Here I am gazing on the Web for extraordinary witnesses of enlightenment yet very popular in the entertainment realm, so that at least everybody that read newagenotebook.com could say "hey, I've seen or heard that person!" As my research focuses randomly on any performer from our time, some pages choose to cite the art of singer Van Morrison.
His work is thoughtful, often spiritual in nature, and combines elements of jazz , R&B , Celtic traditions, and stream-of-consciousness lyrics.
Van Morrison was born in Belfast , Northern Ireland , in 1935 and was named George Ivan Morrison. Better known as the Celtic sorcerer, Morrison began playing different instruments and composing songs in an Irish band during his teen years. His musical heritage was inevitable since h e was exposed to music from an early age with his father collecting American jazz albums and his mother being a singer.
Journalists have described Morrison as one of the most serious singers with high moral values, something that lacks in the music business. His lyrics and music are influenced on the works of poet and New Age prophet William Blake, Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac, J.D. Salinger, occult and spiritualist poet W.B. Yeats, Alice Bailey, and of many other religious visionaries. Those authors add mythic powers to Morrison's singular musical vision and his articulation of emotional truths.
Astral Weeks was his first album after he moved to America . It gained good reviews from critics. Rolling Stone magazine once reported that a man claimed to see God while listening to this album under the influence of nitrous oxide . If you listen to the record you'll notice that the artist uses a form of symbolism instead of current narrative. Very much like using spiritual images because they are stronger than words. And this work was released in the late 1960s, when a New Age consciousness was spreading in the U.S.
His idiosyncratic and spiritual musical path has lead him to create more than 30 albums, among them are Moondance, Tupelo Honey, A Period of Transition, Beautiful Vision, No Guru- No Method- No teacher, Irish Heartbeat, Avalon Sunset, Enlightenment, Days Like This, and The Healing Games.
On his official site, Alan Pert sums up Morrison's spiritual exploring on the album Days Like This. "Morrison continues his lifelong exploration of the human psyche, offering up highly entertaining and danceable tunes about everything from love to manic depression.
While all of Morrison's albums from the early 1990's had expressed a desire to go back to childhood and early adolescence when "everything made more sense" and he was most capable of experiencing the elusive "sense of wonder," the memory in "Ancient Highway" is of being older, of feeling isolated and restless, of needing to leave home and childhood behind forever, and he is afraid of failure: "I keeping praying to my higher self, don't let me down..."
Extract of the Ancient Highway
" There's a small cafe on the outskirts of town
I'll be there when the sun goes down
Where the roadside bends
And it twists and turns
Every new generation
And I'll be praying to my higher self
Don't let me down, keep my feet on the ground
There's a roadside jam playin' on the edge of town
In a town called Paradise near the ancient highway
When the train whistle blows
All the sadness that Hank Williams knows
And the river flows
Call them pagan streams and it spins and turns
In a factory in a street called Bread in East Belfast
Where Georgie knows best
What it's like to be Daniel in the lion's den
Got so many friends only most of the time"
I picked Morrison's music up because he is still creating innovative material and is not like others rock stars who recycle their greatest hits. "Great art incarnates truth, gives shape to beauty, and joins inner longing with outer form. Van Morrison has provided Christians and non-Christians alike a glimpse into the childlike vision " according to the insights of Carl Olson.
More recently, Morrison had the opportunity to duet "Crazy Love" along with the late Ray Charles, on the 2004 Genius Loves Company album. Ray Charles was one of Morrison's influences during his years in Northern Ireland .
Alma De la Cruz, a staff mystic employed by http://www.psychicrealm.com, has a profound personal history where she has unabashedly delved deep into the heart of occult mysteries for an extensive period of her life. Her name literally means "Soul of the Cross" in Spanish. Currently she is working publishing a manuscript that delves into the mysteries of Hispanic new age beliefs incorporating old insights with new spiritual methodologies.
Check out her bi weekly metaphysical column: http://www.newagenotebook.com where she takes a new twist, incorporating Latin shamanistic philosophies with leading edge occult beliefs.
It is hard to capture the synchronicity of this next... Read More
I decreed my 'twin' into my life in early 1990.... Read More
"We come equipped with everything we need to experience a... Read More
1. Retire the word "retirement" from your vocabulary. Look it... Read More
Even if you are not a cat person, bear with... Read More
It's easy to tell the difference between true inner guidance... Read More
(excerpted from Leading an Inspired Life)Pity the man who has... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 9,... Read More
A near middle-aged man in one of my last workshops... Read More
The Florida Iron Man involves swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112... Read More
This is the true story of what Deepak Chopra would... Read More
There is one sure fire medicine that cures all difficulty... Read More
Wreaths are like rings. They represent the Universal Circle ("Let... Read More
I had been fighting with the software program that I... Read More
You Can Overcome panic attacks and anxiety! That is great... Read More
As year 2004 winds up and professionals and corporate bodies... Read More
There is nothing worse than seeing garbage blowing down the... Read More
Practising extreme self-care in our life involves practising good "daily"... Read More
Why do so many of us end up frustrated when... Read More
Here's a nifty trick to use to clear yourself of... Read More
It was 1:30 A.M. on Friday, December 6, 1991. Patrolman... Read More
I knew precisely what I wanted. I felt that success... Read More
(excerpted from The Challenge to Succeed series)Two thousand years ago... Read More
I once was told by the Angels that our concept... Read More
BONZA BOTTLER DAY is any day when the date and... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice if you had a spiritual counselor... Read More
A young man in search of enlightenment had traveled to... Read More
A Word Fitly SpokenA word fitly spoken is like apples... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of November 24,... Read More
One man can make a difference. I've been saying this... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 30,... Read More
Lisa was born into a loving Christian family and went... Read More
We all have those moments, don't we? We're right in... Read More
To [many] work is not a gratifying opportunity to do... Read More
When you realize that you really want to have an... Read More
Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. -... Read More
Last summer, I had an acute case of bronchitis. I... Read More
This is a message from an Angel. Can you relate?... Read More
Our deepest fear us not that we are inadequate. Our... Read More
One day Mr. Shoaff said, "Jim, if you want to... Read More
Most people like movies. Some, like me, are enthralled by... Read More
My eldest son phoned me the other night to let... Read More
Even though this article was next on my idea list,... Read More
Abundance is a life style, a way of living your... Read More
The true story I'm about to share will have a... Read More
Not long after the beginning a being fell from the... Read More
The news came as a shock to us all. He... Read More
We have all grown up in an age where exploration... Read More
Perhaps I should ask my doctor if there is a... Read More
Wreaths are like rings. They represent the Universal Circle ("Let... Read More
It has been said that a man is what he... Read More
Have you ever listened to self hypnosis tapes? Or listened... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of September 8,... Read More
Riding a rush, being juiced, flying high-this is the feeling... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of October 6,... Read More
The quest for the ultimate victory.In part one I shared... Read More
Synchronicity: the coincidence of events that seem related but are... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of January 5,... Read More
"All that you desire or require is already on your... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 1,... Read More
"You cannot control what happens to you, but you can... Read More
Waking up one day and realizing your world just isn't... Read More
Once upon a time, in ancient India, a beggar favored... Read More
I have always thought that grandparents were the icons of... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of June 30,... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of March 31,... Read More
Inspirational |