…I Speak Because I Can

wow

V

…all the Queens ravens

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I was knackered last night. I needed to be under my duvet, yet I’d promised to check out a live band, All The Queens Ravens at no.44 Essex Road, Islington, aka The Old Queen’s Head. A matter of mind over tired arse, I made it to the pub, although how I got their remains a bit vague.

The upstairs venue is intimate shabby chic, with chandeliers, vintage-style bar and very cosy Chesterfields. Watching musicians tune their instruments can be mesmerizing, especially when there’s a banjo involved. The band got off to a false start, yet showed immense confidence when starting over, they had the crowd whipped up in minutes. For a new band they are pretty tight, strong distinctive vocals from both Laura and Charlie that gave me goose bumps, and their material held my attention throughout, I’m looking forward to listening to the up-coming recordings to fully appreciate the intricacies of their sound. All The Queens Ravens are a huge amount of fun, weariness vanished and I was buzzing all the way home. I’m definitely in line for seconds guys, thank you very much for a fab night ! V

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Ed: All The Queens Ravens, Beatroot Rendez-Vous at the The Old Queen’s Head, No.44 Essex Road, Islington.

Mailing list info for the Ravens on it’s way, watch this space…

PRESS PLAY

One of the most inspirational talks I’ve heard in ages, Elizabeth Gilbert on TED.com, check it out…

~

Calling All Baristas…

hot chocolate in a glass – why?
hot chocolate in an Irish coffee glass – seriously guys, stop it, stop it now for the love of god!

V

hot chocolate addict
(perfectly good in a mug thanks)

A Blanket of Compromise

It strikes me as odd that we find so much comfort from that old friend (?) compromise. It is a strange friend that wraps a blanket of false dreams and hopes around our personal universe… heaven help us if the blanket slips or we dare take a peek above it, what will we see? Well let me tell you as someone who knows – a world of multi-dimensional explosive colour that rocks the very foundation of everything we think we believe in.

AUTHORS WARNING – if you are wondering ‘what is that madman talking about?’ then stop reading now because you have not yet glimpsed beyond the blanket and doing so may seriously change your day…
If you are still with me then I suspect you have already stepped forward, and if like me you are well down this path then this next bit is really quite amusing. However if you are new to this, it may seem somewhat harsh – but trust me, it will make you smile in the end.

How weird to wake each day and watch the layers of compromise peel away, only to spend even more energy compromising the compromise in the vain attempt of staying firmly in the middle of the same path. What is even more unsettling is the world we now glimpse is one we always knew about, and lost somewhere around puberty when we were trying to be what we thought everyone else wanted us to be!
So it goes like this – I set out on a journey along time ago with the objective of reaching the peak of a beautiful mountain – I cleared the foothills and have worked my way through the lower slopes, some challenging, many beautiful and rewarding. On this climb I meet wonderful people and experience many joyous events. Then one fine day I make it through the tree line and can see clear air for the first time since the plains of my youth. Why then, am I feeling a creeping sense of unease, rather than elation? Out of the corner of my eye I can see another peak, one that calls out with clarity of my youth. Slow realization dawns that I may have taken a wrong turn and need to be in a different place!
So what do I do now you may ask? While I refrain from this turning into a counseling session, I can assure you that drinking copious amounts of beer, crying, screaming, working even harder, or taking up jogging, all work exceptionally well at blocking the view of that marvelous peak in the corner of our eye, however as we continue to climb, the view becomes clearer and increasingly more difficult to ignore. DO NOT PANIC! Everything we have done, everywhere we have been, all our experiences, all the people we have ever met, are the reason we are here, and why we are who we are. Nothing has been wasted – no regrets – our journey continues on regardless as we climb new heights. The perceived change in destination does not negate the past, or what we have experienced, the contrary is true, it allows us to view our path with reflective wisdom. There is only one rule to remember (important – I will test you later!) – this is our personal journey, we are doing it for ourselves and not for anyone else. Ok, ok, settle down, I have heard it all before – ‘its not that easy’, ‘that’s selfish’, ‘what about my ______ (insert appropriate name of kin, dog or fish)?’. Remember the rule – my journey. This being our personal journey does not negate interaction with others – imagine how happy our loved ones will be when they truly grasp how joyful we are?
Lets assume we’ve stopped fighting it (it being the courage to follow our heart), and we have decided that compromise is not allowed to play any more, what now? FREE TIP (generous to a fault) – shine a light on your world and look very carefully at what you see, then take a piece of paper and make a list of all the things that really make you smile. Right, STOP NOW! Start again please, and this time be really really honest – this is YOUR list – ok better.
Scary eh? Some really amazing things on that list I bet, totally priceless actually. More surprising are the things we leave off! Now we have a real ‘makes me smile list’, and not quite so difficult to move forward when we trash the retrospective silver linings we trace along those missing items.

