True Life - from Mindfulness to Boddhisatva Action to Music, Speaking, Daily Life!

Main Purpose and Practice

Doing mindfulness practice - being aware of thoughts that come, letting them go / coming back to this moment, doing things with non-conceptual / non-judgmental / pure awareness - creates a big change! Most of the time, the thoughts are about me: how I feel, what I want, how Iʻm going to get what I want, or just how Iʻm going to make it through the day, accomplishing what Iʻm supposed to...When these thoughts are seen with non-conceptual, non-judgmental, pure awareness and let go of, what remains is a saner, stronger, larger view - an attending to right now, that, with calm strength, extends into the next now, and the next, and the next.

With this new way of being, I am available! I am, as Michael Bernard Beckwith says, “a beneficial presence on this planet”!

Living in this awareness, clear seeing happens. Equanimity continues, even in situations and with people where lack of clarity, attachment to ideas, and volatile emotions and their expressions are happening. I can “stay cool” and say and do things that are helpful!

I want to, can, and will extend this way of being into all areas of my life and to all times of my life, including hanging out with others, working, my relationships, etc.! Therefore:

My life purpose, and my only “agenda” is to live in non-conceptual, non-judgmental awareness, and thus reveal a greater way of being, and thus live as a beneficial presence, in all situations.Since a lower level of consciousness has been the norm in society, and I have practiced that level the majority of the time, for decades, practice - a conscious return to non-conceptual, non-judgmental awareness - is needed, constantly, to live in this higher level of being.I vow to remember to practice this mindfulness, every day, in every situation! I remind myself, as often as needed, to do this! And I similarly remind myself that this practice and this way of being allow me to live the highest purpose: to be a beneficial presence!

Major Career Stuff - From Gigs to Concerts and Recording

Iʻve lived a whole lifetime making music - really getting into it for, as of now, almost 59 years!

Making music is a wonderful mindfulness practice in itself: it requires real moment-to-moment focus and openness.

Iʻve done this practice in more intentional, focused ways in the past, like when I first started “jamming”, etc. around 16 years old; again, when I did the music theatre thing in Chicago; and more recently, here in Hawai`i, esp. the last few years. Itʻs gotten to be an important practice for me, especially because I do it so often and have done it for so long.

Iʻve done, and still do this practice mostly in the context of “gigs” - performing musical functions from semi-background music in restaurants, lounges, and hotels, to doing music thatʻs part of ceremonies and services.

These are all valid arenas for musical mindfulness practice. However, the recent regularity, intention, and focus of this practice in my gigging life has led to a higher level of music-making, which has led me to an intensified inspiration to seek other venues - recorded and live - that are more conducive to this higher level - via general conditions and audience involvement.

Namely, producing and releasing world-class recordings, and performing live in concert situations.

So the focus here is to consciously arrange all conditions of music-making to create optimum conditions for mindfulness - to the point of total absorption (!) - for both musician(s) and audiences.

For the musician(s), this includes writing and planning repertoire, quality of instruments and live or recorded sound, creative use of sound possibilities - recorded and live, playing with the best musicians in non-solo situations, and best venues in live music (acoustics, equipment, condition of room, etc.) and best recording / mixing / mastering / duplication setups in recording.

On the audience side, weʻre talking about conditions to facilitate their involvement in and experience of the music in mindfulness - again, to the point of total absorption!

This includes minimizing distractions from the music: no food or drink service in the venue; discouraging conversation during the concert; great acoustics and sound; a presentation to grab and hold their attention; overt invitation for them to listen mindfully. For recordings, world-class quality; overt invitations to mindful listening in cover art, liner notes, and promo!

Itʻs all about listening!!!

Always keep in mind - while planning, producing, performing, promoting: all of it! - that itʻs not about “making it in the music biz” and all that entails. Itʻs all about dwelling in, making music in, and helping others to dwell in and listen to music in, mindfulness!!

Major Career Stuff - Presenting Mindfulness Directly

So itʻs great to live in mindfulness - being available to be a beneficial presence, doing oneʻs thing, whether making music, listening, working out, interacting in a relationship - anything!

And just being that way can help others so much, and inspire them to be here now...

But this way of being, this way of life, is so important for everyone to adopt, to greatly improve the conditions of humanity - in fact, to even ensure the survival of humanity and our planet - that I feel the need to present this teaching, this practice, this way of being and way of life, to people directly!

Whatever overall teaching Iʻve been a part of - from Theravada to Zen to New Thought, my message has always been mostly about being aware and letting go, and how to apply those practices to everyday life - really living it!

Along the way, Iʻve developed some skills that are useful to present this stuff: singing, songwriting, writing prose and poetry, and public speaking.

And most recently, the research and the practices Iʻve been doing have been developing into a set of ideas and practices to present, using all of my skills!

Using many venues, incl. UCoH and other New Thought centers, business meetings and seminars, and, of course, the internet, I can spread these teachings far and wide!

I believe my set of skills can make possible a unique way of presenting mindfulness, because using songs and music in general to get things across is very effective; plus, I have a rather unique, informal, friendly way of speaking and writing that I believe people can relate to well.

So this direct presentation of mindfulness, using my unique set of skills, needs to be a high priority! The music career stuff above is important, and great, but can be pursued rather informally and easily. A lot of it, of course, is already in place and just needs some simple, clear and, of course, mindful action to get started.

And also, there has been a lot of prep and experience in the direct presentation of mindfulness already. But I think, without neglecting the music career stuff (recordings and concerts), itʻs going to be my main focus!

And, just as in the music career stuff, Iʻm changing my outlook a bit. Staying away from concern over “making it” as a presenter, author, inspirational musical artist, etc. Keeping my focus on mindfully sharing these teachings and practices most effectively - to help people understand and be inspired to practice, all the time!!!

So, action:

1. Finish short e-book, talk, songs to go in talk, quick album project with those songs and others.

2. Book presentations, and record presentations to put on youtube, etc.

3. Redo website; start publishing short writings to blog regularly.