Update to Starting Fresh

It's funny how as much as you try to escape your ego the more it comes back full force. Also funny is how much can change in a week. Last week I was all about reinventing myself and thought patterns. Even though I mentioned the ego and was aware of how much it was influencing my post there still was a lot of praise involved with it. There was this feeling that without ego we cease to exist, which is the ultimate ego trap and thought pattern. Yes, without ego "I" cease to exist, but there is still something in existence beyond that, a deeper connection to existence itself. That was what I was searching for. That is the true reinvention I wanted to experience.

My ego of course immediately jumped right back in and I almost went back and edited my post and completely changed it to reflect my new ideas. Almost just as quickly though I realized there was even more ego in doing that. As if I am bigger and better now and can go back into the past and change my previous self thus reinforcing my current ego even more. I laughed at myself for these thoughts, watched them, and saw them too fade like everything else. I would like to go ahead and thank Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth for the re-awakening that was experienced this week. My stepmother gave me the audio cd and as I listened I remembered, awoke, and found a deep peace. It's always nice to have a refresher and reminder about staying present, not attaching to your thoughts and emotions, and dissolving your sense of me, mine, and I. No matter how far along you think you are in your spiritual practice, how close to God, or how much you meditate it's always a good time to be reminded to be here now. Now too. And now again.

This blog or any blog for that matter is completely self indulgent and ego driven thinking that you or I have anything meaningful and purposeful to share with others; however, as the thoughts pour out and onto the page I am able to observe them and detach from them in some way. Maybe this helps no one or maybe it just helps myself, but the ego says I am all there is anyway so it has it's own self serving purpose I suppose. Perhaps when others view my crazy thought patterns they are able to better recognize the same neurosis in themselves or maybe I'm just able to take a step back and see it in myself better. Constant circular thoughts like this could drive someone mad or all of us mad- the collective psychosis. Breathe. Release. Be.

Peace and love! Good luck on the journey :)

My craziness and ego cannot rest so as an update to my post not even 5 minutes ago here is an unofficial video to reflect my song "Split Myself, " which perfectly goes along with all this crazy ego talk: 

Moody Blue's Cruise

I just got back from an amazing vacation where I taught yoga on the MSC Poesia on a cruise to Jamaica and Grand Cayman. It was truly an incredible experience. Every morning I held a yoga session to the music of The Moody Blues which was the theme of the cruise. I was set up on the stage on the pool deck and every morning there was such a great turn out of amazing men and women of all ages awake to experience my yoga teachings. Usually I teach hot power yoga so it was quite a change to tone it down and make it more accessible for everyone. I must say that it is also a huge challenge to maintain your balance on a cruise ship, up on a stage, with the wind blowing and a mic pack attached to your back and a mic headset. Not to mention that post-Jamaica braids make headstands almost impossible and at the least very painful. Each morning had its own twists and turns: from the pool area beginning to fill up with water as people were wrapping up their practice to the time change and sun beating down on everyone to the wind nearly blowing my mat off stage. It was so worth it though because the sun rising and the ocean and sky views were just awe inspiring. A big thank you to everyone who joined me in the mornings for such a unique experience!

It was really great to meet people from all over the world and experience the music of so many great bands. Being significantly younger than most of the cruise passengers I am embarrassed to say that it was my first time hearing most of the bands and their music. Although, I had seen the Moody Blues a few months ago when they played at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. Better late than never though. I was blown away by Little River Band and The Zombies. The musicianship, vocals, and harmonies of both the bands were incredible. Ambrosia was another band that I was truly impressed with and it was really great to meet everyone and get an inside experience that most people in the world have not had.

