DESIGN , YOGA
Rogan Tay by White Sun
New Song by White Sun ~ Art by Jamila Starwater Tazewell

I’m so thrilled to share that I designed the cover for Grammy Award winning White Sun‘s new single Rogan Tay. This song is a very uplifting + powerful mantra that has the ability to re write negative programming picked up in utero. This means, you can simply listen to it and receive tremendous benefit. This mantra is for all ages but it is wonderful to play this while pregnant and for your children. Listen to this interview with Gurujas to learn more about how mantras work and read this interview for more information and inspiration on this topic.

This was a super fun project and total honor. Thank you Harijiwan, Gurujas, and Adam Berry for this opportunity !

You can download the song on itunes or wherever you buy music.

YOGA
Kundalini Mantra Boxes : A step by step guide

Playing kundalini mantras in your living environment is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to upgrade your life. Through yogic wisdom and modern science, we know that reality is created by sound – every physical object, everything we see, touch, taste, smell and hear is created by sound waves. When you intentionally play mantras in your living environment on repeat it helps shape the space in a powerful way because it’s re arranging the patterns that make up our energetic world. If you are inquisitive and open minded you can do the research .. or just experience it for yourself. In my personal life, using this technology has helped me tremendously so my mission is to inspire others.

Easy Peasy

Here is a step by step guide to playing non stop mantras in your home ( or office!)

You have two choices. The easiest thing is to use old mobile devices. Take your old phone and plug it in a corner and play a mantra or playlist on repeat. 

Your other option is to make a mantra box. This is a little bit of a project but it’s worthwhile. This is what you need : 

  1. Small Speaker with Micro Sd Card  $8 – $20 :  like this  or this  
  2. Micro SD Card with Adapter (small memory is fine) $8 : like this
  3. USB plug $10 for 2 : like this

You’ll need a SD card reader for your computer, some computers have this built in, but if you don’t you can buy one that fits in to a USB plug  ( like this ) . 

Time to pick the mantra ! Check out some ideas on this post. It’s nice to pick a mantra that works on a particular issue and a version that you love. Check out ‘kundalini mantras’ on youtube and spotify to get a sense of whats out there! A great place to start is any album by White Sun, especially their White Sun II (which they won a Grammy for) and White Sun III.  Check out this wonderful interview with the lead singer Gurujas that explains how mantras work and why we use them. Another great option is to use the sound of a properly played Gong. We recommend this one. 

Time to assemble :

  1. Insert the Adapter with Micro SD Card in to your computer. 
  2. Go to the Music folder and pick your track/s 
  3. Make sure your song is in MP3 format. If its MP4 you will need to convert it so it will play in your new device. 
  4. To convert an MP4 to MP3 – Use a free online service like this
  5. Drag your MP3 file to the card and eject
  6. Insert Mini SD Card in to your new player and you’re done !
  7. Choose a good place for your mantra box – If you only have one, the bedroom is a great choice because listening to mantras while sleeping is one of the most powerful things you can do for healing your mind.

We have mantra boxes in every room in our home, because we are super in to the benefits we have noticed over the last 10 years of doing this. In some rooms, like the bedroom, we have up to 6 mantras going at the same time. This is an acquired taste however ! Start with one and add from there 🙂 

A few added notes :

If your partner doesn’t like the mantras, they can be played at extremely low volume and in out of the way rooms, and still be beneficial. You can also play the sound through a set of earphones and it still works !  If you or your partner are too distracted by mantras in the bedroom try the gong. This is a very soothing “white noise” type of sound that most people find very relaxing. 

DESIGN
Creative Blocks + Solutions
“Magical Zebra” © Digital Collage by Jamila Tazewell – Available on 11:11

It is ironic that my favorite thing to do in the whole world — create stuff — is also something I avoid quite expertly. The resistance to jumping in to the creative flow is real! I have successfully avoided writing this blog post for over a month two months and have been thinking about it all day before finally making myself sit here as the summer light fades through the window. Sure it is writers block – but I also experience this same dance with everything I make. I love collaging so much that I have made an 11 year career out of it, yet I still feel like hiding out before almost every creative session. There is a fear that if I sit down this time, nothing will come, the magic won’t happen. The creative flow is something I can summon but not control. Real creativity is always a co-creation with the universe. When I am “in the flow” I am tapped into something greater than myself that is literally flowing through me. It is a sensitive, very meditative process. It is you showing up for You! A spark really happens when we just show up. So thats why you just have to start.

