Hello again ReggaeJAHM! I am so grateful to be here, and I would like to share another story with you from my own life that centers around the inspiration and healing found in the spirit of reggae and irie living.
I have been very fortunate to connect with some beautiful and amazing humans on this journey through time. One such individual is someone I consider a beloved brother, and we call him Aslan. When we were young he and several other beautiful people had a music group in the area of western North Carolina called Natural Healing, who spread love and healing through reggae music, and indeed to many folks who probably would never have been exposed to reggae other than maybe the commercially popular songs. As you may have read in my last post, by the time I met these beautiful people I was on a path of desire for righteousness and irie vibrations in every aspect of my life, so instantly I felt I had found my tribe.
I still find myself with lyrics from their songs that bubble to the surface of my mind and heart, especially in times of hardship. They were so powerful, so moving, literally life-altering for me, that to this day I lean on their music for nourishment and healing.
While the folks who made up Natural Healing moved on to other projects ~ everything from feeding literally hundreds of thousands of free meals during Hurricane Katrina (and then onto many other disaster relief projects), to creating sustainable mutual aid projects in rural impoverished Appalachia, to solidarity at Standing Rock in the defense of the earth ~ the list goes on and on ~ they have stayed connected to each other and we all continue to find ways to weave in and out of each other's lives and support one another as we can.
Two years ago Aslan found himself with life-threatening health issues, and our greater community that was built all those years ago (and then spread across the world to bring healing and be agents of positive change) felt an urgent need to help this beautiful, loving man and his family in whatever way we could. A benefit was organized in Asheville, NC, and we came back together en masse to show love and support.
It was an unforgettable and beautiful reunion. It was a successful benefit, and as the months passed after we discovered that our prayers and healing and love had been answered. Aslan was not taken from this world but instead made a miraculous recovery, and he is now back to work on his path of instrumenting positive change and healing in the world.
Giving thanks for the success of several of our crew in different aspects of the music industry and the technology of the internet, because the performance that night of a special reunion of Natural Healing was recorded and uploaded. In fact, one of Aslan's children, Justice, was included in the performance and father and son were able to experience this moment together.
I present to you, ReggaeJAHM, this special moment in time, the live recording of the only Natural Healing reunion performance in in November 2019 for love, for healing, for solidarity of heart and soul. If you have a chance to listen (it's not great video quality but perfect for an hour of music listening), perhaps some of the overflowing love and gratitude and abundance in our very amazing community built all those years ago will touch your own life as well. Miracles do indeed happen, and when we all recognize that we are ONE, that we are part of the MOST HIGH, our spirits fly to heights never seen before.
