Donald's Blog
2/19/18
I've been busy trying to establish my music on the web. My video "Meditation Not Medication" has had 3,538 views to date. Thank you to my fans for making that happen. Many of my songs are about spiritual growth and or personal spiritual experiences. One of the songs, "Burried Alive, " has an interesting story. You may have noticed that Burried should be spelled with one R. It is an unusual spelling for an unusual song. Burried Alive is about a spiritual experience I had when being trained as a shaman. My teacher asked me to dig my own grave and spend the night buried four feet down. I dug the hole and climbed into my grave for the night. My teacher placed a few 2x4 pieces of lumber over the top and then laid a blanket across those pieces. Lastly, he threw dirt over the wood pieces and blanket. He asked, "Can you breathe?" "Yes," I replied. "See you in the morning," he retorted. Thus began my adventure. If you listen to the lyrics of this song, you will understand the process of what I went through that night. If you have any questions about that experience or any questions about my training, please follow the link on the home page to my spiritual coach website.
4/7/18
Missed my monthly blog last month. So I will write two blogs this month.
Condor Cave is a song about an interesting spiritual experience I had searching for a cave in the San Rafael Wilderness area close to Santa Barbara. I found this cave back in my college days at UCSB. This cave was covered with Chumash pictographs. I ended up writing my senior History thesis on the Chumash pictographs. Some 20 years later, a vivid dream told me that I was to locate this cave again and perform a ceremony there. So my wife and I drove down to the Santa Barbara area to search for this cave again. Of course it had been 20 years since I had originally found the cave. We set off in the wrong direction, then tried another trail. At one point, I fell to my knees due to being exhausted and frustrated. I yelled at the Spirits for putting me in this situation. All of a sudden, some hikers showed up. I asked them if they knew where the cave was. They were reluctant to share the information because the Forest Service had blocked off the valley leading to Condor Cave. We were told that a pile of rocks marked the entrance to the valley. To the left of that marking some fallen trees and other obstacles were blocking the valley entrance. In the dream I was told to keep turning left whenever approaching a fork in the trail. I did not follow that spirit instruction. Long story short, we didn't find the cave that day. We planned to go back for another day, but were exhausted and sore from the hike. We ended up returning home the next day. I have yet to perform that ceremony at Condor Cave. When the time is right, I'll go again.
4/13/18
The song Water Come Down is about my experience participating in many Inipi Ceremonies (Sweat Lodge) over the last 20 years. During this ceremony, one excavates the depths of their being within the womb of Mother Earth. In the lodge one prays for healing and wholeness. Through the healing of ourselves, we can heal all of our relationships. Water come down refers to the tears rolling down my face during this process. For me, the Inipi is my therapy - a path to wholeness.
10/1/19
Been quite a while since my last blog. I have been working on my new album titled "Spread Your Light". It will drop October 12. On this album the music ventures into a more R&B/Soul sound with some reggae elements. I think that this is some of my finest song writing. Once again, the music reflects my experiences of life and my spiritual journey. Several songs are about my relationship to my wife of 38 years. She still continues to be a light in my life. She is a wonderful human being and a true inspiration. Other than relationship songs, the material deals with self love, being yourself, gratefulness, appreciating the good things in life, and of course spreading your light and love to others. The music is available at CD Baby and other music retailers.
6/4/20
Been an eternity since my last blog. With everything going on in the world, I thought it was time to write again. I have been composing songs since my last music release in October 2019. Many songs in my music catalogue reflect the experiences and lessons gleaned as I navigate my spiritual journey. Covid19 has created such fear and anxiety. This week people around the world are protesting the treatment of African Americans and people of color. These events have affected people greatly. It seems to me, that we are returning to complete the work that started in the 1960s. Presently, I find myself writing songs about how these events have affected me and those around me. Additionally, I have found myself writing more romantic songs. These songs are an expression of a deeper love for my wife of almost 39 years. I guess we all need more love during these trying times. I hope to get out these new songs during the summer. Peace and Light
12/29/21
Another year has gone by. Trying to process the political events in the United States and Covid . Family members have contracted Covid, but all are now healthy. I give thanks that all of us are healthy and pray for others that have lost loved ones because of Covid. Since last year I have been composing R&B and Smooth Jazz music. World in Flames and Pier to Nowhere came out in 2021. Strange Epiphany will be out in January of 2022. Strange Epiphany follows my last smooth jazz album Pier to Nowhere. I play keys and some bass/ guitar on these tracks. I have already composed some new tracks for the next album which should be out in about 6 months. Blessings to All