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Join me on the Path and Purpose podcast where I talk with Gabriel Logan Braun, a world musician, sound healer, and teacher of somatic healing art. We explore the transformative intersections of music, spirituality, and cultural experiences. Together, we discuss Gabriel's spiritual awakening journey, the profound healing power of vibrations, and how music acts as a divine connector. From astrological influences to experiences with loop technology and sound baths, we delve into the significance of understanding and mastering energy through practices like Qigong, yoga, and breath work. Throughout the conversation, we touch on the importance of living in alignment with our true selves and fulfilling our soul's purpose. Join us to discover how different musical traditions and spiritual practices from around the world have shaped our identities and connections with the universe.

*Beyond The Show: yourpathandpurpose.com/community

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Gabriel’s Content:
Website: www.GabrielLoganBraun.com

Instagram: @gabrielloganbraun

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/radiantheart87

bandcamp: https://gabrielloganbraun.bandcamp.com

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Discover the path to your soul's purpose at https://www.yourpathandpurpose.com

Episode Transcript:

Cameron: Welcome to the Path and Purpose podcast, where we explore the journey of living and leading from your soul's purpose. I'm your host, Dr. Cameron Martin. As a spiritual coach and leader, I've dedicated my life to helping change makers, creatives, and conscious leaders align with their soul's calling. In each soul's We dive deep into the stories of those who are paving the way for a more conscious and compassionate world.

My purpose is to explore the intersection of spirituality and leadership, offering you practical insights and inspiration to live and lead with authenticity. Join me as we discover how to embrace our soul gifts, overcome barriers, and learn to lead from being. This podcast will inspire you to live in alignment with your soul's purpose and create a lasting impact one conversation at a time.

On today's episode of the show, I am joined by Gabriel Logan Braun. Gabriel is a former student of Parangi and Elijah Ray. For a combined 10 years of training, he carries a musical lineage as a one man band world musician loop artist. He is a seasoned sound healer, a world musician and teacher of the somatic healing art.

He's offered his services for over a decade. Having grown up in Los Angeles, Gabriel was exposed to many different world music influences and has gone through many things in his life spiritually and has led him to create his own unique path of sound viewing and music that he's here to share with the world.

I'm excited to share this episode in this conversation with you guys today. So a few things about this episode. Uh, the first Gibber and I shared a lot in our conversation around culture and the impact of culture and travel in our spiritual experiences. I have personally traveled a lot and I've had the good fortune of traveling a lot throughout the world.

And every time I go to different areas of the world and experience different cultures, I met with First, a sense of wonder and maybe awe in some respects, but a deep knowing of the connections that we all have as a humanity. Many times when I've traveled, I've had what I would call soul remembrances. Uh, I'd either be walking down a cobblestone street in Turkey, or looking out over the ocean in Greece, or remembering a particular house.

or a hill somewhere in the countryside of Ireland. These remembrances that I've had are these moments where there's like a soul activation, like a, oh, I somehow, someway remember being here. And when we return to places like this that can hold sort of sacred energy for us, a lot of activations can happen.

We can receive gifts, we can receive memories that our soul has left behind for us to receive at a particular moment. For me, travel has been perhaps probably the most powerful way that I have been spiritually activated. When I went to Ireland, Northern Ireland for example, I remember seeing in my mind's eye, I was walking down the street and I saw the street where I was shot.

Dead. I remember when I was in Greece going to a sacred temple and remembering what was there and actually also going to the Acropolis Museum and being around all the artifacts and the stones and remembering what I knew about that time and that place. I remember when I walked the streets of Turkey and heard the calls to prayer, the Muslim calls There was a remembrance, a sort of activation, an energetic touch within me.

These are just some examples from my own life, but Gabriel and I are going to talk about this and the intersection of culture and music, and how travel helps us to not only expand our worldview, but to help us expand even our souls. And understand our soul's evolution. Gabriel is a musician. And so he'll share a lot about his musical influence and the journey to his musical expression.

And in this conversation, we share a lot about how music can connect us to the divine and how music itself is a spiritual expression. If you're listening and you are a musician, maybe you play an instrument and you know. What the experience is like to be in the flow state, maybe you're playing and you're not actually even really thinking about it, you're just in total flow.

What that feels like to connect with the divine. I remember when I used to play the piano and that experience, when you finally got passive, I'm not thinking about the notes that I'm playing, but I'm just flowing with it. Kind of how magical that is, but really how those connections are connections with the divine side note here, my favorite instrument.

Which I will talk about in the episode is the pipe organ. And I always thought it was extremely special to watch pipe organists, a good organist who is playing with their hands and their feet. So their entire body when they're improvising and flowing, how amazing an experience that is to witness and experience.

So. We talk about this connection between music and I want to make this connection now because I didn't really say it in the episode, but our entire reality is vibrational. Everything in the universe is harmonics. Everything is sound and vibration first before an experience of physical reality. And it's beautiful actually, because quantum physics is showing us And it's illustrating the understanding that everything is waves, everything is vibration, everything is first sound.

And it really does bring another level to this conversation that we're going to have around music and how music can be healing, how music can be revealing, and how music can be really an expression of our being. I share quite a bit in this episode about my musical experiences as well, and my history singing, and really make the connection between sort of where I've come from musically and where I'm about to go.

So I'm excited that you're here to listen to this conversation with Gabriel Logan Braun. 

Gabriel: Gabriel, welcome. Thank you, Cameron. Thanks for having me on the podcast, brother. 

Cameron: Yeah, absolutely. Um, I know we've had a number of really great conversations that have been enlightening and filled with love and exploration.

And so I know this conversation will be a similar one, but we're going to maybe start with Bringing us to your spiritual awakening. I know you've had quite a spiritual journey in your life. So wherever you would like to start with this, but really what was your awakening for you and what has your spiritual journey looked like?

We'll start with that. 

Gabriel: For me, it started when I was about 16, um, going into my junior year of high school. Um, so I was pretty young and at the time I was a total jock and basketball was like my main hobby and sport and passion. Um, and I wanted to become a pro and go to the NBA, even though I was just under six feet, which by basketball standards is very short.

