{"id":167,"date":"2016-04-02T02:29:07","date_gmt":"2016-04-02T02:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tantradiva.com\/?p=167"},"modified":"2022-05-01T03:39:44","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T03:39:44","slug":"stingchronicity-and-the-season-of-sting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tantradiva.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/02\/stingchronicity-and-the-season-of-sting\/","title":{"rendered":"Stingchronicity and the Season of Sting\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anyone who knows me knows that I have an obsession with Sting. \u00a0It\u2019s a passion bordering on mania, but this is a\u00a0spiritual arousal: \u00a0Not an unhealthy fixation indicative of dementia. \u00a0As another dedicated member of the Sting official fan-club pointed out (thank you, Sabine), \u201cLet\u2019s face it \u2013 Sting puts a lot of himself out there on purpose and we just lap it up.\u201d \u00a0Besides, as\u00a0ALL\u00a0celebrities know, the only thing worse than being talked about is NOT\u00a0being talked about. \u00a0So, I do manage to integrate him into conversation with effortless frequency, bubbling na\u00efvet\u00e9 and truckloads of admiration and gaiety.<\/p>\n

I first encountered Sting when I was 10 years old. \u00a0I am originally from Trinidad and Tobago, and we had a second television station added in 1991. \u00a0The state monopoly on broadcasting was broken, and MTV, VH1, Grammy and Academy Award spectacles made their way to our islands. \u00a0Sting had just released his\u00a0Ten Summoner\u2019s Tales,\u00a0so he was all over the entertainment media. \u00a0In 1993, my first impression of him was that he was a hard\u00a0man. \u00a0Not particularly attractive in my eyes, but mysteriously compelling. \u00a0I wondered why this\u00a0older man was still a star! \u00a0When he opened his mouth and sang\u00a0\u201cIf I ever lose my faith in you\u201d\u00a0I understood why.<\/p>\n

It was a beautiful song. \u00a0Its rhythms reminded me of a hallowed church, a holy place that would provide me with refuge had I sought any. \u00a0Its gentle melody was full of sentiments simultaneously ethereal and palpable. \u00a0 The zen-like softness that flowed out of him, was at odds with his indurated exterior. \u00a0This inner quality both captivated and captured me \u00a0almost two decades later.<\/p>\n

I was relatively impervious to Sting in the years that followed. \u00a0I paid cursory attention to his album releases, and enjoyed his songs whenever they were played. \u00a0However, I was not a diehard fan. \u00a0All of that changed in September of 2011.<\/p>\n

September of 2011 found me extremely discontented, and a hair\u2019s breadth away from being thoroughly demoralized. \u00a0I was living in Canada, and had graduated with a Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management. \u00a0Prior to an enforced period of unemployment, due to immigration proceedings, I was living my dream and working in the Social Services sector. \u00a0 I had the supreme privilege of helping people, within an organized and remunerated environment. \u00a0Then, for 19 long months I was subjected to unpaid inactivity. \u00a0Those 19 months were the most excruciating period of my life, to date.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0HATED\u00a0not working. \u00a0I do not believe that using synonyms, nor repeating that word, adequately conveys the anger and frustration experienced. \u00a0I was mouthing obscenities as much as I was chanting mantras. \u00a0My normally calm and compassionate self was in upheaval.<\/p>\n

I had been meditating for 4 years by then, but this situation was extremely challenging. \u00a0Meditation is designed to bring you into contact with your authentic\u00a0self,\u00a0but when your\u00a0authentic self\u00a0is\u00a0inextricably linked to your external activities,\u00a0as an expression of your inner self, a cataclysm must occur. \u00a0The false identity that is associated with your profession must be destroyed. \u00a0This\u00a0is an extremely difficult process to endure.<\/p>\n

I was 28 years old and bursting with impatient energy. I considered my \u2018self’ and my talents trapped. \u00a0However, I endeavoured to stay calm and occupied my mind with various pursuits.<\/p>\n

Enter Sting: \u00a0One night, after a Nritya Yoga session, I turned on the television to search for interesting French programming. \u00a0\u201cMy Music Brain\u201d documentary had been translated and was showing on Radio-Canada. \u00a0I reclined in my leather chair but then could not relax: \u00a0Sting was walking through the hallways of the Montreal Neurological Institute, and I felt extremely euphoric and uplifted.<\/p>\n

I had NO\u00a0idea why I felt so happy in his presence. \u00a0Why was I inexplicably elevated? \u00a0Why had this blissful feeling materialized out of nowhere? \u00a0Why did\u00a0he\u00a0make me feel this way? \u00a0WHY STING?<\/p>\n