In Jamaica, my boyfriend and I set out on our own to encounter as much as we could in 6 hours. Well not totally alone as we had Charles as our escort and private tour guide. We shared a drink up on a hillside that overlooked Ocho Rios. It was perfection with the wind blowing through the trees. I found that to be a great time to really practice and understand the true nature of the yoga tree posture I do everyday. The strongest trees are really those that have some flexibility to them and allow the wind to just blow through while staying firmly rooted. I think at some point I even ended up making friends with the trees including one that looked like a dinosaur. Either that or I was convinced that it was another "Jack in the Bush" as they call one native Jamaican who dresses up as a tree near the roadside on the way up the hill.

After some brief handstand practice in a field that I realized one handstand too late was covered in prickly burs, we headed back down the hill we met a boy who did one handed back flips down the road. Then it was off to try some freshly caught jerk fish by the water where you could take a raft ride on a raft made of the trees. After some brief shopping with the nicest ladies ever offering us many samples of rum as Bob Marley played over the speakers, we eventually made it to a little beach where I was talked in to getting my hair braided. While slightly painful, it was actually very liberating to have my hair off my face and not getting tangled as the salt water tends to wreak havoc on my curly hair. We met Richie Rich who introduced us to his little beachside grotto with rock caves shielding the sun and cute little table chair setups for relaxing and enjoying a Red Stripe. He sang us one of his tunes which is still stuck in my head: "These little girls..."

After the beach, we headed to the falls. We were escorted down the rocks and to wonderful waterfalls with fresh mineral water pouring down completely cleansing and healing. Walking up the rocks of the falls we encountered a naturally made rock chair where the water poured in and massaged your back. It was breathtaking.

Last we headed to the Jerk Centre for some authentic Jamaican jerk chicken and one more Red Stripe. Spicy perfection. Then it was back to the cruise ship, but not before handing off our last dollars to some women who had sewed our names into some Jamaican souvenir bracelets. All in all it was a fabulous encounter even if it was slightly overwhelming with the constant draining of our wallets. You gotta love vacation. Yah Mon. No Problem!

The next day in Georgetown, Grand Cayman we took a more relaxed approach and decided to just walk along the roadside until we came to a sign indicating beach access. We found our own private little beach near a resort that was setting up for a wedding in the distance. The blue of the water is indescribable. There were a lot of rocks, but after our Jamaican falls experience our feet were water -rock prepared. We lied in the beautiful white sand and basically just cooked ourselves. The breeze was so nice that you hardly felt the intense sun beating down and plotting to burn your skin.

After spending much too long in the sun, we walked back down our little pathway and stopped for a bite to eat at Da Fish Shack. We each tried some Cayman beers: my boyfriend went for the CayBrew, while I tried the darker IronShore which is more to my tastes. We shared some delicious fish tacos and enjoyed the shady respite from the devilishly deceiving sun.

All in all it was an amazing vacation and truly memorable experience. I hope you all get to experience your own similar adventure soon.

Peace and love!
Lucia
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What's in a name?

I was headed down to South Beach the other day and my boyfriend decided to test out his Shazam app. We put in a few of the records he's worked on and Shazam picked up on every song accurately...until my album came on. We tried the first song..."Unable to recognize." Second song..."Unable to recognize." My debut album Studio 71 is available on iTunes, CdBaby, and all over internet download and radio stations yet Shazam can't recognize it. If someone heard my song in a club and tried to Shazam it it wouldn't work. If someone heard my song on a commercial and tried to Shazam it it wouldn't work. It's like I don't exist. 

Just in case the situation wasn't bad enough, my given last name is Giovachino. My whole life no one has been able to pronounce or spell my last name- not my teachers, my friends, no one. My given first name Lindsay was also repeatedly spelled Lindsey or Lyndsey or Linsey or any other bizarre combination of letters that you can come up with that aren't my name. Some people care about things like this- I don't. I'm so use to everyone not being able to spell or pronounce my name correctly that I've given up even correcting people. Even when I do correct people they won't remember next time so what is the point? 