Um, and, uh, so that summer before my junior year, I went to this West Coast all star camp and I basically had my shit handed to me. And I was really humbled, but also was crushed, uh, in, in the sense of, um, yeah, like, I just felt like I put so much of my time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears into this one thing, very much all my XM1 basket.

Uh, there was no plan B. And then it was like, yeah, that dream just kind of got squandered and crushed because I realized I wasn't as talented as I needed to be. I didn't have the level of drive that I would be needed, even though I was very driven. And yeah, and it basically led to, um, when I went into high school, just, uh, feeling unmotivated to even play on the school team anymore.

And then going into a depressed place in myself, then I stopped going to school and then my parents caught me, um, and I'd already missed like two months of school. And so at that point, I like my whole life flipped upside down and, and then I ended up going to a different school and just putting the basketball down for, you know, a book and, and, uh, studies and all that.

And during that time of going through a dark night of the soul, um, a family friend introduced me to, um, bhakti yoga, which is a path of yoga, one of the eight limbs of yoga. Bhakti means the path of devotion. And, um, in the class that I went to, Just like we experience here in the West, it's very much driven by asana, our physical poses and postures.

But then there's the spiritual component of mantra and chanting these the names of different deities of Hindu gods and goddesses that symbolize different attributes. For example, Jai or Jay Ganesh means to praise Ganesh. Ganesh is the elephant head of deity that uh, is said to be the remover of obstacles and obstructions for example, right?

And so there you go. But as you 

Cameron: heard just listening, I'm holding up a little Ganesh that I have on my desk. 

Gabriel: Ganesh is fresh even in Cameron's house. So, uh, so yeah, so I went to this class. I had never been And, uh, it was Govindas and Radha, who people are from L. A. or they might know of, uh, of now Govindas and Jacqueline, she changed her name back to her original name, but, um, they, uh, they have been, uh, you know, uh, husband and wife.

have kids, they've been doing, you know, teaching yoga, chanting, all these things for years now. So I, I went to their class and at the very end of the class, they included some of these chanting of mantras and also playing, um, two musical instruments that were kind of new to my ears at the time. One was a harmonium, which is like a little, Organ, you pump with one hand and you play the keys like on the piano with the other and it sits on the ground.

And then the other is a Bonsai flute, which is from India. Both these instruments come from India, um, although the harmonium was originally a British invention brought to India. So, so during this experience I was in, laying in Shavasana, right? Resting pose, or corpse pose as they call it, the end of the class.

And I just remember the music really transporting me and into this almost like trans transcendent kind of experience place where I left that, um, really heavy, depressed energy. And I felt connected to something far greater than myself. And after the class, I was so moved and impacted that I approached both of them.

And I asked where I could learn. To basically do what they just did, but specifically with music, because it was really the music that pierced my heart and touched my soul. And so they sent me off to, uh, this teacher who actually is a flautist as well as a Um, and I took one lesson and it was all about like learning how to breathe more than even playing the flute itself, because the flute is just an extension of your breath, really.

Um, and I like to say every instrument that you touch or play is an extension of you, you're the main instrument. And then the teacher, Marla Lee is her name, she's an amazing frame drum player and flautist. Uh, she told me to get a Native American flute. And because it was a simple flute to learn on also has a really beautiful organic sound And then I started with that and that Opened up a whole another level of spirituality, because as you know, the Native American flute is not just played for performance, but it's played for healing, for ritual, for ceremony.

And then that connected me to another type of spirituality, the Path of the Red Road, and Wakan Tanka, and And like, you know, uh, much more connected to like the earth and the spirit of the land and, uh, somewhat different than bhakti yoga, but both were a big part of my early beginnings and on this path.

And then I just started to. play the flute and I would enjoy it taking it into nature. And they say, uh, an acronym for God is The Great Outdoors, G. O. D. And so I would go experience that G. O. D. experience, uh, playing the flute in nature. And I would go to these yoga classes and I would chant mantras. And that's really what started this journey for me all those years ago.

Cameron: Beautiful, thank you. I'm aware in this moment I told you I was going to start this interview by reading your birth chart and I do that with all my guests, but everything in divine timing, of course, because now I think it's the right moment to maybe look at that. But it's interesting what you expressed because your natal son is in Capricorn but in the ninth house.

So very much about you are someone who's very disciplined, determined. You're someone who has, um, structure in their life. It can work hard at things. Ninth house has to do with learning, um, particularly anything that has you expanding beyond your own self. It is the house of, um, philosophy and spirituality, but in a.

uh, a systemic sort of way. So even your desire to connect with Eastern wisdom traditions, um, is very much ninth house in many ways. This is, uh, kind of the house of the sage or the seeker, the person that really wants to know and integrate knowledge. You have several planets actually all in that same area.

So your mind is very focused on that as well. Um, I smiled when you talked about nature because your moon is in. Taurus. So for you to feel nice or to feel good, to feel nurtured, to feel secure, um, and even just emotionally For you, nature is really important. So being in nature, connecting to nature, the sounds of nature, which absolutely come through your work.

I've already experienced this in the past. Um, and in particular in the 12th house. So for you, your communion with nature is deeply spiritual. You hear the sounds, the voices of the trees and the sounds of the animals in the ways that you do. Um, but your connection to spirituality. And your own subconscious is deeply connected to, um, the earth.

So any sort of native traditions and, uh, things like that, super attractive to you, which is interesting, of course, because I know that your work is influenced by this. Um, and you have a deeply transformative, uh, energy about you. Um, But again, this self exploration and wanting to know from the ancient wisdom so that you can self express as a major theme in your life.

And so I'll let you respond to it. I kind of did this in reverse and I let you share your story first, but for sure, um, the chart was sort of lighting up. So I'll, I'll let you respond to at least that reflection. 

Gabriel: Yeah, that's a great reflection. Um, and I'm not just saying that to make you feel good about your, your reading of me.

Uh, but really like it's, uh, it's spot on. Um, yeah, I very much resonate maybe not just cause I'm a Capricorn, but just in general, I've always found that the more that I have structure, what I call a container and how I contain my energy and how I focus it and channel it. You know, really gives me a lot of, uh, satisfaction and makes me feel like I can be more, um, successful at whatever it is I do.

