Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Intriguing: The newest NEW YORKER magazine article - scientists frustrated in search for Ultimate Truth

This is an interesting article that speaks to the confusion of scientists in their exploration of matter and the universe for Ultimate Truth  Regardless of which way science looks for answers, they can't discover the Original Truth (Source of Everything) they are searching for. It constantly eludes them. Wise sages tell us this is because they are using the mind, instead of what might be called the "heart." The heart is the longing for Truth that burns in everyone. All are looking for happiness but the sages point out that most are heading in the wrong direction for ultimate satisfaction. Instead of going outward, they tell us to go inward to discover that, as spiritual texts tell us--and mean it literally, "The kingdom of God is within you."  

This article was marvelous to read as it tells of the perfection of each mathematical level that scientists reach in their pursuit of ultimate Truth. There is a certain glorious feeling to it -- they are learning that perfection is all around us, in the outer world and in the inner world. Perfection reveals Itself at every level they explore.  Sages tell us everything is Pure and Perfect Reality, both in appearances and beyond appearances. They say Reality is our very Being.  They tell us to search within ourselves for the "I Am" presence that is prior to body, mind, experience, and all appearance, from which every thought and appearance seemingly spring forth. This is Consciousness (with a capital "c") beyond consciousness (with a small "c").  Scientists don't yet even know what small "c" consciousness is -- i.e., what is the ever-present awareness behind our perception of a world, a body, "others," the universe, etc.  What is that awareness that we wake up to each morning -- calling itself "I"?

For ultimate wisdom that transcends the acquisition of intellectual/scientific knowledge, one must finally go to the sages who are always willing to point earnest seekers to ever-present Reality, our own Being that is birthless and deathless.  It is said that even Einstein, when near physical death, said regretfully, "I should have listened more to the mystics."

You might find this article to be interesting, which is why I am sending it to you.  I am a subscriber to the New Yorker magazine and receive frequent links from them.  I am hoping this one isn't meant just for me as a subscriber, but that you also will be able to access the article by clicking on the link.  If this link doesn't take you to it, you might be able to find it on Google -- It's titled, "A different kind of theory of everything."  

For anyone intrigued and curious to explore more of what wise sages tell us, the best book I have ever found on this subject is "I Am That" by a wise Indian sage, Nisargadatta Maharaj (a humble little man who ran a cigarette shop in Bombay and had no desire to be anyone important. He left his body in 1981).  This book has transformed my life since I first read it in the year of its publication, 1973.  In simple dialogues with questioners seeking truth (just the kinds of questions we all might ask), Maharaj's words speak directly to the heart, bypassing the mind and uplifting the spirit.  In my opinion, there is no other book like it on earth. It is a magnificent jewel.  If you don't already have this book and you are interested, it can be ordered on Amazon.  Amazon Prime Video has an excellent documentary available now called, "Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds," which dovetails with articles of this nature.  It's well worth watching, superbly giving a cosmic view and a lift we can all use by taking us away, for just a short while, from the appearance of Trumpzilla in the White House (~.~)

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Thursday, January 17, 2019

My friend Dinah's art

She is an incredible self-taught artist -- I had dinner with her and her husband Dave last night and saw all her art "in person." (~.~)  She has an online site where her art is posted for all to see.  She chronicles life (hers and others' -- as well as her dreams) in her art, which is uniquely and beautifully her own -- and different from anything I've seen before. Her paintings are like a personal diary, capturing moments and the intricacies of life, in events and patterns, to which (it seems to me) anyone can relate. They invite you to look more closely and experience the emotions they evoke, kind of like a modern-day Grandma Moses.  Dinah and I will be attending art class together (not that she needs any instruction!) in my next round of art class.  

After knowing her for many years, during which she lived in Santa Cruz and then in Maryland for several years, fate has brought her now to be my neighbor in Watsonville, living just a few houses down the street from me.  We laugh a lot together and I thought it would be fun to be sitting next to each other as we paint, so asked her if she would be interested in coming to art class.  Am glad she said yes.  I can learn a lot from her. You'll see what I mean when you look at her paintings and read her comments explaining them.  I thought you might like seeing them, too.  I feel very lucky to have so many talented friends, from whom I can learn much about art and life!  Here is the link to Dinah's site:

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Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Remarkable 3-minute video on water crystals - Beautiful experiments by a scientist that will have you amazed!

