music

hot songs: 3 angels to groove your way

It took me a long time to ask for help and not feel weak about it. I thought I needed to behave for God to deliver. I didn't want to ask too much of my cosmic board of advisors, lest I wear out my welcome.

I'm over it. I figure I have an astral tribe of cheerleaders and there's nothing they love more than helping me plot my course to pleasuredom. Maybe some of them are are bangin' funksters, or DaVinci himself. This is what I imagine the classic angelic ones sound like... These are great songs when you're high, low, or on the outside of any door.

 

hatched joy: happy birthday to white hot truth

A divine science preface:
1. The part of a flame that burns the hottest is actually white. At that stage of intensity, fire becomes hot enough to liquefy metal. That's alchemy.
2. A healed broken bone is stronger than before it broke.
3. Legend has it that the Phoenix becomes more majestic with each reincarnation.

White Hot Truth turned one year old last week! Holy smokes! Before we light the candles, let's savour the darkness, where beautiful, messy things happen.

Last January I was tending the funeral pyre of my last business and it's ensuing very messy divorce.

Illusion-nuking-initiation-heat. Phoenix fire licking my soul. Cleansed to naked. Clothed by loved ones.

While an old dream turned ashen, I began to hatch. I'd write posts and map out the new year/me, while listening to Details in The Fabric over and over. (Kisses to Jason Mraz for writing that just for me.) I brought my ipod to my Mr. Buddhist Shrink and played that song for him because I could barely speak the truth of what was going down. I was going down. In flames.

... If it's a broken part, replace it
If it's a broken arm then brace it
If it's a broken heart then face it

And hold your own
Know your name
And go your own way
And everything will be fine...

"So everything's finally falling apart." Mr. Buddhist Shrink said to me, very, very softly. I nodded, just one nod.

That was then. Post hatch. Pre-flight.

This is now. The view is so different from this altitude. It's macro and micro. I can see farther and closer up. My in-box is full of opportunity. We sing in the kitchen more, where every morning there is granola, and Spiderman slippers, and a Fireman who says, "Big day today, babe?"

"Big one, babe. Big." I say. I say that on glam-packed strategy days, and on the mascara-free days when I wear my floppy knit hat, and commune with my Mac to do one thing and one thing only: MAKE STUFF.

Freedom is always big. Wingspan, big, fanning flames. Birthing the day.

So today I'm getting out one virtual birthday candle for every lie I told myself about who I was and what I wasn't; for every time I let crazy pass for "sane"; for every time I kept my mouth shut, for all the birth days I missed, when I could have been making stuff that made me smile. So many candles to be impeccably grateful for.

Oh how very far we humans come, after breakups and break-throughs and broken wings. Just look at us! Banged up and so beautiful. Wiser for the wear and tear. Capacities expanded.

Trace your steps and celebrate.

"Sometimes," David Whyte writes, "everything / has to be / enscribed across / the heavens / so you can find / the one line / already written / inside you."

My one line: White Hot Truth.

And that's the best birthday song I ever done sung. Thank you for coming to the party.

. . . . . . . .

Tune in for my next post which will be devoid of abstract poetic nuances and packed with a highly practical tips from my year's lessons in the blogging business.

Please join the Haiti Blog Challenge.

Heads up: My Fire Starter Sessions are increasing to $500 as of March 1. Supply, demand, and writing desires. It's time. I still have one or two spots left for February.

xo
Danielle

 

the best list ever, by Danielle: vol. 1

The best of anything and everything. Random fantastic stuff that left an impression on my frontal lobe and softened heart. Do your own list. Do it here if you fancy, we've got the time and space. "The Best List Ever, by [insert your name]: Vol. 1. It'll make you simmer with sweet memories and proof of excellence. Here we go. This is gonna feel goood.

MY BEST LIST EVER. 100% adored. In no particular order.

1. The Missing Piece Meets The Big O, by Shel Silverstien. The most elegant and charming description of human relationships. Heartbreaking, really. It's my favourite wedding gift to give.
2. Wim Wenders', Wings of Desire and Far Away So Close. Made me want to fall in love, fly, move to Berlin, french-kiss Lou Reed, and talk to my angels.




3. Leonard Cohen at the Palo Solari in Santa Fe. Circa '95. Under the stars. A hot night. Angelic backup singers. Oozing the most Zen-Let's-All-Make-Love-Right-Now vibe humanly possible. Religious.
4. Dip big strawberries in sour-cream, and then dip it into brown sugar. Divine. Great picnic treat.
5. Pangea Organics Japanese Matcha Tea with Acai & Goji Berry Facial Mask. Incredible product from one of the most eco-progressive beauty companies, ever.
6. WordPress. There's a reason why Google bought it.
7. The Arlington Institute's FutureEdition. Best aggregation of news in global trends and outliers.
8. Pecha Kucha Night speaking events. 20 slides. 20 seconds each to talk about whatever inspires you (or me). Brilliant format.
9. Honey Beeswax Candles. I'm fanatical about them. They clean the air, are thus merciful on your lungs, and last forever. I order mine from an equally fanatical craftsman in a small town in Ontario.
10. Tweezermans.
11. Krishnamurti. Total Freedom.
12. Allan Watts. Beyond Theology.
13. Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk. How schools kill creativity. Hilarious and profound.
14. Soul centering sessions with Navjit Kandola.
15. Project jamming with Dyana Valentine.
16. The lavender milk chocolate sauce on Belgian waffles at Medina Cafe, Vancouver.
17. Jim Morrison's An American Prayer.
18. Maya Angelou speaking on stage in San Francisco. Proud poetic power personified.
19. Cheryl Sorg's text art. Got me one this year.
20. Patricia Larsen's abstract paintings. Got me one last year.
21. That time with S. in the cabin, doing that thing S. does so well.
22. Silk Concept duvets. Lux sleepies, no more cold feet, eco-kind.
23. Little Miss Sunshine.





