tell me a story

tell me a story rich in new images and ideas, new patterns of thought, with new experiences and lessons. tell me what you learned on your journey. the liberation is here, and with this new wave will come the understanding of all our roles. we will each play a part in the rebirth and redefinition of our world. we will tell stories that will inspire us to come together as one. we will have a chance to dance together once again. we will smile and know that by the end of this night, we will have a damn good story to tell. we will continue to move forward beyond the potential we can imagine in this present moment. we will be tested, we will be loved, and we will hold true until the end, the principle of our existence. we have lost sight of what is important. we have gone too far and too deep into the realm of emotion. we are losing ourselves, and we are losing our understanding of reality. let the fog clear and find your sight. the journey is only going to become more amazing...

Music is power

The Spirituality of Electronic Music

All across the globe, young people everywhere are experiencing spirit through dance and the transcendent states induced by multi-dimensional music that has been hailed as "the next evolution of art". In a world where religion causes so much conflict, the chlidren of "Generation Why" are combining ideas, cosmologies and practices to forge a spirituality that is uniquely theirs. They gather in warehouses, forest glades, deserts and anywhere they can find to create sacred spaces where they can find spirit in the experience of electronic dance music.

What was once known as the "rave" scene in the US died out almost completely near the turn of the milennium with US government propaganda depicting the music as merely an excuse for "drug abuse", as well as the enactment of draconian legislation such as the RAVE Act, which allows federal agents to fine or imprison organizers of electronic music gatherings if any participant is caught with an illegal substance, has scared many promoters away from organizing events.

In its place, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a new culture of spiritual warriors whose lives have been changed by the electronic music experience are renewing their commitment to this art form with the seriousness of a religion. They believe that the current institutions cannot offer them the experience they seek, and desire to create their own sacred spaces where the boundaries of race and culture are broken down, allowing the participants to feel a deep sense of unity with each other and the universe.

Robin Sylvan, Ph.D. describes this phenomenon in his book "Trance Formation: The Spiritual and Religious Dimensions of Global Rave Culture". He interviews dozens upon dozens of people at the heart of the scene, many of which discuss their deep spiritual feelings about the music in the book. He makes the case that a new kind of spirituality is forming around it, one that creates an experience far more transformative than any religious dogma.

In a country where the first amendment of the constitution says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," don't these worshipers deserve the freedom to practice what brings them true happiness?

written by Alex Grey

Constant Reminder

As i live and experience my reality I need constant reminders to help guide me in the right direction. there are so many things I want to see, so many things that I want to do and I feel like the world I live in does not support my dreams. when I danced on that floor with all of you at PROnoia I was reminded once again of the passion that burns inside me. Luke said it in opening circle, "...I could cry a million times..." I feel so connected. I feel a part of something big. when we all held hands and yelled and cheered when the music came to a stop I felt a huge rush. I felt so alive. I felt that itch deep inside me that I feel each day as I go to work and come home, and clean, and eat and sleep, and do it all over again, I felt that itch become a print on the front of my face. everytime I look into the mirror I smile. I smile because I find it hard to believe that I can transform into whatever i want. I can create and see this world the way I choose to see it. I get to dance with all of you and feel a pull upward as my spirit takes flight through wave after wave of electrons. we are so powerful. how many people really understand this? l was left speachless as I rode with my friends back to portland. there was nothing I could say. I just closed my eyes and saw all of you. I saw you there with eyes closed shaking your spirit free of the organic frame we identify with. once free we learn to explore new boundaries and fallow our energy to our passions. we are all given the key at each opening circle. we open that door and walk through. we dance, we play, we touch, we vibrate, we feel what it's really like to be free. when the sun rises and the music stops, some choose to pack it up until the next time, and others choose to keep that door open, and the longer we keep that door open, the more possibilities we see. and with more possibilities comes a greater chance that we might evolve and change and grow. I encourage all of us to open that door and keep it open. there are people who care deeply about us. they care about us so much that they sacrifice daily to create a sacred space for you and I to move through. they go to great lengths to help us find a piece of ourselves we may not know exists. a piece of ourselves we never may have found if we never asked 2 simple questions, when? and Where? it does not matter how much or who will be there. whether it's raining and cold, or sunny and dry. it's doesn't matter the drugs we take, or the cloths we wear. all that matters is we stay open to what sacred space is trying to teach us. it is a never ending journey that will continue to prove us right and wrong. it will make us cry and it will make us smile. It will touch every nerve in our bodies. it will transform and change us. it will inspire us to do something with our lives that we never thought we could do. it will love us unconditionaly. it will provide more than we will ever know, for our bodies will not live as long as our spirit. but we will pass through lifetimes. we will pass eachother in 1,000 years and stop. we'll look into eachothers eyes and ask the same question we've been asking for centuries..."have we met before?"
I love each of you for who you are. you are all so remarkable and have so much to offer this world. may we pass eachother in this life, look into our eyes, and trust we have met before this moment. with much Love I send this to you. "...I could cry a million times..."

