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SUMMARY: Details about live Facebook concerts (started Fri. 4/10/20) & 4-hr Zoom mini-retreats (started Wed. 4/8/20) - offered by Grammy Award-winning pianist Peter Kater - truly musical medicine for a time such as this. Here’s a link to Peter’s YouTube channel where you can sample his music and videos and learn more about him. Peter's Facebook page Peter's website PETER KATER Grammy-Award winning pianist Peter Kater is offering online concerts & mini-retreats to help us heal together as we experience this time of collective upheaval of whatever our idea of normal used to be. Details were sent in an email before I created this post. I added this email info below. The Facebook concerts are free and there’s a $75 cost for the Zoom 4-hour mini-retreats. Zoom Mini-Retreats I participated in the first mini-retreat on Wed. 4/8 and posted these gratitude-filled comments: "Thank you so much for opening your home and your heart to us at tonight’s mini-retreat. You created a sacred and safe container where your musical medicine enabled me to let down my guard and so encounter the G-d in you and in my fellow Zoommates. The format that your receptive heart allowed to emerge was perfect – enabling each of us to RECEIVE what we needed – truly PERSONALIZED MEDICINE." Peter just added another 4-hr mini retreat on 4/26. Facebook Friday Concerts The Fri. 4/10 2-hour Facebook concert was intimate and fun. Peter streamed the concert from his piano room in Boulder, CO. Lot's of his fans and Facebook friends showed up, adding lots of comments that ranged from poignant to humorous. Come join me next Friday! I’ve written before about Peter. It was in my yoga class that I first “met” him. He’s collaborated with many world music artists; one of these is Kundalini yoga sacred songstress Snatam Kaur. Elaina, our wonderful Kundalini yoga instructor at Echo Park, plays a lot of Snatam’s music in our Spirit-filled classes. So, you could say, I met Peter through Snatam via Elaina. Life is a web and we’re all connected. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Peter's Email with Details About Facebook Concerts and Mini-Retreats It's a Virtual World so let's meet On-Line!! Aloha Dear Friends, I trust you're well and adjusting and learning from this experience. Being the introvert that I am I've actually been feeling really good. Haha. And in light of the situation at hand I'm offering some online connecting opportunities that I think you'll really enjoy. Let me tell you about them. I'm presenting Facebook LIVE Concerts every Friday night. The next one is this coming Friday, April 10th at 8pm MDT (10pm EDT; 7pm PDT; 4pm HST). I anticipate they will be weekly thru April all starting at the same time. Just be sure that you've "Liked" or are "Following" my Facebook Fanpage so that you get a notification when I go "LIVE". The link is below to Follow/Like me there. These "LIVE" concerts are between 90 and 120 minutes long and every one, including me of course, seems to really enjoy them. See you there! I'm offering a virtual mini-retreat on Zoom. Join me for 4 hours of Presence, Authentic Relating, Mind & Emotional Body Awareness and Music . . . lots of Music. In light of current events these mini-retreats are designed to calm, nurture and inspire ourselves and each other. With a maximum of only 9 attendees per retreat we will explore our hearts, minds and bodies thus nourishing our souls. The first one is this Wednesday, April 8th at 5pm MDT. This one is ideal for North America attendees in terms of time of day. The second one is on Wednesday, April 15th at 12 noon MDT. This one is ideal for European & North American participants in terms of time of day. The cost is only $75. There is limited space. Only 9 attendees per retreat. That keeps it nice and intimate. Alright, be well. Take care of your Self. I hope to see you at one of these events very soon. Please reply to this email (peter.kater1@gmail.com) with any questions or comments. With much Love & Aloha, Peter For Friday Facebook concert info Click Here. For the 4/26 mini-retreat click here. tOM #music #PeterKater #yoga #SnatamKaur

Dx: Corona (or any dis-ease) Rx: Victrola Available in 3 strengths: 33, 45 & 78 RPM This is yet another post about the healing effects of music. My second-ever email post in 2018 was entitled “Music as Medicine.” Found the above image earlier today while truckin’ along the Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion FYI – It was an easy trip as the road was empty due to social isolation. Besides, being retired, I have unlimited free time. I stumbled across the above East/West mashup when I stopped to come up soon for air at this Pinterest refueling station. Actually, metaphorically speaking, you only need to come up soon for air if you’re in a submarine or are diving. While there I came across this musical medicine reminder - appropriate for such a time as this: Before going further (or FURTHUR for you Deadheads), check out the following article that cosmically manages to weave together some threads I’ve been drafting and hope to send out soon. Consider this post like a prebiotic that can feed your head and satisfy your soul, as it craves some good musical medicine (Slick metaphor, huh?). Grateful Medicine --an MD considers how going to Dead concerts can be good for you. In the article, he cites the FDA warning we see on many ingestibles: *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” This is how out-of-date the FDA is regarding their food pyramid scheme: The original pyramid was developed without a lot of science and WITH a lot of $UPPORT from the food industrie$ that stood (should I say stooped down) to make a FAT profit. THEN, another industry that lines politicians’ pocket$ – the drug companie$ – made a PROFIT on fat. Musicians write music like doctors write prescriptions Hey, any music teachers out there? The guy in this next photo needs someone to show him this is NOT how you write music. Musical Medicine - Early delivery system technology Later tech (provider's prescription "Pod") Built-in technology (thanks, G-d for my ears!) August Rush - trailer “You know what music is? It’s a harmonic connection between all living beings.” (Robin Williams’ “Wizard” character in the movie) “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (NIV) “Are you listening to me? Really listening?”(The Message version) Got my first vinyl in over 40 years at Mickey Hart's 2018 show at NY's Hayden Planetarium on April 13 & 14. Music is not a dead end…but it could be……… The following image creatively represents the work scientists and some musicians like former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart are doing to use music to help people with cognitive brain dysfunctions. I wrote about that in my post on “Music as Medicine.” Another rest stop on the Golden Road (one of many Pinterest sites for Deadheads) Which Came First Department... “In my experience, if you are not radically grateful every day, resentment always takes over.” ― Richard Rohr, Breathing Underwater – Spirituality and the Twelve Steps (more quotes from the book here) This book led me to the Steps and I’m forever grateful!!! Forever Grateful Music Festival – “GratefulFest brings happiness…” The Golden Road to Unlimited Recovery The Golden Road to Unlimited Recovery begins with Step 1 and ends (actually begins again) with Step 12. Death leading to Resurrection. It’s the universal path in all spiritual traditions. The Golden Road to Unlimited Recovery starts at Station 1 and, provided you stay on the train, terminates at Station 12. Once there, you can board another train that I like to call the Resurrection Special. This begins the next leg of your trip. And, the really Good News is that this glory train can be right here on earth. You don’t have to wait until the afterlife. Duffy’s Rehab “Humor is an important part of recovery. As we learn to relax and enjoy the funny things in life, we will find new freedom. It's been said that if you're not laughing in recovery, you're not doing it right.” Have a Grateful Day! tOM #music #humor #MickeyHart #GratefulDead #12Steps #FDA #FoodPyramid #AugustRush #RichardRohr