I love my list, no honest, I really really love my list, and am compelled to grin, Cheshire-cat style, most of the time! Let me explain – my list is small and not very complicated – by spending more time with the items on my list and less with the ‘false prophets of happiness’ acquired from other peoples lists, I have smiled more outrageously, more frequently and longer than for many a year.
So this is fab – my whole world is going to be one great big smile and a never-ending bag of Twiglets right? Sorry, no. This is going to be BIG, and involve BIG change, even those connected to us will experience the change even if they don’t want to. ‘HELP’ I hear you cry, ‘what can I do?’ This may sound a little twee, but it is the best advice I can offer…
~ for the adults around you, try and explain – I know its difficult, it’s like trying to explain colour to someone who only sees in black & white – but keep trying with compassion and love at all times, however hard that may be
~ for children, realise that we spend so much time telling them to grow up and be more responsible, and yet the times we need to talk to them about ‘grown up’ stuff we end up treating them like kids! Trust me on this one – they get it – love, compassion and honesty will win the day and result in a lot of fun, laughter and love.
Well that concludes my chat and I wish you well in this part of your journey, whatever stage you are at. My next installment will cover the more complex subjects of gardening on a small balcony and de-cluttering from a lifetime of collecting ’stuff’.

The Barefoot Gardener

Ed: This is a personal account of experiencing heightened awareness and transformation as a result of journeying through The Shift, a time of global energy gear-changes that are impacting on human relationships at every level.

Link: Life Quake

can u draw?

Seriously, that was the question I put to my friend, and you can see the response for yourself below… brilliant!

Bugs by V & Tex © 2010

V

sounding out

On Saturday 10th April, I took a walk over to Madame Lillie’s gallery in Stoke Newington, to view Sounding Out, an exhibition of artwork, photography & sound by Richard C Beard. I originally met Richard during an open evening at his artist studio on Manor Road, every inch of wall space was covered with various experiments as if his mind had literally exploded over four walls… I’m amazed the ceiling escaped.
By utter contrast, there was a neat folio on the desk filled with his most recent work, of which i1123 0926 grabbed my attention; linear mark-making, primary-colored minimalism with texture and a sense of purpose.

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A few weeks later, the same image turned up on my door mat in the form of a postcard invite to Madame Lilly’s. Cazenove Road is tucked away and yet a stone’s throw from Stoke Newington Church Street, which is full of great pubs, cafe bars and general buzz on a Saturday afternoon. The gallery space used to be a corset factory and has retained some of its old character. Abstract sounds mixed with bird song chirruped along with Richard’s works-on-paper, delicately pegged, pinned, and having dispensed with costly framing formalities – this was art at it’s most raw. It was hard not to get excited about it, I’m so used to seeing art displayed in a clinical fashion whereas this felt immediate, welcoming and unpretentious.
It’s easy to spot various influences in Richard’s work, Rothko and Hodgkin being the most obvious, nevertheless, Richard’s voice is making itself heard; the leap he has made only in the space of a few weeks was marked and I can’t help feeling excited about what this artist could ultimately contribute if he persists… and I really hope he does. The thing that makes Richard an artist at heart is his unequivocal child-like courage for experimentation, and I find this incredibly inspiring. The enhancement of mixing sound with art seems obvious to me, and yet I can’t help wondering why sound isn’t used more often in artist exhibitions; engaging as many of the senses as possible has become an art form within the retail sector, and yet barely used where real soul engagement is possible, and preferable.
The bottom line is that the Richard C Beard experience was enjoyable and memorable. To paraphrase Elizabeth Gilbert, keep turning up for your job Richard, Olé !

