A funny thing happened on the way back from the farm...
I have a love for music. Cannot sing a lick without a strong note in my ear, and even then it is hit or miss... but the cellular translation that seems to occur when I hear a magical piece of composition... well it makes me go to my happy place.
There is no coincidence, if I may assume, that I have therefore come to study at the feet of a master who is also a siren. A singer not simply of worldly jigs and jazz... but a Dakini with a voice of compassionate longing.
It is not to say that I have forgone the elixir of pop ear candy... why this week alone I must have got my swerve on a dozen times to Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. But when the dust settles on my woofers and tweeters... my deepest appreciation is for the vocal styling of the women of Palyul.
Jetsunma is my teacher. If you have read more than a paragraph on this blog... you know this already. And I tout her at every opportunity, not because I think that you should drop your spiritual pursuits and come running into our camp. It is more to amend a shame I feel knowing that one of the most resonant moments of a FAVORITE high school musical I witnessed... is the denial of Christ by three devoted disciples in Jesus Christ Superstar.
That poignant moment when Peter, Mary and that other disciple (grimace at my ignorance) are identified as the company of Jesus and Peter exclaims "I don't KNOW HIM."
The fear of association with someone so bold as to challenge worldly pursuits... well it is not easy company to keep.
But what of these songs... the lyrical compassion that they bestow upon us?
I wish I knew why it feels so amazing to hark the herald and hear angels sing. It is goose-bumpy good stuff when your faith is emblazoned by gospel voices and jubilant choirs. I recall a jaw dropping rendition of Okechobee GA's AME "Children of God we are MARCHING to Zion..." when I was a high school student in a Methodist choir.
But now I am less a singer in the tenor section... and more a cheerleader on the outside of the whisper room... but cheering for MORE, MORE, MORE. The music that is and will be the lineage of Queens... that which started as an invocation for Guru Rinpoche to make America, neigh make Washington DC his seat on this continent of Freedom... well that voice invites me daily. And her strongest protege is cut from a fabric that is royal compared to a Greyson Chance lullaby. (And I am a Greyson Chance fan!)
So bless thy ears with some soulful Dakini chanting. It is not just fun and uplifting, why I do believe it could change your lives. : )
Here is my menu of most tasty tunes...
Jetsunma's Music is available at JetsunmaMusic.com
Jetsunma's "The Promise" as represented in a little Youtube Video/Slideshow
Adalia Tara (a protege of Jetsunma's music writing and producing) writes her budding songs of compassion over at her site.
And for those stuck on the fence in their faith... ALW penned the ultimate song of the human habit of doubt...
So I leave you all to have a fabulous day. Get your Gospel on peeps... and practice true kindness where you are!
Peace ya'll... and that's the gospel truth!
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1 comment:
Heaven On Their Minds is probably my favorite JCS song. Carl Anderson's voice blows me away every time.
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