Contemplation # 5

Please feel free to listen to my music while you read. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Your Insanity Is My Clarity, Not to Mention Convention Is A Great War Weapon.

- El-P

To be insane is to have a disingenuous relationship with reality (whether intentional or not) and with that definition all of us to some degree are insane. Knowing this, it may be possible to see our confusion as an area of commonality and therefore connection and communication. 

Taking the time to look into ourselves and discover our day to day craziness is a good practice and the potential harbinger of good news. It means that we are seeing the reality of our individual situations; that our minds are always moving and often feels solely in control over the decision as to when it will decide to settle down and let us have some peace. Despite the racing thoughts that we experience, the collecting and focusing of our awareness is the dawn of clarity or the beginning of seeing things as they truly are.

Witnessing our own insanity and its dance partner, the coy and seemingly elusive clarity, also aids us in understanding what's going on with others. If confusion is happening for me its probably happening to them. If the desire to be happy is happening for me its probably happening for them. We can use clarity to see into others insanity, and in fact deeply allowing ourselves to experience another's insanity is a good definition for compassion. As I was taught, the etymology of the word compassion translates as "to suffer with" or to go through the difficult experiences with another. I can either choose to see your suffering or to see you AS your suffering. I can choose to delight in your suffering or I can choose to feel into your suffering. Of course another choice is to completely ignore the whole thing and pretend as if as long as I don't pay attention to what's going on with anyone that everything will be alright.

Conventional thinking (or common place, status quo thinking) may show us that others pain should be ignored in favor of our own comfort or fear (what do I stand to gain by caring about how you feel?). But who wins and who loses when that type of thinking becomes the norm? Convention is indeed a great war weapon. It is useful when you want to control large groups of people, especially when the result is power for the few and disempowerment for the many. Convention convinces us of our own illusory superiority and reinforces preexisting arrogance. As long as we can pretend to know what is most real, with the support of those around us and without much encouragement to look beyond the surface of our experience, we can justify righteousness, avoid the responsibility of determining fact from fiction on our own and ignore the jarring truths that exist when we let go of group think in favor of truth think.

Let us contemplate this:  

Sit in an upright and comfortable position (on a cushion or chair) with your hands in the meditation posture (place the back of your left hand on the palm of your right hand and let your thumbs touch lightly). Let your eyes rest, half closed and focused on nothing in particular. Let everything in your field of vision just be, without labelling it or judging it. Just let your eyes relax. Sit for five minutes and focus all of your attention on breathing. Feel the complete in and out breath and when your mind wanders, bring your attention back to your breath.

After five minutes, allow a word, a sentence or the entire phrase to arise in your mind and when the word, sentence or phrase fades, say it gently again. Allow whatever arises to arise without judgement and when something feels real, when there's some spark of insight rest in your mind and place your attention on it. When your mind starts to wander, bring your attention back to what arose for you. Practice contemplation for ten minutes and then return to focusing on your breath for five more minutes. Focus only on the most subtle of experience. Afterwards, carry whatever arose for you in contemplation practice into your everyday life.

Check this previous post for an explanation of contemplation practice. http://www.hiphopalive.org/mind-spray/2016/12/7/4p2lnb8omwoc5dc5uznhcxii002b89

If there is a verse you think should be contemplated or think I should discuss, let me know in the comment section below. 

 Hiphop Alive

Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.       

 

Contemplation # 4

Please feel free to listen to my music while you read. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

It’s a paradox we call reality, so keeping it real will make you a casualty of abnormal normality.

-Talib Kweli

Sometimes the events of the world are so intensely painful that it's almost hard to believe this is the world we live in. Terrorism, political circuses, war, racism, poverty, environmental degradation, as well as mental health and substance abuse issues, all plague our world, causing anxiety about our individual and collective futures.

Acknowledging this as our shared reality is difficult. It is even more difficult to not allow this reality to cause us to respond in ways that, although initially make us feel as if we are coping with our suffering, end up causing us more suffering in the end. The term "keeping it real" sometimes means being genuine to oneself and others. From another perspective, keeping it real means living your pain, no matter how real it is or the consequences involved. So one can keep it real by acting aggressively, overspending, speaking in ways that cause harm, or in general not giving a damn. 

It's the latter form of keeping it real that causes our lives the most damage, and in a sense may not be as real as it seems. One only need to remember the now infamous skit from The Chapelle Show where Dave Chapelle playing Darius James is leaving the club with his date Tanisha Davis, and another man says, "Hey Tanisha, good to see you!" Instead of leaving and going home for a night of fun, Darius turns around and gets in an altercation with a 10th degree Blackbelt who picks fights just for the hell of it. Because his ego was threatened, Darius decided to stay at the club, fight, and ended up getting beat up.

In a world where the ego is valued more than the inherent human qualities of clarity, patience, kindness, charity, and forgiveness, keeping it real is indeed a paradox; the truth is we are more than our egos and at the same time experience our egos as the truth of who we are. Although seemingly solid because of years of reinforcement of "ME" as the most important thing on the planet, upon examination our ideas about our "self" begin to fall apart revealing the contradiction that the previously held substantiality of "ME" is in fact full of no substance at all. 

Living according to this abnormal normality, this naturalizing of the unnatural relationship with one's ego as the center of the universe, literally can cause casualties and in fact is the underlying cause of so many of the world's ills. If we saw the truth of interdependence, the faults of chasing illusory happiness through desire and aggression, the harm in ignoring how ourselves and others exist, would the world experience so much difficulty? There is pain we cannot prevent: the death of a loved one, being let go from our jobs, a partner leaving us for someone else, or a life threatening illness that blindsides us. But suffering is a different kind of pain; a self imposed pain that comes from not being able to discern between real and fake, or to see what should be accepted or rejected. 

The opportune word is seeing. We see by looking, not with our eye organs but with our internal eyes. By spending time examining what we consider to be real, we may be introduced to a reality that dissolves our attachment to acting out of our initial ego centered behavior, illuminating more useful ways of dealing with the challenges of our everyday lives. 

Let us contemplate this: What is real and how do I know? How have I normalized abnormal thoughts, speech and actions? How do I keep it real and is that the most real that I could keep it? Do I cause myself suffering by acting out of habitual behaviors that consistently produce the same negative consequences? How can I keep it really real?

Sit in an upright and comfortable position (on a cushion or chair) with your hands in the meditation posture (place the back of your left hand on the palm of your right hand and let your thumbs touch lightly). Let your eyes rest, half closed and focused on nothing in particular. Let everything in your field of vision just be, without labelling it or judging it. Just let your eyes relax. Sit for five minutes and focus all of your attention on breathing. Feel the complete in and out breath and when your mind wanders, bring your attention back to your breath. After five minutes, allow the question to arise in your mind without seeking the answer and when the question fades, say it gently again. Allow whatever arises to arise and when something feels real, that may be quiet or loud, rest in your mind and place your attention on it. When your mind starts to wander, bring your attention back to what arose for you. Practice contemplation for ten minutes and then return to focusing on your breath for five more minutes. Focus only on the most subtle of experience. Afterwards, carry whatever arose for you in contemplation practice into your everyday life.

Check this previous post for an explanation of contemplation practice. http://www.hiphopalive.org/mind-spray/2016/12/7/4p2lnb8omwoc5dc5uznhcxii002b89

If there is a verse you think should be contemplated or think I should discuss, let me know in the comment section below. 

 Hiphop Alive

Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.     

