One of the first emails I read this morning was a notice from Twitter that I was now being followed @listen to the banned. I always check out folks who want to follow me before I follow back. If I go to the page and see the same tweet about a product or service repeated down most of the page, I don't follow back. If it's not clear by the Tweets where people are coming from, I'm willing to spend a minute or two checking out their website or Facebook page or some of their links to get a sense if it's the kind of stuff that energizes or pulls me down toward the drain.
Listen to the Banned really energized me because it spoke to my desire for all people to speak from the heart of our highest Selves -- whether in writing, singing, drumming, painting, or whatever powerful expression of that essence is theirs to do.
One of the links I checked out from their Twitter page was an article about the group in the Guardian UK/The Observer:
Music has always been the stuff of rebellion, but under some of the world's harshest regimes singers are increasingly becoming the victims of censorship and threat as much as opposition politicians, journalists and writers. But their plight is often far less acknowledged.
Now a project to recognise the contribution of some of the world's most important protest singers has been pulled together by a woman who was forced to give up performing on stage because of threats made on her life. Listen To The Banned is an album including the work of 14 international artists, all of whom have experienced imprisonment, censorship, harassment or violence because of their music.
Listen to the Banned also has a Facebook page if you want to check them out there. Sing out, people!
