I have SO Much to tell you, watch for me May 31st 2010. In the meantime, a teaser:

Dog Days Are Over
Florence & The Machine
*
Happiness, it hurt like a train on a track
Coming towards her, stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled
With every bubble she sank with a drink
And washed it away down the kitchen sink

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming so you better run

Run fast for your mother run fast for your father
Run for your children and your sisters and brothers
Leave all your love and your loving behind you
Can't carry it with you if you want to survive

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can't you hear the horses
Cuz here they come

And I never wanted anything from you
Except everything you had
And what was left after that too. oh.

Happiness it hurt like a bullet in the mind
Stuck them up drainpipes
By someone who should know better than that

The dog days are over
The dog days are gone
Can you hear the horses
Cuz here they come

Run fast for your mother and fast for your father
Run for your children for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your love and your loving behind you
Can't carry it with you if you want to survive

The dog days are over
The dog days are gone
Can you hear the horses because here they come
The dog days are over
The dog days are gone
Can you hear the horses because here they come

beautiful beautifulness

Dosh - "Airlift" from anticon. on Vimeo.

i'm alive, uh huh, so alive...

Easter

(la resurrection)
by Patti Smith

flower and heart are equal. as one unfolds
the other is closing. the fist of charm.
the dance of fathoms. of voids. of veils.
layer after layer. wall after wall. there
is always more. there is always more after.

the scalloped edges of further valor.
the vigil of soldiers. foot and circular.
the waving tremors of empty warriors.
a thorn in the wound of love. of torture.
another immeasurable pain to suffer.

first dealing w/entry into the spirit.
the wall is pierced and the will assaulted
is vaulted. is shimmied into. is fenced.
fencing defending the sheets of the flesh
winding and binding and then to relax.

seconds of suspension in the pass of pain
wailing, exhaling. passing thru the strange.
this is the formula. the force of the father.
the hand that extends. the heart that is bleeding
harder then harder then silent and beating.

in a space warm and glowing. infinite yet dense.
the tune of chain caught then stretched.
this is the communication of the future.
death is a dance. a ballroom. a glove
an extension of total abandon in/love.

"...if i need a rhythm, it's to my heart i listen..."

Continued Thoughts On The Tree Of Life...

When I was about eight or nine my mom and I were traveling east. She was driving a blue car through the mountains in Tennessee; all of our stuff was piled into the back seat and trunk. I was tired from the long drive so she said I should crawl up onto the pile of stuff and take a nap. I was just shorter than the width of the car and the stuff shifted to support me so that I was about as comfortable as I ever recall feeling in my entire life. Before I fell asleep I lay looking at the dappled, shaded canopy of the forest basking in a warm fall afternoon. I could almost feel the hum of my mothers thoughts as she drove. Knowing what I know now about that time, my involvement in this memory only deepens as I navigate my own life. I feel this was one of the clearest moments of absolute peace I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

Desire: A birthday meditation for dancing.

V: Blind

as a child i knew that the stars
could only get brighter
that we could closer, get closer
as a child i knew that the stars
could only get brighter
that we could get closer,
leaving this darkness behind

now that i'm older, the stars shine
light upon my face
but when i find myself alone,
find myself alone now that i'm older,
the stars shine light upon my face
but when i find myself alone
i feel like i am blind.

i feel it, like i am blind.

i wish the stars could shine now,
for they are closer they are near
but they will not present my present,

they will not present my present
i wish the stars could shine now,
for they are closer they are near
but they will not present my present,
they make my past and future
painfully clear.

to hear you now, to see you now,
i can't look outside myself
i must examine my breath and
look inside,
to see you now, to hear you now
i can't look outside myself
i must examine my breath and
look inside

because i feel blind.

i feel it, like i am blind.


*lyrics: Hercules and Love Affair

Givin' Up Some Sweet, Sweet Lovin' For My Hometown of Chicago & A Fond Bon Voyage To Stosh!!

Today is the day that a good friend leaves for London.
So I offer now what I did not last night.
A Toast:
I wish you all the best in your adventures;
happy travels in as many ways as possible.
Prost!!

...para El Dia de los Muertos

Willing To Fight by Ani Difranco
The windows of my soul
are made of one way glass
don't bother looking into my eyes
if there's something you want to know,
just ask
I got a dead bolt stroll
where I'm going is clear
I won't wait for you to wonder
I'll just tell you why I'm here

'cause I know the biggest crime
is just to throw up your hands
say
this has nothing to do with me
I just want to live as comfortably as I can
you got to look outside your eyes
you got to think outside your brain
you got to walk outside you life
to where the neighborhood changes

tell me who is your boogieman
that's who I will be
you don't have to like me for who I am
but we'll see what you're made of
by what you make of me
I think that it's absurd
that you think I
am the derelict daughter
I fight fire with words
words are hotter than flames
words are wetter than water

I got friends all over this country
I got friends in other countries too
I got friends I haven't met yet
I got friends I never knew
I got lovers whose eyes
I've only seen at a glance
I got strangers for great grandchildren
I got strangers for ancestors

I was a long time coming
I'll be a long time gone
you've got your whole life to do something
and that's not very long
so why don't you give me a call
when you're willing to fight
for what you think is real
for what you think is right

*

MusicMatterFaithless

*

MoltenLightChadVanGaalen

*

I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides,
I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace.
I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
Namaste,
Ram Dass

Damar the Starling

Hallelujah

By Leonard Cohen

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music now, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
But love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Well, maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
It''s not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah...

