New World Kirtan > Calming Chants for a Crazy World

The use of chanting and spiritual music for awakening has a long history, and in this week’s podcast we have chants from many different religious traditions. We’ll begin with a chant from the Sufi tradition with HuDost, then a Gregorian chant from Thomas Barquee, then we’re on to Kundalini chanting with Snatam Kaur, another short Gregorian chant & then a chant in Hebrew from the Kirtan Rabbi. We have an American Indian chant from Torrey World Kirtan, Indiajiva brings us The Triple Gem from the Buddhist tradition, and we end with another one from Thomas Barquee — I love his CD ‘Missa’. It’s Thanksgiving, and so I’d like to tell you some of the many things I’m thankful for. I’m thankful for my communities here in Corvallis, my wonderful band, my family, my unwavering belief that the world can be a better place and my deep faith in a Higher Power. I’m thankful for you, if you’re listening to this podcast. But most of all I’m grateful for the chance to continue this life & this work in a body that works a lot better than it did at this time last year. There’s a Fresh Tracks set coming! Until next time my friends. Namaste.

This week’s set is for those of you who don’t play an instrument but would like to gather in satsang to sing kirtan. It’s structured much like our Friday night kirtan here in Corvallis, and the chants are ones we love to sing in our satsang. You could get a few of your friends together in your living room and just play this set, and if you like it there are more here. You could be the ONE who provides the refuge of these chants for your friends to help them get through the tough times we’re in. Doing this is also a way you can build your own spiritual community, your own support system. Once you begin you may be surprised who shows up & what resources Spirit will send your way! The Call & Response Foundation is a great resource if you’d like to start a kirtan community — check out their website for the ways they can help you. Our Community Kirtan page is just about finished, and it’s going to have lots of great stuff for kirtan communities — podcasts with chants & charts for those of you who play an instrument, and podcasts like this one that are filled with chants we love to sing in our satsang here in Corvallis, an interactive map of kirtan communities around the world & lots more, so stay tuned! Our Friday night satsang always starts with ‘Om’ by Jane Winther from her CD ‘Mantra’ — that’s the first song in this week’s set. Other chants we feature this week are ‘Ganesha’ by Kristin Luna Ray from her CD ‘One Shared Heart’, and ’Stay Strong’ by David Newman — we love that one — it’s a who’s who of kirtan artists & yoga teachers. Here’s a link to a video recorded at Bhakti Fest several years ago. We also have ‘Jaipur Hare Krishna’ by Adam Bauer from his CD ‘Shyam Lila’, ‘Baba Hanuman’ by Krishna Das on ‘Live Ananda’, Deva & Miten’s ’Om Mane Padme Hum’ from their CD ‘Love Is Space’, and the set ends with ‘Asatoma’ by Tim Jordan from his CD ‘Heart & Spirit’. The New World Kirtan Band covers a lot of the chants in this set, here’s where to find the charts. It’s time for us to keep our faith alive guys. Gather in community to support each other. Sing kirtan. Until next time … Namaste.

I really loved doing this interview with Jen Canfield of the Call & Response Foundation & Ian Boccio of the Atlanta kirtan community & the kirtan band Blue Spirit Wheel, and it kicks off a new direction for the podcast. I’ve felt deeply drawn to creating community lately because I feel community is what will save us in these troubled times. So a focus of the podcast for the foreseeable future will be to show you ways you can create a kirtan satsang in your community, and how to sustain it once you have it up & going. To that end, New World Kirtan is partnering with the Call & Response Foundation to help foster kirtan communities around the world with resources to help them start & flourish. This partnership is going to be very cool, and we’ll have lots of fun stuff coming that I’ll tell you about on the podcast. Look for our new Community Kirtan page soon!

