Integration Album

This album is titled "Integration" because this body of work seemed to end up representing my effortsto integrate and unify the dualistic sides of myself and the world.  It is my experience that we alldeal with duality internally and externally and find it hard to accept ourselves, the people aroundus and our world.  This duality is what makes us human and what empowers this three dimensionalplane called our reality, which we collectively have created.  As we are becoming so acutely aware of the enormous imbalances and injustice in our world and dailyexperience, and are all screaming for change within and in the greater consciousness, I think it isvital that we begin to integrate these forces and recognize our divinity and our power.  Many areremembering Gandhi and the famous idea that we must “be the change you want to see”.   I think,generally, people find this to be daunting.  But, I was just reminded that the caterpillar andbutterfly have the same DNA.  I knew this logically but, really think about this!  We face what I think will be the biggest shift in human consciousness and evolution in recordedhistory thanks to our instantaneous ability to communicate.  It seems we are just in time before wecompletely destroy ourselves or the planet.  I feel we all have a very special gift that will helpthis process and I also believe what is inside, mirrors what is outside, so integration is necessaryinternally to create change externally or, we create our experience.  I have also learned through mystudy of Mayan and various indigenous prophecy that, the shift in consciousness to make usunderstand this is here, its been here, and “we are the ones we have been waiting for” - Hopi NationProphecy.  Right now, it seems the single most important thing we can do to support a transformation is to useour precious energy to create within ourselves and with all that we encounter, unity, joy, gratitudeand peace, at all cost.  Without integrating and accepting our dualities and the worlds, this taskappears nearly impossible.  I have tried, and only in the last few years have I slowly been able tocompletely shift my daily experience from frequent internal struggle to a much calmer, more awarecontentment.  By meeting all sides of myself and the world with the only real medicine that I findcan permanently change anything, unconditional love, I have found hope.  As Ziggy Marley puts it,“Love is my religion”.  These realizations and ideas that I write about often feel as if they come from what I think of as"source energy" and I do not even feel I can take credit.  But, much of what you will hear isinspired by work I did with Landmark Education in the last year, time spent with a Mayan messengernamed Ac Tah (actah2012.com), various books such as "The 5th Agreement" by Don Miguel Ruiz and"Unplugging the Patriarchy" by Lucia Rene, documentaries such as "Kymatica", "Zeitgiest" and "Whatthe Bleep Do We Know?" and so many inspiring men and women in Pittsburgh, or as the Community ofUnity now calls it, Peaceburgh.So this album was an exercise in letting both sides of myself and that of the worlds, be present;the ying and yang, shame and pride, anger and calm, masculine and feminine, the ego and oneness,separation and unity, and love and fear.  They all make an appearance on this album.   I wanted toshow a glimpse into my own energetic process of awakening over the last few years, in hopes that itwill be helpful or inspiring to others during this shift, just like art and music has inspired andhelped me.  I think of it an expression of a sort of spiritual activism and if I had time, thisalbum would have 20 more songs, there is much more to say in future music.