Compassion, Creativity, Buddhism, The Quest for Truth & Wisdom, Health & Wellness, Music, Films, Literature, Art, Revolution, Healing, Critical Thinking, Mental Health Advocacy, Social Justice, Resilience, Reflection, The Beauty of Melancholy, Spiritual Development, Consciousness, Memento Mori, LOVE…
Richard Ashcroft’s angelic voice feels like such a healing vibration. I truly feel his soul radiating boundless love. Listening to the beauty of this song brings me to the point of tears. Richard is indeed blessed with such a gift and talent. Through his art, he is able to contribute to the healing of the world {like other artists}.
In Leave Me High, Richard says that “no love can fulfill like this love that you give.” He isn’t specifically talking about a lover in a typical romantic sense {although he could be}. Another possibility is that he is referencing self-love; where no one else can complete you or fulfill you like your own love can.
The idea of self-love as a source of spiritual strength and healing is discussed at length in the mastery of love by Don Miguel Ruiz. Self-love is the key to happiness and peace in our relationships with others and ourselves. For Don Miguel Ruiz, self-love is non-negotiable because it is so married to respect. It is the key ingredient for a spiritually and emotionally fulfilled life.
“Humans hunt for love. We feel that we need that love because we believe we don’t have love, because we don’t love ourselves. We hunt for love in other humans just like us, expecting to get love from them when these humans are in the same condition as we are. They don’t love themselves either, so how much love can we get from them? We merely create a bigger need that isn’t real; we keep hunting and hunting, but in the wrong place, because other humans don’t have the love we need.”
I suspect that Richard is referring to God or a universal/higher power where no one can fulfill him like this divine love does. He sings, …”leave me high, leave me looking over mountains in the heavens…”. The song has a spiritual vibe to me and love is equated withascension and enlightenment, “your love take me higher, bring me light, everything.”
The main thesis to me is “take those chains from your heart and soul.” In essence, Richard is speaking about emancipation but from what? I think the chains are the walls that we keep to protect our hearts. We can become imprisoned by all the ways that we try to protect ourselves from pain, loss/grief, suffering and betrayal. By wearing armour on our hearts and souls, we risk missing out on real intimacy, love and healing. It is much wiser to listen to Richard and “take those chains from your heart and soul…”
*
What is your interpretation of this song?
I am by no means right or wrong.
I just thought it would be fun to try to interpret it.
“Leave me high Leave me looking Leave me low Leave me warm No love can fulfill Like this love that you give Leave me high Leave me looking Over mountains in the heavens No love can fulfill Like this love that you give
Wasted moments come together Like a boat on a stream Your love take me higher Bring me light, everything Oh take those chains from within my soul Like a slow train moving my soul on Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Take those chains from your heart and soul Like a slow train moving my soul on
Hello, hello, hello, hello
Take those chains from your heart and soul Like a slow train moving my soul on Take those chains from your heart and soul Yeah like a slow train Take those chains from your heart and soul Yeah like a slow train Take those chains from your heart and soul Yeah like a slow train Take those chains from your heart and soul Like a slow train moving my soul on Through the mountains over heavens Take those chains from your heart and soul Yeah like a slow train Take those chains from your heart and soul Through the mountains over heavens Through the mountains over heavens Leave me high Leave me looking.”
his self acts as his own enemy like an external foe.”
–Bhagavad-Gita, VI.6
*
You can be your best friend or your own worst enemy. It really is your choice. Sadly, most people are their own worst enemies. They consciously or unconsciously engage in self-sabotage/self-destructive behaviour.
This is the shadow side that Carl Jung talks about. {I will be discussing this fascinating concept in future posts}.
The question is: how to emancipate yourself from your self-destructive prison?
How do you stop fighting yourself?
*
Please enjoy I Against I by Mos Def…
*
Lyrics
“I-ya, I against I, flesh of my flesh, and mind of my mind,
two of a kind but one won’t survive,
my images reflect in the enemies eye, and his images reflect in mine the same time,
I-ya, I-ya, I against I, flesh of my flesh, and mind of my mind, two of a kind but one won’t survive,
Right here is where the end gon’ start at, conflict, contact ‘n’ combat,
fighters stand where the land is marked at, settle the dispute about who the livest, 3 word answer, Whoever survive this, only one of us can ride forever, so you and I can’t ride together, can’t live or cant die together, all we can do is collide together, so I skillfully apply the pressure, won’t stop until I’m forever… one! A doorstep where death never come, spread across time til my time never done, and I’m never done, walk tall, why ever run? when they move if I ever come? bad man never fret the war, tell’em come general we have the stock, the mad fire burn I-ya,
I against I, flesh of my flesh, and mind of my mind, two of a kind but one won’t survive, my images reflect in the enemies eye, and his images reflect in mine the same time, I-ya, I-ya,
I against I, flesh of my flesh, and mind of my mind, two of a kind but one won’t survive, survive (x16)
Reign supreme in your U-N-I, V-E-R-S-E with the sharpness, narrow row building no space for partners, no space for drivers, no space for walkers, no space regardless, your on my path then get off it, hardheaded and unresponsive, get they lives put on target with harshness, come with the canons sparkin’ they darken, who am i? one man squadron, Ma stir the fire this time that’d snatch your tomorrow, the thousand-yard spear that’ll pierce through your armour, you can get it on right now if you want to, but when ya front 9 get marched through, I warned you, You know who forever belong to,
I-ya, I-ya I against I, flesh of my flesh, and mind of my mind, two of a kind but one won’t survive, my images reflect in the enemies eye, and his images reflect in mine the same time, I-ya, I-ya, I against I, flesh of my flesh, and mind of my mind, two of a kind but one won’t survive, my images reflect in the enemies eye, and his images reflect in mine, survive survive (x16).”
Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s relationship to FBI Profiler Will Graham is one of deep intimacy. It is a complicated relationship of intellectual equals and more. Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy played it beautifully.
I really cannot recommend watching Hannibal enough. It is by far one of my most favourite television series ever. I really think Bryan Fuller, the gifted actors and his team have created a cinematic masterpiece made for television.
Hannibal is surreal and sophisticated with a dark romanticism. It is cerebral as it delves into the psyches of FBI profiler Will Graham and Dr.Hannibal Lecter.
It will be a delight for anyone that enjoys psychology, criminology, Bryan Fuller’s creative vision and Thomas Harris‘ books respectively.
I came across this article on the internet about psychic cords. It proposes that we are connected psychically through these cords and we stay connected even if a relationship ends. The relevant quote from the article says:
…”It doesn’t matter if you were the person who walked away or if someone else left you, a loss is felt either way. It is especially painful if a relationship ends without closure. Unfortunately, often times when people “breakup” what they don’t realize is that they may very well still have cords attached…”
I am not sure if everything this quote proposes is true- especially about both parties feeling the loss. Someone that leaves their partner for someone else or simply wants the relationship to end may not feel any loss- not at all like the abandoned and rejected party does.
It can be painful when a relationship ends without closure. This part is obvious because at least one of the two people is left in the dark wondering what they think they did wrong or how they didn’t measure up. Luckily, you can always try to find closure on your own and cut the psychic cord to start a new chapter in your life. That ending can lead to a new beginning with someone that truly deserves you.
Can we be psychically attached to someone?I think so.
What about you?
Agent Mulder from The X-Files
Please enjoy…To You Alone by The Beta Band
{I love the line,
“A black box inside my mind Records the time we spent together.”
It truly is genius to think of our memories stored on a black box just like the black box on an air plane that records the flight.
“If you could look at me from above my feet
I’ll have you back in time for me, don’t look back for me
There’s not a lottery for you in there
Guitar in hand, hold it like a song man
You do not realise the line that runs from me
Too glad to visualise the lie line that runs from me
I’m sending out, I’m sadder now
Before the sky will fall on yer, who’s calling yer A black box inside my mind Records the time we spent together
You do not realise the line that runs from me Across the universe to you alone
The universe, are you alone
Are you alone
Are you alone
Are you alone
Are you alone
I’m a-singin like a fool
I’m a-singin like a fool
I’m a-singin like a fool
I’m a-singin like a fool
She’s like the snow-capped trees in my jigsaw
Lose at the seams within fear of your dreams
She’s like a fool you meet at the hot store
Hand in the pale, and the blacker the veil
The blacker the veil
I’m a-singin like a fool
I’m a-singin like a fool
I’m a-singin like a fool
I’m a-singin like a fool
I’m sending out, I’m sadder now
Before the sky will fall on yer, who’s calling yer A black box inside my mind Records the time we spent together
You do not realise the line that runs from me Across the universe to you alone
Are you alone
Are you alone
Are you alone
Are you alone
Are you alone
Are you alone
I’m a-singin like a fool.”
*This post is dedicated to my friend Olly who is the biggest Karl Pilkington fan that I know.
Karl Pilkington is a critical thinker.
