The most familiar kind
of time is easy to fill with work – a routine kind of time that doesn’t ask
questions.But what about the other
kind of time that lets the spirit shine through (whatever that is), so
essential, and so elusive?
How can we find that
moment between the seconds, a moment beyond the so-many-somethings demanding to
be done? Those somethings can be so good at telling us they’re more important
than a beckoning sunset or warm evening breeze. But today, twilight has
triumphed. Something must wait for nothing, because nothing is more wondrous
than the whispering touch of that twilight breeze, just as the stars appear.
Do you ever feel it’s hard to say no, because you want your “everyone” to get what they want and find happiness? Sometimes saying yes to every request doesn’t bring the positivity we intend; trying too hard to wish "yes" into being when it's not in the flow can clog up the whole thing. This question comes up with creativity and inspiration too. Sometimes just-plain-hard-work is what the creative spirit calls forth. When that happens, it feels good to go with it. But trying to push the spirit to create too fast will not bring the fruit, only time and the sun and rain can do that. In the garden, this lesson is learned again and again.
Too much fertilizer brings fast growth and at first, seems to bring health. But it’s an illusion. Tender new growth that comes too fast is a tasty meal to the pests. When the soil is nutritious and balanced, rich with the stories of life that has come before and moved on, the growth will be strong in its own time; there will still be pests but they will not overrun.
Pushing too hard will not get us there faster, only harder. A simple “no” when it's needed can work wonders, open space and time for inspiration, let the breath quiet and the new song be heard.
Don’t be deceived by what seems to be common sense... the idea that “no” is always negative. When “no” protects your Self from overwhelm, then it becomes positive – a “no” that says “yes” to your life.
When something happens in your day that reveals a conflict with another person or a situation that causes you pain it is always best to seek out the response to it that will solve the problem.
By solving the problem you are able to transform the disharmony to harmony. But when we have the belief that this can always be accomplished if only we were conscious enough, aware enough, clever enough, creative enough or non-reactive enough, this is not always the case. If you have empathy and leave you ego at the door, you can make it through most situations that have conflict by dis-arming the conflict and transforming it into at the very least an only uncomfortable experience instead of an actual conflict.
But part of the truth of life is that sometimes there is no harmonious path. Sometimes there is no choice that will result in harmony. When it comes to other people and situations that you can't control, it's important to remember to accept what is without judgment. For reasons that we may not understand, life does sometimes contain conflicts that we can't always transform.
Accepting that truth, does transform ourselves though because when we accept the world and everyone in it as it is, we are able to fully inhabit the present moment and feel the perfection of the world as it is evolving in this moment without needing it to be different. This unconditional love for the world and everyone in it is in fact the harmony we seek.
Once you are feeling that acceptance, then go ahead and seek out the most harmonious path. When you approach it without lust of result you may find that you are able to transform it and if not it will not be a source of your own disharmony.
Something is possible. It starts small, interrupts my routine with a mysterious sensation, just a glimmer. I don’t yet know what it is, but it’s golden and peaceful, waiting to be unlocked – to be savored, given and received. A creation, a connection,… simple appreciation… Wait! Thinking too hard, it may slip away! So I stand and stretch, move and breathe, entering the space between thoughts. I feel a smile come to my face. An opening appeared in time and somehow I was ready to notice.
What will I do with this opening? I feel that I know, but I can’t explain it. So I let the moment take me; receive the communication from my self, or my Self, or whatever mystery brings this space out of time.
Thoughts and words drive away the essence. The experience wants to be expressed but the expression is too loud, too wordy; disturbs the silence, the moment passes.
And then – the feeling after the feeling like ripples in a pond. The promise remains, quiet and close. In the center is balance. Beyond the dark clouds there is rain under the sun.
With the autumnal equinox, the days become shorter, and the Earth prepares for the season of transition to renewal. Though the winter to follow brings long nights, therein rest the seeds of renewal.
We find inspiration in these images of autumn in the forests of New England - and offer them with music of deep trance drums, native flutes, world instruments, and ancient Lakota and Tibetan shaman chants:
"Wakan Tankan Lila Wankan." Great Spirit, most Sacred... Gratitude leads the Shaman to his animal spirit ally. "Gate Gate Paragate Parasam Gate Bodhi Swaha." Gone, gone beyond, everyone gone completely beyond. Awake, well gone!... Transcending all that is impermanent, the Shaman crosses to spirit consciousness to help relieve all suffering of the earth and its peoples.
The title of the song is South Wind Meeting. This version (the Harvest Mix) appears along with the video on our CD+DVD two disc set, Earth Drum. The full length meditation version of the chant appears along with chants for each of the four seasons and four directions on our album Shaman's Vision Journey.
Studio notes: With this song we combined Lakota and Tibetan chants with the deep trance sounds of African dun dun drums and talking drums, Sioux frame drums, Taos rattles, acoustic guitar, ambient electric guitar and specially created drone sounds. The imagery of nature environments in the fall season help to convey the sense of the sacred and eternal within us.
5. Being Present
Since we spend more time outdoors often in nature during the summer, it is great time to develop a greater ability to stay in the present moment because being in nature makes it easier to stay in the now. By letting go of thoughts concerning the past or the future and being in the now we can increase our enjoyment of the summer.
6. Positive Awareness
Often our minds can get stuck in judging each experience which reduces our enjoyment of things that we might be able to enjoy if only we could accept it as it is and experience it fully. As you go about your way this summer, remember to focus on the positive parts of your summer. Positive affirmations can work really well for this. You can write your own and read them every morning or evening before bed.
