A Living in a Brave New World Moment

It is amazing to me to see the world through the eyes of compassion and love and the other day was a prime example of the Brave New World that we are already living in if we choose to see it that way.  These days I actually LOVE Bureaucracy.  I grew up hating places like the DMV, Court Houses, Government Buildings and the like.  The inner rebellion inside of me wanted to kick and scream against the system and run away, judging, clawing, biting.  These days, I SEE humans living and acting out in their lives all striving to become a better version of themselves, so, I choose to connect.  

I walked up the marble steps (after waiting for 45 minutes outside) into a lobby in which only 6 people waited in finely upholstered chairs.  A man greeted me with a helpful smile and I reflected back the same as he heard my story and informed me of the simple process of accomplishing what I needed to accomplish.  I trusted, sat down with my number and waited patiently as the TV screen flashed dozens of ways to make my tax preparation easy and free.  I like it!  I am more the kind of guy that is searching for the ways to become tax free, but, I say thank you when I do pay the taxes, trusting that my specific energy is being used to create a better land of the free.  

Before I knew it I was called to the counter of a woman whom talks loud and to the point, I was excited to meet her at her edginess, but as I arrived I was called next door to a man with a cast on his arm, a calm demeanor and a warm smile.  His presence relaxed me and we formed an instant bond.  I shared with him what I needed and we spent the rest of our time speaking about travel, perspective and the great gift of living in another country and how that can bring so much pleasure to enjoying our own home land.  His calmness was what the world needed, his peace was living in me and I walked away sharing how lovely it was to BE with him today.  I felt I had found a friend for life.  He left me with a piece of paper that described a way to get whatever I needed via the web in the future.  COOL! 

As I walked away this afternoon, I could not help to reflect on the ever-revolving topic in my life of creating our own reality.  The Brave New World in which I see is already here.  It is in the fabric of my interactions, the food I eat, the challenges I greet with ease and the wonder in which I see.  I find people helpful, skies full of clean air, fresh food and juice whenever I want, people helping each other and getting along, striving for growth and serving the moment.  I know I am living in this because in the one area where I would imagine I would be met with a harsh comment and a stiff neck, the IRS, I am met with a living Buddha, clear and concise and oh ever so nice!

A Long Time Overdue Post about My Return to Los Angeles

WRITTEN ON JANUARY 7th 2014 :-)

Arriving back to Los Angeles after 6 years has shown me what it must be like for all those people coming from various countries all over the world to settle and “make it” here in the big big city.  You arrive with eyes wide, everything is new, the air is fresh, the spirit of humanity is wide open and accepting and each moment is charges with a sense of awe and wonder.  You have a few thousand bucks in your pocket so you go on exploring and taking in the sites, acclimating yourself to the heartbeat of the culture, attempting to figure out where in this vast sea of humanity you fit in.  The clock ticks and the walls close around and somehow the city grows larger and larger and larger and larger and your perspective grows smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller and then BOOM, the crucial moment of desperation comes and one starts to think, “I need to survive, I have to my head above water, my dreams, my passion, my desire” turns into “Good morning ma’am, how may I help you?”  

And so begins the steady climb back out into the perspective that was so inherent upon arrival, the steady expansion that comes with diving into the sea of humanity and finding your wings that set you free to wander the long streets of our dreams in which we build, moment by moment, the great life we have held in our dreams for as long as we could remember.  What is the misconception of many people around the world is that people come to this city and end up achieving what seems to be overnight success.  Now if overnight was defined as 10 to 25 years of intense personal development, persistence and taking life to limits that no man has ever imagined, then yes, overnight success is exactly what it is, but I am very clear that the image that is painted in most peoples minds as a lucky break of instant success is achieved in extremely small percentages, if ever, cause even those that rise to fame and fortune (in whatever they do) quickly, it is very clear that if they do not become the type of person that is worthy of long term success in any field, then that instant gratification instantly digs them a hole of terror and self-loathing.

