What Are You Really Saying Though?

Today in one of the classes we finished a little early, so the teacher decided to reward them for their good behavior and efforts, by playing a song that he'd shown them earlier in the week. I was pretty excited to hear it, because in both classes we had together yesterday, with groups from the same year, they were begging him to play it, and anything related to learning that gets these groups that hyped, I'm keen on experiencing. I knew it was related to heat transfers, and to be honest, was surprised that they liked whatever it was so much, since there is a general disinterest from most people this age in most subjects. This is what came on...

I listened on in awe as the whole class sang along, bopping around in their seats, totally digging this tune about conduction, convection, and radiation. Let me repeat that once more for emphasis:

A group of teenagers were happily singing along to a song about conduction, convection, and radiation. They were happily....learning! 

O_o 

(If you teach this age, I'm sure your eyes are bugging out of your head as much as mine were as I witnessed it all happening.)

I mean, this is a group, that when the teacher enters the room, doesn't even consider it as a sign that they should take their seats, open their notebooks, and be quiet. One group among many that ignores the teacher's many futile efforts of asking them to be quiet, has to comment on everything that is said and start a class-wide discussion, and rarely engages in admirable efforts of showing respect to their teachers, each other, or me. So when they were completely absorbed in a song that was designed to teach them something, I couldn't believe it! I was overtaken by deep thoughts and assessments, and this incredibly obvious-but-strong thought/realization came over me:

Pop music has the power 

(Top 40's).

For people of any age, it is catchy, sticks in your head, and isn't too complicated follow or interpret, so it's easy to listen to. And especially for people in the 11-18 age range, it's their musical Bible, their water and their air, their steak and potatoes. It's got repetitive lyrics, probably related to something you can relate to, and therefore these lyrics become mantras. We used to put them in our AIM messenger statuses and info boxes, now they are plastered all over Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and on whatever other platforms people are up to these days. We hear a song, and it's not hard to associate it to something or someone in our lives, which contributes to us liking it, because, "Wow, this song is like, so perfect for me. I feel like they wrote it about my life!"

Which is why, while I was listening to teens singing about heat transfer, I came to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter what the song is saying, because let's face it, the lyrics in most of the top hits these days are total crap. And if the case is as it were today, as it so often is, a typical Top Hit is sung in English, but played all over the world. So you've got kids here in Spain jamming out and loving a song, but most don't even understand what they're hearing and singing. (A prime example coming from Lil Wayne's song, "Lollipop." A Spanish friend of mine told me how much she liked it, but that when she looked up the translation of the lyrics, couldn't believe what it said/she'd been saying!) Instead, it's the tune, the beat, the rhythm. That upbeat sound that makes us sway a little, and tends to take our heads to a happy place. It's pure psychological genius on the part of those who are trying to control the world with the junk. Which is why it's also a little (a lot, a lot, lot, lot, lot) unfortunate that these musical artists aren't using their position to say much of anything that's worth something, and that in the grander scheme of things, they aren't allowed to or promoted if they do.

It immediately reminded me of a scene in Step Up 4, when the lead female character is telling the lead male, that they have millions of people watching their videos on Youtube, but they aren't actually saying anything. That they had everyone's attention, all the eyes, but what was the message? And that's exactly how I feel about the pop genre. And this is all coming from a girl who was living and breathing Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, N'SYNC, and the Backstreet Boys growing up, and still can be caught singing along to a pop song every once in a while.

The point is, if more artists would dare to be true to their artistic talent and not sell out for fame and fortune (which only appears to bring happiness, but doesn't do anything to satisfy the soul), then imagine the impact it could have! Imagine these teens around the world singing about peace, love, taking care of one another, how to help each other, sustainability and being a conscious creature on Earth, instead of "You broke my heart, now Imma break your car," "Women are sluts and need to be exploited," "Today I don't feel like doing anything, and I'm not going to, because I'm rich and famous and don't have to, so yeah, that's what I'm saying, hahaha, SEX!" (All paraphrased a bit, but the meaning is relatively maintained. ;-)

