reminders

be still…

be quiet…

and listen…

be vigilant…

be open…

be grateful…

love yourself…

love everything that is…

and love what isn’t…

love without limits…

then love limits too…

have faith in trust…

trust in faith…

surrender the limitation…

and don’t limit the surrender…

imagine peace…

believe in possibility…

and keep believing…

remember innocence…

go with feelings …

realize love…

imagine openly…

free the prisoner…

and retire the judge…

sing without a song…

dance with no idea…

and attend without a program…

allow…

be allowed…

be effortless…

honor grace…

let be what is…

don’t be afraid to be apart…

don’t be afraid to be afraid…

let everyone know…

stand for respect…

stand for everybody…

and let everybody stand for you…

just be here…

just be.…

©2011 chris spheeris

You are always enough

whoever told you you were not enough?

You are always enough.

You are the only one who smiles that way.

You’re the only one who looks out from those eyes

you’re the only one who sees the world that you see

whoever told you you were not enough?

It was probably someone who was told they were not enough

your world is completely full of you at all times

and you are completely full of your world at all times

no more, no less, completely full, just enough

no one else walks in your shoes

no one else speaks in your voice

no one else dresses like you or shaped like you

the universe asked you to be here

and continues to

you are always loved

and the gift of life you possess is proof of that

you are always enough

so is everyone else

in every way

no one is or can be more or less what or who they are

we are constantly created by everything that is,

everything that was,

and we are impelled toward everything that will be

we are always in coexistence with everything that is

everything that is is always in perfect balance

so, coexisting with everything that is,

we are always in perfect balance

everyone is always in perfect balance,

no matter what that may look like

we represent the universe in a unique, unprecedented and unrepeatable form

everything we are assigned to experience,

we are experiencing in a unique way FOR the entire universe

everything we experience for the universe is of equal value

to everything anyone else experiences for the universe

it is all part of the whole

and no one’s experience without anyone else’s would be complete

it is always perfect and always enough

you are always enough

you are just the right amount of everything you are and everything you are not

what you are, no one else is and nothing else can be

what you do is yours alone to do

your perception of “enough” or “not enough”

is simply a judgment created in your mind

outside of your mind, it does not exists

the universe does not create things that are “not enough”

the universe just creates

and everything the universe creates is always enough

not more

not less

just enough

©2011 chris spheeris

nothing

With all my heart, I aspire to be nothing
nothing
not an inkling
not a notion
nothing that can be described
nothing that can be pointed to

I want this
for christmas
for my birthday
for every waking moment
and every sleeping dream

I don’t want a life
I want all life
converged in a fully saturated, timeless, infinite and instantaneous eternity

i want nothing
and i want to want nothing
nothing
like what’s left after everything has been included
nothing
like the thoughts I won’t have when there’s no time to remember
no time to remember
and no need to wear a past

i’ve tasted nothing
and it tastes like everything
and once tasting nothing, i want nothing more
nothing more
nothing less
just nothing
which once i’m nothing
will not even be that

Cypriot journalist Jeannette Orphanides interviews Chris for the online publication “Anazitiseis”.  http://anazitiseis.com/

Chris you are a composer, performer, producer and self taught in many instruments such as piano, guitar, bass, keyboards, bouzouki etc . When did you first start exploring this amazing world of multi talents you have been blessed with? When did you compose your first song and what’s the title? Was it ever published?

Actually, I began playing guitar in Greece. I was 13 years old and we were living in Athens that  year. One of the first songs I ever learned was  “asta ta malakia sou anakatomena”.  it was perhaps a year or two later that I wrote my first song. It was called “no need for me”. It was a sad song, a  true song, about a girl I had feelings for that didn’t seem to pay much attention to me.  My friend Paul Voudouris and it recorded this song on our first LP.

Which music genre moves you the most and fills you in. Which is your favorite song?

My inspirations don’t occur in genres. I do, however, seem to be most moved by film music and classical music as of late. A  favorite song? My God! honestly, it would have to be the one moving me in the moment I’m being moved.

Did you know from an early age that music would be the path that you would follow, or at some point of your life you had second thoughts whether your life should have taken a different course?