“Get Back” – ALL YOU CAN... --Uh Oh! - looks like our boys got infected with the Blue Meanie virus...so, let's HELP them with some laughter and music and other good vibrations... A good friend sent the following email about our planned gathering to view what we thought was going to be a fun movie theater event to see a new film about one of our favorite bands. “Apparently we won't have our Aug. 27th Get Back viewing/party. Per the attached article, they changed the plan from an August movie to a three-part showing on Disney+ in November. Boo!!!! https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/beatles-back-now-six-hour-160713838.html” Corporate greed?...OR, is Peter Jackson offering us an opportunity to go on yet another magical mystery tour - "Furthur" into the wilds of Pepperland? Read on and then decide if Mickey is turning over in his mouse grave...or putting elvish bread into his saddle bags and joining this adventure...Blue Meanies be warned...we’re armed (with music and flower-powered weapons) and we're dangerous!!! FYI – I had completed this whole post WITHOUT first reading the article my friend had attached. As an example of how our confirmation bias affects HOW we see something, I saw the big corporations as the “bad guys” and wanted to expose their greed. THEN, after reading the story and seeing that the originally planned 2-hour movie (regular strength) was going to be expanded into a 6-hour mini-series (extra strength), I changed my perspective and CAN’T WAIT! FYI – Our son John introduced Eileen and I into the magical world of epic fantasies like The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and the Marvelous Marvel Comics Universe. Last summer, we watched all 30+ movies and have started re-watching – a practice I quip of “watching it again for the first time.” John likes to "go big or go home" and gets the extended (extra strength) versions of the epics. Thanks, Buddy!!! Rings Around the Collar...the Shire...and Saturn While crafting this post, “I came upon this child of G-d” (no, I’m not on the way to Woodstock), and, again, was amazed but not surprised how perfectly it fit in with this unfolding narrative: The Beatles' Lord of the Rings Movie Explained (& Why It Never Happened) (March 2020 article) “In the years since, it has been confirmed that Paul McCartney would've portrayed protagonist Frodo, John Lennon would've been Gollum, George Harrison was set to play Gandalf and Ringo Starr would appear as Samwise Gamgee.” The writer goes on to cite that the band approached Stanley Kubrick to direct. Considering the boys psychedelic habits, the only rings they might have encountered would have been on Saturn. “Up, Up and Away!” We now return to our regularly scheduled program... Seeing that it’s a Monday, my wheels started turning...and the following 4-part missive - filled with musical and mirthful ammunition - unfolded: Mirthful Monday Manic Monday Tubular Tuesday (huh? It breaks the alliteration) Moral Monday "...And somebody spoke and I went into a dream..." (05:13) Note: Sung in the key of F-demented *** ***listen in to the next song to see someone we all know and love pose the following question to fellow Playing for Change musician Robbie Robertson (The Band): "What key is it in, Robbie?" to which he answers his own inquiry with: "F-demented!" The Weight - Playing for Change (05:46) MIRTHFUL MONDAY As the wise old Madison Avenue father once said to his son who wanted to enter religious life, “No, Son, you don’t want to be a prophet, you want to make a profit.” Coulda come from the lips of one of my favorite funnymen...who, by the way, in a different movie, once donned the cloth as “Rabbi Tuckman,” with lines such as “Circumcisions, circumcisions...half off...half price...” (01:34) Fans: Here’s a challenge – see if you can guess where I’m leading you BEFORE opening the clips. LMK how you do. https://youtu.be/fgRFQJCHcPw (02:00) As Yogurt enters his shop, he uses a line from another of his classic comedies - did you catch it? Here’s the clip: https://youtu.be/6wchqfLA5d0 (02:04) He does this “self-referencing” in other movies like this one: https://youtu.be/g3s7XjepwWA (01:10) Pollution is no laughing matter...or is it? One more Funnyman and his take on the environment. Eerily prophetic...as he mentions how the Earth might use mutating viruses to defend itself. LMK what you think. FYI: I capitalized the “F” in "Funnyman" to alert you to his frequent “F” bombs. https://youtu.be/EjmtSkl53h4 (07:39) MANIC MONDAY Now that we retirees are all laughing cause we don’t have to go to work today... ...BTW - that’s why I captioned this section as “Manic Monday”... And of course this title comes from a great song. Before you listen...I’ll share a little family practice – one that originated from following the wisdom of “Yogi Yogurt” (Hey, that sounds better than just “plain yogurt”). Since retiring, Eileen and I have adopted a sacred Sunday night ritual. As we’re climbing into bed, one of us initiates the ceremony with these words, “You know what today is...SUNDAY...and we DON’T have to go to work tomorrow.” AMEN!!! Now to the song: https://youtu.be/SsmVgoXDq2w (03:11) Next, an intermission before moving on to our next “Monday” section... TUBULAR TUESDAY It so happened that in my search results for “manic Monday” was this cool surfing clip...that I might retitle as “Tubular Tuesday”... so we have a reason to get up tomorrow. Hang 10!!! https://youtu.be/iz3_wRpJs8w (00:57) Wishing you an Endless Summer... I thought I was finished but got swept up by a WAVE of inspiration and found this trailer for a remastered version of THE classic surf adventure - one that I lived out in VW Buses in the late 60’s and early 70’s with some buddies and my brother Mike, as we looked for waves on both coasts. We limited our explorations to the coasts because in the heartlands all we could find were “amber waves of grain.” Here’s the trailer: https://youtu.be/lmHQ9v2ijsQ (02:08) What amazed but not surprised me were the comments about how surfing around the world helped the participants to experience different cultures, different customs, even different religions - thereby enriching their own experience of life. This presented a perfect segue to the next section of this 4-part post. First, let’s “stay in the excitement of the tube” just a little bit longer, as we ride waves of these cool sonic vibrations... Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield (08:02) MORAL MONDAY As I posted on Facebook yesterday (Sunday), I’ve been learning from and working with the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) to address long-standing injustices such as: poverty, racism, ecological devastation, lack of adequate wages, housing and healthcare, militarism and the war economy and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. FYI – You can hike on over to my blog to read these 5 posts that contain "JUNETEENTH" in their titles. TODAY (Monday June 21), the Poor People’s Campaign is holding a live (Raleigh, NC) and simultaneous online Moral Monday event to announce the launch of their 3rd Reconstruction strategy for addressing these systemic evils. It’s a one-year plan of on-the-street activism and related efforts that will culminate in a June 18, 2022 Moral March on Washington. To participate online TODAY, and for more information, including signing on to get involved, visit: https://www.3rdreconstruction.org/ Local folks, consider checking out our Long Island chapter. Call, email or text me. WILL YOU COME WITH ME??? --VW Buses: always a kindness ambulance dosing out Rx's of LOVE... CODA Uncle John’s Band – Grateful Dead (04:41) tOM #music #humor #Beatles #MelBrooks #surfing #GratefulDead #PoorPeoplesCampaign #3rdReconstruction #MikeOldfield #Bangles #GeorgeCarlin #environment #PeterJackson #LOTR #Marvel #RamDass #PlayingForChange #RingoStarr #RobbieRobertson

Links to the other 4 Juneteenth posts are at the end. "Don't just DO something...SIT there..." For over 40 years, Franciscan Richard Rohr has provided my family and some of our friends with new and deeper ways of seeing...EVERYTHING!!! ...New ways of experiencing the riches in the Christian tradition in which I was raised and also introducing us to the contemplative treasures in the other spiritual traditions. We’ve been richly blessed!!! Richard’s spiritual father, Francis of Assisi, renounced his life of privilege to live among and care for the poor and forgotten members of the society of his day. Rx: I’ve called Richard's Daily Meditations my “daily MEDICATIONS...” Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM Saturday, June 19, 2021 Juneteenth Week Twenty-Four Theme: Shadow Work - Summary and Practice Sunday, June 13—Friday, June 18, 2021 (each day is a link to the full-strength meditation) Sunday The movement to second-half-of-life wisdom has much to do with necessary shadow work and the emergence of healthy self-critical thinking, which alone allows you to see beyond your own shadow and disguise and to find who you are “hidden with Christ in God,” as Paul puts it (Colossians 3:3). Monday Usually everybody else can see our shadow, so it is crucial that we learn what everybody else knows about us—except us! Tuesday Western civilization has failed to learn how to carry the shadow side. It is much easier to see things as all-good or all-bad, rather than both crucified and resurrected at the same time, as Christ is. Wednesday God embraces you as you are—shadow and light, everything. God embraces it, by grace. —Brother David Steindl-Rast Thursday Usually sometime around midlife, we come to a point where we’ve seen enough of our own tricks and we come to feel that my shadow self is who I am. We face ourselves in our raw, unvarnished and uncivilized state. Friday When we try to live up to the impossible image of a spiritually enlightened, knowledgeable, selfless, patient, forgiving, easy-going, supportive, generous superhuman, the dark side of our nature just gains in power. —Toko-pa Turner Deep Mercy Over the last few years in