Um, and I, I very much, yeah, resonate with, with what you shared about, you know, the discipline, discipline piece and being a seeker. Um, I, you know, even. In my late teens, early 20s, I always looked up to people that were much older than me. Um, we might call them elders or, or even just people that have had more experience, you know, under their belt to learn from them.

And to the degree that I, even through my own parents, wasn't able to get all the, I mean, no one really is, right, get all, all the things that we want. You know, I would, I would seek out other father like figures or people that would carry a certain quality. of what I wanted to emulate or embody, and specifically with mentors and teachers, spiritual guides, musicians, artists, you know, you name it.

Um, and L. A., of course, where I'm from, is an amazing hub for all of that, and people, as you know, come from all over the world to L. A. Because of all of what it has to offer, uh, not just in entertainment, but in the arts, in music, in creative projects, and uh, just the, yeah, you know, the nature, the beach, the warmth, all the things.

Yeah, 

Cameron: and I mean this piece about, um, really, you have a lot of spiritual wisdom within you, but it's really, And, uh, a lot of that just gets expressed, of course, through your music. I was, it's interesting looking at your chart to your placement of Mars has me thinking back to your, um, your youth, because your placement of Mars is a very initiating brand new, you could say sort of theme.

So being in the body, being physical, the masculine energy of activity and sport and things like that. It's actually something that's kind of. We'll say new for your soul in this lifetime. So I can, and an important component of your, um, yourself, like your conception of self. Um, and so I can see why, um, being an athlete or however you relate to that idea was so important because actually, um, they're big lessons here around kind of using your energy, asserting your energy, understanding your body, um, which of course plays out into the work that you do.

But even though For those listening, I bet, wait, you went from athlete to like spiritual musician. What is the, what is the connection there? But honestly, a lot of lessons around, um, mastering your own energy. 

Gabriel: Absolutely. And I, I really resonate with Yeah, the piece of like, I mean, we, we, we talk about it, um, in like the world of, of psychology or personal growth and development as your, uh, somatic relationship to yourself or kinesthetic, right, to the, basically the shoulders down, right.

That to our bodies, to our breath, to our senses, to our energy and how we move that and how we connect to it and how we channel it. And very much, I would say. The music and sound as well as, you know, you know, this about me too. I, I teach, uh, I teach Qigong. I teach, um, yoga, dynamic movement, breath work, uh, different embodiment practices.

To help people deeply connect and root into their body and get more grounded when we're so caught up in our monkey mind syndrome and the busyness of our Western lifestyles, you know, and, and even just trying to survive. Um, and, and so, yes, so again, going back to like me being an athlete to just, I think it's, it's something that I just, it helps me.

To feel like I can actually process information in a way that I had always kind of struggled. Like, sitting still for long periods of time or reading something and trying to process it or understand it without moving my body. And so, we all have different ways of learning too, right? Some are more kinesthetic, some are more auditory, some are more visual, um, combination of all those things.

And so, yeah, movement and, uh, connection to the body. Kinesthetic somatic world is, is a, is a big way of how I process information and learn and share as well. You know, of course. 

Cameron: Yeah. Cause I know that that's part of your medicine. Hey there, I'm excited to share something new with you. Introducing beyond the show, our new monthly live connection calls where you can continue the conversation.

If you're loving the insights and stories shared on the show and want to dive deeper, these live monthly sessions are your chance to engage directly with me, my guests. And with fellow listeners each month, we'll gather inside the path and purpose community for a real time discussion and Q and a with one of our featured guests, it's a great opportunity to explore topics further, ask questions and be part of a community of like minded souls interested in joining us.

Head over to yourpathandpurpose. com slash community to become part of the free community and get access to these exciting live calls. Can't wait to see you there and to continue the conversation. Okay, let's build the bridge then between now you're learning from these people and you're having this like, well, I really want to be doing this and you're starting to pick up a few instruments.

So what happens next to sort of led you to what you're doing now? And I know you alluded to some of it even in what you just shared, but maybe build that bridge for our listeners. 

Gabriel: Yeah. Um, so yeah, I started to play a little bit more on my own and then, um, Govindas actually, first yoga teacher that I, that I met, um, he actually started letting me play some flute.

Um, in his classes at the very end of his classes, when people would go into Shavasana and more meditative, relaxing kind of vibe. And so I would just get to practice. Um, and it was just for fun. Like I wasn't even, you know, getting paid just to volunteer and get my reps in. And I'd start to do that. And then other yoga teachers would start to ask me to play, Oh, can you do a little didgeridoo or a little, and you sing like, uh, you know, some beautiful song at the end with your guitar.

And that's how it really started. Then a little bit, uh, like a year or two after that, my early 20s, um, a mutual friend connected me to who, uh, one of my friends who's now one of my best friends who lives down in Costa Rica now, uh, that I just came back from visiting and, um, He at the time was working at this, uh, uh, recovery center for drug and alcohol addiction, that's a holistic one called passages Malibu.

And he needed somebody to, um, cover him while he was gone just to take clients on, on hikes. And, uh, so I said, gladly said yes to that. And he, when he came back, uh, the two of us started collaborate and I would be more. of his assistant supporter with, uh, sound bath meditation that he was running at passages at the time.

And so I did that in the recovery world. And then we also started to do events outside of that setting public events like I do now. And so I was kind of like his wingman for, for a while. But then eventually he moved on, he left, uh, LA and, you know, uh, kind of did his own thing and I was the one to kind of carry the, the torch, you know, and then I started doing more on my own.

Um, and then over the years, I just gradually built up to me first, starting with, uh, you know, just a few instruments, all acoustic. To now being a world musician, uh, multi instrumentalist, loop artist, um, still studying and learning. I mean, it's endless, you know, um, and I, I just love that about also music in general.

It's like you can, it's, I mean, with anything in life, you just can keep creating and there's, there's no end to it, you know. 

Cameron: Well, your energy signature is that of an eternal student for sure. So surprised to hear you say that, but okay. So for those who are listening, who maybe don't know what a loop artist is, I do because I've experienced it.

And I've, I mean, I've experienced your work and I've experienced seen other loop artists, but what is that? Because when you use sound and I'll let you share what it is you create and share, but when you use sound, it's just you. And yet you're creating these. beautiful soundscapes, essentially a concert, concerts, I suppose, in many different forms, but it's just you.

So what is this loop? What does it mean to be a loop artist? 

