SLUM??? - Dharavi's Answer

SLUM - noun - a squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very "POOR" people.

POOR - adjective - lacking sufficient "money" to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society…

After tonights "Illuminate Dharavi" workshop and concert, I will simply have to quote my own song lyrics: "How can we, link our place, to re-invent a space that we call a disgrace when I see only joy on the children's face…Now can we see, with our selfish needs to see the world the way in which WE believe, we could be planting seeds of material NEED…I don't know."

the radiance, the joy, the unity, the collaboration, the care, the compassion, the never-ending enthusiasm…is this how the POOR behave? I would bet it was safe to say that these could be some of the richest people in the world. They are astounded by the little things, so present in their association to the world and completely grateful for any opportunity to shine their light.

We danced, we sang, we laughed, we joked, we invoked LOVE and Peace. I see the village in our hearts at every moment.

THANK YOU DHARAVI VILLAGE for answering an extremely simple question…does the material lack and inhumane conditions of the village tamper ones ability to ENJOY LIFE…answer: not for a moment…"WERE ALIVE!!!!"

"…can we see, we live in harmony and were connected to each others needs…"

Men! Please Read! "If" by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

A Spiritual Principle that came during guitar practice today via Guthrie Govan's Creative Guitar Book

While in the middle of my guitar practice today, I dawned upon an spiritual principle that I have shaped my life around. It came in this text…

"Food for thought: wouldn't it be great to hear someone who could emulate George Benson, Jeff Beck, Shawn Lane and Jerry Donahue all at the same time? What I'm suggesting is of course preposterous, but my point is that you should learn from everything that you hear rather then develop tunnel vision by focusing too much on one player, in this way, you'll endue absorbing a range of different influences and combining them in a unique way, and the results are far more likely to sound like you!"
-Guthrie Govan

This goes for everything in life. Nowadays in my life, while walking a spiritual path, I seek knowledge from every living thing, every experience, every Master, thus creating my own unique path. As I run my business, I seek mentorship from various successful beings in all fields of Craft.

So many people in the world get STUCK in one-pointed focus on ONE THING, when our one-pointed focus should be in the brilliance and colors of every moment, this is the place in which we can learn more and more each moment and clearly dawn upon our own Unique existence!!

I LOVE YOU - BE BRAVE - THE TIME IS NOW!