3 Steps to Peace

Peace is a big word.

It is big because it is the manifestation of Love in our lives and existence.

And Love is a very big word.

Such big ideas can stop a person in their tracks. It's easy to get discouraged by ideas that encompass all things. It's easy to get distracted.

All of this is ok. It helps us to see the entrance to the land of Peace. It's a small door of small deeds. Better yet, you don't need to start anywhere but with yourself. Your own thoughts and actions. You see, peace emanates from within us. It grows from the growth of our compassion, our hearts.

How do we cultivate compassion within?

There are three wonderful steps, I recommend. These are by far not the only steps, however, all major people of peace have suggested these be a part of our daily practice, and I tend to agree with them.

1). Meditation.
This is a broadly misunderstood word. Meditation is not tied to any specific religious tradition. It seeks only to bring you more into your true self, your spiritual self. By regular meditation, you can expand your awareness to the greater truths that all life is connected. At this level, you will see that compassion for others is compassion for ourselves, and vice versa. We can also come to recognize our habits and pre-programmed perspectives and begin to re-write negative programs with positive ones. There are many varieties of meditation, some more potent than others, though I feel all are good. All can take you into the silence, and all can take you to a path to find the true Self. If you've never meditated before, there are a number of groups in every town that practice some sort of group meditation. These are good places to start, as are some internet guided meditations.
Here is a nice short one by Will Tuttle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChLb23f23bo
This is a good one by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z95hlevUWm0
Here is an article on meditation: https://www.bigquestionsonline.com/content/can-you-learn-control-your-mind.
Here is another good sight on all the scientific studies behind why meditation works: http://www.tm.org/ (this is a great form of meditation, though it takes instruction to fully engage in).

2) Veganism.
Total Nonviolence is our goal, as peaceful people. Perhaps we will never be able to fully extricate all violence from our lives, but it is our duty as spiritual beings to do as much as we can to reduce the suffering of all beings. This can be a tough step for a lot of people. The good news: a vegan diet can give you optimal health and make you feel more energetic. Veganism is not just about food though. It is not just a diet. It really is the lifestyle of bringing ahimsa (nonviolence toward all life) into our daily lives. Much of the suffering in the world stems from violence directly tied to animal agriculture. Whether it be environmental suffering due to pollution from factory farms, or clear cutting rainforests and other habitats for animal or grain farming (usually for animals), or the direct suffering of the animals involved, the suffering of the workers involved in such horrific work, or the suffering we bring upon ourselves from eating these animals and their by-products (including most diseases). When we close off our compassion to any being, we limit our capacity for compassion. The more exemptions there are in our compassion, the less we can actually be compassionate. Whereas, once we open our compassion to even one more life, our compassion grows and seeks to blossom as our true Loving nature.

Good resources for Veganism are:
http://worldpeacediet.org/
http://www.vegan.org/
www.fatfreevegan.com
http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/free-vegetarian-starter-kit.aspx

3) Daily Acts of Kindness
We have to reprogram our minds, and creating positive and kind habits are a good way to start. Small daily acts of kindness will give you the courage and the joy to begin choosing compassion at every decision. It's important to realize that we cannot change the world day one. We cannot ever change ourselves day one. It is a process, and with every step we make greater ripples that end up circling the world. This is a process of fully becoming the change we want to see in the world. Gandhi's adage is still deeply true. Bringing peace to ourselves and others is a lifelong journey. The more we work on ourselves, and open ourselves up, the more we see the many blessings and miracles we are creating and that the Universe/God are creating with/for us.
These acts can be easy and small: giving someone a ride, helping a friend with something, giving hugs to strangers, paying for the next customer's food/groceries, smiling. Forgiveness is a huge act. If you can make steps to that early, you are making huge strides.
Lots of good suggestions here: http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/
There are no limits to kindness. Use your creativity.

Peace is a lifelong journey. Each of us is at different stages of this journey. We cannot compare our progress with that of others. We cannot control others. We can only bring peace to and through ourselves. The more we become this peace, the more it becomes reflected in others we meet and know.

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."
Rumi

Take that first step. The whole Universe is with you.

SXSW Part One

Everyone goes to Austin's SXSW for different reasons.

At least, I'd like to think so.

Though at the base of it all is massive networking. Constant, massive networking. That much is guaranteed. 

So, when the opportunity called me up and asked me to perform in Austin, I couldn't say no. Yes, networking was my main goal, but I was itching for the experience of the festival, the experience of Austin. These moments are chances at great growth.

And Austin is the 8th most vegetarian-friendly city in the US. 

The road to Austin is a long and mostly dull one. Two new friends and musicians carpooled down with me. A Kia Soul was rented for the ride. It was bright red. Even the papers for the car called it "bright red." On a level beyond the reality of it, driving to Austin in a Soul was perfect.

