In case anyone out there is not aware, Moby is cool (at least in my 30-something language!). He makes good music, makes people laugh, practices meditation, and lends his time and talents to good causes.
It was a couple years back that Moby first entered my world. I was in the Sao Paulo airport waiting in a long line to go through security, and of course I was glancing around at the other travelers. I noticed a thin, bald man with dark glasses accompanied by a boy about knee-height. He was holding well-worn maroon UK passports.
As if a glaring example of the ubiquitous celebrity images burned into our brains like it or not, the word, “Moby” involuntarily popped into my head like a reflex. My brain recognized this person as Moby without even knowing who Moby was.
When I got to my destination, I googled “Moby” to see if I could verify whether he was in Brazil that day. Negative. He was in New York, deejaying. And I discovered he is American. I also discovered moby’s journal, and quickly became intrigued by his extremely smart and funny social commentary. What a cool guy, I thought.
After slowly getting to know Moby through periodically reading his blog over time, I found out Moby was going to perform at the David Lynch Weekend at none other than my alma mater, Maharishi University of Management. It seemed a little out of the blue that he would be coming to this small town of 10,000 residents, but sort of made sense, given his progressive-minded blog entries.
I joined my family and we filed into the campus Recreation Center along with everyone else I knew. This was the same building where we once packed in with thousands of others to see Maharishi.
You can view the link below to see a great interview where David Lynch speaks with Moby about creativity:
DLF.TV Interview with Moby (http://dlf.tv/2009/david-and-moby/)
Moby brought cheers, gasps and unrestrained laughter as he delivered an original, long set, sprinkled with snarky commentary, as he indicated that although he was there simply because of his friendship with David Lynch, he also had some interest in learning the Transcendental Meditation technique.
Fast-forward to April 3, 2009. I, along with several TM teachers, am sitting in a classroom at Weaver High School in Hartford, Connecticut, a school where the David Lynch Foundation has funded an in-school Quiet Time program, where all the students have the opportunity to learn to meditate.
We are huddled around a yellowed, sluggish desktop computer, watching a streaming live press conference about the “Change Begins Within” benefit concert, which will be held the next evening.
Dubbed “The Beatles Reunion”, the benefit concert was generating a ton of international buzz, as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow, Jerry Seinfeld, Donovan, Russell Simmons, and other big names came together to show their support for the David Lynch Foundation.
And along with these vocal celebrity TM advocates, up pops Moby. This time, in addition to his uncensored humor, he talks about how he loves his TM!
The next evening I accompanied the Weaver High School Choir and sang backup to Moby, Laura Dawn and Bettye LaVette in the historic concert. Performing with Moby and his band of musicians was so much fun. Being in the midst of the reverberations from these world-class musicians was literally electrifying! Moby was genuinely friendly and appreciative of the contribution of the Weaver High School students, which left a warm impression with all of us. The students said they really felt like “stars.”
For days after the performance, I was on a cloud from this energizing experience. To get the chance to participate in such an amazing cause is something I’ll always remember. The recording of the concert is slated for release hopefully soon, but for now you can see a couple of brief clips in a montage of concert highlights on DLF.TV. Whenever I see the clips, even for a brief moment, with a few bars of Moby’s Natural Blues audible, the feeling of that magical night is as real as if it were happening now.
Moby really created a magical moment, not just for all of us who were onstage with him and in the audience, but for a whole generation of kids who, thanks to the David Lynch Foundation, will get to learn a tool to manage their stress, improve their grades and build a solid foundation for a happy life. Of all the many reasons why Moby is cool, that has to be one at the top.