In my experience coming back this time, from all that I learned and even from the fact that I have been born and raised in this city, I am very clear that model of success in the west, and the far west like Los Angeles, is the ability to be grateful for all that exists here, for all the culture, all the chaos, all the perversities, all the glitz and glamour, all the beauty, all the paved streets, all the nice meals, smiles, american past times, hard times, good times, gypsies, bankers, hankers, loathers, posers, losers, choosers, movers, shakers, skaters, one night maters, haters, belaters, space invaders, collaborators, content creators, speakers, seekers, believers, high achievers, the little people, the big dreamers, the office sleepers, the ones whom reap rewards for no work, the ones whom work their fingers to the bone, the fast drivers, the north, south, east west anything goes, I love LA and whether your gay, bi, tran or straight, brown, purple red or slate green you always have a place to be here in the city of angels and if you stick around and keep on believing, everything you wish to SEE come to reality in your waking dream most certainly will be.  I choose to keep the faith and keep on believing that the Brave New Me is living in a Brave New World!   

We CAN Create Weather

Written on September 10th, 2012

Have you ever heard these words from a loved one that you have visited, "You brought such amazing weather with you."  Well, maybe that is exactly what you have done. 

The more and more I dive into a "more connected" life, the more I see the connection to the whole of existence and the more I see our power as human beings to actually work in harmony with nature to create various weather patterns.  It may seem a bit far-fetched huh.  But let me give you a few interesting examples that have happened in my own life.

I tend to be a bit of a tree hugger, not the over the top kind that regulates life down to the sole of the shoe for sustainability ( I may be there soon though), but, more so I like to commune with Nature, respect her and sing to her for healing and to create dynamic change in my world.  So I am constantly speaking to plants, thanking the sun for shining, playing with creatures from the smallest ants to the huge moo moo cows that cross my path daily and practicing sustainable living by using biodegradable products and services.  Each tiny little act I believe makes a difference and makes me feel holistically better.

My first witnessing of the power of the human soul to move nature was at the Art of Living Ashram in Bangalore, India during Navaratri.  During this 9 day festival, ceremony, or puja, is done daily as an offering to Mother Earth and the Gods.  By the 6th day of the events something strange began to unfold.  Every night that the ceremonies took place a trend came along with it, RAIN, and lots and lots of it!  As soon as the ceremony was finished, the rain would stop.  Interestingly enough, when you would ask someone in the city, only 15 to 20 KM from the Ashram, if they enjoyed the rain last night, they would retort with a befuddled reply of "what rain?" 

When I began to ponder the amount of heart - based, well intended thought energy that was going into the ceremonies, it was easy to come to the conclusion that we were collectively creating this abundant weather pattern.

The next instance I was not a part of, but was deeply moved by and inspired to write the song "Blue Water Rise" off of my latest album "Brave New World - The Time is NOW!"  In this instance, I was told that a giant drum inlayed with thousands of crystals was brought to Israel to perform ceremony for various reasons, one being to aid in bringing more water to the surface of the drying country.  In one of the various ceremonies, more then 200 people came together to bang the drum with the intention of springing water northern part of Israel.  The next day, it was told that a fissure sprang up from underneath the ground, bringing more life to the country!

Now for my own direct experience that happened just over the last few weeks.  We had the pleasure of working with a group of Young Leaders in Mumbai and we conducted a workshop on the multitude of powers in music.  Now, for the 3 month Monsoon season here in Mumbai this year it has been more like a Mo then a Monsoon, only bringing occasional drips and drizzles but no consistent rain.  These rains are the life blood of the country and necessary for the sustainability throughout the year.  A light monsoon season could be seriously detrimental to the livelihood of millions and millions of people.  So we decided to use the healing powers of the song "Blue Water Rise."  A song which was composed with the intention using our human powers to WORK WITH NATURE and transform our environments into favorable ones. 

We had the young leaders close their eyes and call into their hearts the importance of continued rain for the people of Mumbai and beyond.   We invited them to hold that intention throughout the song and to call more rain into Mumbai and its surrounding areas. 

