When will we care?

Today I went into Book Ends Café and was sharing with the young barista about the broadcast I had just heard from Democracy Now on the raids and the infringements of our rights happening around the Republican National Convention in St. Louis. His response was, “I just don’t care.” While I understand the apathy and how it happens, I am still somewhat shocked at the complete unwillingness for so many of us, myself included too often, to really stand up, get vocal, organize and fight for our rights.

Will we care when we have curfews and police on our streets brutalizing innocent people just because they feel like it and they can? That’s happening now, today, do we care yet? Would we care if it was us or someone we know personally who’s house was ransacked, camera cards erased, video camera’s taken, houses broken down and put under arrest for doing nothing but exercising our rights, according to our constitution? That too happened today, do we care yet? How close to home does it need to be?

Will we care when yet another war monger president is in office, inciting more hatred, death, revenge and mass destruction in the name of the “Proud and the free,” creating more enemies in the world for our children to have to try to make peace with? Would we get active if we had to consider, as people in other countries have had to do, putting a machine gun in the arms of our 5 year old sons, brothers, cousins, to protect our families and homes? Would that make us care?

Will we care when some of these angry people finally get thru and land on our soil and start to wreak the havoc here that our country, in the name of freedom, has there? Will we care then? Will we care when it is us who are seeing our friends, cafes and streetcorners blown up by car bombs?

When will we really care? Everyone’s so busy, few people have the energy to care. Like this young man, it was a bother for him to stay informed and he got to upset and felt like there’s no way to make it shift perhaps… I know I’ve felt that a lot.

Listening today to what is going on at the Convention, the degree of the fear mentality, the control, the police state-ness of the whole thing triggered some place deep inside of me. I felt it in a way I haven’t in some years, and the graveness of this election, and the coming months is weighing heavy on my heart, even though I live in the Boulder Bubble, and everyone’s happy and excited for Obama. Even though I know all things work in the way they are meant to, and all the spiritual hoo haa that I know to be truth, even still, the gravity of our current political reality is beyond my comprehension for sure. I have felt it for many years growing to this place, and in my own way of keeping my own sanity, I have stayed quietly reflecting, praying, and trying to counter the “powers that be” by not subscribing to the fear, the dogma or even the media’s attempts at brainwashing and manipulation. I see much possibility and not all of it is as pleasant as I’d prefer. I feel edges of civil unrest, and would not put it past the current regime to fuel that fire to distract us more, as they are doing now with the raids, and the arrests of conscious media and activists folks such as those working with Democracy Now and Food not Bombs.

My call to action is to visualize the world as we want it, but beyond that to ACT and to support those who are out there on the “front lines” of this heated political time in whatever ways we can: $, letters, food, support, prayers. I was an activist when I was in college, and I had to stop because my fire gets a little too hot, and I knew I’d end up in jail or getting shot. It takes a lot of courage, a lot of guts to get out there and really do the work that our true freedom fighters are doing there to tell us the truth and report what’s going on. I just want to honor those people, and say “THANK YOU.” You are doing what many of us are too afraid, too consumed, too apathetic or too “busy” (ha ha) to do, and I am so proud of you when I hear you on the radio, see you in the streets, stepping up for us. You are the soldiers of the people, fighting peacefully, and I pray the power of the almighty, call it whatever you like, is with you to keep you strong.

Music: By George Moore

Found this in a paper in Lyons, CO the other day.

So beautiful, wanted to share it.

"Music"

The first music was accident
perhaps, the clanging of a stone
against the solid resonance of tree,
the slipping of rocks down a stream
in high season, some impossible
whining of the limbs pushed
up against their leaning neighbors.
The ear picked it up almost
coincidentally, at first, a song,
something the brain said but
did not say. The pattern was born
out of a longing no one had known,
and appearance in the wind,
At the back of the mind.
This was the moment of music
but more, the moment of human
anticipation,of humanity,
springing to life within the animal skin.
There was something more
waiting in the wings
the rush of the senses in synchronicity.
The words would follow but not
for ages, at first it was only noise
made to sync like a river, water
sounding it's own depths, moving
stones down it's long corridor,
cave echoes, the shouts of wordless
desires from god-high cliffs
But the words did not matter
when the body performed it's rite
swaying day out of night, grieving
voicelessly for the disappearances
But the music did not leave the trees,
nor the stream, it simply inhabited
the living and the dead,
those who would come back again
as if they were the very singing,
and the cave dwellers who knew
the earth was their mouth
and that they were the voice
of it's deepest shadows.

