, and anything but the true discovery of Who We Are will show up as an anomily or impurity of the voice. The best singers have found a way to maintain a balance, a relationship with Life and Love and Music to such an extent that they are a match to It, a flowing elemental part of It, most of the time.  This is indeed the goal of the true Classical School of Singing.  It is a path to the Truth of a voice.

There is a school of thought which says singing is not about Love but about Ego.   In response to that I say that it is possible for a singer to Be Love, in the sense that s/he sings the music divinely and in truth, and yet not know it.   At the same time, if we have the opportunity to express divinity in the form of music which mirrors the beauty of life, why argue our worthiness or question our calling, conscious or not?  We must follow the paths to our voices through the music which is an expression of That Which Knows and Loves All, and all will be well.  Whether it's our calling to know what we are and what we are doing is up to God and the Universe.

Quote of the Day 14

Freedom is when you get your own Powers which are within you. You have got your own Powers. You have to be your own Guru . You must reach that point from where you guide yourself in such a way that the guiding lines become part and parcel of you. That means in your central nervous system, in your conscious mind, you must be the existence of the Spirit. This is what is the evolutionary process. This is what you have to achieve and all other talks are absolutely of no value.

Let’s face it — there is no flowery talk needed for it. It’s a doing. All these talks and all these organizations, and everything, has no meaning of any kind. It does not empower you to be the Spirit. "

~Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi