The Healing Power of Music

Strings and Keys 2Volunteer Performer: Michael Schwartz and Charlie Channel

Facility Name & City: San Carlos Adult Services

Facility Type: Adult Day Care

Date:  3/16/15

Volunteer Host: Steve Pickford

 Essence Story by Steve Pickford: 

These are two very skilled jazz musicians, with Mike on guitar and vocals, and Charlie on bass.   The audience eagerly awaited their performance.  Mike set the tone right away that this was going to be a relaxed and fun show.  They started with an upbeat swing tune, then immediately followed with a “Name That Tune” challenge.   After a playing a few bars of melody, a lady in the back shouted out “You Are My Sunshine”, at which point Mike led the whole group in a rousing sing-along.

 Their song selections were very clever.  Mike recounted a personal story that his daughter got married two years ago, and when it came time for Mike to make his speech as father of the bride, he didn’t know what to say, but he knew what he wanted to sing.  He then played and sang here what he did then, a moving interpretation of  “Falling in Love is Wonderful”.

These two were fearless in their repeated offer to take any requests.  Someone wanted “It’s Been a Long, Long Time”, which Mike and Charlie cheerfully tackled, having never played the song before.  This was followed by another “Name That Tune” challenge, which, after just a few notes, a gentleman shouted out “Fly Me To the Moon”.  That started a mini set of songs with “moon” in the title.  Someone in the back said “Moonlight Bay”.  Mike said he knew the song but not the lyrics.  But he quickly went into playing it and sang little fragments of the lyrics that he could sort of remember. After a few attempts at this, a Pacific Islander woman from the staff quietly walked up to the stage and started singing the song perfectly, augmented with a subtle, hula-like dance with gesturing hands.  One of her fellow staffers gleefully grabbed her smart phone to video this surprise performance from her colleague. 

 The audience was so engaged that Mike and Charlie ended up filling an hour with their interactive performance.  Nobody wanted it to end! The Bread and Roses mission of providing the healing power of music was ably accomplished this day.

 

LiveStream.com

I use LiveStream.com for my televised entertainment.  Somehow, it’s connected to what I want to spend my time doing, if I’m into “watching.”

I noticed a program to be webcast April 30, 2015 and, upon further investigation, “discovered” treasure beyond imagination!

Joey Alexander

https://vimeo.com/118038761

But wait … there’s more … from an earlier time …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCH_vOAVcKw&t=12

Don’t miss the LiveStream.

 

 

 

 

Fruit of the Womb

The Fruit of the womb is the human to the tomb. Like all fruit, if it falls on fertile ground takes root to produce (not destroy). The fertile ground is the mind that evolves through time to show that which is sublime and far from war, it’s true place of birth in timeless space.

Social Evolution

The purpose and thrust of human life is discovery (“not concealed”). Invention (“internal release”) is the personal expression of discovery, the uncovering of illusion or what seems to be through that which also exists as an equivalent reality.

The social understanding by others of the manifestation of human invention = change. The moment of change, leaving the past illusion to adopt the “new” reality, is evolutionary revolution.

Religion, therefore, is trapped in the quicksand of its popular extremely  fundamental excrement. Although it serves the purpose of civilizing the uncivil (which is good, considering the nature of those who tend to continue fundamentally uncivilized), it ultimately falters as EVOLUTION of consciousness unfolds. Those embracing such ideology utilize fear, force, guilt and, ultimately, violence to impede evolution.  Of course, they are destined to failure:

The invented reality is simply a higher state of consciousness that advantages knowledge above ignorant self-adopted stupidity. Invention is not attenuated by illusion, nor can it be controlled by ignorance.

Progress unfolds gold.

Evolution nobody holds.

All behold nothing sold.

To my extremely fundamentalist religious friends, here’s the point that might empower you to understand the rights or privileges of those who are homosexual or bi-sexual, whether male or female, to equal protection of the law.  Answer the simple question: Why should a person NOT be entitled to the same human rights you have?

To my extremely fundamentalist religious brothers and sisters, here’s the point that might empower you to understand the rights and privileges to peacefully live by those who are non-believing infidels, whether Christian, Buddhist, Jew, Hindu, Muslim or whatever religious paradigm of your birth and personal indoctrination:  Do you really believe you can and will kill all of us?

My bet is on life: copulation will corrupt the plans of everyone and every belief justifying world domination.  Period.  Life always has.  Life always will. That is the revealing of life’s love, life’s light and skill.