Today's DailyOM Offerings...
April 11, 2014
Land of the Buddhas
Chinmaya Dunster
2009
The odyssey that would lead British musician Stephen Dunster to his spiritual name of Chinmaya began during a post-college jaunt through Afghanistan and India, where he studied local music, eventually becoming enamored of the sarod (a kind of cross between sitar and guitar) at a performance by Amjad Ali Khan. Dunster spent the next 13 years studying the instrument, achieving mastery and earning his new spiritual name before returning to his native lands to share what he had learned. Paul McCartney heard him play and was so entranced he invited him to play at his 2002 wedding to Heather Mills. A collection of Dunster's favorite tracks from his 13 albums for the New Earth label, Land of the Buddhas is a clear indicator of what McCartney was so enamored by; it's haunting in intimacy and quietly sweeping in its breadth and scope.
Ranging comfortably over an array of spiritual styles, Land of the Buddhas opens with the straightforward, spiritually rooted "Rag Shivranjani," which blazes warmly along with the spine-tingling slide sound of the tamboura and the tablas of Manish Vyas. Dunster's lyrical sarod later accompanies wooden flute tranquility ("Gir Forest"), classical acoustic guitar ("Chance Finding") and ghostly Asiatic drones in the mysterious "Full Moon," which seethes forward on nerve-tingling Indian slide guitar and clay pot percussion as Dunster's sarod slithers and slides around the shadows, etching in barely tangible forms of divine, transitory figures in the flames.
Whatever the accompanying instruments or style variant, Dunster's sarod is always at the emotional center - at once rooting, homey and forever alien in its mysterious yet comforting sound. We can feel eternity stepping in and out of the river of time like a nervous bather via Dunster's knowingly succinct instrumentation. Land of the Buddhas works both as a meditation/healing arts disc and a great introduction to the sounds of the Indian continent for anyone interested in Eastern spiritual music but not sure just where along the river to dive in. As the artist himself puts it: "If you’ve ever wondered which Chinmaya Dunster CD to buy, this is it!" With his unerring ear for mixing eastern and western musical ideas, Dunster makes Land of the Buddhas inviting enough for even the most wayward and unwitting lost traveler.
April 11, 2014
Gratitude Abounds
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel immense gratitude today for the blessings in your life that have come to you through other people. Perhaps someone has shown you an immense kindness at work, or there are people who have been very generous with you in your personal life. You may want to stop and say “thank you” for all you’ve been given as you count your blessings. Today is also a good time to take stock of how good you felt when the people around you accepted your generous overtures. You may also want to think about how one generous act tends to beget another. If you are ever in need of generosity in your life, remember to be kind or generous to someone else. Any intention that you put out into the world always comes back to you.
We experience gratitude when we give and when we receive generously. Generosity is an act that can be enjoyed by both sides. As the giver, we feel grateful that we have the opportunity to be a cause for other people’s happiness. As the recipient, we are able to give thanks that we are receiving from the bounty of someone’s generosity. Another blessing is having the opportunity to participate in such a generous exchange. Allow yourself to be grateful today for the generosity that you have been shown, and you will appreciate your abundant life.
April 11, 2014
Revenge
A Different Approach to Anger
by Madisyn Taylor
Thoughts of revenge create an energy of imbalance and is best dealt with by releasing your anger.
There can be times when we get so angry with someone that we find ourselves imagining ways to seek revenge for the hurt they’ve caused us. Remember, however, that the thoughts you’ve just had are energetic creations. In order to keep yourself from having to take part in the rebalancing of energy, it is important to release the person and the thoughts into the care of the universe with forgiveness.
Before we allow ourselves to invest our energy into negative thought or action, we can remind ourselves that everything has a purpose. We can then consider that perhaps the actions of the other person or people may have had nothing to do with us. If we don’t take their actions personally, it may be easier to release them. Remembering that every interaction is an opportunity to make a better choice, we can take a deep breath before responding, allowing us just enough time to connect to center and make the choice to respond from our higher self. We can never know all the circumstances that may have led anyone to do anything. By not passing judgment on anyone, and instead sending hope for their healing, we may create something positive out of a difficult situation. We can then release it, since dwelling on it can cause an energetic drain in our system, causing us to really only hurt ourselves. When we can release our hold on negative events and interactions, we leave it in the ! hands of a wise universe to work out the best solution for all involved.
In every moment we have a chance to make a choice to bring light into the world. When we bless others with the gift of our positive energy, instead of letting circumstances affect us negatively, we bring a little peace to the world every day.
