Musitations™: Exploring Music, Meditation, Creativity and Wisdom Michael Brant DeMaria

I was so honored to be interviewed on McCall's podcast Falling Into Soul: An Exploration of Inner Alchemy on the subject of Burnout & Soul Renewal, a subject near and dear to my heart. Having burned out 3 times in my life, I knew this would be a deep dive and it was! She graciously agreed for me to post it on my youtube channel and included it on my own Musitations podcast since this was the third in our series of soulversations.

In McCall's words for the episode:


In this episode, Michael DeMaria and I explore the rich, complex, and paradoxical themes of burnout and renewal central to our lives as empaths, recovering codependents (over givers) and creative types.

Speaking from our personal experiences with burnout and how-not-to-burn-out, Michael and I explore:

The importance of the soul (water, earth) in tempering the creative fire and air of spirit. How to honor and be in conversation with instead of pathologizing processes of the soul that feel dark, slow, and counter to creative productivity. Learning to differentiate between the ego being fed and the soul being fed through creative purpose. How to be who we are....sustainably I also share the story of how I burned out nine years ago on fulfilling my soul purpose, what I did to recover, and how I engage with purpose differently now.

You can find out more about McCall and her wonderful work and book, "The Other Side of The Mountain" on her website at: https://www.mccallerickson.com/
or her podcast at: https://mccallerickson.buzzsprout.com/1225844



Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro
03:50 What is Burnout?
08:15 How the Soul Keeps Us Balanced.
11:20 Burnout vs. Shamanic Death/Rebirth
13:30 Inscendence vs Transcendence
17:00 Moving from the Fear of the Darkness to Welcoming it
15:30 Welcoming the Descents and Fallings into Soul
22:30 Dark Nights and Going Insane
24:50 What is Soul Sickness and What Nourishes the Soul
25:15 The Answer is Within
28:00 What feeds the soul?
29:45 Discerning the Difference Between Feeding the Soul and Ego
35:00 Becoming Whole
39:50 The soul is not languaged
40:40 When we let go over everything, everything supports us
42:40 Selfish/Selfless Paradox - and becoming Soul-fish
46:00 What is a soul initiation?
49:00 Seeing the Soul as a Wise Stranger we share our lives with
54:50 The Water of Life as an antidote to Burnout
1:00:00 Improvisation, Unconsciousness and Soul Flow
1:08:00 "He Plays Like A God" Story
1:13:00 Finding Your One Thing!

For those who know Mark Nepo's work he needs no introduction.  For those who are not yet familiar with his work, Mark Nepo has been called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time,” “a consummate storyteller,” and “an eloquent spiritual teacher.” A bestselling author, he has published twenty-three books and recorded sixteen audio projects. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Recent work includes Surviving Storms (St. Martin’s Essentials, 2020) and Drinking from the River of Light, a Nautilus Award Winner (Sounds True, 2019). 

I have been following Mark's work for over 30 years.  Yet, I first connected with him when my music was used on his two audio programs for Sounds True, Reduced To Joy, and Inside The Miracle.  Since then I have had the honor and privilege of being part of a number of his mentoring circles for authentic living. 

Mark has a unique capacity to bring the inevitable complexities, challenges and inherent paradoxes of life into an intimate, clear and accessible focus through the power of story, metaphor and his timeless poetry.  In this episode, we dive into his most recent book, "Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity".  It's as all of his books a powerful, deeply intimate read about becoming truly ourselves in times of adversity, challenges and suffering. Today, more than ever, Mark's timeless wisdom is a welcome healing balm and lantern to light our way through the dark. 

Mark's Main Website: https://marknepo.com/  

Marks Website for Live Webinars: https://live.marknepo.com/

04:52 The Basic Chords Under Everything

06:24 Between The Song of Life and The Pain of Life 

07:57 Exhausted Open To the Joy and Pain of Living

09:30 The Everyday Broken Hallelujah

12:31 The Liminal Space of Being Born Premature 

16:00 Losing the Connection to the Chords Under Everything - Our Primal Home

16:30 Where is Your Soul At Home

20:57 The Essential Paradoxes of Life

21:40 Whales and Dolphins as Examples of Solitude and Relationship

24:00 Our Direct Connection and Reverence for Life 

24:45 Presence and Depth of MY Truth vs. Relationships and Truth Beyond My Own

25:50 The Gifts and Liabilities of Solitude and Relationship

26:30 The Maturing of Compassion - Staying Open To Your Pain Without Losing Yourself