Contemplation # 3

Please feel free to listen to my music while you read. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Ignorance is a poison and knowledge will nourish

-KRS-ONE/BDP, Words From Our Sponsor

What feeds you? What nutrients, minerals and vitamins are essential for your life to flourish?

The science is clear: fruits, vegetables, ancient grains, water are what we NEED. Other things we put into our system are wants. The body makes enough saturated fats to sustain us however the body doesn't make essential fatty acids or EFAS, mono and poly unsaturated fatty acids or MUFAS and PUFAS and we need to get those from outside sources. The body needs strength training as well as aerobic, anaerobic and movement that cultivates a relationship with our subtle energies i.e. chi, prana or elan vital. And don't forget that sleep regulates most of our bodies functions. Our minds need to reconcile with our shadows or the areas of our awareness that we choose to not look at through various forms of therapy and stability, clarity, strength and insight through practices such as meditation, contemplation and prayer. And our spirit doesn't NEED yet we need to acknowledge it as the ground and fruition of all of our experience. We need to socialize and recognize our connection to others as well as explore and manifest our cultural values in our interactions with each other. 

These are needs and have existed as such since time immemorial. The worlds spiritual and scientific wisdom traditions have said so for millennia. So why do we turn away from these inherent sources of nourishment and the shared view that says that we should do so. Because....ignorance.

What is ignorance? Is it stupidity or knowing but not doing, or is it less intentional than that? My experience has shown me that ignorance is simply not paying attention. Not looking. Not trying to see anything other than our everyday experience of the world as what is most real. 

KRS-ONE says that ignorance is a poison. How is ignorance a poison? Poison is a contaminate that causes ignorance to a system. How does ignorance cause illness? Because ignorance involves not paying attention, it causes sickness because it facilitates the continuance of already existing suffering as well as produces consequences that harm ourselves and others. We are already suffering. How are we suffering? Because we avoid the fundamental truths of our lives and our existence as human beings. We want to ignore the eventuality of our deaths. We want to ignore the beauty, benefit and frankly luck of being born a human being and not a dung beetle. We want to ignore how our behavior, speech and thoughts contribute to consequences that reduce the quality of our lives and we want to ignore how our attachment to transient forms of happiness cause us to compulsively seek out more illusory happiness through the collection and consumption of material, intellectualism and transcendent experiences.

The poison of ignorance causes us to avoid not only our potential to cause ourselves harm, but how we are involved in causing others harm by not knowing the truth that we are all suffering and that we are all fundamentally good.

KRS-ONE then says that knowledge will nourish. How does knowledge nourish? Knowledge feeds our bodies, minds and spirits by informing us of what we truly need to pay attention to and what we need to avoid. Knowledge is temporary, it changes and it is not ultimate power no matter what anyone says. Wisdom is unchanging power. However, knowledge, experiential knowledge lets us know what it is that sustains us through change, crisis and trauma. The experiential knowledge of the body, mind and spirit informs us that they need attention in particular ways and in ways that are common to all human beings. 

Knowledge involves learning through reading, studying, listening, contemplating and meditating in order to directly KNOW who and what I physically, psychologically and spiritually am. Knowledge will nourish us by feeding us information that will assist us on our paths. Knowledge (especially knowledge that arises from deep within us) will feed us without making us dependent on outside sources, even though our external worlds are excellent opportunities to take in information about tried and true ancient remedies as well as the latest evidence based theories and practices about to cope with and cure common human ailments. 

The cause of our suffering is not, not having access to the information that will aid us, it is not spending time looking for and accepting knowledge that has existed for time immemorial. 

Contemplate this: How is ignorance poisoning your physical, mental and spiritual life? How has experiential avoidance caused you problems? What feeds you deeply? When have you felt the most healthy and when have you felt the most disconnected from healthiness?

Check out this posting for more on contemplation and contemplation instructions: http://www.hiphopalive.org/mindspray/2016/12/7/4p2lnb8omwoc5dc5uznhcxii002b89

Let me know if there are any verses that you think should be discussed here or contemplated. 

Be well,

 Hiphop Alive

Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.      

Contemplation # 2

Please feel free to listen to my music while you read. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

It's your brain against my mind.

- Q-Tip, Buggin' Out, Low End Theory, 1991

I remember the first time I heard Buggin' Out. In all fairness I wasn't the first one around my way to have the now iconic Low End Theory cassette with the sexy woman in red, black and green stripes. That award goes to my man Christopher Leon Brown. 

Aside from being a fun, dope track with strong lyrics from both Tip and Phife, it also contained a moment of ontological depth. 

At the end of Tip's second verse he says:

"I go out with the strongest and I separate the evils. It's your brain against my mind."

At first glance the verse could be seen as a shout to those in Tip's circle with strong wills and a dis to those with weak constitutions; the evils. It's the second part of the verse that got me. "It's your brain against my mind". 

I was only 15 at the time but I remember thinking, "what's the difference between the brain and the mind"? Aren't they the same thing? But they couldn't be. Not only did my then idol Mr. Jonathan Davis (now Kamaal Ibn Fareed) say it wasn't, but I couldn't ignore that I related differently to the ideas of my "brain" and my "mind". I knew what my brain was (no matter how often I proved to my parents that I wasn't using it), but if there is a brain (that soft ball of neural connections in my skull) and something separate called a mind (whatever the hell that is), then what is the mind and where is it? And why did Q-Tip seem to favor the brain (YOUR brain vs. MY mind) over the mind?

In 1991 my idea of the mind was as the events that went on in my head. It was my sense of an "I" or a "self", my identity, my story, what I liked, disliked or didn't give a damn about. MY mind that existed as an independent entity that would proclaim its difference from YOUR mind at the drop of a hat.

91' was the year I learned how to meditate. As a part of a Judo class I took 4 days a week at the local rec center, we sat zazen, the style of meditation practiced by Zen Buddhists. The instruction was to kneel and sit with our butts on our heels (called seiza position), place the back of my left hand on top of my right hand and let my thumbs touch lightly (sometimes called the concentration or meditation mudra, or hand position), to keep our eyes half open and focus our attention solely on silence; to try to experience on the most subtle experience and don't move from it. Those moments were the first time that I encountered anything resembling something other than my normal mind. We would only sit for 5 minutes but it was enough to make me curious about what would happen if I practiced more. I would go home and practice meditation for longer periods in my room and allow everything to get very quiet until everything started to disappear. I remember feeling frightened because there was nothing there; it was like getting lost on purpose and then being expected to enjoy it, so I would let it go. I would focus my attention, let everything fade away, get scared and just drop the technique. But if there were anything that I could call the mind it was that; simply seeing that although there seems to be something called a mind i.e. the contents-memories, associations, ideas, concepts etc. all things that seem to change- there was nothing there when I looked besides looking and nothing else. That looking didn't shift even thought the contents did.  

So when Tip said "it's your brain against my mind" he may have been saying "you're using the limited, shifting experience as your weapon" while "i'm using the unlimited static experience as mine". That mind is powerful, where the brain (although necessary and powerful in it's own right) at the most is a device for channeling and directing that power. As he says on the song "1, 2 Shit" found on the B-Side to the excellent 1994 12" single "Oh My God", "My lyrics is the bullet and the mic is the tool". The truth is that one is not useful without the other. A gun is a powerful machine but the energy of destruction (or creation depending on your stance) comes from the ammo. Contemplation practice involves using the physical brain (neural connections and various lobes with their individual functions and interdependent abilities) and its contents (concepts, perceptions etc.), to access the non-conceptual (awareness, wisdom, clarity). When we use the brain to experience the mind, what newfound insights and abilities do we discover? 

