Newsletter
Our Sacred Interconnection
“I respect the secrets and magic of nature. That’s why it makes me so angry when I see these things happening…every second I hear the size of a football field is torn down in the Amazon. That kind of stuff really bothers me. That’s why I write these kind of songs. To give some sense of awareness and awakening and hope to people. I love the planet. I love the trees…I love it.” ~Michael Jackson
As the thunders return to Ann Arbor today, I pause to breathe and listen deeply to the comforting rhythm of raindrops falling. I am grateful to be safe and dry and pray for the sacred interconnection of nature to which we are all belong.
In many ways our current American culture mirrors this mysterious and sometimes painful truth of inter-relationship. The current health care debate, the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin and the inspiring community response, the early spring that felt more like summer, the changing climate. These ripples in time all remind us of our deep interconnection as humans, and as living beings, to one another and to nature.
We are in this together, we need each other, and we have tremendous collective powers. We can use our powers for creativity or for destruction. The choice is ours.
I am doing my best, although imperfectly, to choose creativity, to choose life-giving thoughts, words, and actions. To choose music. To choose community. To choose love.
I know that I need support in doing this, and I call on my communities to help sustain and guide me through the storms that arise along the way.
In this spirit, I am organizing a fundraiser concert in Ann Arbor on April 28th to raise money for a return trip to Plum Village in June, where I will participate in a 3-week retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh and his community of mindfulness. I will then return to Michigan to continue to share the energies of joy, love, and peace through music in my Beloved Communities.
I need your help to get there, and there are many ways you could choose to contribute. You can make donations directly online via my website, even if you are unable to attend the concert. You could also volunteer to help with the concert on April 28th. Please email me if you are interested.
And, of course, you can continue to choose creativity, to choose life, and to choose love in all that you do. Together, we create a beautiful world that holds dear this sacred interconnection.
Love,
Joe
Connection
I still remember when it was really strange to see people talking out loud to themselves in public. Nowadays with cell phones and Bluetooths (or is the proper term Blueteeth?) and various communication devices it is a common occurrence. We have so many avenues for immediate correspondence with others across the globe that it can be overwhelming. We have quickly become accustomed to the convenience and continuous accessibility of technological connection.
And so on my fifth annual visit to Lopez Island in the beautiful San Juan archipelago I was a bit reluctant to surrender to the lack of cell phone service there. No bars, not one, on my phone. No calls, no texts, for three days. Surrender.
What I found in the island solitude was a call to listen more deeply. Not only to listen with my ears but to listen with my heart, with my body, with my Spirit. On a long two-hour walk to Shark Reef, I too could be found talking out loud by myself. But in that instance I had no technological excuse. Instead my reasons were more spiritual in nature, as I sang and prayed my way to the ocean.
When I reached the rocky cliffs looking out over the swirling currents, I sang to the ancestors as eagles danced above me in the wind. Amazing. I wanted to call someone to share the moment but again, no reception.
So I shared it with you all on a deeper level. You see, we have always had this ability to be truly connected, and in fact we always are intimately connected at every moment to the people, plants, animals, air, and water all around us, even to those who are far away. Sometimes technology can help remind us of this but sometimes it can distract us from a deeper sense of relationship. Isn’t it ironic that all of our fancy communication devices can actually be obstacles for true connection?
And so I took refuge in my mini tech-fast on Lopez Island, and breathed with a much more ancient way of knowing that we are all related. I hope that you too are experiencing a deep sense of connection today, with mind, body, and spirit in oneness with all the wonders of life within and around you.
Now that I am back on the mainland, I too will work to cultivate this natural connection each day. Breathing in, I know I am online. Breathing out, I know that I will use my time online to promote peace, wellness, joy, and community.
It is my hope that my recently redesigned website (visit www.joereilly.org) can enhance your online experience with joy and mindfulness. If you haven’t yet had a chance to pay it a visit, stop by for a few breaths. You can color or draw a picture, sign the community guest book, download free lyrics, listen to music, and watch videos. Or just breathe and smile.
I am happy to report the continuation of this wonderful musical spiritual path as I complete my west coast tour in the San Francisco Bay Area. I will return to Michigan for many earth-friendly events and celebrations and will host a benefit concert on April 28th at the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor to raise money for my travel to a June mindfulness retreat in Plum Village with Thich Nhat Hanh.
All levels of donations will be accepted and will facilitate the sharing of mindfulness through music back home in Michigan. Stay tuned for more details about creative levels of sponsorship.
For now, I wish you a truly connected experience, both on and offline.
Yours in the music,
Joe
Related show
Earthwork Music!
“Kick it out for the sake of gettin’ it out, and remembering you belong to this big thing you’re in, whatever it is. Jump right in for the sake of gettin’ it out, into the big you you’re in, I wish you could see yourself, you’re so beautiful.” ~Seth Bernard and May Erlewine
It was way back in the year 2000. I had just graduated from college and was working in both a coffee shop and a restaurant in Ann Arbor to save enough money to record my first album, Mothers and Daughters, and take off on a two-month nationwide tour via the Greyhound Bus. During one of my weekend evening shifts at the coffee shop, I took notice of a fellow singer songwriter and his throng of fans who packed the house that night and filled the place with the spirit of community and music.
