Wellness

AWAKENING TO BLUEBIRDS, MORNINGS, & SELF NOW

“Morning at the Birdfeeder” by Jerry Edmundson.

by Jerry Edmundson. Morning at the Birdfeeder. Eastern Bluebird.

Today, we are celebrating the joys of awakening the mind and body -- from a bluebird, which triggers a new love, to new views of mornings, to a beautiful song and dance expression of waking up to new levels of consciousness.

DAWN LANDES

Fresh and supple, singer-songwriter Dawn Landes’ voice is a joy to hear. We love her recently released album Bluebird, which also features guest harmonies and piano from Norah Jones.

Landes wrote the songs on the album in a catharsis after a painful divorce. Her title song, Bluebird, came to her in a dream as she was staying at a monastery in upstate New York. She sings about seeing a bluebird fly past her with a flash of blue the triggers a new love. It was an awakening that became the first sign of healing.

Bluebird

Bluebird, blue

Flew by caught my eye and I fell in love with blue

Don’t know what to do

Sweet song lead me on I just wanna follow you

Oh, blue

Walk down to the edge of the wood

I know I shouldn’t go but it makes me feel so good

Tall leaves cover me in a hood

and you sing to me da-dee-dee-dee

Oh I feel so understood

Fall in so deep to a warm summer sleep

Caught in a rhyme losing track of the time

No direction to divine

Bluebird, blue

Stay here I know you’re near I just wanna be with you

Don’t know what to do

Your song’s sweet, I forget my feet

Won’t you let me dance with you?

Oh, blue

Take in your flight

on a warm summer night

fly back to me, I’ll forget every need

Just a tangle in the weeds

Bluebird, blue

Flew by caught my eye and I fell in love with blue

Oh, blue

Check out Landes’ performance at TED2015, in which she sang “Dear Heart,” a song from her new musical The American Pearl, about Tori Murden’s inspiring journeys as she attempted to row across the Atlantic Ocean solo.

If you watch Bored to Death, House, Gossip Girl or The Good Wife, you may have already be a Landes fan.

MARTIN HECK

The time when day cracks the edge of the dark horizon and begins to spill across mountains, seas, fields, forests, and rooftops, is perhaps the most beautiful part of the morning. The color, light, and shadow drama coupled with the energy of life awakening, is really powerful.

Photographer Martin Heck captured that power beautifully in his magnificent 4K Timelapse video, Awakening, presenting the rollout of morning in New Zealand.

Shot over the course of 4 months, processed and edited in Lightroom 5, LRTimelapse, After Effects and Premiere Pro CS6, Awakening is part 1 of 4 videos, so stay tuned for more.

JESSICA TONDER, RYAN HEFFINGTON, GALEN PEHRSON, & MAXIMILLA LUKACS

Award-winning choreographer Ryan Heffington, animator Galen Pehrson, and filmmaker Maximilla Lukacs collaborated with singer Jessica Tonder to create this dreamy new video, My Body is My Home.

The song and choreography bloom with the re-awakening of body and spirit.

Jessica Tonder "My Body Is My Home" Official Music Video from Maximilla Lukacs on Vimeo.

Heffington, the genius choreographer behind behind Sia Furler’s epic Chandelier video and Arcade Fire’s We Exist, among others, is rapturous as acclaimed dancer, and Tonder, awaken to themselves, to each other, and to us.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Awakenings in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 03.29.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

Get ready to wake up to something beautiful every day with the new BN App. Coming very soon! Stay tuned! #BNapp

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Do you have amazing photos of Beautiful Awakenings? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Competition. We run new creative competitions every week!

IMAGE CREDITS:

Photo: by Jerry Edmundson. Morning at the Birdfeeder. Eastern Bluebird.
Image: by Zoe White. Still image from Dawn Landes - Bluebird.
Video: Courtesy of Dawn Landes. Bluebird featuring Storyboard P.
Photo: by Steve 1828. Bluebird Courtship - Gift Accepted.
Photo: by Bret Hartman for TED. Dawn Landes’ performs at TED2015.
Photo: by Martin Heck. Still from AWAKENING | NEW ZEALAND 4K/UHD.
Photo: by Martin Heck. Still from AWAKENING | NEW ZEALAND 4K/UHD.
Video: Courtesy of Timestorm Films. AWAKENING | NEW ZEALAND 4K/UHD.
Image: by Maximilla Lukacs. Still image from My Body is My Home.
Image: by Maximilla Lukacs. Still image from My Body is My Home.
Video: Courtesy of Maximilla Lukacs. Jessica Tonder My Body Is My Home Official Music Video.
Image: by Maximilla Lukacs. Still image from My Body is My Home.
Image: by Maximilla Lukacs. Still image from My Body is My Home.
Image: by Martin Heck. Still image from AWAKENING | NEW ZEALAND 4K/UHD.