Contemplate it for yourself. What is the difference or similarity between the brain and the mind? Don't think about it. Sit in an upright and comfortable position (on a cushion or chair) with your hands in the meditation mudra that I spoke about earlier. Allow the question to arise in your mind without seeking the answer and when the question fades, say it gently again. Allow whatever to arise to arise and when something that feels real, that may be quiet or loud to rest in your mind and place your attention on it. When your mind starts to wander, bring your attention back to what arose for you. Practice contemplation for 10 minutes and then allow yourself to sit in the silence I spoke of earlier for 5 minutes. Focus only on the most subtle of experience. After 5 minutes carry whatever arose for you in contemplation practice into your everyday life.

If there's a verse you think should be contemplated or think I should discuss, let me know in the comment section below.  

 Hiphop Alive

Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.     

Contemplation # 1

Please feel free to listen to my music while you read. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Took a picture of the truth and tried to develop it.

Had proof, it was only recognized by the intelligent.

- Common

Let's say for a minute that Common could take a picture of the truth. What would it look like? He's talking about THE Truth not A truth.

Many people claim to possess or know the truth but how do we know that we know? Common even says he "tries to develop it", not that he was successful doing so. Truth is one of those things that I think is recognized on an individual basis. When we share our truths with each other the only real validity test is if we all engaged in the same process (the development of the picture) and came up with the same answer and even then the truth may still be recognized differently based on our individual conditioning and circumstances.

For me the power of Common's verse is his attempt at developing his truth picture because it is only in the dark room of our minds and bodies that we can truly experience what is most real about us, each other and our world. We can also use our everyday experiences with our families, friends and coworkers as the petri dish for our truth experiments. Is it true that people are fundamentally evil and selfish? Is it true that some people are better than others? Is it true that people don't change? When we run our truth test on a daily basis we collect evidence to support or deny our claims. But how do we develop a greater understanding of what is true or not true? One could look at the sky and say that the sky is blue, that is until dusk and then the sky is orange, yellow, pink, purple and then in the absence of sunlight is black. Is the sky then blue? I remember learning that the sky is azure, a shade of blue. I question if I even know what the sky is. The key is looking, and looking again and again. Maybe we never stop looking. Any short sighted, half ass attempt at self or other discovery is closer to ignorance or to the truth.

I wonder how Common knew he found what was true? He says he had proof. Often times truths are temporary arisings that hold space in our lives for a little while, only to be replaced when our experience provides us with a different outlook. So I come back to what would a picture of the truth look like? Would it be more worthwhile to take a picture of the development process? I wonder if that's why according to Common the truth was only recognized by the intelligent. That for someone to see the truth one would have to go through the process of breaking down the truth for themselves, develop the picture and then through using their own natural intelligence, see the truth. It is quite possible that our intelligence may inform us that our intelligence is not enough. True intelligence may be in letting go of trying to develop hard truths that do not contain other truths.

I encourage all of us to sit still today, watch your mind, body and environment wordlessly. Just watch and see what your felt experience is like. When I don't judge or label my thoughts and feelings what is the result? How do they exist? When I don't label others what is the result? When i've applied all the labels I can to an object and instead of a single thing, the object has become a hundred things, is it still that object? Allow your raw intelligence to contact your world and see what picture it develops. 

Hiphop Alive

Justin F. Miles is a the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.     

The Contemplations

Please feel free to listen to my music while you read. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Contemplation as a practice is one of what I call The Three Universal Prescriptions for connecting with sources of wisdom and compassion (Prayer and meditation are the other two). I like to think of contemplation as exploring and experiencing the ubiquitous nature of wisdom. The idea is that if you spend enough time with anything, looking deeply beyond your own conceptual confusion about how something is supposed to exist, then what you will inevitably find is wisdom.

Most of my personal work over the last 16 years has been about looking as deep as I can into Hiphop culture to see what lies at its core. One of my foundational theories is that Hiphop contains wisdom; just as much wisdom as any of the world's religions. If we are to discover the nature and truth of ourselves we have to go no further than our headphones.

Contemplation is best done after a short period of meditation. Why? Because when the mind is calm it is easier to be aware of its contents. In the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Contemplation is translated as ton gompa or "meaning meditation". We are attempting to extract a deeper meaning and understanding from a concept by placing our awareness on it and then resting meditatively to see what naturally arises from it. 

The process of contemplation is similar to making freshly squeezed juice. First you take the raw product, a word, a phrase, a sentence or a stanza. Next you say the word, phrase etc. to yourself once and then let it reverberate throughout your mind and body. Once you can no longer hear the words, say it again. Its like throwing a rock in a lake. The rock makes concentric circles in the water that eventually dissipate but soon returns to stillness. Once the word loses its presence, say it again. Ok back to OJ. So that last part is like squeezing the juice from the fruit. Now we examine what has arisen from our squeezing. Let's look at our juice non judgmentally in terms of its color, its texture and its smell as a way of trusting that the inherent qualities of this fruit are good for me and appreciating what is naturally there. Just watch wordlessly at what arose from the phrase, stanza etc. and consider what it personally means to you. Lastly we drink the juice and let it provide sustenance to our bodies. In this last stage we rest with the feeling of what we have extracted, returning again to the practice of meditation. To say this a bit easier, we allow what we are contemplating to become the object of meditation for a period of time, then we return to either using the breath or other object of meditation or engage in a formless meditation practice. 

I learned the practice of contemplation from a Catholic Priest who is also a practicing Buddhist. The Catholics call it lectio divina or divine reading. Lectio Divina has four stages: 

......The first stage is lectio (reading) where we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively so that it sinks into us. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way of prayer but the passage should not be too long.

The second stage is meditatio (reflection) where we think about the text we have chosen and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us.

The third stage is oratio (response) where we leave our thinking aside and simply let our hearts speak to God. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God.

The final stage of Lectio Divina is contemplatio (rest) where we let go not only of our own ideas, plans and meditations but also of our holy words and thoughts. We simply rest in the Word of God. We listen at the deepest level of our being to God who speaks within us with a still small voice. As we listen, we are gradually transformed from within. Obviously this transformation will have a profound effect on the way we actually live and the way we live is the test of the authenticity of our prayer.

There are many ways to contemplate. I suggest finding a practice that fits you're unique style.

Below are some lyrics from some of my favorite artists that I've contemplated over the years. Enjoy!

