ARTICLE: Follow Your Bliss

My Own Image created via Photo Elements

Article originally appeared May 2, 2013 on Bubblews website which no longer exists

I would like to share here part of the quote by Joseph Campbell which will explain what "Follow Your Bliss" means:

"“Follow your bliss.


If you do follow your bliss,


you put yourself on a kind of track


that has been there all the while waiting for you,


and the life you ought to be living


is the one you are living."

I first came across of the notion of "Follow Your Bliss" during the PBS series "The Power Of Myth" way back in 1988 which featured of course Joseph Campbell and also had Bill Moyers. And what does "Follow Your Bliss" exactly mean?

In a nutshell, it means follow what is in your heart, to strive for the life you wish to have even if it may be considered unconventional or not accepted by others, especially family members who can be the toughest to "please". I can give a direct personal example of what I mean.

I was one of those children that was considered a "gifted" child, I demonstrated skills and talents at a very early age, especially in the artistic and creative fields. My mother was artistically talented herself and was a skilled artist who loved to do oil paintings and even had some of her work displayed in local gallery exhibits. As a child, I would watch with complete fascination as she painted on of her creations. One day I asked if I could do an oil painting, and I supposed to keep me amused, handed some of her oil paints and a canvas board, she then set up a still life for me to try to capture and paint. I did, and at the mere age of eight years old did my first still life oil painting. In later years I would continue to paint off and on in oils, but also in acrylic and watercolor paints.

I wasn't limited to painting however, as I had also studied as a child ballet and developed a love for the whole expression of the dance world. ah, but there again, wasn't even limited to that, as during my junior high school years learned to play violin, I would later on, in my high school years learned to play guitar, first on a classical guitar, then later got an electric guitar. Oh the visions of grandeur I had, as I saw myself as a "rock star"!! Then in college I even tinkered around with electronic music as I was a fan of the rock group, Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Now throughout my childhood and teenage years, my mother never exactly discouraged me in my artistic pursuits, but neither did she encourage them either, interpretation, I didn't exactly get support, yet I still pursued my creativity nonetheless; it was my "bliss". She especially didn't encourage me when I became interested in yet another creative field: acting.

My interest in the acting field came about when I accompanied one of my high school friends where she was involved with and a character in a play called "The Bluebird". She wanted company as often the rehearsals ended very late at night and she didn't want to be alone coming home on the subway, so I went with her. It was there I became mesmerized by the whole "process" of acting…the rehearsals, the constructing of props, etc. To pass the time and so I wasn't idle, I often helped out with the scenic design and props. Bingo I was hooked. I not only then decided to take a course in drama and acting while still in high school, but I also took a few courses at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

You have to realize that I was always a very shy person, so for me to even think of consider the idea of being on stage, acting and being in front of an audience I must have been out of my mind, but I loved it, so much so, when I was approaching the idea of going to college, guess what my major was? Yes, drama.

Looking back I realize of course my decision to be a "mere" drama major must have gone over like a lead balloon with my mother. Since I also had been a science geek, I think she was hoping that I would pursue some scientific field and become a female Einstein, or if not that, then to follow the tradition she and my grandmother had as far as careers…secretarial. I think in a last ditch effort to get me away from my acting goals, she set up an interview with the bank she worked for. One of the things I had to do during the interview was to take a typing test, and I had been a very skilled typist while in high school. Well my subconscious mind must have kicked in that, no, this was not what I wanted in life. Deep inside and inwardly I knew, that no, I just plain didn't wanted a "career" as a secretary in a bank. What was the result? Instead of passing the typing test with flying colors, I bungled and failed miserably. Needless to say I wasn't accepted or given a job.

So now I'm in college (years 1973~1977), and yes did become a Drama major and earned my BA in Drama. With the world of drama it wasn't just acting I fell in love with, but scenic design. I think had I continued to purse the world of drama, I might have actually gone the scenic design route instead, and who knows, maybe I would've been eventually doing CG Special Effects for movies. Ah, but then yet another creative art form came into view: photography an art form I still do to this day so many years later.