the United States, we (especially those of us who are white) have been asked to examine the collective shadow of racism that has been a part of our nation since its founding. We wrestled with it during the Civil War and again during the civil rights era, but, as we do with so much shadow material, we allowed it to go “underground” and remain there. Part of the reason we do this is because it is so painful to face our shadow and all the destruction we have caused by ignoring it. As Zen Buddhist teacher Larry Ward writes, shadow work requires us to hold the tension of placing our collective shadow within a deeper well of mercy: The bridge of mercy lies deep within us and among us, however well it is hidden by clouds of conflict, cruelty, and hatred. . . . [But] it seems that as a culture we take great pride in our capacity to be unmerciful. . . . Look at the prison system in America if you want an example of our collective fragmentation: the United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, with 2.3 million people in prison, and of those people, one-third are people of color. This could not happen in a society of merciful people guided by justice and integrity. . . . We need the experience of what I call deep mercy. Mercy lies in our mindful actions of thinking, speech, and behaviors toward ourselves and one another. We may not seem as if we are capable of collective deep mercy, as expressed in acts that restore a sense of shared humanity with one another. Yet these acts of mercy are not absent; in fact, they are the invisible web that sustains living connection and progress in human history. We have survived as a species by crossing its bridge again and again. . . . Mercy’s bridge is kept alive by the energies of deep justice flowing back and forth, the truth of suffering beyond the constrictions of the law. It is the justice of our precious bodies being respected and loved concretely as divinely human. I invite you to spend some time today contemplating a personal or collective shadow, perhaps even journaling about it or speaking with a trusted friend. Accessing the “deep mercy” that Ward describes only comes about when we have allowed our shadow to come to the surface, faced it fully, and chosen a path of healing and justice for all people. Experience a version of this practice through video and sound (0:59). Reference: Larry Ward, America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal (Parallax Press: 2020), 95, 96–97. Posted in Daily Meditations | Also tagged justice, Larry Ward, Mercy, practice, racism, restoration, shadow, United States For more information, to sign up to receive his Daily Meditations, or to listen to podcasts, visit the Center for Action and Contemplation’s Albuquerque, NM hermitage and center. In 2016, I visited there with our son John as part of what I called “a father-son pilgrimage.” While there, we participated in their 2016 Conspire Conference. Rx: MUSICAL MEDITATION/MEDICATION There were so many songs that would carry the energy of Richard's words...but, I chose to use only the first one that came to mind...from one of my favorite mindful soul travelers. You Can't Rush Your Healing - Trevor Hall (12:13) --in the first 6 minutes, Trevor shares a personal story of the song's origins and then a later experience of its meaning in his own life. Powerful encouragement to trust Spirit. Trevor is touring this summer and I'm stoked he'll be coming to Long Island on July 30. JOIN ME!!! I thought I was finished...and, instead was led by my Spirit-Muse here...to a Sufi wisdom teacher - Imam Jamal Rahman - that I recently encountered in a Shift Network course on the mystics, hosted by a colleague of Richard's - interspiritual teacher Mirabai Starr. Imam Jamal is a delight to sit with, as he dispenses his timeless wisdom with ample doses of joy and laughter. His reflections fit in perfectly with Richard's and Trevor's experiences. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, medicine go down..." Gratitude in Times of Suffering - Imam Jamal Rahman (2-minute read, lifetime of digestion) --In the Shift Network course, he invited us not to run TO suffering, but, also not to run away FROM it too quickly when it arrives on our doorstep...until it teaches us what it was sent for... CAUTION: May cause uncontrollable smiling or giggling... GET INVOLVED!!! COME share your talents with us! Join the Poor People’s Campaign Movement... ...on this page click your state name then follow the links (email and website) and fill in the “Join the Campaign!” form to get connected. JOIN US ON JUNE 21ST - NATIONAL POOR PEOPLE’S & LOW-WAGE WORKERS ASSEMBLY Date: Mon. June 21 @ 5:30 pm ET Online and live in Raleigh, NC Online Livestream Access Here --use site for more info, signing up and supporting our Campaign 5-minute Trailer for Monday event Links to Related Posts JUNETEENTH-1: Poor People's Campaign: 3rd Reconstruction (3-minute read) History of the new Federal holiday plus info on the Poor People's Campaign and it's comprehensive strategy for ending systemic injustices like poverty, racism, lack of adequate housing and healthcare, militarism and the war economy and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. JOIN ME!!! JUNETEENTH-2: Ring Out Wild Bells for Freedom & Justice (3-minute read) Using music, poetry and image, we reflect on this historic juncture in our nation's history, as the Poor People's Campaign has just launched a strategic plan to rebuild our nation - from the bottom up! Join us!!! JUNETEENTH-3: “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop...Seen the Light...and Found It's Within Me...” (3-minute read) Using mindful music and images, we consider the necessity of balancing our actions for social justice with periods of rest and refreshment – mountaintop experiences to sustain us for our times in the valleys... JUNETEENTH-4: Music Fuels & Moves the Movement (7-minute read) All about the power of musicians to tell us stories to both trouble our souls into ACTION and then provide the soundtrack for them... #music #shadow #mercy #justice #RichardRohr #CenterForActionAndContemplation #Conspire #TrevorHall #PoorPeoplesCampaign #3rdReconstruction #ImamJamalRahman

Links to the other 4 Juneteenth posts are at the end. For some time now words and phrases are becoming like search criteria for my musical memory. It’s like I’m living the world of August Rush, as I’m hearing the music EVERYWHERE... August Rush Trailer (02:24) “You know what music is...harmonic connection between all living beings.” --Wizard (Robin Williams) “(Music) it’s all around us...all you have to do is listen.” --August Rush (Freddie Highmore) August Rush - Louis & Evan Playing Together (Dueling Guitars) (03:34) Case in point on my “hearing music EVERYWHERE” – As I reported in “JUNETEENTH-2,” when my PPC friend replied to my email about his availability for a Zoom meeting, he included the phrase: “ I will be on with BELLS. Happy Father’s Day.” “BELLS” retrieved Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” from my vault. This free association is happening all the time. I used “free” because there’s no monthly subscription fee. Poor People’s Campaign: Theomusicality and Movement Arts The Poor People’s Campaign has a great bunch of talented artists. They have joined together into various groups around the country that are known as “Theomusicality and Movement Arts.” Arts and culture is a key part of making the invisible visible in any social movement. 2018 Convening in Raleigh, NC (08:41) – highlights: Quoting poet Aja Monet, one of the Campaign volunteers says, “The role of the cultural worker is to make movement IRRESISTABLE.” Dr. Charon Hribar says that music, arts and culture is not just decoration or an add-on to our organizing strategy but sits at the heart of a movement. It’s what people see... what they remember and is gonna move people’s hearts and minds in this movement. For more information, resources and music - visit the Arts and Culture pages of the Poor People’s Campaign website. Here are some musical offerings from the site: Somebody’s Hurting My Brother (04:14) – includes the song’s origins as a result of Duke Energy’s dumping coal ash into poor neighborhoods which caused a host of physical and mental harm A New Unsettling Force (01:47) Everybody’s Got a Right to Live (02:16) Jamel Coy Hudson One Day (emotionally powerful cover of Matisyahu's hopefilled classic) (03:55) Redemption Song (passionate, powerful cover of Bob Marley) (01:19) Pauline Pisano Rich Man's House. Poor People's Campaign Artists Rise Together (01:00) In-Formation (05:17) --haunting challenge amplified by an acoustic 12-string Here are two blog posts from last year: An October 2020 post I did for the Campaign. (3-minute read) Takin it to the Streets for Social Justice Using Music, Dance & Art (3-minute read) COME share your talents with us! Join the PPC Movement... ...on this page click your state name then follow the links (email and website) and fill in the “Join the Campaign!” form to get connected. Playing for Change In 2005 Playing for Change (PFC) founder Mark Johnson saw street musician