Gabriel: So being a loop artist, so being a loop artist, so being a loop,  that's how I can tell you what it is. Um, so being a loop artist, uh, means that You're interfacing with technology, um, where you have a, uh, a pedal underneath you, um, that can be, uh, you can actually use your fingers or your feet, but I have one that's meant more for my feet.

So my hands can be free to play other instruments while my feet are controlling or tapping. And what it essentially does is it records whatever you're doing live in the moment. You could be singing, you could be making a tone. You can be playing a flute, handpan, whatever it is. And it records that, and then it loops it just like the word, uh, you know, says so that it starts to, and then it plays back again and again and again, and that's just one recording, and then you can start to stack and layer multiple recordings on top of each other.

On just one track and designate that on, yeah, on one track, but then you have multiple tracks. So it's like all these different loops of different instruments, um, and melodic rhythmic, you know, you name it, and then you can create a whole song, um, or orchestration of what you're doing, like a one man band or.

orchestra, right? So it's a, it makes, uh, it's really fun on a, on a selfish level. It's really fun just to, to do that and play. Um, but also just, you know, for people that have never experienced that it's a, it makes a very dynamic, uh, experience. And there are a lot of people who are sound healers and do sound baths that.

Um, in fact, the majority of, of those people are not loop artists. And some of them are musicians. Some of them are not even musicians. So I think this is also part of what makes what I do and who I am very unique and kind of in a very small niche of people in the world that. Use this technology in this way to, um, yeah, create a very, just kind of, uh, impactful experience and dynamic experience for people.

Cameron: Beautiful. So I imagine though, when you were younger, were you weren't anticipating maybe doing this work? 

Gabriel: Uh, when I grow up, I'm going to be a sound healer. No, I definitely would not. Although I will say, um, I've always been musical and I've always loved dancing. And when I was a kid, my mom would take me to UCLA Live, uh, which is, uh, as many people know, a very famous, uh, college here in LA, UCLA Bruins for basketball.

Um, and, uh, they would have these, uh, you know, different performances of, of, uh, all different types of world musicians, uh, theater, you know, you name it. And she would take me there as a kid and expose me to all these different cultures. So that was instilled in me at an early age. And I always felt connected to many other cultures outside of my own.

Like I always kind of was like, felt like a black sheep a little bit, you know, like I always connected more with like Latin or African culture, this, that, but now it's like, I connect with aspects of every culture because I think there's something beautiful in every culture. And I think we create our own culture, you know, or many of us like myself, like, sure.

I have, Heritage here, you know, I was brought up a certain religion or this or that, but then I kind of created my own sense of spirituality, a culture connection of what I, uh, feel most, um, aligned or attuned with, you know, and drawing upon many different cultures or traditions to make this kind of amalgamation or, you know, my own expression of that.

Cameron: Yeah, I really love, uh, you sharing that because for me there's a lot of resonance as well with my own Uh, way in which I spiritually see the world. And so I'll share this with the listeners too. Sometimes people wonder, okay, Cameron spiritual coach or support people in their journeys of finding self. But what is my sport of spiritual inclination?

And much of what you just shared is the same for me. So I grew up Roman Catholic, so I was very much in the Christian traditions, uh, for sure. And I recognize now that Catholicism for me provided me a connection with the person of Christ and of Jesus that I, you know, work with very personally now. But the more that I travel the world, and maybe you'll want to share something about your world travels too, but the more that I travel the world, the more I experience different cultures and different religions, but also the more I remember my soul having other experiences.

So while in this country, in the United States, growing up Catholic and Christian and like, okay, but I've traveled enough to remember, um, My times as a yogi in India when I was there. I just recently came back from a trip to Turkey, and this is the first time that I had ever been in a majority Muslim city in Istanbul, and yet there was such a soul remembrance for me hearing the, uh, Calls to prayer that were being sung out throughout the city and visiting mosques and not necessarily knowing from a mental perspective, what these beliefs are, but knowing from a physical, like, Oh, I remember this actually in Turkey.

I also had a really beautiful experience. I got to see the whirling dervish. So, um, which was a beautiful experience that I. Was very, very grateful to have. And for those who don't know, the dervish, uh, you may have seen them sort of twirling around in white gowns, and the idea, first of all, the dervish are a subsect of Sufism, which is a subsect of Islam, and you can consider it, although I've read enough to know that I'm slightly misspeaking here, but you can consider it sort of the mystical arm of Islam.

And. It was really interesting. The whole premise of the whirling dervish is that everything in the universe. Twirls is, is in motion is circular. And so the universe itself, the planets around the sun, atoms of our body and all things, right. And so through twirling, um, you can dissolve into nothingness and everything at the same time.

And I found it really, really interesting, like having these deep knowings, which I'm hoping you'll maybe resonate with and speak to this in your own experience. But. These deep knowings of like, of truth, frankly. And you know, there were, as I was watching this, there were different rounds and I'm going to misspeak here a bit.

So if people are experts in Sufism, you know, I'm doing my best, but I know that in the first round, it was about kind of dissolving the ego. And then in the second round, it was about really connecting with divine oneness or Allah, the creator. And then it was about becoming. One and a complete dissolution of self and then returning to self.

Anyway, I don't know why I went on that, but just to share that I've had so many of these experiences there when I was in Mexico, I had different experiences with shamans, um, that. You know, has shifted my perspective and things too. And so if you were to ask me what my spiritual, um, connections, oh, I'm also deeply galactic.

I know Gabriel and I have talked about this, my connections with galactic beings too. So my spiritual understanding, definitely, you know, Christianity, Catholicism, but Hinduism, definitely pieces of Buddhism, absolutely pieces of Eastern traditions through yogic for, through the yogic path. Um, And Kriya Yoga and things like that for me.

And when I travel the world, I seem to pick up all these other knowings. So I'm curious, um, having shared this, what maybe you want to reflect in your own experience. 

Gabriel: Yeah. Well, I should mention too that I kind of left out a really important piece about my own, the beginning of my awakening, actually also, uh, around that time, I, uh, after high school, I traveled to Guatemala and Peru and I did volunteer work abroad and I live with the host family in each country.