Karl Loves To Think Outside The Box…
Part of Karl’s mass appeal is that he stays true to himself. Despite his massive success, Karl seems to still be authentic. He is always honest, curious, humble and so funny. He is best known as comedian Ricky Gervais’ friend and colleague on their very successful podcasts The Ricky Gervais Show. He was the star of an idiot abroad and even wrote a diary about his adventures. His latest creative endeavour is the moaning of life.
*
In this short video clip Karl deconstructs happiness in relation to physical beauty/fitness.
For the moaning of life, he meets a man who has had 120 procedures and approximately $150,000 worth of plastic surgeries. Karl posed without his shirt next to the man who’s had all the plastic surgeries. The interviewer says to Karl, “I am quite impressed with that you don’t care. You are happy to stand there posing with your top off. And let’s face it, you haven’t the best body known to man.”
I love Karl’s humble yet refreshing attitude in response to the interviewer. He replies that his body is “not a bad one…it works. But I understand that any women watching this wouldn’t go…oh, look at him. But that’s the reality isn’t it? That’s what most people look like.” Why is Karl’s physique so unattractive or unacceptable?? I don’t think it is by any means. It’s a manner of perception and what we are being sold {in an ideological sense i.e. perfection}. Most people prefer fantasy and illusion instead of truth. Karl Pilkington is the ultimate realist and he employs his critical thinking skills to deconstruct the situation.
Karl inquisitively asks, “So I don’t know what’s happened where they think that’s normal on the left.” Adverting has sent people on a relentless quest for perfection, beauty/sex appeal and youth. Men are now being attacked with similar psychological warfare that women are attacked with {albeit to a much lesser degree}. Even children are being groomed as consumers.
We are reduced to our exterior appearances- not even amounting to the sum of our parts. In the mainstream media, what we look like has solely defined who we are. Our rich inner life, emotions, intellect, spirituality have been erased from the discourse and divorced from our identities. I wonder what consequences this emotional and spiritual disconnection will bring.We cannot allow society, marketing/advertising to dictate to us who we are. Your self identity needs to be your own creation because only you know who you are inside.
The ridiculous new plastic surgery that Karl mentions is testicle ironing. What has happened to people that they need to invent these new procedures? Are they really that bored or obsessed with unattainable perfection? Why don’t people focus on true problems in humanity: poverty; hunger; war; abuse to children, animals, women, the environment; human trafficking; genital mutilation; acid attacks; rapes; racism, sexism, discrimination of all types; social inequality, etc? I always wonder what great things people could accomplish in their personal lives {and humanity as a whole} if we wouldn’t be seduced by this culture of narcissism and distraction.
Will people wake up to their own power in order to enact change in their lives and in the context of the world? Will most remain asleep? Time will tell but hopefully more will realize this matrix is a prison {if we chose to stay enslaved in it}. It is time to wake up and realize that emancipation from society’s brainwashing is in our hands. We hold the key. This quest for perfection, endless youth and eternal beauty is a social construction and an illusion.
No one will argue against self-care as caring about one’s health and appearance is quite healthy. The danger lies in caring too much because it can distract you from more important things in life that are more deserving of your time, energy and attention. Focusing obsessively on such trivial and vain things such as perfection seems like such a waste of energy, time, money and human potential but that’s just my opinion. As Karl says, “don’t worry about it.”
*
Do you agree or disagree with Karl Pilkington?
Why or why not?
{I hope to feature more moaning of life clips and Karl Pilkington in the near future}.
{I was lucky enough to see her in person when she opened up for Radiohead. It was divine and I loved her music}.
I copied this from her biography page…
“”Known as no1darker – Parker has always been uncompromising, passionate about the music and loaded with don’t–give-a-shit resolve. She has a love of art, arps, photography, architecture, graffiti, 808, concrete, glaciers, adidas, Bass, rust and all things white. She is incredibly hard to pigeon hole : one minute she will be in the studio making dark, menacing, haunting music- going from Booty shakin’ beats to string drenched ballads. The next she’ll be climbing mountains and reaching new summits; from Kilimanjaro in Africa to the avenue of the volcanoes in Ecuador. She has worked for many charity’s, including Crisis, the NSPCC, Get kids going and many more, she even dressed up as Pudsey Bear for Children in Need!! An old school analogue girl at heart, she still remains a die hard B Girl and is defiantly a freaky B*tch! One things for sure: She’d give the men in white coats a run for their money if they even dared think about taking her away…”
-Time Out magazine
“Beats so phat, so dope and so dark, there ain’t a NYC MC alive (cept maybe Rakim) that could handle them”
“Knowing our self Who we think that we are Constantly changing Constantly changing
So near and so far
Knowing ourself
Who we think that we are
Constantly changing
Constantly changing
So near and so far Who we think that we are Who we think that we are Who we think that we are.”
Summer is definitely my favourite season. It is the season I was born in and it is also the season when I feel the most alive. I love to see people enjoying the beautiful weather. I love to soak up the sun and be outside as much as I can. The only tragedy is that summer doesn’t last long {where I live}.
{Note to self: move to a place that has a tropical climate}.
What does summer make you feel like? It makes me feel like this Dee Lite song: Groove is in the Heart. {I haven’t tried out the dance moves in the video yet}.
One night I was on a moonlight walk and I witnessed something that was so romantic and lovely. A couple was going to sit on a bench and I noticed that he was carrying a guitar. When they sat down, he started playing for her. I felt like I was intruding on their intimate serenade/moonlight guitar session so I left. In my mind, it would be such a soulful way to spend a summer night.
When you are with someone you love and loves you in return, everything seems magical.
I am working on some posts right now. Specifically, I am getting ready to work on some “health is wealth” posts where I will be discussing health topics and my fitness inspirations. There are so many things I want to work on. Hopefully these posts will manifest in time.
I have been wanting to do these stream of consciousness posts for quite some time. I had the idea to do them months ago but they have only manifested now. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to write them mostly at night because my mind is more lucid. Aside from this, I just adore the night. {I also equally adore the day, the sun and the sunlight}. The moonlight illuminates my soul and all that is hidden in the day is revealed- my heart’s desires. I feel so inspired to write at night. After all, I am of the nocturnal persuasion.
{I simply adore DJ Shadow’s music. This song/the whole entroducing album is a masterpiece}.
I am going to just write what is on my mind at the time without over-thinking or over-analyzing. It is going to be chaos, anarchy and complete freedom. Having a blog means having complete creative license to create the type of blog that you want. This carte blanche enables me to write when the mood strikes since there are no deadlines. I think it will be a fun experiment of sorts. I only hope that you enjoy it.
Peace & Love…
I adore this picture of Charlize Theron praying. She is also one of my favourite actresses/people.
Radiohead came to be my favourite band out of all the many bands/artists that I love.
I simply adore them.
My faith in humanity, life and love is restored when I listen to them.
When I watch this video, I am reminded of how much musicians and artists are so necessary in this world. They are vital because they are alchemists who can transform pain and suffering into beauty and enlightenment.
They are also healers that greatly contribute to the healing of the world.
I have a great reverence for musicians and artists.
Tricky/Adrian Thaws is an artist that is unequivocal.
He has no peer.
Tricky is a Humble Musical Genius…
He was one of the original members of Massive Attack and he is credited along with them for inventing the genre of trip hop {although it is a label that he rejects}.
In this video clip, Tricky reflects on the seductive powers of ego.
Tricky disregards music critics and writers but instead embraces his listeners. He has disdain for the term “fan” as it is derived from the word fanatic. Tricky feels that it is derogatory; instead, he calls them like-minded people. For Tricky it is his listeners that really matter. He says a lot of what guides his career is a dedication to his listeners.
Tricky calls what music critics write as forgettable, disposable and devoid of meaning as “his music will still be there after the magazine has faded and gone.” He concludes that music criticism is not really real. {Any loyal Tricky listener will notice the connection to his songs “for real” and “really real”}.
Ego is a very dangerous element for Tricky. He observes,
“Ego is a very dangerous thing to play around with. Ego will get you quicker than coke, quicker than heroine, quicker than drugs, drink…In this business, it’s all those things. You got cocaine, you got heroine, you got alcohol, self-abuse…Everybody knows what they can do to an artist. The ego is just as dangerous as all of those…When you start to take yourself too seriously…
What I always remember…now it is my turn and one day no one’s going to be interested in what I’m doing and there’s going to someone else…there’s going to be a new Tricky. There’s going to be a new kid that someone’s talking about. I’m going to be a has been…an artist of back then. I’m going to be an old school artist. I might still have people that are in to what I’m doing but the interest is not going to be there. Every dog has his day.So it’s just short-term now, appreciate it and better hope you got something else to go on to because you can’t stay in the limelight. You can’t stay a now person. You can’t be the in person.
When I’m 50, whatever people think about me, if I, people will say if I changed the face of music. That aint’ going to matter. You know what I mean? It’s going to be someone else who changes the face of music or what people write about. You can’t really take yourself too seriously. You got to have fun. You got to feel like you’re lucky… I could be out there doing construction work. I could have a job where I get up at four, five o’clock in the morning and work on the road all day. That’s a hard job. Now I go around the world doing press and playing shows.