I had hitherto been incredibly disinterested in celebrities. \u00a0I paid scant attention to what they did, beyond analysing their contributions to world affairs. I was both baffled and intoxicated by this sudden fixation with Sting. \u00a0Who was\u00a0he?<\/p>\n

I \u00a0googled his name like a woman possessed and obsessed. \u00a0I read all the articles that I could find about him. \u00a0I ordered his autobiography \u00a0\u2018Broken Music\u2019 online. \u00a0And I thanked my lucky stars that he was touring!<\/p>\n

He was\u00a0approaching his 60th birthday and coming to play at Massey Hall in Toronto. \u00a0I made it my business to obtain a ticket for his performance. \u00a0I failed miserably after my first lack of attempt. \u00a0I overslept by one hour the first day they released concert tickets. \u00a0Then, thankfully the organisers added an extra date, and I awoke on time to resounding and ecstatic success! \u00a0I procured a good seat in the balcony section, and Sting said one word that would forever change my life\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cFUCK!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He\u00a0let loose an expletive, as microphone feedback overpowered the room. \u00a0\u201cFUCK!\u201d \u00a0The problem reoccurred. \u00a0I sat there speechlessly absorbing the fact that no one gave a shit. \u00a0I believe that concertgoers were in shock and awe! \u00a0The majority of us did not have the privilege of saying \u201cFuck\u201d\u00a0at work. \u00a0I re-evaluated\u00a0myself and my life until that moment. \u00a0I had always said the right thing, done the right thing, held\u00a0politically correct beliefs\u00a0and been a genuinely good person. \u00a0 Did anyone care? \u00a0NO!\u00a0\u00a0One rock-star said \u201cFUCK,\u201d and 3000 people thought that was friggin\u2019 fantabulous!<\/p>\n

Right then and there, I envied Sting. \u00a0Not for his money, nor his fabulous lifestyle,\u00a0but for his freedom. \u00a0The liberty to express oneself without fear of judgement, nor material deprivation, is\u00a0true\u00a0freedom. \u00a0It can certainly be enjoyed if one is not wealthy, but it\u2019s more sublime if one\u00a0is. \u00a0I left Sting\u2019s concert feeling slightly high and emboldened.<\/p>\n

Before leaving for Montreal, I chastised a young man who was wrongfully berating a street-woman. \u00a0I told him quite unequivocally that she needed compassion rather than abuse.<\/p>\n

Broken Music<\/h1>\n

\"2190909686_0a3d2d2889_o\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sting could have easily become the working-class man depicted above. \u00a0He was born Gordon Sumner to a milk-man and a hairdresser, in a far-flung corner of England called Wallsend. \u00a0At the end of his boyhood street, lay the Swan Hunter shipyard. \u00a0The most gigantic ships to ever traverse planet Earth were built there. \u00a0These ships blocked out the sun for most of the year, and young Sting was deeply terrified that working there would become his destiny.<\/p>\n

\"7752353000_e2be400406_o\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sting was and is an extremely intelligent individual. \u00a0He won a scholarship to a prestigious Grammar School, and became seduced by the refineries of an intellect-based existence. \u00a0 His dreams grew larger than those of his working-class peers. \u00a0He\u00a0incubated and hatched his fantasies of glorious escape in this milieu.<\/p>\n

In his autobiography, he recalls waking up at 5 a.m. from the age of 7 to assist his father with the milk-rounds. \u00a0During winter-time, it could sometimes be so frigid that there was frost\u00a0inside\u00a0of the windows!<\/p>\n

The winters of my memory are grim, and there are mornings when I have no sensation in my feet for hours on end, my hands and face blue with cold\u2026Because my dad is tough and stoic I too never complain, or ask to be sent home.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was during those early-morning hours that he let his imagination run wild. \u00a0In the silence of those hours, he created \u201cfantastical futures\u201d\u00a0for himself: \u00a0He vowed to travel the world, be the head of a large family, own a big house in the country, and be wealthy and famous.<\/p>\n

Sting dedicated himself wholeheartedly to his dreams. \u00a0He endeavoured to become a musician to accomplish these feats. \u00a0He took inspiration from the Beatles, who came from a background similar to his. \u00a0He figured that if they could achieve wealth and fame through their music, he was not excluded from this possibility.<\/p>\n