28:00 Un-individuated Love and Codependency

28:39 We Have the Switch To Our Own Light, Not Others 

30:00 Through Suffering and Loving We Find Our Inner Light 

31:00 Being a Greenhouse for Each Others

34:00 Dealing with Paradox by Stepping Back To See the Wider View

35:00 The Hawk and The Horse - Balancing Revelation and Step by Step Living

39:00 Letting our Soul Catch Up With Us

42:00 Circles for Authentic Living

43:00 Progress vs Incarnation (doing for others AND seeing for myself)

46:00 Breaking Codependence (Extension of Suffering vs. Being a Resource for another Suffering)

48:00 Not Avoiding Suffering and Becoming a Hand Carved Flute

49:00 Being Fully Carved Open Like a Flute

50:00 Everyone Has a Gift Which Gives Us The Capacity to Live Life to The Fullest

00:00 Intro 
04:17 Letters to a Young Poet Inspiration
05:51 Rodin and Rilke’s Relationship
08:00 Rilke asks, “How should I live?” 
09:22 Rodin’s Answer
11:51 Rilke’s quest for a Muse 
14:29 Heart Work and Empathy
19:45 Creativity and Madness
21:12 Do we need demons to create?
26:00 Art and the Mystery of Being
27:45 Seeing with Awe and Wonder
30:37 Looking through Rilke’s Eyes
31:57 Letters and Poems
35:41 Art and the Survival of our Species
38:51 Art and Nature
39:02 Truth over Beauty?
39:17 Nature and Truth 
41:00 On Solitude and Togetherness  

The title of this podcast is the provocative title of one of my favorite books I have read in recent years, Rachel Corbett's masterwork of historical non-fiction, You Must Change Your Life: The Story of Rainer Maria Rilke and August Rodin.  It really rocked my world. I had read Rilke's monograph of Rodin back in grad school 40 years ago, and have always wondered why someone had not written more about the relationship between these two men of vision, heart and artistic genius. To many Rilke is considered the greatest poet of the 20th century, and Rodin perhaps one of the greatest sculptures of all time.  In particular, Rilke's masterpiece, "Letters to a Young Poet" spoke so deeply to me as a young aspiring poet/artist and musician - that it has shaped my own approach to life and art in deep ways, and remains (as it does for many) as one of my favorite gifts to give to young, aspiring creatives of all types.  I was also going through a very difficult time when I read this book as we were entering the pandemic and it was as if Rachel was speaking directly to me through her thoughtful, wise and empathic prose.  I have wanted to have her on the show for quite some time and I'm THRILLED she agreed.  You won't be disappointed and PLEASE go buy this book and read it! If you want to experience Paris and the artistic/intellectual climate at the turn of the century - it will take you on a fascinating, wonderful journey - particularly with a caste of characters as diverse and extraordinary as Lou Andreas-Salome (Rilke's lover, mentor, guide and muse) and Camille Claudel (Rodin's gifted, brilliant and ultimately tragic muse) and so many others.

Here is a bit more about Rachel: 

Rachel Corbett is the author of You Must Change Your Life: The Story of Rainer Maria Rilke and Auguste Rodin, which won the 2016 Marfield Prize, the National Award for Arts Writing.  She has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and New York Magazine, among other publications. She lives in Brooklyn.


Website: http://www.rachel-corbett.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelncorbett?lang=en
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corbett_(art_journalist)

Chris and I have been having musical soulversations for close to two decades.  An accomplished film composer, conductor and musician based in LA, he has worked with Michael Bublé, Dr. Dre, Christina Aguilera and many others.  More importantly, he has a deep and profound understanding and approach to the art and practice of creating music. We went through David Darling's Music for People apprenticeship together and share a similar love and passion for the art of improvisation. We dive into the first time he heard Dark Wood one of David's poignant solo cello albums that helped him begin to look at the art of music making from a more profound and simple approach - what David often called Deep Listening - or playing from INSIDE the music, i.e., allowing the music to be birthed from this incredibly intimate, innocent and vulnerable place we all have within.  Join us for this deep dive into what "Being In The Music" means to us and how David's legacy lives on a year after he transitioned to the other side of things.

Here is a bit more about Chris:

As a conductor and orchestrator, Christopher Anderson-Bazzoli has worked with top recording artists Michael Bublé, Dr. Dre, Christina Aguilera, and She & Him, among others. He is also an Emmy-nominated composer whose latest classical work, Continent’s End, is available on the Delos Music label. His music can be found on the web at posthornmusic.com.

