Living
Nutrition Interview
Divining the music of the soul
An interview with Patrick Bernard by David Klein
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INSET:
Spiritual Nutrition
As we have
seen, virtuous nutrition can facilitate clear hearing. The Vedic
text of the Bhagavad-Gita goes even further, stipulating that a
spiritual nutrition has the power to purify the sensory organs,
to produce finer cerebral tissues and to clarify thoughts. Chapter
9 verse 26 goes beyond simple vegetarianism and lays claim to the
purifying power of love:
SRI BHAGAVAN
SAYS;
"If, with love and devotion, I am offered a leaf, a flower,
a fruit or some water, I will accept it."
From The Secret
Music of the Soul by Patrick Bernard (nee Bernhardt)
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DK: Patrick,
listening to your musical recordings and reading your Secret Music
of the Soul book have [specially moving spiritual effects on me
] been deeply moving spiritual experiences for me-- [they are they
are] they are magically vibrant and soothing. When did you first
notice that music stirs your soul and your passion?
PB: It was
quite obvious toward the end of the 1960s and at the beginning of
the 1970s that music was changing something in the behavior of human
beings and society as a whole. Interestingly, at that time, music
was not thought to be simply entertainment. We had protest songs
and counterculture music, which was a big thing back then, and it
was the first time I became aware of just how much music can affect
our inner beings.
DK: Did
you already have a musical background or know that you were headed
toward becoming a musician?
PB: Well basically,
I'm a very simple musician. I'm just a natural musician, although
I took some classical courses in piano, guitar, and composition.
Actually I have to admit that I had to forget everything I was taught,
and this was not easy. I made an effort, especially in the beginning
of the 1980s, to try to forget what I knew about the normal classical
approach to music, because I'm on a quest. I'm looking for something,
and I'm always trying to use music in a certain way. Even though
I had little classical knowledge of music, I'm always trying to
find new arrangements to better express the energy of the SPIRITUAL
SOUND VIBRATIONS. According to the usual classical approach in music,
you're not supposed to use CERTAIN HARMANIC PROGRESSIONS, but really
I don't mind, I just want to get rid of this academic musical approach
and find my own way.
DK: It
seems evident to me that each of your CDs does have a different
purpose and that there is a constant evolution and exploration.
Is it true that each has a different purpose?
PB: Yes, my
CDs are quite different from one another, and this has been a big
problem in my career because when you're accepted for a SPECIFIC
kind of music and the public identifies you with that, they don't
NECESSARILY FOLLOW YOU when you take a different approach. For example,
at the end of the 1980s, my first two albums including Atlantis
Angelis were dedicated to relaxation and meditation, the awakening
of the emotional divine love in the human consciousness and the
opening of the heart through relaxing, low-key music. After that,
I just wanted to do something different and I used some special
sound invocations from different areas of the world, with the intention
of giving and sharing SHAMANIC energies. So, this was not just simple
relaxation, but active meditation. That was 10 years ago. It was
a big SHOCK for my followers, and at the time, they REJECTED IT.
They did not support me. Now, everybody is doing the active, dancing
meditation, and it's well known and it's well accepted, but 10 years
ago, it was A THANKLESS TASK to do this kind of music in the alternative
market.
DK: Are
you referring to THE MANTRA ROCK PROJECT ALBUM?
PB: Yes, MIXING
RHYTHM AND MANTRA. Ten years ago, everybody was expecting some sort
of relaxing, ETHEREAL music and when I introduced percussion from
Africa, it was a big surprise in this field.
DK: I think
most people assume that the art of song writing starts from a feeling
and working it out in the head. In your book, you talk about the
universe of profound listening, of listening to yourself where we
perceive the finest form of music: the music of the soul. It seems
that your music is originating from a deep place within and that
you're consciously bringing that forth in your craft. Could you
talk about the music of the soul?
PB: Yes, I
believe and I know that it is not necessarily good to try to control
music. There are ways to exploit music; alternatively, we can be
dedicated to music for higher purposes. If we try to compose music
according to intellect and logic, we can create ESTHETICALLY PLEASING
music, but it won't affect the heart. If we want to transform the
consciousness in the heart we need to listen to music coming from
the heart. Life comes from life and this is what I'm trying to do
when I produce music. I meditate, I try to contact and unite with
my soul--the universal aspect of myself that survives the death
of the body. I'm trying to find that part in me. This part is beautiful.