The Music Section: Patty Griffin

*Image from Notorious Meg

Blue Sky
The farther I come the farther I fall
Whatever I knew it was nothing at all
Nothing at all, just making me small
Smaller and smaller
I fall back

Sooner or later with a view from the ground
Chasing the race and the races run you down
Sooner or later with a view from the ground
And a tear in your eye
You say baby why cant we fly
Into the blue sky
High
Into the blue sky

Be my singing lesson
Be my song
When I tell you I'm falling
You tell me I'm strong
You say trees have grown tall
birds have flown high
Higher and higher
Goodbye goodbye goodbye
I'll fly over a rainbow
I'll be sun kissed
Sail around the planet Venus
And send a long letter
Way back home
That says all that I know
All that I know is the blue sky
High in the blue sky

The farther I come the farther I fall
Whatever I knew it was nothing at all
Trees have grown tall, birds have flown high
Higher and higher
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

The Music Section: James as the Beginning

Heavens
I've been sittin' on top of these rocks
Watchin' the waters rise
Everyone that I have loved has gone floating by
I've been praying for the king of the world
To come and rescue me from a clan that's lost in dream
From a clan that's lost in dream

Are you waiting for the heavens
Are you waiting for the heavens
To decsend
Waiting for the
Waiting for the
Depender, depender, depender
Are you waiting for the heavens
Are you waiting for the heavens
To decsend
Waiting for the
Waiting for the
Depender, depender, depender

I've been looking through microscopes
To see how all life begins
I've been training my lens on the stars
To see where it ends
But its this living in between
That is bringing me down
To a clan that's lost in dream
To a land that's lost in dream
To a clan that's lost in dream

Are you waiting for the heavens
Are you waiting for the heavens
To decsend
Waiting for the
Waiting for the
Depender, depender, depender
Are you waiting for the heavens
Are you waiting for the heavens
To decsend
Waiting for the
Waiting for the
Depender, depender, depender




Seven
Blow me away
Was that love you declared
Only a word love can mean anything
Understand the world we're livin in

Oceans apart
What's that view from your way
Beautiful craft
Weather can change
Understand the world were living in
Love can mean anything

God made love to me
Soothed away my gravity
Gave me a pair of angels wing
Clear vision and some magic things

God is love love to me
Thank you for those things
Understand the world were living in
Love can mean anything

Darling I'm open
And darling I'm broken
Now we don't have time
Let you drift away
Like a heavy cloud
With the weight of rain
Understand the world were living in
Love can mean anything

Understand the world were living in
Love can mean anything
Understand the world were living in
Love can mean anything
Understand the world were living in
Love can change anything

The Music Section: Part Two: James

About a week ago I had the chance to go see one of my all time favorite bands at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis (the last time I saw them play was in 1992 at the Vic Theater in Chicago). One of my favorite moments from last week's show was watching Tim Booth stand in the middle of the stage (the stage at the Fine Line is very small) with eight other musicians playing as many instruments all around him; he closed his eyes and stood there smiling and listening. I really dig active listening - it's as much a pleasure to "see" as to experience.

It's always a breathtaking, beautiful sight to see someone clearly doing what they love with all that they are, with all that they have to offer as creative beings. I love these guys. Love, love, love, love them:)

The Music Section: Part One: Ali Farke Toure and Toumani Diabate

Sometimes c.d.'s pick me. It's happened at Target, Roadrunner Records, Cheapo and the Electric Fetus. From across the room certain albums call my attention like my mom's dog Sophie when she clamps down on her rope toy and growls with glee as she wrestles me for the toy. Absorbed completely in our task she and I are happy to play and it's supremely good fun.

For example: One day as I me walked through the modern rock section at Cheapo I saw a c.d. staring at me from across the way. Knowing full well what this meant since it's happened to me before, I walked past it at least twenty times (I absolutely did not the have $18 to spend on it!) and steadfastly refused to even pick it up and look at it. The colors and the cover photo were my perfect valentine. The feeling I got from the album brewed in my chest for days afterward.

In the Heart of the Moon is a perfect representation of what I love about music. It's a living thing. It reflects every aspect of my spiritual practice. It is a unique recording because it is a profound experience. I've heard from musician friends that improvisation is a difficult place to achieve Utopian or Beatific experience in music. People need to play together for many hours to gain the fluidity of the exultant improvisation. This aspect of In the Heart of the Moon is tenfold. These musicians are reviving and co-creating a grassroots/folk musical tradition in it's ideal form - as integral to the fisherman as to the Mayoral office. A celebration and a call to co-creation as made possible by all beings.

This album is one of the best I've come across in a very long time. The best because it resonates with all the love and understanding inside me. It brings to life an aspect of myself I am learning how to share. The albums I've had this experience with are few, but they all have the same calling card: they latch onto me the way Sophie latches onto the rope toy. They catch my eye and my heart leaps when I see them.

They have all become part of my spiritual library.

The following entry is an excerpt of the liner notes for In the Heart of the Moon by Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate.

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life

I remember the first time I heard a DJ play: it was in a high school gymnasium in Chicago around 1988. There were so many people dancing like their lives depended on it, that the walls were sweating. I was maybe twelve and everyone else was at least fifteen. I was ecstatic and scared witless... and I've been in love with music and dancing ever since.

When I say the words, last night a DJ saved my life, it's quite literally what I mean. Not last night, but on many another night... I've been lifted, loved and sent home sweaty, exhausted, salty and exalted.

E-Tones, those are his hands in this photo, is a Healer. I cherish him and I long to hear him play again.