Ask Parvati 29: Art As Soul Food - Part 3: The Source of Creativity - Ego or Selflessness

PART 3: THE SOURCE OF CREATIVITY: EGO OR SELFLESSNESS
(Continued from The Power of Intention)

Some people create art through pain and tension. Some thrive on tight deadlines and panic. Others need relaxed quiet in which to create. Though I can meet a painful situation and create, I tend to use the creative force to move through the pain towards expansion. Though some artists rest in pain and seem to need it to create, pain to me is passing. At best, it is a catalyst to propel me towards healing. It is not an end in itself.

When I wrote the song for 9/11, the pain I witnessed and the compassion I felt cracked open a well of goodness and interconnection. I could have written about injustice and anger, but more sincerely for me, more powerful for me was the call to rest in the field of interconnection.

I have written angry songs, judgmental songs, indignant songs, sad songs and happy songs, but if they do not come from a place of sincerity and honesty, they never make it past my song book and into a recording. I am very picky that way. For me, art is a spiritual practice, a way to challenge my ego and grind it down, so that it dissolves back to the One source.

Some are fueled by accolade and fame, while others hold themselves back and hide in the shadows wondering why. Both are an expression of the ego and living in fear. You can be on stage in front of hundreds of thousands of people and never further from your soul voice. If an artistic expression is fueled by the ego, an audience member who seeks to hide and mask pain in their own life will likely resonate with it; while those that seek honesty and humility will not find it appealing.

The source of creativity plays a major part in the end artistic product. I feel artists either create from wanting approval, love, acceptance, etc… or from selflessness, service, surrender, love. The voice of the soul is connected to the infinite. When the artist’s soul speaks, their ego dies a little and so can the ego of the audience. But when the artist’s neuroses drive the creative process, we end up with a potentially catchy piece that can amplify the neuroses in others.

For the most part, I write and create music and produce my shows from a place of joy. Often with a smile on my face while at the computer producing, I am told I am like a kid in a toyshop. I can be seen literally jumping up and down when a certain resonance comes together in a song or a production. I just feel so aligned, so alive, so purposeful and complete. I watch my body to see if I feel expansive or constrictive. I consciously choose to create through expansion.

I wrote and produced my CD and show by following my joy. I am not talking about being happy without sincerity. I speak of the expansive expression of my soul that feels positive and tuned into life. I feel that when I connect to my joy, I contribute to the vibration of joy on the planet.

I wish deeply for all beings to be free, for all to be happy, for all to be without suffering. As such, I must first align my consciousness with these qualities so that I may serve others. I am part of a continual inner purification process in so doing. Housecleaning always starts at home. If we are to truly serve others, we must empty ourselves to be vessels for the divine. For me, emptiness comes from the dissolving of the ego, when we get out of our own way and allow Grace to flow. I feel both empty and full when creating and performing.

I am inspired by what my guru Mata Amritanadamayi Devi (Amma) says about music:

Q: Amma, being an artist, a musician, I would like to know what my attitude toward my profession should be and how to express more and more of my musical talents?

Amma: Art is God’s beauty manifested in the form of music, painting, dance and so forth. It is one of the easiest ways to realize one’s inherent divinity.
There are many saints who found God through music. So, you are specially blessed to be a musician. In regards to your attitude toward your profession, be a beginner, a child in front of God, in front of the divine. This will enable you to tap into the infinite possibilities of your mind. And this, in turn, will help you manifest more and more of your musical talents in a much deeper way.

Q: But, Amma, how to be a child, a beginner?

Amma: Just by accepting and recognizing your ignorance, you automatically become a beginner.

Q: I understand that, but I am not completely ignorant. I am a trained musician.
Amma: How much training do you have?

Q: I studied music for six years and have been a performing artist for the last 14 years.

Amma: How big is space?

Q (sounding a little puzzled): I don’t understand Your question.

Amma (smiling): You don’t understand the question because you don’t understand space, isn’t it?

Q (shrugging his shoulders): Maybe.