The point of sharing my mini-autobiography here, is that even though I never became a famous artist, dancer, musician, actress, or scenic designer, I was following my "bliss"--I was doing what made me happy, what made my life feel complete, instead of following the trend of my mother and grandmother. And even after all these years, I'm still hoping to be a recognized photographer and/or writer. Oh did I mention I'm also a writer too? I've done numerous short stories, and the beginnings of several novels. And yes, if I ever get one of those novels ever finished hope to be recognized as a writer, for writing is also my "bliss".

Here is Joseph Campbell's full version of "Follow Your Bliss" which can be viewed here:

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/143093-follow-your-bliss-if-you-do-follow-your-bliss-you

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/143093-follow-your-bliss-if-you-do-follow-your-bliss-you

“Follow your bliss.


If you do follow your bliss,


you put yourself on a kind of track


that has been there all the while waiting for you,


and the life you ought to be living


is the one you are living.


When you can see that,


you begin to meet people


who are in the field of your bliss,


and they open the doors to you.


I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,


and doors will open


where you didn't know they were going to be.


If you follow your bliss,


doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.”

ARTICLE: The Beatles: One of the Greatest Rock Groups Ever to Exist: A Tribute

(Originally published at Yahoo.voices formerly Associated Content~7/7/2009)

ABSTRACT: To my mind one of the greatest rock groups of all time were the Beatles. They were a major milestone and changed music forever

CONTENT: (©Jan 10, 2009~Ciao--originally published at Ciao under my pen-name of pyewacket)

If ever there was a rock group that was to forever change the sound of music, The Beatles definitely were "it". Since I was born in 1955, I had the pleasure of growing up with this group that was the cause of the "British Invasion" as it were and was to witness the many changes the group went through, from seemingly innocent mop topped hair-doed fab foursome, to a group that changed direction and went through their more "psychedelic" phase during the 1970s.

The early beginnings of what was to become known as The Beatles was formulated back in 1957 with John Lennon forming the group known as The Quarrymen. During this year, Paul McCartney was to join the group, then in 1958, George Harrison also joined up with the group. The group was to have a change of drummers for many years, first with Colin Hanton, then Pete Best. It wasn't until the year 1962 that Richard Starkey, better know as Ringo Starr was to join the group, and this fab foursome were to remain together until their official breakup in 1970.

During their early years they did "gigs" wherever they could, including the famous Cavern Club, which is where they were to be "discovered" by the then famous record producer, Brian Epstein. The rest you might say, was history and embarked the group to the road of fame that was to be unimaginable. Besides Epstein, another record producer was to manage the group, the equally famous George Martin. The first Beatles single to be released under the Decca label was "Love Me Do" followed by "Please, Please Me," then later, their first album, also called Please, Please Me was released in 1962. It wasn't until late 1962, that the group made their first televised appearance in a UK show called People and Places but that's when things truly go rolling for the group, and Beatlemania was about to begin, not only in the UK, but worldwide.

While The Beatles were on the Decca label in the UK, the record label that distributed their music in America was Capital Records and also Vee-Jay. Oh, how I remember this, as my very first 33 rpm record albums were on the Vee-Jay label and in "glorious" monophonic sound as stereo hadn't been invented yet.

The British Invasion, as it was termed didn't happen until 1964, when The Beatles made their first American appearance in February 1964 and made their official debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Talk about memory lane! I remember this show so well even after all these years. While the camera naturally focused on the group singing, it would also pan to the audience of wildly, screaming teenaged girls, some were so caught up in seeing the "Fab Four" in person, not only were screaming, but crying, some even on the verge of fainting. With their fast emerging success, The Beatles were also involved with films, such as their first one "A Hard Day's NIght" which was released in June of 1964, and yes, you better believe I saw it. This movie was followed by their 1965 movie, simply called "Help" of which I remember fondly as well.