Ego don’t come into it…”
It is this gratitude that sets Tricky apart as he completely removes ego from the equation. His humility and work ethos are so refreshing in this age of ego and narcissism. I completely respect Tricky, his music and his philosophy. I have been an admirer and listener of his music for so many years. Tricky’s music has been a continuous healing soundtrack in my life. His music continues to sing to my soul and like any timeless love affair, I can honestly say that this love has only intensified with time. I deeply appreciate Tricky’s music/art, talent and humility. I am always fascinated to know more about Adrian Thaws, the brilliant yet humble man behind the artist Tricky.
*Happy birthday Tricky!!!
I love and respect you, your music/art more than ever.
Jim cites the blues and folk music {or country music as he said later} are the roots of American music; namely rock n’ roll. He thought that rock music was a fusion of the blues and folk/country music. Jim felt that rock music was dying and that musicians were returning to their roots in either the blues or folk/country music. He prophesied that in the future music would turn to electronics; specifically he foresaw the rise of electronica/trip hop, rap music, hip hop and the DJ {disc jockey}, etc.
Did Jim’s shamanic powers grant him his futuristic vision?
Regardless of how he was able to foresee the future, Jim was a visionary.
{I would have loved to see the evolution of The Doors’ music and Jim’s poetry}.
*
Please enjoy this electronic remix of The Doors’ interviews…
Jack’s desire to create something new is the nucleus of his creative process.
He vehemently rejects the usual paradigm of the rock musician lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll {although he says it is a heavy metal way of thinking}.
Jack says, “That’s not creating. That’s not art. That’s not trying to exist in a place where you are sort of mimicking God in a way, in a small tribute to try to create something brand new that didn’t exist before and to see if it can change people’s emotions…”
I love everything Jack said but particularly the notion of musicians mimicking God with their creative tribute. We have all heard the phrase “rock god” in reference to certain rock n’ roll musicians. Jack’s version is a lot more humble and realistic. He only claims to mimic God and not actually be a god. His reasons are very pure because he only wants to create art and provide a conduit for people’s emotions. Music has the transformative and cathartic power to alter people’s emotions. Music therapy exists to help people heal.
Jack’s impetus for being a musician is derived from his creativity. He wants to share emotions and create an experience for his listeners- an emotional connection born from an artistic experience.
Jack ends the video clip with this observation,
“Partying and all those things and meeting people is kind of boring. It’s easy to do that in a bar. That’s for people who really have no idea what to do with themselves, I think. That shouldn’t be associated with art.”
It seems as though his artistic vision is quite clear and that he is a serious artist. Jack deeply loves and respects music. He has a higher vision for art; perhaps one of elevated consciousness and transcendence. Art can be so many things to different people. It can cathartic or destructive. It can be haunting or enlightening.
*I am a fan of Jack White but especially The White Stripes. When I first heard The White Stripes all those years ago, I simply fell in love with their music.
I have yet to hear his other bands The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.
Hello everyone. I thought I would start this year’s blog posts with a memento mori reflection on death and life. Since it is impossible to divorce death from life, we can use reflective energy to focus on how we want to live.
The beauty that Brandon Lee speaks with is eloquent, timeless and utterly peaceful. I am sure most of you know that Brandon was tragically killed while filming The Crow in 1993. This video clip was shot a little while before he died.
{I hope to do a post on The Crow and possibly Brandon Lee in the future}.
Let’s reflect on life and death with the same peace and gratitude that Brandon exudes.
Brandon Lee…A Beautiful Soul That Lived With Electric Vitality
and yet everything happens only a certain number of times and a very small number, really.
How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood?
An afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it. Perhaps four, five times more. Perhaps not even that.
How many more times will you watch the full moon rise?
Perhaps twenty and yet it all seems limitless.”
-From the book The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
This quote is on Brandon’s Tombstone. Brandon is buried next to his father Bruce Lee in the Lake View Cemetary in Seattle, Washington.
Here is a closer look…
Brandon loved this quote so much that he had chosen it for his wedding invitations.
He was to be married to his soul mate Eliza Hutton one week after he finished filming The Crow on April 17th, 1993. Brandon tragically died on March 31st, 1993.
“Rows of houses all bearing down on me I can feel their blue hands touching me All these things into position All these things we’ll one day swallow whole And fade out again and fade out
This machine will not communicate These thoughts and the strain I am under Be a world child, form a circle Before we all go under And fade out again and fade out again
Cracked eggs, dead birds Scream as they fight for life I can feel death, can see it’s beady eyes All these things into position All these things we’ll one day swallow whole And fade out again and fade out again
Immerse your soul in love Immerse your soul in love.”
SONG INFORMATION
Released: March 1995 Found on: The Bends & Street Spirit single. Acoustic version found on Fake Plastic Trees CD2.
This song was written in 1993, around the same time as “My Iron Lung.” “Creep” is Radiohead’s American hit, this is the British equivalent. Noted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Thom Yorke as “one of [the band’s] saddest songs” and describing it as “the dark tunnel without the light at the end,” “Street Spirit” was released as the band’s ninth single and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, the highest chart position the band achieved until “Paranoid Android” from OK Computer, which reached number three in 1997.
Yorke has suggested that the song was inspired by the 1991 novel The Famished Road, written by Ben Okri, and that its music was inspired by R.E.M. The track is built around a soft melody in A minor with an arpeggio (broken chord) guitar part.
Thom: “Street Spirit is our purest song, but I didn’t write it. It wrote itself. We were just its messengers; its biological catalysts. Its core is a complete mystery to me, and, you know, I wouldn’t ever try to write something that hopeless. All of our saddest songs have somewhere in them at least a glimmer of resolve. Street Spirit has no resolve. It is the dark tunnel without the light at the end. It represents all tragic emotion that is so hurtful that the sound of that melody is its only definition. We all have a way of dealing with that song. It’s called detachment. Especially me; I detach my emotional radar from that song, or I couldn’t play it. I’d crack. I’d break down on stage. That’s why its lyrics are just a bunch of mini-stories or visual images as opposed to a cohesive explanation of its meaning. I used images set to the music that I thought would convey the emotional entirety of the lyric and music working together. That’s what’s meant by ‘all these things you’ll one day swallow whole’. I meant the emotional entirety, because I didn’t have it in me to articulate the emotion. I’d crack…
Our fans are braver than I to let that song penetrate them, or maybe they don’t realise what they’re listening to. They don’t realise that Street Spirit is about staring the fucking devil right in the eyes, and knowing, no matter what the hell you do, he’ll get the last laugh. And it’s real, and true. The devil really will get the last laugh in all cases without exception, and if I let myself think about that too long, I’d crack.
I can’t believe we have fans that can deal emotionally with that song. That’s why I’m convinced that they don’t know what it’s about. It’s why we play it towards the end of our sets. It drains me, and it shakes me, and hurts like hell every time I play it, looking out at thousands of people cheering and smiling, oblivious to the tragedy of its meaning, like when you’re going to have your dog put down and it’s wagging its tail on the way there. That’s what they all look like, and it breaks my heart. I wish that song hadn’t picked us as its catalysts, and so I don’t claim it. It asks too much. I didn’t write that song.”
He notes, “the ultimate goal in acquiring money is to have enough money so you don’t have to worry about money.
His observation, “the best thing about money is when you don’t have to pay attention to money” is paradoxical.
It is a paradox that you can stop paying attention to money only when you have money.
This begs the question of how much money does one need to have in order to stop paying attention to it?
{I suspect that it varies from individual to individual}.
Moby talks about how he grew up poor and even lived in an abandoned factory in a crack neighborhood.
*It should be noted that at no point in time does he complain about the poverty he experienced.
One senses an air of gratitude from Moby for these experiences.
His humble beginnings are quite the contrast to his massive success as a musician. I believe that Moby truly deserves and enjoys his success- financial and otherwise.
His last point was that he doesn’t understand the pursuit of money for the sake of money.
Chasing money for the sake of money sounds like greed to me.
To me it seems that Moby is asking existential questions about human existence.
Specifically, he is questioning purpose and what brings happiness and satisfaction.
He does not think that happiness is derived solely from money.
Moby Loves Animals & Is An Animal Activist…
However, Moby notes that money can improve the quality of your life.
Sociology teaches us that a person’s income and social status greatly impacts their health and quality of life.
Sadly, society is not a level playing field; hence, the vital and urgent importance of social equality is understood.
Moby invites us to define success and find happiness and satisfaction on own our terms.
“I have never understood the concept of infatuation.
It has always been my understanding that being ‘infatuated’ with someone means you think you are in love, but you’re actually not; infatuation is (supposedly) just a foolish, fleeting feeling.
But if being ‘in love’ is an abstract notion, and it’s not tangible, and there is no way to physically prove it to anyone else…
well, how is being in love any different than having an infatuation?
