{"id":111,"date":"2011-01-05T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-05T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/2011\/01\/one-love.html"},"modified":"2012-10-15T22:19:28","modified_gmt":"2012-10-16T02:19:28","slug":"one-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/01\/one-love.html","title":{"rendered":"One Love"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a5.mzstatic.com\/us\/r30\/Music\/9a\/69\/12\/mzi.llywcfkl.170x170-75.jpg\" alt=\"One Love Devotional Chant, One Love Devotional Chant\" width=\"170\" height=\"170\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span>People come into our lives at the perfect time, so says my experience. In 1999, I walked into a store called Eleventh Step Books in Westmont, NJ and almost immediately my eyes were drawn to a counter on which was perched a CD called &#8220;Leap of Faith&#8221;.\u00a0 It resonated so clearly with me, since I had been recently widowed at age 40 and I was indeed taking huge leaps in my life, trusting that the net would be there to catch me if I fell.\u00a0 The singer-songwriter who created the CD was Jody Kessler.\u00a0 I listened to it on the way home and was instantly smitten by Jody and her music.\u00a0 Shortly after that I contacted her to let her know how much I enjoyed her music.\u00a0 We became friends and I am delighted when she comes into the area to perform.\u00a0 Her music has taken a beautifully evolutionary turn as you will read in the interview.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span>How do you live your bliss? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span><span style=\"color: #800080\">Through singing, praying, being in beautiful places in nature, writing songs, practicing yoga, eating coconut\u00a0ice cream.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span>What was the turning point that had the school teacher that you were morph into a musician? <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span><span style=\"color: #800080\">I was on the treadmill at the gym. It was 1995. I heard a voice (my own) say, &#8220;Jody, when you are on your death bed, do you want to look back at your life and ask yourself &#8216;why didn&#8217;t I do what I REALLY wanted to do?&#8217; &#8221; <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span style=\"font-size: small\"><br \/>\n<span>How would you describe your music?\u00a0 I know it has evolved over the years.<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #800080\">Well, I&#8217;m living in two musical worlds these days. I have my singer-songwriter music (original songs that are on my four solo CDs)\u00a0which\u00a0is\u00a0the music that I&#8217;ve performed in folk venues, festivals, and various concert series that feature performing songwriters. I also include my original music in worship services and workshops at the many spiritual communities I serve though my interfaith ministry work. My songs touch upon themes related to connection with Spirit, mindful living, compassion, recovery, peace &amp; justice, and personal growth.\u00a0 Through song, I share,\u00a0stories about remarkable people and events that have touched, moved, and inspired me. I love being a songwriter and connecting with others through the uplifting power of song. That music can be heard at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jodykessler.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">www.jodykessler.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #800080;font-size: small\">The other musical love that I have is chant. The practice of devotional chanting, for me, is transformational, heart-opening, and often ecstatic. When chanting, the thinking mind melts into the\u00a0boundless\u00a0heart, and I feel\u00a0fully and vibrantly alive. Because I have a very eclectic,\u00a0interspiritual\u00a0focus in my life, I&#8217;m naturally drawn to chanting from many different faiths, traditions and cultures.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span>What led you to chanting and to the creation of One Love?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #800080\">I have always loved chanting, whether it was part of a Pagan festival, a Sufi zikr, or singing at the Dances of Universal Peace. Then, several years ago, my husband, Doug, and I attended the ecstatic chant weekend at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. That was my first\u00a0 in-depth experience with kirtan (call and response chanting from the Hindu tradition), and we were both completely blown away beyond words.\u00a0 A few years later, I attended Jai Uttal&#8217;s summer kirtan camp in\u00a0Northern California, where I learned more about the art of leading kirtan and the practice of Bhakti yoga (the yoga of devotion).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #800080;font-size: small\">About three years ago, Doug and I formed the band ONE LOVE with a few other very talented musicians. We also have an extended family of musicians that join us at different venues, so\u00a0often our events are a joyful,\u00a0collaborative celebration.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #800080;font-size: small\"><span>We released our first CD, called One Love Devotional Chant,\u00a0a year ago. Audio clips can be heard at <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.onelovechant.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><span>www.onelovechant.com<\/span><\/a><span> .<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span>What chant artists inspire you? <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span><span style=\"color: #800080\">Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Donna DeLory, Tina Malia and Shimshai, HARC, Deva Premal and Miten, Snatam Kaur, Yofiyah, just to name a few.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span>How does your music bridge spiritual divides? <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #800080;font-size: small\">ONE LOVE is unique because, in addition to the\u00a0increasingly popular\u00a0practice of\u00a0Hindu kirtan, we draw upon the sacred music from many different spiritual traditions. We recognize that the juiciness and heart-opening qualities of kirtan can be found in other kinds of chanting as well. So we dive deep into the many wells to drink from the One Source. <\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>What is the synergy that allows for unique musicians to blend so beautifully? <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"color: #800080\">I think it&#8217;s very much the same chemistry that brings lovers together. It&#8217;s a kind of falling in love, when the right combination of musical passions, skill and creativity comes together in a mysterious and blessed union. <\/span><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; People come into our lives at the perfect time, so says my experience. In 1999, I walked into a store called Eleventh Step Books in Westmont, NJ and almost immediately my eyes were drawn to a counter on which was perched a CD called &#8220;Leap of Faith&#8221;.\u00a0 It resonated so clearly with me, since&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,15,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","category-living-their-bliss","category-music"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>One Love - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/01\/one-love.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One Love - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; People come into our lives at the perfect time, so says my experience. In 1999, I walked into a store called Eleventh Step Books in Westmont, NJ and almost immediately my eyes were drawn to a counter on which was perched a CD called &#8220;Leap of Faith&#8221;.\u00a0 It resonated so clearly with me, since&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/01\/one-love.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-05T01:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-10-16T02:19:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/a5.mzstatic.com\/us\/r30\/Music\/9a\/69\/12\/mzi.llywcfkl.170x170-75.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EdieWeinstein1\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"One Love - The Bliss Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/01\/one-love.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"One Love - The Bliss Blog","og_description":"&nbsp; People come into our lives at the perfect time, so says my experience. 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She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. 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