Music and Spirituality Part 2: The Soulful Odyssey of Yusuf Islam

In yesterday’s article, I told you of the life and music of Leonard Cohen, and of his spiritual odyssey along the path of life.

Today I want to tell you about another musician who has spent their entire professional life blending the spiritual not only with their music but with their personal life.

This musician I will tell you about was at one time one of the biggest pop stars in the world, an artist who produced hit song after hit song and all told has sold over 60 million albums.

This musician’s name is Yusuf Islam and he was born in 1948. His birth name was Steven Demetre Georgiou and he was a British native of Greek Cypriot and Swedish ancestry.

He goes by the professional name of Yusuf now, but at his peak he was known by a different name. I won’t reveal his name until the end of this article – so don’t you be scrolling down to the bottom to find out until you’ve read the entire article.

In 1969, Yusuf Islam was 19, had cut a couple of albums and was living the life of a fast-rising pop star in his native England. But in that year he contracted tuberculosis and a collapsed lung and nearly died. He spent three months in a hospital and a year recuperating his health.

At that point in his life, having been so close to death, he began to question his values and his spirituality. He took up yoga, meditation, studied many religions, and became a vegetarian. During this time Islam experienced a spiritual awakening, and he used this period of his life to write many songs that had a soulful inclination.

Once he recovered his health, Yusuf Islam was a changed man, and his music reflected that. He changed from a rock style to a folk-rock orientation; his music became soft, thoughtful and introspective, yet at the same time extremely accessible. He produced numerous albums, each having many popular songs. Yusuf Islam had become one of the biggest stars not only in the genre of folk-rock, but in the entire field of popular music during most of the 1970’s.

But as the decade continued, Yusuf Islam became restless and again began questioning his values. He had achieved fame on his terms – writing soulful, spiritual pop music – but he was no longer satisfied.

And just like that, he abruptly ended his career. Yusuf Islam had been seeking inner peace and spiritual answers throughout his career, and finally found what he had been seeking. In 1978 he became a Muslim, changed his name to Yusuf Islam, auctioned off all his guitars for charity, and walked away from the field of music for good.

He devoted his life to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community, and also worked at promoting world peace; for his endeavors he won several peace prizes.

And then, 28 years after leaving the field of music, in the year 2006, he returned to pop music with his first album of new songs entitled An Other Cup. And on May 5, 2009 he released his newest album Roadsinger.

His integration began by performing at charity events, and then he performed at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. From there he played at Lincoln Center in New York in December 2006 and in London in April 2007.

And he has continued doing concerts, primarily events that are charitable in nature. He feels now that through his music he can help bring peace, love, kindness and an appreciation of spiritual values to the greater public.

The world has readily welcomed back Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens.  When he was Cat Stevens he wrote so many beautiful songs. Here are a few: “Moonshadow;” “Morning has Broken;” “Peace Train;” “Rubylove;” “Wild World;” “Tea for the Tillerman;” “Father and Son;” and “Oh Very Young.”

We are all extremely fortunate to have someone like Yusuf Islam in our presence. He may have been out of the public eye for 28 years, but he was never forgotten.

Yusuf Islam is someone who has always been connected to the spiritual dimension of life. He is also someone who understands what a Low Density Lifestyle is about.

In the video at the top of the page, you can watch Yusuf perform the song “Roadsinger” from his new album of the same name. And in the below videos, you can see Cat Stevens sing some of his classic songs.

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Music and Spirituality, Part 1: The Odyssey of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen singing “Everybody Knows” in London, 2008.

I’ve been writing articles for the last week on the topic of spirituality, because connecting to the spiritual dimension is an important aspect of living a Low Density Lifestyle.

For today and tomorrow’s articles, I want to tell you about two different musicians who have been on a spiritual journey for most of their professional lives, and have found a way to integrate their insights into their music.

Today I will tell you about a man who was once called “the Canadian Dylan.” His name is Leonard Cohen.