From Crestone with Love

Windy Day
Blows me open
Blows thru me like the mystery

I am raw
Unbridled
Unhinged
Unkempt
Free like the wind

Oya: My beloved sister of eternity
Pulsing around this globe of grace

Infinite kiss of the Divine
Blessing me
Eternally

This magical place
Stillness reigns supreme
It is tangible here
The peace
The depths of stillness
Even as the wind rages wild dust tornados

Stillness Lives here

This is it's home
I am blessed once again to dance with her here.

From Musical Missions

Riding back South across the border into Jordan we arrive in Amman. Our
driver jokes every time we pass a picture of the blue-eyed Jordanian
King Abdulla that he must be the "King of Denmark." In reality, the
king's mother is American.
To the north in Syria we had been surrounded by pictures of the
Ophthalmologist from London who is now President of Syria, Bashar Assad. As I
said, people in these parts of the world know better than to associate
people with the governments which rule them.

Walking down the early afternoon street in Amman on our way to a coffee
shop we look up to the sky as the incredible roar of US fighter jets
buzz the city on their way to Iraq, enforcing the rules of the American
empire.

How many empires have preceded? egyptians, hittites, israelites,
assyrians, babylonians, persians, macedonians, romans, byzantines, sassanids,
umayads, abbasids, seljuk turks, crusaders, saladin, mongols, ottoman
turks, etc... to name a few...

Check out the History of Empires in Middle East in 90 Seconds
http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/imperial-history.html

Notice the Age of Nations and Borders which began under European
Colonialism. This animated history of Empires in the Middle East in 90
Seconds is well done but it is actually an extreme simplification of a much
more complex history. Each "empire" left a legacy of scattered villages
wherein the population preserved certain languages and ways of living.

Although taxes were demanded afresh by each new empire and a certain
amount of violence erupted as new conquerors confronted old rulers, it
wasn't until the age of "Nation States and Borders" appeared in the 20th
century that large numbers of people were suddenly trapped, frozen in
place, behind artificial borders created by foreign mapmakers in ways
that separated brother from brother and tribal member from tribal member.


Referring to the nomadic nature of local populations, a member of the
Saud family, reportedly in tears, told the Europeans in Paris in 1925
that the seeds for hundreds of years of conflict would be sown if borders
were drawn in the Middle East. The European powers went ahead and drew
the borders anyway.
Are we witnessing the consequences of this border-drawing map-making
frenzy?

More soon about our current work back here in Jordan.

Please encourage your friends who may be interested to add their email
addresses to our list at:
http://www.musicalmissions.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi
Or have them just send us an email requesting to be added to the list!

Thanks and More Soon, Cameron
Please reply to this email if you are so inclined. We love to hear from
you!

To support or read more about our 501c3 non-profit organization:
www.musicalmissionsofpeace.org

Cameron and Kristina:
www.musicalmissions.com

Musical Missions Post: From Jordan with Love

Cameron Writes:
We spent last night surrounded by 30 Iraqi refugees singing the "old
music" for us: this gathering had been organized to honor our return.
Our host works diligently with his violin to magnetize us all into the
unified field of the music. Tonight is not a night for discussion.
Underlying all the singing voices are the instruments: two ouds, two
drums, a violin and a nay (flute) and as the night grew later more people
were drawn to dance.
Two of the women present are accomplished singers and their leads are
given appreciative space. One of these women is also a fine
percussionist.
After midnight the most revered Iraqi maqam singer began to weave the
poetic lines of his "mawals," or arrhythmic incantations, which truly
give voice to the old spiritual wisdoms of Iraq.
"Sama'i!" "Listen carefully!" is repeated to encourage absolute focus
on the poetry and the musical scales.

As I look at the faces around me, all men and women who are now exiled
from their homeland, I can see the different mixes of hardships and
suffering. And I see the childlike joy with which the music emerges from
their souls.

We have begun dialogue with the owner of a music shop regarding our
Musical Mission of Peace designed to offer support to Iraqi refugees here
in Jordan by financially encouraging their children's musical
education.

We will soon make a loop through Syria where an even larger number of
Iraqi refugees are currently in residence. It is said that at least two
million Iraqis have fled to Jordan and Syria to escape the disorder and
violence in their homeland. But neither Jordan nor Syria has the
infrastructure to offer employment to so many. That is why we are here. We
will do what we can, in our own musical way, to provide a pipeline of
financial support from sympathetic Americans.