Overall the car was fine. Though it was not made for tall folks. And hours upon hours in a yoga pose I've never tried before, one with my knees situated at head level, does wear upon one.

Our one highlight was sometime around 4 or 5 am, pulling into some random gas station someplace in Arkansas or Texas. Disrepair in not enough of a word for the state this building was in. Surly this establishment had been vacant for at least a decade ... I was quite surprised it was actually still in operation. 

It was called the Sweet Pea.

And it was under new management.

I decided to try my luck inside for restrooms, which were surprisingly not that bad. Beside the check-out counter was a box of incense, marked at "Perfume Wands."

The driving wasn't bad as the three of us rotated. Sleeping was still difficult though when not driving, and I might have gotten a good thirty minutes, or an hour at the most.

But before you know it, and then 20 hours after that, we were nearing Austin.

Traffic was horrendous and delayed our arrival by a good hour or more. 

Austin is about the population of the Greater Cleveland area. That fact surprised me because there were people everywhere. Granted, this festival brings in hundreds of thousands of people. Even on the busiest night in Cleveland, there wouldn't have been as many people as there were at 4am in Austin.

The hotel was a something I had been looking forward to since I found out about it. The host of the showcase was putting me up in the showcase room - the Presidential Suite!

I'd never been to a Presidential Suite before. Actually, I think I've only been in a suite room only maybe two or three times. As we loaded in, the porter took us to the elevator and was quite impressed when we told him what room we were headed to. "Man, who are you guys?" he asked.

The elevator was made of glass on the backside so you could look out into the hotel as you went up and down. We, of course, got to go all the way up to the top floor. (Which had roof access I was told, though I couldn't exactly find out where ...) 

The showcase room was being set up when we arrived. Pictures of instruments and music were all over the walls, naturally.  It was a perfect fit. And the view wasn't bad, either; looking straight down Congress, over the river to the Capitol building. A large gray metal sculpture was positioned on the intersection of two streets below. It looked like a boomerang. I was told it was a bat.

I still couldn't really see it, but said, "Oh."

What does one expect in a Presidential suite? Perhaps a plaque stating which president(s) had stayed there? Even presidents of companies would have been acceptable. 

But no.

It was Presidential in name.

Though the staff was saying if any President could have stayed there, it probably would have been LBJ. Nevermind that he died before the place was built. The ghost of LBJ is actually kind of cooler than the real thing.

A friend of mine from Sacramento was in town for the festival and was also volunteering at a soup kitchen some friends of his ran. I was to meet up with them shortly after I arrived.

We were meeting up at an outdoor showcase on the same street as the hotel, but about 10 blocks South. The walk was an answered prayer after the long drive. The showcase was also a benefit for the soup kitchen. It was crammed, but everyone was quite friendly. As I caught up with my friend, we listened to two singer/songwriters who had played at his venue in California. They were good country-blues-singer/songwriter types. 

The sun was shining and gorgeous. Sunshine and music is pretty much as good as it gets.

I'll leave out most of the networking I did, because I was meeting folks and networking everywhere. So, let's leave that as a given.

This is about the experience.

Several people stopped me, complimenting my mustache. I was told over and over again, that is was quite important in Austin.

The self-proclaimed Mayor of South Austin was introduced to me. Nothing was told me about the self-proclaimed part, so I spent the first half of the conversation thinking that perhaps she was the Mayor of South Austin. Until she dropped a few casual f bombs. But she was a wonderful character, and I'm sure that anyone who's spent some time in South Austin knows this delightful soul.

My show wasn't until 10pm, so we had some open time, and I wanted to take in the festival as much as possible before I needed to be back for sound check. We walked up to the main drag, Sixth st. 

In our walking, we apparently just missed the world's largest urban bat colony taking flight from under the bridge right by my hotel. Sixth St was a glow with music. Even at this point in the afternoon and this early in the festival. The streets were filling up, and several of the main drags were shut down completely to cars and such. Ben Kweller was performing in the window of the Stage. A band called Hordes and Harems was rocking out a small bar rooftop. A bizarre experimental girl and guitar player droned in and mostly off-pitch from one of the stages.

No time for dinner; it was back to the hotel for my set. I did nibble down a few delicious apples, and a small handful of Brazil nuts. 

And took the stage.

My music sounded pretty great in this Presidential Suite. I'll have to remember that. Perhaps I was feeling more regal and performing as such. Perhaps it was just the many wooden surfaces. 

Ignite the Soul really shined. Sparkled and dashed out to the audience to connect and flush over them. I could see it light each person up. Amazing just begins to describe it. Manifest, as well, was more special than usual. 

Maybe the ghost of LBJ was realizing that RFK was right all along ...

Maybe it was just the deep state of tired I was in.

Kyshona Armstrong was up after me, from Athens, Ga. She was a soulful powerhouse, just her and her guitar. Her friend said that my music made her night. 