Ignorance is a poison and knowledge will nourish-KRS-ONE

It’s a paradox we call reality, so keeping it real will make you a casualty of abnormal normality-Talib Kweli

The only bridge ive ever burned along this legacy I dance is the one that linked the cities of prosperity and chance.-Aesop Rock

Your insanity is my clarity, not to mention convention is a great war weapon.-El-P

Its your brain against my mind-Q-Tip

Global mass awakening vs. debt enslavement engines

Racing neck and neck toward a photo finish ending. -Bigg Jus

They pray four times per day, they pray five. Who ways is strange when its time to survive? –MF DOOM

Study and be wise in these days of darkness - Killah Priest

I pray to you for the light you might give them, mother make them know that you're living with them, you begin them and end them in silence, frankly if they knew you they would understand violence –KRS, Higher Level

Wisdom is better than rubies, silver, or gold

It's higher in value plus more durable - LMNO

All over the world hearts pound with the rhythm

Fear not of men because men must die

Mind over matter and soul before flesh

Angels for the pain keep a record in time

which is passin and runnin like a caravan freighter

The world is overrun with the wealthy and the wicked

But God is sufficient in disposin of affairs

Gunmen and stockholders try to merit my fear

But God is sufficient over plans they prepared. - Mos Def

Took a picture of the truth and tried to develop it

Had proof, it was only recognized by the intelligent - Common

To know everything is to know nothing, nothing is zero so zeros my hero- Yaggfu Front

The pleasure I receive's beyond measure, because I believe I can control the weather. And I choose the sunshine, even though sometimes it rains. My head never hangs in the confines of solitude, I do what I gotta do to maintain my attitude of gratitude. For even breathing. What do you believe in? How long you've been self-deceiving that you're helpless, and life is dark and dismal. A thought that I don't resemble and I won't fall into. - Pep Love

Vibration is sound. Now who makes the sound? –Slug

Remember these good times and these hard times But it's like that, and that's the way it is And that's the way it was, but that ain't how it gottabe Reflect your mind, it works every time Cuz if I knew then what I knew now, I'd be doin' fine Reflect your mind, it works every time Cuz if you knew then what you know now, you'd be doin' fine- Aceyalone

I know that Yeezus was a mortal man & HOV ain't Jahova just a normal man you see we all lambs to the slaughter we all die but some die harder. - Oddisee

I just know that one day, that anything I needed I could mold get everything you want it ain't always good for the soul a mix of self worth, some help, a little control & I don't know the rest, good as mine is your guess the recipe ain't the best, to make it though is our quest & if you choose to except, the meaning of life is yes. – Oddisee

Rebellious to darkness, let there be light. Your very existence brings life to the shadows that dance on the walls in my mind. Creatures with no faces, no expressions, no colours, no emotions, wait Dimensioning, no mind of their own. These are slaves of mimic, see they mimic you. And they are your slaves for as long as you shine tears of sorrow, signs of grief, threaten your very existence. Let your thoughts remain calm and you will shine forever. – One Be Lo

Overly anxious can't just wait. To see when death is gonna pull you to your fate. It's inevitable there's no escape. There's no mistake. Every time a life is given it's another one you have to take. Then your electricity and and your energy's released. Born into another soul after your physical's deceased. May you forever rest in peace. Although your current is concurrent there is no deterrent. You will cease to be no more. The war has been won, the warrior is rested and your duty here is done. Just when you think you're having fun, it'll snatch you up and run. For a second you appreciate the sun. For a half a second you appreciate the stars. For a half a second you reflect on who you are and what you where. And in a flash it's all a blur. – Aceyalone

Harvested love only comes after rain. Even though it brings overwhelming strain. It falls from all skies so I can't complain. Without it, our growth would not be the same. Most people like to have someone to blame But it falls randomly, not taking aim. It makes up one half of the yin and yang. Without the water, you can't have the flame. Without the water, you can't have the flame. Some are content holding ground in their game. But when my soul steps to exit this frame I will be reincarnated as…rain. – Eyedea

Now it's all about purpose, progress, not perfection. Seeing beneath the surface, faith followed by action. I live it all now, with a hunger and a passion. And when I get stuck I let go and keep mashin'. And when I get stuck, I get still and just ask Him. For knowledge of His will, then my third eye transcends. – Gift of Gab

Control what I hold and of course be the boss of myself, no one else will bring my wealth. – Big Daddy Kane

My conversations with God always seem to leave him speechless. – Big K.R.I.T.

 Hiphop Alive

Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.    

Hiphop And Non Duality

Please feel free to listen to my music while you read. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Hiphop and Non Duality

Hiphop doesn't exist…

If it does then show it to me now….and when you do please don't point to an album, your Tidal library, a microphone, a website etc. because we don't call that Hiphop. We have names for those things.

But what can be named can be identified, it has color, shape and place in space in reference to another object. So where is the thing that we call Hiphop.

Or is it a thing at all? Is it a feeling? An experience? If so what is the experience? What drives us to label things Hiphop or not Hiphop? What is the difference between the two?

Afrika Bambaataa defined Hiphop as peace, love, unity, and understanding. Well where are those things? Do those qualities exist as tangible objects or are they something more subtle and tacit? All “things” have a beginning and an end. They have an origin, at least relatively, but did peace, love, unity and understanding have a beginning or have they existed before there was a mind to perceive them? If we entertain the latter then we have to look at what we call Hiphop as something free of coming and going, something that is free of origins and endings, free from conditions…

In fact I postulate that Hiphop is freedom from conditions simply because it allows all conditions to exist. It does not fight, it does not reject, it embraces and incorporates. It becomes more whole through allowing whatever arises to arise. It freely samples the world and finds it beautiful. In this way Hiphop is whole.

Out of peace, love, unity and understanding came the elements of Hiphop.

The elements are the children of Hiphop. No less Hiphop themselves and not completely Hiphop by themselves, they were birthed to teach us about Hiphop and the possibilities of finding peace, love, unity and understanding within, between and as all things.

This relationship as nature and manifestation are what give Hiphop the status as nondual.

It is the ground out of which the elements arise and it is the end goal for all those that practice it and it is everything in-between no matter how you practice it.

Nothing is separate from it no matter how foreign to peace, love, unity and understanding it seems.  

When Chief Keef and Mos Def create a song they do with the same underlying intention whether they know it or not; to manifest peace, love, unity and understanding. All seeking is seeking the nature of things. The only difference is a matter of knowing, of experiencing Hiphop. When one has experienced Hiphop (and knows it as ones self) then one begins to create with the intention of manifesting the qualities of Hiphop. When one doesn't know it they create with other intentions; money, fame, power, fear, anger. The only difference is in knowing. All spiritual paths know this to be the end goal of all seeking; that they are what they seek and what they fundamentally are is peace, love etc. Hiphop as it manifests as the elements is part/parts.

Hiphop is then both whole and part, unified and diverse, one and many. This is what is meant by Hiphop being nondual, or not one and not two. It is both the space and the forms that arise out of it.

So then why do most people associate Hiphop with music and entertainment? Well aside from conditioning, most people don't seek the source of Hiphop when interacting with the elements. They only go deep enough to validate what their ego seeks; to be bigger, to be separate, to be the greatest among all. Some go deeper and utilize the elements to bring about sociopolitical awareness and change. When ones intention becomes focused on these things then the source is missed when the source is the award itself.

This is the reason for Hiphop Alive; To begin to see the sacredness of what we call Hiphop and all of its elements so that they can teach us about how we and how all things truly exist. Many believe this line of thinking to be unnecessary, too much, over the top without once questioning their relationship with Hiphop and how deep it could possibly go. You're likely to see comments about this line of thinking that say this is bullshit, that Hiphop began in 1973 with a name.

I urge all that are serious about Hiphop to question the elements and when they began. What were the precursors to the music, art, dance, fashion etc.? These things didn't arise on their own or out of nowhere. They had ancestors and other forms that came before that had the same intention; to awaken self and others to a greater existence that has no origin. They attempted to explain and manifest the unexplainable because it was a nagging sensation; a calling to be more whole and to feel more like a part of the family of things.

When we say Hiphop began in the Bronx as a culture birthed from poverty and marginalization what do you think the opposite of those things are? What were they seeking? What is the underlying motivation of someone who is impoverished or doesn't feel like they have a voice? It is to be alive and to proclaim their aliveness to the world. It is to not be silenced. It is to make a noise loud enough that reaches to the depths of self and the universe that says I am here and I am worthy to be here. It is the voice of spirit saying I will not be silenced. I will grow even in the worst of conditions and I will adapt to whatever situation you place me in. The evolution of all things can't be stopped. Spirit cannot be denied because it knows no boundaries. It's sole intention is to know itself through form and to report its findings to the formless in order to find a way to next time manifest even more fully!