Dr. Masaru Emoto is a scientist who has written a very interesting book about water and how it is affected by our consciousness, both positively and negatively.  You can see amazing pictures online in a short video of pictures he's taken of frozen water crystals at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm0h3DXs6-4)
The video shows how water crystals change simply by thought or prayer or music--or even by words (positive or negative) written on top of the containers filled with water. Dr. Emoto froze that water to see if the words somehow affected the crystals formed from the water. You can see the astounding results on the video.
Following is the info. that is written below the 3 minute online video. I feel certain you will be intrigued by this video and Dr. Emoto's work!
Through the 1990's, Dr. Masaru Emoto performed a series of experiments observing the physical effect of words, prayers, music and environment on the crystalline structure of water. Emoto hired photographers to take pictures of water after being exposed to the different variables and subsequently frozen so that they would form crystalline structures. The results were nothing short of remarkable.. After observing these miraculous results, Dr. Emoto went on to type out different words, both positive and negative in nature, and taped them to containers full of water. The results were that water with negative words written on the container did not produce beautiful crystals. As you can tell, the water stamped with positive words is far more symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing than that stamped with dark, negative phrases. If you are reading this article on this particular website, you probably already knew that positive and negative thinking have a major impact on the surrounding environment. That concept is relatively easy to grasp, but this extremely tangible evidence of it is astounding. If the words and thoughts that come out of us have this effect on water crystals, it's amazing to think of what kind of effect they have on the people and events that come into our lives.
Oh and by the way, the average human body is 60% water. Ponder that one a while…

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Wednesday, January 09, 2019

Saturday, January 05, 2019

Interesting article on Jack Kerouac re Kindness and the Self Illusion

 Note the link in the last paragraph to a short video -- if you ever enjoyed bike riding, it's a good one to view (~.~):

Jack Kerouac on Kindness, the Self Illusion, and the "Golden Eternity"

Start Highlighting
Portrait of Jack Kerouac by John Cohen
In the mid-1950s, literary iconoclast and beat icon Jack Kerouac (March 12, 1922–October 21, 1969) became intensely interested in Buddhism, which began permeating his writing. It was the golden age of Eastern ideas drawing Western minds, from legendary composer John Cage to pioneering philosopher Alan Watts, credited with popularizing Zen thinking in mainstream Western society. Watts, in fact, at one point criticized Kerouac's writing as being "always a shade too self-conscious, too subjective, and too strident to have the flavor of Zen." But when stripped of his literary self-consciousness, as he was in his private letters, Kerouac had a special way of articulating the most beautiful and eternal concepts of Zen Buddhism with equal parts expansive awareness and crystalline precision.

Kerouac sent one such letter to his first wife, Edie Kerouac Parker, in late January of 1957, a decade after their marriage had been annulled. Found in The Portable Jack Kerouac (public library) — an altogether terrific treasure trove of his stories, poems, letters, and essays on Buddhism — the missive is nothing short of exquisite.

Kerouac writes:

I have lots of things to teach you now, in case we ever meet, concerning the message that was transmitted to me under a pine tree in North Carolina on a cold winter moonlit night. It said that Nothing Ever Happened, so don't worry. It's all like a dream. Everything is ecstasy, inside. We just don't know it because of our thinking-minds. But in our true blissful essence of mind is known that everything is alright forever and forever and forever. Close your eyes, let your hands and nerve-ends drop, stop breathing for 3 seconds, listen to the silence inside the illusion of the world, and you will remember the lesson you forgot, which was taught in immense milky way soft cloud innumerable worlds long ago and not even at all. It is all one vast awakened thing. I call it the golden eternity. It is perfect.

