e-zine for July 6, 2006
Where Do You Go to Find Mystery?
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there." ~Rumi
Meeting in a Field of Bliss
Have you ever been hit with something that resonates so strongly with you that you wish to share it with everyone you know...sometimes you go so far as to start babbling on to complete strangers in supermarket checkout lanes and just about anyone you can find to listen. Well that is exactly how I felt when I first listened to this piece of poetry that Ian wrote. I invite you to take the time to read/listen to this piece and really let it wash over you. And just maybe one day we will find ourselves face to face in the beautiful peaceful field, that is everpresent and always accessible for each and every one of us. Enjoy! ~Allison
By Ian Lawton
Rumi said- “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
So I ask you - Will you meet me at the place where the God beyond words is experienced?
At the place beyond knowing and not knowing, seeking and resting
At the place beyond sacred and secular, Sunday and Monday
At the place beyond words and silence
Will you meet me at the place where the God beyond concept is experienced?
This is the place where the sun never says “I am the sun” and the moon never says “I am the moon” and yet they are no less sun and moon like.
The sun and moon take their yin and yang journeys, the Sun actively radiating light energy, the Moon passively reflecting sunlight as if each is in awe of the other
And all we can do is gaze at the perfection of their balance
Will you meet me at the place where the God beyond emotion is experienced?
This is the place where there is no grief, because everything you think you have lost just turns up in another form
This is the place where there is no sadness, because every perceived letdown is an opportunity in disguise
This is the place where there is no disappointment, because every moment is filled with infinite possibility if we just open our eyes wide unto life
Will you meet me at the place where the God beyond preference is experienced?
This is the place beyond likes and dislikes, because everything in this field is as it should be.
This is the place beyond blame and adoration, because everything in this field is just as it is experienced.
Will you meet me at the place where the God beyond miracle is experienced?
Everything in this field is miracle, both that which is veiled in mystery and also that which is routine and everyday
This is the place where we don't need to figure out how to breathe.
We don't need to find a way to make sure the earth continues to revolve around the sun.
We don't need to concentrate to ensure that our hearts beat and our cells regenerate.
All of these things, and many more, take care of themselves without our having to think or do anything at all.
This is the miracle of life
Will you meet me where the God beyond God, hopes beyond hope, lives beyond life and loves beyond preference?
Will you have the courage to be, beyond any self-imposed limitations?
Will you meet me with a love that knows no end?
Will you meet me there?
Meet me!
In this place the concepts we call me and you lose all meaning.
In this place, meeting is insufficient to describe what occurs.
This is One Taste of pure, undivided, timeless, placeless awareness.
Pop Culture Will Eat Itself
By Brad Vander Ark
And The Greatest Musical Artist In The History Of Recorded Time Is…
People who know me tend to think that I hate everything. Not true- there is actually very little that I hate. Unfortunately, there is also very little that I love. Most things invariably fall into the category of annoyance.
I used to do occasional interviews for MTV and VH-1. After talking about the planned subject matter, the interviewer would always hit me with a blitzkrieg of unrelated questions, covering various areas of popular culture, such as, “What did you think when Pee-Wee Herman appeared at the MTV Video Awards?” or “Remember when Michael Jackson and Lisa-Marie Presley tongue-kissed?” Any witty responses would eventually end up on one of their “Best Of” or “Worst Of” clip shows, such as “40 Most Shocking Television Moments”, “100 Worst Music Videos”, “Most Celebrity Abortions”, etcetera.
I would also receive ballots in the mail, asking me to rank “The 100 Greatest So and So Of All Time”, from 100 to 1. Fill it out, send it back, and rankings submitted by hundreds of “professionals” would be tallied, and put into one definitive be-all-end-all list. I only attempted to complete a ballot once- “The 100 Greatest Rock Bands Of All Time”. Number one has to be The Beatles, right? I mean, they are the most influential pop band of the past 40 years. But then again, where would The Beatles be without Chuck Berry? Or Elvis? When I’m Sixty-Four would have never been written if Paul McCartney were not a fan of Frank Sinatra, so does Frank make the list? Is he rock? No. Has he influenced rock singers and songwriters? Absolutely.