I never thought music would be my path in life. I idolized the Beatles, learned all of their melodies and harmonies, yet was always very shy about my singing. I wanted to be an architect, then a heart surgeon, then a philosophy professor. it was more through fate that i ended up in music.

When you compose, do you have a full image of what you want to create, or you just let your hands flow freely on the piano leading you to the music?

Sometimes, I hear a melody in my head and have to sit down and     play it. Other times I simply feel inspired, put an instrument in my hands, and surrender.  For me, it’s almost never conceptual. I would have to say it’s more instinctual or spiritual.

Talk to us about creativity and inspiration. Which are your influences and which are the sources of your creativity?

I could talk about creativity for hours. Inspiration is my drug and my religion. Let me just say that I experience inspiration as the divine force of creation. I’m influenced by everything, and particularly inspired by life’s daily miracles and the courage of others to be unique and brilliant.

After a few years of absence you made a comeback with “SONGBOOK LIVE”. A cd with 14  songs performed by you and a couple of instrumental pieces. Talk to us about this work. What makes it special? Which are the songs that you distinguish?

I was only absent from being Chris Spheeris the instrumental recording artist. I chose to relieve myself of that job for a while so I could experience life outside the studio. One of my hobbies and challenges has been to become a singer, or perhaps more accurately, to free the voice within me.  I have always been very self-conscious about my singing voice so to put myself in front of audiences as a singer has been quite healing for me. The songs are very personal, intimate, and recorded in a very honest way.  this     recording will always hold a warm place in my heart and will remind me of the small venues where I shared the songs and the two musicians, Courtney the cellist and Eric the percussionist both of whom I love dearly.

We are used to having from you absolutely beautiful instrumental music, along with some songs that you perform at times in your cds. In SONGBOOK LIVE you chose to perform almost all of your songs. What made you come to that decision? Where does your heart beat faster,  in composition or performance?

Songbook live was not created for the big market. I know my limitations as a singer. There is a humility and sincerity in these songs and their performance which has its place. My heart beats faster in performance. My spirit, however, connects much deeper in the process of composition.

According to your beliefs, what makes an artist being differentiated from other artists and how do you find today’s music industry, especially as far as young artists are concerned.  Has the flow of things changed? Which changes do you see?

For me, art has never been about the artists. It is about the spirit of humanity that is expressing at a particular time in particular circumstances through particular individuals. There is of course in pop music a preoccupation with the artist. in general, I prefer musicians to be heard and not necessarily seen. the wonderful gifts that artists are endowed with are divine and not personal. The epidemic of narcissism seems to be at an all-time high and does not necessarily contribute to the highest in human expression. Then again, this narcissism becomes part of the art and a very clear sign of the state of our culture.

You are also writing poems. As far as I know you wrote a poetry book. Share with us a few things about it.

I don’t necessarily call myself a poet, I’m more of a mute that occasionally opens his mouth and out pour surprisingly articulate words that often express intricate emotions. I enjoy writing as much as I enjoy composing music, but then again I enjoy photography just as much, or gardening, or cooking, or anything else in which I feel completely present. the book was a small edition meant to be shared with those interested.

You love photography. What kind of photography do you like? Where can someone see your creations and gallery?

Yes I enjoy photography. I’ve been taking pictures as long as I have been writing music. I like any kind of photography that shows me a way to observe. I am just now setting up galleries on my website to exhibit my photographs.

Which talents, which you haven’t yet explore would you like to explore in the future?

I have been feeling for several years that I am a painter. we will see. More significantly, however, I feel it may be time to father a child. There is no greater art form.

What nurtures your spirit and soul?

Love. Love. Love. Kindness. Compassion. Sincerity. Innocence.     Passion. The mystery of everything. Love.

Is the winner is always alone? Is the road to success and establishment a lonely one with high cost on a personal level?

I don’t really know how to answer this question. Success for me is measured in the degree to which I can be true to my heart. I have made conscious decisions in my life to travel quieter roads and I  have no regrets.

Which sacrifices did you find yourself doing in order to pursuit and maintain “the dream”?