Echoing Watts's philosophy on death, Kerouac considers the illusion of the solid "self" as he contemplates the life and death of mountains:

We were never really born, we will never really die. It has nothing to do with the imaginary idea of a personal self, other selves, many selves everywhere: Self is only an idea, a mortal idea. That which passes into everything is one thing. It's a dream already ended. There's nothing to be afraid of and nothing to be glad about. I know this from staring at mountains months on end. They never show any expression, they are like empty space. Do you think the emptiness of space will ever crumble away? Mountains will crumble, but the emptiness of space, which is the one universal essence of mind, the vast awakenerhood, empty and awake, will never crumble away because it was never born.

He ends the letter with one of his free-flowing, uninhibited poems:

The world you see is just a movie in your mind. Rocks dont see it. Bless and sit down. Forgive and forget. Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you're already in heaven now. That's the story. That's the message. Nobody understands it, nobody listens, they're all running around like chickens with heads cut off. I will try to teach it but it will be in vain, s'why I'll end up in a shack praying and being cool and singing by my woodstove making pancakes.

More than half a century after Kerouac penned that beautiful letter, director Sergi Castella and filmmaker Hector Ferreño transformed the writer's words into a magnificent cinematic adaptation for Dosnoventa Bikes, with a haunting, Johnny-Cashlike voiceover by James Phillips and beautifully curated music by Pink Floyd and Cash himself. As an intense lover of both bikes and literature, it makes my heart sing in multiple octaves.

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Saturday, December 29, 2018

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Psychological analysis of diehard Trump supporters who are following him off the cliff

Though there is no use in trying to reach them with actual facts or logic, the following analysis can help us understand why these rah-rah Trump supporters are still cheering their insane bus driver as he takes them (and all of us) over the cliff.  No use to send them this article. They wouldn't understand it.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Bitter laugh of the day


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Thursday, December 13, 2018

Alarming News: Trump's 'Advisors' at Fox & Friends tell him who to choose for Chief of Staff


It's well known that Trump watches "Fox and Friends" each day to get his marching orders, rather than pay attention to briefings from the professionals in the government.  Trump's attention span is that of a 2-year-old, and he doesn't like to read, so a TV soundbite is his preferred way of getting tips on what he should do next.  And where better to get that soundbite advice than the Faux News channel that supports him, no matter what.  Fox and Friends is Trump's favorite show -- they always praise him and soothe his ruffled feathers when legitimate news reports daily/hourly reveal the truth about his lies and criminal activity. 

Today his Fox advisors suggested a new name to him to consider for his open Chief of Staff position that no one seems to want.  It will be another coup for his Fox advisors if he now adds David Bossie to his short (very short) list of possible candidates and starts saying in public, "Well, I think David Bossie is someone we should consider." 

Whenever I hear Republicans or ex-Republican pundits complain about Trump while lamenting and questioning, "How did our Party ever come to this terrible disgrace?", I would like to say to them: What did you think would happen to a party that delivered the likes of Dubya Bush, Cheney, and that gang of lying criminals to our White House?  And then followed it up with Sarah Palin as Vice Presidential material? As one greed-and-power-fueled decision followed another, the stage was set for Donald Trump and his menacing brand of fear, hatred, bigotry and disregard for rules of law to come to power.  It's no secret how we got to this place, with people like Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Orrin Hatch and scores of that despicable type in power positions, so quickly willing to discard any moral principles they may ever have had -- and sell out our democratic republic for a few shekels of gold and power.  They eagerly boarded the Trump Train and stayed on it as it mowed down the admirable principles on which our country was founded. They assisted Trump as he used rallies to ramp up fear and hatred in the poorly educated ignorant right-wing voters, in the same way Hitler did in Germany back in the 1930s and 1940s. And now we witness the hell realms where that kind of political rhetoric and tactics have taken us. 

It's essential to realize that where we are in our world today is in a far worse situation than in Hitler's time, because the planet itself is in peril now, with an ignorant science disbeliever in command in our country.  Because this most important problem of climate change is not being addressed with wisdom by our leaders, our children and grandchildren will pay a price of catastrophic disruption of life on Earth, such as has never been seen in past history. The Trump calamity that has befallen us has far-reaching disastrous consequences for our nation, the world, and future generations.

