SEVEN SONGS TAG! Happy Monday!

Miladysa had this cool tag on her blog recently, and I decided to tag myself, as she highly recommended:

SEVEN SONGS I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY:

1. "RIO ANCHO" --Paco de Lucia
This is my favorite Paco song. I've been listening to Paco's extraordinary guitar work since 1984. You can find this tune, as well as many other outstanding Paco tunes, on Antologia, Vol. 1

2. "AZZURA" --Paco de Lucia/Al DiMeola/John McLaughlinThis piece comes from Guitar Trio (1996). I think this is an outstanding album: this is the 'guitar trio' in their ultimate studio form. Friday Night In San Francisco is my ultimate favorite album by these three guitar virtuosos; however, Guitar Trio is a very close second!

3. "La Barrosa" Paco de Lucia
People have accused Paco of straying too far from the traditional flamenco style. On Siroco, Paco delivers what the traditionalists want--but at full speed! Paco has been revered as 'the best guitarist alive' (Three Spirits DVD), when you listen to his guitar mastery on this album, it is no question as to why. It's not the speed at which he plays that makes him a guitar great (anyone can play fast with a lot of practice!), it's the heart and soul that flows through his fingers into his instrument that makes him a true master.

4. "Symphony No. 9" Beethoven
I know Beethoven's 5th Symphony is supposed to be the be-all-end-all of symphonies, but I personally think No. 9 is Beethoven's greatest.

5. "Nacho Re Mero Mana! (Dance, My Heart!)" Gurumayi Chidvilasananda
I woke up this morning in a bit of a funk, so I put this lovely 16 minute CD onto the stereo. It begins with Gurumayi' captivating voice rendering Kabir's "Nacho Re Mero Mana!" poem. Then, it explodes into this heart warming, fun, charged chanting version of the same poem. I love this chant. Gurumayi's voice has a way of carrying me back to my source, which causes all of the 'junk' that's polluting my head and causing the funk, to just fall away! I can't sit still when this chant is playing. I could be in the worst mood possible, and by the end of the chant, I'm swaying my hips, and dancing with joy!

6. "Nuevo Mexico" Ottmar Liebert + Luna Negra
This is another 'flamenco' guitarist that I listen to from time to time. Liebert doesn't have the mastery of the guitar that Paco de Lucia does (but then, who does??), and his style is very different, yet I love it. Unlike Paco, Ottmar's tunes reel you in with their simplicity and simplistic beauty. "Nuevo Mexico" is the first track on Ottmar's Opium album. This is a collaborative album with Luna Negra. There are two discs. These are both beautiful CDs, although I have to be in the right mood to listen to them: usually at night.

7. "Heavenly Bank Account" Frank Zappa
The version of this classic Zappa tune comes from the double album You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 1. I think this is the best Zappa album ever!! Well, maybe it's tied with Freak Out and Sheik Yerbouti, but that's my totally subjective opinion (but aren't all opinions subjective?).

This song begins with one of my favorite all-time Zappa quotes: he's talking about giving your money to organized religions--which I personally think is appropriate in order to keep the place running and available to help all of its parishioners, devotees, etc.-- yet, in his sardonic manner, Zappa reminds us that 'there's a huge difference between kneeling down and bending over". Well, we all know that Zappa was an atheist, but I have to agree that a person needs to re-evaluate the spiritual organization they are affiliated with if they are asked to give their entire bank accounts on account of 'faith'.

Anyway, I just love Zappa, and his humor was never lost on me. It's too bad that he died so young. I mean, I'm happy with the 65 albums that he left us (most of them remastered by him before he died!!), but I do miss him. A friend of mine interviewed him in the late sixties and she told me that she thought he was a genius. You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 always reminds me why I love Zappa so much. He's funny and a musical genius, end of story. :)


I now tag Gyrobo, Flatlander, Sage, Kenju, Mizfit, and Mike Althouse!


tags: jaibhakti, Paco de Lucia, Al Dimeola, John McLaughlin, Ottmar Liebert, Luna Negra, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Frank Zappa, music

FLATCAT To The Rescue!