When I was younger, I sometimes envied a more conventional life- marriage, children, a regular paycheck.  I spent hours, weeks, months, years creating my art, most of the time alone. When i became lonely for the fruits and comforts of the outside world, i left the studio. that was 10 years ago. Now I believe the only sacrifice I could’ve made in my life is to not live my dream.

Music Is the mirror of an artist’s soul. Through an artist’s performance but especially through an artist’s composition we can see the depth of one’s soul and one’s dominating feeling. Which one would you say is yours?

Music, and all creation is the mirror of God. Performance exhibits the excellence and vulnerability of being human. I open up and never really know if I am to be a vehicle for brilliance or mediocrity. I like to think that I accept both with humility and grace.

If you got one chance to do it all over again, what would you keep and what would you change. Would you do something differently?

The only thing that I would change in the history of my life is to have learned Greek as a child. I was never taught Greek in school. I learned Greek through my travels to my beloved homeland. The language is so rich and beautiful that I often ache when so much of it goes over my head.

So far, we spoke about Chris Spheeris the artist. Let’s just talk about Chris. How is Chris in his daily life?

Private. Fairly quiet. I stay home a lot. I enjoy simple things. Cooking. Gardening. And of course anything creative. I love my family and I’m ever so grateful to still have both of my parents. I live in a small town in the mountains of Arizona. It is quite beautiful here. I like to be useful in the world. I am happiest when I feel I have something to offer.

How would you describe the “ideal day” for Chris?

An ideal day for me is one in which I am reminded to be grateful.

Would you call yourself what we call a  “private person” ?

Yes I’m quite private to common perception, yet quite transparent in the presence of love.

Which are your special features? What would you like to keep from yourself and what to change?

I am so grateful for my hands. They are large and strong and I work with them every day. The changes that I work to make in my character deal with opening my heart more, having less fear, living less in my ego, judging less, opening to more love and gratitude and the increasing my ability to see the perfection in all things.

What do you respect and appreciate in people and what draws you off of them?

I respect kindness and compassion and generosity. I respect the ability of certain individuals to see humanity as all one spirit and to serve it as such.  I’m repulsed by blatant selfishness, greed, rudeness of manner and the blaming of others for one’s own misery.

Do you think human relationships are difficult? Which do you think is the secret of relationships?

Of course human relationships are difficult. We humans ourselves are complex and difficult. Most of us have no idea who we are, so how can we possibly understand how to relate to others? I don’t know what the secret of relationships is but I think it has something to do with understanding that we are all one Spirit, one heart, one organism.

Do you think that there is a long distance between potential and achievement? What’s the secret  to eliminate the distance?

Sometimes there is a long distance between potential and achievement. Other times no distance at all. The universe is constantly being improvised. When we are completely present in our experience, we are living our potential. when we dream we are living our potential to be the dreamer.

Are we destined, or do we create our destiny?

My understanding of life isn’t profound enough to answer this question. Who are “we” anyway? Are we the individuals that we point to in the mirror? Or are “we” the force of all creation that orchestrates everything at all times? All I know is this: there is only one way that things happen, and that is the way they happen. There is no option. there never was.

Share with us something beautiful that has really touched your heart…

Watching my brother become a father for the first time to a most beautiful little girl.

You have given us a legacy of music treasures which I personally consider that they are timeless. Especially your NEW AGE music which I believe it is a music coming from a higher ground. Should we expect something different from you in the future, or you are fulfilled with your music identity?

No matter how far out I think I go, my music still seems to sound like my music. I am working on a number of new pieces right now which I find in some ways more mature than my older music, yet it amuses me when classic Spheeris idioms appear again and again unintentionally.  Am I fulfilled with my music identity?  I never thought of it that way. I just keep creating.

How can someone get in touch with you?

ChrisSpheeris.com  or Facebook.  I try to respond personally to as much correspondence as possible.

If you could give a message to the world, what would that be?

I can give a message to the world, and I have been. It’s in the music, in the poetry. It’s something about recognizing ourselves in each other. It’s something about love.