On a hopeful note:  I pray that with Mueller's report and now a Democratic House of Representatives, that some glimmering semblance of normal order will begin to be visible in our government that has taken a huge slide into disgrace and disrepute.  It's a relief to see a competent woman taking charge over the wild elephant loose in the White House.  We need more wise, strong women like Nancy Pelosi to bring back intelligent, compassionate leadership to our nation -- and the world.  I hope to heaven Nancy gets the support she -- and our weary Trump-trodden country -- so desperately need.

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Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Want to know what happens to your mail when you write to your Senator or Congressman?

Greg Beuke
Greg Beuke, former Congressional Intern at U.S. Senate (2004)

As a former intern for a United States Senator, I can tell you exactly what happens when you write to a congressperson. One of my key intern duties was sorting the mail.

Every day a big stack of mail came in. And every day my fellow interns and I sorted it. Sorting the mail meant giving each piece of mail to the appropriate congressional staff member.

To give you some context, this is the hierarchy of a typical U.S. Senate office:

  1. The Senator (and yes, every Senator is the Senator in their own office)
  2. The Chief of Staff (kind of like the CEO, rockstar #2 of the office)
  3. The Legislative Director (the guy in charge of advancing legislation)
  4. Assistant Legislative Director (the guy behind the guy)
  5. Legislative Aides (aka LA's, the top level of regular staff)
  6. Legislative Correspondents (aka LC's, the bottom level of regular staff)
  7. Interns (we worked 10 hours a day for free!)

The mail, which was almost always addressed to the Senator, was typically handled entirely at levels 5–7.

Pro tip: call and get the names of the people at levels 2–4, then address your mail directly to one of them. But they're busy, so make it good!

I, as an intern, opened and read the mail. The first decision I made was whether it would go to a legislative aide or a legislative correspondent.

If the mail was written by a company or organization, it would go to an LA. Now these legislative aides actually got to speak with the Senator about their policy areas somewhat regularly. Some of them were even in their 40's and 50's!

If the mail was written by a regular person, known as a constituent, it would go to an LC. That is the entry level position for paid staff, typically a first job out of college. The upper age range was mid 20's. There is little opportunity to influence the Senator from this position.

Pro tip: if you are self-employed, write your letter on company letterhead and frame it in terms of your business, so that your letter will reach a legislative aide.

A regular constituent would write a letter. Based on that, I knew that it should go to an LC. Each LC and LA are assigned different subjects, or policy areas. I, the lowly intern, would read the letter just long enough to figure out the subject. Once I knew that, I knew which LC should receive it, and I put it in his or her pile of mail.

So for example, let's say you write a letter about immigration. Jane is the lucky LC who has been assigned the topic of immigration. I put your letter on Jane's desk.

Jane adds your letter to her large stack of letters. Jane will read your letter and determine whether you are for or against immigration. No, Jane will not be considering the nuances of what you wrote, such as being for legal immigration, but against illegal immigration.

When she finally gets to your letter, Jane will read it just long enough to determine which side of the issue you are on, so that you receive the form letter intended for people who agree with you.

Pro tip: write about an obscure topic. That way, there might not already be a form letter, and your letter could actually cause the staff and Senator to formulate a position on the issue!

Next, Jane will print out and mail your form letter to you, along with the dozens or hundreds of similar letters that will go out that day. Thank you so much for writing. Constituent letters like yours are very important, and I always love hearing from the people of our great state. Sincerely, your Senator.

Yeah, about that "signature" on your letter… We didn't even use a signature stamp. The form letters were printed out with the blue signature of the Senator already on it!

Your letter never made it anywhere near your Senator or Representative. Think about it. For a Senate office, there are about 10 LC's whose job consists almost entirely of what I just described Jane doing. Even the LC's and interns don't have time to read everybody's letters, let alone the actual Senators!

And here's another little secret—a lot of Senate and Congressional offices don't even keep track of how many people write or call them on different sides of the issue!

We didn't!

I remember answering the phone and a guy telling me what he thought about an issue, and then telling me to add him to the list. I just said ok. I didn't have the heart to tell him that there was no list.

I will say that calls and letters that are part of an organized campaign can potentially be effective. Even if a Congressperson's office is not keeping a tally, if the phones are ringing off the hook and mail is flooding in for a few days, someone is going to tell them about that. And if they don't already have a strongly held position on the issue, a barrage of calls and letters could very well make the difference.