This is, by far, going to get the FUNNIEST POST OF THE YEAR AWARD. It will definitely go down in history as ONE OF THE BEST OF 2006! in the official Blogosphere Daily Bugle Sunday ARTS Section.

What is it that I am referring to? None other than WHY I HATE FLYING, by flattest cat of them all--Flatcat!!

Laugh a lot and enjoy!


tags: jaibhakti, Flatlander, humor

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

One of my aunts gave me this picture in my birthday card. This photo is circa 1970, and was taken in good 'ol New Jersey, USA. Can you guess which one is me? I'll give you a hint: I'm the one with the big gut!

tags: jaibhakti, humor

Thank You, Gyrobo!

A Birthday Cat!

Big THANK YOU to Gyrobo for this beautiful birthday drawing!

Cheers,

Bhakti

100th POST!!

Not only is it my 100th post on this blog, it is also my birthday!!

Today, I am 19,447,200 minutes old!

In honor of my birthday, I wish you all very happy wishes and a wonderful day!

Love,
Bhakti

My Love...

Flying Horse in the Purple Sky

tags: jaibhakti, photography
Photograph: ©2006 D.L.Brophy

Photo / Poem / Question

THE PHOTO:

"My Beloved In Full Regalia" ©2006

THE POEM:

For You

Thank you for calling me home...

My beloved.

Your warmth, Your love, Your grace

Carry me beyond the mind,

Beyond the body,

Beyond the pain.

You heal me with Your loving Shakti--

After a while, I surrender.

You uphold me,

You cleanse me;

I sway to the rhythm of Your tender caress.

An ocean of nectar envelops me--

A fireball of grace

Rejuvenates me.

Your love transforms me

Until I no longer exist;

Until there is nothing

But Your love.

Thank You for calling me home.

-- © Bhakti 12/29/05

THE QUESTION:

(This is a question that came up for me during a meditation in August, 2005--just 3 weeks after my spinal surgery. I would like for you to contemplate the question and then, if you feel so inclined, record your answer in the comment section of this blog. Much love, Bhakti.)

What would it be like

if you spent your whole life

knowing you could do

whatever you put your mind to?

tags: jaibhakti, photography, spirituality, poetry, bhakti

Brightly Shining; Ceaseless Glory.

Tonight's moon,

Shining brightly as the sun.

Thank God.

tags: jaibhakti, moon

photograph © 2006 D.L.Brophy

Night Photography

tags: jaibhakti, photography
Photographs ©2006 D.L.Brophy

New SHIVA NATARAJ Photo...

tags: jaibhakti, Shiva, photography
Photo © 2006 D.L.BROPHY

CAT OF THE MONTH: March 2006

CAT OF THE MONTH

March 2006

"Phineas"

Here is a photo of my cat Mr. Phineas. When I see him I just call to him,"Hey Boy" in a deep voice, like Billy Crystal's father did in "CitySlickers". I guess it is not your usual cat photo, he was sitting on the computer chair and I just made the background dark to block the junk, I liked the way it came out. Phineas's best friend is Sophie, our Golden Retriever; they hang out together all the time. Phineas has a funny habit: everytime he comes in from outside he has to eat. Even if he just finished eating and goes out for one minute, he has to eat again.

--Bill Owens

c/o New England Photos

Photograph ©2006 Bill Owens. All rights reserved.

tags: jaibhakti, New England Photos, photography

Pain Can Set You Free

Throughout the past seven months, I have been trying to learn how to deal with chronic pain. I can personally tell you that pain can be used as a doorway to the Truth. The subtle observation of pain, and the realization that pain itself is a manifestation of the conscious energy that creates everything, can be a way to transcend the pain itself. To view pain as a ball of energy, as a constricted form of the conscious energy that exists in everything, and to go inside the ball of energy and then let it dissolve into the bliss and joy of the Heart is the way to freedom when experiencing chronic pain. This may not make sense to those of you who have not or do not experience chronic pain; however, pain can be a doorway into caitanya, into the freedom of the blemish free soul: into our true being.

