Staying True To Yourself
I don't think there's anything more important than staying true to yourself and your beliefs. I'm always suspect of people who seem to change their beliefs to fit a given situation, especially to get more work. Just one look at the current American political scene will show you many such people who profess one belief, then change it when they think it's advantageous.
The same holds true for Gongs/Bowls/Bells and Sound Healing/Therapy/Meditation. For better or worse, I hold true to my beliefs. I allow for people to believe whatever they want, but I see no point in changing, or downplaying, my beliefs in order to cater to some other situation. As I wrote in my last posting, I'm not that much into WooWoo or various spiritual conventions. That's not to say that I'm not spiritual, as I am. I've investigated a lot of paths and read hundreds of books on spiritual ways. I've belonged to various organizations over the years (I was a long time member of the Rosicrucians, which is extremely esoteric). But I've found over time that I'm much more an individualist than anything.
While I've read much of the writings of people like Yogi Bhajan (I've read his, The Art of the Gong in Kundalini Yoga Meditation), Don Conreaux (I've read his Magnum Opus–Gong and other writings), and others, I don't follow their way and have no interest in it. That isn't to say that I disregard it. On the contrary, I have found a lot of good information from these sources, but as a whole, we are on different paths. I have nothing against them and never would think that I'm any better, just different. I happen to have a lot of friends who really dig those other paths, and that's totally cool by me.
That said, I'm not into the whole Kundalini Yoga thing at all. Because of that, I usually avoid booking any of my events with Kundalini Yoga places, or Kundalini people. Part of this is out of respect for their path, and that I know there are plenty of other people who can serve their needs better than I can. The other part is out of respect for myself. This leads me to an event I did a while back at a Kundalini Yoga studio. They approached me to do something and I thought that it could work. But sometimes you can't cross borders.
The event went well. We had a full house and it brought in a lot of non-Kundalini people, many who had never come to this studio before. If you've read my blog for any length of time, then you probably have an idea of my beliefs. So I presented things as I always do, but could sense I ruffled a few of the Kundalini people's feathers. Because the event went so well, and most everyone seemed pleased, I recently approached them again about booking another session. I received an e-mail that partly said,
Now this is completely fine with me, and I can understand it.
They want more Yogi Bajhan type playing and that spiritual element. I'm not into that, and for me to try and adjust what I do to appeal to the Kundalini culture so I can book an event, would be dishonest to say the least.
Find your niche. Walk your path. Stay True. Be yourself.
~ MB
The same holds true for Gongs/Bowls/Bells and Sound Healing/Therapy/Meditation. For better or worse, I hold true to my beliefs. I allow for people to believe whatever they want, but I see no point in changing, or downplaying, my beliefs in order to cater to some other situation. As I wrote in my last posting, I'm not that much into WooWoo or various spiritual conventions. That's not to say that I'm not spiritual, as I am. I've investigated a lot of paths and read hundreds of books on spiritual ways. I've belonged to various organizations over the years (I was a long time member of the Rosicrucians, which is extremely esoteric). But I've found over time that I'm much more an individualist than anything.
The Hermetic Way. Alchemy anyone?
While I've read much of the writings of people like Yogi Bhajan (I've read his, The Art of the Gong in Kundalini Yoga Meditation), Don Conreaux (I've read his Magnum Opus–Gong and other writings), and others, I don't follow their way and have no interest in it. That isn't to say that I disregard it. On the contrary, I have found a lot of good information from these sources, but as a whole, we are on different paths. I have nothing against them and never would think that I'm any better, just different. I happen to have a lot of friends who really dig those other paths, and that's totally cool by me.
Yogi Bhajan
Don Conreaux
That said, I'm not into the whole Kundalini Yoga thing at all. Because of that, I usually avoid booking any of my events with Kundalini Yoga places, or Kundalini people. Part of this is out of respect for their path, and that I know there are plenty of other people who can serve their needs better than I can. The other part is out of respect for myself. This leads me to an event I did a while back at a Kundalini Yoga studio. They approached me to do something and I thought that it could work. But sometimes you can't cross borders.
The event went well. We had a full house and it brought in a lot of non-Kundalini people, many who had never come to this studio before. If you've read my blog for any length of time, then you probably have an idea of my beliefs. So I presented things as I always do, but could sense I ruffled a few of the Kundalini people's feathers. Because the event went so well, and most everyone seemed pleased, I recently approached them again about booking another session. I received an e-mail that partly said,
“We invited another person to play gong at our studio as we are looking for more of a spiritual element with the gong meditation.”
Now this is completely fine with me, and I can understand it.
They want more Yogi Bajhan type playing and that spiritual element. I'm not into that, and for me to try and adjust what I do to appeal to the Kundalini culture so I can book an event, would be dishonest to say the least.
Note to self: make sure any Kundalini people know what you're really about before booking another Kundalini place.
Find your niche. Walk your path. Stay True. Be yourself.
~ MB
Chop Water / Carry Wood / Play Gongs™
I absolutely love this post, I have said for many many years, be yourself and do what you do and all of the right people will fall into place . Thank you for all that you do, B-Happy
ReplyDeleteFine dialog as always Michael. As Sun Ra once said "if you are not a reality, whose myth are you?"
ReplyDelete