Kristina Writes:
May 9, 08 Day one
As I walked down the street today in Amman, Jordan, tears came to
my eyes. I felt like I had come home. This feels like home to me not
because the sights are familiar or particularly beautiful. The
buildings are mostly grey concrete colors. The streets are dirty. Many people
smoke and I dislike the smell of tobacco inside the shops. It's just
that there is something else in the air that feels more powerful than the
smoke.
So how do I explain to you what it is?
Maybe security is a part of it. If I should fall down everyone
around me would come to my rescue. If I should get lost someone would
personally guide me back to my hotel. No one is trying to steal my purse.
Every shopkeeper and almost every other person I meet on the street is
saying a sincere "Welcome" or "Hi."
Maybe it is that there is less fear. I have very little fear
here. My heart is so open, because every other heart it meets is so open to
me.
I guess another word might be "relief." I don't have to be an
island. Women in the lobby of the hotel, whom I have never met before,
motion for me to sit down next to them. I am welcomed. I don't have to be
alone. Relief to know you're surrounded by loving beings.
Isn't that what home is?

I've heard that there is no word in Arabic for "alone", the closest
word means "lonely".
I wonder why I, an American, need "retreat time" or "personal
space" or "time to collect my thoughts" or "time to regroup" or just time
to shut out the world and rest? For an Arab, time alone is just
"lonely." Do we Americans tend to stress each other out? Why do we need a
break from each other? Here they just like to sit close to each other and
feel the connection. The air is filled with the currents of acceptance,
less judgment, more connection. Like Fayez the hotel owner here says,
"Arabs are your friend immediately." You don't have to "earn their
trust." It's just so much easier this way.

www.musicalmissionsofpeace.org
www.musicalmissions.com

From a Musician: On Bars & Music

This is a commentary from Neville Harson in response to some feedback I was requesting for a subject in my book: Neville is a wonderful musician living in Boulder. Here's his input:


"I had a strong (positive!) reaction to one of the questions you sent. Here are my thoughts:

Your question was: "Do you feel there is a need for alternatives to bars/nightclubs for community music participation? Why specifically? For example: what don’t you like about bars, what doesn’t it provide, etc…"

You even said it last night: it's an honor for musicians to play to an audience who actually listens!

Rhetorical question: How did we as a society get to the place where that is the exception rather than the rule?

It is indicative of the general lack of listening skills in our culture, not only with the arts, but with conversation etc. It's rare for many people to find a friend who really listens.

Bars are not for listening. You don't go to a bar to hear a band. You go to see friends, consume intoxicants, and SEE a band. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that. But most musicians don't want to be seen. They want to be
heard. And it's hard to compete with conversational noise in a bar (not to mention all the other noises).

Another factor: alcohol is the wrong drug for listening. Alcohol and cocaine are "talking drugs."

But why do we need the drugs anyway?

My ideal place to play: a Listening Room, which would be billed as such. No alcohol served. Maybe tea, but out in the lobby. I like the idea of beanbag chairs,or pillows and mattresses, to encourage inactivity on the part of the audience (unless it's music for dancing). Everyone's on this journey together. No one admitted after the performance has started (though maybe between songs would be okay, like at the
symphony). Two 30-45 minute sets with a break in the middle for socializing, etc. (Like Gypsy Nation, socializing should be discouraged during the music).

Let the audience know how long you'll be playing for when they come in, so they can plan accordingly.

In order for live music to evolve, the audience has to change. And in order for the audience to change, the context and rules (written and unwritten) of the
space has to change..

Honoring the Stillness

Last night's muse was so symbolically sweet! As one of the last nights of winter, as the sweetness of spring is approaching, the energy was still, quiet, deep, contemplative and reflective. The sharings of stillness were profound! Just hearing each other breathe, sigh and relaxing deeply without any need to do anything was a soothing reminder of our connection, and an honoring of winter's teachings!

Grace in these shared moments permeates the room, and every person present. It was as if the exhaustion of winter was running thru us, and we were willing to be spent together in that space, willing to succomb to death in the moments just before rebirth!

Thank you to those present for honoring the stillness in yourself, and together as a community.

Sweetness!

