Years ago when I was in college I dated a girl who taught me a dance I didn’t know called the Soche. It was a new thing we could dance together with using two, three or four four time. It was a sort of ballroom dance for types of jazz and rock music. I took to it quickly because we could hold each others hands, place the other hand on each others backs, find a smooth groove, relax into the music and flow with it. I married that girl and am still dancing while listening to Pandora radio’s many smooth jazz stations.

The one I find myself listening to quite often is called the Chillaxing Jazz Kollection. It’s all instrumental and features artists like Paul Hardcastle, Merion Meadows, Brion Simpson and Kool&Klean, none of whom I ever heard of before listening to this smooth easy going music. Alone in my study I get up from time to time and pretend I’m dancing the Soche with my invisible partner. It helps me chill out and relax in ways that are fun, reflective and meditative. I’m sharing this with you because it’s always chillaxing . . .

The wonder of this meditative movement is that as I allow myself to surrender to the music like I did when I was younger, I actually feel youthful, more alive, vibrant and part of the ever present flow of Life that’s always here. It’s a soulful space that I can inhabit by simply opening to the rhythm of the music. I can be anywhere I imagine with anyone I imagine in any period of time I imagine without a single negative or depressing thought. In this space there’s no right and wrong, no doctrine or dogma, no problems.

As I’ve pondered this phenomenon I’ve tried to analyze and dissect it. I’ve tried to explain it and rationalize it and the only thing I’ve come up with that makes any sense is nonsense. The freedom that’s here in this space is not to be dissected, figured out or even questioned. It’s to be enjoyed. When we smell the fragrance of a flower or view the sunrise do we question it and try to figure it out? When we hear the sound of a child laughing or notice the song of a bird do we need to explain it or simply enjoy it?

What I’m discovering in this sweet chillaxing music is the freedom of the artist becoming part of creation within the rhythm of ongoing creativity. The flowing river and rooting tree get translated into a smooth groove that can be experienced by other living beings in an infinite flow of creating. For me it’s a soulful sense of Being One with this creative flow. There’s somehow a human/divine connection here that inspires and expands me so I can know how much a part of this ongoing aliveness we all are.

The bottom line, if there has to be one, is that the Joy of Life is being Fully Alive and what I notice is that very few of us are. It’s refreshing when we find a space where we can let go, relax, chill out and groove with a smooth move of being in a sweet rhythmic flow. Do you remember when you were in Life’s flow and nothing else mattered in that moment? When was the last time you let your conditioned self open to your True Self and dance, tap your foot and feel the rhythm of Life flowing through you?

In this moment I’m closing my eyes and feeling the flow, one, two, three, kick; one, two three, kick; one, two, three, kick. . . and seeing you letting your head, shoulders, arms, hips, legs and feet experience the beat of the music that’s playing wherever you are. Feel it within, flow with it, discover the freedom of being more and more ALIVE from the inside out. Do it alone as this is not a performance. It’s a contemplative practice that allows you to experience Life at a whole new level. It’s enlightened engagement.

• Give yourself the gift of Chillaxing to some music that stirs your soul. Find a time and space that’s private for you and let yourself go with the flow. Feel the rhythm of the universe flowing through you and come alive in new ways. Let go and go with flow. . .
• Recognize that you are an artist of great talent that’s lost your way. Reclaim the artist within that loves to laugh, sing, dance, make romance and create in ways not dictated by anyone but you. Own your special creativity. Find a smooth new groove that’s yours and move with it into a space of grace that brings smiles to your face. . .
• Even if your efforts are small, the ripple effects of these things are helpful for All. . .