7. Balanced Fun
Summer is often a time when we might be tempted to overdue things we enjoy and it can get us out of balance. This can lead to feeling less healthy and peaceful. As you enjoy your summer remember that you will have a deeper more satisfying summer if you stay connected to your own center and inner guidance.
1. Staying Cool
Since the temperature is warm, keep your body in balance by staying hydrated. Drink plenty of water by keeping a water bottle with you at all times. Drink healthy iced herbal teas. Eat lots of summer fruit especially watermelon. Make sure to also eat lots of salads and grilled summer vegetables. You can even try chilled soups.
2. Being Healthy
In the summer it's easy to get off of our usual exercise routines because our schedules are different. Make sure to keep up your usual schedule so you can stay healthy and keep up your energy for whatever your do this summer. If you are traveling, make sure to walk every day in the early morning or evening. Take care of your skin by always using sunscreen, but choose ones without harmful chemicals or nanoparticles.
3. Keeping the Peace
If you already meditate regularly make sure to keep up your practice during the summer. Even though summer is a great time it can also be distracting and stressful because you may be trying to fit so much in. Regular meditation and yoga - even on trips, can help a lot in maintaining equilibrium and staying centered. If you don't meditate yet, summer is a nice time to begin since you can easily meditate outside in nature which can make meditation much easier. Also remember to breathe deeply no matter what you are doing so you can stay connected to your body's natural rhythm and inner peace.
4. Enlightened Travel
Often when we travel it can be stressful. If you maintain a sense of awe and reverence for each new place you visit you can transform your travel into a sacred journey. No matter how close to home or exotic your destination, by cultivating an awareness of the sacred in the mundane, you can find transformation and wisdom in your travels. You will return with a deeper sense of peace.
Just as with silent meditation, the goal is to clear your mind and connect with the earth and yourself, to feel whole and peaceful. But unlike with silent meditation where you withdraw your senses from the external world, with drum meditation, instead you make the sound of the drum, the feel of the drum, and the movement of playing the drum the focus of your mind.
To begin close your eyes and play a simple steady beat. There is no mantra. The sound of the drum is the mantra. If you find yourself drifting off into thoughts then gently lead your mind back to the sound of the drum and the feeling of playing it. As you feel the meditation deepening you can add rhythms you feel guided to play. Your heartbeat will connect you to the rhythm.
The more time you spend the more you will feel connected and serene. When your feel ready, slowly open your eyes and do a little stretching. Notice the sense of renewal and rejuvenation you feel.
Drum Meditation is a great way to:
• Access your own creative spirit
• Reduce stress
• Increase personal power
• Improve concentration and focus
• Get out of your head and into your body
• Stimulate creativity
• Cultivate joy
• Create more peace of mind
Drumming has been used for thousands of years to heal and empower. For people nowadays it can be an easy way to unwind and connect with inner balance and joy.
When we started in 1982 our first releases were nature and music blends inspired by the beauty of the Sequoia National Forest (Misty Forest Morning, Peaceful Evening.) Our first decision when we began was to donate a percentage of every sale to groups that are working to save the earth. Since then we have supported groups such as the Rainforest Action Network, to ensure future generations will be able to experience the healing power of nature also.
For the last 25 years we have printed on recycled paper with soy ink. We have continued every year to reduce the amount of paper Sequoia uses and our offices have a very small carbon footprint which we work to reduce every year.
Here are some ideas of things you can start to do:
• Plant deciduous trees around your house. The shade will cool the house in the summer and provide sun to warm it in the winter.
• Reduce paper by switching your bills to e-statements
• Sign up for a junk mail monitoring service that reduces the junk mail you receive.
• Spend a few hours each week electricity free, riding a bike, going for a walk or reading a book by a sunny window.
• Shop at a local farmer’s marketing for locally grown foods.
• Plant an herb or vegetable garden.
• Buy a tankless water heater for more efficiency.
David and I are starting this blog because it's feels like a good way to have a deeper conversation with everyone who enjoys our music. In many ways our musical collaboration over all these years has been like an ongoing conversation. In fact, our first inspiration to record music together was about 25 years ago, when we were backpacking in the Sequoia National Forest. At that time we had discovered that meditation was a good way for us to unwind from the stress of our work as session musicians in the busy Los Angeles studio scene.
After meditating in the forest one day we were talking about how the sounds of the forest seemed to be like a musical conversation, the birds, the wind in the trees, the sound of the stream. The experience of meditating in the forest made us both feel that we too were part of that perfect serenity. We had the idea to return with our recording equipment and capture these natural sounds so that we could bring them back to our studio and then add our own musical contributions to the sounds of nature.
At the time, we had heard a few albums of music where the composers had added nature sounds but we wanted to actually compose music that interacted with the nature sounds in an spontaneous way. So the natural thing to try was to improvise. In order to make sure that our musical ideas would mesh naturally with the nature sounds, we meditated for a while in our studio before pushing the record button.
When we tried that, we felt a sense of being back up in the mountains by our favorite stream and the music flowed freely. The result was a new kind of music that we had not heard until then. At first we called that album Ambient Environment 1 because we were listening to Brian Eno those days, but when we released it we used the title Misty Forest Morning.
Since those days we have explored other kinds of music such as world fusion with Native drums and flutes and global electronica but no matter what journeys the music takes us on, in some ways we still feel like that day years ago, when we started a musical conversation with nature. There are still lots of conversations we want to have and we invite you to join us.
