Tag: Soundings Podcast

Racism in America with Clyde W. Ford author of Think Black and Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth

In this in-depth conversation, Dudley Evenson interviews award-winning author Clyde W. Ford about his recent book Think Black: A Memoir. Initially, he thought he was writing a feel-good story about his father being hired in 1946 as the first black software engineer at IBM but in researching for the book, Clyde uncovered the shocking story of tech giant IBM and its early involvement with racially biased eugenics work and specifically of its support of Nazi Germany’s atrocities against Jews during World War II. He also discusses his upcoming book Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth which follows personal stories of individual black men and women and the role they played in creating American institutions of power and wealth beginning with the first enslaved people brought from Africa to the Jamestown, Virginia Colony in 1619. He also clarifies the concept of Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a legal term relating to systemic racism being deeply and intentionally engrained in the legal, business, and social structures of this country. He addresses the book banning that some states are engaged with and calls on us to look honestly at our history for without truth, there can be no reconciliation.

Think Black: A Memoir

Of Blood and Sweat: Black Lives and the Making of White Power and Wealth 

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Dean & Dudley Evenson Talk Loving Partnership

In this podcast, Dean and Dudley Evenson talk about their long-lasting marriage and how they have managed to maintain a loving relationship while raising a family and running a successful business together. In this intimate conversation, the Evensons contemplate some of the principles that have contributed to their having such a fun and meaningful life starting with their auspicious meeting in 1968 in New York’s East Village. They reminisce about coming from very different backgrounds yet still being able to blend their creative lives and be productive together. They speak of their musical path and the recently launched the Peace Through Music Foundation.

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Friendly Farming

In 1972, Dean and Dudley Evenson were called to Stockholm, Sweden to videotape the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. It was the first ever international gathering focusing on the ecological impact of humans on the planet. After a week of learning and videotaping, the conference and gatherings wound down and Dean and Dudley decided to travel to northwestern Sweden to visit a community they had heard about that grew organic food.

They packed up their video gear and hitchhiked north, landing among a gentle group of young people who had formed a commune and were working with an old Finnish farmer named Andres Bjornson, who practiced a technique called ‘friendly farming.’ With camera turned on and the tape rolling, they learned about his simple, but very effective means of working with nature, of putting the weeds which he called ‘helpful cultures’ right back next to the growing plants for fertilizer, and generally of producing abundant crops of food without artificial fertilizers or pesticides by keeping the soil gently cultivated with a fork-like tool.

Welcomed by these people who lived communally in the land of the midnight sun and practiced Bjornsen’s farming techniques, the Evensons spent a meaningful Midsummer’s Eve, watching the sun roll like a ball across the distant hills, and never quite set. This podcast is a synopsis of what they learned.

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In Claude Monet’s Footsteps

Dean and Dudley reminisce on their own background and artistic path which has many parallels in common with impressionist master Claude Monet. In this podcast, they talk about retracing the steps of Monet when they recently traveled to France. Their exploration began with visiting the many museums in Paris where his paintings are exhibited. They especially enjoyed the Musée de l’Orangerie where the huge water lily paintings he did toward the end of his life are displayed. Later they spent five days in Giverny in a renovated inn, just a block from Monet’s home and historic water and flower gardens. They made videos and field recordings and included them in their new album Monet’s Garden.

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Surviving Politics

We just had an election and some people are happy while some people are not. Democratic elections are interesting that way. At the end of the day, about half the people are celebrating while the other half are feeling devastated. We need to figure out how to survive divisive elections and politics in general. The question is how do we move forward without giving up hope or causing more alienation. This podcast was actually recorded four years ago, but it is as relevant today as it was then. Needless to say, we wish everyone peace no matter how they voted.

View YouTube video or read more about Surviving Politics on our blog at soundings.com.

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Dean Evenson on Love, Peace & Music

On this podcast we offer something a bit different that is up close and personal. Listen to Dean Evenson as he shares in his own words how he lives each day, what music and nature mean to him and how they both enhance his life and his relationships. Hear how Dean quiets his mind to create the award-winning, healing music he has been making for over 40 years.

To watch the full length video on YouTube, please click here.

Be sure to follow Dean Evenson on Spotify.

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Interview with guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan

A few years ago, we met guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan at a Music Therapy Conference. We were intrigued that an avant-garde jazz guitarist was featured at a sound healing event, but once we heard him play, we understood why he was included in the program. Later, we arranged to interview Jordan after his gig at Jazz Alley in Seattle. We were fascinated to learn more about his interesting journey from being a successful jazz artist to his work in the sound healing field. You can also watch the video of the interview on our Soundings Mindful Media YouTube channel. Enjoy.

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Spiritual Partnership – Successful Relationship

Are you ready for a successful relationship? People have asked Dean Evenson and myself what is the secret of our long and happy marriage. Although there are no quick and easy answers, I want to try to shed some light on that question here and spiritual partnership is an important component of our successful relationship. We hope you enjoy this Soundings Podcast episode.

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HOPI PROPHECY: Two Paths – Destruction or Survival

We are honored to present this podcast about an ancient Hopi Prophecy that we recorded in 1972 at the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden. Hopi religious elders Thomas Banyacya and Grandfather David Monongye are interpreting a series of prophecies warning that we are at a crossroads.

One Path leads to destruction. The other Path leads to living together harmoniously with Nature. The prophecies remained a secret oral tradition until 1948, when Hopi religious leaders, alarmed by reports of the atomic bomb’s mushroom cloud, which they saw as the destructive ”gourd of ashes” foretold in the prophecies, appointed Thomas Banyacya and three others as messengers to reveal and interpret the prophecies to the outside world.

You can also watch the Hopi Prophecy video on our new YouTube channel, Soundings Mindful Media. Thank you for listening to this podcast and watching the video. We hope you will share them. The message is more relevant today than ever.

To view the Hopi Prophecy video on Soundings Mindful Media YouTube channel click here.

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Baba Ram Dass, 1976 Lecture

This podcast features a rare, previously unreleased lecture by Baba Ram Dass we recorded in 1976.  Dean Evenson and I videotaped him while we were working with Grassroots TV, the Aspen public access station.  Alongside the podcast, we present the entire video of the lecture on our new Soundings Mindful Media YouTube channel. We hope you will check out the channel and subscribe for more meaningful content coming soon.

With the passing of Baba Ram Dass (aka Richard Albert), we honor his legacy by sharing this lecture that we recently uncovered in our vast video archive. Like so many in our generation, Dean and I were deeply inspired by his book Be Here Now and the stories of meditating with his guru in India. Ram Dass is also part of the reason we started our music label Soundings of the Planet in 1979. Thanks for subscribing to Soundings Mindful Media and for sharing the podcast and video with your friends. May his wit and wisdom live on in our hearts. People who wish to support his memory can donate to his Love Serve Remember Foundation.

To view Ram Dass video on Soundings Mindful Media YouTube channel click here.

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