Category Archives: music

artists don’t retire

When I turned fifteen, half-a-century ago TODAY🎈 — back in the era of Rock’n’Roll🎸 — this is how I thought I would look now! (Rock-Star saving the World with MUSIC🎶 … didn’t quite work out that way😉)

(Only the stuff on the wall is photoshopped!)

You

Beyond the windows of your eyes,

Your soul abides in sunny skies,

Bathing in the light of love

That pours down sweetly from above.

That is the way it’s supposed to be

When a soul is clear and free,

But on the unmapped sea of life

Inner storms bring pain and strife.

High above each storm, a star

Shines to show you who you are:

Not this head and not this hand;

Not the owner of this land;

Not this angry shrunken heart

Feeling like it’s torn apart;

Not the one whose thoughts bring noise

Never knowing peace or joy;

Not the child that fears the night;

Not the man that wants to fight;

Not the woman, alone and sad;

Not those thousand dreams gone bad.

High inside, but within reach,

There waits a pristine, sunlit beach,

That graceful shore of your own spirit –

Listen now, and you will hear it.

Open your hands and feel your breeze

That softly blows through inner trees,

In the Country that’s your own

Where seeds of happiness are sown.

It’s only just a breath away.

Once you reach here, you will stay;

For here is where your life will start,

And soul and joy will never part.

– Edward Saugstad 2008

what time is it? it’s time to groove🎶….

Here’s a new melody/rythmn I played spontaneously in morning meditation today (and some top music stars talking about thoughtless-awareness and the cool-breeze)

new beginnings…

my first try on my new toy – meditative begin to the new year (after enjoying the globally televised Strauss concert from Vienna!🎶)

about Creativity 🌞🌱

In case you’d like to hear Edward talk spontaneously about Creativity for a few minutes (from the SY Cabella Camp!) …

PUBLIC ONLINE INTERVIEW IN CHINA
First video:
“How do you keep the inspiration flowing continuously and bring forth the new ones in your artistic works? Have you ever felt the inspiration exhausted? Can you share the secret of persisting in creation for decades?”

Second video (scroll down):
“Modern people’s creations can easily be displayed, for example, when they are posted on the Internet, they can easily receive affirmation and cyber attacks. For a creator, being criticized may hurt his creativity. How can he protect it?”

CLICK: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NM66yrEY-pkkf1Vm3iz1Mw

HOST’S WEBSITE TEXT:

—The second chakra of the subtle system—

The abdominal chakra is the second chakra of the subtle system. In the body, this chakra provides the energy needed for the liver, spleen, pancreas, intestines and cerebral cortex to function properly. It expresses creativity and execution. This is a very important chakra: it creates all our desires on the left side, while the right channel starts at the location of the abdominal chakra. The main quality of this chakra is creativity, but this chakra also produces fat cells which, upon reaching the brain, are converted into an energy supply that helps the brain to think and process all the information it receives.

The Trait of the Abdominal Chakra is “Creativity”
The origin of all creativity is Love. Without Love, there is no creativity. When Kundalini nourishes this center, people become very creative. All great creative work has vibrations. All works of art that vibrate are held together by time. All work without vibrations is destroyed by nature and forgotten over time.

—Ten Days of Yoga—

(IMAGES – Brigitte Saugstad artworks)

She (Kundalini/Saraswati) teaches us through nature: listen to the sounds of birds, the gurgling of a creek or the thunderous roar of a waterfall, the rustling of the wind over the leaves or the forceful blowing of a canyon.

Look at the many greens in the garden, look at the sky, look at her paintings in the clouds. How many colors she uses when the sun rises over the sea or when the sun sets, enjoy her creations.

The origin of all creativity is love. Without love, there is no creativity. She holds a veena on which she plays the most beautiful music to inspire everyone.

Not only did she teach us beautiful music, but she taught us how to dance, talk, sing, write books, paint, and build. When we meditate, she exposes us to all the knowledge we can grasp.

Christmas Concert Vienna, 2019 — grand finale

😀

my birthday djembe!

😁

an Austrian-Italian wedding!

NON-

STOP

FUN!

sunshine, beauty and friends!

when the Italians get dancing!

Traun Lake!

the Canadian Ice Cream Inspector hard at work!

what we happened to get as the last available hotel room in the whole area – the one guarded by ancient asian angels!

the romantic Spitz Villa in Traunkirchen

Neil Young, Van Morrison, thoughtless awareness and the cool breeze

Everything we’ve generally accepted about human beings is quickly changing. As soon as we discover that we are much larger and more precious than our familiar shells, all the Game rules change. Our limited perception is expanding out into beautiful reality. This is what it’s all been leading up to.