Just starting sounds easy enough. Deadlines are great for this but sometimes you don’t have that luxury. So what then? Here are some of the ways I go about opening up the inspiration flow. The first two suggestions are universal and the last three may be the most relevant to visual artists and specifically collage art.

1. Create the space

Depending on your location and resources, this can mean many things. But most important and first – turn off social media, email and your cell phone, and don’t turn them back on until you have logged some time with your art. Then figure out where your ‘power spot’ is in your studio, home or wherever you are. This is as simple as just realizing that you really like a certain chair next to a certain window – that you feel good there. Then figure out what you need to feel really solid and ready. If it is too dark where you are, get some more light. If its too messy, clean it up (within reason! Don’t delay your art making to chase after perfection!) This is about creating a space that supports your creativity, and it is not about being rigid.  So figure it out to the best of your ability and do it fast! You have art to make and there is always room for more improvements later!

2. Sound

We have explored here how sound is a physical force that moves energy. Well it can also move you into the “zone” ! I have always been a lover of all kinds of music, but it is in the last 8 or so years that I have really started to understand how different music creates different energy states in the body and mind. This is a fun area to experiment in. Let what you are trying to express dictate what kind of music you play. For me it’s all about the mantra music these days. I love the pure high vibration of mantra – I feel like the intelligence that is carried in that sound current really opens up the flow in the most beautiful way. Just go with what works for you- what excites you – what music makes you feel alive? Play that.

3. List making

Ok so you have a space and you have some music. Now you have a lot of thoughts in your head to face. My solution is to make lists. I make a list of topics that inspire me and I also have my work / errands lists close by too. I write down the work related stuff as it comes in to my head, to be dealt with later. I love writing lists of what inspires me because I get to remind myself of all the elements I can then put in to my work.

4. Image gathering

Once I have my lists, I then go on imagery hunts. I look for old and obscure images as these are usually copyright free and I love them the most, so win win. My favorite places to look for imagery are thrift stores – old encyclopedias are the best – and the picture file sections of public libraries. Online I like to look at Wikipedia and The Commons section of Flickr. I like to search with words that are even remotely related to my topics of interest. I find that I get pulled down many rabbit holes but as long as I am finding images that excite me, it is worth the time. I save all the images in a folder I usually name for the season and year it is. Thats the best way I’ve found to remember where to find it later but if someone has a better way to organize imagery archives, please let me know!

5. Letting colors lead

Once I have a good amount of raw materials to work with I like to look at all of my inspiration in the folders at once. I then open those files that I am most excited about, and I start putting images and elements together that speak to each other. For me this means that the colors go well together and sometimes the meanings of the images do too. I very much let the colors lead me, especially in the beginning of creating a collage. At this point I am usually in the zone and the ideas are popping like popcorn. I love this part so much! I hate even stopping to eat when I am in the flow like this and I really love to eat …

 

So there you have it. I hope these suggestions help you to just. do. it. already. I am convinced that starting is the hardest part. So just go jump in, you’ll be so glad you did. HAVE FUN. Let me know how it goes.

“Magical Elephant 2” © Jamila Tazewell – Available on 11:11
YOGA
some all time favorite mantra albums

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I love music. All kinds. I grew up on Peter Tosh and Chopin, my teen years were filled with Goodie Mob and Metallica, and I’ve spent a lot of time since with a whole range of greats in all genres- country, soul, folk etc etc..  But in the last 7 or so years I started to fill my ears and mind with mantra music of all kinds. I love how listening to mantra music makes me feel. We play mantras around the house continually so that the space has the benefits of the mantras infused within them. When you walk in to environments that have mantras playing continuously you can feel the peaceful vibrations that have settled into the walls and the furniture. If you’re skeptical , try it out for yourself. It’s so easy and it works on so many levels. And read this post on how and why mantra works here. also this.

Since I’ve been listening to mantra music almost exclusively for a while I have a lot of recommendations for you!

Here are some of my favorite classic mantra albums –

Snatam Kaur – Grace 

This is a modern day kundalini classic that is so beautiful and soothing , you almost can’t believe it. Pretty much anything that comes out of Snatam’s mouth is transcendent, so all of her albums are gorgeous. If you don’t believe me, go to youtube, type in Snatam Kaur and be transported by every. single. thing. you click on. It will be hard to not let this list be dominated by her.

Nirinjan Kaur – Adhara

I recently read that this is Russell Brand’s one album he would take to a desert island or something. Whatever you think about the guy, he pretty much nailed it with his selection. This album is SUBLIME. Actually everything I have ever heard her sing is completely gorgeous. I mean I walked down the aisle to this after all.