Amma: Maybe?

Q: But what is the connection between my question and Your asking, “How big is space?”

Amma: There is a connection. Pure music is as big as space. It is God. It is pure knowledge. It is the secret of allowing the pure sound of the universe to flow through you. You cannot learn music in 20 years. You may have been singing for the last 20 years, but to truly understand music means to realize music as your own Self. In order to realize music as your Self, you need to allow music to completely possess you. For more music to occupy your heart, you need to create more space within. More thoughts mean less space. Now, contemplate on this, “How much space do I have within me to spare for pure music?”
If you really wish more and more of your musical talents to manifest, lessen the quantity of unnecessary thoughts and allow more space for the energy of music to flow through you.

- From Amma’s Heart


(Continues tomorrow with A New Generation of Multi-Media Artist: the Multi-Dimensional Co-Creator)

North Pole Journey: Day Five

Day Five: Monday, September 27, 2010

One Earth Family

Far from feeling rested after the immensity of the work we did yesterday at the North Pole, we meet this day knowing that today will be just as full as the day before. Lisa and Louisa meet us at the Inns North where we are staying in Resolute Bay, soon after breakfast. Sunanda, Rishi and I meet these wise Inuit healers once again to reaffirm the need for all people of all races and creeds around the world to understand one another at this time more so than ever. How easy it is for people to focus on differences, forgetting the richness of our true human nature and our brotherly interconnection. In a world that is to a great extent fueled by greed and suffering perpetuated through misunderstanding, we see the ravages of short-term vision tearing at the fabric of Nature Herself. Language can so easily divide. Yet the heart unites. We share with both of these beautiful women a connection that feels timeless and universal.

Sam The Inuit Hunter

Satish soon joins us to let us know that he has made arrangements with Lisa’s brother Sam for us to board his hunting boat. We are to go by boat to an iceberg, where we will showcase Satish’s fabric and where I will sing.

Chris, the innkeeper, kindly drives us down the gravel road through the open land to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. There we meet Sam, who is busy cleaning his aluminum boat of a layer of ice and blood. Clearly not a recreation vehicle, Sam’s ten-foot-long by four-foot-wide motorboat is his main vehicle for hunting beluga whale.

Through we have never met before, Sam’s kindness is immediately obvious. A man short in stature but large in strength and heart, it is as though his form has emerged from the surrounding rock of this landscape. He provides us with life jackets and extends his hand to help each of us onto the slippery metallic surface of his boat. I look down where I now place my feet. The bottom of the boat is a pool of red ice water. At first I feel a wave of revulsion flutter through my stomach. As I look at Sam and his gentle manner, it is clear that hunting in this context is not based on ego-driven power and cruelty, but is part of a cycle of life based on survival and evolution. These are the traditional ways of the Inuit – before airplanes, frozen food provisions and cheese-flavoured Doritos.

As the boat picks us speed, the Arctic wind cuts through my down coat, hood and gloves. I look at Sam who is dressed in a light jacket, wearing running shoes and no gloves. Armed with his hunting rifle slung over his chest, he looks out towards the broad ocean, standing with his hands on the steering wheel, his face carved by the harsh wind. He exudes a calm confidence as one who is born into this.

We pull up to the side of a large, flat iceberg surrounded by clear light-blue water. The edge of the iceberg hovers over the water’s edge. Crystalline icicles like razor-sharp teeth extend towards the surface of the ocean.

Sam nimbly hops off his boat and onto the iceberg and once again helps us all do the same. He quickly points out areas on the ice that are too thin to walk upon, making sure we are all safe. His gun is ready, should any polar bear or sea creature decide to emerge from the ocean, while we are on this floating ice island. We choose our spot for the video shoot. The wind is brutally cold. We get right to work. The sun is now shining, but will not be for long.

