dHarmic Evolution

Today’s guest on the dHarmic evolution podcast is an emerging, independent singer/songwriter, from the San Francisco bay area. She calls her genre Timely Americana (She’s inspired to write for the particular time that we live in). Her songs address issues such as; preservation of the natural world, homelessness, the political landscape, friendship and loss, and love of country. So, without further ado, strap up your seat belts, cause we’re taking a ride with Kate Magdalena. Timestamps [5:10] Listen to A Larger Dance by Kate Magdalena. [9:55] Is the West a better place for artists to develop? [1:54] Kate gets into her recently released a full album. [21:31] Listen to Take me to the church by Kate [25:12] The story behind Take me to church [26:51] A bit of spiritual talk [31:05] Listen to New Earth by Kate Magdalena [34:55] A little inside tips on how to record with a better voice [40:11] Kate’s ritual [46:49] Listen to Kate’s Streets of Anytown [52:10] Kate’s experience writing and filming the Streets of Anytown [2:27] Kate’s new album Kate explains the inspiration and background of some of the songs that she’s written. Included in her album are a couple of songs about saving the earth; One is called New Earth. A fantasy, visionary song about the kingdom of God, how the earth should be like it was in the beginning, and how it will be restored. The second is Long Live the Woods. Poetry inspired by Gerald Manly Hopkins, an English Christian poet from the 90s who wrote beautiful love poetry to God. [12:50] Kate’s journey towards her Music Career Never really considered herself an artist for the better part of her life, Kate’s focus was mostly on her studies and the world as she grew up. She spent her twenties in pursuit of spirituality and working various publication jobs for corporations. Eventually, she ended up being a teacher, a career she very much enjoyed due to her love for children. Despite her love for singing and music, Kate had no idea how to approach the music industry. And especially without the internet at the time, it all seemed pretty impossible. In the end, she had no option but to keep singing just as a hobby. But it all kept coming back. Kate found herself gravitating towards poetry (a niche she actually has a graduate degree in) and she began setting some of it towards music. Despite working with a couple of bands in the early 2000s, she felt that she didn’t have enough knowledge on the music career as a whole, and this motivated her to go back to school and study music. Afterward, she spent the next 6 years of teaching music. Later on, she went to Seminary after having a conversion experience in 2009. It wasn’t, however, until 2010, when everything globally was just crazy, is when Kate began to write. 2 years later she had written her full album. [17:15] Kate’s View on Songwriting Despite taking a songwriting course and dropping it. Kate has never really studied songwriting. In her opinion, it’s a creative process of going within and allowing the spirit to move. She also believes that it’s a God-given talent, and gives total credit to God for the gift. Kate’s creativity and passion for writing began with poetry. With time though, Kate’s love for writing poetry slowly fade away, it lost meaning to her and she slowly found herself transitioning to songwriting. [18:17] Kate’s icons while growing up To begin with, Kate’s opinion on music is that the voice is literally formed through the ear. It’s formed through listening to the music. As a child, some of the great musicians that inspired her to sing the way she does, include; Julie Andrews, Mary Travers, Joni Mitchell, and Barbara Streisand. Quotes: [1:00:21] We’re living in biblical times, we need to keep our eyes open to see what is occurring, but we should not be afraid. [17:27] Songwriting is a God-given creative talent that involves going within and allowing the spirit to move Follow Kate: *Sign up to her email list to get a free download for her new song, New Earth and also be a part of Kate’s family. Website

Today on the dHarmic Evolution podcast, we’ll be discussing the rampant and ever-growing problem that’s divorce. My guest is a certified life coach, and author who helps men and women get through the  many obstacles in their lives, her passion is to help people take back control of their lives after a breakup or divorce. So, ladies and gentlemen, joining us on the show today is my dear friend and author of the book “Piecing Your Heart Back Together”, Carmen Silvestro. Timestamps [10:15] The healing process [16:38] First client for Carmen [18:58] Favourite kind of clients and subjects for Carmen [25:10] The joy of helping a client! [27:16] Yoga Journey [31:08] Carmen’s hope for her book’s effect [36:44] A present from Carmen to you, dear listener [37:40] Carmen’s Parting advice to you [3:03] Carmen’s life experience and journey towards her destiny When it rains, it pours. That was the situation in Carmen’s life 12 years ago. She had just lost her little brother, who had succumbed to his addiction when she also found out that her husband, the love of her life, best friend and partner for 17 years was contemplating leaving her for another woman. That’s the day her world collapsed. After weeks of drowning in her thoughts, tears and emotions, Carmen was a total wreck! Barely able to see due to her swollen eyes, she walked up to the bathroom mirror, and for the first time, really looked at herself. Carmen was shocked to see the person staring back at her. She didn’t recognize who that person was. It was in that moment while still staring at the reflection of her frail and broken body, that Carmen knew she had to make a choice.  