Reprinted on July 21, 2016 in Edmonton's Vue Weekly.
Spirit kisses ~ by Coco Love Alcorn
Last summer at the ArtsWells Music Festival I kissed about 15 people in one day.
Let me explain.
I got to spend a lot of time that summer on the west coast, playing music, enjoying nature, hanging out with amazing people. By the time I reached Wells I had already sung at 4 other groovy BC festivals in quick succession: Tiny Lights, Campbell Bay, Starbelly Jam and Kispiox. I had such a festival glow on by then that I was practically emitting light! But the kisses, you want to know about the kisses.
I don’t remember exactly how the idea came to be, but as soon as it popped into my head it was many things. It was interesting, fun, explorative, bold, raw, celebratory, adventurous and that list could go on for quite a while but mostly‚ it was about connecting. This was not a hedonistic act. I dubbed them ‘namaste kisses’ and presented them as such. Namaste translates loosely to, ‘the light in me recognizes the light in you’, or so a yoga teacher once told me. Yup, pretty groovy, these were spirit kisses.
kisses, kisses, spirit kisses
oh what a lovely concept this is
but what the heck is a spirit kiss
I’ll try to shed some light on this
The body, the mind, the heart, the soul. We are all of these things, all of the time. We often use those 4 words to describe certain aspects of what we’re experiencing or to process things that have happened but they are all intrinsically linked and part of our greater whole.
I called them namaste kisses (or spirit kisses) to put a focus on what our spirits found in the experience. To present them as such meant that anything happening on a physical, emotional or mental level was a subplot, phew! And the fact that each kiss was part of an art project style group of kisses also took the pressure off. They were expressions of openness, generosity, community, and pure human love. Spirit kisses are not first base kisses driven by lust. They are not trying to go anywhere except smack dab into the middle of the moment.
But even with all my talk of openness and pure human love, I know that a kiss is a powerful thing and not to be approached as trivial. I was careful to offer these kisses to people who were adults, people who I knew and trusted, and everyone was either single or had all the necessary ‘permission slips’ signed. And I think my intent would have been pretty clear even if I wasn’t
calling them namaste or spirit kisses.
To me, life is a journey of collecting kindred spirits and connected moments. Where does my spirit most readily come out to play? In music, in nature, in the arms of a lover, and when I take chances and push myself just ever so slightly past my comfort zone.
These days, cell phones, the internet and social media encourage so many of our interactions to be digital, lazy, safe, buffered, muted, self directed, self controlled, contained, constrained, narrow, following paths of what is expected and rarely challenging. They all deliver a fast food style of engagement that lacks the hearty fibre of organic chemistry that can only be found in person. Our culture has grown addicted to the quick and easy dopamine hits we receive every time someone ‘likes’ our most recent photo or post. Everything is constantly speeding up but our souls still shine the brightest at a slower tempo.
Every kiss is an opportunity to slow down. Every kiss is an invitation to be brave and vulnerable. I would even go so far as to say that kisses are like snowflakes and no two are ever the same.
We have so many ways of hiding in plain site. We have safe outfits and conversation topics, safe opinions and safe reactions. But certain things we do have the inherent ability to draw more truth from us. More of our nougatty centre is revealed in a kiss. We can’t help but be ourselves when we kiss another person. There is nowhere to hide. A kiss brings the moment into focus and brings our inner self closer to the surface.
I am always on the hunt for those experiences where colours look brighter, ideas are blooming, inspiration is bountiful and everything seems possible. This is what draws me to music. This is what draws me to people. This is why I will always love music festivals. And this is why I kissed all those excellent humans that day.
And yes, I’m going to ArtsWells again this year. And no, I will not be setting up a kissing booth! Just like many of the best moments in life are, this was a beautiful and unexpected one off.
http://www.bcmusicianmag.com/spirit-kisses-by-coco-love-alcorn/