Hi Everyone –
Warm greetings and blessings to you all!
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be safe and protected from all inner and outer dangers.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease and happy.
A Cup of Tea
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup”, Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
(from “Zen Flesh Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings”)
In the past month, I’ve been thinking a LOT about that university professor, and about how much I’m like him.
How can I say YES, open the floodgates WIDE, say YES to the GREAT and be my ACTUAL SIZE – when I’m FULL? Full of old thoughts, patterns, and behaviours?
What really brought this to my attention was doing some house “purging” with my wife Sheila. Being the Virgo that I am (!), I always enjoy this process… and, more than ever before, I noticed both how much better/lighter I felt when the purging was done, and how creating space in our home immediately created space in my life for new good to come in… I’m now moving forward with things that I’ve wanted to do for YEARS – like making a vision board for my ACTUAL SIZE life, and mounting a map of the world and putting pins into every place I’ve ever performed, with a goal of performing on EVERY continent – and I’m excited!
SO – I want to do even MORE purging, and get my “house” even MORE in order! Sheila and I are now working on improving the insulation in our home, and I know that creating a more efficient “container” for us to live in will also make ME a more efficient container for my dreams… YES, YAY and AMEN!
SO – how about YOU?
Would you like to create SPACE in your life, so that you can say YES to YOUR greatness?
What steps can you take right now – small or big – to help you accomplish that?
WHEREVER you are on your journey, I’d love to hear from you. Please e-mail me at nathenaswell@me.com; we’re all in this together, and we have much to learn from each other. 🙂
REPORT
Here are some other highlights from the last month or so:
– MY NEW EP “I SAY YES” IS HERE!!! I’m SO happy to have some new music to share with you; purchase information (for both “I Say Yes” and my debut CD, “Little By Little”) is on the “Music Store” page of my web site, https://www.nathenaswell.com/page5/page5.html
– Performing at CSL Tacoma (in Tacoma, WA) and at Amazing Grace Spiritual Center (in Seattle, WA). I’m really enjoying deepening my connections in WA, and I’m grateful for ALL of the Angels I know and love in that part of the world. XO
– My biggest road trip to date – Eugene OR, Unity Village MO, and El Dorado CA – was a HUGE success. SO many rich heart connections made and deepened… I LOVE my job! BIG THANKS to Rev. Linda Finley at CSL Eugene, Sue Riley and Richard Mekdeci of emPower Music, Rev. Pattie at Spiritual Center for Positive Living in El Dorado, ALL of my fellow artists, and ALL of the souls who support my fellow artists and I in the work that we do. XO
– The inaugural “Mantra Meditation” at Unity of Vancouver was well attended and warmly received. I love to travel, AND it gave me great joy to have this experience right in my own “back yard”. THANKS to Rev. Martha Mosley for her vision! XO
– Enjoying my last performances as a member of The Euphorics, an a cappella quartet that’s been together since 1983 (!). THANKS, dear Helen, Joani, and Bing, for teaching me countless life lessons and for sharing countless amazing moments, both on and offstage. I truly love and appreciate each of you, and trust that the love that IS the four of us will continue to help make the world a more loving place as we now go on to other adventures. XO
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
On the ROAD:
– Performances in Edmonton and Calgary, AB
– Performances in Comox and Campbell River, BC
(Details are below.)
BIG NEWS!!!
– Once again, I’ll be performing at the Posi Music Festival in Orlando (January 18-21/13). I can’t say enough about how powerful a weekend this is for ALL who attend – both performers and fans alike. For more info, please visit http://www.empowerma.com/Festival
– I’ll be a part of the music team for the 2013 CSL Spiritual Living Convention (February 17-22/13), which will be right here in Vancouver! For more info, please visit http://spiritualconvention.csl.org
– And it gives me GREAT joy to announce that I’ll be performing as part of the Diocesan Folk Music Camp Reunion in Montreal (June 29-30/13). DFMC is where my musical and spiritual life truly blossomed, and being a part of it greatly shaped who I am today. Tickets go on sale Oct. 15th; for more info, please visit http://folkmusiccamp.org
On the HOME FRONT:
– Mantra Meditation (chanting and guided meditation) at Unity of Vancouver, and church service at CSL White Rock.
(Details are below.)