And I was gone for a total of like four months or so combined between those two places. And I spent time living with the local people, um, some of the indigenous people there as well. And it was just such a 180 of where I grew up in the Palisades where people have so much affluence and outer wealth and are much more valuing, putting value on materialism, yet, um, over there, people have, in my opinion, so much more inner wealth and they have less material things or, you know, but there's much more value placed on family, nature, you know, good food, connections, music, uh, the things that in my opinion are really where it's at.

So, so having had that experience and then coming back to the States and seeing, you know, broken families, homes, people unhappy, all this stuff, even though on paper, they have it all. Right. So that was a huge part of, of that. And that was through travel. And since that time, yeah, when I, You know, I've traveled, uh, to Bali last year.

This is the first time I traveled to a Hindu country. And, um, it was profound for me because it really. touched me deeply just in terms of the same kind of bhakti devotional energy, right, around, you know, everything is a prayer and every day you go out in the street and you'd see these little offerings on the ground, some bamboo leaves and, you know, a little rice or whatever, and people like You know, pouring water, spraying the water, um, what their, their water temples there, and, uh, just being influenced by this culture in the sense of how the mundane becomes spiritual or becomes extraordinary and that.

Yeah, every moment can can have that kind of deep connection. If you have the intention behind it, if you see it like this, you know, um, and then also my time in Peru when I was a teenager after colleges as I was sharing Guatemala as well, but specifically Peru, I really connected with,  uh, the indigenous culture there and got to go to Machu Picchu, um, got to learn about, you know, the, uh, what is it?

The Condor, uh, Puma and the Serpent, um, the three sacred animal gods, and the, you know, the Panpipe flute, the Kenna flute, uh, the Native culture is just, yeah, so, so beautiful. And so, also again, it just, it's like each instrument from each culture carries a certain vibration and story and history behind it.

Um, and although I've never been to India, I feel like I have because I've gone to school. I feel 

Cameron: like you have. 

Gabriel: Yeah, thank you. I mean, Bali was almost India, you know. Um, but yeah, just, uh, being, you know, a long time ago, I used to have my own kirtan band. Uh, for anyone who doesn't know kirtan, It means call and response chanting of mantras, which we talked about earlier.

And, and, you know, you just come together and you just chant the names of the divine and you don't even have to know what it means. It's even beyond, uh, cognition or rational reason. It's, it's the vibe, the vibration of the, of the seed syllables of each of these mantras. And when you vibrate with them, it can get you into a, like a trance like state and help you to open up your heart, free up.

whatever, you know, burdens you're carrying within yourself. So, so again, I feel like through those experiences, I, you know, I, I went to India, um, transported to India and, um, yeah, so I, I've, you know, and even recently in Costa Rica, um, although I didn't specifically connect as much with the music of Costa Rica, I will say the nature and the, the.

Just a liveness of so much flourishing life inspires me to create and want to create more music. It just touches my soul so deeply, you know, and just like you can be in different environments like the desert, the vastness, the emptiness of space. It's like, it's almost like I want to fill that space with something because there's so much emptiness, you know, or can I also rest in the emptiness and in the void and not need to do anything with it, but that can also inspire and inform what comes through, um, which is very much, I think, like a Jedi kind of trait around musicians who, you know, once you've mastered a certain instrument or you've become really proficient at it, you don't need to think as much about the instrument you're playing.

Then you can become, there's like multiple layers of awareness, you can become aware of the room you're in, the people that are in it. Where they're at in themselves, emotionally, energetically, what are they carrying the, the shape of the room, the, if you're playing outside, you know, the trees, the rocks, the birds, the animals, like all these different things.

And then let that inform the experience, because it's also, I think, important for me to say to our listeners that when I do these, uh, sound journeys, I am not. Um, rehearsing anything, everything's always improvised. And I would even take it a step beyond the word improvised and say channeled because yes, it is improvised from a musical perspective, but I also personally feel so connected in a spiritual way to just the spiritual energy that, that flows through all of us in our life.

If we're open to it, that to me, it's. It's, it's challenging. It allows that energy to move through and to, and to inform the, the experiencer and the one who is, you know, sharing that. 

Cameron: Yeah, beautiful. I do want to play a little bit and create some space to explore the idea of music as spiritual practice. Um, you know, for me, I've always been, even as a young kid, very spiritual, very tapped in, as I mentioned though, right.

My practice is mostly in Christian Catholicism. And I was a choir boy when I was young, I was a choir director when I was older, I played the clarinet, which to be honest, I didn't really like because I didn't like blowing into an instrument and spitting all over everything. So then eventually I learned to play the piano.

Um, And for me, the instrument that I loved, uh, the most was the pipe organ. And so fast forward to today, what you were just sharing about the harmonium. I also love that instrument because it's a much smaller organ essentially is what it is. Um, but for me. If I think about my spiritual journey and my connection to the church, it really was through music.

Um, in terms of like, do I believe the things that the Bible say? And totally, I mean, there's wisdom in there for sure. But you know, all of the teachings of the Catholic church, I mean, it's the reason I'm not a practicing Catholic anymore. And in fact, the part for me that was like, so important was the music, frankly, it was about, um, the devotion that I felt in singing beautiful songs, but in singing hymns that were hundreds, if not sometimes thousands of years old and knowing that If you're Catholic, you basically know, you know, on eagle's wings, if you go to a Catholic funeral, you're going to hear it.

Um, you know, things like that, there's a unity and a connection and something so deep around music. So for me, I recognize music as spiritual practice was so important for me. And since I left the church, this is also an aspect of my own being. I think you and I have talked about this already, but it's an aspect of my own being that is lacking expression.

You know, being a cantor and singing these hymns and all of this stuff was so important. Although now, I don't necessarily believe the lyrics, so I can't do that. Like I wouldn't go up into a church and sing those things anymore because my own evolution of my spiritual understanding has shifted. And when I go to other countries, other places, much of what you were saying, you know, you can see different instruments, hear different things.

When I was just in Turkey, um, there's a lot of different sounds. I mean, in India as well, too, they use like different chromatic scales and, you know, The idea of harmonies in the way that we hear in the West are not the same in other areas of the world. And Turkey was one of those, and I'm pretty sure I saw sitars, but other things, I don't know what these instruments really were and listening to singing that, you know, maybe in the West would have sounded discordant in many ways.