More about the mysterious, enlightening ‘cool breeze’ appearing in our modern culture, and forgiveness that enables ‘thoughtless awareness’:

or here:

http://edsaugstad.com/VIDEO-files/the-cool-breeze-and-forgiveness-from-The-Shack.mp4

Sarayu = Wind: The name is the feminine derivative of the Sanskrit root सर् sar “to flow”; as a masculine stem, saráyu- means “air, wind”, i.e. “that which is streaming”.

 

 

https://www.sciencealert.com/yoga-and-meditation-in-the-us-are-totally-exploding-right-now

“Wishing you and yours a great, memorable Christmas time!”

lots of love, Ed

awaiting the dawn of music

My existence has been a silent song

awaiting the dawn of music 🦋🎶

034006E6-9131-4A87-B007-5139180B2698

improv in the ancient Italian valley

Ed Saugstad TV interview and garden-party

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In which Sir Ed Word appears on local television

… and the Party commences!

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I have become the hollow drum

36 years ago today I crossed an essential threshold and embarked on an epic journey …

into enlightenment.

Almost every day since the 20th of April, 1982, I’ve been able to attain clarity, and briefly glimpse blissful Reality through the instrument of my central nervous system, and the state of thoughtless awareness.

The upward spiral unfolds, with wonderful surprises arising just around every curve.

More than anything else, I wish this for you.

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(for full-size headphones or bass intense speaker system!)

In separation have I suffered long,
But now am glorified in the eternal bliss of Union.

And from my core,
That once was small,
The sound of Light
Expands to all.

Never will I shrink again
Into a ball of doubt and pain.
Forever forth, in inner sky,
I spread my wings and upward fly.

All Life pulsates within my breast.

I have become
The hollow drum.

~Ed Saugstad
20 April 2018

 

 

—special thanks to Linda Dzus (wife of one of my old best buddies, Doug) who took this amazing photo in their neighbourhood on Mayne Island, British Columbia, the oasis that I briefly took refuge in after attaining self-realisation, 36 years ago—

the Broccoli Blues

“Oh dear! Who let Ed into the kitchen?”

ladies and gentlemen: Rachelle Jeanty!!!!

Here’s a dear Canadian friend of ours, Rachelle, putting the P (POWER) into the meaning of PERFORMANCE!

whole-world

please don’t forget to dance and sing

We are all in a process of becoming

that unfolds in the eternal present moment

 

vibrating ancient enclaves of Vienna

dancing robots

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here’s a little futuristic musical sketch i doodled last friday afternoon (and afterwards added some video clips to)

wishing you a fine day!

Ed:-)

R2D2 and C3Po and music

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WARMING UP AND COOLING DOWN

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happy Eddie — and friends — in his new attic sound-studio!

😀

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Brexit? Stay together, but with young, benevolent leadership

Tell the EU and UK and all other corrupted bureaucrats to turn control over to engaged, enlightened, (com)passionate young people — corporate globalization and greed driven capitalism have failed the upcoming generations:

groovin’ at the Palais Coburg in Vienna

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“The name’s Bond, Sir Ed Word Bond.”

"The name's Bond, Sir Ed Word Bond."

 

 

Merry Christmas 2015!

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😉

see original at:

https://youtu.be/k9scrHkxIyQ

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Ed’s next video~diary, March-Oct 2015

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Welcome on my journey.

Sit back and enjoy….

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Ed in Paradise

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me and my VLD

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If the world ends, don’t bother me

I’ll be enjoying under a tree with my VLD

(Very Large Drum)

Edward's Bear Necessities

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even more fun just around life’s next bend

It’s never too late to follow your dreams.
I once told a friend of ours, a classical music conductor here in Vienna, that before I die, I’d love to be able to professionally sing a song and accompany myself simultaneously on the piano. He laughed and exclaimed, Before you die! Why don’t you do it right now? That was over ten years ago. I never tried.
It’s been forty-three years since I stopped playing piano and took up drumming. In June of 1969 I got the highest mark in Vancouver at grade one level piano with the Toronto Royal Conservatory, and at age fourteen completed eight of ten grades after just 3 1/2 years of some (almost) daily practice. I remember later, as a wayward teenager, sitting in my mom’s living room with the headphones on listening to Stevie Wonder pour out his magic, thinking — and feeling — how wonderful it would be to do that. Sometimes I would cry when the feeling became too real. I never completely lost that feeling, but it ended up getting buried deep down.
Often we have to just keep plodding along until our inner skies clear, and the sun finally comes out.
I could never have imagined that someday far away, when I was getting very close to oldness, I would finally have enough spontaneity and self-respect to simply open a piano and play around with it, at the same time opening my heart through my voice. The weight of old patterns in us may be an illusion, waiting for a fresh breeze to come around and disperse it. I guess we really can reach that legendary state of Second Childhood.
Never wait too long to amble forward and peek around that next bend. Something delicious your soul’s been thirsting for might be shining there, out where the buffalo roam!