Here’s what my ENTIRE CALENDAR looks like in the next month or so. I’d be honoured to see you at any of these events. (AND please remember that I welcome any and all opportunities to serve you with my music; just e-mail me with your ideas at nathenaswell@me.com)
October
13, 8:00 PM (doors open at 7:30) – House Concert in Edmonton, AB with Dale Ladouceur – $20. (Space is limited, so please contact Brian Zahorodniuk at brianz@shaw.ca ASAP to reserve your spot and to get details on the concert’s location.) http://allevents.in/events/house-concert-dale-ladouceur-amp-nathen-aswell/346675822089805
14, 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living Edmonton (7621 – 101 Avenue, Edmonton) – Church Services
(http://www.centreforspirit.com)
17, 7:00-9:30 PM – Roxboro area (Elbow Drive and 4th Street SW) in Calgary, AB – Community Singing Circle: A gathering for community song, chant, spontaneous sounding and silence, that begins with a single note and ends with tea and cookies. Beginners welcome and encouraged! Please e-mail Pamela at ccvoice@shaw.ca to register, as space is limited. $10 cash (self-serve) at the door.
(Please note: this is a scent-free event. Participants with allergies and sensitivities thank you for not wearing any scented personal care products, perfumes or colognes.)
21, 10:00 AM – Unity Church of Calgary (2035 26A Street SW, Calgary) – Church Service (Providing the music AND the talk) (http://www.unitychurchofcalgary.com)
21, 7:00-9:00 PM – Unity Church of Calgary (2035 26A Street SW, Calgary) – Benefit Concert – $20. (Please call Unity of Calgary, 403-242-8272, for tickets.)
26, 7:30 PM – Unity of Vancouver (5840 Oak Street, Vancouver BC) – Mantra Meditation (chanting and guided meditation) (http://unityofvancouver.org)
28, 10:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living White Rock (Semiahmoo House, 15306 24th Avenue, South Surrey BC) – Church Service (www.csl-whiterock.com)
November
3, 7:30-9:30 PM (doors open at 7:00) – House Concert in Comox, BC – $20. (Space is limited, so please contact Charles & Sharon Scott at sandpine@telus.net ASAP to reserve your spot and to get details on the concert’s location.)
4, 10:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living Campbell River (401 11th Avenue, Campbell River BC) – Church Service (http://www.campbellriver.csl.org)
18, 10:00 AM – Tsawwassen United Church (693 53rd Street, Tsawwassen BC) – Taizé church service, with Sandra Dawn
http://www.tsawwassenunited.org
23, 7:30 PM – Unity of Vancouver (5840 Oak Street, Vancouver BC) – Mantra Meditation (chanting and guided meditation) (http://unityofvancouver.org)
25, 10:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living White Rock (Semiahmoo House, 15306 24th Avenue, South Surrey BC) – Church Service (www.csl-whiterock.com)
NEW WEB SITE CONTENT
As well as updating my “Calendar” and “Blog” pages (https://www.nathenaswell.com/page7/page7.html and https://www.nathenaswell.com/page8/page8.html), I’ve:
– updated my bio and added some new places to the “Recent Performances” list on my “Bio/Press” page (https://www.nathenaswell.com/page2/page2.html);
– updated my bio and my services (I now offer a workshop on chanting) on the “Services” page (https://www.nathenaswell.com/page6/page6.html);
– added new photos of my trips to MO and CA to my “Photos” page (https://www.nathenaswell.com/page9/page9.html);
– added new comments (THANKS, dear Sky, Francois, Karen, Anthony, CK, Jan, Pauline, Susie, Doreen, Chris, John, Dorothy, Cheryl, Kyme, Rita, Barb, Melody, Nancy, Rebekah, Matt, Zephryn, Sue, Julie, Jules, Kristina, Michael, Marion, Lauri, Zoey, Shelley, Lynn, Darlene, Kirk, Trudi, Katherine, Jason, Dominique, Charonne, Ben, April, Sherri, Mary, Charles, Ken, Robyn, Trisha, Lisa, Helen, Nancy, Wendy, Bob, Joyanna, Tetyana, and Freebo – I greatly appreciate EVERY word!) to my “Feedback” page (https://www.nathenaswell.com/page10/page10.html);
You can now find me on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn. (All of my online addresses are below.)
Happy October, everyone. May creating SPACE in your life help you to say YES to the GREAT, and may you go with LOVE!
With love and gratitude,
– Nathen
www.NathenAswell.com
http://www.facebook.com/PerfectLoveConsciousPopWithNathenAswell
https://twitter.com/NathenAswell
http://www.LinkedIn.com/pub/nathen-aswell/3/941/874
www.MySpace.com/NathenAswell
http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Nathen-Aswell