Observations on Friendship and God ...

I am sharing a beautiful poem by Rachael Nicole that I found inspiring. It reminds me to say the words that we are meant to say should be said in a timely manner. The words that we choose to silence often come back to haunt us and destroy our peace. 

It also reminds me of Guru Tegh Bahadur's poem that I have sung (see below): "What should I do mother? The noose of death is now on my neck. I have wasted my life and not sung."

Rachael says it reminds her off Thoreau's purpose of writing as described in "Walden": "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."


“Words Unbroken”
- Rachael Nicole
Twitter: @BiblioGypsy86
More: Rachael's Blog

Broken hearts
for broken things.
Bones broken,
dreams and chances
lost and gone.
All can be
mended, reclaimed,
except for words
unbroken when
opportunity has passed
or recipient is
dead.
Unbroken words,
silenced,
haunt – and break
again.

Lost time
- Guru Tegh Bahadur

Listening to Ashley Monroe today, a beautiful song called "Like a Rose."  It seems more of her until now than a song, which is what makes it beautiful.

***


I was only 13 when daddy died
Mama started drinking and my brother just quit trying
I'm still bouncing back, heaven only knows
How I came out like a rose

Ran off with what's his name when I turned 18
Got me out of North Dakota, but it did not change a thing
I left it in the yard, all covered up with snow
And I came out like a rose

Sitting in this diner with a coffee in my hand
Waiting on a bus to some promise land
I got a one way ticket as far as it goes
And I came out like a rose

So I'm headed south to anywhere that ain't so damn cold
Where I can warm my heart and shake the chills from my bones
It took a while to get here, it's been a long hard road
And I came out like a rose

Sitting in this diner with a coffee in my hand
Waiting on a bus to some promise land
I got a one way ticket as far as it goes
And I came out like a rose

It took a while to get here, it's been a long hard road
And I came out like a rose

*****

This is how Ashley describes herself:


I’m Ashley Monroe, and they call me “Hippie Annie.” I was born in East Tennessee and have been singing all my life. When I was 13 my dad passed away, and soon after me and mama headed to Nashville where we’ve been ever since. I met Ran when I was 17. We were both on Sony. At first we wrote each other off as “another blonde singer,” but after we heard each other’s music we couldn’t stay away from one another. I started writing with good ol’ “Holler Annie” a couple years ago and had to play her music for Ran. When I did, she flipped out!! We called “Holler” that night and told her we wanted to start a band! And here we are, the best of friends, writing and singing songs together, and I have a feeling this is just the beginning.

Anna Johnson is one of my favorite reverbnation musicians. Her music is really very pure and touches your soul. And I just discovered some new music from her, temporarily called "Sweet Love" -- my prediction, this will be a big hit:



The other video that I like from her:



Her reverbnation profile:

This morning I heard a new track from Mauro. Apparently it was raining and he put a mic on the window, and recorded some guitar and added some other tracks to that.

Here is Rain (This track will likely change from its current version as more musicians contribute to this, but I think it is already beautiful to listen to; I find this true of almost anything that Mauro records).



Some musicians make music that absolutely pierces your heart. Mauro Clerici from Alzate Brianza (Como, Italy) is one of those musicians. I call him "Mauro, the magician" because his music does magic to the soul. Every time I hear something from Mauro it is very inspiring and absolutely breathtaking. His music is a reflection of his self. His music is stunning because he is an absolutely stunnning human being. And we he talks and writes, even normal comments, he sometimes writes in poetry. Even his words sing and I love that.

Mauro says, "I play, maybe for passion.. or because I love vibrations.. or for an intimate need to do it." This is how one sings!

Recently I had the opportunity to make some music with Mauro. Here is the track he worked on. His guitar made the difference of an ordinary track and an extraordinary track. Much thanks!



Another song from Mauro that I love:

I am listening to Mali Woods today and excited that she will have some new music out soon (video section of her website: http://www.maliwoods.com/webisodes/). I am also excited that this will be a free download!

I have been thoroughly impressed with Mali ... with everything she does. In my opinion, she is likely one of the most accomplished and well-rounded independent musicians in the US. She really knows how to sing the song of life. She is a constant reminder of the song of oneness, which I believe is the purpose of our living. In whatever she does, whether it is singing, blogging, photographing (OMG!), videographing and speaking ... oneness shines in it; she reminds us of universal love.

