Atheist

Honolulu

One of my sources of inspiration for fire circle chants came from my friend Joshua.  I noticed the often unique topics his chants explore, and asked him how he came up with the ideas.  He explained that he has made a practice of writing chants specifically focusing on "what we don't address in the fire circle."  One evening, with that premise in mind, I started surfing the web looking for lists of cultural taboos. Aside from 85% being related to sex (!), one that caught my eye was atheism - it's apparently taboo in many cultures to NOT believe in "god" or "goddess".   Since the fire circle is meant to welcome all paths and religions, i realized that atheism was something that was never sung about - a sort of "anti-religion" that is not represented in the circle.  And, guess what - Joshua is a mystic; he's essentially an atheist. So, an atheist song for my incredible friend and ally! ...which turned out to be a pretty tall order, as most of what I read about atheism suggested that atheists usually define themselves by what they DON'T believe.  I fully enjoyed the learning process I went through in order to find a way to lovingly represent this philosophical perspective in song.  As a bonus, someone recently shared a wonderful reading by Penn (of Penn and Teller) on the same topic which you can read here.

LYRICS:

contemplating deity
isn't it enough to be
the beauty and wonder that exists
within you and me?

our world is full of love
nature, art and ecstasy
there's infinite imagination,
wisdom and mystery

maybe it's all up to me,
to shape the world I want to see
fill it with awe and presence!
i think i'll worship creativity

1...2...3...4...5...6...   Moroccan 6

D..k.kD...C.Dk.k.kD.C.C.

Don't Need Drugs

Honolulu

Taking a stand to have Alchemical Fire Circles be drug and alcohol free has been an adventure in itself. As the Alchemical Circle emphasizes refinement, risk taking, stepping out, participation, collaboration and “bringing it on,” the organizers stress that these events are places to explore states of consciousness such as deep creativity, intense focus, and mindful engagement. The sacraments that may be in use at a given all-night fire circle are often ingested with the intention to magnify the effects of trance, or to assist in deepening one’s internal focus for subjective or emotional work. These substances have dramatic affects on the content and structure of the experience. Depending on one’s perspective, this is either liberating or limiting to the interactive opportunities available in the Fire Circle. The Alchemical Circle is better served by a crystal clear, attentive and open witnessing that is unaffected by chemical influences. This allows celebrants to be more responsive to new opportunities in which they can engage with others, and collaborate through music, song, movement or service. The drug and alcohol free environment also encourages people to confront challenging real-life emotions such as shyness, fear, or hesitation without chemical intervention.

(Excerpt from "The Current Evolution of the Alchemical Fire Circle" - you might find it useful to read the entire article to help put this position into perspective.)

LYRICS:

we're baking, blazing, buzzing in bliss
wired on the wonders of the weird and the wild

we don’t need drugs to get high
'cause we're trippin on traveling through the twilight
pushers of passion and pleasure
stoned on the stars, and toasted on tenderness
we're just junkies of joy,
all lit up on laughter and love

1..2..3..4..
D.D.CC.DDkTk

LifeSong

30,000 feet, somewhere between Australia and Hawaii

I don't really recall much about what provoked this chant (ah, the delirium of long plane flights...)  I love it though - playful, easy to sing, invites people to juice up the energy.  Nice to have a song that lures people into the vocal magic. The melody is from a famous Brasilian samba tune, so thank you Brasil! (Those folks CERTAINLY know about singing all night.  If you've never been to Carnival in Rio or Bahia, best put that on your things to do in life list :)

LYRICS:

all around the world
every living thing
voices raised in harmony
it's the lifesong that we sing

we open up in song
and let the worries go
we pour our souls into the sound
and feel the magic grow

1...2...3...4... Saiidi
D...C...D.D...D.