Roger Ridley performing the following song and got an inspiration for using Roger’s soulful performance as one of PFC’s Songs Around the World. An Introduction to the Playing for Change Movement (03:52) You can read more about their origins and vision here. Since it was uploaded it has had over 120 million views (at least 20 of these are mine). Stand By Me | Original Performance by Roger Ridley | Playing For Change | Live Outside In addition to uniting musicians from around our shared world in “playing for change,” the PFC’s Foundation builds and supports music programs for children in underserved parts of our world. In addition to the many talented local musicians in all countries, PFC has attracted some of the globe’s most celebrated music makers like: the members of Bob Marley’s family (Skip, Stephen, Cedella, Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Keith Richards, Bono, David Crosby, Bono, Buddy Guy, Bela Fleck, Billy Branch, Dr. John, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Buffett, John Cruz, John Densmore (Doors), Keb Mo, Little Feat, Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead percussionist), Mike Love, Otis Redding, III, Peter Gabriel, Ringo Starr, Rising Appalachia, Taj Mahal, The Doobie Brothers, and YoYo Ma... See more here. Songs for Change Higher Ground (2020) The Times They Are A-Changin’ featuring Brandi Carlile w/Mike McCready (Pearl Jam)| Peace Through Music (05:19) “Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled The battle outside ragin' Will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls For the times, they are a-changin'” Get Up Stand Up 2020 featuring Skip and Cedella Marley | Song Around The World (04:11) Babylon | Los Pinguos (03:17) The Weight featuring Robbie Robertson (The Band) and Ringo Starr| Song Around The World (05:45) Seeds of Freedom – featuring Manu Chao & Rising Appalachia (03:46) “Seeds of Freedom“ “Gardens of hope growing slowly Last chance to save humanity Be ready, be ready Seeds of freedom Time has come Seeds of freedom Life will overcome” – Manu Chao A Change is Gonna Come – Live in Los Angeles (06:02) Skin Deep feat. Buddy Guy | Songs Across the USA (05:32) “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. PFC and ATD join against poverty (02:58) “We recently collaborated with the NGOATD Fourth World, to create a new Song Around the World to raise awareness about poverty. This video will take you to our shoot in Burkina Faso where we had an amazing time recording musicians and seeing the change that ATD is creating with their hard work.” “ATD (All Together in Dignity) Fourth World is a movement of solidarity among and in collaboration with the most excluded families around the world. Founded in 1957 by Joseph Wresinski, ATD Fourth World brings together women and men from all cultures and social classes and is active in 34 countries. It is an international non-governmental organization with no religious or political affiliation.” Talkin’ Bout a Revolution – Clarence Bekker (he dedicated it to MLK) (03:42) “We recorded this song in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. Now we’d like to share this intimate performance of Clarence Bekker singing “Talkin’ Bout A Revolution” with you, hoping this song speaks to your heart and that you carry love and compassion for all of humanity with you each and every day. In the words of MLK himself: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’” “It's finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no Talkin' bout a revolution, oh [Verse 1] While they're standing in the welfare lines Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation Wasting time in the unemployment lines Sitting around waiting for a promotion [Outro] Don't you know Talkin' bout a revolution It sounds like a whisper And finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution It's finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no Talkin' bout a revolution, oh no” “Hate cannot drive out hate, only LOVE can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Ripple feat. Bill Kreutzmann & Jerry’s daughter Keelin | Songs Around The World (04:41) --also includes Jimmy Buffett playing at the Montauk, LI lighthouse and David Crosby just playin’ together for change “Reach out your hand if your cup be empty If your cup is full may it be again Let it be known there is a fountain That was not made by the hands of men” “You who choose to lead must follow” “Let there be songs to fill the air” All Along the Watchtower (feat. Warren Haynes) - Playing for Change (04:42) --Check out this writer's take (below) and see if you agree, it's a commentary on the fear and paranoia of those in power...nothing's changed... --"‘All Along the Watchtower’ by Bob Dylan contains a meaning that is not stated properly in the song. By the first line of the third stanza, 'All along the watchtower, princes kept the view', it becomes clear what the poem is all about. The princes are keeping an eye on the borders of their kingdom. The last line says, 'Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl'. It refers to impending danger. Before anything becomes clear the poet ends this poem, allowing readers to imagine what would have happened in the plot. In the first line, the joker and the thief’s conversation are also mysterious. This conversation somehow points to the same tension for which the princes are waiting on the watchtower. In the end, it seems that everyone in the poem is waiting for something to happen. But nobody can tell what is going to happen in Dylan’s poem." (Source) JOIN THE PFC MOVEMENT AND LET’S PLAY FOR CHANGE – TOGETHER!!! Join me in becoming a member – only $5 a month to support music for change and for the kids served by PFC’s Foundation. Grateful Dead “Ain’t no time to hate...barely time to wait...” – Uncle John’s Band (04:41) “A true deadhead is an anti-racist. If you’re not, you don’t appreciate the Dead or anything they’ve ever done.” Source for above and below. Deadheads Against Racial Injustice Facebook Group – JOIN ME!!! Walls...What kind are we building??? SAY, “YES!!!” to these... ...and these... --LEGO version of the Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound...as CSN&Y sang, “It’s time to teach our children about justice... (Source) ...and these... --Adult version of same (above) BUT - SAY, “NO!!!” to these... On the same Reddit site, found this inclusive image and accompanying comment: “wishing a happy and healthy pride month to the LGBTQ community ❤️🏳️‍🌈 you are all valid and loved! :)” CODA “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery none but ourselves can free our minds.” – Bob Marley Let's Teach Our Children...Well... Teach Your Children - Crosby, Still, Nash & Young (02:54) --Talkin bout my generation, let's use its music to teach the next wave...so they don't repeat some of the same systemic injustices to people, planet and to themselves... 11 Songs about Racism TeachRock.org – Lesson: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement GET INVOLVED!!! COME share your talents with us! Join the Poor People’s Campaign Movement... ...on this page click your state name then follow the links (email and website) and fill in the “Join the Campaign!” form to get connected. JOIN US ON JUNE 21ST - NATIONAL POOR PEOPLE’S & LOW-WAGE WORKERS ASSEMBLY Date: Mon. June 21 @ 5:30 pm ET Online and live in Raleigh, NC Online Livestream Access Here --use site for more info, signing up and supporting our Campaign 5-minute Trailer for Monday event Links to Related Posts JUNETEENTH-1: Poor People's Campaign: 3rd Reconstruction (3-minute read) History of the new Federal holiday plus info on the Poor People's Campaign and it's comprehensive strategy for ending systemic injustices like poverty, racism, lack of adequate housing and healthcare, militarism and the war economy and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. JOIN ME!!! JUNETEENTH-2: Ring Out Wild Bells for Freedom & Justice (3-minute read) Using music, poetry and image, we reflect on this historic juncture in our nation's history, as the Poor People's Campaign has just launched a strategic plan to rebuild our nation - from the bottom up! Join us!!! JUNETEENTH-3: “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop...Seen the Light...and Found It's Within Me...” (3-minute read) Using mindful music and images, we consider the necessity of balancing our actions for social justice with periods of rest and refreshment – mountaintop experiences to sustain us for our times in the valleys... JUNETEENTH-5: First Examine the Shadows in our own Hearts and Minds...OR, “Don’t just DO something.. (5-minute read) Using Richard Rohr’s wisdom about first checking our own hearts before throwing the first stone, we are invited to “inquire within.” This medication is supplemented with musician Trevor Hall’s honest, soul-bearing storytelling and Sufi mystic Iman Jamal Rahman’s joyful exploration into the mystery of suffering. #music #racism #AugustRush #PoorPeoplesCampaign #3rdReconstruction #TheomusicalityAndMovementArts #PlayingForChange #GratefulDead #BobMarley #JamelCoyHudson #PaulinePisano

