:. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE :: The Beatles 1967

The Beatles All You need is Love
fabarooni live tv recording, London, 1967
Keep your eyes open for a young Mick Jagger in the audience...

>> View an exquisite Radha Krishna slideshow that I made as a Valentine's gift of love for you ...

.: Stealing back the Flute ...

A perfect poem for this perfect full moon night . . . from one of my favourite books, The Gift ~ Poems by Hafiz, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky:

"Something in your soul trusts me
Otherwise it would not let you near these words.

God has spilled a Great One into each of us,
This warrior is always fearless but also always kind.

The only business I am concerned with these days,
Since I heard the Moon's drunk singing,

Is stealing back our flute from Krishna."

.: The Web of Life :: Chief Seattle

Teach your children what we have taught our children ~
that the earth is our mother.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons & daughters of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.
This we know. The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth.
This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons & daughters of the earth.
We did not weave the web of life; we are merely a strand in it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves . . .

~ Chief Seattle

.: Belated Birthday Greetings for Terrence still welcome ~ keep your messages coming in!

:: You still have time to leave your belated birthday blessings for Terrence Pompey. >> click here
Please keep your messages coming in!
>> Read more ...

.: Kirtan with Kesavacarya das

Saturday, Nov 18
at Ananda Ashram
8:30pm | $15

>> Click here for flier.
>> Click here for travel directions. (Ananda is only 45 miles north of NYC & easily accessible by car, bus or train)

Make an evening of it! Enjoy a delicious vegetarian meal (5-6pm, $10), & attend the popular Ashram Fire Ceremony & Meditation starting at 7pm, which will be followed by readings & commentary with Joan Suval.

Kesavacarya das is widely recognised as an up & coming kirtan leader to look out for. Jai Uttal, at his recent IYI retreat in NYC, instructed the whole group "not to miss him." Check out the >> audio files of Kesavacarya's demo CD ~ as Jai said, he really does have a beautiful voice! And good >> musicians, as you'll hear in the audio files.

"Kirtan or chanting the holy names is one of the highest expressions of love towards the Supreme, & one of the greatest forms of mercy from the Supreme to the souls in this world. It is said when we chant these names the Lord dances on our tongues & manifests himself more & more in our heart.

My spiritual master advised me to chant with the same mood as a baby crying for his mother. What can a small baby do for himself? He is completely dependent on his parents. So in bhakti yoga, or the path of devotion, we cultivate this sense of dependence. Then the tears of crying out the holy names will wash away all our sufferings, & cleanse & spiritualize our feelings, thoughts & desires."

~ Kesavacarya das (excerpted from his >> website)

.: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TERRENCE!

TERRENCE POMPEY, beloved KIRTAN TRIBE member & Drummer Extraordinaire, celebrates his birthday this Saturday, November 18th!

Terrence is such a darling, I adore him, & so do you, so get your groove on ... leave your sweet Birthday Blessings for this sweet sweet soul ~ please post your comments here & tell him he's simply the best :-)
And tell him how much you appreciate his selfless service to the NYC kirtan community... Between playing his heart out supporting so many kirtan walas, as well as running the sound system for so many of the Integral Yoga kirtan events (of which there are a delicious >> abundance! Thanks, IYI!), I don't know what the NYC kirtan crowd would do without him... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TERRENCE!

I would love nothing more than to have a garland of birthday blessings on this page to present to him ...
Please oblige me ~ be a sport & click on the comments link below... Belated greetings are still being accepted ...

>> Click here to read Terrence's bio.

:: a ONE-WOMAN SHOW in Italian and English :: November 18-20 at Theaterlab 137 W 14 St., NYC

:: Click on the image to enlarge

.: LA FRICCHETTONA
Don't miss my very talented friend Sandi Higgins in her dynamic one woman show... She's a fire cracker, this promises to be an amazing night out! Try it for something different...

Location: THEATERLAB, 137 W. 14th St. NYC | www.theaterlabnyc.com
This is an intimate theater so RESERVE YOUR SEATS with Theaterlab at: (212) 929-2545 (Arrive early as there's no late-seating.)

3 monologues by Nobel prize winning playwright Dario Fo & Franca Rame, performed by Sandi Higgins & directed by Orietta Crispino. In English & Italian (with translation.) Fricchettona is the Italian way of saying "freak" & was a popular term in the '70s to describe the hippy culture.

Fo & Rame are world-renowned for their imaginative political theater, known for speaking truth with farcical humor & fearless irreverence.

Touching upon questions of church & state, social justice, revolution, & the women's movement, these 3 monologues share the personal stories of women during the political struggle of 1970's Italy & draw a poignant line between their context & our own. A Mother, translated into English by Sandi Higgins, tells the story of a mother who tries to understand how her son became a terrorist. La Mamma Fricchettona tells the story of a hippy mother who confesses herself to a priest in order to hide from cops who are chasing her.

The play has a strong dramatic arc: it opens with an introduction by the Zanni ~ the famously fun & zany masked character from the Commedia dell'Arte ~ & it closes with the final monologue of The Rape ~ a subtle & intense human testimony.

Please leave a comment here if you make it to this fabulous show!

.: KIRTAN with KAMANIYA and The Kirtan Tribe December 8th in NYC

Come *SING* with me!

Friday, December 8th
8-10:30pm (doors close 8:30pm) $10

KIRTAN with KAMANIYA and DAMARU
Integral Yoga Institute
227 W 13th St. (bet. 7/8 Avs.) NYC
tel. 212.929.0586 | www.iyiny.org

:: This will be my last nyc kirtan until the spring
Hope you can join me with The Kirtan Tribe!!

:: You may come & go freely, sing with wild abandon, sit quietly or dance ecstatically... * doors close 8:30pm * Children are welcome!

KAMANIYA ~ lead vocals, harmonium, kartals | DAMARU ~ lead vocals, ektar, percussion | TOMMY BE ~ kanjira, acoustic guitar, bass | TERRENCE POMPEY ~ dholak| KRISTINA LANUZA ~ support vocals

.: winter plans

After this upcoming December 8th kirtan, I won’t be singing in NYC again till the Spring. Tommy Be & I will be busy working on our upcoming CD & other projects. But Damaru will hold the fort on the first Fridays of each month at IYI, he & I have scheduled some amazing kirtan singers to be his special guest for the nights that I can’t join him, so you are guaranteed great kirtan! More details soon....

.: Asato Ma

OM ASATO MA SAD GAMAYA
TAMASO MA JYOTIR GAMAYA
MRITYOR MA AMRITAM GAMAYA

OM SHANTIH SHANTIH SHANTIH

Lead me: From untruth to truth;
From darkness to light;
From death to immortality

Om peace peace peace

(Note: I'm searching for an mp3 of this chant to link to as well as some good commentary. Stay tuned!)