Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck

In the Fall of 1970, I was attending Berklee College of Music in Boston when out of curiosity I attended a workshop led by Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche at the yoga studio I frequented. The workshop was called “Work, Sex and Money”, and Rinpoche spoke extensively about integrating spirituality with everyday life. From that very first meeting he became my teacher and I began my life-long path of the study and practice of Buddhism. meditation creativity spirituality money

At the time, I think I liked the esoteric atmosphere of yoga and meditation, and probably felt that spirituality and worldly life each had their own domain.
I would have to say, that even though there was considerable overlap (after all there was only one me involved in both pursuits), from a practical point of view, I really did have to carefully divide and allocate my time between making my way as a professional guitarist, composer, songwriter, and record producer and studying, practicing and teaching dharma.

In a very real sense these two fields of activity competed for my time and resource allocation. There were conflicts that had to be resolved regarding where I was going to be and when to do what.

I think it’s challenging to be a serious dharma practitioner and have any kind of livelihood (not to mention family!). The key seems to be scheduling and prioritizing, and perhaps losing the idea of “free time” altogether. When you add in creativity, as in art or music or such, the mix can get even trickier. It’s kind of like having 3 jobs in a way, and 3 bosses! If you have a spouse and kids make that 5 jobs and 5+ bosses.

As I’m writing this, among several other projects and lots of dharma teaching, I am currently working as music supervisor for the new film by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. He is, as you probably know, a high lama from Bhutan who is a teacher for quite a few of my sangha friends and also an up and coming indie film director. I wish he could join us for our upcoming workshop at the New York Shambhala Center on Sept 28th & 29th called: Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck. He probably won’t be available but I’m hoping that some of you, who are trying to balance these 3 ingredients in your lives, will!

David Nichtern is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition and an Emmy award winning and Grammy nominated composer, guitarist and producer. He owns and directs two record labels and a music production company based in NYC. He has spent the last 40 years integrating his dharma study, practice and teaching with a very active and productive career in music, film and TV.

Integrating spiritual practice, creative expression, and livelihood can be tricky and demanding. David will share some of his thoughts on this topic and there will also be lots of time for group process and exploration. Those of us who are working with these three elements in our lives should find this workshop relevant, fun, and inspiring!

The workshop will include meditation instruction and practice, several talks and group discussions. Individual meditation interviews will be available on request as time allows.

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