They’re both human constructions.
If you think you’re in love with someone and you feel like you’re in love with someone, then you obviously are; thinking and feeling is the sum total of what love is.
Why do we feel an obligation to certify emotions with some kind of retrospective, self-imposed authenticity?”
“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you.
This storm is you. Something inside of you.
So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step. There’s no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That’s the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.
And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You’ll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others.
And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain.
When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in.
*Side note: “Riders On The Storm” was the last song recorded by the members of The Doors, according to Ray, as well asJim´s last recorded song to be released (recorded December 1970 – January 1971 – released in June ´71).”
He says that he always had a desire to travel and move.
In his birthplace of Ireland, Gabriel feels that he is always colliding with his past.
He feels defined by his past in Dublin.
Whereas in New York he feels that he has a clean slate- a tabula rasa where he is “free to compose his own present.”
Gabriel lived in Los Angeles for five years but he decided to leave. He feels that when you live in a place without clearly defined seasons, your sense of time becomes distorted. Time passes almost invisibly yet quickly.
*
Gabriel decided to move to New York and he lives there presently.
He compares Los Angeles to New York and he focuses on their restless nature.
“It’s a restless city…Los Angeles even more so than New York is a city where people come to…it has to exist for those people who can’t exist in places outside of it.
It exists for people who become in a way…who outgrow or out-dream or out-fantasize their own places
For Gabriel, Los Angeles is a land of paradox.
It offers new beginnings and freedom yet an ambiance of melancholy haunts it.
He notes, “The sense of freedom and light and being able to re-invent oneself is very strong there…but there’s also a sense of melancholy that pervades the place.”
I found the following observation to be the most intriguing.
“It is a place where people think that if they get successful enough, they are not going to die.”
In essence, Gabriel is using memento mori to analyze people’s avoidance of death. It is almost as if success was used as a passport out of death.
This incisive observation is very Buddhist as Buddha believe in impermanence {i.e. everything dies}.
*
One doesn’t need to have a gypsy soul to want to move or travel.
We’ve all dreamed of moving our proverbial roots to far away magical lands.
I know I have…
I believe the term is called wanderlust.
*
Ireland is definitely one of the countries that I long to visit.
Majestic Ireland…
It is the birth place of two of my favourite actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers and of course Gabriel Byrne. They often speak about Ireland’s sublime beauty.
Ireland’s Majestic Northern Lights…
To be honest there are so many places I would love to visit.
Since I was a child I fell in love with Egyptian history and mythology.
Ancient Egypt has fascinated me and still fascinates me to this day.
Egypt is one place I would love to visit.
Egypt: A Land of Alchemical Beauty
Iceland also seems like a mystical land full of haunting beauty.
The Magical Northern Lights in Iceland…
I would love to experience the northern lights- aurora borealis.
I would love to experience the beauty of Iceland that resonates in the music of Björk and Sigur Rós.
I remember reading some Buddhist teachings many moons ago that spoke about the ocean of consciousness.
It spoke about each of us being a wave in the ocean.
We think that we are completely independent; that we are a single wave because of the illusion of our ego.
Our ego clouds and distorts our perception creating a false sense of self.
It is complicated as in Western society there is so much focus on the self: self-improvement, self-esteem, self-confidence, self-doubt, etc.
The truth is that while it may seem that we are individual waves,
we are actually part of the ocean; the ocean of humanity.
*
I really cannot understand how some people can have no compassion for each other.
At the root of this poverty of the spirit is a lack of compassion for the self, selfishness and an overindulgence of the ego.
{One cannot offer compassion if you have no compassion for yourself}.
As I said to my friend, if we don’t help each other then we will all sink.
I know that we all have our individual problems but if we just focus on them, then we cannot get out of our heads and the prison of selfishness.
There is a delicate balance between having compassion and helping others with helping yourself and protecting yourself from harm. Boundaries are necessary.
I always struggle with how to have compassion while not losing myself.
The sad truth is that many people mistake kindness for weakness.
The truth is that it takes great strength to be compassionate in this world.
It takes great spiritual strength to open your heart and mind to offer your compassion.
*
When the triple disasters were taking place in Japan in 2011, I was horrified. I was watching the news on the internet. I constantly watched BBC, CBC and Al Jazeera with tears in my eyes.
I could not help crying as I watched the news.
It hurt my heart and soul to witness such suffering.
I could not believe that on top of the tsunami and the earthquake there was a nuclear situation as well. As I thought of Fukushima, I was reminded of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. I was very concerned and afraid for Japan. I still am.
While I had no family, friends or loved ones in Japan, I felt deep compassion for the Japanese.
It didn’t matter in the least if I didn’t know a single soul in Japan.
We are all interconnected and if Japan was suffering and grieving then we all were.
I still think of Japan and how the triple disasters affected and affect people today- especially the effects of nuclear contamination/radiation.
The reason that I share this is because I had an epiphany then.
My good friend and I were having coffee one day {during the disasters in 2011}.
I was telling him about what was happening in Japan.
He stopped me in the middle of my sentence and said very coldly, “you know what…I just don’t care.”
That is when I realized that something inside of him died.
To be honest, I was very disturbed by his comment and his attitude.
Upon deep reflection, I felt sadness and compassion for him.
He had just gone through a very painful and dark time with the illness of his mother. I know that this experience had a very damaging effect on him.
I think he was most likely spiritually disconnected and emotionally numb at that point.
He probably had nothing left to give as he was in desperate need of healing.
*
Compassion is the greatest gift you can offer someone.
Compassion is what makes us truly human.
Our humanity is rooted in compassion.
*Remember that we are all in this life together.
We all depend on each other.
We are all interdependent as waves in the ocean of humanity.
*
Please enjoy Ocean by Azam Ali and Loga Ramin Torkian as I felt it complimented this post.
It is from Azam Ali’s album: “Lamentation of Swans: A Journey Towards Silence.”
“Niyaz, which means ‘yearning’ in Persian and Urdu, was formed in 2005 by Azam Ali, multi-instrumentalist Loga Ramin Torkian and two-time Grammy nominated producer and electronic musician Carmen Rizzo.
The band borrows from an historic lineage of Middle Eastern poets setting verse to music, perhaps most famously known today through the work of the 13th century Persian poet Rumi and the endless barrage of quotes attributed to him on Twitter and Facebook.
While the immediate goal of Niyaz was to explore the music and identity of Iranians living in exile and struggling to maintain their cultural identity in the modern world on their first two acclaimed records, Niyaz and Nine Heavens, the band has expanded that theme with Sumud.”
*
Azam Ali is the singer with the heavenly voice in Niyaz.
Her voice is truly “otherworldly” and hauntingly beautiful.
She has also been a part of another band named VAS. Their albums include: Sunyata (1997), Offerings (1998), In the Garden of Souls (2000) and Feast of Silence (2004).
Azam has released seven albums between Niyaz and VAS.
Niyaz’s albums include: Niyaz (2005), Nine Heavens (2008) and Sumud (2012).
She has also released four solo albums: Portals of Grace (2002), Elysium for the Brave (2006), From Night to the Edge of Day (2011) and Lamentation of Swans- A Journey Towards Silence (2013).
Azam has also been involved in movie soundtracks (the movie 300) and video game soundtracks.
For more information, please visit her official website…
“Marina Abramovic and Ulay started an intense love story in the 70s, performing art out of the van they lived in. When they felt the relationship had run its course, they decided to walk the Great Wall of China, each from one end, meeting for one last hug in the middle and never seeing each other again. at her 2010 MoMa retrospective Marina performed ‘The Artist Is Present’ as part of the show, a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing it.”
Soulful Gaze Between Performance Artists Marina Abramović & Ulay…
A Soulful Touch…
Ulay’s Eyes Reveal A Love Remembered…
*
They say that the eyes are the mirrors of the soul but what about the heart?
The eyes reveal the heart’s hidden desires and suffering.
Marina’s Tears Reveal A Love Never Forgotten…
*
Have you ever looked into someone’s eyes and saw a mysterious universe that you want to discover?
“Touched You say that I am too So much of what you say is true I’ll never find someone quite like you Again I’ll never find someone quite like you Like you
The razors and the dying roses plead I don’t leave you alone The demi-gods and hungry ghosts of God God knows I’m not at home
I’ll never find someone quite like you Again I’ll never find someone quite like you Again
I, I looked into your eyes and saw A world that does not exist I looked into your eyes and saw A world I wish I was in
I’ll never find someone quite as touched As you I’ll never love someone quite the way that I Loved you.”
*
Did Marina’s and Ulay’s performance bring you to tears?
It brought me to tears because it reminds us that we are so vulnerable and emotional- so utterly human.
I think it is no secret that I am a doors fan and admirer of Jim Morrison respectively. {If you have read this blog for some time, then you will have already come to this conclusion}. I find Jim Morrison to be quite fascinating and highly intelligent. He was a poet, shaman, intellectual and rock n’ roll prodigy {amongst other things}.
