Mickey Hart is known to many as a drummer for the Grateful Dead and Dead and Co. Percussionists know him for introducing "World Music" to the masses through Planet Drum, and his latest album, In The Groove. Academics know his as a producer, and preservationist. Doctors and scientists know him as a supporter, proving the medicinal power of music. And [...]
When You’re A Big Star, Will You Miss The Earth It was the late 90’s, before Spotify and iTunes, Napster and MP3s. Albums didn’t drop onto streaming services and immediately upload onto our phones. Corporate-run radio stations dictated who heard what, when. Rebellious youth tried to fight the system. Grunge bands sued the conglomerate Ticketmaster [...]
Joss Jaffe's Breezy, Uplifting Sacred Pop Music Joss Jaffe has released his fifth album: Sun Mountain Sea. It invokes the bright, breezy light and resonance of his native Southern California. The 10 tracks overflow with warmth and humanity. They are a balm for these trying times. This latest project on Be Why Music is at [...]
Creating Healing Music Around the World Since the 2001 release of her first solo album, Prem, Grammy-nominated devotional singer Snatam Kaur has inspired countless people with the stirring silken quality of her voice, the gentle wisdom of her writing and teaching, and her uniquely radiant presence. Healing Mantras on Nirankaar Her 16th major album, Nirankaar, [...]
The Dharma Bum’s Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics by Dean Sluyter I love diving deep into great literature. I love receiving spiritual wisdom through the written word. Not very often do I get to do both with the same book. Then again, I’m not Dean Sluyter, whose mind is a divining rod [...]
Visionary William Blake Explored Nirvana through Poetry To a natural-born visionary like William Blake, the divine is revealed by — the divine is — every ordinary object. We can try to reject it, but it’s always up in our face, like blowing sand. As he famously put it: If the doors of perception were cleansed [...]
3 Helpful Maxims to Live by from the film The Cherry Bushido With the global spread of the coronavirus pandemic, our life has forever changed. Inundated by the flood of information from media reports and social media posts, we find ourselves constantly living in fear that we may fall ill, lose our job, not be [...]
Snatam Kaur debuts “Akaal” —an exquisite first single from her new album Nirankaar Celebrated devotional singer Snatam Kaur’s latest release, “Akaal,” comes out March 4 and is the first single from her long-awaited new album, Nirankaar. The track is a heart-expanding rendition of the sacred Sikh mantra sung with all the radiant light Snatam, [...]
Michael Imperioli. Jim Spellman, Getty Images It’s another precarious pandemic morning. Michael Imperioli materializes on the Zoom screen. He leads the group in prayer, purifying breaths and a sitting meditation. He reads aloud long passages by the Tibetan Buddhist Lama, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Within one of them it states, “For such a [...]
Empowerment through Words and Action: A Conversation with Kimberly Snyder Kimberly Snyder is a prolific best-selling author, an advocate for health and wellness, a mother, and a person who authentically lives her truth. Her book, You Are More Than You Think You Are, gives us all the messages we need right now. Kimberly, this is [...]