Excerpt from Chapter 4: The Glamorization of Music & Decline of Music Making in Western Culture

“What is happening to raw music? Some people would rather listen to techno than create raw music. The very magic of synchronizing group music and dance is going away. A lot of tribal dance was dancing the same steps to create togetherness with the raw backbeat and magic that only drums, flutes, bells, stings, and singing can create. Dancing to a computer can never be the same to me. “
Johnny, Denver, CO

Making music together has shifted from a community sharing to a profession that has alienated the larger community from a very real and basic human experience. It has become a lost art form, something “scary” for non-musicians or “ordinary” people, and unfamiliar even to trained musicians in any out of context way. Many trained musicians can’t improvise, don’t know how to play from the moment or their heart. In this shift, we have lost something very valuable and indescribable. We’ve lost an inclusiveness, an openness and a willingness to “play” with each other, and in that, there has been a loss of intimacy and connection. The musical experience is more and more now dictated by the performer or DJ, more or less, and the opportunity to experience true group expression thru chanting, music making and story telling is more or less non-existant in the vast majority of bars, nightclubs or music venues. Music has become far more of a spectator sport and a commercial venture than a simple sharing of the human spirit. In my perspective, the commercialization of music is a major contributor to an overall feeling of dis-empowerment in ordinary, everyday people in relation to their own connection with music. For many adults, music was maybe in their lives as children, but for one reason or another they gave it up before they left highschool and never touched an instrument after that. Perhaps they quit because they didn’t think they were “good enough,” or “serious enough” or maybe because there is this illusion that everything we do has to be for profit, and playing music “just for fun” isn’t enough of a good reason to do it when there are bills to pay and mouths to feed.

As a society, we are taught that we “Go and see” music, that there is an “appropriate” place to “go and see” music (bars, nightclubs, etc.), and that we have to “Pay” to see people “Perform” or “Pay” to have lessons for the priveledge of learning. The free sharing of information that happens in more traditional cultures with music, the passing on, generation to generation of rhythms, songs, dances and musical etiquette, just isn’t always prevalent in the western culture. It has been a progression over time of commercial interests, again need and greed on the part of artists, and corporations, and the seemingly always present concept of the western mindset that everything has a price and can be bought and/or sold. Music and the arts have suffered tremendously from this way of being as it has shifted the consciousness of creativity from one of a playful exploratory child to a business man making deals that please the audience.

It is difficult to really imagine, now for many of us, that there was a time when music wasn’t a commodity, a specialized “skill” or a game of money. There was a time, and it still exists in some tribal communities, that music was simply for the sake of music, a way of life and a part of life. It wasn’t relative if you had a “look” or not, or how much you could turn on the opposite sex, it didn’t matter what kind of clothes you wore or who you “knew,” and you didn’t need to know every mode, scale or methodology to be an active participant, whatever piece you felt to contribute, dance, story, song, drumming, was equally valued and appreciated as a part of the whole.

“Serious music, which sticks to the strict, life inhibiting rules of harmonics and the twelvetone system is not capable of creating a new culture." (Grandpierre) Both classical and contemporary music "expect the audience's pregiven consent and forebearance. There are no participants here, just performers and listeners. Fake 'folk music', beyond its commercial uses is only good for damaging the word 'folk' and for frightening as many people as possible away from true 'folk music' Let's add to this the sleep inducing hits of light/pop music and we can say that the overwhelming part of today's music is quite simply only good for exposing man to his own misery and for manipulating him so that he can be even more manipulated. The music that used to be so vigorous and alive that neither man nor animal could free himself from its magical power is now a disemboweled mammoth on tip-toes." (14, p. 24)
Grandpierre, Hungary


In general, in the 20th century, the mainstream culture in the west has gone deeply into the capitalism of music and away from the concept of music for the people, by the people thru this process of “glamorization” of music, the artists and the whole lifestyle around it. “The history of the American Music Industry is a disheartening one, which largely details the exploitation of artists and musicians by opportunists and those without the musician's best interests at heart.” (16) Rock, pop and hip hop in particular have created an idolization of a lifestyle that is for the most part (there are exceptions of course) a relatively unhealthy one that is overly glamorized and filled with drugs, alcohol, sex, guns, and vanity. Just watch a few minutes of MTV or VH1, or look in a pop magazine and see what is being portrayed to our youth and the entire population as “Cool,” and you can easily get a concept of what is being “sold” en masse to mainstream society and in particular to our youth.