Happiness By Deepok Chopra

Behind the curtain of your intellect and emotions is your self-image or ego. The ego is not your real self; it is the image of yourself that you have slowly built over time. It is the mask behind which you hide, but it is not the real you. And because it is not the real you, but a fraud, it lives in fear. It wants approval. It needs to control. And it follows you wherever you go.
The ego is the prison you have built around yourself, and now it holds you captive within its walls. Any time you feel discomfort in your body, your ego, which is e-g-o or edging-god-out, is overshadowing your inner self. Fear, doubt, worry, and concern are some of the energies associated with your ego. And how do you break free from captivity? You break free by choosing to identify with your inner self, the real you.
You break free when you feel neither beneath anyone nor superior to anyone, when you shed the need to control other people, when you no longer use stereotypes or harbor extreme likes or dislikes toward people you hardly know. You break free when you refuse to follow the impulses of anger and fear, when your speech is nurturing rather than scathing, when you choose to express only your love.
You break free when you surrender to the moment, to what is, and trust that the universe is on your side, when you let go of grievances and choose to forgive.
Grievances are the melodrama of the ego that overshadows the spirit. When you relinquish all grievances, you truly break free and find your soul. The soul is the source of creativity, understanding, peace, harmony, laughter, and all possibilities. It is a place of stillness, which is beyond labels. But as soon as we use labels—good or bad—we create an image that overshadows the inner self. Without those labels, we are the free spirit and the free flow of the universe.
The world of the ego is time-bound, temporary, fearful, self-centered, and attached to the known. It clings to pleasure and recoils from pain. The world of spirit is timeless and eternal, joyful, undivided, unshakable, dynamic, creative, powerful, and free of every limitation. The world of spirit is the source of all power. There never was and never will be any other source of power. What the world calls power is really fear that leads to manipulation and control of others, which in turn leads to violence and suffering. Real power is the power to create, the power to transform, the power to love, the power to heal, and the power to be free. Real power comes from our connection to our deepest self, to what is real. That is why powerful people are self-referred, not object-referred. These two terms need a further explanation.
Object-referral means that we identify with our self-image or the objects of our experience to understand ourselves. These objects can be situations, circumstances, people, or things, but whenever we refer to objects to define our identity, we are operating out of object-referral mode. By their very nature objects change, and as long as we identify with objects, we will never know our real essence. When we understand ourselves through objects, or through the eyes of others, our life is like a roller-coaster ride. If our identity is tied to these, then life is always going to be unstable because everything is constantly changing.
The opposite of object-referral is self-referral. When we are self-referred, we identify with our inner self, the unchanging essence of our soul. We feel wonderful regardless of the situation we are in because we don’t identify with the situation. We are the detached, silent witness of the situation. Self-referral is an internal state of joy, and this is different from happiness for a reason. Of course there’s always a reason to be happy. Somebody says, “I love you,” and that makes you feel happy. You win the lottery and that makes you feel happy. This kind of happiness is an expression of object-referral: You’re happy because of this; you’re happy because of that. But inner joy is independent of the situation, circumstances, people, or things. When you experience inner joy, you are happy for no reason. Just to be alive to gaze at the stars, to experience the beauty of this world, to be experientially alive in the miracle of life itself is your happiness.
Everything in life is changing; that is the nature of our world. But when you are self-referred, you enjoy the change instead of resisting it. People have asked me, “If something bad is happening in my life, how can I be happy instead of negative and depressed?” Well, by going back to your source, by recognizing that whatever is happening, it comes and goes. You don’t need to look positively or negatively at a difficult situation.
What is a positive mind? It’s an interpretation. What is a negative mind? It’s also an interpretation. And the difference between a positive mind and a negative mind is sometimes quite superficial. Both a positive mind and a negative mind can be a turbulent mind, and sometimes one can switch to the other very quickly. Courage can become fear in the twinkling of an eye. Love can transform into jealousy in the twinkling of an eye. These are turbulent minds. More important than a positive mind is a silent mind.
Why not go beyond both a positive mind and a negative mind to become a silent, nonjudgmental, nonanalytical, noninterpretive mind? In other words, the silent witness. In the process of silent witnessing, we experience inner silence. In the purity of silence, we feel connected to our source and to everything. In silence, we flow with the tide, and the tendencies that emerge from here are evolutionary. In silence, inner energies spontaneously wake up and bring about the appropriate transformation for every situation.
There’s a saying that goes, “The river of life runs between the banks of pleasure and pain, and one bumps into both.” That’s not the problem. The problem occurs when we cling to the banks, either the positive one or the negative one. When we quietly reconcile ourselves to all of life’s contradictions, when we can comfortably flow between the banks of pleasure and pain, experiencing them both while getting stuck in neither, then we are free.
Joy and sorrow, happiness and suffering, are the play of opposites; they are transient because they are time-bound. Spirit, the essential you, is independent of the play of opposites; it dwells in the silent bliss of the eternal. When you truly know who you are, then you are living from your source, which is bliss. The key to happiness is to stop looking for it, and to know that you already have it. The key to lasting happiness is to live and play in the field of intelligence that is beyond positive and negative. That field is your source, and it is magical, holy, joyful, and free.


-Deepak Chopra