This part is QUALITATIVELY one with God, one with the divine spirit,
and one with the source of beauty and the source of life. This part
is conscious, BLISSFUL and eternal. By contacting this part directly
we are able to detect this beauty and inject this HARMONY. Really,
it's a self manifestation.
I don't compose
music, I am composed by music. It's a service. If you are looking
for name and fame and having many followers through this work, you
won't be able to feel anything TRANSCENDENTAL. It's a yoga and it's
a service; you put yourself into this beauty, and that manifests
itself through yoga OR ACTUAL COMMUNION WITH THE SUPREME HARMONY.
This way of creating music is not something that can be done at
will. I'm feeling insecure and helpless, meaning that in this work
I cannot rely on my musical abilities. It's a prayer. I don't hope
anything, I don't ask for anything, so this is why it's a little
insecure because you go to the unknown and this is why it's always
fresh. It's always new. The more you feel helpless, the more this
beauty manifests in you. Just let it go, let it flow and you become
an instrument. IN THIS WAY THE FALSE MOTIVATIONS GRADUALY DISAPPEAR
AND YOU JUST CREATE MUSIC IN ORDER TO PLEASE GOD IN YOU AND EVERYWHERE.
DK: In
your book, you talk about the vegetarian diet and how it enhances
our ability to listen and to bring forth more beautiful music. When
did you first make that connection, who influenced you, and how
did that change your life and musical creativity?
PB: During
the EARLY 1970s I was strongly guided to become a vegetarian for
many reasons. At the same time, having come from a meat-eating family,
I was concerned about getting enough protein, and even thought I
might die if I didn't eat meat. So, I started to gather some information
on the whole idea. I saw this book in France from Louis Kuhne titled
New SCIENCE of Healing. This book really changed my life. This German
naturalist doctor showed me that what you eat can create morbid
substances in the body. After a while this accumulation of substances
goes into your head and your ears. The first year when I followed
this new way of eating, I ate no meat, only fruit and vegetables.
So after a few months my ears opened. It was a really incredible
experience. I remember I was walking on the road and my ears just
opened. I realized that previously, I had been almost deaf. I couldn't
hear the simple sounds of the mountains. Since I was outside, I
could hear the sounds of many birds. I was conscious of so many
sounds. There are so many sounds that I couldn't hear before, like
the SUBBTLE VIBATIONS OF THE stars. Do you know that stars have
some sounds? If you listen carefully, there is a special movement
in the air and you can listen to that. By eating meat, gradually
both our physical and psychic hearing, or consciousness, becomes
blocked, BECAUSE WE ALSO EAT AT THE SAME TIME THE AGONY OF THE ANIMALS
AND AS THE RESULT WE LIVE IN A SEVERE STATE OF UNCONSCIOUS ANXIETY.
DK: Did
your music improve dramatically as soon as you changed your diet?
PB: Yes, especially
in the stillness. Before, I didn't know the meaning of the word
stillness. I was always nervous, or anxious. There is a direct connection
between what people eat and the state of society. I read something
from Paul CARTON PHD, "When men slaughter animals, then they
will begin to kill each other." It's a very important issue
right now because we are at war and this war is simply a reflection
of what we do to nature and living things. It's a very important
issue to understand that those disasters in society, diseases and
wars, don't happen by chance. They are only reflections of our own
actions. SLAUGHTERHOUSE AND COMPASSION DO NOT GO TOGETHER.
DK: In
your book you wrote that a lack of well being can be healed by profound
listening to all that is related to absolute truth, and in order
to listen we have to be still. This is so true!
PB: Indeed,
to listen is an act of love. To listen is a gift, you give yourself
and you become the listener. We don't take the time to listen. It's
obvious that if you eat in a state of agony and fear, you will become
fearful and you will know agony, because we are what we eat and
we are what we listen to. If we eat animals that were slaughtered
and listen to fearful sounds, we become fearful. LISTEN TO NATURE.
EVERYTHING IS THERE. TO LISTEN IS A WONDERFUL MEANS OF MEDITATION.
DK: In
your book you talk about imagination as our primary human faculty.
