MEDIA REVIEWS
Here in Heaven
by Donna De Lory
De Lory Music
Here in Heaven arrives like refreshing
nectar to quench a world thirsty for some
much-needed grace. Donna is known for her
etheric, angelic vocals that envelop listeners
in a dreamy, heart-centering haze. Her latest
offering provides another opportunity to get
wrapped in her mystical warmth. Whether
lush and layered like “Heaven” or the more
pared-down and raw remake of her original
song “Go Talk To Mary” from her 1993 re-
lease Bliss, Donna’s new album is restorative
ambrosia.
At its core, Here in Heaven is about authen-
tic Connection in all forms. This includes Fam-
ily, Spirit, Love, Divinity, Truth, and more. A
fusion of pop and world (Indian and Latin)
grooves, this album is a masterfully crafted,
performed, and produced mix of English,
Spanish, Sanskrit, and Gurmukhi songs on
love, nature, and reverence. Here in Heaven is
at once poignantly personal and easily relat-
able with broad-based appeal.
Other standout tracks include “Amor
Amor” co-written by Donna and her late,
Grammy award-winning father (featured on
piano); “Listen” co-written with Avasa and
Matty Love, which includes a playful chorus
of her daughter, Luci, and her third-grade
class; and “Sat Siri” the only outright chant-
titled track on the album. For fans of Donna’s
signature mantra music, you’ll find infused
sacred sweetness with the Buddhist “Nam
Myoho Renge Kyo” on two songs, and the
Gurmukhi “Ra Ma Da Sa” at the end of
“Go Talk to Mary.”
Uplifting and evocative, Here in Heaven is
a soothing and healing musical elixir for the
mind, body, and spirit.
Reviewed by Leanne Wood who is a Yoga Music
Aficionado at Bliss Bubble Radio and Bliss-Chasing
Blogger at http://www.BlissBubble.com.
White Sun IIIby White Sun
Be Why Music/Warner Music GroupSome voices ring true with passion: oth-
ers with the certainty of truth. White Sun is
blessed to have both in singer and principal
songwriter Gurujas Khalsa. Her angelic voice
cascades through softness, devotion, and joy
as she serenades us through 23 Kundalini
mantras on their double album White Sun
III. These mantras resonate over percussion-
ist Harijiwan Khalsa’s pattering, rhythmical
drumbeats and instrumentalist Adam Berry’s
heavenly melodies and inspired arrangements.
The music on White Sun III evokes timeless-
ness and grace in a shifting, chaotic world.
Instead of being propelled into that chaos, we
are plucked from it and shown that a different
lens can exist, one which evokes within our
spirit innermost JOY far greater than the physi-
cal world which we inhabit. The rough edges
are softened; a brightness and calmness emerges.
Our awareness shifts from the toggled edges of
the constant non-stop energy of our busy-busy
world to the Infinite possibilities all around us
and this present moment.
All of the mantras here are soothing to the
spirit. One of my favorites, “Guru Ram Das
Song,” features angelic vocals paired with a
sitar that evokes a state of devotion within the
purity of its offering. “Aisa Nam” is deeper and
more sensual, infused with a bodily awareness of
rhythm and states of inner transformation. The
heavenly melodies in “Wah Yantee One” climb
a harmonic ladder into the depths of our hearts.
Their music has an authenticated impact on
our psyche. White Sun’s music has been featured
in Psychiatric Times through the research of
UCLA Psychiatrist Helen Lavretsky, in a UCLA
Neuropsychiatric Study, and it is used as course
syllabus material for stress management at USC.Reviewed by Aria Morgan, yoga and meditation
teacher, birth coach, mom, and music lover: yo-
gawitharia.com.Shamanism in the New MillenniumED by Cate Montana
Rampant Feline MediaWe live in a time of boutique shamans and
shamans-for-hire, fashionistas using crystal
combs to calm their hair, and luxury hotels
featuring sweats and soul cleansings. It is re-
freshing to find a book presenting a powerfully
modern yet authentic look at shamanism.
Shamanism in the New Millennium is a
fascinating, sometimes shocking, collection
of stories told by 16 modern shamans from
different countries, lineages, and traditions.
They talk about their calling by Spirit and the
various intense—and frequently harrowing—
initiations they have undergone to enter into a
shamanic healing tradition. This book does a
credible job revealing the truth that, no matter
what century you live in, it takes a lot more
guts, pain, blistering intensity, hard work, and
enormous sacrifice to walk the shaman’s path
than the vast majority of so-called normal
humans are willing to endure.
The book is divided into three sections, the
first highlighting stories of traditional sha-
manic training within several cultures: Peru-
vian, Bolivian, pre-Celtic, African, and Native
American. The second section details stories
of individuals extensively trained who have
combined traditional training with psychology,
medicine, and new energy technologies. The
third section tells the stories of healers called
by Spirit, some of whom do not even call
themselves shamans.
If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to
become a genuine shaman/healer, if you’re cu-
rious about shamanic traditions, if you’ve ever
contemplated plant medicines, and wondered
how to figure out who is the real deal, this
book is a valuable resource.Review by Debbie Spector Weisman, who empowers
dreamers to live a life they love through her Dream-
Life Coaching practice: thedreamcoach.net. Her
radio show Dream Power Radio premieres Nov 5:
Amazingwomenofpower.com