Peace is Possible & Inspiration for "Emet"

Greetings and Alifife lovely beings,

I get a lot of comments about my song "Emet" which means 'truth' in my root language: Hebrew

     When I wrote "Emet" over ten years ago, I had just begun my spiritual journey into my musical artwork for a living; living for my musical art might be a more accurate way to say it.  It's almost as if these creations are children that need birthing and then a lot of attention and nurturing. Being a mother is not thought of as a career that has an hourly pay or salary, similarly I don't receive an hourly pay to do my artwork.  It is a constant state of being that my whole life is designed around and devoted to.  Sometimes pay jobs even get in the way of my artistic journey.  But alas, I digress.  EMET.
   
    I had started to feel extremely sensitive to all energies around me.  I was celibate and fasting from meat, sugar, alcohol, night clubs, and energy "zappers".  It was very clear to me that I felt my beauty when I played my music.  It was like my skin felt richer and the heat of my heart filled me up with authentic emotion in my smile and expression.  I had developed major confidence issues with sharing my music in college because I just didn't feel good enough and welcome in my originality… and what was really going on is I no longer had any instrument to connect to the electricity of my spirit through my hands. Without the daily connection and recharging, it was hard to realize the music in my soul in a nurtured, realistic way… and so it temporarily died.  I still sang.. other people's music.  I still developed skills for performance and collaboration…

     Relating to others and dating never came easy to me because as I told one first date "My language is music".  I literally felt like words never satisfied my desire to connect with another soul.  There was always something deeper and more comfortable vibrating under my skin.  So it became evident that not doing my original music was not only hurting my musical development, but also my psychological development.  Music always gave me a "way out" when I couldn't make sense of my existence.  It brought what seemed like a spotlight over me showering me with a bath of truth and beauty… hmmm maybe that's where the spotlight idea came from lol.   And even if it wasn't always received very well by my colleagues, friends, boyfriends, etc., I just got so much from it… like hanging out with a best friend and having so much fun and adventure.  I am sure this feeling sounds familiar to many artists out there with all kinds of modalities.

     Music not only nurtures me though, when I deny my musical mission I feel I am living a lie.  Expressing my truth is intertwined with expressing my music.  Songs often come from meditations or painful places that I travel through in my psyche.  The pieces of the songs that come together are like putting a satisfying puzzle together.  The meditation or healing journey to a place of pain that needs release is like finding a puzzle piece that my spirit was searching for in order to activate a musical message.

     So I was in my twenties, feeling threatened by the beautiful models who had all the answers for my life to be as amazing as it can with the best make-up, clothing, diet, work-out, relationship and sex tips, right? But then I played my music and it was a short cut to all of that.  I didn't need to put any make up on or style my hair a certain way, or get that season's fashion colors to feel even MORE beauty than I would if I looked exactly like the model that I was so intimidated by.   And I just kind of GOT it.  I realized there had to be SO many like me struggling to be "better" and not feeling their own beauty.

     And to the same degree I felt awful when I wasn't doing my music and not expressing my truth and so I thought, well, of course, there must be others out there who don't have the full ability to express or even know their truth because of certain dysfunctional  relationship ties to family or friends or society or career or themselves.

    And so it also made sense in my mind that if one does not feel their own beauty or even know their truth because of whatever roles they are buried under, then it would be extremely hard for them to feel inner peace.  And as we are the microcosm of the macrocosm, How can we achieve world peace if as individuals we live in a mental chaos of never being or doing enough for our immediate surroundings' approval. And thereby we would have no inner peace or even bliss, and yet it seems we are designed to feel bliss, love, peace, harmony etc. each and every day as the amazing miraculous creatures we are.

     And all these thoughts came to me even before I started training in Qi Gong daily which brings me to that absolutely blissful state of body awareness and inner exploration.

     All I had to do was "UNPLUG".  I just stopped watching TV, stopped needing to connect with a social circle for approval, and stopped having expectations of myself to be accepted by certain people.