V

TED. com Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity
www.madamelillies.org
www.theothers.uk.com

All disease is the result of inhibited soul life, and that is true of all forms in all kingdoms. The art of the healer consists in releasing the soul, so that its life can flow through the aggregate of organisms which constitute any particular form.

It is interesting to note that the attempt of the scientists to release the energy of the atom, is of the same general nature as the work of the esotericist when he endeavours to release the energy of the soul. In this release the nature of the true art of healing is hidden. Herein lies an occult hint.

Ponder On This, Alice A.Bailey & Djwhal Khul (The Tibetan)

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An old friend passed away recently, she was young, and left two kids behind her. For years she allowed herself to be bullied by her family into conforming to their value system; her willingness to please them dominated her every thought until she disappeared, and I could no longer find Her.

To my old friend ~ I love you, I miss you, and next time round pay attention to Frank, do it your way! Come find me when you’re ready. V

If you’re into alternative healing modalities and new energy frequencies, check out Dr. Eric Pearl’s book, The Reconnection: Heal Others, Heal Yourself, or the official website www.thereconnection.com. If the idea of this healing modality grabs you, and you happen to be in North London, then I can highly recommend Emily Larkin, a Reconnection practitioner at www.healing-reconnective.co.uk.

This is something you have to experience for yourself, go in with an open mind and free of any expectations you may have. If you decide to go for the full Reconnection, make sure you clear your diary for 24 hours after the final session, that’s all I’m going to say.

Profound.

V

∞

THE ART OF IMPROVISATION

Two albums I find myself listening to almost compulsively are Paris/London – Testament and the sublime La Scala, jazz piano by the master of improvisation, Keith Jarrett. From waterfall to abstract, every note is profoundly transformational, as it proceeds to seep into the fabric of my own work. The random and chasing La Scala Part 2 lends itself perfectly to increasingly abstract improvised creative moments with a brush, with achingly romantic sections that pull every heart string. The art-jazz influence is not new, but continues to be a great inspiration.
YouTube hosts some great footage of live Jarrett, as well as the documentary, The Art Of Improvisation. While watching this fascinating overview of Jarrett & The Trio speaking about their approach to making music, the parallels to certain forms of art creation and abstract painting, in terms of  process, are striking.
What is also notable is the legendary telepathic ability that operates between Jarrett, DeJohnette and Peacock, that allows them to synchronize during improvised sets; it is impossible to not be inspired by art creation of such mastery.

‘There’s never been a time when improvisation was given the respect that it deserved. By the virtue of the holistic quality of it, it takes everything to do it, it takes real time, no editing possible, it takes your nervous system to be on alert for every possible thing, in a way that cannot be said for any other kind of music.

One of the biggest fallacies I think in art circles, and in music circles maybe, when people talk about it, is that music comes from music… It’s like saying babies come from babies, that it’s not true, it isn’t what happens, music is the result of a process that the musician goes through, especially if he’s creating it on the spot.’ Keith Jarrett

‘What we do as a trio is, is we have a canvas in front of us, and you know intuitively this goes, and the thought process and the intuitive process all happen in that one action.’ Jack DeJohnette

‘First the music enters us, and if the music enters you then you’ve not have to worry so much about what to play, the music is telling you what to play… you just ride along, flow through it… when we are playing something in time and we get a lock, that’s not us! I mean how is that possible? How can that happen?’ Gary Peacock

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Exerts borrowed from the documentary Keith Jarrett – The Art Of Improvisation