Leaves of grass

my friend, you are living in multitudes
you don't know your true essence
you don't do what's right
you are living in fear

Dear Ones –

My friend Pastor Rob Bell once gave me this beautiful piece of advice, which I will now pass along to you.

He said that whenever he starts to beat himself up for not being good enough at life, he simply writes this word on his hand — STUDENT — and reminds himself to look at that word several times a day, and to meditate upon it.

He said that this one word — STUDENT — is his best defense against self-abuse, shame, perfectionism, failure, and regret. Whenever he fails himself, or falls short of his ideals, or doesn’t know how to handle a complicated situation, he just looks at that word — STUDENT — and then gently allows for self-forgiveness. Because we are all just students, after all.

We are all new at this.

We’ve never been here before — in these bodies, in this lifetime, in this world. We don’t always know how to handle things in the best way. We don’t want to suffer, but we don’t always know how to avoid it. We long for closeness and peace in our relationships, but we haven’t necessarily learned yet how to find it. We want meaning, but lose sight of it. We want revelation and transcendence, but don’t always know how to reach for it.

But we are learning.

We are always in the process of learning — and it’s not fair to expect that people who are in the process of learning should automatically always get things right. Nobody always gets things right during the learning process.

That’s OK.

We are merely students, after all, and students — by definition — are not masters. We will be students for as long as we live. We wake up every day and take a deep breath and back go to school in the world all over again. That’s what dedicated students do. Every. Single. Day.

This morning, I felt like I REALLY needed the reminder.

So I got out a sharpie, and wrote the word across on my palm of my right hand — my stronger hand — which I can then lay across my heart throughout the day, with hopes that the message will sink in: “It’s OK. You’re doing your best. You’re still learning.”

ONWARD,
LG

As you get started at Harvard, one thing to remember about a research university is this fundamental premise: we are all teachers and we are all learners. In every seminar and laboratory and archive, we cultivate the habits of civil and curious inquiry, of capacious mind and spirit, in order to reconstruct, re-vision, and reformulate what is known. Professors, graduate students, and undergraduates alike must believe in this double commitment of teaching and scholarship, and its continuum of discovery, and of learning.

It doesn't matter if you love him or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up
'Cause you were born this way, baby

My mama told me when I was young
We are all born superstars
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir

There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are
She said, 'cause He made you perfect, babe
So hold your head up,
girl and you'll go far
Listen to me when I say

I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way

Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way, born this way

Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way
Baby, I was born this way
Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way

Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Don't be

Give yourself prudence and love your friends
Subway kid, rejoice of truth
In the religion of the insecure
I must be myself, respect my youth

A different lover is not a sin
Believe capital H-I-M
I love my life, I love this record and
Mi amore vole fe yah

I'm beautiful in my way,
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way

Don't hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way

Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way
Baby, I was born this way
Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way

Don't be drag, just be a queen
Whether you're broke or evergreen
You're black, white, beige, chola descent
You're Lebanese, you're orient

Whether life's disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'Cause baby, you were born this way

No matter gay, straight or bi
Lesbian, transgendered life
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born to survive

No matter black, white or beige
Chola or orient made
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born to be brave

I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way

Don't hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way, yeah

Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way
Baby, I was born this way
Ooh, there ain't no other way, baby, I was born this way
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way
I was born this way, hey
I was born this way, hey
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way, hey

I was born this way, hey
I was born this way, hey
I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way, hey

Sam Levenson, the teacher, author, and famed humorist, wrote a letter to his granddaughter when she was born. Mummy loved it so, she read selections from it this last Christmas Eve. From a line in the letter she entitled it:



TIME-TESTED BEAUTY TIPS

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone.

We leave you a tradition with a future.
The tender loving care of human beings will never become obsolete.
People even more than things have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed.
Never throw out anybody.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

Your “good old days” are still ahead of you, may you have many of them.

An excerpt from "35 simple ways of being beautiful"

Written by Lori Deschene 

There are times when, like Alexander, I’m having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Times when it seems like I might get swept into the tornado of chaos around me. Times when the voice in my head is unkind, and I interpret everything that happens through a negative filter. When I think the worst of people and complain about it; when I expect the worst of my day and lament it.

This admission might seem like the biggest possible acknowledgment of hypocrisy, but I have nothing to give if not my honesty. And the reality is I am imperfect. We all are. We all have moments of weakness—but they’ll only define us if they far surpass moments of kindness, compassion, love, and strength.

Being beautiful doesn’t mean adhering to some picture-perfect fantasy, or living every moment that way. It means realizing this moment is a new opportunity to be who you want to be, and making the effort to seize it.

"My kids r my teachers now. I learn Patience, Gentleness, New Songs & Trends, Unconditional love, Impudence & to Laugh without reason from them." -Shahrukh Khan

"To do something crazy and to be amazing, to achieve something crazy, you have to do something crazy. You have to sacrifice and do something that's not normal, because you want to become not normal. To become a great champion, you can't do what the average Joe does. Because you're not going to get there." 

In response to someone who has asked for the chords for Bhinni Rainariye, I am posting this.  But I want to post a little more than just the chords, so it can help future composers.




When I started composing music in my pre-teen years, I used to compose using very simple chords I had learned from my friends in school. When I did my composition training at Berkeley, I moved on to very complex chord progressions. But lately I have gone back to the roots. Most of my compositions use very simple chords and progressions.

Bhinni Rainariye is not any different. There are just two 4 bar chord progressions that are repeated in the shabad:

1. "Chamkan Taare": Eb Eb Bb Bb
2. All other phrases: Bb Eb Bb Fsus

If you use a different key than Bb, you can use:

1. IV  |  IV  |  I  |  I  |
2. I  |  IV  |  I  |  Vsus  |

In general, if you use I and IV, you are reigning in Raag Asa!  And the classic resolution of Asa is from IV to I.  The classic Tunde Asraje ki Dhun can be sung using (1) IV IV I I ... just in 6/8 instead of 4/4.  Try it!  And notice how you can repeat it again and again and then focus on the words.

Repetition is essential.  Most popular music has repeated chord progressions.  There is a reason for it.  Not only does the repetition make it simple, it also  makes it beautiful ... and approachable ... and meditative.  All these three aspects are very important for kirtan.  Beauty, in addition to truth, has been considered to be the connection to Godliness ... Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram!  Approachable makes it easier for everyone to sing and play along.  And meditative makes it catchy.  It stays with you longer.

Most importantly, repetition helps in subtracting out the music, which in the end is only the instrument to connect to the highest consciousness.  You can even say it is noise.  The human brain has this remarkable capability of canceling out noise.  If everything else is being repeated, it tends to focus on what's changing. With the repetition of chords, you tend to focus on the words -- which are the only thing that is changing. 

This goes to the central aspect of gurbani.  It makes it shabad pradhan.

Happy singing and composing!