Pro tip: write or call your elected representatives as part of an organized group effort, not as an individual on an ad hoc basis. Better yet, be the one to organize the group!

So is there any point in writing to your Congressperson? With the exception of the above tips, probably not if your goal is to actually influence what they will do.

But you can write them to get a real autographed picture, or a big U.S. flag that may or may not have been flown over the Capitol!

And if you are going to be traveling to D.C., call their office ahead of time and you and your family or group can get a free guided tour of the U.S. Capitol, provided by some lucky intern!

Even the little underground train from your Senator's office building to the Capitol is a pretty cool ride!

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Saturday, December 08, 2018

Beautiful treat to listen to: The Faith - sung by Leonard Cohen and Anjani

The Faith is one of my favorite songs--it speaks to the depths of the heart. Leonard Cohen wrote the lyrics for this song, which uses the melody of the Canadian folk song "Un Canadien Errant", written in 1842.   The lyrics appear on screen in the following beautiful video.  As with many of Leonard's songs, people have conjectured about who the lyrics are addressed to.  It seems to me that Leonard is talking to all of us -- and especially to those who are seeking real Truth in a world that often seems so false.  The lyrics seem to suggest that perhaps when we are weary enough, we will look for what is real and lasting, beyond the passing appearances in our ever-wearying world. With the planet itself now in jeopardy from humans following the wrong path, we must hope that more people will hear the plea of poets/teachers like Leonard Cohen -- and follow their lead.
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Thursday, December 06, 2018

Randy Rainbow's Latest Song Parodies about Trump


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv4207c9M74

Thank God for Randy Rainbow, who can still find humor in the Master of Disaster now occupying our nation's White House.  It's amazing to consider that all the things Randy sings about are actual events/stories/happenings taking place with the President of our country (!)Donald Trump is our President--to our everlasting shame!

Here are more Randy Rainbow video satirical parodies on Trump. We oh-so-much need the laughs to balance our tears:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWTiFcl9OhU     If You Ever Got Impeached

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJVXDqzUFQA  Melania - Just Be Best

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4q8x5fR4Sw     All About His Base

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UW2ZndKqcg   Covfefe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYgi5MyMqCs    Russia Ties



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Wednesday, December 05, 2018

More to come re. Jeffrey Epstein sexual predator case and its coverup

The uncovering of this predatory sexual abuse of children by powerful men may lead to others, even more famous/infamous, that have been hidden from the public over the years.  So much to learn -- even while the funeral of one predator is taking place in Washington at this moment, with great fanfare and high praising eulogies.  I can't help thinking of Leonard Cohen's song "Anthem" -- "I can't run no more with that Godless crowd, while the killers in high places say their prayers out loud. Well, they've summoned up a thundercloud, and they're going to hear from me!"   

I am hoping Rachel Maddow and other strong, committed-to-truth journalists keep bringing news to the world about these dark lords who have been hiding their real natures from the public for far too long.  Slowly but surely, the rocks are being overturned, and the creepy crawlers are being revealed, scurrying to get out of the light being shined on them. 
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Monday, December 03, 2018

The Real George H.W.Bush is hidden from us as he is praised and eulogized

George H.W.Bush is a sexual offender of the worst kind -- not too much of this information has come out, but I believe it can't be hidden forever.  Just the tip of the iceberg is being revealed about his real nature (and he's not just a "harmless old fool")-- he's been accused by girls and boys who were abused over many years in a sexual abuse ring conducted by some of the most powerful men in our country, including Bush.  Those who have tried to get the story out in the past have been cut off immediately and their stories hushed up in all ways possible.  Recently, the following was told in our daily news about "Poppy Bush" as he grabbed women's buttocks while having his photo taken with them (even while sitting in his wheelchair). Everyone laughed as he made a joke about "David Cop-a-feel", but it is nothing to laugh about:  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/26/george-hw-bush-issues-new-apology-after-second-actor-accuses-him-of-sexual-assault.  But much worse has yet to be told about him and other powerful leaders and of their involvement in sex abuse rings of children.