Then Mike June and his bassist and accordion player sang his style of Texas singer/songwriter-alt-country-Springsteeny songs. His set was great; the accordion was a brilliant addition and was right on all night. The accordion in more pop music is a big "yes" in my book. 

My friend, Brent Kirby played next with his pedal steel extraordinaire Al Moss, and guitarist Andy. It had been a few minutes since I had last heard Brent, and he has grown a lot into his writing and singing.

Also that night were Meganne Stepka and Anna Vogelzang, who sounded a lot like Ingrid Michaelson and played the ukulele, banjo, guitar and little hand-bell-plucky-sort of thing. 

Thus ended the first day in Austin.    

        

Juice Fast

My latest journey begins 2 months ago. We were discussing with Ms. Julie what films we wanted to show for the first 4 months of 2012 in the Peace Project Film Series. We had all been recommended "Fat, Sick and nearly Dead." Julie watched it, and said we need to show it. So we put it on the calendar.

And then she said, since it's a film about juice fasting, we should do a juice fast too. We could host a 5 day juice fast.

Fasting has intrigued me for last last few years. Since college, I have had a deep and growing fascination with spirituality. It has led me down many paths, collecting many ideas, joys, and bigger concepts of Love. I think it started with my trips to Wyoming, where I felt such a connection, and even as a child, I could sense something calling to me from those mountains, and this led me to an interest in Native American spirituality. In all of these ideas, fasting was a reoccurring theme.

I kept saying, someday.

So this opportunity, pushed me at the right time, and I leaped.

The movie was deeply inspiring, and my excitement for this adventure was palpable. The universe was also on my side. You see, a juicer made it's way to me, shortly before the juicing was to begin.

The night before my first day of juicing, I went out and bought fruit and veggies enough to make a large batch that would last for about two days.

Kale, cucumber, spinach, carrots, apples, oranges, pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon, mango.

Mmm!

The first juicing experience was a little disheartening, shall I say. Not in the product, but in the fact that it took over an hour to juice. That was more time than I was expecting. I was able to whittle that down to about 30 min, including washing the juicer.

But the juice was good. And by day 2 and 3, I was feeling a little difference. A little more open to understanding myself. By day 4, I was noticing a few less pounds, and feeling pretty good overall.

Day 7 was difficult for me. The whole of the two week, I never felt hungry. I was comfortably full. Satisfied, if you will. But on Day 7, my habits reared their head, and I found I was deeply itching to have hummus and pita throughout the day. You see, I typically would have hummus and pita as I worked online during the day, and/or if I watched TV, etc. I munch a lot. Not that it's a bad thing, necessarily. But I think it is when you dont have control over your actions.

For both Day 7 and 8 there was great temptation to break my fast. But this being a spiritual adventure, I was not about to let my habits break me down. All of my will power was summoned, and I was determined to find a way over my habits.

This issue of my munching habit, while I knew that I did it, became very clear to me at this time. It was the first time I was looking at a habit of mine, and seriously, deeply looking it, in hopes of changing or overcoming it.

The empowerment in this choice and insight was profound, and Day 9 brought the best Id felt yet! And I mean yet. It was the best I have felt that I can remember in all of my 30 years in this skin.

Just before my juicing, I came down with a nasty head cold. And it took several days into the juicing for it to leave. As soon as it did though, I was back into a yoga routine. My energy was rising and feeling great!

My daily juice was typically a fruit-based juice in the am, and then a more veggie-based one in the pm. I was making large quantities so that I could take it with me as I traveled to meetings and shows, etc, so I wasnt really following recipes. My veggie drink was a mix of kale, carrots, cucumber, spinach, apples, grapes, beets, and ginger. My fruit drink was a mix of apples, pears, oranges, grapes, kale, mangoes, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, plums, carrots, and sometimes strawberries. I added to this by having a carrot-apple-beet juice at Ms Julies Kitchen once in a while, fresh orange juice, fresh cranberry juice, and the random juice at Mustard Seed or another fresh fruit bar.

A big misstep: Earth Fare ... does not have very good juice options. They have komboucha on tap, but their mixed juices are sort of weird combinations. The one I tried had garlic in it, and was so disgusting, I nearly vomited. I tell you, so you dont make that same mistake. It took me hours to get that taste out of my mouth.

So now here I sit, at the end of this stage of the journey, forever changed. My eating habits will never be quite the same. Ive lost a good 15 pounds or more and feel exceptional. Juicing will be in my diet and lifestyle every week if not every day.

I walk on from this with a greater understanding of my body, and a greater connection to my self.

This has also led me to the next step, which is real fasting. My goal is to undertake a one day a week fast.

I highly recommend juice fasting to anyone. Be it for just before noon, or one day a week, or 2 weeks, or 30 days. Its a great adventure, and you will walk away more powerful and confident and energized.

Om shanti!