Land of the Buddhas
Chinmaya Dunster
2009
The odyssey that would lead British musician Stephen Dunster to his spiritual name of Chinmaya began during a post-college jaunt through Afghanistan and India, where he studied local music, eventually becoming enamored of the sarod (a kind of cross between sitar and guitar) at a performance by Amjad Ali Khan. Dunster spent the next 13 years studying the instrument, achieving mastery and earning his new spiritual name before returning to his native lands to share what he had learned. Paul McCartney heard him play and was so entranced he invited him to play at his 2002 wedding to Heather Mills. A collection of Dunster's favorite tracks from his 13 albums for the New Earth label, Land of the Buddhas is a clear indicator of what McCartney was so enamored by; it's haunting in intimacy and quietly sweeping in its breadth and scope.
Ranging comfortably over an array of spiritual styles, Land of the Buddhas opens with the straightforward, spiritually rooted "Rag Shivranjani," which blazes warmly along with the spine-tingling slide sound of the tamboura and the tablas of Manish Vyas. Dunster's lyrical sarod later accompanies wooden flute tranquility ("Gir Forest"), classical acoustic guitar ("Chance Finding") and ghostly Asiatic drones in the mysterious "Full Moon," which seethes forward on nerve-tingling Indian slide guitar and clay pot percussion as Dunster's sarod slithers and slides around the shadows, etching in barely tangible forms of divine, transitory figures in the flames.
Whatever the accompanying instruments or style variant, Dunster's sarod is always at the emotional center - at once rooting, homey and forever alien in its mysterious yet comforting sound. We can feel eternity stepping in and out of the river of time like a nervous bather via Dunster's knowingly succinct instrumentation. Land of the Buddhas works both as a meditation/healing arts disc and a great introduction to the sounds of the Indian continent for anyone interested in Eastern spiritual music but not sure just where along the river to dive in. As the artist himself puts it: "If you’ve ever wondered which Chinmaya Dunster CD to buy, this is it!" With his unerring ear for mixing eastern and western musical ideas, Dunster makes Land of the Buddhas inviting enough for even the most wayward and unwitting lost traveler.
April 11, 2014
Gratitude Abounds
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel immense gratitude today for the blessings in your life that have come to you through other people. Perhaps someone has shown you an immense kindness at work, or there are people who have been very generous with you in your personal life. You may want to stop and say “thank you” for all you’ve been given as you count your blessings. Today is also a good time to take stock of how good you felt when the people around you accepted your generous overtures. You may also want to think about how one generous act tends to beget another. If you are ever in need of generosity in your life, remember to be kind or generous to someone else. Any intention that you put out into the world always comes back to you.
We experience gratitude when we give and when we receive generously. Generosity is an act that can be enjoyed by both sides. As the giver, we feel grateful that we have the opportunity to be a cause for other people’s happiness. As the recipient, we are able to give thanks that we are receiving from the bounty of someone’s generosity. Another blessing is having the opportunity to participate in such a generous exchange. Allow yourself to be grateful today for the generosity that you have been shown, and you will appreciate your abundant life.
April 11, 2014
Revenge
A Different Approach to Anger
by Madisyn Taylor
Thoughts of revenge create an energy of imbalance and is best dealt with by releasing your anger.
There can be times when we get so angry with someone that we find ourselves imagining ways to seek revenge for the hurt they’ve caused us. Remember, however, that the thoughts you’ve just had are energetic creations. In order to keep yourself from having to take part in the rebalancing of energy, it is important to release the person and the thoughts into the care of the universe with forgiveness.
Before we allow ourselves to invest our energy into negative thought or action, we can remind ourselves that everything has a purpose. We can then consider that perhaps the actions of the other person or people may have had nothing to do with us. If we don’t take their actions personally, it may be easier to release them. Remembering that every interaction is an opportunity to make a better choice, we can take a deep breath before responding, allowing us just enough time to connect to center and make the choice to respond from our higher self. We can never know all the circumstances that may have led anyone to do anything. By not passing judgment on anyone, and instead sending hope for their healing, we may create something positive out of a difficult situation. We can then release it, since dwelling on it can cause an energetic drain in our system, causing us to really only hurt ourselves. When we can release our hold on negative events and interactions, we leave it in the ! hands of a wise universe to work out the best solution for all involved.
In every moment we have a chance to make a choice to bring light into the world. When we bless others with the gift of our positive energy, instead of letting circumstances affect us negatively, we bring a little peace to the world every day.