{There are more Jim Morrison posts in the works so keep your ear to the ground}…
*
This short video clip is a comedy sketch from a show called Kids in The Hall.
It begs the question…what type of fan are you? {You don’t have to be a doors fan specifically. I am asking what type of fan you are in general}.
As much as I love The Doors and their music, I cannot say that I am this type of fanatic {like the record store owner}.
I like to think I am more of an admirer than a fanatic.
However, the person that introduced me to the doors is similar to the record store owner in this comedy skit. He was the biggest and most passionate doors fan that I have ever met. He read several Jim Morrison biographies and books. He had the complete Doors discography- which he listened to often. At one point in time, he wanted to get a tattoo of Jim Morrison. Of course when I saw him years later and reminded him about this, he looked at me as if he didn’t remember. The years have passed and I am a doors fan more than ever. I am also a fan of Jim Morrison and his poetry. What about you?
*
What did you think of the Kids in the Hall comedy sketch? I thought it was quite funny.
Ironically the record store owner in this Kids In The Hall skit is exactly like the record store employees in the movie High Fidelity.
I am not a fan of elitism but for the purposes of comedy I can appreciate its humor.
At least you can say that these record store employees are very passionate people.
…”It’s the kind words you gave to that homeless man without judging that man it’s the fact that you gave; and showed compassion ’cause he humbly asked you for change…”
can’t get but so far in this life being selfish. a free spirit a giving heart that’s what wealth is we rich when we recognize the power that’s within it’s not all about the money it’s the time that we spend it’s the hand that we lend to a friend when we can it’s the kind words you gave to that homeless man without judging that man it’s the fact that you gave; and showed compassion ’cause he humbly asked you for change i know the blessings I receive is not just for me a shared blessing comes back to you that’s what I believe to help someone in need to throw down some rope to be a ray of hope ya know?
sometimes you gotta help somebody sometimes you gotta help somebody sometimes you just gotta be helpful when life gets stressful sometimes you gotta help somebody sometimes you gotta help somebody what goes around is gonna come back ’round what goes around is gonna come back ’round when you help somebody
donate my extra clothes to a clothing drive. help the lady cross the street bring her bags inside. send a letter to a prisoner to lift his spirit. be a mentor to a child ’cause it takes a village.
lend a hand, help a brother that I learned the hard way all for one one for all it got to be the squad way the early bird get the worm it’s corny but it’s true first impressions last forever careful how you move first you crawl then you walk the 1 before the 2 nothing new under the sun the golden rule lazy people work the hardest that’s my motivation everything in moderation even moderation
yo yo, when you put out your hand, is it to give or to receive? see what goes around will come back around I do believe that the positive and negative is relative to where you live not from experience that’s what we tell the kids ’cause they are the seeds the stronger the root the stronger the tree if we eat from the fruit the stronger we be if we do it today tomorrow we free.”
From the album: Chrysta Bell – This Train Produced by David Lynch
Lyrics
“Driving through the night flying fast to you real love real love the moon is flying with me the moon is crying with me got to get to your house call me home flying with the moon sirens driving in the valley sirens flare got to feel your love real love don’t cut me don’t you cut me don’t you cut me gotta hole in my heart I wanna feel your love I wanna feel your love the moon passed behind a cloud the stars are hiding from me I’m coming home baby I’m coming home lonely moon rush by lonely got to feel your love real love make it real make it real make it real love I wanna feel your love I wanna feel your love the wind is blowing the wind is blowing by I’m coming home baby I’m coming home coming home real love coming home for real love real love.“
credits
from Chrysta Bell -This Train Produced by David Lynch, released 29 September 2011 Vocals: Chrysta Bell Guitar: David Lynch Guitar, Bass and Synth: John Neff Drums: David Lynch and John Neff Written by David Lynch, John Neff and Chrysta Bell Engineering: John Neff Mixed by David Lynch and John Neff Published by Zibella Music (BMI)
Her collaboration with David Lynch evokes a beautiful, surreal and haunting ambiance. Chrysta and David create a haunting world that you never want to leave. Listening to their music is like entering a dream you never want to awake from.
Chrysta Bell & David Lynch Bring Surrealist Beauty To Life…
Tilda Swinton as David Bowie. Photographed by Craig Mcdean for AnOther Magazine.
Tilda channels David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust alter ego…
Tilda is a Rebel Rebel…
Tilda is a huge David Bowie Fan…
“The other day, I was going through the airport security and I was searched by a male security guard. I’m very often referred to as “Sir” in elevators and such. I think it has to do with being this tall and not wearing much lipstick. I think people just can’t imagine I’d be a woman if I look like this.”
“You’re always playing yourself. It’s all autobiography, whatever you’re doing. It’s using them as a kind of prism through which to throw something real about yourself, or something relaxed at least. Because the last thing you want is to look like you’re acting.”
Tilda Swinton in Candy Magazine
Tilda is a Futuristic Cosmic Mermaid…
Tilda as a Cosmic Space Goddess…
Tilda Laughs At The Status Quo…
Tilda Transforms Through Make-up Artistry…
“These photographic performances and the opportunity they afford me to play with the shapes and attitudes of this lexicon are thrilling to me.”
*
Tilda Swinton is a brilliant actress and performer {one of my favourites}.
“Society circumscribes us and we play into this feeling that we have to pick one identity and stick with it and any natural transformation within our spirit is to be resisted at all costs.
If there is some great shift in someone’s life one is to feel nothing, but shame and failure, that’s the thing I am constantly drawn back to.”
“There is something insane about a lack of doubt. Doubt, to me anyway, is what makes you human, and without doubt even the righteous lose their grip not only on reality but also on their humanity.”
What keeps her engaged in performing and acting is the moment of shift and doubt in one’s identity.
“There’s such an effort to try and explain people.”
Tilda Removes The Wig/Veil/Metaphorical Mask…
Tilda The Transformer…
*
Gender, identity and beauty are such an intriguing topics which I hope to explore in future posts.
“Tilda does not always play women; she has played Mozart on stage, an Elizabethan nobleman in Orlando (1992) and an androgynous angel, Gabriel, in Constantine (2005).” -Internet Movie Database
*
Please enjoy the fascinating video of master make-up artist Joseph Harwood as he transforms himself from a male/androgynous appearance into a female appearance.
{Joseph really shows us how make-up is art and how you can express yourself and construct our own identity}.
I am most grateful for a class I took called “sociology of gender relations” because it enlightened me about gender.
This class also brought to my awareness the struggles of women, gay people, transgendered people and other types of minorities.
More than anything this class convinced me that everyone deserves equality, there needs to be more love, compassion and acceptance in the world and that we should collectively fight discrimination of all kinds.
“These songs come out of so many random and contradictory thoughts bouncing around my head- like sound waves between sheets of glass and when I’m lucky they also allow me to reflect on the world around me.”
-Gotye
Gotye – Making Making Mirrors – a short documentary:
“The breath of the morning I keep forgetting The smell of the warm summer air
I live in a town Where you can’t smell a thing You watch your feet For cracks in the pavement
Up above Aliens hover Making home movies For the folks back home
Of all these weird creatures Who lock up their spirits Drill holes in themselves And live for their secrets
They’re all uptight Uptight.. [x7]
I wish that they’d swoop down in a country lane Late at night when I’m driving Take me on board their beautiful ship Show me the world as I’d love to see it
I’d tell all my friends But they’d never believe They’d think that I’d finally lost it completely
I’d show them the stars And the meaning of life They’d shut me away But I’d be all right All right..
Men and women whisper to each other because they have turned a sacred gesture into a sinful act.
This is the world in which we live. And while robbing the present moment of its reality can be dangerous, disobedience can also be a virtue, when we know how to use it.
If two bodies merely join together, that is not sex, it is merely pleasure.
Sex goes far beyond pleasure.
In sex, relaxation and tension go hand in hand, as do pain and pleasure, shyness and the courage to go beyond one’s limits.
How can such opposing states exist in harmony together?
There is only one way: by surrendering yourself.
Because the act of surrender means: ‘I trust you.’
It isn’t enough to imagine everything that might happen if we allowed ourselves to join not just our bodies, but our souls as well.
Let us plunge together, then, down the dangerous path of surrender.
It may be dangerous, but it is the only path worth following.
Let us forget all that we are taught about how it is noble to give and humiliating to receive.
Because for most people, generosity consists only in giving, but receiving is also an act of love.
Allowing someone else to make us happy will make them happy too.”
Cold winters are sheltered by crack houses instead of recreational centers that they claim to not have the paper to keep open for operation…
What’s a young boy to do when he doesn’t want to do wrong but there’s a lock on the right door?
