CREATED THE RIVER OF
LOVE IN MY LIFE
I make a space in my life for music, yoga and meditation, with a clear mind and clear heart they are paramount in my life. One breath. One movement. One note. One love. Our stories start from our first experience, first thought, first perception and so do also mine. I don’t remember how my first experience looked like but once I started to learn to meditate, to observe my mind, my body, and my heart, I could only see how much there is to work with in order to find the right source.
My stories experienced
a transition when I went on a journey to India
Pursuing to learn the art of Yoga and Meditation, I went on an unknown and unexpected journey. Like in every teaching in every art, there are different lineages also in that. There is no right or wrong, but much awareness needs to be built to understand what fits to us as individuals. And that changes as well very much according to what we seek, what we perceive and the experiences we accumulate in time. But I knew that in order to find love I needed to find happiness.
One Breath.
We all know that breathing is our fundamental mechanism to live, but how much are we aware of it?
Breathing is known as a fundamental practice in our Meditation and Yoga sessions. It’s a wonderful practice. Single pointed breathing meditation, also known as calm abiding meditation, is a beautiful practice where we create a space to work on our clear mind, observational mind, concentration. When we achieve a clear mind even for a single moment, it leads to relaxation. In that moment we can observe how our breath is changing and becoming more relaxed. It’s a wonderful point to be aware how our busy mind, affects our breath and emotions, which affects our body. The clear mind allows us to relax and to observe with concentration. the mind of the beginner is empty. An empty mind means free of habits, ready to accept, to doubt and open to all the possibilities. To be open with our heart in such a way, we need to let our mind to be free, so it will not obscure the heart’s source. With such relaxation we can observe our feelings, thoughts, perceptions and ideas calmly. Then slowly those clouds which obscure the sun in our heart start to withdraw. The sun is always there, we just need to learn to see it.
When we breathe in, we inhale oxygen, when we breathe out, we exhale CO2 which the trees use and due to the photosynthesis process, they eventually release oxygen which we need for our existence. When our mind is clear, we are fearless, and we can experience life fully. When our mind is clear, we are ready to accept. To accept ourselves, to accept the other, to love ourselves and to share that love with the other.
This process also cannot exist without the sun, water and nutritious soil. Some trees give us fruits, some oil and so forth. So the trees and we are inter-being. It doesn’t matter if you are in India and the tree is in Brazil, we are all connected and thus empty of separate self. That applies to everything in life, and this connection with nature and with ourselves as a global community is so strong that we cannot ignore it. It all starts with one breath. When we see that with the right awareness, we can see the capacity of love within us. How it flows like a river in our veins, how it is limitless.
One Movement.
In our practice with Yoga asana we learn to observe in detail our body and especially its movements. This has been a great addition to my daily life practice. I learn through that, that every moment in our life we can apply the practice. First thing in the morning when I wake up and am still in bed, I scan my body from the tip of the toe to the top of the head, as if I was just getting up from Savasana. I observe my body with gratitude. This practice by itself, already makes me happy and allows me to start the day calmly. From that moment, every movement can be an object of observation, to get up from bed with the right movement, to be aware of the body temperature, stretching the back, the head and shoulders and so forth.
Since we sit many hours every day, and that includes us musicians as we practice music, yoga has much benefit for the daily life to maintain the body. Whether it is to hold right the sitting posture or to maintain the flow of the body or to give good balance.
And when nighttime comes, l lay in bed, close my eyes, observe the breath and slowly let go of the day. Dwelling in the moment, a wonderful moment. While observing the body, we may expand this gratitude further on to the things we have in life and to our loved ones. Calmly having the right transition to a dream, and maybe also for a dream yoga.
One Note.
The Bansuri and I are inter-being. I couldn’t make music without the flute, and the flute couldn’t be heard if I didn’t blow it. This understanding is essential for the connection and the love we share. When I sit and play one note, I observe it very carefully. . The breath, the sound quality and how the note arises and fades. Observing the silence in between the notes. When I am with music, I make sure to create a space for it in the same way as I do for meditation or yoga. Making the right preparations to be in that moment with it.
To have a clear mind and a clear heart. To feel the notes and their vibrations. To absorb the different moods they create and to unite with them.
One Love.
Through our yoga practice we learn to unite with ourselves to explore it. A river of emotions arises and passes away, but in time we grow a seed that exists in each of us. This seed needs our attention to grow. The potential is within us, same for the artist as for the yogi. If we stop practicing, our quality descends, but the potential remains. That is why we say, we all have a buddha nature, but we need to reveal it and let it out. With the right attitude and understanding we grow a genuine love within us. We become fearless and eventually generate compassion towards ourselves, our friends, stranger and enemies.
My album ‘Tear In The River’
Depicts a journey of a tear, which is joining the river for the first time. Like every other journey in life, the tear experiences excitement, anxiety, fear, joy, connections with other tears, obstacles on the journey and new friendships. The connections from my latest album were founded during lock down where my Yoga and Meditation practices play an especially influential part of my life. The compassion we all experienced, learning to let go and be less strict with ourselves was significant in those times helping us to connect with each other. I hope my album shares many of these emotions and feelings for others to find comfort and joy when listening to the music.
Every song on the album depicts a story of its own and yet the stories are connected. Some tell about a heartbreak and some about importance of letting go of such things in order to express care and love. The album focuses a great deal on connecting in all its forms from personal to nature. Connecting all beings, human and animals. We all face struggles and frustrations in this life. Some of us share common struggles and some are different. Some are individual and some are collective struggles.
By having more understanding and generating love we can also generate compassion towards all beings. Being more compassionate to our own suffering, learning to let go and being less strict with ourselves can help to see the same in others.
When the tear is starting its journey in the mystical river, it goes on a life journey. The tear also gets connected with other tears. We are all connected. Therefore, we need to be more compassionate towards each other. By doing so, we can reduce much of our suffering. By generating compassion, we can generate more generosity. Helping those who need our help. We can see that our capacity for generosity is much bigger than we think it is. It is not too late to change and to see how much we are connected to nature.
The tear comes from us but we learn to let it go and allow it to have its own journey. I have found this journey in my life has been truly strengthened and enriched with Yoga and Meditation and the awareness for life that it gives me.
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