This is how I experience Hiphop.

Every record I dig for is another way of experiencing my own fragmented experience of humanity. Every rhyme I write is another way of working out the kinks of my cognition in order to see more clearly how I and all things exist. Every Graf piece I create is to be free from the lies of conformity to form. Every move of a bboy is to experience space in as many forms as possible. Every element has the goal of freedom through form and is a teacher of the highest of spiritual principles.

Ultimately Hiphop leads me to no longer being trapped by knowing.

Being a Hiphop practitioner means engaging in a search that helps to me to understand that what I've been taught doesn't withstand the pressure of deep contemplation. Being a practitioner breaks down the barriers between things until I no longer know why I ever thought there were barriers in the first place. When I find no separation, when I find no barriers I find peace because I learn to accept that I am all the things that I have encountered.

When I contact Hiphop I contact myself; my truest self if one can be said to exist at all. I find that there is no fear because there is nothing threatening my existence. It is too big to be threatened. Hiphop is too big for anything that it encounters to threaten its existence. It eats, digests and metabolizes all experience. There is nothing that can hurt or kill it. I experience this fullness as myself and all things, free from the fear of being eradicated by some outside force that will come and go. When KRS-ONE said "we will be here forever" he was correct. There is nothing that can stop Hiphop because it has always been and will always be here forever. No matter how far from the source those that practice it seem to be, Hiphop has remained intact and they have never hurt it. They in fact are a part of its evolution of its self knowing.

Hiphop needs all of the shades of the spectrum of consciousness in order to display all of its facets not just the “conscious” ones. To accept only the Hiphop manifestations that seem to be close to it’s source would be to forget that at one point we all were confused about who and what we are and most of us (including me still are.

At some point in time all of us have been confused about what brings us well being, which is fine.  We come to know only through trial and error. When we accept that the error is a part of the process and not really an error at all we can begin to appreciate the entire journey and others on it. When we arrogantly dismiss those who are in their process of understanding Hiphop deeply we create self deception and suffering within and between us. This is the fundamental error; not seeing clearly based on assumption and a lack of experience. Not seeing clearly we elevate the under developed to the level of developed and reduce the developed to the underdeveloped.

The main practice is to use the elements to see as deeply as possible into how things are, how we truly exist, how others truly exist, how form truly exists, how formless space truly exists, the depth of our values and our interconnectedness. When we utilize the elements in this way there is the hope of manifesting peace, love, unity and understanding. When we use the elements in a neurotic way there is still the hope of manifesting peace, love etc. but the time that it will take, the time that none of us has or is promised is longer. With that way there is only the promise of longer periods of personal, community and global suffering. So practitioners should be urged to utilize the elements as skillful means, to use them as artfully as possible so that in this lifetime there can be benefit to ones self and other beings. No one knows what happens when we die but we do know what happens when love dies in our lives, homes, streets and the world. We know that pain. We see it played out in the entertainment world daily. All of that ongoing suffering is unnecessary. Suffering is a part of the human experience but we do not have to continue to suffer as much. We do not have to live in ignorance of our selves, of our minds, of our neighbors. We can use the elements to awaken to more peaceful and interconnected existence where we support each other on our various paths.

This is the way of the bboy bodhisattva, the way of the microphone warrior, the way of the Graf rebel, the way of the DJ dream weaver.

This is Hiphop Alive.

 Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment. 

Emcee Nature Mechanics

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Emcee Nature Mechanics
 

View

The misunderstanding of and fixation on what we call a “self” is the source of all wackness. When identified with, one becomes wack in that they separate themselves from reality and attach themselves to a conceptual self that is always changing. How can one exist definitely if one’s existence is always moving? What is real is that the “I” that “I” think “I am” is an illusion. All that I am is manufactured, my style comes from another’s style, my dress comes from another, my accent, vocabulary and mannerisms all are not of my own doing, but “I” think of myself as real, existing independently and definitely. And I seek to reinforce that self. “I” even give myself other names, aliases, illusions on top of illusions to reinforce my feelings of this other self. This “I” likes certain clothes, people, rhyme styles etc.

This “I” also battles others who threaten that sense of self in order to maintain legitimacy. Both are false and only serve to reinforce the false emcee. Even though this may bring one fame and accolades, it is hardly the joy that comes from joining with one’s true nature. Why is this? The false emcee suffers at his/her own hands because there is no end to their quest to satisfy the false emcee self, which does not exist.

The false self is never satisfied, all pleasure soon fades and needs reinforcement because all things with beginnings have no lasting existence; they are subject to laws of birth and death. They depreciate as soon as you appropriate. No matter the brand of clothes, type of liquor consumed, media praise, women defiled, fancy wordplay, beat selection, stage show, or number of fans, none of those will bring the false emcee happiness.

Until the emcee’s egocentric desires are cut through they will suffer even to the point of death in the never-ending search for illusory happiness. True happiness is found in that which does not change, which does not go away, which does not need to be born, which is the nature of the emcee itself.

Real emcees fight the inner battle and only battle against worthy enemies or like minds when trying to establish what Hiphop is and is not. Those that are not worthy enemies had no desire to be emcees in the first place and have no care for what is or is not the essence of Hiphop. Battling with them is useless. Worthy enemies are those who would benefit from their egos cut through in order to wake them up to the nature.

True emcees do not battle up (those at higher stages of development). Those that battle up do not realize their nature, are confused and seek to expand their egos. The true emcee does not rhyme for himself as this only closes himself off more from the masses. The true emcee has no desire to build their ego.

Because the true emcee has no desire to build his/her ego, he attempts, through challenging himself, at conquering self-centered intent and scope, in order to expand his awareness into as many conceptual realms as possible, until the realms become homes, but even these homes must be abandoned and burnt down.

The true emcee knows that Hiphop is not something you do, nor is it something you live, nor is it something, nor is it nothing. It is nor and not nor…if a true emcee does create from the ego, it is done out of exploration of what the ego seems to be, not out of establishment of permanence nor out of attachment. She shares her experiences only as a way to wake others up, not as a way to expand her ego.

The true emcee is a citizen of nowhere and realizes that because Hiphop fundamentally does not exist anywhere or as anything, Hiphop is wherever you are not. You are not. The true emcee is not the name behind the mic. He is the one behind the one on the mic. There he abides in Hiphop and in larger view abides in Hiphop everywhere.

One may ask, “How does this writer know with such confidence about the existence of Hiphop?” It is because I have no knowledge about the existence of Hiphop, nor of existence anywhere, nor of fixed ideas, nor of fixed material existence, nor of death, nor of birth. I have no evidence which verifies permanence at all.

It is only when I sat still that I understood that all of Hiphop’s manifestations arise out of the same vastness that all manifestation did. In that, there is nothing that can be said about Hiphop without reference to what was before Hiphop or before what existed before that. I could trace this line of existence back to the original nature itself and I would find that Hiphop exists as the great cypher, the great code, the great circle out of which all things arise and fall. Hiphop cannot be validated by its form no more than anything else.

Path

Understanding the nature of an emcee does not happen on accident. This discovery must be brought about by diligent practice.

As an exercise, focus your mind on your microphone and leave it there, every time your attention wanders bring it back to the mic. Rest in this way until your mind calms. Then ask yourself, Where does this object come from? What is it made of? Who made it? Who made them? What food did they eat? Where did the food that fed the animals come from? Who is looking at the mic?