So, I settled on The Beatles as number one, XTC as number two… Wait a minute, I guarantee that among the hundreds of ballots submitted, I am the only person who would rank XTC number two, and most people probably wouldn’t even have them on the list at all. Also, am I obligated to include The Rolling Stones? Or Nirvana? Oh, yeah, plus I definitely have to write in Sonic Youth, to keep my credibility with all of the other voters who listed them, but have never heard even one of their albums.
I never finished the list.
The point here is that music, like any art form, is 100% subjective. My general rule is to not be impressed with anything that I could not have created myself, and to not rank things in order of greatness. That seems to work for the most part. At the same time, I feel it is important, in this age of disposable art as commerce, to occasionally wade through all of this commercialized muck in order to find something that is truly inspiring. As responsible fans of music as an art form, it is our duty to share with each other those rare moments when we happen upon something that hits us on a creative and emotional level.
So here it is, folks-
Brad’s Ten Musical Artists That Have Influenced And Inspired Him Professionally And Personally
(I happily invite debate, counter-lists, or general grievances)
10) Built To Spill
When I discovered them, I realized that pop music need not be verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/double chorus/fade.
9) Fatboy Slim
The perfect combination of house beats and great hooks.
8) Outkast
Without them, The ATL would simply be called Atlanta. How boring would that be?
7) Supergrass
An endless onslaught of well-crafted Brit-Pop, with a healthy dose of cigarettes and lager.
6) The Smiths
If you can’t recognize the beautiful genius that is evident in the interplay between Johnny Marr’s guitar and Morrissey’s melodies, I’m afraid I’ll have to come over and rip off your ears.
5) Elvis Costello
Perhaps the most prolific writer of the past 30 years.
4) The Police
There has never been a more unique trio of pop musicians, and they thankfully quit while on top. Unfortunately, Sting continued.
3) Baby Bird
Sometimes music doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but the artist. My greatest influence.
2) Elton John
Tumbleweed Connection, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy- Together, the three greatest works by any artist.
1) XTC
The Modern-Day Beatles, minus the LSD.
Keep in mind, that if you were to ask me next week, the list may be completely different. When music goes beyond simply existing, and becomes almost an interactive emotional endeavor- that’s when it gets exciting. Too rarely do I experience in music love, hate, happiness, sadness- And there is nothing more satisfying than art that elicits an overwhelming feeling of sadness, or melancholy, especially when we entered into the experience perfectly happy.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I just bought Abba Gold, and I have a lot of singing and weeping to do.
Check out Brad's Bio
Don't Miss Brian Vander Ark Live Sunday July 16
Brian Vander Ark, lead singer of The Verve Pipe, brother of Brad, and amazing independent artist, just finished recording his latest album in Nashville, and will be enhancing our 9:30 Gathering on Sunday July 16 with some of his new songs.
Brian has the incredible ability of expressing his true human essence through his music and his performance.
Check out the lyrics from the brand new track "I Don't Want To Be A Bother" which could very well be the first pop hit with a progressive Christian edge.
The first time I was born again
Everything was one more sin
I had Jesus on a notebook then
And a fear of his father
I was born again a second time
Conception wasn’t so divine
You gotta marry that girl and stay in line
And I didn’t want to be a bother
The third time I was born again
I left that girl that cheats and then
I found nirvana from within
Swallowed up in dirty flannel
A family that misunderstood
Why I had to leave that neighborhood
Well God’s reception wasn’t that good
And the devil had a clearer channel
So I turned to the government to make some noise
Because I had one vote and I had one voice
But you can’t be religious and pro choice
I don’t know why I even bother
Now I believe in God, there is no debate
But I believe in separation between church and state
I went back to the church to seal my fate
And they sent me to the father
He said “you can’t come in with that point of view
Just ask yourself what would Jesus do”
I would have said Jesus was a rebel too
But I didn’t want to be a bother
The last time I was born again
I found nirvana from within
Through the eyes of a girl who took me in
Swallowed up in dirty flannel
We went back to my neighborhood
And heard you can’t get to heaven just being good
I smiled and said that I understood.
Copyright 2006 Sid Flips Music Publishing L.L.C.
Check Out the Bulletin for this Sunday and the Bulletin Archive!
May the words of Rachel Naomi Remen inspire you,
"Perhaps wisdom lies not in the constant struggle to bring the sacred into daily life, but in recognition that there may be no daily life; that life is committed and whole, and despite appearances, we are always on sacred ground."
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