Chris talks on inspiration and creativity. Conducted by Regina Meredith of the Conscious Media Network.

http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/previews/cspheerispreview.htm

in a  moment of radical lucidity, i received a series of profound messages. the first message came in these words: “you must suspend all agreements or you will die”. and then again, “you must suspend all agreements or you will die”. this suggestion turned out to be a gateway to a series of relentless assaults on the illusion of my linear world. it introduced me to the notion of sacrifice. it told me that in order to remain conscious, i must put everything on the table as expendable. this way, i could observe and reevaluate what was currently real for me. to make matters even more challenging, i began to understand that i must do this to some extent in every moment.

keeping in mind the principal that matter is neither created nor destroyed, i’ve begun to see how letting go of something only makes room for something else. i have since had to loosen my grip on possessions, relationships, activities, concepts, and most importantly, any rigid notions of who I think I am. i have put chris spheeris on the table, retained some things that were still relevant, and let go of other things that were not. it wasn’t easy. it didn’t feel good at first. as a matter of fact, for the first time in my life i experienced depression. what i learned from being depressed was that it was the signal from the deepest part of my awareness that the real me no longer fit the frame inside of which i was holding myself. the good thing about bottoming out to is that you start to feel you have nothing to lose. it’s easier to risk then. what was it janice joplin once sang? ” freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose. ” i never understood what that meant until I allowed myself to be depressed.

truth is a great force. if i listen for it, it will ask me to do things i’ve never imagined. it will ask me to walk naked and to be invisible. it will ask me to die to myself over and over. it will ask me to surprise, shock and sometimes distance those closest to me by showing them that I am no longer who they thought I was. those who can embrace the change in me will experience a liberation in themselves. those who cannot will inevitably be moved to the periphery of my experience. this is the nature of sacrifice – to put everything on the table: my joys, my sorrows, my security, my fear, my attachment, my possessions, my career, my friends, my partners, my family, my habits, and everything that makes me who we thought I was, all in the name of truth and living a life that is real.

“as I begin to identify my true “self” as one with the force of all creation, I am faced with the inevitability of embracing everything I’m opposed to, including all atrocities, as a part of myself.” – c.s.

we, as a race, exist as a collective with no one excluded. if we truly love ourselves, we must also love every component of the collective that is humanity. faced with those who perpetrate violence, hatred, and cruelty, this can be a colossal challenge. I chose to believe that we could heal the violence that our race inflicts upon itself by learning, as individuals, to embrace, love, and nurture the collective as we would any individual the we care deeply for.

as I am loved and nurtured by family, friends, relationships, community, and environment, I feel a growing sense of belonging. as I am reached, touched, supported, and included by those around me, I feel a growing sense of identification with those who play a part in my development. losing my sense of separation (experiencing love) allows me to feel more responsive to, and more responsible for those around me. this sense of extended family allows me to feel comfortable, safe, and inspired to share love. the more love I nurture within myself and with those around me, the wider my sense of identification. as I start to experience it all as a great system feeding back on itself, I notice how “giving” to anyone else becomes “giving” to a part of myself. and so “giving” and “receiving” become less distinguishable. the expanding sense of feeling myself in others, in animals, in the natural environment, gives me a sense of communicating, exchanging love, and sharing identity with all things. from this, I sense my position in everything. I sense god in and around me.

directing negativity towards others works in the same way. it comes right back at me. but as love frees and heals my deep-seated anger, sadness, and abandonment, these “filters” no longer handicap my ability to reach out and be reached.

what of those who steal, rape, murder, and inflict other forms of violence on fellow humans, animals, and nature? I see them (us) as having fallen out of the fold of love. I see those who have “fallen from grace” as those who are trapped in a very limited sense of identification. their empathic circumference is very small. taking from “another” or hurting “another” does not resonate within them in the same way it would resonate within a being whose heart has begun to reach toward infinity. somewhere their experience has told them that they are emotionally, psychologically and karmically separated from others.

if we are to truly expand our identity to include everyone, we must look at the part of ourselves that is separated. we must own the “fallen”, the poor, the hungry, the suffering, the faithless, the wounded, and any who appear to be separated from us as a part of ourselves. and here I have to ask, “have we not loved enough?”