I do recognize that there are artists who break this stereotype, I know several personally and greatly admire their inner resolve to set a good example in an industry that sets a lot of poor examples of integrity, community and self respect. The reality is those artists, overall, get a lot less media attention, and a lot less exposure to the people who really need to hear their messages and see their examples. Many of them are preaching to the choir really, performing for people who are already somewhat aware of their messages and in support of them. In the past few years, it seems there are more and more up and coming artists who are realizing the power they hold to influence their listeners and are making wonderful contributions to the world thru their arts. I look forward to the emergence of more of those beings. I also appreciate those elder artists, such as Bono, of U2 who are setting positive examples by using their influence, money and success to launch humanitarian projects and serve the world.

Evolutionary Emergence

The first Muse of the Spring Season here in Boulder and I am so yummified! Choosing to learn to play and explore and express together in this way is a statement of intent I feel towards a more participatory life with each other. To really show up, be seen, be heard, and also witenss and hear the voices of those sharing the space is a sweetening of the soul, a warming of the heart, and an invitation to more intimacy in life.

I am always so touched and so grateful to watch the unfolding!

Last night there was a moment when it seemed voices were coming from everywhere, creating a magical weave of masculine and feminine spirits in supportive harmony. It was really a beautiful tapestry of vocal play, but there was a unique quality in the particular notes and frequencies that seemed to create a portal that I can not explain fully, except to say it was deeply primal and totally futuristic & evolutionary at the same time. I was transported thru time and connected in to the voices of other peoples in far away lands, felt their eyes watching us somehow, acknowledging us, singing with and thru us. I felt the presence of such grace, such wisdom, and such support for us, here and now, doing this playful profound work.

This next series of the Muse is dedicated to the Practice, to embodying the Muse in life, as we do our Yoga, as a mindful practice to be conscious of in every breath, in every moment. To deepen, to do the "work" thru the play and to learn each other more intimately. How can we support and listen, and co-create with more sensitivity to each other, with more clarity of intent, with deeper willingness to serve the Divine in each other thru the Muse? The re-birthing of community music making is ready for an evolution, and in Boulder, we have the opportunity to set an example of creativity, communication, support, and empowerment thru this vehicle. Bring it on!

Possibilities for Transformation

Tonite I recieved great blessings in the sharings of many hearts all tuned to the chords of community.

I am inspired and touched to my core and somehow I am even more committed to this great work: the Alchemy of the Soul, and the Personality, and even more so the Great Alchemy of Global consciousness.

Each of us is such a vital piece of the whole. The transformation of consciousness that is emerging is doing it's dance in every person it seems. Some are more resistant than others, but still I see this magic working it's way into the heart and mind of each person. Something wonderful, magical and revolutionary is brewing up in the cosmic soup of consciousness, and we have a responsibility to step up, step in and do our part, to whatever extent it is possible. Not just for us, but for our children, and their children.

To invite, support and encourage those who have skills, resources and wisdom to connect, collaborate, and support each other whole heartedly is a crucial piece that we can all take part in. Encourage dialogue, encourage mutually beneficial relationships, talk to those people who you think are so "different" than you, and give an opportunity to find the common ground, give what you have and know that IT IS ENOUGH to make a difference.

We are in such desperate need of GOOD leadership on all fronts. We need more solid able minded beings who know how to move between the worlds and people who can help assist in the in between spaces. We are in need of more liasons between corporate consciousness and New Paradigm consciousness, we are in need of more sharing, more relating as humans, as friends on Planet Earth. We don't have to always agree with each other, or try to change each other, we can't get rid of "one" for the "other" but we can learn to honor, respect and find creative ways to let all voices be heard and respected!

The time now is for integration and exploring how we can dance together. Trying to fight the inevitable is just a waste of time and resources, but learning to utilize what's already in action and move within the matrix to shift energy is an invaluable skill in today's world, and will be increasingly so in the future! We all know, there is no "going back." There is only learning from the past and using that wisdom to guide us into new possibilities and openings. From here, we have to move much more consciously, with much more respect and contemplation into tomorrow's playground of possibility!

There is nothing "too hard" or "too much" for us! Humans have proven that over and over again, we can create ANYTHING we want! What do we want? Really, what do we want? If it's only money, or only stuff, we've missed the essence of life. I think for most people, it's more than that. In the depths of the heart's longing there is a call to help, to serve humanity, to do something that matters in the world, in whatever small or grande way, whether it be feeding our children, or feeding a hungry nation of children. We all have something to offer.

Remembering the grace and the sweetness of community, of family, of sharing the simple pleasures of life, good food, good conversation, fire, starlight, dancing and singing together. For me, that's the essence of life... the essence of love is sharing!

Great gratitude for this night, and this open inspired heart.