     I learned in Hebrew School as a child about the "Messianic Age". It always made me smile to learn that the word "Messiah" can mean one being is being sent to 'save' us which does line up with the idea of Jesus coming again or another prophet being that one… but the Hebrew word can also be interpreted as a "time". Therefore the 'Messiah' coming bringing peace to the world can simply mean that this is a time when Heaven shall exist on earth that we all have created together.  And this concept always brought rainbows bursting out of my eyes and heart with hope that YES we don't have to wait to be saved… we can work together and achieve peace TOGETHER right NOW.

     And so I have been meditating on that ever since.  I see great potential in all of us to keep giving each other love so that we can all live in our truth and beauty and this… I feel… is an automatic way to shift into a … peaceful reality.

     What do you think? Here is a spotify link to the song.
I hope you enjoyed my background story to this song, and I hope you enjoy the song

Singing "Emet" As children lead dancing at a festival last year is exactly what this baby of a song is meant to inspire…  dancing and expressing with joy of togetherness, beauty and love.

They just jumped on stage as if spirit led them and they danced with such intention and grace.  One child even said with compassion and seriousness as the song ended

"We are changing the world right now"

                                                     Here are the words to the song:


                                                     Emet    Teferet   Emet   Teferet

You think you need to be like all the magazines say. You think you need to talk like all the TV stars talk. You think you need to dress like people in your town dress. You think you need to think like teachers and your friends think. But what’s the truth??

                                                    Emet    Teferet    Emet    Teferet

Do you believe your emet? Emet means truth. Do you know your teferet? Teferet means beauty. As I walk down the street I see teferet all around me. In your smile, in your walk, in your voice, in your clothes.

                                             Emet    Teferet        Emet       Teferet

​When you sit and wait in line you’re beautiful! When you joke with your friends you’re beautiful.
When you gather at a dance you’re beautiful. And when you speak your truth you’re beautiful!

                                            Emet       Teferet        Emet   Teferet

You don’t have to try and be more, You’re perfect as you are! You don’t have to try and be.
You don’t have to try and be more, You’re perfect as you are! You don’t have to try and be.

So what’s the moral of this song? It's that we all can get along...
So what’s the moral of this song? It's that we all can get along. . .

Shalom . . .Shalom means peace
Shalom . . .Shalom means peace …

If we feel teferet, And believe our emet . . .We will have shalom . . .
If we feel teferet And believe our emet . . .We will have shalom . . .

                                       Emet    Teferet    Emet    Teferet


SHAAALOM

How to Make Hemp Pudding

Playing in the kitchen is loads of fun, messy, and usually healthier
 than going out to eat. June 6-12th 2016 is officially Hemp History Week
 in our country.  So I am featuring a recipe that uses hemp.

Hemp is an extremely nutritious plant.  It's seeds are becoming extremely popular to health food freaks like me because it is chock full of nutrition.  So dare I say…  this pudding you are about to make is healthy for you.

But don't worry, you can pretend it's not with its rich chocolatey flavor and smooth texture.

What you will need… here we go:
A really good blender. Vitamix is ideal.
1 tsp hemp protein powder
3 avocadoes
2 bananas
2.5 Tablespoons coconut oil
3 Tablespoons raw cacao powder
pinch of sea salt
pinch of cardamon powder
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon coconut sugar
(you can substitute sweeteners of your preference and add more or less depending on your sweet tooth)


Just blend it all together folks and you are done!
chill for a couple of hours in the fridge if you like pudding cold.
Otherwise feast while its warmed by the blend
Sprinkle hemp seeds on top for decoration that nourishes

To find out more about how earth benefits from Hemp see my last blog here
Visit us in Atlanta at our event "Hempathy" this Sunday to get your free
sample of hemp seeds for your recipe and  for more recipes, excellent talks,
excellent music, excellent vibes… and to see the one and only Cannabis Car!

Be well!
Alifife!

Love,
Petunya

Hemp is Here for us This Earth Day

    This Earth Day it would be an injustice not to mention the many ways hemp has recently been helping to turn this world's  toxic sludge wastelands into air-fresh, fertile soil grounds. It is efficient even, I believe, to say that these toxic practices are our past and we will be continually quickly shifting to hemp products to sustain our planet's eco-system.

