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Lauren's News
Thursday, 13 August 2009 13:31
Please enjoy this conversation between Lauren Monroe & Rick Allen as they share what inspired the co-creation of Oneness Chant.
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LAUREN:
The Oneness Chant was inspired by our own love for healing music and rhythm.
We use chant, rhythm and repetitive sound within some of Raven Drum Circles and love the relaxed state it offers. People have really responded to the music in beautiful ways and have asked for recorded copies to take home.
Oneness Chant is our first offering of this kind; to give people an experience that they can create at home for themselves, to guide them into a healing space.
RICK:
My trip to India in 2005 was huge inspiration in creating Oneness Chant. I started arranging rhythms together that conjured the flavor and healing experience of India.
When my wife Lauren brought the vocals of Oneness Chant into the studio her voice, the tones and the Sanskrit words inspired me to create a backdrop of sound to support the healing intention of the song.
I not only used a handful of drums but also a rose quartz crystal glass bowl, cello, samples of sitar and live ocean sounds we recorded in CA.
Meeting Krishna Das was also deeply inspiring. I met him through an old friend of Lauren’s in Boulder, CO. We were in a book store one day and the music they were playing reached out and grabbed us both.
We asked whose music it was and they told us that they were playing Krishna Das “Live on Earth”. Amazingly, days later I met Krishna Das who was in town recording and soon played with on stage with him.
It was a fantastic experience. In what felt like half an hour, four hours passed! That’s what happens when you are completely engaged and fully present in the moment. A great deal of healing can happen then; it certainly does for me.
LAUREN:
We can’t wait to share Oneness Chant LIVE!
We’ll be working on more healing tracks this year and offering it to people to experience live in 2010.
The origin of the lyric is Sanskrit. English is our native language...but when you take sounds as sacred and ancient as those of Sanskrit there is just such powerful energy.
All the voices of everyone who has ever spoken or chanted these words enter in. It’s so beautiful and deep because these words have been recited and sung in prayers and in sacred stories for thousands of years. Each sound carries great devotion and intent.
My personal intention when arranging the lyrics was to choose words that are sacred and represent the Mother and Father. The words Amma and Bhagavan carry profound unity love that can be felt immediately in the music. They are words that serve as a calling to the Divine Mother and Father asking to be healed.
RICK:
Chanting has influenced my life in a big way; it’s quite important to me.
Just after the accident, our producer at the time, Mutt Lange visited me in the hospital and said how bad the food was there. He told me that if I really wanted to recover he knew a beautiful couple who would come up and cook Indian food for me.
Padma and Kripa came every night and prepared the most wonderful, healing food.
The entire hospital smelled of rich Indian spices. Soon the entire wing was being fed this amazing food.
The doctors had estimated I’d be in the hospital for at least six months; I walked out after just 3 1/2 weeks!
I knew that my Indian friends had made a difference and I curiously asked them about their philosophy and cleanliness of lifestyle. I believe they were a huge part of my recovery.
Indian culture has continued to re-visit me throughout my life. I haven’t sought it out; it has found me time and time again. To this day Indian food is my favorite.
LAUREN:
Our intention for the chant is that whomever listens to it will receive grace and feel safe and loved. It is our wish that they receive a blessing that would bring them closer to their heart and bring them happiness.
The rhythm offers the meditation. Your mind goes to the background and your awareness drops into your heart when hearing it. This is where the healing begins.
Movement and dance with the Oneness Chant is wonderful. The rhythm is designed to move. I have gotten responses from yoga teachers and massage therapists sharing that they are using the chant in their work. That makes Rick and I really happy because each time the music is played, each time a person dances, or dreams or prays with it, the intention of healing grows and with it healing consciousness expands.
RICK:
Repetition of rhythm grounds the whole experience. Through the experience of rhythm we can see deeper levels of emotion in ourselves. Repetitive rhythm can give our minds a break so that we can look at ourselves from a deeper awareness.
World rhythm inspires me because of that. Many cultures use drum rhythms as a way of prayer and healing. In 2000 I joined in on some classes at the Yoruba House in Los Angeles. This introduced me to African rhythms in a powerful way.
African, Indian and Native American drum rhythms led me to exploring drum soundscapes in the studio and working with hand percussion instruments.
In my exploring I realized that all rhythms lead us to one sacred rhythm where all rhythms meet. There is a series of rhythms, 3 against 4, where all rhythms meet and a new rhythm appears. And you find yourself totally in the moment not distracted by anything else; completely in a zone.
It’s THAT sacred space that I really want to share with other people through my work here on the planet. Words can’t explain though; you just have to experience it first hand and BE in it, surround yourself with it.
LAUREN:
We have received comments from U.S. Veterans who have trouble sleeping and struggle with anxiety saying that the music helps them get into a relaxed zone and feel more at ease.
People who have quit smoking and suffer from the addiction have also commented on how the music calms their nerves and helps with the craving.
When I sing the words I become infused with the music and am completely emerged with an incredible sense of peace. I think this feeling is Grace because it permeates all of my awareness and flows through my body. I can only hope that people listening can feel a glimpse of how it feels to me to sing this way. When I hear it, it reminds me of how small I am, and how inconceivably BIG Love is.
RICK:
Creating Oneness Chant was a co-creation between Lauren, myself and an all knowing energy much bigger than ourselves. We are happy to share it with everyone.
Sunday, 09 August 2009 18:53
Expose yourself to your deepest Fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are Free.
~JIM MORRISON (The Doors)
Saturday, 18 July 2009 18:29
I was born in Whitestone Queens.The usual NY raised rebellious Italian Catholic girl growing up in the late seventies and eighties. I still have my Levi Denim jacket with Rolling Stones patches running down the sides of the arms and have an infinity for purple feather earrings.
My Dad was a show tune singing Crooner, NYC born and Raised ad My grandfather bluegrass loving NY Native whose parents immigrated from Italy. Dee Dee Ramone lived somewhere in our neighborhood.
We used to sit on the stoop in front of Como's Deli waiting to catch a glimpse of him. I thought I saw him once, but It was just the back of his head.
Hanging out at the handball courts and blasting music from Bands like The Who, Led Zepplin and The Doors. I was was secretly a Donna Summer fan and loved Frank Sinatra, His voice was often heard coming out of the windows of our house growing up. It was either Frank or my Dad trying to sound like him. Either Way, the neighbors liked it and we often had music and dance nights at our house. I started playing guitar in 3rd grade and wrote my musical arrangement with lyrics, a song called“ I believe in God”. I have written many songs since then..hundreds of them. I have the same experience as I did when I was small when I sit down and create them. Song writing is my refuge, a sacred place for me where inspired knowledge comes through easily
.I played in the folk Group at Sunday Mass at St, Lukes when I was 9, that also guided me into experiencing spirituality through my guitar and voice. Throughout my youth I lost many friends in tragic ways and looked to a supreme love for support. I found it through music and dance and healed my own sad stories by singing about hope and togetherness. It made me feel less alone.
Deeply spiritual and a knack for writing songs and visual poetry, I began traveling and studying healing and the arts around globe always coming home to NY for the best pizza and to share stories and experiences with friends and family. Now I'd like to come home and share through my newest music and give back to NY through Raven Drum, a non profit org supporting people in crisis through the power of Drum. I am planning on bringing our work and music to New York in the coming year. Bringing the Healing Home.
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