We finished with a smile and a sing along and then we all parted and went our own ways.  By nightfall, the rains began, and, here I sit more then 10 days later, and we continue to get more then 6 hours of steady rain EVERYDAY.  Now we could probably call this coincidence or just the way that it is this year, which is probably true in some respect, but I also believe that we have enormous constructive and destructive powers as a human species and I was working with the youth, which has tons of power and youth leaders ….. well …. I think there is something to it!. 

I believe we have the powers to turn livable land into arid ones as well as dry desert into tropical paradise.  But we must travel into the depths of our hearts and collaborate with our deepest self, the one in which we feel connected to everything, most importantly to the Earth that we inhabit on.  Most of us are running around actually believing that we are ABOVE nature, killing species after species, chopping down the trees that assist us in breathing, and over consuming only to feed our own desires and needs and then we cry and shout and scream when our loved ones are displaced or even killed by natural disasters.  How else to we expect her to clean up the mess.  It is just like our human bodies, when it gets polluted by over consumption and waste, we have to clean it out using various means and this causes storms of output which include violent movements and foul smells.  Do we really think the Earth is any different?   Maybe, just maybe, if we start seeing our great big ball as one that we MUST respect and collaborate with, we will create a more harmonious existence with her, much like the ones that are going on with indigenous cultures all around the world.  Study up and read the power the leads us to create a reality in which we are in harmony with everything we see.  For me, I am devoted to this journey and am now seeing results clearly through my own experience.  For that I am extremely grateful!

OH, and One last note on this before I go with this one.  During this entire 3+ month stretch that has been the monsoon season, We have traveled outside almost every day.  We ride a motorcycle!  I have to tell you honestly that I can only count a handful of times in which we were poured down upon and usually when we were, we were free from my valuables and were happy to get wet.  It is as if the clouds temporarily part when we go shopping or have to travel with our computers and guitar.  Sometimes I get freaked out by the notion, but most of the time I just well up in gratitude and pray for the all important rain to come right back as soon as the journey culminates, and, lately, it has done just that.  Again, GRATEFUL!

In the Grey? Enlightened? Or is it Time to Grab A Bucket of Paint?

February 10th, 2013

Something eerie is happening on a global scale right now.  I first noticed it in Israel and now I am seeing the same manifestation out here in Thailand and it is a bit worrisome to say the least.  Almost all the cars on the road now are colored in some dull color.  Whether it is grey, faded blue, black, white.  I literally looked down a street in Modi'in Israel one day that had about 100 cars on it and did not find one car with an expressive color.  And now, here in Thailand I am seeing the same.  I remember the days when a persons car was a part of how they expressed themselves and many of those cars were enhanced in color modifications that occasionally got you to think that the person might be insane, like myself, with my bright canary yellow VW Corrado (in the photo). But, I loved those days.  There were bright reds, blues, purples, teal and so on.  It makes me wonder what could possibly be going on in the world.  Are bright cars simply not available anymore or has the human psyche been so dulled out by fear that one will not dare to step out of the norms of societal conditioning and show up in the world bright and alive, inside, outside and all sides.  Have we lost our ability to express ourselves?  

I know in India, this is not the case.  People show up in every color and even make up colors to express themselves as loudly as possible and it is quite a beautiful and stunning experience to be a part of that high vibrational expression. 

The one last enlightened conclusion that I have to this scenario is that maybe, just maybe, the whole reason that the majority of people around the world are riding in blank forms of expression is because they have become so evolved and unattached that it does not matter how they express themselves on the outside because their inner life is so full of radiance and vibrancy that there is no need to care about that outer reflection.  I wish I could believe that, maybe in a few years I will, but right now, it does not seem to be the case.

So my plea to the world is, grab a bucket of paint and go to town on your automobile, shine it up in luster and appeal.  clean up the inside and decorate like they do in India.  If you are like many people in the world, you probably spend a considerable amount of time riding in this dulled out people mover, so why not brighten up your days by brightening up your means of travel.

Fair and Proper Exchange

I just read a post about a musicians struggle with charging for their music or not and this was my comment that I left.