When he has the heart of a soldier, the aggression of a prize fighter but no one’s taught him what to fight for…
Young Tupac was one of many boys without fathers {as Black Ice says}. However, the absence of his father was eclipsed by his mother’s fierce love. Afeni {a former Black Panther} passed on infinite wisdom to her son so it isn’t true that “no one taught him what to fight for.” “My mother taught me three things: respect, knowledge, search for knowledge. It’s an eternal journey.” -Tupac. I included this caption of Tupac because he had “the heart of a soldier and aggression of a prize fighter”- not to mention the mind of a revolutionary leader..
In the end, Tupac defined manhood for himself and became quite the revolutionary man. I would have loved to see Tupac become a father…
See, most of our families are fatherless and quite poor so we miss out on meals as well as kisses and hugs.
Imagine we lived in a world where there was no suffering, injustice/oppression, “third world” class distinction or any class distinction whatsoever.
This is the world that I want to live in…
Art by BANKSY
Peace & Namaste.
{More posts about poverty/social inequality/injustice, sociology, spoken word poetry, Tupac, Dead Prez, Black Ice and hip hop coming up in the future…}
Tupac Amaru Shakur was an inspiration to millions.
While 2Pac was most famous for his rap career, he was also a gifted actor, poet and thoughtful while outspoken advocate for the poor and the overlooked in America. During his life, he produced an immense amount of artistic work, which included studio albums, major Hollywood feature films, and published works. He was most prolific in the music industry, selling over 75 million albums. 2Pac’s unapologetic lyrics were relevant, important, and reflective of the hard lives led by many. His music earned attention and respect through a poetic style that embraced street vocabulary while being innovative. Today, 2Pac is still considered by many to be one of the biggest influences on modern hip-hop.
2Pac’s career has earned him six Grammy nominations and three MTV Video Music Award nominations. In 1997, Shakur was honored by the American Music Awards as the Favorite Hip Hop Artist.
Born on June 16 1971 in New York City, Shakur’s parents were both members of the Black Panther Party whose militant style and provocative ideologies for civil rights would come to influence 2Pac’s music. At an early age, Tuapc’s love for performance and the arts began to show, as he began acting at age 13 and later enrolled in the Baltimore School of the Arts before dropping out at 17. Shakur broke into the music business with rap group Digital Underground as a back-up dancer and roadie. Eventually Shakur released his first solo album in ’91, 2pacalypse Now. 2Pac’s music career began to grow as his second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z included two top 20 pop chart tracks: I Get Around and Keep Ya Head Up.
Shakur’s legal battles began after he established his rap career. In the early nineties Shakur faced a wrongful death suit which settled out of court, accusations of assaulting police officers where charges were ultimately dropped, and even an incident where Shakur sustained five gunshot wounds from shooter Dexter Isaac. In 1995 2Pac was sentenced one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual abuse. However, not even prison could slow the success of Shakur’s career.
While incarcerated 2Pac’s latest album at the time, Me Against the World, was number one in the pop charts and would later go double platinum. Shakur became the first artist to reach number one in the pop charts while serving a prison sentence. Making the most of his time in jail, 2Pac became a passionate reader. Among his favorites were the works of Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian Renaissance writer whose works were in part the foundation for western political science. Shakur’s appreciation of his work inspired the nickname: Makaveli.
After serving only eight months of his sentence, 2Pac was out on parole thanks to a 1.4 million dollar bond paid by Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records. Now signed with Death Row Records, Shakur went on to create All Eyez on Me, which featured hits How Do You Want It and California Love.
2Pac’s life was cut short in September of 1996 when Shakur became the victim of a drive-by shooting while his car waited on a red light. While Shakur survived the surgery that followed he was pronounced dead almost a week after the attack.
Even today, 2Pac’s influence is wide-spread. From the Library of Congress where his song Dear Mama was added in 2010 to the National Registry, to artists like 11 time Grammy winner Eminem who in an interview with MTV said:
“He made you feel like you knew him. I think that , honestly, Tupac was the greatest songwriter that ever lived. He made it seem so easy. The emotion was there, and feeling, and everything he was trying to describe. You saw a picture that he was trying to paint.”
2Pac leaves a legacy of honesty and passion in his songs. Respected by many, 2Pac has become an inspiration for artists and a standard in rap music.”
Our mission is to provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents. Each and every child desires freedom to creatively express themselves. We provide an environment that encourages freedom of expression, serves as a resource for families, and empowers via education.
ABOUT
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF) is home to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, just outside of Atlanta in Stone Mountain, Georgia. TASF was founded in 1997 originally as the Shakur Family Foundation by Afeni Shakur, mother of multi-talented Tupac Amaru Shakur. Since its inception TASF has offered performing arts camps, essay competitions, youth book clubs, visual arts workshops, community development projects, and scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate degrees.
On June 11, 2005 the TASF opened the Center! The Center is dedicated to providing youth and the community with educational programs in the arts. It is a fact that early arts education improves school grades, as well as offers invaluable life lessons while building self-esteem and confidence. For nearly 15 years, the Foundation’s programs have served youth of all social and economic backgrounds, giving countless young people the courage to get off the streets and learn vital skills that have the potential to positively impact their communities. The Center is open to the public and hosts several noteworthy events throughout the year.
MORE ABOUT TUPAC
Tupac Amaru Shakur dealt with great obstacles such as homelessness, hunger, and pain, amongst other situations during his youth. Performing arts provided the hope that would seed the expression that would one day influence generations worldwide.
Tupac accomplished a lot before his murder at the age of 25. At an early age, he wrote and organized family productions, casting himself as the lead and his older cousins in supporting roles. Tupac formally trained at the 127th Street Ensemble and Baltimore School for the Arts. At the age of twelve, he experienced his first formal stage role as the character “Travis” in the stage play ‘Raisin In the Sun’ at the prestigious Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Tupac was eventually cast in several feature films and recorded several chart topping albums. In fact, he released the first ever double hip-hop CD. Today, years after his physical departure, he is the second highest selling Hip-Hop artist of all time. His gift- his words and creative talent- continues to inspire others around the world!“
“I’m living with your memory In the attic in my mind And you’ve been getting by without me But I’ve been spending all my time With a girl that I remember Who’ll never leave or need to grow Cos when you left you left your memory Now it’s the only thing I know
When the past gives me no comfort And though the future is the cost The way I’m choosing to remember I’ll forever be the man I never was
And you, you fade But the memory remains the same And I, I can’t change And I think that living with your memory Is slowly driving me insane
You are perfect but you’re empty And it gets so lonely in my mind Cos your image in my memory’s The only shred of you that’s left behind You were real but then you left me And that’s the part I can’t accept So I’ll keep on living with your memory Because it’s all that I’ve got left.”
“With his arms around your love Oh no, here comes the pain that you can’t ignore
With his arms around your girl He’ll do all of the things you didn’t do before You had every chance, but you closed the door
[Chorus] Now you’re just gonna have to take it (‘Cause if you didn’t know) She’s gonna make you pay for it (Price you can’t afford) You’re just gonna have to take it With his arms around your love [Repeat: x3]
Oh, yeah
Pretend that you don’t mind But you know everything that you left behind
And it would have been alright If you’d gave half of the praise that you held inside You thought she’d hang around for the ride
[Chorus]
Coming clean feels so dangerous Just a little bit would have been enough But you never said all the words caught in your head
As if your heart was dead Well now its surely bled and broken up
And it would have been alright If you’d gave half of the praise that you held inside You thought she’d hang around for the ride
[Chorus]
(Take it) With his arms around your love (Pay for it) With his arms around your love With his arms around your love With his arms around your love.”
I really feel that it complements Rumi’s poem “Love’s Alchemy.”
Isn’t the cello along with Jon Crosby’s soulful singing so hauntingly beautiful?
“Close your eyes let me touch you now let me give you something that is real close the door leave your fears behind let me give you what you’re giving me you are the only thing that makes me want to live at all when i am with you there’s no reason to pretend that when i am with you i feel flames again just put me inside you i would never ever leave just put me inside you i would never ever leave you.”
“For those who are not frightened by the solitude that reveals all mysteries, everything will have a different taste.
In solitude, they will discover the love that might otherwise arrive unnoticed. In solitude, they will understand and respect the love that left them.
In solitude, they will be able to decide whether it is worth asking that lost love to come back or if they should simply let it go and set off along a new path.
In solitude, they will learn that saying ‘No’ does not always show a lack of generosity and that saying ‘Yes’ is not always a virtue.
And those who are alone at this moment, need never be frightened by the words of the devil: ‘You’re wasting your time.’ Or by the chief demon’s even more potent words: ‘No one cares about you.’
The Divine Energy is listening to us when we speak to other people, but also when we are still and silent and able to accept solitude as a blessing.
And in that moment, Its light illumines everything around us and helps us to see that we are necessary, and that our presence on Earth makes a huge difference to Its work.”
There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.
Someone you haven’t met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.
Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.
Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God’s children.
A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, “nourish them.”
Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you.
Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favourite food is, and treat you to a movie.
Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you — for free.
Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.
The next great song is being rehearsed.
Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.
Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.
Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they’ll be thriving like never before. They just can’t see it from where they’re at.
Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to ARRIVE, will get precisely what they want — and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it’s reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all “So worth the wait.“
Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche — this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.
Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.
Someone is fighting the fight so that you don’t have to.
Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe.Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil libertiesand clean drinking water.
Someone is regaining their sanity. Someone is coming back from the dead. Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable.Someone is curing the incurable.
“Danielle LaPorte is the creator of WhiteHotTruth.com, which has been called the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality.”
Please visit her website for some inspiration and wisdom…She is so brilliant. I just “discovered” her and will most likely be doing more blog posts about her and her writing.
If you want more inspiration and wisdom from Danielle, please go to her website: http://www.daniellelaporte.com/to sign up for her newsletters. You can choose to receive via email a “daily truthbomb”, a “somewhat weekly” newsletter and a “monthly digest” newsletter. I am signed up for all of them and highly recommend them.
Danielle has generously provided the first chapter of her book for free on her website. You can read it on Scribd or download it in pdf format. Please click on this link: The Fire Starter Sessions Chapter One.
“This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surprise, the end I’ll never look into your eyes…again…”
“…People would maybe envy the success that you have or the fame, the celebrity…you know but I’m not sure if we talked about it you know specifically if you want to pay the same price that I did…”
He paid quite the price.
Cee-Lo felt he was “thrust into manhood” because his mother had become a quadriplegic as a result of a car accident. He had to watch his mother suffer for three hellish years from complications due to her paralysis until her death.
He felt there was “a transferral of energy” and that he took on her spirit and her wish for him to be a success as a person.
*
His fierce love and reverence for his mother are so inspiring.
He speaks about it in the chilling song “Guess Who” on Goodiemob’s Soulfood album.
Here it is:
Cee-Lo’s fierce love and heartfelt devotion to his mother makes my heart melt every time I listen {along with the rest of Goodiemob’s’}.
He is a phoenix that rises from the ashes; his resilience is the essence of who he is.
The reason that I decided to share this is because I wanted to briefly discuss break-ups.
I really respect how Erykah Badu was so honest with Common.
Although it hurt him to tell him the truth about her change of heart, in the end it was better for Common.
He grew and learned from the experience.
It was his first love and first heart-break. Now he says that he and Erykah are “cool” again.
Why couldn’t everyone be so honest in regards to break-ups?
Imagine if someone told you the truth instead of a cheap, prostituted line…
“It’s not you, it’s me.”
*Who really believes that anyway? Come on, please. Don’t even…
If people were more honest about why they really want to leave their significant other, then perhaps the other person would learn so much more and have better closure.
Perhaps this communication could break down some walls and infuse some new life in the old friendship and romance.
Who knows, perhaps this new-found honesty might create some new-found intimacy and the break-up might even be avoided.
Perhaps things fall apart to come together…
Perhaps I am dreaming of a utopian vision of reality because I know that most of the time things just fall apart.
{I know that relationships and break-ups especially are more complicated than this post describes}.
Regardless, if a couple has to part ways, it would be ideal if they each respected each other enough to really be honest with each other.
By not telling someone the truth, you are potentially taking away opportunities for growth.
You are also really damaging their self-esteem, self-worth and confidence because they are left to wonder what is wrong with them.
They can only think that something is inherently wrong with themselves..
How else can they know what they did wrong if you don’t tell them? How else can they improve, learn, grow and change?
Thankfully one can still do some self-reflection in order to find healing, growth and closure on your own.
You can learn from your mistakes.
*Of course your learning, growth and healing is not the other person’s responsibility.
{That is not at all what I am saying. Your learning, growth and healing is always your responsibility.
It would be so helpful to get that honesty, respect and communication from the person that once claimed to love and care about you}.
If both are ready and willing to battle their egos, then perhaps they can truly listen, share and learn.
At least both can learn what they did wrong from the mutual constructive criticism and feedback.
They will know why the other is jumping ship instead of just being left out in the cold {or the rain} all alone.
Leaving someone guessing is just too cruel to do to someone’s heart, mind, life and soul- especially to someone who you used to like, love or at least be attracted to. This only further hurts someone that loved and adored you.
Don’t they deserve better from you?
{Leaving crumbs of false hope is an even more heartless thing to do to someone. Giving someone false hope so selfishly makes it painful for them to move on and to heal}.
No one deserves to over-analyze and be haunted by what they possibly could have done wrong.They deserve better and if you are the dumped person, then so do you.
{Of course there always are exceptions and sadly not every break-up is amicable}.
*
P.s. I highly recommend watching the movie High Fidelity (where most of the pictures from this post are from).
It is an excellent movie and my favourite break-up movie of all time next to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind}.
This song is not only about love in relation to others but in regards to one’s self.
Self-love is what was born of deep pain. The protagonist in the song starts from being a naive victim and then transforms into a heroine.
She comes from a place of dependence and grows into independence.
My favourite line is, “What I thought was gold was only gold-plated…“ How many times have you met someone who you thought had a heart of gold only to discover otherwise; hence, the gold-plated reference.
*How rare it is to find a heart of gold in this world…but it’s not impossible.
Don’t forget that you can have a heart of gold ;).
*
Love Song Lyrics
“She grew up believing in passion and love Whose folks divorced and remarried Very naive Seen life and commitments that shoulda been dead and buried Highly sentimental Sensitive Gentle beyond the point she should be What might be obvious to most, she says they too bitter Can’t see the world the way she does Clean lungs, undamaged liver Sees thugs through a pink-tinted glasses Occasionally Weed does make her giggle Listen to some music closer Dudes approach her Lightly Wanna be her lover and she obliges Likes to cuddle under the covers by candlelit fires Oblivious to lying schemes to talk her out of clothes Says she’s just in love with love Cuts her classes Spending too much time entrancing romancing Things are changing quickly She’s asking “why aren’t you spending more time with me?” N****’s eyes are getting shifty Coming over later smelling of pussy On his face, jeans, and sweaters something’s fishy And it’s not what he tells her, man, it’s what he don’t
And she don’t understand and for some years, she probly won’t Just wants an honest man For goodness sake They backstabbing and cutting her throat Restraining orders follow, but she still optimistic about it Like Annie, thinking tomorrow will maybe be a better day I let her pray on bended knees “ask him to send prince charming, please” She’s never cheated Treats her man well Cooks, cleans, dresses sexy for him Halter tops and tight jeans Would break the law for him Go through a couple of these relationships Still stays strong
She’s too young and dumb to call it quits Learns that she carrying twice Scared and afraid the first time The second she don’t even cry Makes her wipe away his tears and it hurts They always leave return crazy, so she doesn’t flirt Spends time warning the babies Goes through a couple of these relationships and still stays strong Too young and dumb to call it quits
Its still a love song
Shes got a good man Shes 19, he’s 21 and sweet and honest Promised to love her Talk of marriage She would never wanna be somebody’s baby’s mother Use rubbers occasionally When she’s flowing Open to all the affection and gifts and all the good manners he’s showing He’s trying to build a life for himself Studies late computer shit and she’s missing attention that she’s not getting Sex dwindles Crawling in the sheets He say “ya tired” and she say she feel “neglect and defeat” Just doesn’t see his ambition She wanna be the universe and hold his center position Starts hanging round the best friend more Crazy attraction takes impulsive action Drop the drawers And falls in love The world explodes And she confesses “yeah I did it, so?” They so tight it like he moves when she stretches Over the couple years Too many stresses Girls who wanna fight her Bitches writing letters Friendships disappearing Plus he rhymes, so it’s competitive Pressure miscarriage They break up fifty times a week and make up just as much He fuckin’, and I know, but pretending I’m out of touch It’s getting strained and gets physical She cries until the river dries and leaves her dead and cold Packs up her things and leaves behind what I thought was gold was only gold-plated Thinking of all the other ones I coulda just left and up and dated Singled after four years Starting over never easy But it takes some time to realize your own worth
Come into your own
Play your mental rebirth She starts penning some better poems Straighten up her bank account Likes to take herself out I’m getting better at it I’ve had a few relationships But still too young and dumb enough to call it quits It’s still a love song
Love All I ever want is you All I ever had, leading in my life was you All that ever was, all I ever had
Maybe it’s easier to talk about this shit in third person Learning better Looking for love in all the wrong places Like I’m Eddie Murphy Curse me to repeat the same cycle I’m breaking No longer think relations make a better woman
Just for life, I’m pursuing
Growing, but hopelessly romantic still Tasted weather in the bitter climates Love the sunshine better Dreaming of dream proposals Decent moral values placing higher on my chart
Trying not to have a shallow heart
But battle scars are deep and reaching to the depth of hell and back
Try to give up the grudges
Think it’s experience and move from the clutches of sadness
It’s difficult Sometimes I wish I wasn’t an adult Adolescent primetime sitcom star I’ve been too far and too much, too hard, for too long
It’s still a love song.”
-Jean Grae
Here’s hoping that you realize your own worth and find the person that has a heart of gold {not a gold-plated one}.