This edition of the podcast is a rich Fresh Tracks set, and as it worked out several of the artists featured in the set will be playing at Omega Fall Ecstatic Chant this weekend, so I’m happy to give them a shout-out! We start with the Hanumen’s ‘Invocation’, the Chaitanya mantra from the CD ‘Acoustic Yoga’. Then something a bit different, an offering from Krishna Das’s tabla player Arjun Bruggeman from his CD ‘Arjun’. Then Tina Malia’s beautiful ‘Moola Mantra’ from her CD ‘Anahata’, followed by one from the great Jai Uttal from his new CD ‘Roots Rock Rama’. Then comes the radiantly pure voice of Radharani singing with another kirtan goddess — Ishwari from SRI Kirtan. Radharani’s CD is ‘Just One Drop’. We’ll then have two chants to Shiva — ‘Om Nama Shivaya’ from Johanna Beekman’s new CD ‘Beyond Love, Soothing Songs for the Soul’ — she has Girish singing with her on this, and ’Shiva Let It Be’ from Narada Wise’s CD ‘Inevitable‘. And we end the set with ‘Lokah Love’ from Katie Wise & Bhakti Explosion — her CD is ‘Lovolution’. Next up, kicking off our series on community kirtan, we have an interview with Jennifer Canfield of the Call & Response Foundation & Ian Boccio of the Atlanta kirtan community & the kirtan band Blue Spirit Wheel. Jennifer will be talking about how the C&R Foundation can help if you want to start a kirtan in your community, and Ian will talk about their Atlanta community — how it started, how it grew into offering the beautiful festival of Chantlanta, and how they manage it. We’ll also have musical resources for those of you who want to start a kirtan evening with your friends. Have a beautiful Labor Day weekend, and until next time dear friends — Namaste. P.S. Here’s the link to purchase the audiobook I narrated last spring, ‘Sid’ by Anita Feng. It’s available at Audible.

This week’s set is based on one released in 2013 that is by far the most downloaded of our podcasts over at Soundcloud — it also came from a desire I had to create a setlist that affirms power & prosperity. The chants in the set are from the incredibly rich Kundalini tradition. It starts with Ajai Alai by Mirabai Cieba, a mantra to bring you into your power. Then there are three versions of Aap Sahaaee Hoaa, a chant that means ‘the Creator has become my protector, the Truest of the True is taking care of me.” The artists performing these chants are Jai-Jagdeesh, Snatam Kaur & Guru Singh With Seal & Friends. Then we have Har Har Har Gobinday performed by Sada Sat Kaur. Har means ‘God’, and it has been said that Har symbolizes prosperity and creativity. Yogi Bhajan taught that this mantra creates wealth, new opportunities, and removes obstacles — it’s a mantra for creating the life you want. We end with the great Prosperity Har by Prabhu Nam Kaur & Snatam Kaur, a mantra said to be extremely effective at removing blocks to prosperity and opening you up to receiving financial wealth. It’s fascinating to me that Kundalini practitioners consider these teachings actual technologies that affect our brain patterns, so you can use this powerful set to calm your fears about money & to attract abundance. I’ll be back soon with a Fresh Tracks set for you. Until then dear hearts — Namaste.

I’m still glowing from the beautiful experience of seeing Deva Premal & Miten with Manose in Portland last week. Several members of our satsang were there, including the two friends who won the tickets in the giveaway. We were admitted to the hall early to hear their soundcheck and this interview was recorded backstage at Revolution Hall before the show. We talked about all kinds of things, including Satsang Circles, which is a passion of Deva’s — here’s a link to the page on their website that talks about it. The interview is followed by some of my very favorites of their music, they sang several of these at their kirtan. To see Deva & Miten with Manose perform live is to have the beautiful experience of being included in their circle of love. We are all richer and better for it. Remember to be a Firework dear hearts! Until next time … Namaste. ‘So Much Magnificence’ is from ‘Songs for the Inner Lover‘.

Our set this week is based on one our satsang group loved several weeks ago. The selections are from a group of chants called Shanti Mantras or Peace Mantras, the Hindu prayers for Peace (Shanti) found in the Upanishads. The chants this week are only a few of them, and they’re potent. We have offerings from Deva Premal & Miten, Wade Imre Morrisette, one from Bada Haridas that features the sublime voice of Karnamrita Dasi, Johanna Beekman, Jaya Lakshmi, Shantala & Tim Jordan. I’m so jazzed — Deva Premal & Miten are coming to Portland this week, and I’m going to their kirtan & then backstage to interview them about their tour. Pretty excited about that! They are two of my favorite artists, and seeing them live is always such a treat. I know this is really short notice but I’m having a give-away for two tickets to the Portland concert, so if you live in Portland let me know and I’ll enter your name. Next time I’ll tell you all about the concert, and we’ll feature Deva & Miten’s interview. Until then my friends, stay chill. Namaste. ITunes Playlist widget wasn’t working this week, so here are links to the chants in this week’s set. Deva Premal & Miten’s 21-Day Mantra Meditation Journey Wade Imre Morisette: Burn It in the Fire Baba Haridas Om Purnam, featuring Karnamrita Dasi Johanna Beekman Om Shanti Jaya Lakshmi Om Purnam Shantala Purnamadah Tim Jordan Asatoma