Um, but it's a beautiful expression. There's such a, uh, an expression of the soul through music, I think is the point that I'm trying to get at, that I know you'll have something to say here. And so for those who maybe are like, well, I'm not necessarily spiritual or I'm definitely not religious. Well, I believe that there is a lot to be said about spiritual expression through music and Really music as a spiritual practice.

So I want to, I'm not even going to ask you a specific question. I'm just going to leave the floor open for you to respond in the way you want to, because I know this is your world. 

Gabriel: Yes. When I was, uh, really even through my, my twenties, I mean, early twenties, I, I thought I had a not, not a good voice, like singing voice, you know?

And I, it wasn't that I was my own worst enemy or inner critic was, uh, was speaking up. It was like my mom or other people would be like, okay, that's good. You know, kind of a thing, which, uh, Now it's different. I love you, mom. She, uh, she, she sees it way differently now. And my voice has actually changed too a lot, but I would say, you know, there's so much, um, especially growing up in a city like LA where everything is so much about performance and presentation.

We can get very caught up. in having to be somebody and losing a sense of authenticity with ourselves and with our soul. So when I was introduced to bhakti yoga and to kirtan, like to be a kirtan wala or, you know, singer that, that offers this for people, it's not a prerequisite. to be in perfect pitch or to even be a musician or have a background in choir or anything like this.

You just have to sing from your heart. That's it. And it might not sound even great to somebody's ears, but it's just where the person's really coming from. And then, so for me, when I first experienced, I'm like, wow, these people actually don't sound that great from a musical stand. But, but neither do I, at least at that time I didn't.

And, you know. So I just felt very free to be able to not have to sound perfect, but still allow my voice to be expressed and not suppressed or shut down or cut off, which I know a lot of people feel that way. And then when I allowed myself to actually let my voice come out, and then it was like my voice started to actually change.

Um, because I, for one, you know, this, the vocal cords, I mean, it's like a muscle that you exercise and if you don't really use it, then you won't have, you know, the same kind of force of nature or, or delivery or whatever you want to call it, sound strength within your vocal cords to deliver a certain sound or hit a certain key or note.

And so just from using them and exercising them, my voice started to change, but then I started to connect to sound, not just from where do I hear it, but where do I physically feel it in my body and energetically where I sense it in my body. So some of this might be called like the, uh, not a yoga or like yoga of sound and, uh, learning how to activate different chakras or dantians, which are like energy centers in the body, Yogic and Taoist, um, philosophy and practice.

And then my voice started to change even more. And then I started to take actual like vocal lessons from the musical standpoint. And then all of a sudden I've got a good voice, according to people who have an ear for that. So it was pretty crazy how that whole journey happened. And then I re you know, as a kid, my mom used to put.

Bobby McFerrin on our, on the, in like in the car back when it weren't even CDs, it was tapes, you know, audio cassette tapes. She would, uh, turn on Bobby McFerrin for people who don't know who that is. The song don't worry, be happy is he's very famous for that. But beyond that song, he's a genius, uh, composer, but also he's one of the greatest vocal, improvisers in the world, especially when it comes to like jazz and classical music and that understanding.

He has a five octave range in his, which is a lot. Most people don't have more than about three, um, or so. And, um, and so coming back to that, I didn't realize like, you know, oh, wow, he, this was inspiring me as a kid. The thing is when he, he has something called circle songs where he'll sing with a group of people.

And it'll just be an organic sound. It won't even be a word like doing, doing, doing, doing literally this, right? Like a little kid. And then he'll pass that off to like a few of the people in the group, and then he'll start a new sound and you'll create this whole sound, like almost like a, um, a human loop station, if you will.

Right. So all these different sounds are like repeating themselves and then he's singing on top of that. And then. He'll bring some sounds down and new ones in. So it was actually last summer that I, it was a dream come true. Childhood dream, dream come true of mine, where I got to go to the greatest cathedral in San Francisco with Bobby McFerrin and about 500 other people, plus 20 of his, um, kind of main disciple students who are also professional vocalists and, and we all sung together for like a week.

And it was amazing. And so, you know, I believe if you have a voice, you can sing as they say, you know, if you got a body, you can dance. It's the mind that says, no, I can't do this. Um, sure. You might not become a professional at it or be the next Bobby McFerrin or Mariah Carey, but you're human. And if you go all the way back to the beginning of time as human beings, it doesn't matter what culture you're from.

We all gathered around a fire and sang and danced. It's just the truth. It's universal. So basically, you know, uh, I Have found that the voice more than anything else is something that you're always going to have wherever you go It's inside of us and it has the most range of probably any instrument that you're ever going to use if you learn how to really utilize it well.

Um, because think about it, you can literally sing any scale, any note, whereas a lot of instruments are fixed to a certain scale. Like even these handpans behind me, they're amazing, but one hand pan can't have a billion different notes. It can only have a limited number of notes in a certain key, certain scale.

or a flute or this or that. So, yeah, the power of the voice is, for me, one of, one of the things that I really feel like helped to unlock that deeper spiritual connection to music and to my relationship to sound, um, and my relationship with myself, because the voice is also a very vulnerable thing. You know, especially when it doesn't sound pretty.

Oh, did someone, you know, hear me? Did I get a wrong note? And now like my neighbor heard me like belting in the shower or in my room or whatever, you know, it was like, Oh, and then what comes up around insecurity comes up around that. Right. And it's like, can I just allow myself to be. Sloppy or silly with the way that I sounded with my voice, that childlike nature, that sense of innocence, you know, and again, as we become adults and kind of bred into our Western world in society.

There's these ideas of what we can and cannot do, or what should, should sound a certain way or what, you know, all these conditions and we lose that. But fortunately, things like sound healings and cure tongs and circle songs are coming back and we, more people have the opportunity to. You know, tap into this part of themselves that maybe they didn't even know was there.

Cameron: Hey everyone, I've got a great free resource for you that I think you'll love. If you're curious about discovering your life's purpose and aligning with your true path, check out my free guide available on my website. This guide is packed with practical tips and insights from your personal astrology to help you to start living in alignment with your soul's purpose.