The first thing I want to put out there is the fact that I see the music "coming through" me into the world.  It is constructed and edited (probably not always for the best :) by my conscious mind, but most the melodies appear like magic and as a witness I capture it and put it out into the world.

Now, being a conduit for that magic to come through takes awareness, discipline and courage to attach enough to get it out, but detach from the outcome knowing that it will reach exactly whom it is meant to reach. 

Which leads to the Materiality of the matter as we are still "living in a material world ...."





I believe in proper exchange so I offer my entire collection of music ONLINE on a "Pay as you wish" basis as I cannot even conceive of putting a specific value on the conception (which comes from places I could never dream of) to the multiple years of production, arranging, sweating, takes and everything else that goes into a record.  Sometimes I give the music away for free when I am inspired to do so.  I do charge for my performances, again, based on exchange, if I am playing for Cancer Patients, Underprivileged or the like, I will do if for free, If I am playing to low income, the rates will change across the board all the way up to the super fancy and pricey shows.  We all come from different financial backgrounds and we all have different amounts that we feel comfortable giving.  I truly believe my music can touch all walks of life so I choose to conduct my business in the way of "Proper Exchange" knowing that our hearts will lead us to the exchange that feels right with everyone involved.  As time goes on I am less and less co-operative with people attempting to take advantage of this and cheap me out of what I am worth when they have the material abundance to give.  First and foremost I show up to the world in service and I know the real value of what I offer is far beyond most peoples budget or any budget for that matter, art is priceless, so I work from the heart so that each and every person on this entire planet has the ability to experience the GIFT of this music.  There may come the time when I will have a HIGH TICKET show, but believe me, the next day I will be out there in a school, rehabilitation center or in someones living room offering MY deepest gift in Proper Exchange.

With Love and Gratitude

STAGE OR NO STAGE, OUR ART IS REACHING THE WORLD

This is an important download (I Feel :) for all my fellow artists out there in the world riding the train of belief over desire ....

STAGE OR NO STAGE - OUR ART IS REACHING THE WORLD.

The last eve of the Full Moon I had another one of those strong epiphanies.  The Full Moon always tunes me into the highest frequencies and when I listen clearly, I get the some of the greatest visions (i.e. The Full Moon Rising Collaborative music project and Brave New World Album Visions both came on Full Moons)  Anyways, back to the most recent one.  I decided to listen to Brave New World - The Time is NOW! while taking a moon lit stroll in the open field across from my flat.  When I listen to the record I usually get quite expressive and sing out loud, so best to go out into an open area where everyone can hear but nobody can actually see clearly who you are so I can really live out loud.  During the 4th song of the album it came …. 

The song "Searching" is a modern progressive rock track that touches on the subject of man's search for an absolute truth and has quite eye opening lyrics that lead us to see the infinite possibilities of every moment.  At the height of it I started pondering how I could get the world to really HEAR this track, how I could get on a big enough stage, how to promote, how to market and then how to get people to give up their separation and surrender into the collective ONE that is humanity.  And that was it!  The collective ONE …. AAAAHHHHAAAAA.  So, for the remaining 2 and a half minutes of this song and the last half hour of the album I felt deep into my heart connection with every single being on this planet -human and non- and in my mind, the whole world was a stage and we were all on it, transforming together.  It was more then the lyrics that I was sharing, it was an essence of love, compassion and gratitude for every single life form on the planet.  There was so much power, so much connection, IT WAS and IS REAL.  Everyday since that point, when I am practicing I get into that same space, sometimes it is focused on a particular group of friends and family, maybe the slums outside my window, or the war mongers or maybe just the forest and I exchange this energy and offer my art in reflection with the intention of EVOLUTION.  I cannot explain the energy that I feel, it is like I am performing a concert for millions everyday!

So I ask my fellow musicians and artists to reflect deep into the reason why we create art.  It MOVES US. and most of us spend our lives searching for opportunities to move others in the same way.  Well, here is what I say:  WE are moving people in every moment we create.  We are moving people when we sing in the shower and if you think big enough, we can move people all over the planet without actually being in front of them.  We can surround the world in our essence, sing out our messages in any capacity and they are having an impact.  If all the metaphysical stuff is true and a flap of a butterflies wings in Brazil causes an earthquake in Africa,  then with or without a stage, with or without a gallery, with our without a studio, every moment we create we are moving people all over the world.