During their early period, the image of The Beatles while considered revolutionary, as at the time, no male rock group then had "mop top" type haircuts, it was still rather "squeaky" clean. Yet, the group was into drugs even in their early days, especially amphetamines to keep their energy going, and smoked marijuana. Things would change, including their "innocent" sound when they began experimenting with the hallucinogen, LSD and the drugs influence could be later heard in their more "psychedelic" sounding music that one hears in their St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine albums during the late 1960s. The group wasn't without their controversy in the latter years of the 1960s, especially by the more outspoken John Lennon, who had once stated that their popularity was greater than Jesus Christ, and with their anti-Vietnam War sentiments. With major record contract disputes, The Beatles formed their own record label, known as Apple Records and the first record produced under this label was the famous "White Album" one.

By the late 1960s dissension and hostile feelings were beginning with the group and their seem to be a power play, particularly between Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Many even attribute The Beatles breakup with John Lennon's love in his life, Yoko Ono, who supposedly never left Lennon's side, not even at the recording sessions. While the group disbanded in 1970, the group didn't officially dissolve until 1975, with each member going their separate directions, even creating their own single albums.

For many years after that, however there was some hope particularly by their die-hard fans, that maybe the group might come together perhaps in a concert appearance or if not that, at least to record more music together. That dream ended however, when on December 8, 1980, a crazed, deranged man, Mark David Chapman, shot and killed John Lennon in front of his Dakota apartment building. What was really poignant about his tragic death, was Lennon had just released his new album, Double Fantasy which ironically had included a song "Starting Over", which was what Lennon was indeed trying to do with his life.

It would be near nigh impossible to write every aspect of this most famous group without writing a book, and of course many books have been written about the most influential rock group ever to exist. During their heyday however, with the collaboration between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, some of the greatest and most memorable songs were written and way too many to list, but include, She Loves You, There's A Place, I Wanna Be Your Man, I Want To Hold Your Hand, and Yesterday.

Personal Comments

I just have to add a few really personal comments about this most famous rock group ever known. I quite literally grew up with The Beatles. Also, on August 15, 1965, when I was nine years old, while my grandmother, mother and I were at the famous World's Fair in Flushing, NY this just happened to be the same day that The Beatles were to have their famous Shea Stadium appearance. The group landed via helicopter on the roof of the Windows of The World restaurant, made their way down to ground level to be whisked away by limousine to their hotel. I happened to be there, crushed against the steel gates by a mob of screaming teenaged girls. The Beatles were only a few feet away from me as they ran and ducked into that limousine...oh, how I wished I had had a camera to photograph them, but didn't.

Also, another little personal item to mention. Only a day or so after John Lennon's death in 1980 I went to the Dakota apartment building, loaded up with my camera gear. Hundreds and hundreds of his fans were standing in front giving tribute to him, with candle vigils, singing songs, and I happen to be there when a news reporter Jane Hansen was interviewing people as they stood there in the rather frigid December weather. It was about a week later that the famous tribute was given to John Lennon at Central Park, in the section that would be later renamed Strawberry Fields, and yes, I was there too--I only show a few of my black and white photos I took at both occasions.

Will there ever be another rock group that will have the same impact as the Beatles? I don't think so. Long live The Beatles....We Love You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah..We Love You Yeah, Yeah, Yeah--Yeah!!

Some of their albums:

* Please Please Me ( 1963)
* With The Beatles (1963)
* A Hard Day's Night ( 1964)
* Beatles for Sale ( 1964)
* Help! (1965)
* Rubber Soul (1965)
* Revolver ( 1966)
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ( 1967)
* Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
* The Beatles ("The White Album") (1968)
* Yellow Submarine (1969)
* Abbey Road (1969)
* Let It Be (1970)

IMAGE SOURCES~©MELANIE NEER~First photo=Memorial Tribute To John Lennon In Central Park Shortly after his death~1980

Second photo=Reporter Jane Hansen interviewing fans outside the Dakota after his death 1980 Third photo=Memorial to John Lennon in Central Park after his death 1980