it all dissolves said the man who shit in the sink

DET LOSER SIT SA HAN SOM SKET I VASKEN is today's mantra. Some of the mantras people carry with them are gems of wisdom passed through the generations. This is the saying that, my friend's Swedish grandmother liked to repeat when live got messy and seemingly complicated.

life, liberty & the pursuit of happines vs the war on terror

My friend Ben pointed me to a Washington Post article published today By Zbigniew Brzezinski -

Terrorized by 'War on Terror': How a Three-Word Mantra Has Undermined America

Brzezinski's article on the power of repetitive language used by the Bush administration to control our thoughts is directly on point and timely to this project. Not only is democracy and freedom oppressed when its people are reduced to being led by slogans, but the world is in trouble when a powerful nation begins en masse, to live unthinkingly by them.

The Sanskrit word "mantra" comes from the root "man" meaning mind and "-tra" meaning tool. So a mantra is literally defined as a mind tool, or in the case of the Bush administration's mantra, WAR ON TERROR, as an instrument that has the power to control thought.

The truth behind Brzezinski's words is one of the motivations behind the Mantra Trailer, which I hope will serve as a homeopathic and creative remedy to the mass media slogans he's talking about. Read Brzezinski's article and consider it.

LIFE LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS or WAR ON TERROR - you choose!

meredith monk & seed sound mantras

I was lucky enough to be in residency at the MacDowell Colony with Meredith Monk in February. During that time Meredith recorded Porch Song, which she often uses as a warm up before her performances, for the Mantra Trailer. She authored Porch Song about 16 years ago while staying in the southwest. Her voice moves through different resonating points within her body for each repeated phrase. Meredith also talked with me about the idea of mantra and authentic voice. She emphasised the physical nature of the seed sound vibration as being the key to the spiritual mantra's transformative power. In her opinion language often gets in the way of finding the seed sound of authentic voice.

When people can't think of words they want to repeat for their mantra I encourage them to try a seed sound mantra. The instruction is to play with a simple repeated sound, by modulating pitch, texture, rhythm, resonating points within the body, personality, age, etc.

Meredith Monk is teaching two workshops this summer on voice, Voice as Practice: Instrument of the Heart at Zen Mountain Monastery; and Dancing Voice, Singing Body with Pablo Vela at the Omega Institute. Find out more more about Meredith Monk. She's an amazing artist and an amazing human being.

i will always be with you

A mantra for all my good friends. Inspired by my friend Kim.

live on the radio & cockatoo mantras

Today I did my first live interview on the radio with Frank Stasio on NC Public Radio's The State of Things. Frank had an interesting idea - mike a group of people and have them all chant their mantras at once. One of the best things about the creative process is sharing it with others and watching the possibilities generate.

Before the interview I was talking with one of the other guests about the project and he told me about how well his cockatoo picks up a phrase it likes and curiously repeats it with endless variation. He seemed to think the bird takes great pleasure in playing with the sound... the things animals can teach us! If anyone sends me a mantra made by their pet bird I would be glad to post it.

om tare tuttare ture svaha

This is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist mantra. Within Tibetan Buddhism Tara is regarded as the mother Buddha of compassion, mercy and action.

For more information about Tara Wikipedia is a good start.

first podcast

I woke up one morning in November and looked out my window and saw a squirrel with a big fat nut in his mouth twitching and shaking his tail. I had my mantra for the day and it became the first mantra recorded for this project. The Mantra Trailer podcast was my nut!

Thank you Shea at Big Shed for helping me make the podcast real.