He worked determinedly. \u00a0He taught himself how to play guitar, but quickly realised this wasn\u2019t his forte. \u00a0He calculated that in order to become hugely successful, he would need to perfect his bass playing and singing. \u00a0For 16 years, he practiced playing his instruments as a member of various bands. \u00a0He played different styles of music in diverse arenas: \u00a0Theatres, bingo halls, local bars and even a cruise ship. \u00a0Apart from being a musician, he earned his livelihood effecting jobs such as bus conductor, construction site laborer, tax officer and teacher. \u00a0 He was compelled to take welfare checks at certain stages in his life. \u00a0He writes:<\/p>\n

Walking to the Lisson Grove dole on Wednesday afternoons will put me into the blackest of depressions. \u00a0I\u00a0hate signing on, queuing up in long straggling lines with hundreds of others like me, able-bodied but marginalized individuals made to feel utterly useless by an impersonal and dehumanizing bureaucracy. \u00a0But like most of these others in the noisy hall, I really have no choice. \u00a0We have a baby to feed, we have to find the money to pay the rent\u2026In my quest to become unique, I\u2019ve become a statistic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, Sting embarked upon his quest with a wife and baby in tow. \u00a0He was not yet 26. \u00a0In his father\u2019s eyes, he was highly irresponsible and pursuing \u2018pie in the sky\u2019 ambitions. \u00a0He had quit his job as a teacher in Newcastle to move to London. \u00a0In doing so, he subjected his wife and baby to uncertainty and near-poverty. \u00a0It was sheer madness and gargantuan nonsense to his father. \u00a0Yet, despite these immense pressures, Sting writes:<\/p>\n

Even at these low points,I still have no doubt that I\u2019ve done the right thing in coming to London. \u00a0I can give no rational reason why it feels right to have done this, except I know that London is where the prize is. \u00a0I know that at the center of this labyrinth, this multidimensional, socioeconomic, psychocultural, and artistic puzzle is the glittering, singular trophy of success. \u00a0It may be elusive, but it is so powerful in its gravitational pull as to render everything else insignificant.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The rest, as they say, is history. \u00a0We all know what happened. \u00a0And we benefited from what happened.<\/p>\n

The Last Ship<\/h2>\n

I glanced at the miniature screen in front of me, and jubilantly saw Sting.<\/p>\n

\"015\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was January 10th, 2015, and I was on my way to St. Lucia. \u00a0Sting was participating in a New York Times Talk interview, which I had already ingested when it first aired. \u00a0He was promoting his Broadway play, \u2018The Last Ship,\u2019 and I was thrilled to see it presented on my flight. \u00a0I hopefully but warily interpreted this as some sort of sign. \u00a0Unbeknownst but to two of my friends, I had booked my holiday between New York and St. Lucia, to accommodate the off-chance that I would meet Sting, and acquire his signature on my copy of \u2018Broken Music.\u2019 \u00a0Since I had obtained just one paycheck instead of the expected two, ahead of my vacation period, I was forced to be fiscally conservative. \u00a0Seeing \u2018The Last Ship\u2019 was down to winning the daily ticket lottery, but I intuitively took the risk. \u00a0Others thought I was crazy for substituting 3 days in St. Lucia, with time in New York, but the possibility of meeting Sting was not one that I felt impelled to reject.<\/p>\n

As we descended over the Caribbean paradise, an ad for \u2018The Last Ship\u2019 aired. \u00a0I was torn between beholding the majestic Pitons and watching the ad. \u00a0In the end, they both won.<\/p>\n

\"085\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Darshan in Sanskrit means \u2018auspicious sight.\u2019 \u00a0It refers to an event where a devotee beholds God, or some other manifestation that heightens the person\u2019s consciousness or spirituality. \u00a0When I was going through my immigration ordeal, Sting\u2019s music was the only music that could calm me. Hindu holy songs (bhajans), Buddhist chants, offerings from other artists; none of these could provide me with peace. \u00a0Sting\u2019s \u2018Soul Cake\u2019 became my sole balm. \u00a0I believe this is because he constructs his music around a framework of silence. \u00a0In his\u00a01994 address to the Berklee College of Music,<\/a>\u00a0he postulates:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m wondering whether, as musicians, the most important thing we do is merely to provide a frame for silence. I\u2019m wondering if silence itself is perhaps the mystery at the heart of music? And is silence the most perfect music of all?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I believe that source and silence contain the ethereal matter of which all webs are spun.<\/p>\n

Sathya Sai Baba<\/a>\u00a0wrote it beautifully:<\/p>\n

The voice of God can be heard only in the depth of silence. \u00a0Silence is the speech of the spiritual seeker. \u00a0You can experience divine bliss only in absolute silence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I could not access source or silence when I was in turmoil. \u00a0Sting is a conduit for silence, and his music is my and many others\u2019 gateway to it. \u00a0In his Berklee address, he said:<\/p>\n