Links to the other 4 Juneteenth posts are at the end. THE TRUE LIGHT IS WITHIN AND WITHOUT YOU Of the sparse words in the Oldfield song “Tubular Bells” (08:02) in my previous post, these few caught my attention: “May the sounds carry you up the mountain...” ...and I thought of Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Martin Luther King and all other souls willing to allow themselves to be drawn by LOVE to HIGHER GROUND and so transformed... ...but, unlike the traveler in this song, I do hope I will hear from you all again... : ))))) Ahh, as I was writing this section, another interpretation just manifested...the person who goes up the mountain in search of TRUTH...is not the same ONE WHO comes down...for she/he/they have been to the mountain and been transformed by LOVE into their TRUE SELF - the REAL SELF they always were/are/will be and now are AWAKENED and walk in this awareness...so their LIGHT is no longer MASKED by the darkness and fear of the bushel basket of their egoic small self, therefore, it can SHINE BEFORE ALL PEOPLE. We are called to be BEARERS OF LIGHT...the TRUE LIGHT that is already in our world...it is already within our souls, waiting to be awakened and set free... Therefore, the moral of this story is - we will never again hear from those who travel up from the shadows...and into the LIGHT...for they have become new creations... Within You, Without You - George Harrison (05:34) "Be in ever so humble...there's no place like OMMMMMmmmmm....... These next two “light beings” are from a video of the Grateful Dead’s “Uncle John’s Band.” (04:41). The first is an Alex Grey work. I’ve visited his Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in Wappingers Falls, NY. Mind-blowing!!! Mind-bending!!! This next song is offered as refreshment for all those who are tired and worn from laboring in the vineyards of social justice...or just the trials of daily life... Up to the Mountain - Patty Griffin (05:11) --Her song was inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I’ve been to the mountain” sermon. Martin Luther King's Last Speech: I've Been to the Mountaintop (03:27) Full sermon here (47:26) REST...REFRESHMENT....RENEWAL The same Teacher that invites us to go out and be the light to a needy world also invites us to come away and find rest for our work-and worry-weary lives - for it’s only by resting that we can be renewed and refreshed to carry on as light, salt... I say it again!!! EXTRAS Higher Ground (2020) – Playing for Change (05:02) ELECTRIFYING!!! Up to the Mountain - Kelly Clarkson (03:32 American Idol) Go Up to the Mountain - The Monks of Weston Priory (03:29) About the monks way of life (03:24) Many years ago, Eileen and I along with friends danced and celebrated with these joy-filled men at their Weston, Vermont mountaintop retreat. On nice days, they’d remove the walls of their barn-like worship space so we could take in the amazing beauty of the surrounding countryside. GET INVOLVED!!! COME share your talents with us! Join the Poor People’s Campaign Movement... ...on this page click your state name then follow the links (email and website) and fill in the “Join the Campaign!” form to get connected. JOIN US ON JUNE 21ST - NATIONAL POOR PEOPLE’S & LOW-WAGE WORKERS ASSEMBLY Date: Mon. June 21 @ 5:30 pm ET Online and live in Raleigh, NC Online Livestream Access Here --use site for more info, signing up and supporting our Campaign 5-minute Trailer for Monday event Links to Related Posts JUNETEENTH-1: Poor People's Campaign: 3rd Reconstruction (3-minute read) History of the new Federal holiday plus info on the Poor People's Campaign and it's comprehensive strategy for ending systemic injustices like poverty, racism, lack of adequate housing and healthcare, militarism and the war economy and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. JOIN ME!!! JUNETEENTH-2: Ring Out Wild Bells for Freedom & Justice (3-minute read) Using music, poetry and image, we reflect on this historic juncture in our nation's history, as the Poor People's Campaign has just launched a strategic plan to rebuild our nation - from the bottom up! Join us!!! JUNETEENTH-4: Music Fuels & Moves the Movement (7-minute read) All about the power of musicians to tell us stories to both trouble our souls into ACTION and then provide the soundtrack for them... JUNETEENTH-5: First Examine the Shadows in our own Hearts and Minds...OR, “Don’t just DO something..(5-minute read) Using Richard Rohr’s wisdom about first checking our own hearts before throwing the first stone, we are invited to “inquire within.” This medication is supplemented with musician Trevor Hall’s honest, soul-bearing storytelling and Sufi mystic Iman Jamal Rahman’s joyful exploration into the mystery of suffering. #music #art #MartinLutherKing #MikeOldfield #AlexGrey #ChapelOfSacredMirrors #GratefulDead #PoorPeoplesCampaign #3rdReconstruction #PlayingForChange #PattyGriffin #KellyClarkson #MonksWestonPriory #JimiHendrix

Links to the other 4 Juneteenth posts are at the end. I did not start off with the intention of reflecting on Juneteenth, which just became a Federal holiday. My plan was simply to reply to an email from a fellow member of the Poor People’s Campaign about a Zoom meeting on Father’s Day. But, my “everybody in...nobody out” musical Muse had other ideas. Here’s his email reply about his availability for our meeting: “ I will be on with BELLS Happy Father’s Day” I replied as follows: Great...for some time now words and phrases are becoming like search criteria for my musical memory. It’s like I’m living the world of August Rush, as I’m hearing the music EVERYWHERE... So, today, your “BELLS” retrieved this one from the vault... Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield (08:02) As today unfolded and I sat with where we are in this HISTORIC moment in time, I heard the pealing of other bells and chimes for freedom from years past... Ring Out Wild Bells – Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light; The year is dying in the night; [the old order is dying out] Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. [YES!!! Let it die!!!] Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more, Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause, [all the “ism’s”] And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out the want, the care the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, But ring the fuller minstrel in. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease, [how apropos for now] Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be. [His message and that of those like him have yet to be realized by the masses. WE are that realization!!!] Dramatic Reading (with music 04:00) “If I had a hammer...If I had a bell...” July 4 (2014) Special: “We Shall Overcome”: Remembering Folk Icon, Activist Pete Seeger “We Shall Overcome” runs from 07:25-09:45. Total program time: 58 minutes. EXTRAS Pete Seeger Remembers His Late Wife Toshi, offers Wisdom & Sings Civil Rights Anthem "We Shall Overcome" (08:20) --In the interview he talks about the racism experiences of his wife of nearly 70 years – Toshi. He also calls out what he calls “forbidden lyrics” in “This Land is Your Land”: “There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me Sign was painted, it said private property But on the back side it didn’t say nothing This land was made for you and me” --His recommendation, if there is a world after him, “Humor may save us” AND he concludes with “DON’T GIVE UP!!!” GET INVOLVED!!! COME share your talents with us! Join the Poor People’s Campaign Movement... ...on this page click your state name then follow the links (email and website) and fill in the “Join the Campaign!” form to get connected. JOIN US ON JUNE 21ST - NATIONAL POOR PEOPLE’S & LOW-WAGE WORKERS ASSEMBLY Date: Mon. June 21 @ 5:30 pm ET Online and live in Raleigh, NC Online Livestream Access Here --use site for more info, signing up and supporting our Campaign 5-minute Trailer for Monday event Links to Related Posts JUNETEENTH-1: Poor People's Campaign: 3rd Reconstruction (3-minute read) History of the new Federal holiday plus info on the Poor People's Campaign and it's comprehensive strategy for ending systemic injustices like poverty, racism, lack of adequate housing and healthcare, militarism and the war economy and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. JOIN ME!!! JUNETEENTH-3: “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop...Seen the Light...and Found It's Within Me...” (3-minute read) Using mindful music and images, we consider the necessity of balancing our actions for social justice with periods of rest and refreshment – mountaintop experiences to sustain us for our times in the valleys... JUNETEENTH-4: Music Fuels & Moves the Movement (7-minute read) All about the power of musicians to tell us stories to both trouble our souls into ACTION and then provide the soundtrack for them... JUNETEENTH-5: First Examine the Shadows in our own Hearts and Minds...OR, “Don’t just DO something.. (5-minute read) Using Richard Rohr’s wisdom about first checking our own hearts before throwing the first stone, we are invited to “inquire within.” This medication is supplemented with musician Trevor Hall’s honest, soul-bearing storytelling and Sufi mystic Iman Jamal Rahman’s joyful exploration into the mystery of suffering. #music #PoorPeoplesCampaign #3rdReconstruction #MikeOldfield #AlfredLordTennyson #PeteSeeger