24. Eminence Organics Yam & Pumpkin Enzyme Peel. Indispensable for ye ol' skin glow. Use it twice a week.
25. Paper Mate Medium Point blue pens. I've tried fancy fountain pens, mechanical pencils that made me look designy-cool. But it's the good n' cheapies that do the trick.
26. Your Sex is on Fire, Kings of Leon
27. Red Hot Chili Pepper's Stadium Arcadium. If you don't love this double CD, I'm not sure that we can be friends.
28. Rilke! "I want to unfold, for where I am folded, there I am a lie."
29. Rumi...Rumi...my love. "You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?"
30. Mary Oliver, sistah. "What will you do with your one wild and precious life?"
31. This advice from a mentor when it all fell apart: Know your rights.
32. Anthropolgie
33. Bella Cucina's Artichoke Lemon Pesto. It even made Oprah's list. (Tho' my list is so much juicer, don't you agree?)
34. Beauty, by John O' Donohue. Anything by John O'Donohue, really.
35. Hallelujah, as sung by kd lang, whom I think is one of the most masterful song interpreters ever. This performance makes me want to pull out all the stops in my life. And then be incredibly modest about it.




36. Pet insurance. Just get it.
37. Ten Thousand Waves. Santa Fe, NM. Heaven, hot tubs, and Indian oil in the hills. Heav-en.
38. The best moment with my kid, ever. We're eating chocolate cones outside an ice cream parlor at dusk. Me: "So, pookie, what's it like being alive?" The Kid (without missing a beat): "Oh mama! It's AAA-MAZ-ing! If I were a telephone, I'd be ringin' all the time!"

... to be continued ...

 

burning questions with jay schryer: a man who digs the goddess..and the prince

“Porsidan” means “to question” in Persian. I know that because Jay Schryer is a questioner par excellence. He writes about in search for meaning and rock 'n roll on his blog, Porsidan.com. Jay is one of the reasons I adore the global brain we call the internet. You get to climb inside of stories. You argue in the spirit of seeking - like when Jay took me to task on my No Pity For A Strong Soul article. You learn that the most excellent people can fall on very hard times and that love finds a way. You learn about life and near death.

You make friends and you find new questions inside their story.

What question(s) in your life have been the most empowering (either mind-blowing or gently pervasive) for you?

When I was 19 years old, I was in a nearly-fatal car accident. In fact, I was dead for about a minute or so. In that time, I had a near-death experience where I met the Goddess and talked with her. At the end of our time together, she gave me a choice. I could either stay with Her, or go back to Earth. I chose to come back. Since that time, I have often asked myself why. Why was I given a second choice? Why was I allowed to come back, when so many other people never get that chance? Why did the Goddess handpick me to come back to the physical world? Why am I here? Why are any of us here? And last but not least, what can I do to make sure that I'm not wasting this opportunity, wasting my life? What can I do to make the world a better place simply by being here?

My entire life revolves around those questions, and finding new answers all the time.

If you had an altar, what symbols of devotion would you put on it?

Actually, I do have an altar. On it, I have: A statue of the Goddess, to remind me of Divinity, spirituality, and to always do the right thing. A deck of tarot cards to remind me of the power of symbols, hidden imagery, and mystical, magical powers. I don't believe in divination; I believe that the future is constantly in motion, and that every choice we make changes it and affects it. (more...)

 

hot song: the book of my life, sting with anoushka shankar

True poetry.

The Book Of My Life
- Sting

Let me watch by the fire and remember my days
And it may be a trick of the firelight
But the flickering pages that trouble my sight
Is a book I'm afraid to write

It's the book of my days, it's the book of my life
And it's cut like a fruit on the blade of a knife
And it's all there to see as the section reveals
There's some sorrow in every life

If it reads like a puzzle, a wandering maze
Then I won't understand 'til the end of my days
I'm still forced to remember,
Remember the words of my life

There are promises broken and promises kept
Angry words that were spoken, when I should have wept (more...)

 

hot song: wonderful, gary go

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"We're just miracles wrapped up in chemicals."

Thanks to Uncle Beefy for pointing out this stylin' love song to humanity.

The video for this song is also wonderful.

View it here.

 

hot song: let my love open the door, pete townsend

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If you don't want throw open the curtains, air drum and whirl like a hot loving dervish when this song hits its peaks...well...then you need to open the door to your heart, baby.

 

hot song: the sky is broken, moby

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speak to me baby, like the wind outside...
the sky is breaking, it's deeper than love.
I know the way you feel, like the rain outside,
so speak to me.

 

hot song: we’re all in this together, ben lee

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Dee-lovelee Ben Lee (who married Ione Skye this year.)

 

hot song: what you thought you need, jack johnson

"Well I can't give you everything you want but I could give you what you thought you need ... it's all for the sake of arriving with you."