Now, I am not saying this because I want us artists to give up the drive to share our dreams in a huge way in the physical world.  Dream big and I am SURE it will come.  But, with this notion, I feel we can focus clearly on being of service and be able to let go of a lot of the pressure and Ego that comes with that fight for recognition. With that state of mind, we can relax into the knowing that we artists are a great service to this world and we will always be taken care of in every moment, and with a little bit of vision and strong intention, we can move the mountains that we know we are capable of through the power of our hearts and the strength of our minds and at the end of our days, when we reflect back, whether we reached the physical success of Bono or stayed in the close confines of our bedrooms, we can rest assured that we truly made a difference.  Really, the only thing that we will not see when we practice giving in this way are the Ego inflating praises and deflating criticism of the masses that actually believe they are separate from us.   I pray that we all can see beyond this limitation!  THE TIME IS NOW!

I LOVE YOU!

With Peace and Gratitude.

Wait, How Cool is This?!

I am in Nazereth and Jerusalem for Christmas!  Seriously, can I mention it again???  heheh.  After 30 years of going to the Church Christmas Celebration and watching magnificent plays about the story of Christmas and Jesus's Life and all that jazz and here I am, In the place where it all took place!  WOW.  hehehe.  Yeah, it makes me laugh a little cause I am not that touched really, but, I can imagine many intensely involved Christians and Catholics would have a serious face melting experience by the thought of being here during this time.  I am really not sure much Christmas Cheer will be going on all around, probably sprinkles of it here and there, probably some super serious mass will be going on, I have no idea, I just know that I am here and when I think of it, it's pretty cool.  I would think that my friends and family in the states would think so at least.  

Anyways, as of now, we have only seen the small (extremely small, even by Israeli standards) street market in Nazareth, there is a nice big tree in the middle of the square which was cool, I also saw some lights on the street lamps, but we were there during the day.  I am intrigued and interested to find out what goes on here during Christmas.  We have such an elaborate Celebration in the USA, with all the lights and shopping and parties and shopping and dinners and shopping and then it comes and goes, but the season is so joyful and warm.  It's almost like the whole Hallmark thing did something really magical to the Season of Christmas and Hanukkah and New Years.  

Here in Israel, people keep on working, the children definitely party during Hanukkah, but, I did not feel that sense of the season that all that consumerism and Hallmarkism brings in the states.  It was sort of like a passing breath, you knew it was happening, all the signs were there that it was happening, but it naturally came and went without needing to much attention. hmmm

Anyways, this is my 5th year out of the USA for the holidays.  Maybe next year I will be inspired to go back.  But again, this year, I AM IN JERUSALEM and NAZARETH for CHRISTMAS!  WOW!! 

Big love and laughs!

In The Middle

Here we are, in the middle of it all. Some would say tomorrow, December 21st, is the biggest day of it all, some say it is just another day, some are waiting for Christmas to arrive, some are ready for a New Year. I say, "I'm grateful for these eyes to see and this heart to love and this air to breath" and I got a Holiday Gratitude Song for ya!! Watch and Listen now at …. http://www.fullmoonrisingmusic.com/holiday2012.html Life is interesting, time is speeding up it seems, there is so much to do, so much to be a part of, which way will we go, where do we fit in. I find these days, that it is only in a deep space of gratitude that I truly find my connection to all of it and then these incredibly demanding urges to "Be a Part" of something subside and I gently realize, right here, right now, in this space of gratefulness, I am a part of the entirety, just like the great book I just finished "Discipline" by Paco Ahlgren states in the end, "I am everything, I am nothing." That sums it up folks! I wish you the happiest of Holiday Seasons filled with Gratitude for all that You Are and all that Surrounds you, as it is … all …. YOU! Here is the link again to the song …. http://www.fullmoonrisingmusic.com/holiday2012.html Please feel free to share what you are grateful for on that page. Much love and blessings! Daniel P.S. If you are looking for an incredible gift Idea (for yourself and for others:) then follow this link and Download my Latest Musical Offering on a Pay From The Heart (Your Decide the Price) basis. http://www.fullmoonrisingmusic.com/bravenewworld.html __________________________________________________________________________ MY MUSIC PAGE - Check out and download my new album NOW! JOIN MY GRATITUDE 365 GROUP ON FACEBOOK MY BLOG

Love you MOM!