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At this point I want to share vulnerably and openly with my audience and with you too. www. pathandpurpose. com Much of what you shared has such a deep resonance for me. I, objectively, have a very nice singing voice. I have since I was a child. And, um, Also, it's part of my own soul signature and my charts and like my voice is, and my throat chakra is literally like why I'm here at the exercise of that.

And, um, yeah, I took vocal lessons when I was young. And of course I told you I was in the choir. I was a canter. I got paid like good money to sing it. Big masses. Um, and although never a wedding, go figure plenty of funerals, but not a wedding. I don't know what that was about. But anyway, um, but different than your experience in that I had a very nice voice.

I was told this all the time. I understood this about myself as a gift and I put a lot of restrictions around it and a lot of, because I had a lot of training, um, and a lot of training vocally at a lot of, I mean, being in the choir or being in a, uh, you know, a choral director, it's literally about trying to keep people in their particular lanes so that the whole sounds beautiful.

Right. So I need you to sing this part on this bitch in the right timing and to do it really accurately, otherwise the whole thing doesn't sound as it's written. Right. Okay. And so, and my mind was very focused on, you know, reading music and sheet music. And of course my time as a pianist was very much about exact and learning things exact.

This is, you could think of it as a very Western way of expressing music and voice. And I've had, um, quite a few experiences in the last few years where like I have a trained ear. So when I hear someone who doesn't, You can tell. And somebody who really hasn't learned or can't read music, you can tell. But I had a lot of judgment around that for, I would say the last few years.

And the recognition within myself was that, okay, well, if I'm judging that, it's because I'm judging myself for some reason or another. And I recognize this has been some of my inner work the last few years where, oh, the judgment of self is this. judgment because I put myself in a box that I think that singing or music must be this, that it must be perfect, that it must be, you know, what you would deem as professional in the Western way.

Cause I'm classically trained in many, many ways. And yet I'm super clear. So I'm sharing this with my audience too, because we talk about purpose. That's what this show is about. I'm super clear that I meant to share my voice in a different way, in a less rigid way, in a more channeled way, in a, um, as you were describing it, allowing the voice to express all these different things that admittedly I haven't allowed my voice to express.

either vocally or with instrument too. Um, because God bless my favorite instrument is the pipe organ, but that's also a very, uh, rigid, uh, instrument. Yeah. And so there's a lot of what you just shared about allowing the voice to be, uh, as spiritual expression. I've actually been told and I know this within my own being that there is a First of all, there's a singer inside of me that wants to express, and I have to get out of the way.

There's a language that isn't English, or actually it's not even of the world, that wants to come through. Uh, and my ego has to completely get out of the way for that to happen. Now, admittedly, in this moment, I still have resistance. I'm not singing it in the shower yet. I'm not annoying my neighbors with it yet, but it's happening and it's coming through and I'm sharing it with my audience because this is something I'm aware of in my own.

journey, um, and it's going to show up in future episodes of this show as well. So I'm sharing that now, but there was so much resonance in what you're saying there around allowing the voice to just express and to be a spiritual expression. 

Gabriel: Yeah, definitely. And I, I like hearing you say to like, you know, cause we kind of come from like opposite backgrounds as far as I'm like, I mean, I did, I did learn some music theory and I have learned some classical training, but that came a lot later in my journey.

Whereas I had to start with none of that, not knowing, not reading music, sounding out of pitch out of tune in order, in order to get more into, and in order to, yeah, come back to that. And I will say that, yeah, it's, it's interesting because you have. I'm not saying you in particular, but if we just say that a lot of classically trained people, at least in my experience, when they, when they, um, are asked to improvise, oh no, no, no, I don't do that, you know, right?

Or you get people who maybe improvise and a lot of them maybe don't necessarily know if you just put sheet music in front of them, they, they might not know how to do that. Some of them might, but for me, I've, what I've found is that You know, uh, in a lot of ways knowledge is power and it, it is the balance.

Of left and right brain. It is the balance of structure and no structure form, no form, right? So having some of the ability to just be spontaneous and improvise, having some of the ability to maybe to read sheet music, or maybe understand even just what is what's in pitch, what's not having the ear for that.

So for me, I've also learned like I could, I mean, I naturally had a lot of just natural ability and a good year, but that could only get me so far. And then I've realized, oh, okay, I actually need to study some more technique or form or understanding. which will then allow me to expand what I do and will give me much more range and dynamism and what I can offer and what I can create.

Um, I think this is honestly like a universal principle for any skill set in life, but specifically with music too, really it applies. So yeah, I appreciate you. Yeah. Sharing what you're sharing. And in some ways it's like, unlearning what you've learned to the degree that it's actually limiting you so that you're not that rigid and stuck, but yet everything that you have learned has also given you such a strong, a solid foundation to be able to do incredible things with your voice and help other people, you know, um, sing in unison and, and sing together, you know.

Cameron: Well, and I, I don't want to step over the fact that what you just said was in essence, uh, the greatest spiritual lesson. Um, because we come into this world and we get programmed, we have our experiences and we learn, we get traumatized as children and all these things, right? But all of that's important for the soul's journey.

And then we, at some point go through a dark night or an awakening, and we realize we have to undo. A lot, if not all of it. And yet, as you aptly said, the undoing, while it can be difficult, right? Um, the foundation you had prior actually helps for what you build next in a very real way. I mean, we're talking about music here in this conversation, but that is what a spiritual journey looks like, period.

Uh, 

Gabriel: Red pill or blue blue pill, Neil. 

Cameron: Yeah. And then you're just going to break it all down to build something new again. So I'm curious, um, do you think that you're living your purpose? 

Gabriel: I do feel that I'm living my purpose and I feel that I have a lot more to offer that I have yet to tap into. Um, and I think even how we define purpose is a really interesting thing that.

I'm sure we could spend a long time just on that itself. 

Cameron: Well, it's the next question I'm going to ask. So you can go here if you want. All right. I'll go, I'll go there. I'll go 

Gabriel: there. Um, yeah, you know, I think it's, it's a really interesting topic of discussion. I think a lot of us, especially on the West coast or  in LA, um, you know, in the conscious community or whatever, I'm going to call it, right.

When we think about purpose, we think about, um, a sense of being of service, a sense of doing what we're passionate about, a sense of, uh, sharing our gifts, you know, um, this idea of, of yeah, doing what really makes our heart and soul sing. Right. And I do think that is for me, uh, deep sense of what I feel purpose is.

