New guy from a different perspective

Community Welcome New Members
#1

Hello all,
My name is Ryan and I have been practicing yoga on and off for the better portion of 4 years now. While I wish I could say that it has been teacher lead, most of it has been self guided with the aid of various instructional materials. I first got into the idea of yoga through the hardcore/punk scene via a band called 108. As I grew older (a good 10 years has past since that time) I have slowly grown a disgust towards most things that are deemed “American.” I have been a vegetarian for a good 3 years now and am slowly making the move towards veganism. I currently am both in a touring hardcore band, and in college with the intentions of obtaining a music education degree. My only wish is that people can begin to open up their eyes to see the horrors of everything that their complacency has led them to accept as “fact” and “life.” I would like to leave you with one of my favorite lines from the song Angel Strike Man by the band 108.

“angel strike man. we’re forgetting, again. buildings are falling and we’re failing again. numb to the misery from all the blood stained imagery
angel striking man
[B]sell yourself into slavery again, sell our children to the state again, sell your body to commercials again, sell your soul for the dollar again. shackled for forgetting, forgetting again. shackled just long enough to remember again[/B]
every word is politics, every action; a smoking gun and if you deny it run, run, run
angel strike man.”

#2

Hi. I’m new here, too. I’m new to a structured yoga practice, but I’ve been a spiritual healer for several years.

When you said, “My only wish is that people can begin to open up their eyes to see the horrors of everything that their complacency has led them to accept as “fact” and “life,”” that really resonated with me. I think the most profound change I made in my life was becoming a vegetarian a year ago, though I still eat dairy and eggs. I never thought eating meat was any big deal. Seems “normal” enough, right? And when I quit, it wasn’t for ethical reasons, but for energetic ones. I knew that if I stopped eating meat, I’d open up more and it would have a positive effect on my spiritual awareness.

But now, when I see meat commercials on television or I…ugh…cook it for my family or watch people eat it, my stomach just churns because, to me, it has become the most bizarre and barbaric practice in society. Having that realization made me very aware of so many habits and practices that I have accepted as “normal” that are not necessarily “right”. I, too, am hoping to transition to vegan. Admittedly, since I started practicing yoga more diligently, my stomach churns when I eat dairy and eggs. But I lack the creativity, palette, and discipline at the moment to “go vegan” without compromising my nutrition. It will happen soon, though. I am confident.

#3

Hi Ryan! :slight_smile:

#4

Aloha, Ryan…your quest to evoke social transformation through piercing, emotive lyrics is such an important one. Even though your genre of music is in the more hardcore range, it can still transmit the message of non-violence and [I]ahimsa[/I]. I hear you on the urgency to “wake the world”…it is not only our human duty, but our spiritual destiny to help lift the veil for our fellow sentient beings.

I, too, am a musician. I write songs about social dilemmas, unity, and, yes, love love love. I feel a moral obligation as a singer/songwriter to write conscious music that not only moves the body, but also enriches the mind and expands the soul. I am a still a work in progress…reaching ever deeper into my own musical collective conscious. I just wanted to thank you for sharing your own journey with us and welcome you to the forum. I am new here, too…I teach yoga and I have been practicing and studying for over 15 years now, little by little blossoming into who I am today and who I shall become.

I wish you abundant success on your journey and hope you bring more awareness to your listeners, helping to awaken the inner revolution most needed in this day and age.

Blessings and namaste…

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