Marvin Gaye’s Contribution to the Sexual REVOLUTION

Marvin Gaye is one of my great musical inspirations. His music connects to the root of me, whether he’s crooning about the state of humanity in “What’s Going On” or sparking a sexual revolution with “Let’s Get it On.”

“Although there was a ‘conscious’ revolution, there was also a great sexual revolution … I think Let’s Get It On was Marvin wanting to make commentary on what was happening. I think there was a big ‘love-in’ that was going on. And with him quoting T.S. Elliot [in his liner notes, that life amounts to "Birth, copulation and death"], and the young lady moaning [on the album], we hadn’t heard that before. That was another first, as well as him capturing erotica like that, and weaving it into the music the way he did; it was mind blowing. I think it was a natural progression, because we were having a revolution with our minds, and then with our bodies at that time.” -Q-Tip

Rarely are the erotic AND the divine aspects of our sexuality explored through music. Marvin Gaye was the pioneer of this exploration. He soulfully, consciously, and effortlessly connected our bodies and souls almost without us even knowing it.

“If the most profound soul songs are prayers in secular dress, Marvin’s prayer is to reconcile the ecstasy of his early religious epiphany with a sexual epiphany. The hope for such a reconciliation, the search for sexual healing, is what drives his art … The paradox is this: The sexiest of Marvin Gaye’s work is also his most spiritual. That’s the paradox of Marvin himself. In his struggle to wed body and soul, in his exploration of sexual passion, he expresses the most human of hungers—the hunger for God. In those songs of loss and lament—the sense of separation is heartbreaking. On one level, the separation is between man and woman. On a deeper level, the separation is between man and God.”

—David Ritz

With my next project, The Soft Glow of Electric Sex, I’m hoping to spark a modern day sexual revolution. Our society tends to oppress our sexuality or travel to the other end of the spectrum and become obsessed with it in an unhealthy way. Mainstream media depicts unauthentic sexual connection. Our sexuality is multifaceted. I want to challenge our perception of sex through this project the way Marvin Gaye did with Let’s Get It On.

If you feel a calling to be a part of this musical revolution click on the link and support my kickstarter page! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/758845777/andree-belles-new-project-the-soft-glow-of-electri

bisous!

andree

breaking open the head with sacred plants…

this past Easter, i had the great privilege to partake in a sacred plant called ayahuasca, a plant considered a gift from God that has been used for 1000s of years by the indigenous for spiritual growth… this sacred plant is POWERFUL…there is a huge misconception of what ayahuasca is, some claim it is like a crazy hallucinogenic drug… and those that know me, know that i don’t do drugs… after my research (i read “breaking open the head” and many, many articles -positive and negative about ayahuasca) and personal experience, i believe this plant is a healer…

my love, Dre, and i went with his mother, Juanita, who is a part of the santo daime (which literally means “give me”), a loving, supportive, open-minded community that conducts ceremonies using ayahuasca, which are called works.  the works are typically several hours long and consist of drinking daime (ayahuasca) and either sitting or dancing while singing hymns and playing maracas, or sitting in silent concentration. the benefit about doing ayahuasca with the santo daime is that you have a community to support you with your experience, it is more collective… 

as i went to take my first drink of the bitter tea, i thought/prayed/held the intention “teach me.” i really want to learn/grow/evolve/get past my pain/understand/transcend… at first, i didn’t feel anything… 20 minutes later i was hit hard… they don’t call it work for nothing! i was having a hard time singing the hymns (which are a mix of Christian/African/Native influences)…then i saw white and gold and purple light surrounding Juanita and i. it was beautiful… the daime told me things- in ways i can’t begin to articulate. it showed me the purpose of certain friendships in my life. i realized that certain friends did not remain in my life because of their materialistic nature and their influence over me and that if they had stayed in my life- i wouldn’t have evolved in the same way. it told me that my friends aneesah and shar are important friendships for the evolution of my soul… ironically, though i was (in a way) participating in a religious practice, i came to the understanding that we are connected to the divine and we need not allow religion or dogma to take that direct connection away from us. (though spirits, saints, the sacred practices are to be respected and honored)…i saw clearly how there are infinite ways to interpret our experiences and infinite universes (the multiverse). the plant was teaching me that we all want to connect but it’s essential to connect authentically… i felt how deeply i love Dre, how he teaches me to love deeper, to go beyond what i thought love was and how to understand love in a new way… i felt how women should have babies for the right reasons not just because it’s expected… in fact, we should not just go along with what’s expected of us in this supposed progression that is considered “correct” – i saw how important it is for everyone to honor their own path… i got a little freaked out when the right side of my body went numb. i couldn’t move it and i thought i was paralyzed… i was thinking i’ll never dance again!… it was painful, heavy…i took a breath… Juanita said paralysis never happened to her but she’d heard of it happening to others for a brief period and that i would be fine… she said to breathe and concentrate on the hymns… later i looked up in my book (you can heal your life) and saw that the right side of the body is representative of the masculine- i immediately knew this was the daime’s way of helping me to heal my past issues with my father. eventually it subsided and when it came time for the 2nd dose of the daime i opted to take a smaller amount. this time i was inside myself more… observing, feeling…. i felt like i was inside everyone around me that there was no separation… i could see and feel deeply all of their beauty and pain…also, through the constant music during the ceremony,  i experienced in a whole other way music’s power to connect with the divine. which connected me even more to my purpose to sing!  