It would be SO COOL to hear teens and people repeating lyrics of love and wisdom, instead of this junk that just makes them think the only way to fit in is by wasting yourself on the weekends, going shopping, falling in and out of love, being promiscuous, playing sports, being the biggest, best, prettiest, smartest-but-not-in-your-face-smart (oh yeah, and don't forget you still have to be HOTT), fastest, richest, most-followed, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. My gosh, it's no wonder teens aren't motivated to learn things in school, with all the crap lessons they're being taught, nothing that we're actually trying to teach them is important or going to score them points in society's book of who's who! And woooowwwwieeee, the amount of energy that would be getting sent to these positive things for the world and society!? Crazy what we would see happen! It's no wonder the world is a broken mess with all the stuff we keep singing!

This is a call for all the artists out there to be true to themselves, not to sell out, and not to do your art to please other people. And to try, for the love of God, to send out a positive message!!

Is that why I write? Is that why you paint? Is that why you sing? Did you start doing this because of other people? To serve them? Sure, maybe the inspiration came from someone else, but it's your craft! Make it your own, do it your way! There are more than enough copy-cats and clones out there, let's be some originals! I promise, it'll be a lot more satisfying on your soul!

Let's all make a vow to make choices we're proud of, ones we'd actually feel good boasting to God about, and stop making choices that we think others want to see us make. Ugh! I spent so long doing that, I'm still trying to stop! And all those things I said and did because it was what They wanted, none of them ever made me feel a fraction as good as the times I am just true to myself and blast the real me out into the atmosphere!

Art is expression, 

Don't try to use yourself,

To express anybody else

Blessings, Love & Light to all the Light Workers out there, trying to make a difference in the world and spread that shine! Keep it up, we're getting there! Don't grow weary, because that light can never burn out! And to all my fellow artists, Earthings, members of humanity, 

S H I N E  O N

<3

Sevilla, A Canvas of Color and Creativity

Oh my gosh, not too much time has passed since I last wrote, but I feel like so much has happened! My creative juices are flowing so much here, that I keep thinking of things I want to write about! There´s so much to tell you, so much to describe, and for some of you, most importantly, so much to fill you in on! I am completely unsure where to start, but this is the kind of time when I implement the simplest advice ever given to me in my working days: "Take a step back. Slow down."

These words were spoken to me by one of my co-workers at the Disney/ABC Television Group when I had that six week job I talked about here. I was doing a lot of data entry on invoices and other forms that you really can´t screw up, and for me, when I see numbers all over the place, my mind starts to skip. I was forgetting certain things and inputting others incorrectly, and Ou told me to just, "take a step back and slow down." I don´t think he realized how much weight these words held with me, and I know he has no idea how many times I´ve thought them since. 

I am the kind of person that moves quickly. I do things fast, I rush, and I am incredibly hyper-active. This causes errors that are completely avoidable, and was the reason I was so bad in math. Now, as I´m getting older, I´m becoming a much calmer person, but for a while, I was not. Having someone who was training me on a job tell me that I needed to just take a step back and slow down was very impactful. I use this as a reminder anytime I can tell that I´m getting frantic, over-worked, stressed, or overwhelmed. It helps me to stop what I´m doing, take a deep breath, slow down my thinking, and then return to whatever it is feeling stronger and more capable. And that´s what I have to do with this blog.

I want to tell you about all the adventures I´ve had, the places I´ve seen, the things I´ve done, and the foods I´ve eaten, but I also want to tell you about the realizations I´ve had, not-so-coicidental moments I´ve experienced, and about how perfectly everything seems to be coming together. As you can see, it´s a lot. The last post I dove into the spiritual side of my life and talked about the revelations that I had, so perhaps, this time, I will write about something else. But, the spiritual side of what´s happening to me seems to be the most prevelant and remarkable at this time, so I´m just not sure. 