Cohen, born in 1934, is a well-known singer-songwriter and author of many classic songs, including “Suzanne,” “Sisters of Mercy,” “Hallelujah,” “So Long Marianne,” “Who By Fire,” and “Everybody Knows.”

Cohen had a deeply religious Jewish upbringing. “I had a very Messianic childhood,” he has said. “I was told I was a descendant of Aaron the high priest.”

Many of his songs and novels reflect religious, spiritual and mystical themes. The words and melody of the song “Who by Fire” echo the Unetaneh Tokef, an 11th century liturgical poem recited on Rosh Hashana  and Yom Kippur, and the song “Hallelujah,” (which Rufus Wainwright sang in the movie “Shrek”) begins by evoking the biblical king David composing a song that “pleased the Lord,” and continues with references to Bathsheba and Samson.

In 1994, Cohen had enough of the music world and the material life. He took up residency at a Zen center outside Los Angeles, became an ordained Zen monk, and was given the name Jikan, meaning “silence.”

And there Leonard Cohen might have stayed, if he didn’t feel the pull of the muse and the need to produce poetry and song.  He felt called to fulfill his destiny, to live a spiritual life in the everyday world, which in the Zen tradition, is the true way to live a spiritual life.

And so, in 1999, after five years living in the Zen monastery, Cohen came out of his seclusion and returned to the secular world.

But he kept a low profile until business misfortunes – his former manager took most of his money – pushed him to go out and tour, and expose his music once again to the world. In 2008, at the age of 74, he began a world tour, and in 2009 he played in the U.S. for the first time in 15 years.

Cohen sees touring as a spiritual discipline. Roscoe Beck, Cohen’s musical director, says that even on the longest flights Cohen “sits cross-legged and straight-backed in his seat, in a monk’s posture.” When asked whether he also does yoga to build strength and agility for his stage shows, Cohen replied, “That is my yoga.”

Leonard Cohen may have lost his life as a recluse by having to go back on tour, but the world is much richer for it.

Here is a prime example of someone who has fully connected themselves to the spiritual dimension, and has allowed their life to be deeply imbued by the profound depths that the spiritual dimension has to offer.

He still is an observant Jew who keeps the Sabbath even while on tour, and still squares that faith with his continued practice of Zen. Some have wondered how he manages to do both.

“Allen Ginsberg asked me the same question many years ago,” Cohen says. “Well, for one thing, in the tradition of Zen that I’ve practiced, there is no prayerful worship and there is no affirmation of a deity. So theologically there is no challenge to any Jewish belief.”

Zen has also helped him to learn to “stop whining,” Cohen says, and to worry less about the choices he has made. “All these things have their own destiny; one has one’s own destiny. The older I get, the surer I am that I’m not running the show.”

Leonard Cohen is someone who has felt the pull of the Low Density Lifestyle, and has stayed true to that pull throughout his life, both professionally and personally, and we are all grateful to him for doing so.

There are 2 videos on this page. At the top of the page is a video from his 2008 tour, singing “Everybody Knows” in London. And below is one from a concert on the Isle of Wight in 1970, where he sang his classic song “Suzanne.”

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What is Enlightenment?

Shinzen Young – What Is Enlightenment? A two-part dharma teaching from Zen teacher Shinzen Young.

Being connected to the spiritual dimension of life is an important part of living a Low Density Lifestyle. And when you start living a life that has a spiritual component to it, you start seeing and understanding that life has a deeper meaning to it.

What ultimately happens when you live a life with a spiritual connection is that you start becoming more enlightened – enlightenment is the ultimate goal of the spiritual seeker, and enlightenment is one of the positive benefits of living a Low Density Lifestyle.

And what is enlightenment? It is a life of wisdom, knowledge, insight and clarity of thought. It is about functioning at peak capability, and of feeling interconnected with all facets of the universe and of understanding on a profound level how the universe operates.