And, um, I also feel that is a very human centric perspective. Um, in other words, maybe if people aren't totally clear what I mean by that, you know, there's a lot of life forms on earth that are not just human, right? There's, there's animals, there's trees, there's other beings, if you believe in aliens, right?

There's, I mean, there's so many different life forms, yet we, right, are the most obviously kind of, you know, dominant species on the planet, and so life tends to revolve around humans, um, and, and for good or for worse. But if you look at a tree, right, starts out as a seed, and if it's In the healthy environment where it has the, you know, fertile soil, good, clean rainwater, whatever, sunshine, it doesn't get eaten by some predators, the sapling, and then it grows, you know, and it reaches its full potential.

And then it either bears fruit or seeds that then drop in the ground, then create new life. Well, you could argue that a tree's purpose is to just be a tree. Like, it's like, it's just to be what. Uh, one of my mentors, he calls it your creative blueprint so that just like you have, if you look at your, your thumb or fingerprint, right, it's uniquely yours out of the 8 billion people on this planet.

There's only one of those. Well, same thing, even though we might overlap in our interests and our passions and this and that. You are uniquely you, you're, you're, you're uniquely, you're a soul, right? That came into this body. So I do believe that with our creative blueprint, we all have unique gifts that just like a tree, if we have the right environment, the right conditions, we, we give ourself the right nutrients and all these things, we can actually grow into that potential and then therefore fulfill.

A deeper sense of what we call purpose, um, as a human and also as a life form. Um, and because most of us are mostly relating with other humans, right? It's like what we as humanity define as purpose generally tends to be more accepted as what I said earlier, you know, our gifts, our passions are this or that, that we're helping and contributing to one another.

So, you know, again, I think, I think it's still a, a very deep rabbit hole to explore that word, but. That's just a little bit of how I like to be with it. And I, and I, and I will say though, that I've had, you know, there's a lot of healing that has, um, happened within my own life around, especially growing up in a place like LA, where it's like the idea of being a successful musician or spiritual teacher, whatever means you have to have all these followers and you got to be on, you know, fill out some, you know, world stage and perform and be the next X, Y, and Z.

Right. And it's like, I've realized that's a complete illusion. Um, sure that could lead to a greater sense of purpose and success, but where is that coming from? Well, it's obviously coming from my ego and ego is important. We need a healthy sense of ego, but if, if, if the ego is inflated and it's coming from, Oh, I'm actually, I really don't feel like I love and accept myself.

So if I get in front of a bunch of people that are telling me they love me, Oh, then I'm going to feel successful. Then I'm going to feel loved and great. When, then you realize you get to that point. Cause I, I mean, I haven't performed in front of thousands of people, but I've performed in front of a few hundred people at a time and even being at like lightning in a bottle doing that, you know?

Um, I had one experience where one of my mentor, former mentor, um, musical mentor is Prerangi. was, uh, performing the set before me and I was on the same sound stage a number of years ago at Lightning in a Bottle, this, you know, music festival here in California. And I'm performing in front of all these people and, you know, like, great.

I checked that off of my, my, my list of things that I thought I needed to do to become a successful artist. And did I feel any better? Not really. Did I feel more fulfilled? Not really. Honestly, I found that I felt more fulfilled. Playing for three people in a recovery center every week for four weeks, because usually they're there for a month.

Then I have in front of a few hundred people that I may never see again. And you know why? Because There's a, an intimacy in the connection in that, that can be created in a space where you have less people, you can get to know them also over time. And there's a relationship that forms versus some random person, not to say that that can't be powerful too, it really can.

And I don't mean to also say that I don't still want to perform or play in front of, you know, thousands of people. I do, that would be great, but where I'm operating from is a very different place when it comes back to purpose. It's about just being able to, I feel, share the, what I call the transmission of music, sound, energy through presence in this moment with another person who's receptive and open enough to receive, right?

Has, has their antennas on to receive that transmission. And just, if it's even one person that gets impacted and touched by that experience, That's it. That's enough.

Cameron: I don't really think I want to say anything more to that. That was beautiful. Yeah. Except to say what really touched me in that is also this higher perspective of purpose, which is really about being and allowing the expression of being through you or through whatever form, the tree, the ant. 

Gabriel: And just to piggyback on that, I will say like, There's a balance between, right, like you even think of a, uh, a tree, right?

A tree doesn't have to, to try so hard to become a tree, but it does need the, the certain conditions in its environment to reach its full potential and expression. So in the same way, I believe that what, how we already, uh, want to express or what, whatever is going to be expressed in ourselves, it's already inside of us.

So rather than try to force yourself to become someone or do something that you really know isn't really right for you, but you just keep forcing yourself to do it. It's like, if you can actually slow down, allow life to inform you rather than trying to always control it or think that you're in control because you're really not, you know, I'm really not, we're not.

Um, and this balance between initiating and making choices with, obviously we have free will, we got to choose and respond to what comes our way. But then, after you choose, get out of the way and let things unfold, you know, and be patient in the process. Like, I didn't get to where I am now doing what I do because I tried to force my way, you know, and push my way through everything that I'm doing.

But I also didn't just sit here and just wait for it to happen either, you know. 

Cameron: And just as you said, with the tree, you need the right environmental conditions and all the things to make that process of becoming truly actualized. My hope is that in conversations like this, and for listeners of the show, that this environment is exactly what you need to sort of spark something within you, um, to actualize your own purpose, so.

Well, Gabriel, thank you so much for our time together today. It was absolutely wonderful speaking to you. And, uh, for those who would like to connect with his work, you can find out his information in the show notes. I've had the great fortune of really receiving Gabriel's medicine. I highly recommend it.

Um, but thank you so much for being here with us today, with me today. 

Gabriel: Yeah, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. 

Cameron: Hey everyone, I wanted to finish today's episode by sharing a little bit of Gabriel's medicine with you. So the following is his wildfire EP. I hope that you enjoy.

A heartfelt thanks to you for tuning into this episode. I'm Dr. Cameron Martin, and it's been an honor to support you on your path to self discovery. As you reflect on today's conversation, remember that the journey toward living and leading from your soul's purpose is ongoing. You're never alone in it.

Until next time.