Sharing the words and wisdom of Johannes/Sevaji ~ A beautiful light to hold in one’s path to a “harmonious life by orchestrating our world consciously” ~
Feelings
On a logical level one would think that we love things that make us feel good and hate things that make us feel bad. But if you examine this more close you’ll realize that on subtle levels this is not always true; sometimes we are attracted to things that are obviously negative. On a logical level, we all abhor war, but yet if we all hate war so much why have there been perpetual wars – tribal wars, gang wars, world wars – since the dawn of the history of man. On a logical level, we believe we want inner peace, but yet we create problems, conflicts, dramas, arguments, over nothing at all.
On deeper introspection, what is the commonality? The longing to feel.
We long to feel, to feel anything – even feeling something negative seems better than feeling nothing. Many spiritual teachers and religions have said we souls inhabiting a human body for the purpose of learning about being in a sensory body; for the very experience of being human is to experience the senses. And this is where the Art of Living comes into play: by truly seeking to understand the sensory nature of being human, by understanding the nature of pain and pleasure, we conduct our lives in a better way.
Just as a great conductor uses each instrument in an orchestra to present a symphony, we too – with correct understanding and mastership – can create a harmonious life by orchestrating our world consciously.
Some may believe that by being too conscious life becomes too contrived and without a natural flow. This is far from the truth. By not living consciously we are under the control of habits and conditioning that are not ours, but ingrained into us by an unhealthy society – the same society that has coveted wars for millennia. Consciousness allows us to flow, to be in the stream of creativity – the same creativity that brought about all existence.
As a yogi, I tap into this flow of consciousness to direct my entire life towards Dharma; a state in which all my actions, thoughts, and words serve a higher purpose. As a musician, I tap into this flow to create music.
Think for a moment about music: what is it that you like about it? Yes, you may like the rhythm, or the instrumentation, or the tempo, or the lyrics, but ultimately you like the way it makes you feel. As a composer I am aware of the power that music wields to affect the way another person feels in order to have an emotional response that brings about feelings of joy, exultation, tranquility, passion, and even aggression. Music can indeed serve many purposes.
I remember in my years of training in Kung Fu in an old barn. We had a large kettle drum with an animal skin stretched over it and we would put it by the fire for a few minutes to tighten the skin. Then with thick wooden sticks and heavy strokes, we would beat the drum in a very primal way. To the beat we would practice the strikes, blocks, kicks and punches all in syncopation to the drum which after several minutes would inevitably speed up to a climax of intensity and a sudden stop, leaving us drenched in exhilarated sweat.
Because music has such power in influencing emotions it has been used as a soundtrack to all facets of life, from the primitive drums that lead tribes to war, to the Coronation Suite for the British Monarchy of G. F. Handel, to the Requiem Mass from W. A. Mozart, to folk songs setting the stories of the day to a few simple chords, to the rebellious guitar riffs of punk, to modern day dance music, and so on. Each beat and melody sets the mood for the different emotions we experience.
But music is not the only thing that makes us feel, it is also the art and architecture that inspires, the grandeur of nature, the work we do, the books we read, the news we hear, the movies we watch, the games we play, the people we associate with, our friends, relationships, and family. All these subtly or overtly elicit emotional responses. You will love someone because they make you feel loved, you will be friends with someone because they make you smile, you will avoid someone because they irritate you, and you will hate someone because they repulse you. As an exercise, try relating each different person in your life to a particular song that represents their mood or how they make you feel.
If you were a song, what kind of song would you be? Would you be a dark, gloomy song? Would you be a sensual song? Would you be an aggressive song? Would you be a tranquil song? In reality you are probably many different songs with a few motifs being dominant. Some melodies you’d keep for yourself and some you’d share with others. What kind of songs would you like to hear from your friends? The music that we choose, just as with the friends we choose, are good indicators to give insight of what is going on within us, our state of being, our state of
Blessings,consciousness.
We are all composers of our lives and we can choose to conduct it either consciously or unconsciously, sanely or insanely, kindly or cruelly. Today and everyday, my wish for you is to be a great symphony with many beautiful and harmonious friends as part your orchestra. May your life be a joyful song heard by thousands of people, each of whom feel your joy and rejoice along with you.
Johannes ~ Sevaji