The Arts

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sparkal

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Post15 Jan 2007

They seem to accommodate anyone who fits their agenda, and anyone who does not, is rejected. A family business may be prefered rather than a corporate one :shock:. They can do this if they like whether we agree or not, or so it appears. I have no issues with Bliss or their product.

There is fear towards artists due to past experiences. My biggest concern is that they wash their hands of the arts all together because it is too problematic. Artists will challenge most forms of establishment and this establishment knows that. The real problem at hand is that God is the ultimate artist, so where does that leave us :?:.

amaranthine

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Re: The Arts

Post15 Jan 2007

ex-l wrote:Its a BK pop group.

Why do they have to accomodate a BK pop group?
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ex-l

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Re: The Arts

Post15 Jan 2007

amaranthine wrote:Why do they have to accomodate a BK pop group?

It is not that they have to, it is that they do "accommodate" the BK pop group called Bliss.

Basically, the issue here that sparkal is raising is that 'some' BKs appear to get preferential treatment over others, especially with regards to money. With the example of the pop group caled Bliss, Bliss are allowed to use BK Knowledge and imagery for the benefit of their person business, even selling CDs through the BK networks we presume because it is good for the BKWSU's imagine. Whereas it appears that other BKs musicians are told to stop playing music, not try and make music their business/life etc.

There is a general trend that the Maryadas which states that business should not be spoken about in the center/family has been broken but rather that for a "chosen few" only the BKWSU has become a co-prosperity zone, e.g. Bliss and Brian Bacon/Oxford Leadership Academy training up and employing BKs as executive service consultants and using the BKs networks to promote his own corporate service ventures.

Sparkal goes on to draw the conclusion that "face that fits" the current PR of the BKWSU is increasing a corporate, capitalist and politically right-wing one.

Perhaps the equation is that the more useful to the current regime within the BKWU you are, the more you are allowed to get away with in order for them to hold on to you. And that where someone is not very useful to them, or "their face does not fit", then those individuals are dispensed with, their voices quietened and their person's excluded by the elite.
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Mr Green

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Post16 Jan 2007

Bliss make a good living out of the BK 'family' worldwide and good luck to them, they got in there :lol:.

I remember L telling me how annoyed they were that in Abu they were copying Bliss cds (the first one) and selling them for peanuts with no royalties going to them, I think they managed to block this happening with the later albums.

There are others who've tried to get on this 'band' wagon :lol: but you need DJ to hug you on the stage and give you gifts in front of everyone before the Hindi mothers will buy your stuff en masse.
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sparkal

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Post24 Mar 2007

The next time you see terror suspect Tony Blair with that guitar which we have never heard him play, consider that he is saying; "It is just a hobby".

Of course, shafting the masses and being used as a puppet is a real job. The money earmarked for unemployed musicians is falling into corporate hands (education business), and musicians are playing in bars, often for nothing while corporate breweries make loads over the bar. Of course, the musician is getting practise, sure.

Meanwhile, Sony and Nintendo etc are making billions from a hobby. These people buy in games, they choose, and they choose dynamic, violent games. We now have kids running around shooting each other in the streets. (While working in the post office last year, I was shown a sawn-off shot gun on a scanner, and was informed that there is nothing the Post Office staff can do as the government tells them to let them through. So now we know where the guns are coming from).

Hold on, are the BKs not trying to co-operate and encorporate a corporate image? What are we to make of it? Probably just one of the "four faces of Women" (A BK programme ... I thought they only had two as well).

Bliss pressed for money while others of us were willing to donate, much to Bliss' discontent. I don't know who took the final decisions but the ground was moving by the day at one point. I don't know what to think to be honest. Let's face it, Bliss are real Pro's while the rest are just jokers in the pack :roll:

Artists have powerful creative abilitys which can cause fear, as a new vision may mean CHANGE! (sorry to use the "C" word BKs, I know, it is a bit daunting).
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paulkershaw

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Post29 Mar 2007

Here's another thought about the use of art and spirituality working together. There are some posts here sharing points that art and music are the best forms of spirituality and I agree totally. When we look at fashion designers and current trends which change from year to year they're bringing forth new ideas and colours which all have a huge impact on the general popluations they're working with. Same with music stars and other art forms apparent today. Did anyone ever think that the particular colour schemes we're given in fashion are actually helping us heal and grow and connect to the higher realms of spirit by connecting with our chakric and auric systems (which we're never taught in BK life) ...

We are all individual and unique channels for spirit in some form or another and the creative art forms that we link and resonate too are giving each one of us a connection to higher self or to spirit in whatever form we believe in. It is being 'channeled' through and we perceive this as inspiration and flowing creativity.

If the BK institution tries to take us away from these inborn gifts then its another case of mind control over its members. By saying that it's not Shrimat (if this is indeed what happens) to use one's God given talents in creative ways then it simply highlights that whatever 'BK instrument' tells us this - is simply not happy or secure within themselves or their own roles within the organisation.

It is saying that any creative talents we have are not Godly at all and only what one has been told to do is in fact Godly, which leaves any individual opne to abuse and emotinal damage. What nonsense indeed to ask some beautiful creative person to give up something so special - this is then creating huge karmic accounts indeed and it seems like many a BK instrument will be held responsbible for destroying something that is totally spiritual in nature.