                                                                                                    photo below by John Henry

      The Georgia Hemp Economic Revival Organization (GA H.E.R.O.) founded in May of 2013 is one of many global groups dedicated to educating the public about how the environment and economy can be greatly helped as we start farming hemp again.  Hemp can make fuel.  Fossil Fuels is one of the worst things for our environment.  Also, the horrible plastics made from a derivative of petroleum  that don't break down have disastrous effects on our delicate eco-system not to mention the harm they do to our bodies.  Hemp plastics and other bio-plastics that are already on the market are biodegradable and the time is now to pressure companies to utilize all means necessary to provide us with these safer, earth-friendly products.  Our other option as a consumer is to try our best not to purchase these plastics and opt for glass containers, reusable cloth grocery bags, etc.  Generally grocery stores do currently provide at least one water brand in a biodegradable bio-bottle. Unfortunately, American laws   restricting the cultivation of hemp along with the high taxing and stringent inter-state trade laws, still limit our capabilities to develop this greener technology.

     But enough about technology, hemp has very deep roots, sometimes up to 8 feet, which has a very important role in keeping our topsoil on the earth.  Several civilizations met their demise because of topsoil erosion and the inability to grow food.  If you have been to the canyons in Providence, GA you get a good idea of what topsoil erosion is. Hemp is also a mop crop which remediates the soil (aka phyto-remediation).  Similar to sunflowers, but exponentially more effective, hemp leeches up lead from the soil amongst many other toxins including nuclear waste. It was used by scientists in the Ukraine to pull cesium out of the soil near the Chernobyl site. This year a Japan forum and Climate emergency virtual teleconference on July 2nd plans to stress the need to remediate Fukushima's soil with Industrial Hemp.  Our friends in Flint, Michigan not only can't drink their water, nothing is growing in their soil. The only thing that is stopping a plan to heal the soil  with hemp is this lack of awareness and bans.

     The 2014 Farm Bill was a first step to allow research in states where hemp farming is legal with Sec. 7606, "The Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research".  Therefore, in states where there is legislation for hemp, such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, N. Dakota, Oregon, S. Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia, hemp can be grown for research.  Globally hemp is grown in Australia, Austria, Canada, Portugal, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Ukraine, Germany, Great Britian, Russia, Spain, Chile, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and Turkey.  There's still work to be done before all farmers can grow hemp globally and in the US (more than 20 states still need legislation).  We can help advise Congress to pass the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (S. 134, H.R. 525), which would remove hemp from the Federal Schedule of Controlled Substances.  Take Action with Vote Hemp today! 

     Hemp History Week is another platform for learning about the progress of the global hemp industry. This June 6-12th marks the 7th annual week of  this organization's grassroots education and activism.  All over the U.S. you can find events in almost every state , often multiple events (last year there were over 1600 national events) ranging from movie-screenings to panels and live-music usually accompanied by samples of hemp products like soap, bath gel, and t-shirts. GA H.E.R.O. will be presenting our 4th annual HHW event here in Atlanta, GA as we fundraise to embark on a sunflower remediation project to clean up local brown-field sites similar to Proctor creek while raising awareness of what hemp can do.  We will be partnering with local environmental groups to complete this project.

    From what we have learned and  researched, hemp is one of the ONLY topics that gives us hope this Earth Day that we can clean up our planet and bring our eco-system back into harmony.  But please do your own research and decide for yourself what the most compassionate choices and actions are for you this Earth Day. 

*If you liked this article and want to support eco-music please check out some of our latest music videos in reference to this article, In Colorado In July  (see below) we actually take you to the Providence Canyons, and in Cannabis Car, we sing about a car that not only runs on Cannabis fuel, but also about how hemp makes paper and building materials as well.  Hemp fibers are even used to create the body of the cannabis car. We strive to make this world a better, more compassionate place by singing about relevance,truth, peace and justice, while creating beautiful music.