27 Sep 2007, ST
Singer Kenny Loggins shares how he learnt to listen to his soul while performing on stage
By Loh Keng Fatt
YOU have probably hummed along to the pop songs of American singer Kenny Loggins, such as Footloose and Danger Zone.
But success, it seems, doesn't mean that the now 59-year-old lived a life of sunshine and roses.
His tale of spiritual loneliness is one of 55 stories collected from successful folks, from Stephen Covey to Dave Barry, in a compendium called You've Got To Read This Book!.
The two people behind this book are Jack Canfield, who co-created the famous Chicken Soup For The Soul series, and Gay Hendricks, who has also written inspirational books. Here's an excerpt from Loggins' account.
'I READ it twice through. Siddhartha was the only time I felt calm - actually, the only time my hands stopped shaking - so I just sat there in bed and read and read. That's mostly what I remember from that period of my life; just devouring the book.
When I finished Siddhartha the second time, I reached for another book. Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography Of A Yogi was next on the stack: another story of someone in search of a higher truth. I don't remember if I'd purchased these books or someone had loaned them to me but there they were by my bed, waiting to ignite my spiritual path.
The combined impact of the two books was compelling. I realised that although I'd had success on a level that I thought would make me happy and complete, when I was left with just myself, I'd come unglued.
Reading those books made it clear to me that I needed a stronger spiritual dimension. They described a peace that I was searching for and inspired me to take action to find it. I called a friend who taught meditation, and not long after, I got out of bed and learnt to meditate.
It immediately affected my writing. The meditation, the books and the breakdown itself all made me much more empathetic; there was a new level of compassion in my music.
I knew what a rough time was and I knew what peace was, and this new awareness imbued many of the songs I wrote after that - from Celebrate Me Home all the way through Conviction Of The Heart, from the Leap Of Faith album.
If you look at the songs from that period, you can trace the evolution of someone feeling more and more connected to other people and to life.
Reading Siddhartha and Autobiography Of A Yogi helped me see everything in my life - performing, writing songs, relationships - in a more spiritual light.
In the beginning of Siddhartha, the main character leaves home, seeking enlightenment. After a long search, trying every conceivable avenue, he becomes disillusioned, bitter and finally gives up.
At one point, he actually runs from the traditional sources of enlightenment. He ends up living by a stream, and it's the sound of the stream that triggers a spiritual transformation and opens his heart.
Every morning and every night Siddhartha hears the stream, and it speaks to him. The stream becomes both his path and his enlightenment.
Now I see that my stream is my music which has become my primary spiritual practice. I still meditate today as a way to calm down, to catch my breath.
It has kept me grounded through all the ups and downs I've experienced in the last 30-plus years. Yet the main thing I've leaned on in times of trouble has been my music.
My songs have become messages to myself from my spirit. Every time I perform, I get onstage and sing them not only to the audience but also to myself.
I go into my centre - and into the moment. Going into each moment, which singing and performing forces me to do, is like a meditation.
I have to be clear about the note I'm singing, the word I'm singing, right now. Whenever my mind starts to wander, I have to bring it back to the note, to the feeling within the note, and the word.
Through this practice, the stage has become the place where I best communicate with my higher self and with others. I've become aware of an internal voice that speaks to me when I am out there.
It constantly focuses me back on 'this moment, this moment, this moment, this note, this note, this note'.
The pivotal element of performing has become how present I can be, and from that place, how much I can allow my heart and my spirit to be available each night I go on stage.
I remember the night I first realised the power of this experience. I was about two songs into the show and I couldn't seem to make the connection.
The audience response was okay but bland. All of a sudden, to my right, I saw two eyes lit up like lights. I looked over... and saw a young girl, about 10 years old, whose face was radiant. She was just pouring love at me. I looked in her eyes, and my heart opened.'
# You've Got To Read This Book! will soon be sold at $25 in bookstores.
Singer Kenny Loggins shares how he learnt to listen to his soul while performing on stage
By Loh Keng Fatt
YOU have probably hummed along to the pop songs of American singer Kenny Loggins, such as Footloose and Danger Zone.
But success, it seems, doesn't mean that the now 59-year-old lived a life of sunshine and roses.
His tale of spiritual loneliness is one of 55 stories collected from successful folks, from Stephen Covey to Dave Barry, in a compendium called You've Got To Read This Book!.
The two people behind this book are Jack Canfield, who co-created the famous Chicken Soup For The Soul series, and Gay Hendricks, who has also written inspirational books. Here's an excerpt from Loggins' account.
'I READ it twice through. Siddhartha was the only time I felt calm - actually, the only time my hands stopped shaking - so I just sat there in bed and read and read. That's mostly what I remember from that period of my life; just devouring the book.
When I finished Siddhartha the second time, I reached for another book. Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography Of A Yogi was next on the stack: another story of someone in search of a higher truth. I don't remember if I'd purchased these books or someone had loaned them to me but there they were by my bed, waiting to ignite my spiritual path.
The combined impact of the two books was compelling. I realised that although I'd had success on a level that I thought would make me happy and complete, when I was left with just myself, I'd come unglued.
Reading those books made it clear to me that I needed a stronger spiritual dimension. They described a peace that I was searching for and inspired me to take action to find it. I called a friend who taught meditation, and not long after, I got out of bed and learnt to meditate.
It immediately affected my writing. The meditation, the books and the breakdown itself all made me much more empathetic; there was a new level of compassion in my music.
I knew what a rough time was and I knew what peace was, and this new awareness imbued many of the songs I wrote after that - from Celebrate Me Home all the way through Conviction Of The Heart, from the Leap Of Faith album.
If you look at the songs from that period, you can trace the evolution of someone feeling more and more connected to other people and to life.
Reading Siddhartha and Autobiography Of A Yogi helped me see everything in my life - performing, writing songs, relationships - in a more spiritual light.
In the beginning of Siddhartha, the main character leaves home, seeking enlightenment. After a long search, trying every conceivable avenue, he becomes disillusioned, bitter and finally gives up.
At one point, he actually runs from the traditional sources of enlightenment. He ends up living by a stream, and it's the sound of the stream that triggers a spiritual transformation and opens his heart.
Every morning and every night Siddhartha hears the stream, and it speaks to him. The stream becomes both his path and his enlightenment.
Now I see that my stream is my music which has become my primary spiritual practice. I still meditate today as a way to calm down, to catch my breath.
It has kept me grounded through all the ups and downs I've experienced in the last 30-plus years. Yet the main thing I've leaned on in times of trouble has been my music.
My songs have become messages to myself from my spirit. Every time I perform, I get onstage and sing them not only to the audience but also to myself.
I go into my centre - and into the moment. Going into each moment, which singing and performing forces me to do, is like a meditation.
I have to be clear about the note I'm singing, the word I'm singing, right now. Whenever my mind starts to wander, I have to bring it back to the note, to the feeling within the note, and the word.
Through this practice, the stage has become the place where I best communicate with my higher self and with others. I've become aware of an internal voice that speaks to me when I am out there.
It constantly focuses me back on 'this moment, this moment, this moment, this note, this note, this note'.
The pivotal element of performing has become how present I can be, and from that place, how much I can allow my heart and my spirit to be available each night I go on stage.
I remember the night I first realised the power of this experience. I was about two songs into the show and I couldn't seem to make the connection.
The audience response was okay but bland. All of a sudden, to my right, I saw two eyes lit up like lights. I looked over... and saw a young girl, about 10 years old, whose face was radiant. She was just pouring love at me. I looked in her eyes, and my heart opened.'
# You've Got To Read This Book! will soon be sold at $25 in bookstores.
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