the daime isn’t for everyone. you have to be ready for this profound experience. and you have to be with people you trust…it’s not something i feel i could do on a regular basis… but to each their own…i would be open to trying it again and see what it teaches me… it opened me up… in fact for days i had a hard time putting myself back together again… i would feel/take on/empathize/be inside everyone’s energy even more than i already do (which is a lot!-i’m super sensitive to people’s energy)… but it’s a good lesson for me- to learn to be empathetic/feeling, to understand others but to protect myself as well. overall it was a valuable healing experience… good for the evolution of my soul… love and blessings to your soul on whatever path it takes you…

Juanita’s art entitled “Motherboard.”

revolutionizing the idea of beauty

i used to have a boyfriend who told me i was the most beautiful woman in the world everyday… it was amazing i have to say… there’s something so reassuring, comforting, and uplifting about being told how beautiful you are-by your love, by your friends and family, by a total stranger in the market (thank you to the man who said “I love good food, see what it produces” at the whole foods in studio city)…..it’s validating, yet i feel we depend too much on the validation of others especially when it come to appearance. i want women to feel empowered by their spirits, their minds, their essence, their ideas, the love they exude… because that is timeless and true… and i want to attempt to understand beauty in a deeper way… why are we so obsessed with beauty? i admit i am fascinated with all things beautiful- songs, paintings, dance, sex, love, nature, fashion, women, men, even food can be beautiful to me, beautiful shoes, lingerie, things that are unique i find especially beautiful… recently, i even went around taking pictures of the less than beautiful neighborhood i am currently residing in attempt to find something beautiful in an environment i was struggling to exist in-there is poverty, rats, cockroaches, trash in the streets….. so I sought to capture life, the unique flavor of the neighborhood… i discovered this bush of beautiful fuchsia flowers and it makes me happy every time i look at it… honestly, i feel at home in beauty. and not in just a superficial way- in fact a physically beautiful man or woman who is arrogant or unauthentic immediately becomes extremely unattractive in my eyes. beauty is an energy, an art… there are lower income areas like boyle heights that find means to express beauty though plants/flowers/murals and there are places in beverly hills (that i’ve lived in as well- yes i’ve honestly lived in almost every hood in LA) that I consider too cold to be beautiful – plastic/sterile/neat/organized yet dead… beauty is about true self expression, authentically living in the vast energies of the world…

we all know beauty is a billion dollar industry-make-up/anti-aging creams/plastic surgery/fashion etc. how much of this industry is used to truly uplift us in our vision of ourselves vs. making us feel inferior? and how important is beauty truly? what defines beauty? they say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder yet why do certain cultures/countries/eras adopt certain ideals of beauty? i can imagine people in the future laughing at how people used to put giant plastic bags in their chest to make their breasts appear larger… people use their beauty, manipulate their beauty, are oblivious of their beauty (i have a friend who is honestly the most naturally beautiful woman i’ve ever known who doesn’t recognize how gorgeous she is), complain of their beauty (jessica biel- are we supposed to feel sorry for you because you’re too pretty to get certain roles? if halle berry proved she can play a crack addict then maybe it’s not your beauty preventing you from getting the role?? anyway, i digress)…..i’d like to think that people are catching on to the idea of beauty being more than just in the physical realm- the dove campaign for real women, the recent episode on desperate housewives where gabrielle (eva longoria) tells her daughter she wants her to be more than just a shell… though marketing and hollywood can be powerful in our ideas of beauty it’s really up to us to REVOLUTIONIZE THE IDEA OF BEAUTY… to think and speak and appreciate beauty in a more meaningful way… to relish in beautiful moments, to show gratitude to the beautiful souls who inspire us, who share and spread love everyday, to REALLY find the beauty in everyone, to focus on beautiful energy, the essence that connects us all, to live authentically, to make our lives our work of art, and maybe plant some flowers in an neighborhood that needs them…