Here’s to hoping you find the person that deserves you, your love, heart and soul.
I really cannot recommend watching 
{or the rain} all alone.
*
Reflection for today…Potential -Doris Lessing
26 Mar“Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so.”
— Doris Lessing
Photo Courtesy of: http://intotheshadows.org/
*
Society is not a level playing field.
Equal opporunities are mostly urban legends.
Spoken word poets and hip hop artists often speak about social inequalities and injustice through social commentary.
Some hip hop artists educate, enlighten/uplift consciousness and inspire.
Stic Man & M-1 are Dead Prez: My favourite hip hop artists/activists/revolutionaries
Tupac Shakur was a brilliant poet/artist/activist/revolutionary
This poetic narrative story telling made me fall in love with hip hop because it gave a voice to the voiceless.
It was the poetry of the streets.
Many will not like the social commentary.
It is so incisive and critical but it has to be because the living conditions are full of suffering and injustice.
*
It should be noted that conscious hip hop and punk music have many parallels.
They both fight against the status quo.
They both subvert the dominant paradigm.
*
Black ice is such a gifted poet and spoken word artist.
He shoots from the hip and his poems go straight to your heart and mind.
In his poem Imagine, he meditates on social inequality and how different life would be if equal opportunities actually existed.
He proposes to “put love where the hate is.”
*
Please enjoy his poem Imagine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kVT89O6cLo
“What happens in neighborhoods where the self-esteem has been overshadowed by the decay and the children no longer play the way they used to?
Where young boys choose to follow figures that had no father figures…
Whatever happened to that we shall overcome shit?…
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.neh.gov/files/divisions/preservation/images/we_shall_overcome_full_page.jpg
Cold winters are sheltered by crack houses instead of recreational centers that they claim to not have the paper to keep open for operation…
What’s a young boy to do when he doesn’t want to do wrong but there’s a lock on the right door?
When he has the heart of a soldier, the aggression of a prize fighter but no one’s taught him what to fight for…
Young Tupac was one of many boys without fathers {as Black Ice says}.
However, the absence of his father was eclipsed by his mother’s fierce love.
Afeni {a former Black Panther} passed on infinite wisdom to her son so it isn’t true that “no one taught him what to fight for.”
“My mother taught me three things: respect, knowledge, search for knowledge.
It’s an eternal journey.” -Tupac.
I included this caption of Tupac because he had “the heart of a soldier and aggression of a prize fighter”- not to mention the mind of a revolutionary leader..
In the end, Tupac defined manhood for himself and became quite the revolutionary man.
I would have loved to see Tupac become a father…
See, most of our families are fatherless and quite poor so we miss out on meals as well as kisses and hugs.
Photo Courtesy of: http://zunlee.com/
You’ve got the audacity to cut the funding for the facilities that keep us off the streets then ask us why we sell drugs.
Imagine if we put down our dices and guns, picked up our daughters and sons and put a little love right there where the hate is…
Photo Courtesy of: http://zunlee.com/images/sized/assets/blog/DSC_9675-Color_720_1080_c1.jpg
Imagine if these little inner city kids had the same type of schools that these rich kids have way out there in the sticks…”
–Black Ice
*
Imagine we lived in a world where there was no suffering, injustice/oppression, “third world” class distinction or any class distinction whatsoever.
This is the world that I want to live in…
Art by BANKSY
Peace & Namaste.
{More posts about poverty/social inequality/injustice, sociology, spoken word poetry, Tupac, Dead Prez, Black Ice and hip hop coming up in the future…}
*
For more information…
Dorris Lessing…http://www.dorislessing.org/
Black Ice…https://twitter.com/BLACKICETHEPOET
Tupac…http://www.2pac.com/
The Tupac Shakur foundation…http://www.tasf.org/
Dead Prez…http://deadprezblog.wordpress.com/blog/
“Tupac’s Legend
Tupac Amaru Shakur was an inspiration to millions.
While 2Pac was most famous for his rap career, he was also a gifted actor, poet and thoughtful while outspoken advocate for the poor and the overlooked in America. During his life, he produced an immense amount of artistic work, which included studio albums, major Hollywood feature films, and published works. He was most prolific in the music industry, selling over 75 million albums. 2Pac’s unapologetic lyrics were relevant, important, and reflective of the hard lives led by many. His music earned attention and respect through a poetic style that embraced street vocabulary while being innovative. Today, 2Pac is still considered by many to be one of the biggest influences on modern hip-hop.
2Pac’s career has earned him six Grammy nominations and three MTV Video Music Award nominations. In 1997, Shakur was honored by the American Music Awards as the Favorite Hip Hop Artist.
Born on June 16 1971 in New York City, Shakur’s parents were both members of the Black Panther Party whose militant style and provocative ideologies for civil rights would come to influence 2Pac’s music. At an early age, Tuapc’s love for performance and the arts began to show, as he began acting at age 13 and later enrolled in the Baltimore School of the Arts before dropping out at 17. Shakur broke into the music business with rap group Digital Underground as a back-up dancer and roadie. Eventually Shakur released his first solo album in ’91, 2pacalypse Now. 2Pac’s music career began to grow as his second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z included two top 20 pop chart tracks: I Get Around and Keep Ya Head Up.
Shakur’s legal battles began after he established his rap career. In the early nineties Shakur faced a wrongful death suit which settled out of court, accusations of assaulting police officers where charges were ultimately dropped, and even an incident where Shakur sustained five gunshot wounds from shooter Dexter Isaac. In 1995 2Pac was sentenced one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual abuse. However, not even prison could slow the success of Shakur’s career.
While incarcerated 2Pac’s latest album at the time, Me Against the World, was number one in the pop charts and would later go double platinum. Shakur became the first artist to reach number one in the pop charts while serving a prison sentence. Making the most of his time in jail, 2Pac became a passionate reader. Among his favorites were the works of Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian Renaissance writer whose works were in part the foundation for western political science. Shakur’s appreciation of his work inspired the nickname: Makaveli.
After serving only eight months of his sentence, 2Pac was out on parole thanks to a 1.4 million dollar bond paid by Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records. Now signed with Death Row Records, Shakur went on to create All Eyez on Me, which featured hits How Do You Want It and California Love.
2Pac’s life was cut short in September of 1996 when Shakur became the victim of a drive-by shooting while his car waited on a red light. While Shakur survived the surgery that followed he was pronounced dead almost a week after the attack.
Even today, 2Pac’s influence is wide-spread. From the Library of Congress where his song Dear Mama was added in 2010 to the National Registry, to artists like 11 time Grammy winner Eminem who in an interview with MTV said:
“He made you feel like you knew him. I think that , honestly, Tupac was the greatest songwriter that ever lived. He made it seem so easy. The emotion was there, and feeling, and everything he was trying to describe. You saw a picture that he was trying to paint.”
2Pac leaves a legacy of honesty and passion in his songs. Respected by many, 2Pac has become an inspiration for artists and a standard in rap music.”
-Copied & Pasted from: http://www.2pac.com/legend/
The Tupac Shakur Foundation
“MISSION
Our mission is to provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents. Each and every child desires freedom to creatively express themselves. We provide an environment that encourages freedom of expression, serves as a resource for families, and empowers via education.
ABOUT
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF) is home to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, just outside of Atlanta in Stone Mountain, Georgia. TASF was founded in 1997 originally as the Shakur Family Foundation by Afeni Shakur, mother of multi-talented Tupac Amaru Shakur. Since its inception TASF has offered performing arts camps, essay competitions, youth book clubs, visual arts workshops, community development projects, and scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate degrees.
On June 11, 2005 the TASF opened the Center! The Center is dedicated to providing youth and the community with educational programs in the arts. It is a fact that early arts education improves school grades, as well as offers invaluable life lessons while building self-esteem and confidence. For nearly 15 years, the Foundation’s programs have served youth of all social and economic backgrounds, giving countless young people the courage to get off the streets and learn vital skills that have the potential to positively impact their communities. The Center is open to the public and hosts several noteworthy events throughout the year.
MORE ABOUT TUPAC
Tupac Amaru Shakur dealt with great obstacles such as homelessness, hunger, and pain, amongst other situations during his youth. Performing arts provided the hope that would seed the expression that would one day influence generations worldwide.
Tupac accomplished a lot before his murder at the age of 25. At an early age, he wrote and organized family productions, casting himself as the lead and his older cousins in supporting roles. Tupac formally trained at the 127th Street Ensemble and Baltimore School for the Arts. At the age of twelve, he experienced his first formal stage role as the character “Travis” in the stage play ‘Raisin In the Sun’ at the prestigious Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Tupac was eventually cast in several feature films and recorded several chart topping albums. In fact, he released the first ever double hip-hop CD. Today, years after his physical departure, he is the second highest selling Hip-Hop artist of all time. His gift- his words and creative talent- continues to inspire others around the world!“
-Copied & Pasted from: http://www.tasf.org/the-foundation/about-tasf/
Tupac Sends You Peace…
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