You write that this power has always existed and will always exist,
and we have the right and the duty to develop it and to use it in
a beneficial sense. Could you talk about this power?
PB: Imagination
is different from will. For example, if you have insomnia, willpower
won't help you to sleep. If you just relax yourself and imagine
that you are in the sleeping state, then it will be easy for you
to sleep. So imagination is a more powerful tool than will in this
sense. Everything you imagine will gradually become true in your
life. Imagination is a gradual process. Imagination is related to
the physiological activity, not of the brain, but of the mind. The
mind is different from the brain. The mind creates imagination and
the mind will survive the death of the body. The brain will die,
but the mind will carry on. In this life what we do and what we
think is just the preparation for the continuation of life. In this
sense, imagination will become a reality in due course of time.
When you imagine something, it's like sowing the seeds. IMAGINE
PEACE. IMAGINE HEALTH, HARMONY.
DK: When
you see something beautiful, does your imagination start working,
sometimes leading you to go home and write a composition and try
to develop something?
PB: I don't
know really because INSPIRATION is a mystery. It's a source of divine
power. It's a grace really. But of course, free will is important
in determining what kind of INSPIRATION you want to receive. There
are three different energies, GOODNESS, PASSION AND IGNORANCE..
These energies control everything, MUSIC AS WELL AS FOOD. Because
I want to create music IN THE MODE OF GOODNESS, , I eat food IN
THE MODE OF GOODNESS, and I read and listen to good books and music.
Thus, my intuition is influenced by reading, listening and eating
leading to good results, but you can eat passionate food, or ignorant
food and it will also create some RESULT ACCORDINGLY. Everyday you
have to think about it and discipline yourself.
DK: You
wrote that "healing is the goal, sincerity is the force, universal
vibration is the tool and second birth is the fruit.² You certainly
use the fruit metaphor and imagery a lot. Do you believe that fruit
is the best source of food for the soul?
PB: Yes, for
the soul, the body and the mind. We must keep in mind the reality
that humans are naturally fruit-eaters. We have the teeth of the
fruit eaters--we don't have the teeth of the meat eaters. We also
have the instincts of the fruit eaters. It's very difficult for
us to digest meat. This is why almost everybody is sick right now.
WE don't know what to eat. So this is the physical reality. But
you also have the spiritual reality. In the Bhagavad-Gita, SRI BHAGAVAN
says: "If with love and devotion, I am offered a leaf, a flower,
a fruit or some water, I will accept it.² it’s A WAY
TO DIVINITY, the ultimate health. The ultimate beauty is becoming
the food itself. The REVEALED SCRIPTURES DO NOT say if you offer
me a cow, a steak, a bloody piece of meat that GOD WILL accept that.
So naturally on the physical side and on the spiritual side too,
fruit is the perfect food.
DK: Please
tell us about any new projects that you're working on.
PB: I AM CURRENTLY
WORKING ON MY FIRST COMPILATION “SUPREME MOMENT” A SPIRITUAL
JOURNEY THROUGH SOUND. ALL MY BEST COMPOSITIONS IN ONE ALBUM. SUPREME
MOMENT WILL BE AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 2003. ALSO I am working with
Gabrielle Young ON A CD of Rumi poetry. I am also doing the musical
background for a mystical poetry project. . It's interesting because
I had to do some research on the poetry itself. I ALSO COMPOSE QUIET
A LOT FOR DIFFERENT SPOKEN-WORD RECORDING ARTISTS AS THEY APPROACH
ME TO CREATE THE MUSICAL BACKGROUND OF THEIR POETRY AND GUIDED MEDITATIONS.
I AM ALSO FINISHING THE PRODUCTION OF A DVD WHICH INCLUDES BEAUTIFUL
IMAGES OF NATURE.
DK: By
the time this magazine comes out, I think Rawstock will already
be over with, but I thought I'd just ask you anyway. I'm ecstatically
grateful that you will be performing for us in such a beautiful
setting and it should be such a joyous festival. I just wanted to
know your thoughts about Rawstock .
PB: The way
we act is the way we think and this kind of celebration, to my thinking,
is very important because it's a question of finding peace, in us
first, but also between the nations. Showing the right way to eat
is also showing people the way to harmony and peace. If we don't
have peace, then we cannot be happy. In my vision, this kind of
celebration is important, especially in a time like this.
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