It is clear that she works very hard on what she loves doing. She looks for perfection in whatever she does and it is quite apparent in her works. She is very entrepreneurial and thinks outside the box; her work stands out because it blends categories in many different ways and still is pure and beautiful (which is difficult to do in any neo-fusion work).

Words really aren't enough for this talented person. You have to go and check all that she is and all that she does. So go, if you haven't tasted what beauty tastes like, go check her website out:http://www.maliwoods.com). And add her on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/maliwoods) and facebook (http://www.facebook.com/maliwoods.music). In Mali's woods, those who have lost it, will find their hearts. I usually find mine.

April Morone ('Annika Doe') is today my angel, not just for writing this poem that I love, but also for leading and creating a loving community of poets. Thanks April! The purpose of life is to sing, and angels like April are here to teach me how to sing with others harmoniously. Here is her beautiful poem, "The Shining Hour":

"The Shining Hour"

I look out at the crowd
And see
Everyone, looking at me
Expectedly,

And I slightly tremble,
nervously,
Behind that beautiful, red velvet curtain
Praying to God a plea

I hear "Fur Elise" played elegantly
The pianist putting her all into it, completely
And I then give myself into its melody to calm me
Then take deep breathes as I'm signaled to get ready

I nervously walk up to take my place
At center stage
And as I start to play
Calmness settles in and stays

Because I am enveloped in beauty-
Music a beauty that only I can see-
such sweetness that I hear as it pours out of me
into the well crafted piano keys

I give into that beauty,
And put all of me
Into it, effortlessly,
As my hands caress these piano keys


With the notes and emotions that pour out of me,
All else is gone away from me-
The sights and sounds of people looking at me,
The shimmering of my silk dress and jewelry,

As the light shines down, softly-
Only those looking at me
notice this subtlety
because I am too immersed in my poetry [of music]


Then, I finish the piece
and am brought back by my family and niece
All clapping for me
It is my shining hour before everybody

I smile and silently take it all in
noting that music is the real one to win
for without it,
I am not complete, within


This is Music's shining hour

Author: April Morone ('Annika Doe')

Alice Leonz recently sang with me for the first time in "Prem - Amore" - a new arrangement of an earlier composition.


She is quite an amazing singer. Within a very short time of hearing the song she came up with a harmony for it, recorded it and sent it. And she sang quite well. Apart from that Alice is very friendly and helpful. She was one of the first people I met on Kompoz and she helped me a lot getting around the website and introducing me to musicians. She really went out of her way. She is a genuinely good human being. Every time I interact with her, she brings a smile to my face. Such talent without an ego is born of pure love.

Therefore, today, I am pleased to say that she is an angel who teaches me how to sing. The song of life is to be sung with enthusiasm and love. And Alice can help anyone sing that song. And that she literally sings so sweetly is bonus! Get to know her better and you will then know what I mean.

To support her:
(1) listen to her beautiful music on reverbnation
http://www.reverbnation.com/aliceleonz

(2) hit "like" on her facebook artist page.
http://www.facebook.com/aliceleonzmusic

(3) send her a message to thank her. 

Today I am reading Kathy Vajda's biographny and being inspired by that.  Kathy Vajda shares my philosophy on where our music really comes from; we have very little to do with it; music is a gift from God and his angels. Here is what she says:

Maria Jose Contreras said,

ama sin razon,
ama con corazon,
ama con el alma,
y con toda la pasion

which means,

Love without reason,
love with heart,
love with the soul,
and with all the passion

And I said,

A amar con todo tu corazón;
Amor con toda pasión
A amar con toda tu alma
Amor sin ninguna razón

Which means,

To love with all your heart
Love with every passion
To love with all your soul
Love without any reason

My dear Guru has removed my fog and has told me there are angels to guide my path, and that they are all around you. This is a story of how I found Brittany, an angel with bigger wings than normal.

First I saw a description on her twitter:
Brittany "Everywhere at once"

"Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music -- the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls."

Such a quote tells you that the person has likely understood the principle of Oneness, "Ekonkar." You know that the person has learned well. They have read a lot and picked this out of everything that they liked. But learning well is not enough. Knowing Ekonkar, that One is all, is not enough. You need to have shed your Ego. You need to be grateful. You need to understand that you were not born with wisdom, that you learned it; and be thankful to where the wisdom came from. Those are true learners, or "Sikhs" -- the disciples of life. Gratefulness is a general sign of learners, one's who have truely understood "Ekonkar Gurprasad." These are angels in bliss.