In this week’s episode I’ll tell you all about my current obsessions — physical therapy & narrating the beautiful book ‘Sid’ by Zen master Anita Feng. I’ll also let you know about my big idea of featuring stories of local kirtan communities on the podcast! As you all know, community is the heart of kirtan, and our Bhakti Yoga community is worldwide. If you belong to a kirtan community I’d love to know about it. Perhaps your story would inspire others to start a community in their town. The peace that flows from practicing kirtan is greatly needed now. We can all help spread the beauty of this practice, so helpful to us in these troubled times. I always love talking with Jai Uttal — this interview with Jai was recorded last November right after the election, so we talked politics when we weren’t talking about Hanuman. Hanuman is a very deep subject and we barely scratch the surface here, but he has agreed to do another interview about the Ramanya, yay! Jai is a great storyteller & and that’s one component of his wonderful Summer Kirtan Camp. If you’re looking for a blast of Bhakti and fun check it out it’s August 8-13 in Fairfax, CA. And if you haven’t heard Jai’s new CD ‘Roots, Rock Rama’ you should — it’s just great. Here’s the link to purchase. Recovery is continuing apace. The garden is coming alive again, and so am I. Until next time dear hearts. Namaste.

This week’s set is to honor the Divine Mother, the force behind the new life bursting forth all around us as Earth returns to the light. I can also feel this force re-awakening in me as I recover from spinal surgery — it’s as though my body is coming back to life. I’m so trying to be present to the miracle of it even through the hard parts — I’ll tell you about it in this week’s podcast. This week’s set honoring the Mother features the music of Shantala, Prajna Vieira & Mukti, Donna De Lory, Kirtan Soul Revival, Krishna Das, Jaya Lakshmi & Ananda and Shaman’s Dream Project. Please enjoy the beauty of the spring, dear friends. Until next time. Namaste.

About two months ago I stepped away from the podcast for surgery to remove a tumor from my spine. I’m happy to be back with the best possible news — the tumor was benign and I didn’t lose any nerve function. In the introduction to this edition of the podcast I’ll tell you about the surgery, my recovery so far, what a miracle it all was and the profound insight I received about the tumor & the way it was found. When I decided to turn back to kirtan I was astounded at the number of new CDs I had in my box. There is so much talent working in the kirtan movement with great music coming from new and established kirtan artists — so much that we’re going to have a series of Fresh Tracks sets coming up. On this week’s show we have offerings from Miten, Kathy Bolte and Bombay Rain, David Estes featuring Prajna Viera’s unmistakable voice, Missy Balsam, Manish Vyas, Ashana Sophia and Lee Mirabai Harrington’s beautiful tribute to Shyam Das, with several voices you’ll recognize. We end the set with ‘Thank You’ by Carrie Grossman, a song that brings me to tears every time I hear it. I hope you love this set as much as I do. One benefit of a systems shutdown is you get to make some conscious choices about what you’re going to bring back up. I have had a major OS upgrade, and in gratitude I want to use it for something good. So I’m choosing kirtan. I choose helping it to spread love and joyful connection in communities across the world. I choose our Corvallis satsang group, our New World Kirtan Band — and I’m SO choosing the New World Kirtan Podcast. Thank you for listening dear heart. One world. One love. I’m so happy to be back with you all. Until next time — Namaste.

In the essay “Be the Bison” from Gopi Kallayil’s wonderful book “From the Internet to the Inner-net’ he writes that “when the swift & brutal winter storms strike in the valleys & mountains of Montana, the wind starts howling & heavy snow covers the ground. All the wild animals flee before the storm — except the bison. The bison is the only animal that will turn toward the storm, lean into it, and walk to meet it. It knows instinctively that if it does this, it will be out of the storm sooner. This is why Native Americans call the bison ‘Faces the Storm’.” Isn’t that a great story? You may wonder what is has to do with this week’s podcast. Last month an MRI found a mass in my spine, probably benign, that has been growing slowly for years and causing a lot of problems. The tumor is now blocking 90% of my spinal canal with severe compression of the nerves below it. Finding this was a complete surprise, but explains so many things. This type of tumor is rare but the prognosis is good, and my hope is its removal will relieve a lot of the pain I’ve been experiencing. Surgery is scheduled for January 25 — hence the need to be a bison, leaning into my fear & walking to meet it. I’ll tell you more in the introduction to the podcast. The pain caused by this tumor has been limiting my life in so many ways. I’m grateful that it was found, that it can be removed and there’s a good chance of a successful outcome. I’m now focused on preparing for the surgery and the life that is possible afterwards, and I ask you to please send LOVE & healing energy on the morning of Wednesday January 25. My intention has been to create a life of radiant health & beauty. If this surgery is the next step, then let’s get it done. The podcast will be on hiatus for awhile while I’m recovering, but we’ll be back soon. Until then my friends — Namaste.