She could either keep walking the path she was on, wounded, broken, hopeless, and constantly feeling sorry for herself, or she could get up and fight, and in the process, learn whatever lesson life was trying to teach her through these experiences. Needless to say, she picked the latter. She decided to be strong and fight. In the process, she admits she’s backslid a couple of times, made a lot of mistakes and always learned from them. Healing isn’t linear, Carmen had her ups and downs in the process, but she always got back up. She attributes part of her healing success to the amazing support she received from friends and family who were always there for her. [12:35] Changing Career Paths After the divorce with her first husband and the heartbreak afterwards, Carmen found herself gravitating towards individuals who were going through an experience similar to hers. She was more than happy to be a lighthouse and guide them to safe harbour to the best of her abilities. Later on, Carmen was lucky enough to remarry and was blessed with a baby boy. She quit her job to focus on raising her son, and when he was old enough to go to school, it was time for Carmen to find a job. A couple of interviews later, Carmen had secured herself a really great offer to work at a local company. But, something didn’t feel right. She had this terrible feeling in her stomach, until it finally clicked to her, she was meant to be a servant, a heart servant. And there was no way she was going back to the corporate world. After having her ‘’ahuh’’ moment, Carmen totally submerged herself in the field. She started taking classes and reading tons of books; divorce books, self-help books, books about heartbreak etc. [19:58] How does one piece their heart back together? Take the time. Take the time and go through your grief, go through your emotions, don’t try to run away. And, as difficult as it is to understand it at the moment, there’s always a silver lining in such situations. It is an opportunity for you to reinvent yourself, an opportunity to rewrite your whole life. Peel layers off yourself and get to know more about who you are, and that, that is priceless. [33:38] Carmen’s thoughts on Divorce A lot of people don’t take the time to know themselves, and they go into relationships, just hoping that it will work out, but then again, they end up finding themselves in a marriage with someone that they don’t really mesh well with. And how could they? When they don’t even know who they really are. And then there’s the others. They go into relationship’s for all the wrong reasons. Some have the fairy tale idea in their heads, that it’s all going to be like in the movies, that it’s all going to be perfect. And when it’s not, they just want to bolt. Quotes [6:48] There’s a lesson behind everything, everyone we meet is for a purpose [20:14] And, as difficult as it is to understand it at the moment, there’s always a silver lining in such situations (heartbreak, divorce, failure, depression etc). It is an opportunity for you to reinvent yourself, an opportunity to rewrite your whole life. Peel layers off yourself and get to know more about who you are, and that, that is priceless. [27:18] Yoga is meditation for your body Follow Carmen:

[11:15] Lunch with my super agent and friend, Eugene Foley [12:15] A not so good experience at a hotel in Meherrin [25:10] The life changing Prison experience that Larry went through [30:52] Listen to the song that started the James O’Connor Agency “Connected” Early morning of October 14th, Columbus Day. That’s when I left Nashville headed to Virginia to start off my prison ministry. My first stop was Pamunkey Regional Jail. The check in time at the prison is 12.00 noon, so this gave me enough time to get myself ready for everything. [2:35] Preparation for the show There was a lot of nervous energy when I was preparing myself for the show. To begin with, the whole prison environment takes a bit of time to adapt to, so many steel doors, tiny rooms and new faces. My guitar even ended up falling off the hand truck in the load in process. The guys were in a room, something like a lunch room. Rectangular shaped with seats everywhere, and they were all staring at me while I was setting my equipment up. It goes without saying that this only made the setup time very intense, and I could feel the swear rolling down my back. But I kept cool throughout the whole process, no one could tell what a bundle of nerves I was. [5:40] Performance at the Men’s Section I started off with a couple of songs, and then started to work in some of the stories. The stories were all revolving around the setlist material that I chose. This included some of the inspirational and Christian songs that I’ve written. I was telling the stories in between the songs. This played a role in helping them understand the experience of what the songs are all about. The entire performance was generally great. There were a few challenges of course, such as one inmate who kept talking to his friend while I was performing, but at the end of it all, I had earned not just their undivided attention, but respect as well. I ended the show with a bit of interaction with the guys, while I passed out some Dharmic Evolution Podcast business cards. I promised to keep them entertained when they get out, and are back out on the open highway.   [8:42] Performance at the Ladies’ Section ‘’Where are the ladies?’’, Said I. You can imagine my surprise when Jeff, the prison assistant told me that they were in another room. So, this meant that I had to pull down everything I had set up, and move it to where I’d be instructed, and then set it all up again. (where are my roadies when I need them!) It took a while, but I broke the Ice with the ladies and everything was flowing in no time. I did the whole performance sequence all over again, and it felt really great because I’m certain that my message did reach out and touch them. After the performance, it was time for me to say my goodbyes and call this visit a success.  [15:20] Jail 2: Meherrin River Regional Jail I headed south towards my second destination for the journey which was Meherrin River Regional Jail. My first observation of the place was how strict they are. On arrival, I met this tough lady who wanted to inspect every single thing that I had with me, bags, cables, boxes, key etc, lock up my phone, keys, etc. So, I went outside and reassessed the items that I had with me, and only took those that I essentially needed, and placed them on a cart. Afterwards, I was shown my way to the performance platform by the Major, who was in charge of the facility. This stage was slightly bigger than the first performance platform at Pamunkey regional jail. And, because everything at the prison has to be done in its allocated time, I quickly set up my gear. The only alarming thing about this gig though, was that I had to do four sets, back to back. I hadn’t sung four sets in a while. And given the fact that I was a solo, and not as young as I used to be, I knew this was going to be an uphill task. I had a bit of a similar experience like I did in the first tour. While I was performing, some guy was busy engaging his pals in a conversation. I didn’t let it get to me though, I ignored it and kept performing. At the end of it, the whole crowd was jazzed up! Everyone in the backrow was bopping and dancing in their chairs, clapping their hands and singing the chorus. And once again, I had them! When the performance was over, some of them came to me, shaking my hand and thanking me for the experience. Personally, it meant the whole world to me that I had some kind of impact no matter how small or how great. So wrapping up this experience, I would say that on a whole, it really could not have been a better kickoff for this new extension to my artistry, the JKO prison ministry has been baptized and is alive and well.  Thanks for your support! James~ Thanks for joining us, and be sure to connect with us on social media! Follow our Host:  

We’re in my home state of New Jersey today, and joining us is Matt O’Ree, a legendary Rock and Roll artist. You better strap up your seat belts ladies and gents,, cause it’s going to be a Rocky ride. Timestamps [2:55] Matt narrates his experience performing at The Stone Pony (The Stone Pony, located in Ocean Township, New Jersey is home to many legendary Rock n Roll artist’s) [9:15] Listen to Matt’s Black Boots with Bruce Springsteen [19:55] Listen to My Everything [27:55] Find out what Matt and the band are currently up to [30:38] Listen to Life [35:07] Story behind the song Life [37:14] Matt’s Songwriting process [39:39] Matt’s favorite guitars [45:27] Leveraging the Power of Social Media [47:08] Listen to It’s gonna be alright [5:00] Matt explains the journey towards bringing his album to fruition.The album has been a working progress for quite a number of years. It all started in 2008 when Matt had just finished his last CD, and a producer he had earlier met, John Leaders of the Lake House Music, invited him to record in his studio. Whilst recording at the studio, Matt had to push one of his sessions to cater for Hubert, and that is how their partnership and friendship began. A man he describes as being the best gentleman he has ever met. It didn’t take too long for them to become close friends and associates after Hubert took up Matt’s offer on playing one of his songs. [13:55] How Matt met Bruce Springsteen While he was teaching guitar lessons in one of his student’s home Matt met Bruce’s 13-year-old kid. Eventually, he would end up teaching Bruce’s kid guitar lessons as well after winning the guitar center contest. The two knocked it off not so long after, with Matt even sharing his BlackBoots C.D with Bruce’s kid. As fate would have it, Bruce’s son played the song to his dad who really loved it as well. Matt requested Bruce if he’d love to work together on the song, Bruce said yes, and Matt was, well he was over the moon. [23:40] The writing of My everything It’s amazing how the bonds of friendships play such vital and important roles in our lives and destiny. Matt met fellow singer and songwriter David Brian through an old student and friend of his. And as Matt’s open and go-getter personality would have it, he hit it off with David and not long after the two were writing and singing together. From the first note they played together, Matt and David felt the chemistry that was between them in their music, this would be the genesis to a lifelong friendship and partnership between the two of them. Two years down the line, Matt and David wrote the hit song, My Everything. [43:43] Matt’s Heroes whilst he was growing up The first person that ever spoke to Matt’s heart was Jimi Hendrix. Seeing him perform was a great inspiration to him becoming an artist. Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin band are top in Matt’s band and icons that he emulates to date. Quotes [15:50] Couldn’t you spread that good love out a little bit? It all comes in one truckload. All the shitty days you’ve had in your life, and it all comes to this. Christmas, New year, Hanukkah, everything at once! [40:00] You’ve got to shift between guitars, to know which one you really like, because not all of them are the same. [52:18] Sometimes you’ve got to throw the rule book out the window. Learn all the craft you can, but follow your heart more than anything. Follow Matt O’Ree Band: The Matt O’Ree Band Website:

[13.15] Death of a fellow Marine [13:58] The war experience in Iraq [18:40] Find out how Akshay learned to adapt to the war environment [19:03] The positivity and power of journaling [21:56] Introduction to “Fearvana” [33:18] Akshay’s mentor, and how he fought through PTSD [43:19] Find out how you can learn more about Fearvana and support Akshay! Today at the dharmic evolution, we take a ride with former US marine veteran, author and speaker, Akshay Nanavati. Early childhood [2:37] Born in Bombay India, Akshay moved to the USA at a tender age of 13 years, this is after spending his 8 years in India, and 5 in Singapore. 2 years after joining the US, Akshay adopted a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol, a choice he says was partly due to his lack of self-identity and purpose. A life describes as characterized by depression and sadness. He would cut his own arm and even burn himself. Joining the army [8:12] 2 years down the line after spending his ripe teenage years drowned in drugs and alcohol, and losing 2 of his friends. Akshay’s life would take a total flip after watching the movie Black Hawk Down. This would prove to be the most pivotal moment of his life, the movie he says, inspired him so much that he went on to read book after book about the military and life in combat. And just like that, Akshay found himself cured of his drug-addicted life, a life he describes as being meaningless and selfish. Now that he knew what purpose he wanted to serve in life, nothing was going to stop him at the time, despite the many illnesses that dragged him down while enlisting, Akshay was focused and determined to join the military. School and training [9.40] Bootcamp training took a toll on Akshay because he wasn’t very physically fit. But he describes the entire boot camp process as more of a mental process rather than a physical one. With his mind focused on what he wanted to achieve, Akshay was able to not only succeed in the boot camp training but also graduate as an honor student in the Infantry school. Growing up with parents who provided everything for him, Akshay never had to struggle for a thing, but now, for the first time in his life, struggle and suffering became the order of the day. He began to experience joy and value in the process. He began to accept and learn the bliss and comfort associated with suffering. [24:15] life after the war Not quite sure what he wanted to do after the war, Akshay decided to first finish his undergraduate degree in Texas. Life after the war was a complete struggle to find meaning and purpose, to a point he kept volunteering to go back to war. In the end, Akshay ended up going to journalism school, where he was bound to meet his wife, get married, and settle down with a corporate job. But it all felt meaningless and not really what he was bound to do. Inevitably, he ended up quitting his job. After the whole school and corporate job experience, Akshay went on an expedition in the Himalayas, as a way of running away from his demons and problems. It was after the expedition that Akshay came back to America and started building his company from the ground up. His unfaced demons, however, began sprouting, and he yet again turned to the bottle to seek solace. The drinking got worse with every passing day, it was all these problems, coupled with marital issues with his wife that Akshay decided to seek therapy where he was diagnosed with PTSD. At that time, nothing seemed right and he had totally hit rock bottom. Alcohol was his daily routine and see that this pattern wasn’t going to change anytime soon, Akshay was filled with thoughts of walking over to the kitchen, picking up a knife an ending his own life. He couldn’t believe the suicidal thoughts he was having, and that was the wake-up call he needed to turn his life around. As a way to fill the emptiness he felt, Akshay started getting training for different careers. This led him to take a keen interest in neuroscience, spirituality, religion, and psychology, he kept on studying, book after book, and this would eventually lead him to discover Fearvana. As a way to fill the emptiness he felt, Akshay started getting training for different careers. This led him to take a keen interest in neuroscience, spirituality, religion, and psychology, he kept on studying, book after book, and this would eventually lead him to discover Fearvana. QUOTES [8:38] It’s during the times of war that you experience the spectrum and intensity of the human experience at its most extreme. You see the most awful things happen in war, the atrocities of human evil. But you also see humanity at its finest, People sacrificing their lives for fellow human beings [18:49] Even when you’re in a war, even when you’re in an environment you cannot control, you always have the freedom to control your attitude. You could be in hell on earth, but you always have the freedom to choose your own perspective. [21:07] As Jesus says in the Bible, there’s no greater sacrifice that man can do than by laying down his life for his friends. [21:38] By recording the present, you craft what’s coming up in your life [23:16] I invite you to never stop chasing fear, or you will spend your whole life running from it. If you are ready to take on that battle between the part of you that wants to quit and the part that wants to fight, you will enter the doorway to your next awakening, at that moment you will experience the bliss of Fearvana. Website: