Speaking on Our Thoughts...

the God's Trombone's Benefit SOLD OUT the day before the show, which is really rare (to say the least) in the walk-up ticket town of Nashville, Tennessee. tonight's house at the Belcourt theatre was PACKED and slammin'. i tell you, it was an amazing sight. the cast of the show was totally on-point, the music was great, the dance was phenomenal, and i feel like someone ran me over with an early model Hummer.

in short, i feel great.

the show was a benefit for Amun Ra Theatre and its Performing Arts Academy, which has ten of the best-est kiddies ever. they came to the stage for the pre-show presentation and assembled the pyramid and logo while reciting the Credo. it was great. the audience loved it and the kids were fired up.

then, monologue by monologue, the actors and dancers and singers ripped James Weldon Johnson's phenomenal work, bringing people to laughter and to tears. i had such a good time with "Go Down Death," delivered from the perspective of a brotha from tha 'hood. i had the doo rag and busted the sag and everything. i swear, i don't know how the young brothas do it--my pants falling down was gettin' straight on my nerves.

anywho... when we got to the end, we got a standing ovation. it was the first event of that sort for many people involved, so it was great to be there with them to experience it. i swear, i love being a weaver of dreams. that's what Amun Ra Theatre is all about--exposing "The Hidden Light." we give people an opportunity to people to shine. that's invaluable.

then, we sent our program kids over to the reception in a STRETCH EXPEDITION SUV LIMO! they screamed so hard when they saw it, it scared the crap out of the driver. i live for happy moments like that. there is nothing that matches light in a child's eyes.

ok, my food is here now (i'm at one of the 24 hour coffee shops) and my daughter is about to start slobbing on the table she's nodding at, so i gotta go. i'll try to post a pic or two later.

peace out
joc

make sure you make it out to this one, ya'll. this is just a temporary post to whet your artistic whistle, but go ahead and write the date down. i want to see you there in mass numbers. one night only at the Belcourt Theatre (tickets: www.belcourt.org). it's my first time on stage in a long time and i'm stoked!

peace
jeff

what does it mean to let go and challenge the world's expectations?

how does society move forward if people aren't willing to take a quantam leap?

how can we move a world forward if we are not willing to push ourselves to our absoulute limits?

these and other questions can only be answered by deep exploration, tempered by some common sense, and a healthy dose of fearlessness.

i'm starting to tap--these days--into a well of creativity that is outright mind-boggling. if i hadn't done a solid strategic planning session a couple of months back, i might be all over the place. as it is now, i can barely sleep because of all the noise upstairs (no, not my neighbor, but my brain). so what happens if i just let loose with reckless abandon.

my shoulder has been hurting. i tell you, i think i may have done something to my rotator cuff or something trying to hang with the young boys in the gym. but i'm not complaining. i'm just informing. i cracked the bottom of my box springs yesterday, so my bed is leaning. i like the futon anyway. that firm monster gives me a good night's sleep. it's probably where i need to be now. if you haven't noticed, it's like...4:30 in the morning.

so back to letting go...

Jazz came about because people started hearing tones that weren't on the page. Hip-Hop rose because kids didn't have instruments, so they decided to make some out of two turn tables and a mic. many of the things i've done came about as a result of a demand to be born with the threat of insanity if kept within.

so i ponder some more about all the rules that society places on us. i just got back from seeing The DaVinci Code--again. this time, i took someone along (ya'll know i'm usually movie-ing by myself in the back row) and it was good to dialogue about the concept of Jesus The Christ possibly having a relationship. i found myself saying, "Heck, if he was that tight with Mary Magdelene, would that be the end of the world? Wouldn't that mean he could relate to a brother even more?"

Christ was a quantam leaper for the entire world, heck maybe even the universe. don't i owe it to the neighborhood, the community, the nation, the world i live in to let loose and just live?

but what stops us?

fear of judgment. fear of stepping outside of a box. fear of the wrath of retribution from others who have other expectations. i probably talk about a lot of this because it helps me to remember that, in order to weave dreams, you have to first not be afraid of them. hmmm. yeah. then, you have to unleash them on the world and see what happens.

i wonder about artists who change their work or shapeshift their aesthetic in order to make money, or impress people, or to meet others' standards. i so do NOT want to ever be guilty of that. i don't know how i could sleep. i do feel sorry sometimes when i see actors or singers or writers who i just love pushing out meaningless, pop culture stuff to make a living. i feel sorry because i know that people gotta pay bills, and most of the meaningful stuff, you won't be recognized for until your skin cells can fertilize a plant.

but, we press on.

maybe if we, as artists, can keep creating, and supporters can keep supporting, we'll find a place where we'll lose all fear, and just let go...and just...be.

...is kicking through the door this morning, as i pause to give thanks and then get busy for the day. thought i'd blog for the heck of it, because the days as of late have shifted some, in a good way.

you know, a few months ago, i went through an extensive process of thought re-organization; i think we all need that from time to time. in my head there are so many creative ideas that beg for attention, i find myself having to yell out "hold on!!! get in line! i'll get to you, i promise!" it's reminiscent of the scene in the Bailey Building and Loan during the run on the bank (who knows about THAT reference! yeah!!) cool heads prevail.

anywho... as i may have shared, i organized a lot of the thoughts into some action plans for the next several years and did a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) of each area i work in, then did some action steps. my coach at New Directions Management hooked me up for real--shout out! since then, i've been toiling away at the follow ups, but it has worked wonders.

one of the things i had to make sure i paid attention to was personal time, particularly time for meditation. so i dusted off the corner of the bedroom that is my "shrine area" and spent some time on the face. it worked wonders. make no mistake, it's a place i visit everyday, but there is a different between acknowledging the presence of The Creator and spending some quality time in the presence of the Grand Architect of The Universe. i needed more face time. since starting the last several days on the face, listening, i tell you, i feel like i can walk through some walls. anybody else out there know that?

and i haven't been moaning and groaning. i've just been listing the things i can be thankful for; i have to stop, because if i get on a roll, i could go all day, knowwhatimsayin'? we all could.

i had a fabulous article shared with me the other day that really sparked it all. i'm gonna cut and paste, because i believe it's that important. then i'm going to get on into the flow of another day that has been made for all of us to chase down and put on lock our dreams.

someone asked me last night how i could be so honest with my blog when i sometimes don't share a lot with a lot of people directly. i figured, i see this space as a universe to its own. like the wonderful, vast, timeless universe of the heavens, it doesn't judge. when we find a space of non-judgment, we're free to share. that's the kind of friend, artist, man, brother i'd like to be, and that's what the universe has been to me, so i don't mind sharing at all. kinda cool.

plus, i look at it like this: many people walk through this world acting like their excrement doesn't have an aroma (how's that for re-working an urban colloquialism) or that they aren't going through the regular cycles of life. that isn't fair to other human beings, because we ALL go through something ALL the time. it helps to know that we're not alone. we're not alone in things we're sure of; we're not alone in things we doubt; Earth, Wind, and Fire: "Do you believe/my friend/ in what you claim?/ people of the world/ all doubt the same/ raising questions of their own/ truth/ is written in the stone" ("In The Stone").

so as for me, i'll share and keep it real. let's all do the same.

have a FABULOUS day superstars!

obafemi

here's the article:


http://www.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/display/printerfriendly.cgi?articleid=3594

May 31, 2006
Increasing The Light
Raise Your Vibration

Everything in the universe is made of energy. What differentiates one form of energy from another is the speed at which it vibrates. For example, light vibrates at a very high frequency, and something like a rock vibrates at a lower frequency but a frequency nonetheless. Human beings also vibrate at different frequencies. Our thoughts and feelings can determine the frequency at which we vibrate, and our vibration goes out into the world and attracts to us energy moving at a similar frequency. This is one of the ways that we create our own reality, which is why we can cause a positive shift in our lives by raising our vibration.

We all know someone we think of as vibrant. Vibrant literally means "vibrating very rapidly." The people who strike us as vibrant are vibrating at a high frequency, and they can inspire us as we work to raise our vibration. On the other hand, we all know people that are very negative or cynical. These people are vibrating at a lower frequency. They can also be an inspiration because they can show us where we don't want to be vibrating and why. To discover where you are in terms of vibrancy, consider where you fall on a scale between the most pessimistic person you know and the most vibrant. This is not in order to pass judgment, but rather it is important to know where you are as you begin working to raise your frequency so that you can notice and appreciate your progress.

There are many ways to raise your vibration, from working with affirmations to visualizing enlightened entities during meditation. One of the most practical ways to raise your vibration is to consciously choose where you focus your attention. To understand how powerful this is, take five minutes to describe something you love unreservedly-a person, a movie, an experience. When your five minutes are up, you will noticeably feel more positive and even lighter. If you want to keep raising your vibration, you might want to commit to spending five minutes every day focusing on the good in your life. As you do this, you will train yourself to be more awake and alive. Over time, you will experience a permanent shift in your vibrancy.