Parvati and Satish on an Iceberg

Satish pulls open his fabric from his jute carrying case. Sunanda, Sam and I take a portion to help him draw it open. Rishi runs his video camera up and down its length, capturing its green colour and message fluttering in the wind. Satish seems happy, despite shivering in the freezing cold. He has traveled so far for this moment. On this iceberg, in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, he exposes the hand-penned words of dignitaries from around the world as a call to ecological action in light of the melting polar ice. I am proud to hold the portion of the eco-silk fabric that I happened to sign.

Rishi has captured all the footage needed. As Satish folds away the fabric, I set up my performance location and soon begin to sing the same four songs I performed at the North Pole just yesterday. This will provide us with both potential cut-away shots from yesterday’s performance and backup footage should the material from yesterday be unusable. In this vast open space, I imagine that the shimmering surface of the icy water and the undulations of the ocean waves carry the sounds of my voice singing “Hear This Prayer”, “Yoga In The Nightclub”, “911-1-L-O-V-E” and “You Gotta Believe” to every corner of the world. The air and ocean are my microphone and messengers, and all the world’s a stage.

With the light now growing dim and Sunanda catching a chill, we must get back to prepare for my performance this evening at the Inns North. We step into Sam’s boat and make our way to solid land. Once back to shore, we walk past the dog sled team that jumps up, alerted by our presence. With a dozen dogs staring us down, Sam encourages us to walk briskly by, as these animals are unfamiliar with us. The sight of Chris’ warm van driving towards us is a welcomed sight. Using binoculars from the Inn he saw Sam’s boat return and made his way to collect us. En route back, we hear the local radio station announce my performance tonight, a series of Inuktitut words and then my name, Parvati. We laugh. We all look forward to the community gathering tonight at the Inn, Meghan’s idea to turn our visit into the start of a regular coffeehouse event at the hotel.

Parvati Performs at the Inns North, Resolute Bay

While we were out on the iceberg, Meghan and Chris were preparing for tonight. With the smell of fresh-baked sweets, and the sound of furniture shifting, there is a buzz of excitement in the Inn. We grab a quick bite and then Sunanda and I go upstairs to prepare for the event.

About 50 people soon fill up the hall. The dining room becomes a stage. I sing “Sanctified Skin”, “Open To This Love”, “Precious”, “You Gotta Believe” and “Hear This Prayer”, after which I encourage others to make an offering to the evening. A few local teenage girls share their talent in Inuit throat singing. Louisa, in traditional costume, brings out her drum to accompany them. Then Sam gets up to dance and play Louisa’s drum. There is laughter, sharing and warmth here, in the Arctic desert at Resolute Bay. Sharing this light, this love is what we have come here to do. In the language of love, music and interconnection, we are one human family, all children of the same Earth Mother.

North Pole Journey - Day Four, Part Two

EUREKA

Around midday, we land to refuel in the Canadian weather station Eureka, official population seven. As the plane lowers to the ground, I notice unusual animals in the distance that look like prehistoric woolly mammoths. As we deplane, the pilots tell us that we have landed near a heard of wild muskox. We are encouraged to take a closer look, so Sunanda, Rishi and I walk cautiously towards the heard. Their long, furry dark brown coats are layered with clusters of ice. A couple of beasts shake their heads, steam escaping from their nostrils in the rush of an exhale. They know they have onlookers. As though these creatures are the dark, rocky mountains that surround us come to life, a wild, untouched force feels clear in their presence.

Soon a truck pulls up to the plane. Two inhabitants of the weather station have arrived to greet us, offering us the use of the washrooms there if need be, while the pilots refuel. The three of us go quickly to be back in the sky about 20 minutes later. We still have another couple of hours until we reach our final destination.

THE ANGELS ARE WITH US

As the hours pass, the kilometers of vast, expansive scenery out the plane window is breathtaking. Throughout the flight from Resolute Bay to Eureka and now here, heading northbound somewhere above uninhabited Canadian wild, we have been graced by clear skies. Below us I see rolling and plunging icy fiords with rock as black as night and snow a sparkling white as pure as crystal. We pass over dusty steel-blue-grey frozen ocean with broken sheets of pale white ice. When open water appears, it looks as black as the mountainsides, dark, deep and menacing. Certainly this landscape does not welcome humans. I am grateful, despite the beauty, for being in the relative safety of this tiny, warm plane.