A person who is enlightened is also FREE: they are in the flow, they embody relaxation, calmness and stillness, and they act with effortless effort.

In theories of enlightenment, it is understood that humans go through an evolution of consciousness, and the more enlightened a person becomes in their lifetime, the higher up the evolutionary ladder of consciousness do they go.

According to this, these people are capable of thinking more holistically and truly understanding the integral connection between the world of science and matter and the world of spirit.

In the two-part video, Zen master Shinzen Young explains enlightenment and the steps to attaining it. After watching the two videos, you will feel more enlightened of body, heart and mind.

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The Dalai Lama on the Power of Truth

“My religion is kindness,” The Dalai Lama has said. For the last two articles, I’ve been writing about The Dalai Lama’s religion, the religion of kindness, compassion and unconditional love.

There was the article about the mom and her laughing joyous babies, and then the article about the close friends – the deer and the kitten – and also Christian the lion.

Today, I will show you a six-part film with The Dalai Lama on the Power of Truth, which is tied in very well with the religion of kindness, unconditional love, and compassion.

This film explores The Dalai Lama’s attitudes towards not only war and non-violence but also the need for education, dialogue, respect for others and “a warm heart with human intelligence”. The story outline is The Dalai Lama as he travels to give talks and lectures on the three topics, which he considers his main concerns:

1. The promotion of good human values

2. Understanding between religions

3. The Tibetan situation.

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Is Unconditional Love Hardwired Into DNA for All Species?

I was talking in the last article about Mother’s Day, and how as a holiday it is truly a tribute to the principles of living a spiritual life – of practicing unconditional love, along with kindness and compassion.

To live in this manner is to live a highly principled life and to also live a Low Density Lifestyle.

Is it possible that unconditional love is something that all species – humans and other animals – have hardwired into their genetic code? If so, then living in this manner is something innate, and something we share with all other animals.

And if it is something innate, then even if our hearts have been hardened over time by the slings and arrows of misfortune, deep within our soul is this longing to touch that part of ourselves that can feel unconditional love for others.

It is also possible that unconditional love can cross boundaries, and one species can have unconditional love for another species.

Watch the above two videos and see for yourself the unconditional love that one species can have for another. You’ll be glad you did watch them, because it will touch your heart to watch them.

And after you watch the videos, try practicing unconditional love, kindness and compassion. You’ll feel so much better for doing so – you’ll feel lighter of body, mind and spirit.

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Mother’s Day = Love

Laughing Babies

Feeling connected to the spiritual dimension is an important aspect of living a Low Density Lifestyle.

If the easiest way to practice spirituality in your life is to show love to others, then perhaps the most spiritual holiday of them all is Mother’s Day, because it a day that honors the selfless and unconditional love that a mother is willing to give to her offspring, without asking for anything in return.

Whether your mother is still with you or not, I hope you can take this upcoming Mother’s Day to honor the spirit of unconditional love, which is the ultimate act of spiritual living.

And enjoy the above video, of a mother and her 4 – count ‘em 4 – babies.

Did I say 4 babies? Wow!!!!!!

It’s a sweet video of mom and babies, with a lot of loving, laughing, happiness and joy being shared.

Now, that’s definitely feeling connected to the spiritual dimension. And that’s definitely living a Low Density Lifestyle.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Police Alert! Call 911! The Cops Are Giving Out Love!

I’ve talked the last few days about the importance of having a connection to the spiritual dimension of life.

So check this out – in the above video, here are cops, of all people, practicing one of the most cardinal rules for any spiritual practice: the Golden Rule – Do Unto Others as You Would Like Them to Do to You.

The cops are giving out bicycle helmets to bicyclists, and they’re also giving out hugs – they’re giving out love.

Don’t call 911 – these are real policemen in Denmark. Perhaps someone in Denmark can tell me if this is the way cops act all the time. If so, the rest of the world has a lot to learn from Danish policeman.