Links to the other 4 Juneteenth posts are at the end. Started in 1865 in Galveston, TX, among other remembrances, Juneteenth celebrates two historical freedom events: 1st Reconstruction after the War Between the States 2nd Reconstruction that grew out of the Civil Rights movement TODAY, the national Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) is calling for a... 3RD RECONSTRUCTION...picking up the unfinished work of the first two Timeline · May 25, 2021 PPC introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives: H Res 438 - Third Reconstruction: Fully addressing poverty and low wages from the bottom up. Read it here. · June 7, 2021 Local PPC groups in over 50 locations delivered the Resolution to their members of the House. · June 21, 2021 - National Poor People’s & Low-wage Workers Assembly (see next item) · June 18, 2022 – Generationally-transformative Moral March on Washington (see below) JOIN US ON JUNE 21ST - NATIONAL POOR PEOPLE’S & LOW-WAGE WORKERS ASSEMBLY Date: Mon. June 21 @ 5:30 pm ET Online and live in Raleigh, NC Online Livestream Access Here --use site for more info, signing up and supporting our Campaign 5-minute Trailer for Monday event Info (from PPC website): “Poor people, low-wage workers, moral and faith leaders and advocates will gather online simultaneously with a socially-distant rally in Raleigh, NC for a National Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers Assembly. The hybrid online/in-person mass assembly will include our over 40 state coordinating committees, 200+ organizing partners, and thousands of moral and faith leaders in our Prophetic Council. From June 21, the Poor People’s Campaign will launch a one year campaign fighting forward every day towards a massive, generationally-transformative Moral March on Washington and Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly on June 18, 2022.” “People from every corner of the U.S. will converge and convene in the nation’s capital in the summer of 2022 to create a national stage for the voices and leadership of people directly impacted by systemic racism, the denial of health care and ecological devastation, militarism and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. We will demonstrate the power and resolve of poor people to make the Third Reconstruction a reality.” Since the 2nd Reconstruction of the Civil Rights movement, many separate groups have been working to end the particular form of injustice they address and those impacted by it: veterans, those without adequate housing or healthcare, immigrants, native and indigenous peoples, our environment, and poor and low-wealth people of all races. Realizing that with unity there is power, the PPC has been working to join these disparate groups in one mighty voice for change. JOIN US!!! “We only get what we’re organized to take.” GET INVOLVED!!! COME share your talents with us! Join the PPC Movement... ...on this page, click your state name then follow the contact links (email and website) and fill in the “Join the Campaign!” form to get connected. Links to Related Posts JUNETEENTH-2: Ring Out Wild Bells for Freedom & Justice (3-minute read) Using music, poetry and image, we reflect on this historic juncture in our nation's history, as the Poor People's Campaign has just launched a strategic plan to rebuild our nation - from the bottom up! Join us!!! JUNETEENTH-3: “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop...Seen the Light...and Found It's Within Me...” (3-minute read) Using mindful music and images, we consider the necessity of balancing our actions for social justice with periods of rest and refreshment – mountaintop experiences to sustain us for our times in the valleys... JUNETEENTH-4: Music Fuels & Moves the Movement (7-minute read) All about the power of musicians to tell us stories to both trouble our souls into ACTION and then provide the soundtrack for them... JUNETEENTH-5: First Examine the Shadows in our own Hearts and Minds...OR, “Don’t just DO something.. (5-minute read) Using Richard Rohr’s wisdom about first checking our own hearts before throwing the first stone, we are invited to “inquire within.” This medication is supplemented with musician Trevor Hall’s honest, soul-bearing storytelling and Sufi mystic Iman Jamal Rahman’s joyful exploration into the mystery of suffering. #PoorPeoplesCampaign #3rdReconstruction

“Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me; Other times I can barely see. Lately it occurs to me What a long, strange trip it's been.” Truckin – Grateful Dead Well, today the Light was all shining on me AND the winds of Pentecost were inSPIRITing/blowing me where I needed to be...join me as we relive the adventure... EVOLUTION G-d is the same...yesterday...today...and tomorrow AND that sameness includes evolution... PADRE PIO At a local Catholic Church – St. Thomas the Apostle...my namesake : ))) Here’s a tale that’ll segue us to the next stop. It occurred while I was in the 8th grade at St. Benedict Joseph Labre elementary school in Richmond Hill, NY. My parents got summoned to the convent due to something I had done. A convent at night is even scarier...So the three of us marched there and after my teacher – Sr. St. Dorothy – relayed what I had done, she uttered words I still remember: “Tom is either going to be very good or very bad.” MAMATRYD Strolling Furthur [sic], I came upon this hot SS Camaro and my eyes spied that license plate (I have a whole iPhone collection of messages from license plates, their frames, bumper stickers and a lot of other sources...). “Support PBA” decal on windshield next to inspection and reg stickers. Smart dude... After snapping up the evidence I needed for a cool blog post, I walked on down the block...BUT something was calling to me, saying “Go ring the doorbell and meet the person who owns it.” Well, I’m at a place in life where I more easily yield to prompts like this. Geez, ya never know when... “When they come to take you down When they bring that wagon 'round When they come to call on you And drag your poor body down” -Sugaree So I did. An elderly gent (about my age : ))) answered the door. Spotting his St Thomas the Apostle tee shirt, I made some small talk and then asked if he was the owner. He told me it belonged to his son and soon the owner arrived at the door. When he saw my mask and heard why I was inquiring about his ride, he smiled and we both headed over to MAMA TRYD. Mama Tried at Woodstock First, he pointed out some things I'd missed like to decals on the wheel hubs... and this on the backlite...he was gracious enough to put up the top so I could snap it... Next, we traded stories...lots of fun...I started with one from a concert I went to at NYC’s Manhattan Center Ballroom. It was in winter and while we were waiting to get in, it started snowing with a lightning and thunder accompaniment. Someone in an altered state exclaimed, “Far out! The Dead have an awesome light show and it even plays outside.” The rest of us – in that same New York state of mind – agreed with him. He picked up on this and added his own cold rain and snow tale. His occurred at Giants Stadium with pretty much the same enhanced experience. As we parted with a handshake, he laid this one on me... What amazed me even more was that a week earlier, as I was foraging for healthy food in the Natural Market in Garden City, I met up with another shopper who mentioned these same lyrics after commenting on one of my Dead masks – the one with the bear and the wording “HAVE A GRATEFUL DAY.” Whenever folks do this, I ask them if they like the band. This separates the true Dead(heads) from the walking dead (everyone else). He was the real deal – even belongs to a Facebook group called “Wall Street Dead AHead Networking Events.” This networking organization’s motto is... “Strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hands” Also, check out their website. STUMPED Nature provided a place where I could “sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin' on.” IN GOD WE TRUST The messages are all around us...all we have to do is NOTICE... MULTICOLORED FLOWERS LIVIN’ TOGETHER...WHY CAN’T WE??? ASIAN RACISM A week ago, I posted about this house on my walking route. LIFE IS A BEAUTIFUL RIDE I had a lovely chat as I met a new neighbor – Irene - originally from Ukraine – same country as Irina my hairdresser. “Huh?” you say. I call my recent long locks my COVID coif, since they starting growing after the pandemic shut down all the businesses. I play this song whenever me or someone else wants me to revert back to “clean cut.” Like the American symbol on her lawn, I’m letting my freak flag fly... INKMAN Whenever I met someone with tats, I usually ask them for the story/stories. This guy was very eager to tell me his tales. His dad was a Jaguar mechanic (my profession) and is now gone after walking up the stairway to the heavenly garage. “There’s still time to change the road you’re on...” --Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin Remember, not only your car can be recalled by its maker... This next tat evokes the “cold rain and snow” conversation I had with the “MAMA TRYD” new friend I met earlier. Inkman said it comes from “Game of Thrones.” A message of together is better... Turning the corner I stopped to smell the roses – American Beauties??? PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT Concerned about COVID-19??? And whether to get vaccinated??? Vaccinate Yourself with Music An early pandemic post...comes in three strengths: 33, 45 & 78 RPM "I ain't often right But I've never been wrong It seldom turns out the way It does in the song Once in a while You get shown the light In the strangest of places If you look at it right..." --Scarlet Begonias I'll leave you with this mind-expanding gemstone - from a 1977 show at Cornell University - a 25-minute trip with Alice in Wonderland as she follows the White Rabbit to the accompaniment of Scarlet Begonias and Fire on the Mountain...Happy Trails... #music #humor #racism #COVID19 #GratefulDead #CrosbyStillsNashYoung #LedZeppelin

