Monday Makam 1

Here is more 'Monday Makam'! Just sharing a little musical excursion and one of my favorite quotes. Enjoy!




Peace,
J

A Heavy Blessing

In the midst of my own personal storm, I had an interesting thought cross my mind that I felt like tossing onto 'the table.' Like so many people these days, I walk between a perceived world of lack, fear and uncertainty on one side... and a world of phenomenal abundance and rich experience on the other side.

For the past seven months I have been in a hyper-productive mode, creating and releasing several books, several recording projects and even new video adventures. I have even done my best to move beyond just focusing on my own needs to create ways and means for helping others to generate a little extra cash if they're so inclined to investigate a little.

I have been fortunate enough to also have my wife join me in taking massive action - and I mean MASSIVE ACTION - towards launching a greater platform(s) for both of us individually, and as a unit, to share our gifts and talents with the world in ways that allows is to serve others better while providing for ourselves better, too.

I also have noticed so many friends who used to enjoy the 'comfort' of apparent job-security start to rattle as they either lose their jobs or suffer drastic pay cuts. People very close to me have even apologized for previous jeers at my endeavors at sustaining myself as an artist and for mocking my efforts in Network Marketing.

It's easy enough to say something like,"I understand," but now I truly feel for so many I know who are finding themselves in the very same 'Uncertain Waters' that I am very, very accustomed to. I may have somewhat of a thick skin in some areas, but it doesn't change the fact that, as a whole, radical shifts are happening and I know that only by believing in and supporting each other can we safely move to a new and productive future - one where we can have real meaning AND livelihoods that not only provide for the everyday needs we all share, but also provides a sense of meaning and worth for each and every one of us.

I find myself more attentive these days to the fact that my normal sense of wonder and 'be-here-now-ness' is affected by all of this change; it is much more difficult to keep my head straight and my thinking positive and clear.

However, when I do manage to lift my gaze from the shit that is being offered us, I see an amazing world of art, music and craft... a creativity that finally defies all labels.

I see people embracing the new technology and carving out entirely new art forms that have no history - so they are free to develop with the hindrance of dogma or pedagogy.

And I see the traditionalists...inevitably pained that generations of tradition and decades of training can become virtually irrelevant by someone simply dropping a WAV file into a music program and spitting out sound that will go into movies and commercials and generate unbelievable amounts of royalties.

I see the pencil artist closing up shop because not enough people will pay for a hand drawn portrait anymore to make it a worthwhile pursuit. I also see this offset by the new programs that allows anyone to take a simple snapshot and tweak it and elevate it to 'Art' - where it will continue to impact all who behold it.

I can hold these opposing views in myself easily enough. I can play 'full time quarterback' and give my all to both sides. I can sit around the coffee shop, chain smoke and mind-fuck with the best of you about all of this 'til the cows come home... but I am more interested in what the 'Great Unknown Sage of Sin City', Mr. T.P., calls the 'rise of the Creative Class' - the shifting in awareness that demands we learn new skills for a host of obvious reasons. To build platforms that move past the 'competitive' model to the 'creative' model means we have an opportunity to decide how we EARN, how we SPEND and how we LIVE.

Let me repeat that:

To build platforms that move past the 'competitive' model to the 'creative' model means we have an opportunity to decide how we EARN, how we SPEND and how we LIVE.


Feel free, please, to graze over that sentence and go about your day - much easier that way, I promise. Or, ponder it a little more...piece by piece:

The Competitive model has forever dis-empowered people and created the situation we're in (quite a potential gift, BTW).

The Creative model fully empowers people and encourages true growth and leverages effort to everyone's benefit.

How do we EARN? And was it a choice or possibly the result of generations of programming that left us predisposed to a certain 'frequency'? Have we ever tried to EARN differently?

How do we SPEND? (I'm thinking 'love' vs. 'fear' at the moment)

And how do we LIVE? Are we awake enough to know and trust that this experience means much more than the rat race that is offered? Do we realize that we will be dead much sooner than we think? And be dead for a long, long time?

So, why aren't we doing more for ourselves and each other? I've heard it said,"You get what you settle for," and even if it stings a bit, it rings true to my ears. How can we all support each other and create a better way to live? Buy each other's shit? Tempting thought, but it is far too simple...

Something is brewing; we all know it. Some of us feel it a little more than others, but we all know it's there. It's the big, pink, pierced, tattooed, transgendered shemale elephant in the room... smoking between yoga and Pilates class laughing at those of us who still think our banners of "I AM RIGHT" have any remote use anymore.

I, myself, am mustering all my strength to keep my head and my heart focused on what I believe to be my Calling, my Path and my Service. And I am still pretty fucking scared these days. Ultimately I know 'it's all good' - we're all going home sooner or later.

But there are real stakes in this current madness...and they include self worth, value, honesty, integrity and a sense of purpose and usefulness. I am weary of my own ability to distract myself from my role in this larger picture, and though I can't really offer any solutions at the moment, I sure as hell can help tear the question wide open...

And that, my friend, is a HEAVY BLESSING...

Peace,
J

PS - If you are remotely interested in how my wife, Missy, and I are working together to change our own lives and others', visit any of our sites. They all link together, so it's all one big rabbit-hole! Our individual talents as artists has been forever changed by the principles we discovered through our shared business of 'stem cell nutrition'. That venture has done more than change our health; it helped us to think bigger, think past ourselves and BE more.

Stem Cell Nutrition

Missy Moran

Jay Kruse


PPS - Thank you for your time. I really mean that...

'Monday Makam' is here!

As we settle into the month of July, I'm excited to share with you another movie. This one, however, is the first of a new weekly series I'm doing that will combine short flute improvisations on the ney and bansuri with thought provoking quotes, inspirational sayings and positive affirmations. I'm calling it 'Monday Makam'! It will inevitably include 'raga', too, but that didn't quite have the same ring to it..! The 'sister series' to this project will be called 'Tuesday Taksim'. These ideas are closely related, but, who knows... maybe I'm just buying a 24 hour window of time to ensure weekly posts!



"Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible" (via Deepak Chopra; not sure of source)

What is 'makam'?
'Makam' is a concept from Near and Middle Eastern music that basically means 'a system of melody types'. Each 'makam' sets forth a set of rules for composing and performance including interval structure and melodic movement. Some 'makam' can have identical intervals, but be distinguished by their very different melodic direction and development.

(I can still hear my ney teacher saying,"It's funny...as soon as you start learning 'makam' structure, you'll find yourself wanting to destroy 'makam' structure..!")

The concept of 'makam' is closely related the the concept of 'raga' from the musical traditions of India. In both 'makam' and 'raga' there is an hierarchy of pitches and intervals that have more than just a particular relationship to each other - they have generations of associations tied to them and can stir deep emotions from the listener.

What is 'taksim'?
'Taksim' refers to an improvised introduction to a composition in Near and Middle Eastern music. The improvisation usually follows the modal outline of the 'makam' the following piece is composed in. This is also an element of classical Indian music called 'alap'. Again, the 'alap' precedes the composition and serves to prepare the listener by introducing the notes, intervals and trademark gestures of the music to follow.


My personal evolution with these instruments and traditions has led to a blended style that sips from these ancient art forms, yet forever filters them through the ears and heart of a Westerner. The result is a style that often startles 'purists' by not playing totally within the lines, and a sound that calls to the virgin ear with the exotic reverberations of the unfamiliar.

As I continue to explore these instruments and take them into new territories, I am excited to share the journey and offer little tidbits of 'music and word' that help me find balance in a rather hectic world....

I hope you enjoy the new video series...!

Peace,
J