All I know for sure is that I need to tell you all that Sevilla is quickly becoming one of my favorite cities. When I visited it during Semana Santa (holy week, aka Easter week) in 2010, I didn´t appreciate it as much as I should have. I was here to party, see the tourist attractions, experience Semana Santa, and nothing more. I didn´t get a chance to really appreciate the beauty and culture this place has to offer, and was completely overwhelmed by the massive crowds of people, processions, and other celebrations. That must be why God brought me back -- He knew that this city and I would mesh well and love one another. 

The city is like a canvas, everywhere, there´s art. Paintings cover the city, and although I presume their main purpose is to prevent graffiti, they result in the city being full of color and creativity. When stores are closed, they have, usually, metal doors that pull down or slide across to cover the glass windows and what-not of the store. These are down many hours of the day, since the siesta takes place from about 2-5, and all day on Sundays, so it makes sense that store owners would want people walking by to know what the establishment is, and also be drawn to it even when it is closed. Most of the paintings depict what the store is, and some are just colorful paintings of lovely, Spanish-type images. 

And as if this wasn´t enough to make a girl feel creative and get the juices flowing, even the recycle bins around the city are all painted! It really is a wonder just to bike or walk around and see how many different illustrations I can find. It makes me feel so alive and happy to know I´m in a city where art is demonstrated everywhere. It´s not just a medium to express here on paper or parchment, but on things that we consider dirty, ugly, and only serving one purpose (recycle bins). It makes you think about art in a different way, and for me, love it even more than I already do. 

I still have it on my list of to-take´s to take my camera and go out and take photos of the street art and graffiti here, but for now, I had to share this. I know many of you are artistic people, and I hope that this inspires you to consider art differently, more widely, and perhaps to take to doing more creative things more often. It feels so good to be this alive, with my brain working and thinking, dreaming and doing. I was so disctracted before by TV and media, but now, I´m freed from that hold and experiencing life with new eyes. I feel like my passion and lust for life have returned to me after a period of uncertainty and slight depression. I´ve always enjoyed my life, but I´ve always craved and needed more. Now, I am living the dream I created many moons ago, and feel like the most blessed child alive! I pray this for you all, and as always, MAKE YOUR OWN REALITY! <3

Lightning in a Bottle

This weekend I was blessed with one of the most amazing experiences of my life -- I went to the Lightning in a Bottle Festival. It is a music, yoga, art, and meditation festival that focuses on sustainability and celebrating life. I was there from Friday afternoon till Monday afternoon, camped outside for the first time in my life, didn't shower for almost four days, and have never had a better time. I've never been so dirty and so happy before.

Living there for those days I experienced the most incredible culture. Every person that I came into contact with was positive, loving, giving, and wonderful. Any randomly yelled out response that was given in response to the randomness that came from my heart being so overwhelmed with love, joy, and peace, was one of reciprocated love. A mass amount of people taking life back to a simpler and more blessed way. Trading and bartering in place of buying, and each person contributing what they could and had to the group.

We were far beyond blessed with the family that we established. Among us there were artists and lovers of every sort -- face painters, air brushers, singers, guitarists, rhinestone-ers, lollipop makers, dancers and lovers. I went into the weekend knowing two people in the area in which we camped, and ended up becoming part of the most incredible group we could have found. Beautiful people with beautiful hearts. 

  The beautiful Jordan geming the lovely Jo

 Kate the Great transforming into Ganesha

 Words cannot express my love for Jeremy

 Daniel, the amazing airbrusher

 Anthony and Daniel's tag-team work is outstanding

 Creeping on Chris while he's asleep

  Still held up after sleeping on it!

 Jo made a perfect canvas 

 Mel becoming the hot-bot

 Our neighborhood <3 

We created a world within the one that we all generally live in. There were no rules other than to love and be loved, and no one was there to judge or be judged. Each person was welcome to express themselves however they desired, and were loved and embraced all the more for it. It was truly amazing to know that outside of the Canyon walls was the rest of the world, living unaware of the one we'd created for ourselves. I salute The Do Lab for their amazing work, and will anxiously await the day I can buy my 2013 ticket. 

Today's Quote: "Of course it's happening inside your head [Harry], but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" -HP & The Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2