When I was getting ready to release my album, my friend from Italy was in town and giving his feedback. He said that the name Lindsay doesn't exist or have meaning in Italy. Hell, even the English meaning is almost non-existent. I looked it up and this is the origin: It is of Old English origin, and the meaning of Lindsay is "Lincoln's marsh; island of linden trees". Place name. The surname of some of the major Scottish and English noble families. linden tree island. I'm an island. All by myself and non-existent to the rest of the world unless of course you're a linden tree.

Anyway, so my Italian friend Cesare and his beautiful wife Danila (whom the iPhone has decided to refer to as Chester Rae and Vanilla) decided to give me the name Lucia. It sounded beautiful when they said it. The meaning of the name is light. Perfect. The opposite of being non-existent. Plus, the theme of my music has always been to help people see the light and open up to the universe's endless possibilities. I loved it.  

 I made the decision of not including a last name on the album release because Giovachino was just impossible. Back when it was released there were two other Lucia's making music and both used their last names. One was from Europe and sang industrial metal music (which my music would never get confused for). The other was a classical artist who also used a last name (again no risk for confusion). Little did I know that by not including a last name I would be lumped together with any and every artist who has the name Lucia regardless of whether or not they use a last name. If you run a search for me in any music search engine the odds are that you'll now come up with 1,000 other Lucia's- none of which will be me. The only way I'm able to find myself is if I search for Lucia and Studio 71 together, which most people don't know the name of the album before they search. Anyway, it seems like a lost cause to me. 

Living in Miami, I have also now encountered issues with the name Lucia. In Italian it has a hard "ch" pronunciation as in Lu-che-a, but in Spanish it is a soft "c" as in Lu-see-a. I'm honestly not a fan of the softer pronunciation as my background is Italian and I think it sounds more beautiful and exotic with the hard "ch." At least I'm use to people messing up my name already, but it definitely adds an additional layer of confusion when people try to speak about me or search for me. 

I put so much time and effort into making the album and it's really disappointing to know that people can't find me and my music. It's as if my music doesn't exist. I don't exist. I'm this obscure completely unknown phantom creating music that only a few select souls who cross my path will ever get to hear. I've been toying around with some last name ideas and since I'm also in the wine business and a big fan of contrasts and darkness I think that it's only fitting that my last name should be Noir. Lucia Noir. I will re-release my old album along with some new tracks in addition to the new album I'm working on. 

In the end, maybe it's all just karma for me being terrible with names and never remembering anyone else's name. I'm great with faces, but terrible with names. To me a name is a word and words are just signs pointing at the truth. You can never really capture the true meaning of anything with a name or a word. In fact a lot of the time words are a distraction from the real truth. My album is everyone's album. The collective unconscious. Consciousness emerging into being. If you hear it then you're meant to hear it and hopefully it opens up your awareness and understanding of whatever situation you're in. If you don't know whose singing the song and you can't attach a face, a body, and an image to it then it just becomes part of you. After all, it's not me, Lucia, singing the songs. We are all connected so it's actually some other version of you in an altered time/space reality. A version of you that wanted to write songs, sing, connect the world, and have fun doing it. 

Share comments of your experiences, insights, and ideas so we can connect and be a part of each others creations. Cheers! 

@LiveLoveLucia
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Three Way: Misery loves Company but Company loves Truth. Truth loves Misery and Company and Itself.

I just heard about something that I'm praying is just some practical joke being passed around. I heard that there is someone in Miami who is putting HIV infected needles at gas stations so when people go to pump their gas they get pricked with the needle and infected. I don't even want to think about what type of person would spread a rumor like that if its not true, let alone what type of person would actually do that if it is true. So disturbing.

Pain makes people do crazy things. If the rumor above was true, I can only imagine what intense pain this person must be suffering to want to inflict that pain on everyone else in the world. Isn't that always the first reaction to being hurt- the desire to retaliate or make others understand and empathize with our pain? We want others to feel what we feel so we are not alone in our misery. It makes us feel better to justify the ego's sense of self by saying "See, other people feel what I feel. What I feel is real, valid, and true. I exist." In doing so we just give more energy and power to the pain, person or situation that hurt us by passing it onto others.