Call it the Church of the Danish Policeman. I had said in yesterday’s article on the Life of Buddha that spirituality can be practiced just through the simple acts of kindness, compassion and love.

And so, we have a lot to learn from the kindness, compassion and love of the Danish policemen.

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The Life of Buddha

I’ve discussed about how connecting to the spiritual dimension is an important aspect of living a Low Density Lifestyle, and also the important of silence in connecting you to that spiritual dimension.

At the core of Eastern thought and philosophy is this understanding – that in silencing the mind, you silence the noise, the static, and the chatter that stops you from touching the spiritual force that is the central pulse of the universe.

Ultimately, according to Eastern philosophy, when you touch that spiritual force, you are cultivating the seeds of becoming enlightened, more self-aware, and more self-realized.

Enlightenment is one of the things that living a Low Density Lifestyle can do for you, because, as I said above, when you quiet the noise, you come into contact with both the universe within your soul and the universe of the cosmos.

Above, is a video that tells the story of Prince Siddhartha, who 500 years before Christ, went on a path of seeking that lead to spiritual transformation that turned him into the Buddha. Born into a life of opulence and great material wealth, he gave it all up to become a seeker – to find the answers to life’s deepest questions.

He founded the world’s first religion, and with it altered the way we all understand the nature and meaning of life.

You don’t have to be a Buddhist to enjoy this beautiful film – you can be Hindu, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Sufi, Sikh or any other religion.

Inherent within the film is a universal message: that spirituality plays a core role in life, and that it can be practiced just through the simple acts of kindness, compassion and love.

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The Nobility of Silence

In yesterday’s article, I told you of the importance of being connected to the spiritual dimension, and how that was an important aspect of living a Low Density Lifestyle.

When we are connected to that spiritual essence, we feel lighter of body, mind and soul, and when you feel lighter, you feel healthier, happier, and more in the flow. In other words, you are living a Low Density Lifestyle.

That spiritual force is something that can only be felt and experienced when we allow ourselves to be quiet and still, which allows us to hear the pulse of the universe.

Today, I would like to share with you words of wisdom from others, people who have touched that sacred aspect of life and have been able to articulate it well.

These words can help you at any time: when you are feeling happy and joyous, or at times when you are caught up in the High Density Lifestyle and need stress relief and a dose of healthy living.

These are words to carry in your heart at all times.

“We need time to dream, time to remember, and time to reach the infinite. Time to be.”
Gladys Taber (1899-1980)

“Listen in deep silence. Be very still and open your mind…. Sink deep in to the peace that waits for you beyond the frantic, riotous thoughts and sights and sounds of this insane world.”
From “A Course in Miracles”

“Let my doing nothing when I have nothing to do, become untroubled in its depth of peace, like the evening in the seashore when the water is silent.”
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

“The need for temporary solitude is so intense it amounts to an impediment, a malady, chronic and incurable like recurring malaria…. Like a remittent fever it is nothing you can banish. Outwardly we look okay, but inwardly we are desperate; gasping and frantic for something as integral to ourselves as the color of our eyes.”
Mirabel Osler

“When one is a stranger to oneself, then one is estranged from others, too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others…. Only when one is connected to one’s own core, is one connected to others….. And for me, the core, the inner spring, can best be re-found through silence.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001)

“Learn to be quiet enough to hear the sound of the genuine within yourself so that you can hear it in others.”
Marian Wright Edelman (1939- )

“We seem so frightened today of being alone that we never let it happen. Even if family, friends, and the movies should fail, there is still the radio or television to fill up the void…. We can do our housework with soap-opera heroes at our side…. Now, instead of planting our solitude with our own dream blossoms, we choke the space with continuous music, chatter, and companionship to which we do not even listen. It is simply there to fill the vacuum. When the noise stops there is no inner music to take its place. We must re-learn to be alone.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001)

