Heart Takes Flight: A Celebration of Life

In their previous release, “To Become Born”, Ram Dass and Awaré explored the feelings of grief and pain that loss brings. In his newest song “Heart Takes Flight”, Ram Dass opens the space for joy. An invitation to open to the fullness of life, celebrating being alive and appreciating everything life is, from the most pleasant and joyful emotions to the more challenging and deeper ones. The acceptance of the human experience as a whole, and the beauty of life, death and everything in between.

This new album is an exploration of what it means to be a human, inviting us to observe our own relationship with birth, life, death and rebirth. A reflection of a healing journey through self expression, music as a language, beauty, collaboration, connection and support.

I wanted to give voice to my experience of beauty and joy within grief and that happiness does not preclude having hard feelings.

~ Ram Dass

The healing process that Ram Dass shares through his music has been very inspiring for many of us, and he was happy to share a little more about these topics, hoping it can bring inspiration to many others to find their own way of self-expression.

Music is a catalyst that opens the space to explore the nature of our mind, heart and soul. It is our heart's desire that this music can hold your hand through your journey, and that it invites you to explore your own language of self expression and healing.

Heart Takes Flight is a song about joy, can you describe what joy means to you?

In this case, it’s about existential happiness— the perception and internal knowing that all of the things in life are sacred, connected, and beautiful. It’s the idea that happiness is not a temporary state but rather a current of gratitude.

How can someone reconnect with joy after going through loss?

How can someone reconnect with joy after going through loss? For every person it is different, so I can only speak to my own experience. At first, it was hard to feel anything but the shock, the fear, and the pain of the loss. What helped was becoming soft to those experiences and allowing myself to fully feel those feelings. Being able to have those feelings witnessed by others created the pathway for the gradual release, and then my nervous system was able to settle and start experiencing pleasure again. Essentially, I had to find a way to soothe the flight or flight mechanism inherent to trauma in order to re-sensitize to enjoyable experiences. Fortunately, humans are social animals and safe sharing of emotions has a positive effect on this healing process.

It is inspiring to see your healing process prioritizing your mental health. Can you share what has been your personal experience with mental health awareness?

It seems to me that mental health is an area in dire need of attention within the United States, but there is so much stigma surrounding it. It also carries a lot of variability and gray area in terms of approach for treatment and even how a person/patient is experiencing it. I know that for myself, I knew I wasn’t in a great place mentally after my son’s death, but I didn’t have an easy roadmap for what to do. We are taught what to do for a burn, a cut, a headache, but what if we are feeling anxiety, lethargy, and grief?

From the outside, it is easy to say “go take a walk, talk to friends, etc.” but when one is in those feeling states, it’s so easy to say “I’m fine. I’ll just keep going.” and then perpetuate the cycle. I would love to see a collective understanding of grief and acceptance of harder feelings, more resources for mental health within our healthcare system, as well as more resources for children and teens who have experienced trauma. My friend Ashley Newton (Instagram: @elevatingfamily) teaches parents about ways to parent that validate their childrens’ feelings and help them develop strategies for coping with hard feelings. Another friend, Rachel Kaplan (Instagram: @rachiohead; TikTok: @thefeelingsmovement), is a therapist who teaches what she calls “Emotional Potty Training” which is exactly what it sounds like— how to release your feelings when you notice that you have some rumblings!

Music can be a form of therapy to mirror and express our emotions. Is there a particular way to explore music as therapy for self-expression that you can recommend?

Music is just a language, and there are so many instruments that can be used to express ones feelings.

As choirs and singing groups are able to convene again, there is really little better than singing in a group. Harmony and unison singing are some of the best ways to feel connected to others, which again soothes the nervous system. Don’t worry about singing the right notes, just use your voice. Also, if you have access to a piano, just start trying out notes and see what notes connect that sound like how you are feeling. Hang out there for a bit and see how it feels!

The expression and discussion of feelings around loss and grief can be very challenging for many.  How can music be used as medicine to reach calmer and more relaxed states of mind?

Music can affect the emotions powerfully, so we might turn it on to help dance or bounce out frustration, celebrate accomplishments, help us relax during a bath, or so much more. I have used it as emotional meditation when I’m feeling a lot of sadness and grief: put on headphones and lay down in a quiet room or run a bath (water helps feelings a LOT) and play music over your phone or speaker and find a playlist that is a combination of melancholy and stillness. Feel your body on the floor or in the water, and start breathing deeply. There will be moments where the music triggers tickles or waves of sadness. Try to relax and allow the feelings and tears to wash over you. Trust that you will not get sucked into a black hole of grief— feeling is the way through! I try to let the feelings come first and not think as much as possible. Allow yourself to feel everything that feels safe to feel and then come back to your normal breath. It may take practice and cycles to feel safe and feel more deeply and that’s totally fine.

The new music you’ve released, “To Become Born” and “Heart Takes Flight” have been a result of your own healing process. Do you believe they can be catalysts to support the healing process of others?

I am constantly blown away at the ways that music can positively affect others. I sincerely hope that it helps people, as is my intention. Beethoven died almost 200 years ago and I’m still deeply affected by his music. Time will tell, but I’m making this with the best intentions for others.

Can music provide a safe space to explore and go through our emotions?

Absolutely. I think that is one of the inherent and miraculous qualities of music. There is so much of it in so many styles, I think if one is open to it, there is inevitably some type of music that will stir a person’s feelings and stir the humanity in them.

Today, we invite you to take a pause and connect with your deepest feelings through music. Listen to this playlist which includes  some of the songs that  supported Ram Dass' healing process .

Allow your self to feel it all, allow your body to find it's own expression. Sing, listen, write, dance and let the heart take flight.

Listen to Heart Takes Flight now.

If you are in crisis or you think you may have an emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. If you're having suicidal thoughts, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to talk to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area at any time (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline). If you are located outside the United States, call your local emergency line immediately.