What if you hear that negativity day in and day out? Initially you might be able to be strong, remain positive and not give in to the negativity, but eventually little doubts would creep in. Before you know it you would find yourself right in the middle of that negative energy. Like attracts like and misery loves company. Who are you surrounding yourself with? Do these people support you and your goals? If the answer is no then I suggest you get out while you can. Distance yourself from those people, situations, and environments that are not conducive to you being the best you can be and living up to your greatest potential. It seems obvious, but far too often we stay in a bad situation long after we should have left.

Now this doesn't mean you can't be there for a friend in need. We all have our ups and downs and it's important to support people in your life when they aren't feeling well and their energy is low. How great is it to confide in a friend and have them offer you that little bit of insight that transforms how you see yourself or a situation? When you're energy is high and you are feeling good you have a lot to offer the world and won't be affected by the negativity around you. In fact, you're energy will be so strong that you will be able to transform the negative energy into positive by being that friend with the great insight. It's only when you are constantly bombarded with the negative energy and feeling a little run down that the negative starts to seep in.

Last night I went out to dinner with my boyfriend and happened to be very stuck in my head trying to brainstorm creative marketing ideas for artists. I just needed to come up with that one thing- something witty, inventive, eye-catching, and wildly entertaining. He was very supportive and helpful trying to brainstorm ideas, but I quickly shot everything down. I got fixated on it to the point where I was not a very good companion or dinner partner just sitting there and thinking in my own head. Luckily, he was pretty good at sustaining his positive energy and not letting me get him down so eventually I was able to bounce out of the funk and out of my head. When you're feeling good have have extra energy be sure to do whatever you need to in order to sustain that energy so your overabundance can spill out onto others.

Be thankful for those people who are there for you when you're feeling down. Be aware of your own energy level and what you are capable of giving to others in any given moment. If you're feeling discouraged, disappointed, depressed, or angry then try to channel that energy into something creative. Maybe it's a painting or a song or writing. Maybe it's working out or calling up a friend that you know is feeling good and can help you out. Anything to get that energy out of you without retaliating or bringing others down with you. One of the reasons I started writing songs was to channel the intense sadness and anger I felt growing up and finding my way through different relationships. I related to artists who had "depressing" songs because they perfectly articulated what I was going through. Like I mentioned above misery loves company. It helps to know others have been there before and you're not alone. If someone else can get through it then so can you.

Support groups are great and friendships are even better. Self therapy through creative outlets is sublime. In fully confronting and acknowledging what is bringing you down without fixating or holding onto resentment about it, you cease to give it power over you. Bring your darkness and your shadow out into the light. Confront it and don't be afraid.

***PAY ATTENTION*** CRUCIAL LIFE TRANSFORMING INFORMATION AHEAD:

As I evolved in my writing I began to transform my feelings through song to achieve my goals. I saw myself writing negative lyrics about being lonely, wanting a man who didn't want me, heartbreak, etc. One day it dawned on me that I was stuck in this negative cycle of reacting to situations instead of creating. I decided to use my feelings as an emotional guide and write lyrics that made me feel just slightly better or provided deeper insight into my situation. It wasn't about lying to myself or writing lyrics I didn't believe in. It was about focusing on what I wanted instead of what I didn't want. So instead of writing about being lonely I would write about how I knew there was someone out there for me. They both have similar meanings. In both senses I was without someone, but one made me feel depressed and one made me feel hopeful. This changed my life.

I met the man of my dreams, but he was in a relationship at the time. Instead of letting it get me down I started writing about our connection and the active transformation of our situation to bring us together. Within one year he had split with his girlfriend and we were living together. We are still happily living together and making music 5 years later.