Out of the window over my shoulder, I continually notice a shimmering light in the sky. It is as though a dancing ray has been following us since we departed this morning. It creates sharp shards of golden beams that pierce the sky, then grow into a fiery expanse. I lean into Sunanda and suggest that Archangel Ariel is with us. For sure, this plane, that I would call Grace, feels escorted by angels. Filled with prayers, mantras and healing intentions, there is a harmonious presence in us all, a surrender to this experience.

NATAMBA

I notice the co-pilot Mark looking back at us from the cockpit to catch our attention. He signals it is about an hour until we land. Sunanda and I pull open our bags and get out hairpins, brushes, makeup, mirrors, costume and the wig. It is time for me to get ready for my performance and transform into Natamba, the Avalonian Goddess from my show. Using the petrol barrels as our tabletop, carefully and skillfully, Sunanda and I manage to paint my face, tie up my hair, place the new, makeshift wig on my head and clothe me fully in a gold flight suit, made especially for this trip.

Natamba to me is much more than an entertainment character. She represents the Cosmic Intelligence, the highest good in us all. The embodiment of I AM consciousness, she is a multidimensional co-creator of the most potent kind. On Earth to serve the evolution of all beings, it is perfectly fitting that ‘she’ will perform my songs at the North Pole. In effect, this is the journey of Natamba to the top of the world.

The plane starts to make its descent. Sunanda and I quickly wrap up our wardrobe preparations. Rishi gets his video gear ready. As we land, we know we only have a three-hour window to do all we have come to do, otherwise jeopardizing our safe return tonight. The sun sets very early. As it is already mid-afternoon, we must work very quickly.

As we land, Mark, already on the ground, opens our cabin door to help us deplane as it is a five-foot descent down slippery stairs. To his surprise, he looks up and sees Natamba in full costume emerging from the dark out of the cabin door hole. Amazed, he takes a few steps back and says: “Wow! THAT is cool!” 

Sunanda, Rishi and I climbed into the plane in the wee hours this morning. Five hours later, while the pilots focused on navigating by paper maps over the magnetic north pole, magic had been taking place within the cabin. Now a new character has emerged, transformed during the journey. Natamba, the embodiment of I Am consciousness, a representative of the Cosmic Intelligence, will sing to the Mother Earth and for all beings at the top of the world. Surely this is a most unusual adventure. 

Listening to the Call

LISTENING TO THE CALL

Unseen Saints

Many people throughout the world each day perform miracles, unseen, unheard, unnoticed and often unappreciated. The more I mature, the more I feel anyone who is a mother or parent is somewhat of a saint, faced with the immense challenges of rearing a child in a hurried, demanding world. The continual call for patience and ever deepening love when faced with the many challenges that one would never have imagined pre-parenting, may seem beyond one’s ability. When in front of a screaming, needing child, a mother or parent is asked to transcend their limited perceptions of the moment and go beyond the immediate sense of me and mine to a place of interconnection, shared compassion and fluid, selfless service. And there are other people who quietly help someone cross the street or without hesitation jump into action when they come suddenly upon a crisis. The basic goodness of the human soul thrives, despite our collective history laced with brutality and immense tragedy. What is it that calls us to action, when perhaps few understand or when we feel challenged to move beyond our sense of personal limit? What speaks to us within our heart that provides unseen energy to overcome immense obstacles and adversity?

Poverty in Body, Spirit and Love

The challenge to take a trip to the North Pole is no great heroic journey, when I look at the transcendent courage in people all over the world who struggle to get through even just today without basic needs such as food, water and shelter. I have participated over the years in many charitable organizations to help feed the hungry and give money to the poor. I have touched this need. I have seen the broken look in the eyes of those living on the street, desperate for things we in the West take for granted.