Chris' IMBD:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1125129/

00:00 Intro

04:00 David Darling's Album Darkwood - Simple, Deep, Personal Expression

05:00 A Tuba at Esalen Institute 

10:21 Spirit and the Breath

19:35 Playing from Deep Inside the Music  

21:00 Soul Source and Jung

23:00 Returning to Child as Healing

25:00 Vulnerability of the Voice

29:00 Play One Thing - Simplicity and the Moment of Belonging in a music improv 

35:00 Even the Most Accomplished Musicians Struggle with getting out of their way

39:00 Deep Listening and Being Inside the Music 

44:03 Film Composing 

50:00 Power of Community in Supporting Creative Expression

Thrilled to have my good friend, colleague and fellow Multi-Grammy® nominee Will Clipman on Musitations™ for the kick off of season 2! I have admired Will and his profound work in world music and percussion for more than 3 decades!  It is such an honor and treat to have him on the show.  Little did I know we had so much in common; both being published poets, devoted world music multi-instrumentalists and most importantly survivors of a near death experience - which is how we connected while collaborating on a project for the IANDS (International Association of Near Death Experiences) conference last year.  We immediately connected and began discussing doing an episode on Musitations™ together which is now live! We discuss the meaning of mythopoetic, conscious creativity and the importance of having "serious fun" when creating - as well as the importance of listening, stillness and silence.

 Here is a bit more about Will: 

Will Clipman is a poet, percussionist, performing and recording artist, maskmaker, storyteller and educator. He has been nominated for seven GRAMMY® Awards, including one for his solo world music album Pathfinder, and his pan-global instrumental palette is featured in his Planet of Percussion® workshop and performance. Will has recorded over seventy albums, including thirty-five for Canyon Records, the world’s foremost producer of Native American music. Will’s poetry is widely published, including his book Dog Light (Wesleyan University Press). His masks and mythopoetic storytelling are showcased in his workshop and performance Myths & Masks®, which is available as a DVD. Will has conducted over three hundred artist-in-residence programs for elementary, middle and high schools, colleges and universities, senior centers, adult and juvenile prisons, hospitals, libraries, resorts and retreat centers. His work as an educator has been recognized with an Arizona Commission on the Arts Decade of Distinguished Service Award and three Governor’s Arts Awards nominations. Will has toured throughout the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as in Germany, Canada, Morocco and Russia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Syracuse University and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Arizona. For further insights into Will’s work, please visit his website at www.willclipman.com.

08:14 Mythopoetic

13:28 Conscious Creativity 

14:40 Serious Fun 

24:05 Planet Percussion 

31:12 Will’s Musical Origin Story 

33:33 Feeling Good and Groovy 

37:35 Our Near-Death Experiences 

47:19 The Importance of Listening, Stillness and Silence 

49:40 Will’s first poem

56:40 Playing a Duet with Silence

I first met Felipe when he asked me to be part of a local PechaKucha, a fascinating form of storytelling that celebrates humanity. Felipe was the driving force and organizer for our local chapter. For those that don't know PechaKucha’s 20x20 presentation format allows each presenter 20 chosen images, each for 20 seconds. In other words, you've got 400 seconds to tell your story, with visuals guiding the way. PechaKucha means "chit chat" in Japanese and began in Tokyo in 2003, and since then it has grown into a worldwide movement. 

I loved the experience and was immediately impressed with the quiet strength, compassionate wisdom and presence of this young man and the community he helped develop in our Gulf Coast town for our fellow creatives. As you will find out Felipe loves hanging out with ALL the muses of life - and most importantly his love of people, family and the creative process.

Felipe is an award-winning artist, a five-time entrepreneur with 20 years of marketing experience, and a decade working on business branding and consulting. He's been coaching and training professionals since 2010 on how to work creatively with various tools and more recently focusing on assisting individuals on living a more mindful and meaningful life by embracing their spirituality, creativity, and exploring new positive experiences.

His father is a fine artist and interior designer, and his mother is an educator in theology and philosophy. Early on, ideas, concepts, and experiences allowed him the privilege of having time and space to develop critical thinking, compassion, and an existential drive that motivates him to this day in appreciating the beauty in every person and every moment. As a father of two expressive and creative children, now more than ever, he appreciates all the experiences that his childhood provided him.

Join us as we take a deep dive into all things creative in particular how he has developed his Art and Meditation practice and our mutual passion of combining present moment awareness with the creative process!



You can find out more about Felipe as: https://munoz.work/about or https://empathicpractice.us/