This post got started by a post in a Facebook group I’m part of - Deadheads Against Racial Injustice - about a death row inmate scheduled to be executed on May 19, 2021. Their post linked to a heart-opening story and video about the relationship that formed between two people who’ve faced or are now facing DEATH – the author via previous cancer and the death row inmate who is scheduled to be executed on May 19. It provides an opportunity to ask our individual and collective souls - why do we still have capital punishment? And, at a personal level – “Could I throw the switch, turn on the gas, deliver the injection – and WHY?” Here’s the NY Times story and video posted by Deadheads Against Racial Injustice. If after reading on, you feel compelled to support his and others’ pleas for clemency, come back here and consider signing this petition: Here’s a link to an Action Network petition asking to stop the execution of Quintin Jones. QUESTIONS TO HELP US LOOK WITHIN OUR HEARTS: · What matters more to us – the letter or the spirit of the law? · How do we see our relationship with G-d – are we separate or connected? · How do we view our relationships with others – are we separate or connected? To ALL or only SOME? · Which is more important to us – RETRIBUTION or RESTORATION? · In sacred texts, do we allow ourselves to sit with both the punitive sections as well as the restorative ones? · Is our G-d solely masculine or have we also encountered the maternal heart of G-d? “NAMASTE” (“G-d in me recognizes the G-d in you”) Once awakened to our intimate connection to all others and to planet – our ONENESS - we become enabled to SEE that what’s flowing through the life-giving stream running through the mystical branches of the world’s spiritual traditions – is the TRUTH that capital punishment only serves our lower instincts like revenge and RETRIBUTION. We need, we cry out for the balancing energy of RESTORATION. SPIRIT OR LETTER OF THE LAW? This post could be summarized as “Spirit of or Letter of...the Law" and focuses primarily on Judeo-Christian perspectives. Refer to “MORE: SOME LINKS THAT HELPED ME” at the end for some starting points for considering other faith traditions’ views on capital punishment. BALANCING THE OPPOSITES IN SACRED TEXTS Like much of life, the Judeo-Christian sacred texts are contain seeming contradictions. Additionally, they reflect our growth in consciousness...or lack thereof. When viewed as a whole, they stem from and reflect the level of consciousness of their times. They are “a text in travail,” as one of my teachers has stated, citing Rene Girard. And, as we walk each day trying to be guided by the perennial wisdom that can be found amidst the regressive texts, WE ARE WRITING NEW CHAPTERS AND VERSES...so, like the rest of creation, the text is EVOLVING...Let’s work together to restore the years that the locusts have eaten...and write new chapters based on the bottom line: “Love one another...” ALLOWING OUR HEARTS TO BE SOFTENED...BROKEN OPEN... As I watched Mr. Jones plea for clemency, my heart broke and my eyes filled with tears as he asked HOW we can execute a man who no longer exists? He’s been changed... The philosophy and practices of our outdated criminal justice system were created and are maintained by men whose sole focus seems to be on G-d the Smiter (Judeo-Christian) or G-d the Destroyer (as “he’s” called in the Hindu tradition). They seem to forget that there is also a balancing energy that manifests as G-d the Creator, the Maintainer, and the Lover. Both are presented in the sacred texts. WHAT ABOUT THE MATERNAL IMAGES OF G-D??? – LIKE: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34) “Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15 NET) HOW can we ignore these messages of compassion, placing ourselves above the G-d of compassion by choosing to only focus on G-d as vengeful? KARMA...CONSEQUENCES OF OUR ACTIONS Yes, there are consequences for our actions...there is karma to be paid...but taking a life for a life...an eye-for-an-eye...makes the whole world blind... The above passages I cited and others present a nurturing, RESTORATIVE form of justice rather than a RETRIBUTIVE one. How can the death penalty RESTORE anyone? It can’t restore the life that was taken or the life that is taken in payment. And it kills the souls of all of us – for we are all connected. Please see MLK article below in “MORE:.” MORE: SOME LINKS THAT HELPED ME... Facts about the mass incarceration of people of color in the U.S. From 2013 and sadly still applicable... Killing in the Name of God (HuffPost) From 2013, the issues...and solutions...remain the same...and largely untried. “You don’t count the dead when G-d’s on your side...” With G-d on our Side – Bob Dylan cover by CitizenWorm (haunting images) With G-d on our Side – First Aid Kit Check out these young folksinger-activists...Gives me hope for our shared future...especially, for theirs... Teach Our Children Well (May 2021 blog post) Buddhism and capital punishment Hinduism and capital punishment Sihkism and capital punishment Part of a BBC “Bitesize” offering on “Crime and Punishment,” the site offers a study guide and text. An Eye for an Eye Will Make the Whole World Blind Challenging reflections on the origins and interpretations of this wisdom observation MLK’s Warning of America’s Spiritual Death While not specifically singling out the death penalty, it falls within the scope of his message of non-violence (“ahisma” – Sanskrit) DEATH ROW DIRGES 15 Great Songs About The Death Penalty That Will Hopefully One Day Sound More Archaic Than They Do Now DEATH ROW GALLERY As the Poor People's Campaign describes itself..."We're political but not partisan." The roles could be reversed in this next cartoon... Where's the mercy seat??? #music #DeadheadsAgainstRacialInjustice #MartinLutherKing #QuintinJones #deathpenalty #capitalpunishment #Buddhism #Hinduism #Sihkism #BobDylan #ReneGirard #RichardRohr

Greetings!!! This post started as a result of a meeting I attended on the topic of "Asian Americans on Long Island." It was co-hosted by the Long Island Poor People's Campaign and the Islamic Circle of North America. Here's a section of the email sent by LIPPC co-chair, Susan Karbiner: "NEWS FROM THE LONG ISLAND POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 6:00 – 7:00 PM The topic for the next webinar in our Dynamics of Long Island speaker series will be Asian Americans on Long Island. This new series, presented in conjunction with the Long Island Chapter of the ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America) Council for Social Justice, is aimed at addressing some of the systemic injustices embedded in our society here on Long Island. Guest speakers will be Prof. Gary Mar, professor of philosophy and founding director of the Asian American Center at Stony Brook University, and Patricia Shih, musician and filmmaker." End of email excerpt. There's a link to the recorded one-hour meeting at the end. Very inspirational – lots of stories about courage to speak up. Both presenters – Patricia Shih and Prof. Gary Mar - are Americans of Chinese ancestry and have worked extensively with students, as role models. We got a looooong way to go but these events give me hope that a change is gonna come. Seeing that one of the presenters - Patricia Shih, a Huntington, LI resident - was a musician and filmmaker, I went online to see what I could find. By Patricia Shih The Color Song When Women Run the World Undocumented Thematically-related Lady of the Harbor – Brother Sun (song used in Patricia Shih's “Undocumented”) Version with creative video imagery Solo version of Lady of the Harbor with Joe Jencks (part of Brother Sun) An Early Personal Encounter with Racism... In 1974, I was attending California State University at Fullerton. As part of a sociology