And the amount of suffering on the planet goes well beyond that. There are those who tell themselves they have it all, and yet daily struggle trying to fill a deep, dark hole in their soul that only increases, leaving them feeling lifeless, on the verge of suicide. There are those that feel lost and do not know their own magnificence. There are those that have not yet awakened to who they truly are, feeling they must do things the way others tell them to, silencing their inner voice, dimming their unique light. This too is a kind of poverty and hunger, a poverty of spirit that is rampant on the planet at this time.

The more I awaken spiritually, the more I feel a deep interconnection with all. This, at one level, allows me to feel immense joy, vast energy and an inner wealth like no thing material could ever give. I also feel more aware of the suffering, the grief and the disconnect within people on the planet at this time. The more the voice of I AM awakens within me, the more I hear the planet speak, the more I hear Her children, us all, cry, in need. In addition to the poverty in body and spirit in our world today, there is tremendous poverty of love.

Before The Journey Begins

Before I considered committing to the North Pole journey, I hesitated. My only concern was, could the money required not be better spent to feed the hungry and shelter the poor? I could think only of that, to the point that it became a bit of a personal roadblock to the unfolding journey I was being called to walk. I had to look inside, sit myself down in meditation, and go deeper, deeper, deeper into the heart of the gnawing, restless question.

After a few days in this practice, I began to open and see a whole new reality. I began to see that I would not be using money from a singular, finite source of money that somehow had a hold on all money in the world. I realized there is no shortage of money on the planet. But there is shortage of consciousness, not because consciousness is not here, but because our receptors are backed up, busy listening to other channels. If we were open receptors, abundance in all ways would be among us.

I also began to see myself more clearly in the picture, the Self that is connected to the abundance of all that is. I saw that I could spend, if I had it, billions of dollars towards world famine and still, famine would be there. Not to say we must not all do all we can to ensure all beings have the food, shelter and love they need. On the contrary. This is my single and primary intention in all I do: serve. What I saw is that the money I would spend on the trip to the North Pole to facilitate healing on the Earth herself and help raise awareness to the ecological impact of the melting polar cap is my way of contributing to easing both the seen and unseen poverty of body, spirit and heart on the planet at this time. What is the root of suffering? People feeling attached and disconnected. If we all felt connected to the infinite source of love, we all would be in service to each other, selflessly. There would be no more poverty in body, spirit or heart.

The Unique Voice of the Call

Some people build houses. Some people bake bread. Some people give medicine to the sick, some counsel the grieving and some make lots of money to give to those in need. The most direct and effective way I can offer healing has always been through sound and energy-work in the unseen. This is my voice. This is something I can do. This is the Divine at work through me. I do not have the rough hands of a carpenter or the skilled touch of a surgeon. I do work that bricklayers, counsellors and medical doctors cannot. In expressing my unique voice, my unique talents, I am part of the solution.

The money I spend on this trip provides a means to touch the energy of millions of people around the globe. This is my way to reach out. If I were to silence this voice that rumbles deep within, I would not be listening to the call of the Mother. For some, the call comes in a direct message, spoken from the lips of their spiritual teacher. For some, the message comes through synchronicity, life events that guide us to act, showing us how, when, where and why. For some it comes not from the lips of physical counsel but through dreams, meditations and spoken through the unseen in clear, unshakable Knowing. Those who understand the unseen are tested through it. The tests of life cultivate unshakable faith, knowing that we are the daughters and sons of She, shown through whatever means She best knows we need to learn.

The bricklayer knows how to pour the correct portions to create strong cement. The doctor knows what medicines will save lives. The musician creates music that inspires and emits sounds that heal. The healer knows how life-force moves through all to help release obstructions in the unseen. We all can listen to the call in whatever form it comes to us. At its root, it is always expansive, even if it feels scary. There are no differing voices, just differing languages. I hear Her call. If I were to silence this voice, it would be a crime against Nature Herself, the very essence of which I am.

May all beings be free. May all be well. May all be happy. May all be at peace.

Lokah Samasthah Sukhino Bhavanthu

Jai Ma,

Parvati