Creativity- I AM Processing the Process

About 3 weeks ago I ordered Seth Godin’s latest book The Practice: Shipping Creative Work. Subsequently I ordered a copy for my son Benjamin and the following week for my son Namdev as we decided to join together in our own private familial motivational group. I talked about this in my last post.

I AM= Inspiration, Aspirations and Motivation. Since I am somewhat the ringleader for this little brainstorming group I definitely need to see the places where I fall short of really stepping up to- and into- what is available to me, in terms of my own work, my own creativity, my own process. Now that all three of us have the book I have no excuses but to start reading it- which I did late this afternoon.

I have certain ideas about how I want to move forward with my work but they require a serious amount of rethinking my approach in this time of Covid- and the fact is I have done plenty of rethinking and come up with what I believe to be some good ideas. So what is holding me back? Why haven’t I moved forward on more of my ideas?

One thing I am becoming aware of is that it is easier to be accountable to another person than it is to myself. If someone else asks me to do a Sound Journey or teach a workshop I am there. When I have an actual space to work out of where physical bodies are going to show up, that too is very inviting to me. To show up online feels very raw- somehow it’s as if the bodies create a buffer or a sense of safety. How do I move past that? Just do it- differently. Putting off writing a blog post because suddenly my computer won’t charge? (Yes, that is my current situation.) Too bad! Write it on your phone. Okay, I AM.

Being accountable to one’s own self- that seems to be a big part of the challenge. Hence the I AM Group- and I get to help somebody else while I’m helping myself.

Feelin' Good

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life- and it’s a new year! And I AM feelin’ good!

So much to celebrate, so much to be grateful for.

My new year always starts off on January 9. January 8 is my birthday and, for me, the culmination of the holiday season. My final sweet treat- always the best carrot cake I can find- which for the past two years has been my own- far healthier than whatever I can get “out there” and absolutely killer! This year I didn’t have my cake until January 10th because my actual birthday was so full. and I didn’t have time to bake it until the next evening- by which time it was too late to eat it! On the day of, I did a sound journey via Zoom which was attended by about 35 people- what a wonderful way to celebrate! Not my plan- it was hosted by my friend Rose Russo who runs a yoga group for cancer survivors. It just “happened” to land on my birthday. Friends from near and far- even one whom I had not seen since I was 17! What a treat- so wonderful.

Meanwhile I AM doing my best to get down to business, to think about what I want to create and what I want to regenerate in this bright new year. My intention is to set reasonable goals- enlightenment can wait… but occasionally withdrawing my attention from the objects of my experience and relaxing gently into the awareness of I AM no longer seems impossible.

I am reading Rupert Spira’s book Being Myself and feel like I am beginning to understand (which reminds me of another song). A water molecule cannot separate itself from the water and look at the ocean. It can only relax into the experience of being the ocean. It can look at the little fishes and the big fishes and the coral and the plankton and the sunlight coming through the water and all of the wonders that present themselves but it is one with the water. It cannot actually look back at its Self- it can only rest in the fullness of the experience of Being. And so it is.

I am posting another video here- the Moody Blues Melancholy Man- which sounds like it might be gloomy - but in fact I feel like it is so full of hope. This is a great live version of the song. I believe it was from a concert on the Isle of Wight.
“All the world astounds me and I think I understand
That we’re going to keep growing, wait and see.”

Sound Images... Or Imaginings!

I just spent an hour trying to upload a bunch more images. I have thousands of digital photos of sound journeys. instruments, workshops and people receiving sound healing sessions. Unfortunately tonight my computer would not cooperate and these were all I could get for now. But if you click on the pictures at the top there is a carousel of at least a few you can enjoy- and imagine the sounds that come forth! Here is a short video of a sound spiral I created with Himalayan singing bowls.

From the External to the Eternal

Still feeling energized and grateful and off to a new start since my birthday. Doing a simple cleanse, a simple exercise regimen and a simple meditation- almost every day! The fact is I haven't done my exercises today but I did do an extra round of meditation and relaxation this morning by adding yoga nidra to my morning wake-up... waking up by allowing myself to fully consciously relax for another 30 minutes before I got out of bed this morning! That was nice. :-)

My gift today was talking to my eldest son Namdev for 2 1/2 hours on the phone. We don't talk all that frequently but we have such an easy communication when we do. We talk about our inner worlds, our outer world, art, psychology, movies, you name it. It feels very real and relaxed in that there doesn't seem to be anywhere we can't go or topics that we need to avoid. There's just an easy natural flow.

I am sitting here looking at a picture of my dear friend Shin Ae Tassia, who passed away last April, that I just printed out. It was taken at a Sound Journey I did for a group of cancer patients at a retreat in Exeter, Rhode island in 2015. She had been diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer the year before. She was given 9 months to live at the time but was now approaching a year. She was doing amazingly well at the time, looking so radiant. She loved sound. She loved the singing bowls. She loved the gongs. I gave her treatments using tuning forks which gave her great relief as time went on and her pain increased. She told me that she had become a sound evangelist.

She had a huge impact on my life, on my being, on such a deep level that I have yet to fully grasp, and maybe never will. One of those people that you feel as if you have known forever the moment you meet and know you have a soul connection with that goes far beyond the boundaries of a lifetime. She was one of those people. I am sorry that she had to go so soon. I wish I had known her better and longer, I wish I had been able to spend more time with her when we did finally meet and connect- but that's just external stuff. The connection was what was real and remains.

Interesting that when you drop the "x" external becomes eternal.