So the Big Question for today is: Is BK life in fact spiritual? :shock: All Responses welcome!
XX Light and Love XX
PK (Not BK!)
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proy

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Post29 Mar 2007

paulkershaw wrote:Did anyone ever think that the particular colour schemes we're given in fashion are actually helping us heal and grow and connect to the higher realms of spirit by connecting with our chakric and auric systems

This is something I am well aware of. Colour is very important, not just for self expression, but for psychic health also. I am not sure I would trust the fashion industry to decide which colours are best for me though. Similarly with music. Music vibrates our bodies. Even our subtle bodies and chakras are physical, and affected profoundly by music. In answer to your question - Is BK life spiritual - I would say all life is spiritual, if we are awake enough to know it.

Music and art in general are among the highest forms of expression of our spirituality. Nothing I can write here could convey the spiritual feelings and upliftment that can be attained by listening to a good piece of music. Even better, play or sing yourself. Even if you think you have little or no talent, try it and see how you feel those spiritual vibes lifting you and enriching your life.

bansy

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Post29 Mar 2007

A dew drop hanging on the edge of a leaf on a crisp Sunday morning. A bit Zenny ?

What exactly is art ? Is the absence of vibration (thought) an art ?
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Mr Green

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Post29 Mar 2007

Art is simply the expression of the self. Anything can be art and anything can be a form of expression even if it is just something you behold.
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alladin

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colours and music

Post29 Mar 2007

Adding a simple comment to Proy's mail;

What you say resonates with my feelings. I need bright colours around me (sorry, no black or red!) and to wear; and music to listen to, live or not, to play, to dance with, and singing.

When I do a lot of these things, it means I am in a good mood, of course, when I don't, it doesn't mean a positive introversion, it means something's wrong with me!

And to tell you the truth, the BKs never managed to uproot these things from me. I made a clear choice long time ago!
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ex-l

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Post18 Aug 2007

mr green wrote:Bliss make a good living out of the BK 'family' worldwide and good luck to them, they got in there. I remember Lucinda telling me how annoyed they were that in Abu they were copying Bliss cds (the first one) and selling them for peanuts with no royalties going to them, I think they managed to block this happening with the later albums.

There are others who've tried to get on this 'band' wagon but you need DJ to hug you on the stage and give you gifts in front of everyone before the Hindi mothers will buy your stuff en masse.

And here is the proof of that ... I would have loved to have been at the meeting when they put the SS to rights over paying copyrights for their "service" to the family.
Pop Music With a Purpose

During a visit to the New York City Meditation Center and Gallery, run by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization, I discovered an extraordinary and relatively unknown group that seems destined for superstardom. Bliss, a four-piece band from Oxford, England ... Without any promotion or radio play, they have sold in excess of 20,000 CD's -- all through word of mouth ... lack of distribution and radio failing to embrace any singles resulted in their being dropped by the label, their manager, and their publishing company. The people in power did not have a clue about what to do with their new sound.

People were sending their condolences to Bliss for losing their record deal, but Lucinda and Andy realized that it was an opportunity for them to do what they were destined to do. Lucinda states, "The Raja Yoga philosophy teaches you that everything happens for a reason. You learn not to fight life and just flow with it. Life does not have to be a struggle. We choose that."

Andy and Lucinda took the music they had been producing together, made demos, and gave them to the Brahma Kumaris. This became their first two recordings, "Flying Free " and "The Journey. " Ironically, the CDs began to sell well at the Brahma Kumaris centers, of which there are 5,400 in 83 countries.. This inspired Bliss to make an album of beauty, and so "Through These Eyes" came to be. They continued to get a positive response with their next CD, "A Hundred Thousand Angels." ... Their most recent CD, "Bliss," is their most popular by far. Their first pressing has sold out. They cannot press them fast enough to appease the fan demand.

So, how many CDs to how many centers does that equate to? ka-ching ... ka-ching ... Did this "inspire Bliss to make an album of beauty", or an album targeted at their BK clientele?

I know the sweetshop at Madhuban has been commercialized, I think we should put in a tender to privatize the kitchens ...
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abrahma kumar

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Post18 Aug 2007

Ah, well.

Nothing against Lucinda and Andy at all.
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tinydot

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Post21 Aug 2007

This is a typical napster scenario.

The question is, have they made a reasonable amount of money for the efforts they did in creating the album? We cannot simply compare the prices in America and prices in India, that is Basic Economics.

I have nothing against musicians and singers who makes money for their living. But I am against those who manipulate, control the world, and become "part of the strategy" of sucking in people's resources, and yet work very lightly just sitting on their asses doing nothing, pretending to be doing something, or doing non-productive things like sitting on a long batthi until their asses get numb. It is OK to sit in a long batthi if you have lots of money you earned decently to sustain you for the rest of your life.

The other question is, are these singers or musicians help for the betterment of the world 'more than' they subtly ruin peoples' lives by the influencing effects of lyrics and music? It is not OK to copy CDs but it is OK to steal peoples mind, is that a good philosophy?

I still bow down to the farmers and construction workers working very hard to feed us and provide shelters.
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abrahma kumar

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Invited to rate competition entrant BK Andy of Bliss fame

Post03 Sep 2007

Received via the BK grapevine:

To all BKs who have known Andy and enjoyed meditating to his music. Here is a chance to express yourslef on Classic FM - Smooth Classics Composing Competition.
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Mr Green

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Post03 Sep 2007

I knew them quite well, they do taylor the music deliberately to cater to BKs, like I said ... nice little earner, good on em.
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