In other words, pain, too, just like everything else that exists, is a manifestation of energy. What I'm saying is don't be afraid of the pain. Don't run from the pain. If you are in pain (whether physical or mental) just be with the pain. Label it as a manifestation of energy. Watch this 'ball of energy' that is pain, and let it dissolve. It will dissolve back into the pure energy that it came from.

How to do this? Let's say you are in mental anguish because you are angry at yourself or someone else. Don't think about what triggered you to be angry. In other words, forget about who or what made you angry. Just sit with the feelings and the emotions that you are experiencing. Recognize in what part of the body you feel the energy most significantly. Just sit with the feeling. Then, take an in breath and breathe into the energy. Breathe into your feelings of anger. You will witness the feeling dissolving.

So much of the time, we, as humans, feel it is not 'okay' to be angry. We think it makes us less human, or less worthy of being loved if we are angry. But, I have found that the key is not to push away the anger, as this only suppresses the feelings of anger--they eventually have to come out somehow, maybe in the form of a disease or illness, or in the form of frantic, uncontrollable rage. We must accept that feeling angry is okay, because it is a natural human emotion. Contrary to popular belief, emotions are not good or bad, they just are.

If we could just embrace the fact that we are angry, and sit with our feelings--forgetting about the trigger--but just sit and acknowledge our feelings, then we will find that they will dissolve back into the pure energy whence they came from. Just like a violent wave that crashes upon the shore dissolves back into the ocean, so too will your feelings of anger return back into their source, which, of course, is pure bliss. The bliss of the Heart.

All emotions are cyclical. No emotions last forever. To be truly alive, we must not cling to them. We must witness them, acknowledge them, and let them flow back to the source.

Is it possible to stop a wave from crashing onto the shore? Is it truly possible to deny ourselves the feelings of anger?

No. To be alive means to have emotions and feelings. To be truthful to our own being, we must experience our emotions. We must 'go with the flow'. To go with the flow, we mustn't cling to the river bank, we must trust our experience of life, and experience everything fully.

If we view physical pain in this way, we can experience it as a manifestation of the loving energy that has created all. Physical pain is at times excruciating, yet it can take us to our Truth. It can make us realize that our physical bodies are not going to last forever. I know that my physical pain has brought me closer to God/the Truth than I could have ever imagined. I am not afraid of death, I am afraid that I will not be able to live! That is a great place to be! Rather than thinking about what I CAN'T do, because of my physical limitations, I am taking inventory of what I CAN do! I have been given the opportunity to look at my life and to think about what really matters to me. This is a blessing!

It's time to live! Right now!

I offer you this: Go within, right now! Don't wait for tomorrow! The time to live is right now.

Whatever you are feeling right now, FEEL IT! Don't push it away. Don't suppress it. Feel it, so that you may be free. Be true to the moment. Whatever you are feeling in this moment-- Feel it. And let it go.

Years ago, I asked my beloved teacher Sally Kempton how to deal with a particularly strong emotion I was dealing with. She said, "Experience it, and then let it go."

I will forever cherish these words. They are a jewel in my crown. They are so true. And now, two or three years after she said them to me, I am understanding their beauty in action.

May your life be lived to the fullest. May you accept everything that you are experiencing so that you may be free. May you experience your emotions and feelings as pulsations of energy that come and go: everything comes and goes, except for the Supreme Bliss of the Heart.

"The Heart is the hub of all places. Go there and roam" --Bhagawan Nityananda.

Blessings,
Bhakti


tags: jaibhakti, chronic pain, Sally Kempton, Bhagawan Nityananda