\u2026If ever I\u2019m asked if I\u2019m religious I always reply, \u201cYes, I\u2019m a devout musician.\u201d Music puts me in touch with something beyond the intellect, something otherworldly, something sacred.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the official Sting website<\/a>, the daily Sting quote of February 3rd, 2013 was:<\/p>\n

I would equate music for me as a kind of combination of two things. It\u2019s my mistress. It\u2019s also my religion. It\u2019s my spiritual link to creation. I don\u2019t belong to a church but I\u2019m very devout in that way it\u2019s a spiritual path.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, did I meet Sting?<\/p>\n

These were the fish that I saw while snorkelling. \u00a0 They\u2019re sergeant major fishes.<\/p>\n

\"DIGITAL<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the cover of \u2018Broken Music.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"10911479_395828160595558_178216942068029601_o\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I interpreted this as a sign. \u00a0A wonder of nature, reduced to a young boy\u2019s jumper to serve my purposes.<\/p>\n

On January 15th, when I arrived outside the Neil Simon Theater, I looked for a partner with whom I could enter the lottery. \u00a0Flo (another member of the Sting fan-club) had suggested I double my chances of winning. \u00a0Ana Krauchik from Argentina was on-hand. \u00a0She had a quiet energy which seemed triumphant. \u00a0Indeed, she had won a ticket in the lottery just two days prior. \u00a0I wisely aligned myself with her.<\/p>\n

Later on, I would find out exactly how triumphant she was. \u00a0She had photos with other members of The Police, Dominic Miller (Sting\u2019s guitarist of over 20 years), and a photo with the man himself in Romania! \u00a0She had the \u2018juju\u2019 as Kim (another member of our fan-club), would put it. \u00a0The move paid off and we got front-row seats for $30 a piece.<\/p>\n

This was the end result:<\/p>\n

\"9801_10206004853260502_1537546468562174982_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"10887542_395828080595566_2782552569028678203_o\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Without Ana, this would not have been possible. \u00a0I am eternally grateful to her. \u00a0But, I do a disservice to other members of the Labyrinth, if I do not speak about the love and support that flow freely within its realms.<\/p>\n

The Labyrinth (lab) is an online community of Sting-lovers. \u00a0The forums are curated by Dave, Wendy and Tina, the official managers of the Sting website and fan-club. \u00a0They are wonderful people, allowing us to do what we like. \u00a0(Providing we don\u2019t offend or abuse anyone!) \u00a0They also organise loads of contests and giveaways, including concerts or promotional events featuring Sting, and even meet-and-greets with him.<\/p>\n

This was my initial reason for joining the fan-club. \u00a0However, once I started interacting with its members it became a true community. \u00a0People speak about their triumphs and tribulations. \u00a0Counsel is shared on a wide-range of topics from grief, to divorce to dysfunctional families. \u00a0We celebrate all types of anniversaries: \u00a0Weddings, birthdays and adoptions. \u00a0We discuss politics, religion and spirituality, very cordially. \u00a0We even have a haiku thread! \u00a0I\u2019ve also done yoga with\u00a0Bryan Kest<\/a>, courtesy Sabine. \u00a0But most important of all, it\u2019s a safe-space and haven of love and light. \u00a0The photo below is a wonderful analogy for our lab.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Taken in Montreal\u2019s Baldwin park, in the summer of 2014, I observed how the dogs gravitated towards each other, and instantaneously became friendly. \u00a0It was a loving recognition of \u201cYou\u2019re like me!\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s exactly how we are: \u00a0Sting-obsessed individuals, gravitating towards his love and light and then sharing it.<\/p>\n

Sting\u2019s journey has become a part of our lives, and we have become part of each other\u2019s. \u00a0There\u2019s an excerpt from a French film called \u2018Superstar\u2019, which chronicles the life of an ordinary man who became famous, but then became unknown once more. \u00a0In his ghost-written autobiography, \u2018he\u2019 writes:<\/p>\n

I hope my story will help those who have battles to wage, who feel lonely and misunderstood, there\u2019s always hope. \u00a0My story united people who never should have met. \u00a0Each of them helped me. \u00a0I wanted to thank them for having loved me a little because being loved means you\u2019re useful.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sting: \u00a0You\u2019re very loved and very\u00a0useful. \u00a0You have brought joy into the world, and hope for countless others on physical and visceral levels. \u00a0You are a link to the divine consciousness that has manifested us all. \u00a0You are a mere man, but you have shown us what is possible. \u00a0Thank you, infinitely.<\/p>\n

Photo credits:<\/p>\n