Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Quote of the Day: Questioning our spiritual values

"Those of us who are interested in the spiritual dimension of evolution and how it affects our shared culture, need to start questioning so many of our assumptions. Today, although we are well into the twenty-first century, too many of our progressive psycho-spiritual values and practices haven't changed very much in the last thirty or forty years. Back in the glory days of the late 1960s and 70s, when a real cultural revolution was sweeping the Western world, diving into our psychological interiors—developing sensitivity, inclusivity, and compassion—and mystically awakening to the oneness of all things were truly bold and radical steps forward. But most of us anywhere near the leading edge of cultural evolution today have, at least to a significant degree, already developed in these ways. We are, for the most part, highly sensitive; we have rare capacities for empathy, tolerance, and inclusivity; and we already know, explicitly or implicitly, philosophically or spiritually, that we are all interconnected.
 
I strongly feel that what is needed in our time is a psycho-spiritual perspective and practice that is very different. Indeed, there are much deeper and more culturally relevant ways in which we need to connect, spiritually and philosophically. Now, instead of being so concerned with healing the wounds of the past, it is time for a spirituality that is fueled by an overwhelming sense of urgency about what's possible in the future. It is time to move beyond an approach to spiritual practice that too often has become reduced to just another form of narcissistic self-absorption. In a culture so infatuated with extreme individualism, it is time to get over ourselves, once and for all, for the biggest reason that there is: to awaken wholeheartedly to the evolutionary impulse, so that we can create the world anew."

—Andrew Cohen

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

No. 167: OUR Voice

When I look at the origin of my Voice, when I listen deeply enough to hear the vibration of that place from where It comes, a magic happens that softens my soul and reassures my body: what appears to be separation between us is really just illusion.  My Voice, when I dive deeply enough into It, becomes Our Voice, one and the same with the Life Force which brings the mysterious growth of a seed, with the beams of sunlight and drops of rain carrying nourishment from a place which is always free.

This perspective brings enormous freedom from the typical stresses of a singer's life: the core of me, the Source of Voice, is always humming, always present, always here.  Competition, comparison, "right and wrong", "good and bad", disappear in this space, and all of life becomes about allowing more and more of this reality of freedom and connection.  Seen from this perspective, who would not run at any and every opportunity toward Freedom of Voice?  Seen from this perspective, singing is not just singing.  It is being at its best.