Ed at 14

Ed at 14

Ed at 14

establishing equilibrium at Expo2015

http://feelyourspirit.squarespace.com/calendar/

http://meditatetoregenerate.org

http://coolcheck.org

http://www.freemeditation.com 

Song of Life Expo2015 Tree of Life Sahaja Yoga meditation Expo2015

ahhhh, life on Earth — wouldn’t want to miss it for anything!

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😀

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“Feeling Happy!”

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Keep it real.

Keep it positive.

For you, in good humour….

 

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Il Bacio in Vancouver and royal jungle drumming in Vienna 61 years later

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Mom was a great singer long before I came into the world.

This is her only recording

(that I’m publizising for the very first time now) …

And this is me drumming over on the other side of this world

61 years later …

And this is the year I arrived …

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if music be the food of love, play on!

if music be the food of love

happy birth of 2015!

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This is how we entertain the world over here in Vienna …

Love you! Make the best of your year 😀

(more than 50 million viewers in over 90 countries every 1st of January!)

 

(i’ve posted almost a hundred videos in my seven years on YouTube, and this is the first time this has happened! …)

over 8000 views

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Vienna~Casablanca

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I was jamming with an amazing young friend one day.

This was the result:

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let’s lighten things up somewhat with a wee bit of Beatle-ing around

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(click on the hole in John’s guitar)

beeeatles

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one autumn evening in the Vienna Woods …

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sing it!

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after Yoann

http://edsaugstad.com/YoannFreget/TheVoice2013-Finals.html

another dear friend of ours, this time from here in Vienna,

pours it out from the heart for the masses!

😀

Tatiana sings!.

and now ROSIE down-under!…

 

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changing the world, one heart beat at a time …

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As mentioned in the last two posts, a dear friend of ours from France has been poised to triumph in the national TV singing contest there. Well …

HE WON!

The actual events and interviews speak for themselves.

WHAT A GREAT FEELING!

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Permanent link to all translated videos of The Voice 2013, France:

(here, the Finals — allow a few minutes for video streaming)

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http://edsaugstad.com/YoannFreget/TheVoice2013-Finals.html

~CLICK~

the voice

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and:

Here’s an article in “Le Parisien” (major French newspaper):

Vincennes’ mayor put posters “Vote Yoann” on the walls of the town, on the walls of the schools, and organized a support evening! (before the contest finals)

~click on Yoann~

Yoann in the newspaper

and:

In another newspaper interview (before the finals) Yoann explained that he’s not sure why he won over his old friend and teacher, Emmanuel Djob, but that the people voted that way, and maybe because he (Yoann) gave love from his heart, and maybe because coaches Jenifer and Florent Pagny were also supporting him; and that he does not get stressed or nervous because he practices meditation regularly, and music is an extension of his self, making no difference if he sings alone or in front of thousands, and seeking to perfect, not just the skills, but to go deeper to reach the true self; and this approach to singing is not restricted to one culture or religion, but can express all aspects of spirituality; and he will continue to sing, and someday hopefully create a music school in Paris. (In one more article, it’s mentioned that he meditated with other contestants, helping to calm their stress.)

a few months later,

Yoann’s first single:

http://youtu.be/V5PZYoXcnAs

and:

A short video-compilation, ‘Love/Courage/Innocence’:

http://edsaugstad.com/YoannFreget/Love-Courage-Innocence.html

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grooooving with Yoann Fréget!

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In a few days, The Voice Finals videos (with English translations) will be ready!

But, in the meantime, Ed’s getting restless

(waiting for the translators to finish)

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sahaja yogi Yoann wins The Voice SEMIFINALS!

http://edsaugstad.com/YoannFreget/TheVoice2013-Semifinals.html

Shri Mataji (Nirmala Srivastava), founder of Sahaja Yoga meditation, once told sahaja yogi Matt Malley, former bass player of the world famous Counting Crows band, that if he puts his attention on the kundalinis of the audience, it’s much better than just focusing on one’s own performance. He often tried it, finding that his eyes would become cool and his heart filled with love, ‘watching’ everyone’s pure spirits. Giving creatively to an audience from your heart can have amazing results. What the world needs now, is love, sweet love.

