There is something about music that has the power to change people, to awaken people, to unite people, and to inspire people. It could be the lyrics, the melody, the evocation of memories, the reminder of spirit, or a combination of them all.
But music has a power to it, a hold over people that inspires the heart to open, encourages the mind to let go and seduces the body to move uninhibitedly.
Medicine For The People are indeed that – the most incredible, euphoric drug imaginable, medicine in the form of music that heals wounds, unleashes love and doses people with the power to believe in themselves and the power to believe in change.
I tend to believe that the Naked Treaties as a whole, and the Raw Bar in particular, also have a role in transforming those we come in contact with. I watch people come in and eye our extensive juice and smoothie menu in awe, trying to decide between an ‘I am Magnificent,’ or ‘I am Beautiful.’ I spy people as they take in the dessert fridge with wide eyes, lined with chocolates and cakes that are made of nothing other than the very best organic, raw, sustainable, wholesome ingredients on the planet. I eavesdrop as they exclaim in amazement and joy at how delicious the Raw Banana Pancakes and Raw Pizza really are, better than any of the cooked counterparts that they are familiar with. To me, Naked Treaties is a place where people are inspired, filled with a desire to look after their bodies and to place their footprints lightly on this earth we call home. In this way, coming to work never feels like work, it is a place to serve, to be around smiling faces familiar and new, a place to teach, and always, a place to grow and learn together.
So if music and food both have a power to them, if they both have the ability to unite, awaken, heal and transform people, what happens when you merge the two together? When you marry high vibrational music with raw living food?
Magic…
We were blessed this week at the Raw Bar to have Nahko and Medicine For the People come and play live out the front of our Little Shop of Smiles. Under the banner of our colorful prayer flags and our glass windows that display the flower of life symbol and our daily blessing, Medicine For The People arrived to offer our customers and community the gift of their music.
This special event was made all the more inspiring by the decision to make the day a fundraiser for Sea Shepherd, an organization that Medicine for the People have been supporting on their Australian tour and that we at Naked treaties gift our staff tips to every month. Representatives from the wonderful crew at Sea Shepherd came along, rattled their donation tins and set up their merchandise shop next to where the crowd gathered for the music, chatting to people and sharing wisdom and passion for the cause, informing people about the latest campaigns in motion to help protect our oceans and defend our precious marine life. Our dear friend Adam Shostak, who heads the Northern Rivers Sea Shepherd team and who often graces us in the Little Shop of Smiles, was thrilled to have the event dedicated to the cause he has spent the last decade of his life dedicated to and overwhelmed by the generosity of the crowd on the day. It was a perfect demonstration of community spirit, the sharing of abundance and the gift of gratitude in both directions.
With superfood smoothies, kombucha and ceremonial cacao in hand, the crowd spread out from the shop front down the side walk and into the street, dancing, singing, grooving to the euphoric beats that Nahko and the Medicine crew would challenge anyone to remain still to. Everywhere I looked, peoples faces were drawn into wide smiles, while others had tears streaming down their cheeks, their hands held over their hearts, eyes closed as the music washed through them.
With the beats coaxing small children out from their shells, the floor directly in front of the band was filled with little ones jumping about and singing along. The crowd watched on in delight as the children chanted AHO as though it was a word they repeated on end on a daily basis. I watched spirit move through the crowd like a serpent shedding old skin, like a phoenix rising from ashes. I witnessed change as it occurred right before my eyes.
The gorgeous raw bar angels remained busy inside, dishing out slices of raw pizza topped with kale, sun dried tomatoes, olives, basil pesto and cashew cheese. They whipped up a Raw Pad Thai with an intoxicating coconut, lime and sesame dressing as well as surprising guests with mouth-watering Raw Tacos filled with spicy walnut ‘mince’, fresh salsa, creamy guacamole and tangy cashew sour cream.
Of course, raw chocolates, truffles and tiramisu added to the euphoria of the event as the cacao energy opened peoples hearts and activated the energy in their cells, leaving them no choice but to dance and laugh obediently.
Green smoothies, almond milk chai, fresh thai coconuts – this is the kind of nutrition that when aligned with high vibrational music, sends people flying high! I watched as people walking down the street simply gravitated towards the space, following the light and love that exuded from the crowd.
It was truly a blessing to experience this kind of open expression. It reminded me of the ecstatic dance church I used to attend in San Francisco, where for hours, everyone would partake in free form dance, free from drugs and alcohol, just movement, meditation, music. As one of my favorite Rumi quotes says, ‘There are many ways to kneel and kiss the ground.’ And indeed, music, dance, expression, is such a powerful form of prayer. It is such an immediate way to directly connect to source.
Medicine for the People are indeed that – an intoxicating, almost tangible substance that snakes its way through your veins and transforms the negative voice of the mind that tells you something isn’t possible. The music and lyrics serve as a reminder that you do have the power to create change, that bliss is your birthright and that living in gratitude is the only way to exist. Their message aligns so perfectly with what we aim to share through Naked Treaties – that we can create our own destiny, that we are allowed and encouraged to shine our light, that we exist as one – as family, as tribe, united on this path of radiant and vibrant vitality.
There is something that comes from being in a space where inhibitions are cast astray, where the masks we sometimes feel we have to hold onto are left to fall, where the heart opens enough to see unity rather than division. There is something in the power of rhythm and melody that wakes people up, shifts their view from one of being nothing, of being helpless, of being victim, to one of being powerful beyond measure, a spirit whose dreams don’t need to be lived only when asleep.
As of late, I experience the overwhelming intoxication of bliss on a daily basis, and each time I do, I cant help but wonder how many people are fortunate enough to experience this emotion, not even daily, but ever? We are indeed so blessed, and everyday we have reason to stop and be grateful.
There was a moment where I walked back into the shop to help serve and behind me, the entire crowd chanted in unison, ‘ I believe in the good things coming…’ And I cant help but feel this way every day in the Little Shop of Smiles, as we help to create positive change through every smile, every chockie, every smoothie.
The event inspired us to do more of these types of events, reminding us that the Raw Bar exists as a perfect space to gather community. It also made us aware of the difference we can make and funds we can help raise to support causes and campaigns that we are passionate about and inspired by. Naked Treaties was able to donate $700 to Sea Shepherd and that was just the money that came as profit from the sales the Raw Bar made, there was also a good amount raised through peoples generosity in donating to the money tins and also many people who purchases stickers, hats, bandanas, t-shirts and flags throughout the day. It is amazing to think that a morning of fun, music, laughter and chocolate can help in such a dramatic way to save our oceans and their inhabitants.
So, if you missed this one, stay tuned – sign up for our email list and follow us on Facebook so that you can come and join us for our next dose of music, movement and Naked Treaties goodness.
Photo contribution thanks to Bethany Ryles