66 years ago today was the birth of Janet Lee Pohnke, my beloved mother :) Her open heart and mind gave me ability to explore the depths of my true nature and allowed me to explore what it is that I am here to do. She only suggested ways 

and never pushed me towards her own belief systems on how life should be or what I should do. She loved and nurtured me and those whom were around her. She was always the super cool mom that all my friends adored growing up. She made us laugh and she always made everyone around her loved, respected and just great. It has been 12 years since she left her body, but there has never been a day that I forget about the woman whom inspired me to BE all I can be, to live free and to SEE. Mom, I have taken all the residue of fear that lived in your system and transformed it into love, I have freed myself which i know also frees you. You did great Mom, the ABSOLUTE BEST you could have ever done and I am blessed to see how I can even make it better, you allowed for that higher guidance by not attempting to mold me in anyway. When I have a daughter, I hope you come back as her so I too can give you the gift you gave me and so that you can carry the learning of life beyond me, then I would be happy to come back as your son again (that is if I don't complete the cycles with this incarnation :) Mom, you live in my soul .... and .... one day .... I too .... will be coming home. I love you.

How Do We Know

How do we know it's 12-12-12. Well, it is 3am and I am about to meditate with people all over the globe via internet stream of my favorite Indian Love Facilitators, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Yesterday, I had a cell phone conversation (while driving home from the studio) from ISRAEL to CALIFORNIA with my aunt about LOVE, afterward I had European Blintzes with my Israeli Family. To make a long share short, the world has become this incredibly tiny ball of connectivity and whether we are doing it over the internet, doing over the phone or in person, WE ARE COMMUNICATING and SHARING CONSTANTLY, and with that communication comes information and awakening to what resonates in our hearts and with that awakening comes SELF LOVE and with that SELF LOVE comes UNIVERSAL LOVE, COMPASSION and CARING for all BEINGS. ahhhh exhale:) 12-12-12 along with 12-21-12 are only beginnings in my eyes, merely numbers, but, there is beauty in them and the beauty is the amount of positive energy that is flowing into the GATHERING around these numbers. Hundreds of thousands are meditating, playing music, talking and so on, and, that alone has the power to send huge waves. I feel that the candle has been lit in 2012 and now it is our responsibility to protect and nurture that light so that we can authentically GIVE it to the world. May I suggest that any apocalyptic thoughts be channeled into constructive action in cultivating your inner light. It just seems to easy to just call it quits. I say we find joy in the work of stripping away any conditioning that might make us feel separate from those around us. Find practices, books, workshops, relationships, ect that challenge you to LOOK IN THE MIRROR. May we find peace in our interactions and may we find LOVE at the root of our hearts. In the words of the song "BRAVE NEW WORLD", which was conceived exactly 4 YEARS AGO TODAY, "let's give our love, until the fear runs out …. the time is now! So come on angels, with open eyes, theres a Brave New World in the rising tide, so make up your mind, and we BETTER BELIEVE, we are the change." Really, it is only a decision to believe in humanities ability to LOVE, but that belief must begin inside of us first. I believe it is possible! If you need a daily booster then click the link below http://snd.sc/UyStSm And if you are interested in working with me personally, Send me a message by replying to this email and lets see how we can help each other become the people we deserve to be! I wish you a happy journey and a wonderful transition …. Love and Gratitude, Daniel Tyler Pohnke MY MUSIC PAGE - Check out and download my new album NOW! JOIN MY GRATITUDE 365 GROUP ON FACEBOOK MY BLOG