I'm not claiming that songs can work magic. The whole year I wasn't with him felt painful and hopeless like I would never get what I wanted. What the whole experience taught me was the power of intention, focus, and positive feeling in manifesting your desires. Ever since The Secret came out I feel like these ideas got a bad wrap by people who misunderstood them. Think about what you want, feel good about it and it will come to you. It's not as easy as that. Maybe it is for some people but I haven't mastered that belief yet so for me it remains true that if you want something you have to work hard for it. You have to take risks and put yourself out there. Everyday and with every ounce of your being you have to know, believe, speak, and act with the intent of creating what you desire. Every negative self-defeating thought that crosses your mind you have to shoot down and replace it with positive. The bad news is: it's constant work. It's laser beam focus. It's energetic intention. It's meditation. The good news is: it's simplicity. In true form and in alignment with the dual nature of life and universal understanding: the hardest task in the world is also the simplest. I think therefore I am. What are you thinking about?

Religion, The Secret, astrology, tarot cards, psychics, self-help books, etc. All of these are just tools with as much or as little meaning as the video you just watched on YouTube. It's all about the power you give to an idea, discipline, or thought. If you believe it to be true, speak as if it's true, act as if it's true then it is true. It is Your Truth. There is no absolute truth because the duality of reality says that the exact opposite exists as well. Your truth can be completely opposite from someone else's truth yet they can both be "true." If you relate to it and it feels good to you then go with it. Trust yourself. You decide what world you want to live in. You are the creator of your life as you are part of all creation. What are you going to do now?

Social Media- Gain More Friends, Likes, Followers, Repins and Enlightenment

My friend asked me to be a featured guest on her radio show so I listened in to her latest broadcast and stumbled across BlogTalkRadio. It let's you create your own radio show and broadcast live, which seems pretty interesting. So the wheels in my head started turning and if I can keep up with this blog, my youtube channel and writing new songs then maybe I'll branch out into a radio show. How many people have their own radio shows? Their own blogs? Facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram, youtube, linkedin, foursquare...the list goes on forever.  There are services to help you gain followers, likes, repins, etc. Where is all of this "social interaction" headed? Where does it end?

The more we as a culture get into social media, the more it seems we get away from real social interaction. I went to a party last weekend and felt it was almost painful to carry on a conversation with the other guests. I didn't really feel like I had much in common with them. Shouldn't that be a good thing though? Shouldn't we engage in some heated debate or share our different world viewpoints? All of the social media outlets allow us to connect with things and people we are interested in, but what about the things/people we're not interested in? De-friend them. Don't follow them. Block them. Where does this get us? 

It seems that all of this leads to people becoming spoiled and intolerant of other's viewpoints creating an ego driven society trapped in duality. The ego wants to separate out what it "is" and what it "is not," thus giving it existence and making it feel real. Without separation there cannot be existence. To exist, the opposite "non-existence" or death must also be created simultaneously. But is this real? Everything and everyone is connected. We are all energy. One. By denying and pushing away that which we hate, we actually deny a part of ourselves. We disconnect from the truth and source. 

Some people use the term God, which in and of itself can cause such heated arguments and wars. But for what? A misunderstanding of a word? If God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-encompassing then God is all. There is no other way to define God, but as everything. There cannot be something or someone that is not God because then God would not be God. Duality cannot exist if you truly understand God beyond words and limiting definitions. God is light and dark. Good and evil. Young and old. Male and female. 

The mind has trouble wrapping itself around this concept. Zen koans capture this essence in witty one-liners that make the brain freeze. Stop- thinking. Spinning wheel on the computer. Error. How can something exist and not-exist at the same time? To fully understand the concept is to be fully absorbed by it. The world of duality will still exist as it always must in order for existence and life to continue. You will still be in it, but fully aware of it. Watching it. Observing. Laughing when the ego gets pulled back into duality. Free to play in the world as a child without preconceptions of what is good or bad. Just simply marveling at the miracles of what is. Without judgement. Without attachment. Without labeling "right" or "wrong." Just being. Breathing. Eternal life in every moment achieved through the constant killing of the ego, the walking dead zombie, the vampire, the false self.