clearly, societies are divided and separated by economic strata. this is a glaring metaphor for how we physically manifest and perpetuate the separation we feel in our hearts. the poor, the criminal, the wounded, the hungry, the separated, exist because we have not extended our hearts far enough to include them. I vaguely remember a quote from the Buddha as saying that he could not achieve his full Buddha-hood until all of humanity had done the same. and so I must ask ask,” can anyone be truly wealthy when part of themselves is homeless or starving?” can anyone find peace without addressing the part of themselves that is suffering? is there contentment for anyone in a world where conflict and competition are epidemic?

we can’t heal the wounds of the world single-handedly, but we can extend ourselves to those within our reach. we can offer help to a neighbor, smile at a stranger, contribute to a charity, and generally be vigilant for the opportunities where generosity, kindness, compassion, tolerance, and understanding can be exercised. every moment provides the opportunity to expand our experience of love. gestures of love remind us and others that the boundaries of our humanity are more inclusive than exclusive. perhaps, one day, we will be delivered into the awareness that there are truly no limits at all to the reach of our humanity.

for the most part, the human condition is a lonely one. and though we are social beings by nature, we are also spiritual orphans, abandoned by god, and left longing for the comfort of deep familial connectedness. we grope, adopting religions and philosophies to placate the empty hands of our souls. most humans adopt the notion that our creator is transcendent of this world, out of our reach, beyond the horizon. many hope, at best, to “meet the maker” at the end of this terrestrial ride. as i sit this morning watching the sun rise behind a magnificent plume of clouds, i am inspired to share the experience of my descent into heaven.

I carry the assumption that there is some sort of governing intelligence or force that created all of this. whether it is within me (projecting everything around me) or transcendent of me (and i am a miniscule component of everything), or some combination of the two, doesn’t really matter. i do accept that whatever did create all of this is so far beyond the grasp of my rational mind that i simply accept it. i feel the presence of it.

up to now, i have pretty much gone with the assumption that we are dropped into this sensual heaven and mental purgatory to experience, to live, to grow, to evolve, and in the process, to acquire some wisdom in regards to our position in the cosmos. to me, the spiritual path has appeared like a ladder upon which i ascend closer and closer to some sort of nirvana, or a “yellow brick road” at the end of which i will find oz, reap my just reward for a life examined. this perspective was my conditioning. this was my assumption.

this morning, as the sun climbs over the clouds, i am pondering a different possibility. today, i ask the question, “why would something of infinite intelligence need or want to create a world that is somehow incomplete and in need of evolving to higher levels of perfection?” why wouldn’t the cosmos just be created perfect in the first place and sit in the eternal bliss of an ever-perfect state of flux? let’s face it, god doesn’t have to evolve! what if this world is perfect and time, space, matter, and energy are the media through which this perfection is expressed? instead of being lowly creatures flopping around like clumsy puppies who haven’t grown into our paws, what if we are chosen beings privileged in every moment to this ride through perfection? what if all of our judgements of “good”, “bad”, “right”, “wrong”, “higher”, “lower”, are manifestations of ingratitude? what if all of this hierarchical thinking is the expression of a consciousness that has yet to embrace and appreciate the perfection of the astounding and endlessly fascinating world in which it exists? i’m going to leave these rhetorical questions for now.

we are royalty to the kingdoms of this world. the empires of color, sound, aroma, flavor, texture, emotion, imagination are all bestowed upon us at birth. we don’t have to earn them and they remain available to us all the time. the animal, vegetable, and mineral worlds are all but kaleidoscopic and hallucinatory in their variety and intensity. we have all been granted the ultimate privilege- that of life itself. no matter what our circumstances, it is still our gift.

today, i am not thinking about the nirvana i might achieve after this lifetime (or others). i’m not thinking about heaven after the good life lived. today, i am absorbed in the intensely brilliant orange of the geraniums in front of me, in the sound of the waves lapping the shoreline in the distance, in the sensation of the warm, moist breeze on my skin, in the spicy fragrance off the dry hills around me, and in the lingering bittersweet flavor of coffee on my tongue. today, now, in this moment and if only in this moment, i am filled with gratitude and appreciation. i am grateful for this amazing experience of life itself that i have paused to appreciate. today, i don’t need to ascend to any height above this lovely ground. today, i have focused my sight down to earth and have descended into heaven.