Try to locate this emcee. Is the emcee your name, your body, is it a concept, is it your profession, where does this emcee exist, if you cannot find this emcee what does that mean? Who created this emcee? Who created them? No thing that truly exists relies upon anything else for its existence or it cannot be said to truly exist on its own. Therefore how can you be the emcee you think yourself to be if your existence is based on all other existence? What is the danger of believing in solidity?

One cannot find a true origin for anything if one is honest and looks deep enough.

Hiphop manifests to allow its practitioners to experience their nature. All of existence is a path to enlightenment in this way. Hiphoppers can reach their natures through diligent practice. Becoming a true emcee is possible, not through egocentered exploits such as wittiness, hyperconceptuality, material appeal, cadence, or anything that comes and goes, but through practicing resting their minds in the nature of Hiphop through meditation on the emcee and abandoning all illusions about how I exist. This steers their minds from their egos, reveals natural openness and relaxation, and brings about the motivation and wisdom to create rhymes with the intent of all listeners experiencing their own nature.

Frution

Practicing in this way, one’s awareness will grow away from herself or himself and towards the nature of all things. This expansion reveals happiness, openness and discovery of the “zone”. One will gain a respect for those in their communities and in foreign lands, find post-conventional culture, art and poetry appealing, respect the environment and see spiritual paths as unified and worthy. Such a person will be without aggression, will see others’ views within their own, will see others in themselves and learn patience. They will be moved to be generous even to their own detriment and will practice cultivating the wisdom of Hiphop in everything they do.

This is not philosophy, this is nature mechanics.

 Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment. 

Begintro

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Begintro

In the year 2000 I was an undergraduate student at Towson University trying to bring an end to a tumultuous 5 1/2 year Bachelors Degree program in Sociology. Fortunately I still had a couple of electives to finish up so I looked into some classes in the Philosophy Department. I could've taken Bowling 101 or Contemporary Peruvian Basket Weaving but I was at a point in my life where I needed some blend of freedom and pragmatism. I decided that I would take a class on self hypnosis, meditation and yoga. I also remembered that my friend Jeremy had taken a class with the same professor the year before in Amsterdam, Holland. He described the class as a whole as part coffee shop adventure, part Hiphop head fantasy and part educationally enlightening. Who could resist? Especially a class named the Philosophy of Addiction, Co-Dependence and Self Liberation! 

After taking care of the requisite planning and financial burden of a month long trip to Europe I was off to Holland. If you've never been to Amsterdam I'm sure you've heard the stories of coffee shops offering the best weed in the world, the sanctioned prostitution, blah blah blah...all the stuff the average American tourist does. But after the first few days, that grew to be the norm and it was all pretty tame. To me the real beauty of Amsterdam is its ability to create a city that allows for different beliefs and practices to coexist peacefully. When I walked down the straats (street in Dutch...cause I'm cultured) I would pass Buddhist temples, brothels, hotels, record stores, coffee shops, heroin needle dispensaries, artist squatter communes and professional offices sometimes all on the same block. 

The class was held in a hostel in Vonndelpark, one of the biggest parks in Amsterdam where we were also staying. Every morning we would wake up, eat a horrible breakfast and attend class for two hours. It was during this class that I was introduced to the teachings of Ken Wilber, Carl Jung, The Enneagram, Michaels Overleaves, as well as the various developmental structures of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.

After the class we were free to roam around the city at our leisure for the next 22 hours. The idea was to explore theories about the self and then go into the dynamic city of Amsterdam to explore who that self is when presented with a multitude of options of how to be. Amsterdam was the perfect choice for this experiment. I was told by my professors that on the last day of class we were offered to take part in a ceremony called Ayahuasca which involved taking a very powerful hallucinogenic potion that is likened to "holding hands with God". As a budding psychospiritual spelunker I couldn't resist the opportunity find out what the experience had in store.

On July 29th, 2000 three students and one professor took a ferry across the river Ij to a church that looked as if it were built in the 18th century. When we arrived we filled out waivers that informed us about the ritual, the potion (called Jurema) and the group leading the ceremony called The Friends of the Forest. The Friends of the Forest are a group of like minded spiritual seekers that practices ethnobotany, or healing through the ingestion of medicinal plants. The Friends used Ayahuasca to help individuals who struggled with depression and substance dependence and reported favorable results.

Ayahuasca is an ancient practice engaged in by various native cultures of South America. The word Ayahuasca ("Aya" meaning spirit and "huasca/waska" meaning vine) roughly translates as "vine of the dead/soul/spirit" called so because it introduces the taker of the potion to profound spiritual realities about the nature of the universe and deep insight into their true purpose; it can also cause temporary psychosis and severe emotional distress. We were told that what determines our experience is our relationship with our minds and how comfortable we were with seeing what it really contained; some people see angels some demons, some both and some neither. As I was told on the waiver, I should also expect to purge i.e. vomit or diarrhea which is a side effect of the potion and an important part of the ritual itself representing a release of negative energy and emotions. It's recommended not to eat or take any medication at least 12 hours before the ritual but it was too late to do anything about my full stomach of Lebanese lamb shwarma. So Ayahuasca is no joke, and I don't recommend doing it without very experienced guides and a healthy grounding in experiences with other psychoactive substances. 

The Friends of the Forest were there as facilitators and guides throughout the 8-10 hour process to make sure that we were comfortable and deal with any disturbing things that we experienced. In the main hall of the church was a shrine on which sat symbols from various religious traditions. Through the center of the hall leading to the shrine was a path of candles and crystals, mainly large geodes, about 100 feet long and a space in the center with a small square blanket with room for about four people to sit. The participants sat along the outer walls of the church surrounding the path. The four of us that attended were joined by about 50 others, all dressed in white, some who appeared to be yogis who wore turbans and had beards that reached down to the floor.

We were told that the ceremony would consist of three rounds and at the beginning of each round we would come to the shrine and receive a cup full of the Ayahuasca potion.  I brought a journal with me to document my experience and wrote in my normal penmanship to my girlfriend at the time about how much I loved her and hoped that the ritual would improve our relationship. After I jotted down some other notes it was time to take the first potion. After the first dose I sat down and we were led through guided meditation while listening to subtle atmospheric music. I began to see trails and have some milky bodily feelings. I remember thinking that it was like taking mushrooms. When my eyes were open I saw vivid colors and had a general sense of peace. When I closed my eyes, my mind was awash with images all of which transformed into whatever it desired. The first round was cool. I remember being so caught up in the experience that I was surprised when we were called for the second round. After drinking the next Dixie cup of bitter Jurema I sat down and began to write a little more about the first round.

" The first round was very peaceful. We went through different meditations and then a silent round. During the silent round is when I began to really feel the effects of the Ayahuasca. It was calm and tingly, like shrooms, then it intensified and began to give me very intense geometrical and audial visions. Audial visions. That sounds like an oxymoron but the sounds were so vivid and in other languages and voices but somehow it was all in English but me speaking to me. I went to the bathroom and sat and thought that soon I would be home but no matter how far I fly I can't get away from me."

The second round is where it all fell apart.