“Once, after a particularly claustrophobic, stressful and over-populated time when there hadn’t been air or space to escape to, suddenly, for a few days, I was alone. It was like emigrating to another planet ( in fact I was at home ). Who was this person I was living with, this strange, this reasonable, serene foreigner in the house: a becalmed woman who spent her time inwardly humming?”
Mirabel Osler

“There is pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is a society where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but nature more.”
Lord Byron (1788-1824)

“All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quiet in a room alone.”
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

“I am here alone for the first time in weeks, to take up my “real” life again at last. That is what is strange – that friends, even passionate love, are not my real life unless there is time alone in which to explore and discover what is happening or what has happened. Without the interruptions, nourishing and maddening, this life would become arid. Yet I taste it fully only when I am alone….”
May Sarton (1912-1995)

“Solitude gives birth to the original in us, to beauty, unfamiliar and perilous….”
Thomas Mann (1875-1955)

“You do not need to leave your room… Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”
Frank Kafka (1883-1924)

“The cure for all the illness of life is stored in the inner depth of life itself, the access to which becomes possible when we are alone. This solitude is a world in itself, full of wonders and resources unthought of. It is absurdly near; yet so unapproachably distant.”
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

“There is a silence into which the world cannot intrude. There is an ancient peace you carry in your heart and have not lost.”
From “A Course in Miracles”

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Connecting to the Spiritual Dimension

A Good Day, with Brother David Steindl-Rast: A Lesson in Living a Spiritual Life

In the last article, I told you of the 12 spiritual practices to honor the earth.

Not only do these practices help you feel more connected to the earth, they also will help you feel more connected to the spiritual dimension of life. And being more connected to the spiritual dimension of life is one of the 12 steps to living a Low Density Lifestyle.

How do we define spirituality? You can say that spirituality is the divine force that is the pulse of the universe, and this force is unlimited, infinite, undying and eternal. This divine force goes by many names: Universal Spirit, Universal Mind, Universal Consciousness, God, and the Zero Point Field, to name a few.

This force is both outside and within; it is everywhere and in everything. Everyone is connected to it at all times; the fewer blockages and densities a person has in their body, heart and mind, then the closer is that connection.

Every time a person allows himself or herself to relax, be silent and still, the potential to connect to the pulse of the universe is there.

When someone is living a Low Density Lifestyle it is much easier to feel that connection, because the static does not overcome the silence, whereas when living a High Density Lifestyle a person will have a harder time feeling that connection, because the static and noise are always there.

Mother Theresa said, “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

Feeling the connection to the spiritual dimension also means holding love in your heart—loving yourself, those close to you, and all the inhabitants of the planet. Love is the ultimate truth at the heart of the universe, and when you feel love in your heart, you create an open energy circuit that connects you to the sacred flow of the universe.

Rumi said, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” The barriers you have built within yourself that stop you from feeling love are the very same densities and blockages that stop you from living a Low Density Lifestyle.

It is so important to surrender and let go of the things that hold you back from feeling love in your heart, because when you do, you can come closer to the Universal Force and be FREE.

There are many ways to feel connected to the spiritual dimension; for some it occurs from attending a church, synagogue, temple or mosque, while for others it is more personal—prayer, meditation, silence, walking in the woods, or some other way.

However you find your method of expression, one thing you need to understand is that spirituality is an everyday affair. You are not just spiritual when you go to church, synagogue, temple or mosque; or when you do the more personal way of expressing your spirituality.

Spirituality, and feeling connected to the spiritual dimension, is something that should be realized at all times. For instance, in the Zen tradition, there is no distinction between spiritual and non-spiritual moments. “Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes,” is a Zen saying.

When that understanding is embedded in every cell of your body, your connection to the spiritual dimension becomes second nature, and all your actions will be directed in that way. You are in the flow and every movement you take and every achievement you make is done with effortless effort.

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