Are you embracing the ordinary in your life,
equally as sacred as the most extraordinary?

THERE'S A WAY WE LIVE in which most of us are blind to the sacredness of the ordinary. The unexceptional day, the prosaic moment, small talk exchanged between strangers can seem so commonplace that we disregard it as having any special meaning. For most of us, the average day is thought to be "uneventful", because nothing noteworthy has occurred. At the worst, ordinary days are filled with boring rhetoric and unexciting tasks requiring our precious attention and we'd rather be somewhere else, anywhere else, enjoying the exciting life.

I remember a few days after September 11th, 2001 where most everyone I spoke with unanimously wished for "an ordinary day" to return. Much like a mantra I kept hearing or reading, "I just want everything peaceful, calm, and quiet so I can think". There was a fear that the safe days might not ever return. I too found solace in the hope that the ordinary day would somehow, some way, someday, find its way back home to my life.

Months and months passed before an ordinary day revealed itself. It slipped from the ground like the first spring blossom overnight, unseen at first, but later leaving us awestruck at its vibrant personality. With the emergence of the first ordinary day, was a very conscious gratitude accompanying it. We were so thrilled to have survived, that even the most mundane task was done with joy.

Now, two and a half years later, most of us have forgotten the preciousness of the ordinary once again. We've become entangled in the routine of everyday life, an election year, and meeting our responsibilities in such a way that the ordinary moments for most, have lost their glitter and gold in many regards. It's as if the ordinary is entirely separate from the extraordinary. This could not be more untrue.

Recently I was listening to an old friend, a concert pianist play a beautiful composition of music I was unfamiliar. All his life he played piano beautifully until he suffered a stroke a few years ago at age 50. Now he is somewhat restricted in the entire left side of his body. Periodically he would hit, what he thought, were the wrong notes in the melody, but I didn't know. I had never heard the song remember. To me it was all very lovely for several reasons, but namely because it was Joel playing. I realized that I might not ever hear Joel play the piano again and so every note was as ambrosial as the first rose blossom in the Spring rising toward love's light.

Right away he said something profound to me, "I hate my mistakes and yet I can't escape them." He followed a few minutes later with a sweet sigh of farewell, "I feel so ordinary when I make mistakes."

As clear as the most polished quartz crystal I was gifted by his "ordinary" comment and saw a multidimensional application to life shining through the moment.

Of course there's no fixing Joel. He's very tortured from drawing his sense of self from the storyteller's narration taking place within his mind right now. And so I knew not to try and intercede with any healing thoughts or spiritual insight, as he must be allowed to run his own course of "perfection". He's perfect however he is or isn't. And so I just smiled and told him the truth, "I'm very much enjoying our time together."

After departing I thought long about the ordinary. I came to recognize more deeply than I can ever remember that the ordinary is no different from the extraordinary. It's all One. In the ordinary, there is still the same invitation to love, the same opening to share, the same gifts that are found within the extraordinary. The ordinary moments offer the same invitation to Oneness that even the most extraordinary events in our lives remind us of. Perhaps most important to me is the recognition of what is forever untouched by all experiences ordinary or extraordinary; the true self.

It's funny you know, when describing ourselves to a potential new friend we have probably all said at some point, "I'm just an ordinary person living a normal life." But in truth how many of us actually feel inside that we're ordinary through and through? Most of us wouldn't wish to be anyone but who we are right? That spark of God within each of us, feels that "this is the best life" to be living doesn't it?

The next time you find yourself gifted with an ordinary day, mumbling ordinary thoughts, may I invite you to enter the present moment wholeheartedly. If you do it wholly, authentically, you'll find that it offers everything that the most extraordinary does. And in fact, there was never anything ordinary happening at all.

Shine,
Aven

Meditation
Satori

Arriving by a floral evening breeze this music is voluptuous with complex layers of electronic sound that transport the human being into a spiritual state of zen-like relaxation. This music is about nothing and everything. It's free of lyrical polarization and for that I absolutely love it. There is a gentle repeated, lamentive sigh of an almost mist-shrouded lore as its core, married to a deep sense of melancholic loss. The stillness resonates, rising and falling into to a spiritual resolution, showered in light's full spectrum, embraced by the human recognition of an after-life. These are deeper, darker hues of day, where one finds surrender everywhere. In the long stretched shadows of evening sunlight, shifting toward the purifying shades of the violet sky, as the last warm breeze touches the human skin on its journey toward the stars.

This is organically gorgeous music. I'm so thankful to have the experience of it. It's rumored to have been created through telepathic imprinting, and I intuit this to be correct. It has an effortless quality to it, that is unending in its presence, stilling while expanding within the singular breath of all life.

This music is the perfect companion to any form of healing work, in any setting. Whether working with another, or simply enjoying the intimate space of you and a single candle flickering shadows on the wall next to your personal altar, this is a great gift from life, to life. And guess what? It comes with a lovely incense stored directly in the sleeve of the CD jewel box.

Waiting for the Moon
John Adorney

Recently I was asked why I never gave a negative review on the music in this column. I responded, "I don't review music that I don't like. I would rather recommend what I do like and leave it at that." With this said, I'm now left to eat some crow.

I'm not a big fan of most New Age music. The melodies are a bit monotonous to my ear, and it often tends to lack a great deal of imagination, or variety in the composition in my opinion. Many New Age recordings seem to put me in mind of a fairytale that never came to be. New Age music often leaves me in the middle of nowhere, feeling like I've didn't get the "fix" I needed.

This latest release from John Adorney, I'm sorry to say, left me hungry for a musical experience. It is not that it's not nice music,...it's just not my type of music. It's too sweet, too sappy, and overall "weakened" my senses. It left me feeling ungrounded, dated, and lacking a true connection to life. Clearly there is a place for this genre, as many people are drawn to it and to him specifically, but I'm not. You can listen to a few short samples of this album at the Amazon site.

I suppose this is where I should offer constructive criticism, or my hopes for his future projects, but I can't. I'm not a musician in this context. I can only offer my ear's personal opinion as a reviewer. I wish John well in his future endeavors.

And on that note: I wish you a brilliant month, enjoying the sights and sounds of April!

 

© Avenescent, 2004

Editor's note: If you have an album that you would like to submit for musical review please feel free to contact Aven. Submissions do not need to be limited to any specific category in order to be accepted. Please keep in mind that any CD submitted for review must be first listed at Amazon.Com. We apologize but submitted materials cannot be returned to you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Avenescent Thomas is a freelance artist, photographer, masseur, reiki master and spiritual transformationalist native to southern California. He enjoys all forms of music, having grown up playing several instruments and singing for several musical groups. He loves working with sound, people, cameras, computers, glass, natural sculpture, exploring zen, non-dualism and every fiber of nature. Prior to being a healer he was a social worker for the state of Washington. He can be contacted here and welcomes correspondence.