May 11th, 2017
Seeking, Surrendering, Divine Masculine and Feminine "The Two wombs" and the four elements of our being.
In the womb of our mother we are given sustenance. There is no seeking, we are passively receiving the grace of god through surrender.
These Feminine and elemental aspects of God are surrender, receptivity, abundance, acceptance, Water, Earth, Compassion, Joy, Fluidity.
Once we are "born" and leave our mothers womb we enter the womb of the Father.
Now we must seek and all will be provided. Through our seeking we are delivered. God helps those that help themselves.
We must get the food to our mouth, the water to our lips.
These Masculine and elemental aspects of God are Strength, Faith, Determination, Air, Fire, Sky, Spirit, Love, Equanimity.
You see god can be found in both seeking and surrendering.
These are the paths of extremists. Unpredictable, this is often the way of confusion and zealotry.
To seek requires strength of will which is attached to the Ego, and can lead to pride and vanity in spirituality.
Surrendering can lead to disillusionment and resentment on the path when it is founded upon expectation especially when one is born into this type of thinking. One must have something to surrender in order for it to be true surrendering.
Seek the surrender and surrender the seeker. This is the middle way. The way of wholeness.
Each of us are a composition of the four elements each containing masculine and feminine qualities with both destructive and creative characteristics. We are spirit and matter, masculine and feminine.
The way of shamanism is to unite these qualities within ourselves while recognizing our own unique elemental signature in order to be fully present as a being.
Which element is most dominant in you? Is it a destructive or creative force in your life? Is there an element you would like to develop?
March 2nd, 2017
Living is death. It is something we make and it can be destroyed.
Whatsoever we make will be false because it comes from the ego.
We rehearse ourselves in social media.
We edit ourselves.
We craft a carefully manicured narrative of our being that is a complete fabrication.
So afraid of the truth are we that we will rarely go out on a limb and do anything spontaneous.
When we speak the truth we become emotional because we are so used to living in a dream that when we contact our truth it is shocking.
We have to be spontaneous, we have to be "Live" to become "Alive."
In that place with no safety net is your truth, lurking in the unknown arising of one's unguarded moments.
Ask someone to sing in front of a group of people and they will close like a venus fly trap clamping down on the wings of freedom.
Ask someone to lead a prayer that is not some dead rote passage they remembered from child hood and the will become dumbfounded.
To truly feel alive we have to go "Live" more and more and let our spontaneous creative self emerge.
Creativity is to be close to the creator which is to be close to our truth.
Drop the fetters of embarrassment and shame and release your authenticity.
There is no one like you in the world, why do you want to be like everyone else?
Why do you bury your treasure and hide it from the world?
This is a form of greed.
You possess a gift that was given no other before you yet you refuse to share it and instead opt for cheap imitation of corporate sponsored cultural homogeneity.
Do something "Live" and tell me you don't feel "Alive"
Don't think, make a leap of faith into yourself, into your own ability.
If the truth is painful it is because it is contrast with your false self and the ego cannot stand contradiction because it threatens its very existence.
The more we encounter our truth, the more we identify with it, the more our life will become natural again, flowing like a river.
A flower blooms when the conditions are right, it does not care where or who is watching.
November 23, 2016
Wow. Can't believe a whole month has passed.
Seems like a whole new world is dawning especially in light of the election results. Those of you who are following me on instagram @nichvonmusic will be familiar with my feelings on the topic.
It's our job as artists to get to work in troubled times.
Some friends go together to put on the first "Noche De Medicina" an evening of visionary art, medicine music, discourse on healing modalities and community.
Don't let television tell the vision. Life is beautiful and more miraculous than we can possibly comprehend. Check out the Mysterious Universe podcast episode 16.19 for a truly mind blowing perspective. Thank you to my friend an amazing artist Dawn Whitney-Hall for the tip.
Remember that the lotus grows in the mud at the bottom of the pond. It blooms on the surface of the water unsoiled by it's murky origins. No matter how dark and dreary times seem right now it is just a matter of time before we bloom into a beautiful flower once more and emerge unsullied.
Here is a photo of me getting ready at Art Space in El Segundo and one of Dawn's amazing paintings.
Painting by Dawn Whitney-Hall
October 17th, 2016
Who doesn't want to start with a clean slate sometimes. For me, my slate is service, love, and truth, equanimity. When all these are kept clean through purity of action, heart, speech, and non-attachement one is able to step into the natural flow of life and see the "what-is" nature of reality. The illusion of this world is strong and it is so easy to get entangled in our delusions. Cooperation is the key. When we approach life with the idea that "I cannot be successful unless your are successful" attitude we return to our true nature. To be of service to others, to put others first is the key to transcending ego. We return to the source of oneness rather than only serving ourselves which reinforces the concept of separateness. When we commit an act of service or kindness, not only us, but the recipient and those witness to the act are rewarded chemically because we are hard wired for cooperation. Working together is the key not only to survival but to salvation.
Aho.
September 30th, 2016
All that you seek is already in you. That which is beyond is also here. This song "All In You" is a call to the higher self seated within all of us. May it awaken this awareness in you.
September 28th, 2016
New song in the works. Lyrics came to me mostly in spanish which is always fun. Check out the phone recording below.
Sobrenatural medicna, curandera madre tierra maestra abuella compenera, ayahuasca de estrella
Love, is all there is. All there is, is love.
September 26th, 2016
This weekend provided the opportunity to celebrate enduring love. A dear friends parents reaching a rare milestone of 50 years of marriage. With her help we created this song called "50 Years More." It is just a simple phone recording. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did performing it for an inspiring couple. Happy Anniversary Pat and David.
I'll be your Dickhead and you're my Ol' Git
I love you more the older we get
Just like James Bond Loves Pussy Galore
I wish I could marry you fifty years more
One stipulation on which we agree
No one we know loves to talk more than we
That's why we made the rule 80/20
twenty for you and eighty for me
I don't care where we go
From Birmingham to hot desert sands we've roamed
and we know
I'll be your Dickhead and you're my Ol' Git
I love you more the older we get
Just like James Bond Loves Pussy Galore
I wish I could marry you fifty years more
September 24th, 2016
The Tao teaches that when we refer to some things as beautiful we automatically create ugliness. This is true of all opposing thought forms. To know good is to create evil. So on and so forth. We can only think about the world by corralling it into opposing forms. In zen it is taught that the great way is easy as long as you don't pick and choose. One is also challenged to think without thought. Let's call this space the middle of the coin. If all thought is the comparison of opposites then the middle of the coin represents reality. It is the part of the coin that wears no face. It is substance without form and form without substance. Check out Alan Watts on the topic. Use the form below if you have any thoughts or you just want to say hey!
Septemeber 20th, 2016
We must not carry anger in our hearts if we are to be truly free. Though it may flow through us at times its seed must find no purchase. Anger diminishes our capacity for love by clouding our sense of reality. Listen to what Thich Nhat Hanh has to say about letting go.