So I asked her a question. You can call it a trick question, a test, whatever you want. I have been asking this question quite a lot these days. (I used it last week with a person who had read so much, but found that he was too full of himself. Just wanted to talk now. Listening was not his style). So this is what I asked:

"I love your philosophy (twitter description). Where did you learn it from?"

And she responded:

"hey, glad you like it! it's actually from a quote by Henry Miller. Have a great day :))"

Aha -- she is giving credit to someone else. And there was a strange absence of Ego in her message. Somewhat intrigued, I started looking at her blog. And after what I read, I rubbed my eyes. There I found the essence of my dear Guru Nanak's words in her description of herself.

I watch,
I learn,
and I experience ...

taking in
all my surroundings
with an open mind.

I find life
quite beautiful
and am
so grateful
to be here ...
now.

Is not it amazing that this description sounds like a poem, a song? If you don't understand how to live by "Ekonkar Gurprasad," read the above poem again. This is the result of a deep understanding of my dear Guru's message.

And so intrigued I went through her blog. What so many people call "God", and get a lot of people, including themselves, confused. Thats why I don't define Ekonkar as God. That is just confusing. Here is how she defines it: "Wisdom". Here is a description of "God" by a thorough student who understands the bliss of life:

you alone
have sent me here

you alone
know my purpose

you alone
know the path

oh great Wisdom,
guide me through this life

Check out her other writing at http://binnyyy.blogspot.com/. Then check where she learns from, a blog of quotes: http://muchlouderthanwordss.blogspot.com/. If you aspire to understand like her, she even provides a list of what she reads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4952772-brittany.

There are some that become angels for short periods of time, just so I can learn. And then there are those like Britanny who are angels all the time, and have become angels in a very short time in life. I try to find such angels everyday; the ones with large wings are hard to find living. I am fortunate to have found Brittany and look forward to learning from her.

I love to make note of some of the best music I am hear that inspires me. Lately, I have been thinking of writing something on Natalie Brown (http://www.natalie-brown.com/).  Last night she gave me the perfect reason to ... she has a free song up today for valentines day: "I knew you were the one."  Make use of this opportunity and join her mailing list (you will get an email with the download link after signing up):
http://nataliebrown.fanbridge.com/

Natalie has been singing since she was 5, what a breath of fresh air her songs are.  All of them! She is a very hard working musician and is a perfectionist, a combination that results in awesome music in my opinion. She has a heart piercing voice and beautiful arrangements in her songs.  And on top of that, Natalie is very helpful and a genuine friend. An angel.

Usually an album has one or two good songs, and the rest are garden variety.  This is not true of Natalie's new album Random Thoughts.  Its quite unrandomly beautiful throughout.  Whether it is "I wonder", "Come Closer", and "Things that you do" -- and its hard not to fall in love with "Around the world." On Reverbnation (widget below), you can hear previews of several of her songs and you can download a full version of "I wonder".  I highly recommend  buying this album from itunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/things-that-you-do/id307458528?i=307458565






Oh ... and one more thing.  Whether you are a musician or a listener, you will learn a lot from Natalie if you watch her videos.  They include some of her music, commentary on where her music is going and interesting commentary on life in general along with thought provoking questions -- http://www.youtube.com/nataliemedia.

I had posted a link to my poem "Thanksgiving Prayer" on my facebook account, and my friend Meeta wrote this encouraging comment:

"Shiv. I love this poem. It is perfect! It is absolutely perfect and so deeply humble and human. So sincere. I can feel the yearning which is so universal. I love the stanzas. The realization that we only have Baba Ji, Wahe Guru as our... guide. And I love that you refer to the Gurus as your angels. Okay. I'm motivated to send you something now. You made my day!! I keep reading it over and over and over again. Wow -- I wish I started reading your stuff earlier! :) A++++++++ My friend. A+"

I didn't understand it as well before, but now I understand how Bhagat Kabir would explain her reaction. Sometimes, as fruits and flowers, conditioned manipulations of our Creator, we and our poems taste and smell delicious; that happens when both the writer and reader are connected to our roots, the essence of Truth (Satnaam), through the branches of pure knowledge (in this case the pure knowledge is Guru Tegh Bahadur who wrote the shabad "Ab Main Kaun Upao Karoon").

Here is the definition of Satnaam by Kabir: Kabir - What is "Satnaam", Our True Identity

So thank you, Meeta giving me a richer understanding of Kabir's beautiful poem, and in the process reminding me of our One common father.

Today I read an email from my friend Sarah Frausto asking me "What is Love?" So I wrote my answer in a poem for her: Drive the Fall to Love