class, I chose to interview a woman of Japanese origin who, though she was an American citizen, was interned in a detention camp during WWII. Like what Nazi's did to people of Jewish origin...and what we're doing in the US to individuals and families on our southern border... A Current Personal Encounter... Here are some recent signs along my walking route. When I stopped the other day to snap these, the dad (of Asian descent) was in the yard playing with his young children. I gave him a thumbs up for posting these around his home! Think of it as protecting his family from the evil spirits of racism - in all their forms and disguises... GOOD EXAMPLE for his children AND for us!!! "Yes, how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry?" These haunting words from prophet Bob Dylan can be applied to all forms of injustice, including racism. Here's a viral Tweet of a dad in India accompanying his young son on Bob's sacred text...another hopeful sign... When will WE ever learn...when will WE ever learn... While written to protest war, the Peter, Paul and Mary lyrics also apply to racism because it's a form of war against our fellow human beings... To Learn More... Link to 4/21/21 LIPPC Meeting: Asian Americans on Long Island (1:01:00) Check out a Long Island Poor People's Campaign Monthly Meeting - just email me (ttittmann@icloud.com) and I'll ask that you be added. AND, if you don't want to be added to yet another list, just email me when you're interested in checking us out and I'll get you connected. Deal? National Poor People's Campaign Recent posts: Parents, teach our children well... Poor People's Campaign #music #racism #LongIslandPoorPeoplesCampaign #IslamicCircleNorthAmerica #PatriciaShih #GaryMar #BobDylan #PeterPaulMary #JoeJencks #BrotherSun #PlayingForChange

Children are our future...let’s work together to insure they have one. Full Disclosure: This post is strongly influenced by 30+ years as a Sunday school teacher. Children have been and continue to be a major part of my journey...I often refer to them in my writing...they are our future...let’s not steal it from them (in the spirit of an Indigenous American proverb) Also, in this post, I highlighted several of the systemic injustices being addressed by the Poor People’s Campaign in their Fundamental Principles. Among those, I’ve chosen to focus on these: Systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and ecological devastation and to building unity across lines of division. The distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism This morning, I posted the following to my Facebook Timeline and to several groups to which I belong, including Multicultural Solidarity - Long Island. Jah says it’s time to stop the Babble-on... ...End the fili-BLUSTER ...Restore justice for all peoples and planet... "Tell the children the truth...” Babylon System – Bob Marley A Facebook friend in that group replied to my post by citing a 1949 song from South Pacific called “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught” – a song about how racism is learned – beginning in our homes. I was not familiar with this old tune but at his mention of it, wheels started turning and this is where they took me... TEACH OUR CHILDREN WELL: -ISM’S (RACE, SEX, ENVIRONMENAL) Added 5/6/21: As it unfolds, the CSN&Y song that inspired this post's title tells a story of two stages of teaching: Parents to children ("teach your children well...") and Children to parents ("So please help them with your youth..."). In a healthy relationship, this cycle will repeat, as each generation offers their gifts and insights to the other. In my life, our son John continues to help Eileen and I move through this adventure called life by challenging us to grow and become Who we really are: Children of G-d - as CSN&Y tell us in "Woodstock": "I came upon a child of G-d, he(she) was walking along the road..." You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught/Children Will Listen I chose this version because it featured children – Childhood is the place where love or hatred of others is most often learned. Another tune from author, actress, film maker and activist Patricia Shih presents the message with creative uses of the concept of color: The Color Song – Patricia Shih Patricia was a featured speaker on an April 2021 Long Island Poor People’s Campaign (LIPPC) special Zoom meeting on Asian Racism on LI and the nation. Our other speaker was Professor Gary Moore, Professor of philosophy and founding director of the Asian American Center at LI's Stony Brook University. Both he and Patricia are serving as powerful role models for their students - and the rest of us. Click here to view the recording. Added 5/6/21: In 1974, I was attending California State University at Fullerton. As part of a sociology class, I chose to interview a woman of Japanese origin who, though she was an American citizen, was interned in a detention camp during WWII. Teach Your Children – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 2018 Video includes updated imagery of current forms of racism based on race, sexual preferences and also environmental racism. Added 5/6/21: The Vietnam and Iraqi war images graphically depict "your father's hell will slowly go by..." PTSD, broken families, addiction...develop due to the experiences they had while killing and living in fear of being killed. They need our prayers and support to help them heal... Added 5/6/21: Deadheads: Jerry Garcia played pedal steel guitar on CSN&Y's anthem. Teach Your Children – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Please stay to the end to read the uploaders haunting comments about this important anthem. Included are comments about this 1962 photo of a child in Central Park holding a toy grenade (see photo below). Teach Your Children – Playing for Change (cover of CSN&Y) TEACH OUR CHILDREN WELL: MILITARISM/VIOLENCE And remember to pray for our armed forces – active and veterans. Pray as well for an end to the causes of war – the hatred in our hearts. Until all people can see one another as the image of G-d (the meaning of the Hindu greeting “Namaste”), we will need men and women to serve as peacekeepers. “Meditation not Munitions” (Sorry, Tony Stark) At this place in my journey, I feel that the majority of our causes of strife – within ourselves and between us and others, could be alleviated through some form of contemplative practice (like, meditation, centering prayer) and mindfulness, so we have another practice to help us stay present and connected between sits. Ain’t Gonna Study War No More (children’s chorus) I selected this version of the gospel song because it features children – our starting point for changing the narrative – after first getting our own hearts right... Down by the Riverside (ain’t gonna study war no more) – Playing for Change, featuring Grandpa Elliott Turning Weapons Into Instruments (and shovels)| Pedro Reyes 'Disarm' --in Spanish with on-screen English lyrics --This is a trailer for another post I’m working on TEACH YOUR CHILDREN: DISTORTED MORAL NARRATIVE OF RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM “You don’t count the dead when G-d’s on your side...” With G-d on our Side – Bob Dylan cover by CitizenWorm (haunting images) --I also chose this version because of the female singer - See, EVERY one of the victims of injustice (war, violence, racism, environmental destruction, etc.) was/is carried into this world by a woman. With G-d on our Side – First Aid Kit Check out these young folksinger-activists...Gives me hope for our shared future...especially, for theirs... Found this under the video: “Klara and Johanna performed Bob Dylan's ‘With God on Our Side’ on Swedish Channel 5/Kanal 5, ‘Filip & Fredriks valvaka’ during the election night, 8-9 november 2016.” CAUTION: This next song contains language that some may find offensive With G-d on our Side – Homeless Gospel Choir Next Section Added 5/6/21 TEACH YOUR CHILDREN: THE WAR ECONOMY After posting this last night, I woke up recalling this next song's lyrics - that are replete with images about war profiteering and extreme xenophobia that leads fear-filled people and nations to want to destroy anything that's different from them. Fixin to Die Rag - Country Joe McDonald (from Woodstock Festival) "Come on Wall Street don't be slow Why man, this war-a-go-go There's plenty good money to be made Supplying the Army with the tools of the trade Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb They drop it on the Viet Cong" In the years after his Woodstock performance, Joe, a Navy veteran, began supporting veterans, especially Viet vets. Please take some time to reflect on this next article. It was included in a post I did last year for Thanksgiving. An Unlikely Hero / Anti-war anthem gives Country Joe a platform for crusade to honor vets (2012) In the Marvel series, Tony Stark/Iron Man is a caricature of extreme war profiteering, as this article describes. #music #racism #PoorPeoplesCampaign #LongIslandMulticulturalSolidarity #BobMarley #CSN&Y #BobDylan #PlayingForChange #DalaiLama #filibuster #PatriciaShih