I can't really explain the second round because I wasn't really "with it" anymore. Whatever ties I had with reality were cut and I went quite literally somewhere else. It was as if I was transported to another realm where I was present and awake to my experiences but had no control over what I chose to experience. My mind showed me whatever it felt I needed to see. There was no persecution or judgement in my visions, there was nothing that tried to hurt or scare me. Everything I experienced seemed to come to me for my benefit. I remember having a conversation with my deceased grandfather and apologizing to him for not being the grandson I felt I should be. I don't know if he forgave me or not but I do know that he seemed happy. During the second round I joyfully laughed and cried at the vivd, dreamlike display. Writing during the second round was drastically different than the first. Aside from the fact that my handwriting regressed about 20 years, my ability to capture the experience in sentences had been reduced to singular words. I remember opening my eyes and asking myself, "what do I write". What I wrote is:

"The question is what don't I write"? "2nd dose, Trans-critical plateaus unimagined, love,   fathomless, grief, beauty, explosions of God, me, ME, WE! J-Who? C'mon now, you know the answer, you've always known. That's the pain. SHOWING UP! SHOWING UP!  SHOWING UP! 

Showing up, or being present for life is what I took from the second round. All of my life's pain and suffering could be boiled down and distilled into that phrase. I saw how much fear and avoidance were my dominant responses to life and that if I had only been more brave, more trusting that I wasn't crazy, more self affirming, more sure that I wouldn't be destroyed by the experience then I wouldn't be haunted by moments of weakness and frailty. I also realized that because of my conditioning, I could only end my suffering by pledging to show up as soon as possible. Little did I know I would soon be presented with an opportunity to do just that.

While the 50 or so participants of the group were on their internal Jurema journeys, outside of us, in the center of the room was a group of three people playing soft music on a guitar. I remember listening to them and beginning to nod my head to the rhythm. I then began to beatbox very quietly, or make rhythms with my mouth in sync with the guitar melody. I quickly stopped myself, thinking that this was a sacred occasion and out of line. The highly spiritual, yogic like appearance of the other participants and the meditative environment informed me that there was no place for anything Hiphop related. Hiphop is not spiritual, it is not gentle, not subtle and has nothing to do with the divine at all. My mind then flashed to a lesson I learned in my class about a term, "non-dual". That things are not two, nor are they not one. All phenomena do a dance called "the one and the many" where they maintain both their connectedness and individuality at the same moment. What that meant is that Hiphop was not separate from spirit/divine and that although it manifests in various ways that it could never be separate. So me beatboxing was no less "spiritual" than the Ayahuasca ceremony itself, the difference was the degree to which my heart was in aligned with my intention. 

I stood up and walked around the path of crystals to the area where the guitarists sat. They smiled, gestured for me to sit and offered me some water. I spent a minute listening to them play,  gathered my courage and then began beatboxing, loudly. All of a sudden the group awoke from their collective hallucination, raised their heads and began to nod to the beatbox in unison. After some time the guitar players began to slowdown their playing and I followed suit, bringing the beatbox to a close. When we stopped, the group placed their hands in front of their heart and bowed. 

The third round was a blur. I was completely overcome by my visions and don't remember a thing. I did manage to write one word. "Ghost". 

At the end of the ceremony many people walked up to me and shook my hand telling me that the beatboxing took them and the ceremony to another level. One man, Soma, had me call his family in America and beatbox for them.  I wasn't rejected and in fact the beatboxing seemed to be of benefit to others. Whether it was beneficial or not I can't really say, but what I could say with certainty is that I had never felt closer to "God" and "Hiphop", and my definition of those two concepts had never been more malleable. From that moment I vowed to live that experience whenever thinking about, speaking about or creating "Hiphop". However my vow alone wouldn't be enough to turn my insight into actuality. What needed to drastically shift was my view and practice of Hiphop which would only come with my own psychospiritual development. I needed a path. 

 Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment. 

The Three Faces of Hiphop

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Hiphop and the Three Perspectives


Much of my work is informed and influenced by the teachings of Ken Wilber who I have studied for some time, but to say that I've achieved any level of mastery of his dense and profound theories would be a gross overstatement. So forgive me if my writing is basic and without any real depth of understanding. Writing for me is like untangling knots; the more I work with it, the more a greater reality is revealed. This is just practice writing.

One of the things that assists me with my writing process (in particular when writing rhymes) is looking at an idea/concept/action/thought/feeling in as many ways as I can. This way I am sure to have a thorough grounding in the reality of that which I am currently witnessing (or are planning on being) engaged in. Just as much as a diamond can only be described after looking at all of its facets, I can only describe an object (including mental objects) or subject in full when I look at it from all sides. As my awareness inhabits more perspectives, I increase my direct experience (and as a result increased knowledge and understanding) of the ob/sub and can better express the totality of the experience hopefully without the taint of shortsightedness and prejudice.

To understand Hiphop fully and reap the most benefit from utilizing the elements, one must be willing to view and create from as many perspectives as possible. Why?
Well in general because looking at any situation, idea, etc from multiple perspectives frees us from myopia, or viewing things from a singular view. It provides a wider, more inclusive and more importantly, more real view of a situation. Hiphop is not one thing, nor are the elements or the ideas that the elements can capture. Taking on multiple perspectives makes us more intelligent, not because of what we now know but because of our increased capacity to know. It widens our mental lens, our awareness and tolerance of other viewpoints. If you're an entertainer it may even widen your audience. When we create, the more perspectives we take the more we can know about the subject, the more we can relay to others and the more we can connect to others through our element.

But from a larger perspective, as Hiphoppers we are often out of touch with who we are. Taking on multiple perspectives (of self and other) helps us to know ourselves better and live more authentically by short circuiting the tendency towards self/other deception by taking something at mere appearance or face value. Taking on more perspectives we attempt to "directly know" a phenomena, meaning we no longer base our knowledge on strictly guessing, belief, hope etc. We know because we experienced the perspective as much as we could. Viewing things from multiple perspectives also provides options for how to interact, treat or better assist a situation. Consider the ramifications it has when trying to truly be creative (instead of adopting old patterns of manifesting), solve difficult inter/intra personal decisions, be truly empathetic or resolve conflict between parties who can't see out side or beyond their own viewpoint.

For those interested in healing, connecting, helping, growing etc. I can sum it up like this.

The more perspectives you take the more you know about yourself and others.
The more you know about self and others the closer you grow to understanding and empathizing.
The more you empathize and understand the more you begin to see how big your heart really is (and always was).
The larger your realize your heart is the more space you have for other beings and your behavior and life naturally become skillfully helpful.
When there are masses of open hearted, compassionate beings, our families, our communities and our world will experience less suffering and more interconnectedness.
When individuals and families begin to see their interconnectedness to each other they will begin to see natures perspective and our connection to it.
When we see from the perspective of the divine calling us to call us its name, we will have peace because no thing is threatened by the fear of feeling other.
When you are everything there is nothing that you are outside and nothing that is outside you.
Then you can relax among the chaos of the world knowing that to resist would pull you from that integral perspective and peace that reality offers.


Three Perspectives


Wilber postulates that there are three primary perspectives, 1st, 2nd and 3rd person, by which all things may be viewed and the possibility of 4th, 5th, 6th and maybe even more perspectives yet to be discovered. These three perspectives are found in all human language and represent the ways we've developed to view the world.

If we look at how we describe experience, we find that we use 1st, 2nd and 3rd person pronouns. "The 1st person refers to the person who is speaking which includes pronouns like I, me, and mine (in the singular) and we, us, ours in the plural. It is what's going on within us. "It's the person speaking". Our 2nd person experience refers to who is being spoken to and includes pronouns like you and yours. The 3rd person perspective refers to the thing being spoken about such as he, him, she, her, they, them, it and its." (18, IS, Wilber)

So if I am talking to you about the new album by MF DOOM, "I" am the 1st person, "you" are the 2nd person and MF DOOM's album is the 3rd person (or the "it" being spoken about. When "we" communicate your 2nd person and my 1st person are engaged in dialog about MF DOOM.