Singh Kaur – Peace Lagoon

Singh Kaur is old school.  She is another angel singing in your ear. This album is a 70’s mantra music masterpiece. Kind of a Joni Mitchell in heaven feeling.. The lyrics are mostly in english. The words come from a very sacred book called Peace Lagoon which are the english translations of Sikh poems. I also heartily recommend all of the Crimson Collection volumes, especially 6 (Ardas) +7 (Blessings) .

Gurunam Singh – Change

This guy is real good. I play the Har Ji track a lot in class. The album is great.  Smooth, upbeat, and the only dude on this list. Good stuff.

Snatam Kaur – Live in Concert

Ok this is the best live album I have EVER heard, of all genres. It is sooooo beautiful and will make you feel so good when you listen to it. I can not recommend this one enough. When you listen to the Azure Salver track you may weep, it’s so gorgeous.

Ok next time I will post on some of the newer artists and albums I am loving. Until then– enjoy!!

image source: wikipedia : sound

YOGA
Mantras : helpful energy currents

sound waves There seems to be a lot of mystery and intrigue around the idea of mantras. The very word mantra seems exotic and kind of religious or something. The reality is that mantras are extremely practical tools. They can be used by anyone regardless of religious philosophy to improve the experience of living on this planet. It’s a scientific sound current that can change the way your cells vibrate which in turn changes how everything vibrates around you. We know from quantum physics that the idea of truly empty space is controversial, and that everything is connected to everything else. We are all just vibrating balls of energy interacting and effecting every other pulsing, glowing ball of energy. In a sense, every word we speak is a mantra. Mantra means mind vibration. Man= mind,  Tra = Heat which is caused by vibratory speed. When we say or even think something it produces a vibration. Even thoughts have a weight, a network of synaptic connections vibrating around your brain… and then when we speak it is even more powerful – the vibration of our words enter our own ears and sometimes the ears of others, causing even more brain wave patterns to blossom outward , as well as the air molecules that have moved to get the word from one part of the room to another. sound vibrationThe mantras that come from the Kundalini yoga tradition are very powerful because they were created for the times we are living in now.  Kundalini mantras are extremely potent sound currents that can go into your energy field and environments and re-arrange things to your benefit. They don’t require belief to work. They don’t require subscribing to any kind of dogma. You don’t need to believe in the shower to get wet when you step in.  To get results from these mantras, you only have to use them in some form – you can play them, hear them, speak them, sing them , chant them. To get a benefit it is as simple as turning on your ipod and listening .. you don’t need to know the words or the meaning for the mantras to be effective. ( let me repeat- all you have to do is PLAY them !) The sound current is an intelligent life force that will work to your benefit regardless of the details. But don’t take my word for it. Try it out for yourself. There are many options for mantra music these days (here are some of my picks) and it really is as simple as pressing play. My teacher Harijiwan half jokes that the most powerful mudra (hand position in meditation) is your index finger turning on the music player. We are so lucky in this era to have the ability to play any music , any time, anywhere — so use it to your advantage!   Ok so lets do an experiment. Use your index finger and press play. Then close your eyes ( you don’t want to see the dude just sitting there anyway) and just listen for a few minutes. See what happens, how you feel. This mantra is called Re Man Shabd, and its said to bring a Golden Buddha energy. The words are in a language called Gurmukhi, which means “from the mouth of the Guru” . It is related to the Punjabi language , which has its roots in Sanskrit. It is very old, very powerful, and completely relevant to our lives right here and now because it can very easily and effectively bring us peace and power. The translation of this mantra is extremely beautiful and pertains to this discussion:

Oh my mind practice Yoga in this way:

Let Truth be your horn, sincerity your necklace, and meditation the ashes you apply on your body.

Catch your burning soul (self) and stop the flames.  Let the soul (self) be the alms bowl in which you collect the sweet Naam and this will be the only support you will ever need.

The Universe plays its divine music.  The sound of reality is shrill, but this is where God is.

When you listen to the reality from this place of awareness the sweet essence of Raag arises.

Waves of melodies, emotions, and passions arise and flow through you.  Bind yourself with the song of God.

The Universe spins like a potter’s wheel and from it fly demons and angels.  The sage listens to this and instead of getting caught in either one, the sage drinks in the nectar of the heavens and is carried to the heavens in a divine chariot.

Instruct and clothe yourself with self control. Meditate unto infinity until you are meditating without meditating.

In this way, your body shall remain forever golden, and death shall never approach you.

  Read more about the Re Man Shabd, discover and download lots of mantra music here at Spirit Voyage . image credit : marine bio.org

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