Tonight, on her MSNBC show, Rachel Maddow told about a trial taking place tomorrow in a Miami courtroom that will be televised -- re. the coverup of years of sex abuse of young girls by Jeffrey Epstein (and co-conspirators -- other powerful men like Prince Andrew of England, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and others).  Epstein, though positively proven to be guilty, was let off with a slap on the wrist... more information like this should be forthcoming, but it will be slow..slow...drip, drip, drip.  I learned a lot over the years in hearing major figures in state and federal government -- even a high figure in the FBI -- speaking at conferences, trying to get the truth out about these sexual crimes, some of which even took place in the White House.  One news article that escaped for a brief moment the rigors of slapdown and was actually published, is available to read in original form online:  The Washington Times published a revealing, front-page story on the Franklin case and its related child sex abuse ring. For a transcript of this news article and link to a scanned original, click here.  

Here is more information for those who are interested -- it is very dark news, for sure -- but little by little the truth will out.  Read more at: https://www.wanttoknow.info/060501conspiracyofsilence about a Discovery Channel documentary all ready to be aired (even already advertised in its slot in TV Guide) in May 1994 -- but which was suddenly pulled with no reason given -- and not allowed to be aired. Someone in high places decided the public should not be shown this documentary.  It has been retrieved and can be seen online -- read more at: https://www.wanttoknow.info/060501conspiracyofsilence

Finally, some information like Rachel Maddow's revelation tonight, is seeping out from under the rocks.  So much is hidden, so much is still to be revealed to the public at large.  We are finding out we are not the country we thought we were...and there is more to be discovered and released.  Rachel's pointing to the Florida trial beginning tomorrow is just the tip of a giant iceberg about sexual crimes in our government.  It is similar to what has been and still is being revealed about the Catholic Church's priests' abuse of children.  

Sorry to be the purveyor of this kind of news, but, if we want to keep our democratic form of government, it's better to know the truth than to remain in ignorance and allow these kinds of crimes to be perpetrated over and over.  I'm grateful to Rachel Maddow for being a rare journalist who thinks the absolute truth should be told to "We, the People."  While other reporters look the other way about news of this type, Rachel (and Lawrence O'Donnell) go straight to the root, knowing that is the only way to clear the decks of our country--and to make it possible for us to really have the kind of country we want for our children and grandchildren.

If you would rather not hear about the dark side in news like this, let me know and I won't send you this kind of information again.  I prefer to look toward the Light, but think it is important for us to know what is being hidden from us so we can shine the Light on it.



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Sunday, December 02, 2018

Merry Christmas Wishes to All

Image result for Angel pictures - Christmas tree

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope you enjoy this beautiful and touching short video about kindness, so perfect for this holy season.  The background song by Enya is quite beautiful, too.

I pray that this message will carry throughout the world so that one day, we may all live in Peace on Earth. May we be thankful for what we have and appreciate our oneness with everything and everyone. 

Love to you all and may your Holy Days and New Year be filled with happiness, love and kindness. 




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Saturday, December 01, 2018

A special treat from heaven: The Voice of an Angel - Eva Cassidy

Eva Cassidy was only 33 when she died of cancer in 1996. She was unknown to the world at the time, but her voice now lives on all over the globe, having been discovered after her death and made known worldwide from her recordings.  I have loved Eva's singing ever since first hearing the album of her songs, Songbird, several years ago. She truly had the voice of an angel.  Here are two of her most beautiful songs. Her version of Over the Rainbow is the best I've ever heard. Just close your eyes and listen to her -- I think you will feel as if you have been transported to the heavenly realms:



If you would like to know more about Eva, ABC Nightline did a special 18 minute show on her -- a labor of love by one of the people associated with the show, who was in love with her singing. Eva was an independent person, singing only the songs she really connected with. They ranged over jazz, gospel, blues and standards -- just about every venue, but she would sing only the songs she herself loved. She couldn't be categorized, which was one of the reasons she didn't become well known while alive. Record producers didn't know how to market her, so they passed on signing her -- much to their sorrow and regret later.

Here's the link to the ABC Nightline show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXU219b3Zdw



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