1st, 2nd and 3rd person perspectives are part of your being, right now and are available to you in any moment. It is by adopting these perspectives that we see deeper into all experience. 3rd person perspectives refer to objective truth (science, nature), 2nd person perspectives refer to how we treat each other and 1st person perspectives deal with how i express myself. These three perspectives put can be stated more simply as truth, good and beauty or nature, culture and self. By visiting these perspectives we become more whole and begin to see the reality of ourselves, others and all things. Utilizing these perspectives when engaging with Hiphop can lead to a fuller and deeper experience of reality as well and can unlock the true power of the elements.

For instance, when Organized Konfusion wrote Stray Bullet in 1992 they did so from a 3rd person perspective; what it's like seeing through the eyes and mind of a bullet and gun. Why was that significant? Because in becoming the stray bullet one can more clearly relay the terror and trauma of those effected by it from a previously unseen perspective. Pharoahe Monch's verse was especially visceral:

"Aww fuck it", next target's Margaret's face *bang*
And I struck it
Now it's a flood of blood in circumference to her face
And an abundance of brains all over the street
Shame how we had to meet *bang*
Dashin, buckin, greet by fuckin family
They follow behind me in a orderly fashion
Bashin through flesh I'm wild
Crashin through the doors of projects hallways
To deflect off of the tile
I'm coming for you little girl
Once inside I shatter your world
Swirl, no more dreams no hopes when I spray.

If we take into account all of the perspectives involved in Pharoahe writing his verse we see that his depiction of the chaos of a stray bullet involved multiple viewpoints: a bullet (3p object), the 1st person view of the bullet (1p which are the lyrics), all coming from Pharoahe Monch's 1st person perspective (1-p).

But let's say we switch that around a bit: Pharoahe could've written from the little girls perspective as well. Had he have, he would've been writing from her 1st person view (1p) of a 3rd person (3p) from his 1st person (1-p). Had he chosen he could've written a dialog between the two of them as they discussed the horrors of gun violence. If he did he would've been giving a 1st person view (1p) while taking on a 2nd person perspective (2p) from his 1st person (1-p). He could've not written anything and instead did some introspection: that would be him taking a 1st person view (1p) of his 1st person awareness (1p) of his 1st person (1-p). What if he wrote about the proliferation of guns by large corporations? 3rd person view of a 3rd person institution from his 1st person. The corporation also has an internal view which could've focused on as well. That would've been Pharoahe writing from their 1st person about a 3rd person from his 1st person.


This attempt at looking at the exterior and interior perspectives of a phenomena is what Wilber calls Integral Methodological Pluralism, which is a really nerdy way of saying that we can view (and better study) the internal and external experience of individuals and groups from both inside and outside those experiences. Better yet. 

Upper Left, Zone 1/Zone 2: The movement of my intelligence

The upper left (UL) of the chart refers to the individual, I, and also includes my self concept, identity, symbols, sensations, concepts, rules, structures of consciousness, feelings, thoughts, memories and experiences. Me. Zone 1 is the internal experience of the individual. Only the individual can see inside the individual. Wilber associates this Zone with the study of phenomenology, the study of mental arisings. Zone 1 is where we come in contact with the healthiness or unhealthiness of our thoughts and emotions, where we do the psychospiritual work of removing mental barriers to love such as greed, pride, anger, jealousy etc., cultivate healthy emotions such as generosity and gratitude and where prayer, meditation and contemplation take place. Zone 1 is also where we deceive ourselves by casting out thoughts and emotions that we find it hard to identify as ours. Wilber calls this our shadow. I often question emcees when I hear their lyrics. Is what they just said who and how they really are or a learned maladaptive response to unresolved trauma or pain? Zone 1 is where we can begin to witness our tendencies to distance ourselves from certain thoughts as well as begin to see how imbedded or fused our identities have become with material that we are completely unaware of.

Using the elements from a Zone 1 perspective

Emceeing, DJing, Bboying, Graf Writing, Producing: Resting AS Hiphop (peace, love, unity) in formless awareness as the Witness consciousness that sees the arising of your perceived emcee identity. Practicing stillness and conscious breathing to be aware of the present moment and to calm thoughts and feelings. Awareness can then be brought to thoughts and feelings to determine quality, motivation and intention. Thoughts can be assessed for healthiness or lack thereof. Questions such as, "what's keeping me from feeling my best", "are my thoughts pre/rational, post rational", "who am I", "where is the I that I think that I am", "what have I learned that can help me with this subject", "which aspect (level of self development) of my self do I wish to create from", "what am I trying to not feel", "is my identity in alignment with my intention", "how can what I'm about to create help or hurt me/others", "what may be the result of my creation", may be asked.


Zone 2

Zone 2 however is what Zone 1 looks like from the outside. It is the attempt to look at the arisings (thoughts, feelings, perceptions) of a first person perspective by someone other than the individual. Examples of this include studying the effects of meditation on an individuals perception. From a Hiphop standpoint, Zone 2 is where we attempt to explore and understand the experience of other practitioners 1st person perspective through contemplation, research, interview or other form of inquiry. Theres no way to conduct the research from the inside of someone else's head, but we can ask them to report their experience to us so we can try to understand it better. Attempting to describe the experience of a practitioner is useful because although ones 1st person perspective is not legitimate by itself, if you and I discuss our experience and come to a consensus about the means and fruition of that experience we can begin to discover HOW to repeat that experience. Meditation is a good example. Meditation can only be experienced by the meditator. No one can see inside of their experience. However if we both meditate, follow the same instructions and get similar results, it gives credence to our method and fruition as valid. People have meditated for thousands of years using the same instructions and getting the same results. Faith in the practice is based upon the experience of others, our experience while meditating and cross checking our experience with the lineage of meditators. What did they say would happen if I meditated? Did the same thing happen for me? If not, is meditation flawed, was my teacher flawed or did I not follow the instructions correctly? My experience has been that its usually my fault. I either didn't practice at all/enough, or I thought that I could replace practice with thinking, as if the thought was the same as experience.

No one can see inside the 1st person experience of a bboy, however if two bboys both uprock and then share their experience with each other, and agree on the experience, it gives validity to the experience. It then is not just my experience, it is ours. Lets say a group of 1000 bboys do the same thing. Then we can be more sure that our experience is valid and repeatable. Knowing the means (the 4 elements) that produce favorable developmental outcomes and sharing our results with each other will validate Hiphop as a tool for growth.

Hiphop is already a lineage based on study, practice and discussion of the results as validity for future study and practice but I don't think it's very recognized. For now i think that Zone 2 is largely used by those interested in entertainment. My hope is that Hiphop will utilize this same scientific method to explore the benefit of the elements on our psychospiritual, cultural, social and physical development. Researching and validating reports of heightened states of consciousness, increased self awareness, interconnectedness, compassion, wisdom etc. through skillful use of the elements helps Hiphop transcend its current egocentric and ethnocentric associations.

 Justin F. Miles is the founder of Hiphop Alive and pioneering practitioner, theorist and educator at the intersection of Hiphop culture, mindfulness and contemplative studies. He is the leading voice championing the use of Hiphop infused contemplative modalities to foster resilience, emotional intelligence, and community empowerment.