Van Morrison on alert, creative mental silence:

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Yoann sings his hear out!

Canadian chill

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😉

And here was my fun birthday beginning (around midnight last Saturday) with:
http://www.reverbnation.com/ruslanpashynskyi
and
http://www.wienersaengerknaben.at/about_us/organization

Ed's birthday in Gmunden 3-Feb-2013

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cheerful tunes :-D

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Here’s something exceptionally cheering from some
small friends of ours at an international school in Italy …
 
(allow a few minutes for the complete download,
then play on your computer or phone or burn onto a cd)
🙂
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the revolution of our evolution

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Here was an evening of outstanding creativity and inspiration,

a moment of surprising light

in dark times …

Every age has its greatest discovery.

The greatest of all is inside of us.

Coupole du Printemps de la Mode

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what would you do if a magical dream machine showed up on your doorstep one day?…

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… Play it!

~18 minutes of pure fun~

😀

 

(this is not a Roland advertisement)

 

don’t miss the beginning of the mini dance party at the end…

 

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(if you visited during these five hours of the first day of this posting, you might see yourself here …)

http://youtu.be/DsSLORRDkMk 

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then there was rhythm

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~CLICK on the tip of the broken drumstick to breakthrough to the next page~

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surprises out of the misty past

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It’s never easy losing loved ones (I’ve lost both my parents, Eric and May, as well as my lifetime spiritual teacher, Shri Mataji, in the last couple of years — as told here further down the home page), but sometimes, when the pain has subsided, it’s inspiring to come across unexpected glimpses into special forgotten moments with them. Here’s a recently discovered video that I didn’t even know existed, in which my father happily appears out of the misty past one very special day in 1983. I’ve posted the video here in its entirety because the meditation public program presented is valuable for anyone seeking inner tranquility and balance.

And below is my short image-compilation decorating a song (in praise of the universal, nurturing Mother) written and composed by Shri Mataji — rendered here by the bass player of a famous European gothic-rock band with some friends. (Another version is by the Vienna Boys Choir)

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can music soothe the savage beast (in us)?

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Some people draw-doodle to let out the unconscious creativity.

I rythmn-doodle.

😉

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don’t give up on ‘your’ creativity

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Enjoying the unlimited source of genius:


Now go create with a light heart!

😉

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international Feel Your Spirit music and art festival

Had a blast on the weekend here in Vienna! Here’s my compilation of Ossi, Boris, Andreas, Michi, Deepak, and Petra’s video/photo material.

Hope to see you at the next event 🙂

a guaranteed stress-reliever~♥~

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where do all the heart-opening entertainers go when they die?

Over here in Vienna there was once a star shining with the intensity of the Fred Astairs, Gene Kellys and Danny Kayes on the other side of the Atlantic. What does it take for one human being to inspire and elevate millions of hearts? We can only watch and wonder as their mirthful light passes through our lives.

As our inner evolution opens up all that timeless potential which has till now been closed to most of us, let’s hope our world will see countless more Peter Alexanders setting new ingenious levels of simple en-JOY-ment in the coming decades.

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Peter Alexander

June 30, 1926 – February 12, 2011

Peter Alexander,  Austrian actor, singer and entertainer who was revered both at home and in neighboring Germany, has died, his spokeswoman said Sunday. He was 84. The star who symbolized the return of laughter, lightheartedness and the economic upswing after World War II (similar to the popular trend in Hollywood) passed away Saturday. Since the 1950s, Alexander appeared in some 50 film comedies and recorded more than 120 records. He was also a regular on TV for decades. Known as “Peter the Great” by his fans, his name was synonymous with Austrian charm and wit.
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann lauded Alexander as a ‘great Austrian.’ “As an artist, Peter Alexander made generations of people happy — both at home and abroad”. Culture Minister Claudia Schmied stated that Alexander was a pioneer of German language TV entertainment.

“Austria (and the world) is losing a great entertainer”.
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sing it

Here’s a friend, Yoann Freget, who’s presently touring in North America.

If you have something important to say, and you can’t find a way to say it, try singing it.

(you can also find Yoann on YouTube)

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converting old locked iTune music files M4P to MP3

For Mac users, here’s how to get rid of those old locked M4P music files, converting them into more versatile MP3 files, using iMovie and iTunes.

 

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