Kirtan Podcast Archive
Guardians Of Being
In the podcast this week I mention a book that I loved reading in the last week, and one I would recommend to any animal lover. It's called "Guardians Of Being" with original words by Eckhart Tolle and illustrations by Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the comic...
Songs For Sid
Last week our beloved black Lab Sid left us, and it was both a terrible & beautiful experience. His last gift to our family was his death and the healing it brought us on many levels. And so this week's podcast is for Sid, but it's not at all sad. Sid was a...
Thanks A Lot
The chants in this week's podcast are some of my favorites from the new kirtan CDs I've listened to over the last several weeks. It's a podcast of thanksgiving for the magical things kirtan has brought to my life in the past year. If you're reading this, count...
Getting To Real
One of my all-time favorite books is "The Velveteen Rabbit", and getting to "real" has been a personal & professional goal. Sometimes it's a moving target. The practice that grounds me in what is really real is meditation. There is a quiet center where YOU is...
Warming Up With Mantra
If you're a podcast listener, you know that I work as a voiceover actress. I like to sing to warm up my voice before I start work, and this week I've been using the creativity chant from Deva Premal's "Mantras for Precarious Times". It's just the right length for a...
An Observation
My morning routine usually starts with a cup of something hot & the New York Times. When I started producing the podcast I added kirtan listening to this routine--except it's not working anymore. It has become impossible for me to read the news & listen to...
Mantras For Precarious Times
Last week I mentioned a new CD I found by Deva Premal called "Mantras for Precarious Times". It’s a selection of seven mantras chosen specifically to support us as we move through challenging times. The tracks are very simple, but that just serves to highlight the...
The Secret One Inside
I've always loved the imagery in the song "There Is A Secret One Inside". Based on a poem by Kabir, it helps me to remember there is someone bigger than me who has a plan. My job is to breathe, be the "salt within the tears of the eye of God" and have faith. Enjoy...
Dancing In The Street
It's a great new day--I've started a kirtan band and life is good. The band has two guitar players, several different kinds of percussion, a harmonium/keyboard, an autoharp (me), and a cello (sometimes). Mostly everybody sings harmony. We've had two rehearsals...
No Place Like Home
After a wonderful trip to the East coast (my second home) it feels very good to be back in Oregon where we are having an amazing Indian summer. This is my favorite season no matter what coast I'm on. As I mentioned in the podcast, here's the link to the meaning of...
Changing My Perspective
If you've been following my updates on Twitter then you know I've been on a very busy vacation. Though it hasn't been entirely relaxing, it is still so good to get away & see different things. It has been a wonderful trip filled with connection to family &...
Inside
It's time for me to take a little break, my friends. It has been an emotional several weeks, and it's time for me to ground out for awhile on the East coast. There will be a golden oldie podcast next week while I'm away from my studio, and I'm looking forward to...
Back To The Front
Every once & awhile a chant will follow me around for weeks, and sometimes it suggests a theme for the podcast. The chant haunting me lately is "Amma" from Larisa Stowe & Shakti Tribe's "Reaching In". Amma means mother--and it's especially poignant for me...
Joyride!
I'm talking Dave Stringer's new CD, and what a joyride it is. It hasn't been released yet, but we have a preview in this week's podcast. I've been listening to the masters for several weeks, and it was hard to choose a favorite to share with you. The chant I chose...
Breathe In The Quiet Center
Summer is ending--there are changes coming & I'm feeling pensive. Change is a constant--in the weather, in our bodies, in life. As sweet Snatam sings in Kabir's Song: "Breathe in the quiet center". The purity of her voice, the simplicity of that message--it...
Sing!
Our satsang group met Sunday evening for the first time in two weeks, and it felt so good to sing! There weren't many of us--it seems the whole town is on vacation--but what a difference it has made in my week so far. I'm finding it much easier to be centered &...
Sinking Into The Presence
I don't know about you, but I'm a God-a-phobic. I was raised a strict Catholic, and in that worldview God isn't someone you could ever think of as a friend. For years I described myself as a recovering Catholic, and swiftly turned and ran from any mention of God or...
The Moment
I've mentioned before that often during my day a chant will start playing itself in my brain, much like pop music did when I was listening to FM radio. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what chant shows up--it might be one I listened to months ago or...
Changin’
Lately I've had the classic R&B channel on in the background. It's great--it plays all the funk & soul music I listened to growing up in Philly. I was looking for a theme for the podcast this week, and the funk classic "Changin'" by Brass Construction came on....
Swimming In Kirtan
I've been doing some lap swimming this summer, especially in the last week when Oregon has been so hot. A wonderful discovery has been the chant playing in the background of my mind will come to the front in the silence that swimming creates. It's a magical...