It took me a while to get to a place where felt I could do this podcast. Two weeks ago many of us thought we would be electing the first woman president and … we didn’t. That was bad, but would have been bearable except for the large uptick of cruel remarks and racial incidents since the election, and most of them aren’t making the news. It’s happening with neighbors, in schools and in other public places & it has the potential to tear our country apart even more. So what to do? We can be a Lighthouse in our community. We can stand for what we believe is right and true. We can look into the good of others and have faith that all is unfolding according to a Divine Plan. We make sure to do our spiritual practices, we limit our news viewing & reading. We can recognize that now we are called to become spiritual warriors, affirming love over hate. This podcast is full of chants that hit my sweet spot over the last two weeks — some gave me joy and others moved me to tears. While I was producing the show I was finally able to cry, and to deeply feel the grief so many of us here are feeling for the death of the vision we had. There’s no doubt in my mind that good things will come from this election, and they’re already starting to happen. The energy is shifting, and our vision is coming together even stronger than before. Have a beautiful Thanksgiving my friends. I hope you’re gathering with people you love. Affirm that love. Be a Lighthouse. Namaste.

I don’t know about you but at this point in our election I feel like I need a psychic shower. The toxicity is stressing us out, and there’s nowhere to escape the election because everyone is talking about it. This week’s podcast will help you to accomplish both the psychic clearing and (with headphones) the escape — it’s a set composed almost entirely of the Hare Krishna chant because the Hare Krishna mantra is considered to be the Mahamantra (ultimate prayer) of the Kali Yuga (The Dark Age). According to Vedic scripture we are presently living in the Kali Yuga, where truth and morality are at their lowest level. It is believed that repeating the Hare Krishna mantra with faith and devotion grants liberation in the age of the Kali Yuga — it purifies us & the rest of humanity every time it is chanted. This week’s set features Mahamantra chants from Sean Johnson & the Wild Lotus Band, Jai Uttal, and several from Krishna Das. There’s also a Krishna chant from the 2012 Fall Omega Ecstatic Chant where Shyam Das, Jai Uttal & Krishna Das sing together. The set ends with a Lokah Samastah prayer for peace from Deva Premal & Miten. So put on some headphones and escape — in a week it will all be over. Thank goodness.

I so totally love Miten’s new CD ‘Temple at Midnight’ — we sang several of the chants this year at Fall Omega Ecstatic Chant, and I’ve had the CD on repeat prior to this week’s interview. It was hard to pick a favorite song, so I’m glad I was able to feature a good number of them — and here’s some good news! Miten is offering our listeners a free download of ‘River Man’ — we sang this one at Omega and it’s a beauty, you’ll hear it in the interview. Other chants from the CD we feature this week are Love Is the Fire, No Goal But This, a beautiful rendition of Norwegian Wood, Guruji, All Is Welcome Here and Inescapable Love. I know you’re going to love it. Keep chanting my friends. It’s the cure for what ails us. Until next time — Namaste. Here’s the link for the free download of ‘River Man’ from Miten’s new CD Temple at Midnight.

This week I’m back from a wonderful vacation on the East coast where I was blessed to attend the first Lovelight Yoga & Arts Festival in Darlington, MD and Omega Fall Ecstatic Chant in Rhinebeck, NY. The events were very different, and I loved them both — I’ll tell you about it in this week’s show. Our set honors the Autumnal Equinox, when the hours of dark and light are equal. In the Northern Hemisphere we’re getting ready to shift into the season of Autumn and in the Southern Hemisphere, you’re getting ready to shift into the season of Spring. This week’s set is more for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere where we’re now heading into darkness. The equinox has always been thought to be a highly sacred time when spiritual transformation is supported. In autumn it’s about a spiritual descent into darkness & letting go of what doesn’t serve us anymore — and our egos make letting go very scary. Enter Kali & Durga, the deities who help when we’re battling our egos & the things that bubble up from our subconscious. Our set begins with chants to Kali & Durga, with chants by Prem Joshua, Kirtan Soul Revival, Shantala and Jaya Lakshmi & Ananda. We’ll end with a beautiful, hypnotic love song to the Sun from ‘The Mantra Project, Volume 2; Mantras of the Sun’ by Suzin Green & Daniel Johnson. It’s a beautiful way to thank the sun for a beautiful summer. We have a lot of great stuff coming up, I’ll tell you about it in this week’s introduction. Happy autumn dear hearts! Namaste.