“I don’t do shit until I meditate.” – Russell Simmons

I was at a friends house one night when he turned off all the lights, set up a black light, and then put large pieces of paper on the wall and gave us markers. He was working for Revolt at the time and was always talking about creating and catching vibes. I immediately felt like a little kid and began drawing and writing. I wrote about all the things we have to be grateful for, how incredible it is that we get to create our lives and choose anything we would like, and included all my favorite song lyrics and quotes. This guy Rob had just gotten there and began admiring my work and remarking how dope it was. We were having drinks and every time we went to cheers, he asked me to make a toast. I expanded on what I was writing about, just publicly appreciating the moment and reflecting on how incredible it was to be surrounded by great people in Los Angeles who are all following their dreams. I pointed out some obvious blessings that we often take for granted. He kept asking me to give toasts and I could see his vibration rising as well the more grateful he felt, reflecting on the things I was speaking about. It’s so accepted for people to complain all day, but it’s rare to speak about all our blessings out loud. It’s funny how that works and you can see evidence of this everywhere, from the news to the workplace. I normally speak about these things around my friends, but to do it in a room full of strangers was something new to me. I realized that the confidence in that moment came from the encouragement of Rob.

We left my boys spot and headed to the studio. There were four of us, Rob, a girl he was dealing with, a friend of his, and me. Rob is a producer and was complaining that he had turned in five songs to Puffy, but that Puff had only like three of them. Feeding off our conversation earlier, I confidently stopped him in his tracks. I reminded him of how incredible it was that Puffy not only messes with his music, but that he believes in him so much to tell him the truth and expect the absolute best from him. Puffy has built his brand on excellence, and by being allowed into his world, you must consistently rise and exceed his expectations. It reminds me of his feature on Rick Ross’s song, “Nobody,”

“You wanted to fuckin’ walk around these roaches?These n***** is roaches. These n***** is mere motherfuckin’ mortals. I’m tryna push you to supreme being. You don’t wanna motherfuckin’, you don’t wanna embrace your destiny. You wanna get by. You don’t wanna go into the motherfuckin’ dark, where it’s lonely. You can’t handle the motherfuckin’, the pain of the motherfuckin’ not knowin’ when the shit is gonna stop. You fuckin’ wanna walk around with these n*****? What the fuck is their culture? Where the fuck is their souls at? What defines you? These n***** with these fuckin’ silly looks on their faces.You wanna walk around with them or you wanna walk with God, n****? Make up your got damn mind!”

This resonated with me so much, because I see this happen all the time. People get so sucked in to being cool and keeping up that they don’t create at even 1/10th of their potential. There are so many ways to tap into God and create from a place that feels like pure joy. Since many people don’t consciously do this, creating can feel like a lot of work. They may experience writers block or they may be creating at a level that is subpar. However, all it takes is a simple shift to get aligned. The more I’ve tapped into my spirituality, the more techniques have been revealed to me. Since being at a high vibration is essential for my creative process and overall happiness, I know how to raise mine in minutes. From dancing around rapping my favorite songs to thanking God for individual blessings out loud, there are unlimited ways to bring my vibration up. One of the most powerful techniques for raising vibration and unleashing creativity is meditation. Our minds are often going a million miles a minute, and even 5 minutes of stillness and a clear mind can produce miracles. In “Ghetto Gospel,” Tupac raps, “I feel his hand on my brain. When I write rhymes, I go blind and let The Lord do his thing.” This is what meditation does. It allows your ego mind to stop and allows Divinity to flow through you. It is often said that we talk to God through prayer and that God speaks to us through meditation. It’s during or following this stillness that incredible ideas, creations, and actions spring forth. We are so overstimulated in this world, and this simple practice allows us to clear out all the clutter and focus on the things that matter. A calm, clear, relaxed, happy spirit is a magnet for all good things.

With my creative confidence so high because of Rob’s encouragement earlier, I made a bold promise to him that if he were to meditate with me, that he would create all the songs Puffy could ever hope for and more. It was a big promise, but I knew I could deliver. I sent him the link for my “Desire and Destiny” meditation that Deepak Chopra did with Oprah. After I explained what to do, he played it aloud through the sound system. After about five minutes, I peeked one eye open to see all three of them peacefully meditating. I looked to my right and smiled at the large Biggie painting that hung on the wall next to me. I’ve always believed that the combination of hip hop principles and spiritual principles is an incredible blueprint to follow. After about fifteen minutes, the meditation came to an end. I wasn’t sure how everyone would react, as this was their first time trying it. Rob slowly got out of his seat and was like, “Yooooo that was crazy! I feel amazing.” It was so incredible because he had had such an open mind, and was able to totally submit to the moment without the fear of judgment that we so often feel in today’s culture.

A few weeks later, my friend invited me out for brunch. Rob was there and when I sat down he started drawing imaginary halos around my head. He kept saying, “This girl is an angel.” I started laughing and asked him what that was all about. He explained that the day after we meditated, he had created the most amazing music he had ever made. I was shocked. I knew how incredible meditation was, but to see such immediate results got my mind spinning. I realized that I use these tools and principles all the time, but I’m not always open to sharing them with confidence, because a lot of people are not open to receiving them. Rob’s openness and encouragement increased my creative confidence, and in turn, allowed me to share this gift with him. His immediate results encouraged me to continue to practice these techniques myself and to share them with others with confidence. I’ve sent them to many people since that day and all of those whom have listened have experienced incredible positive changes. I even shared them with the A&R I interviewed with at Interscope, expressing how all artists would benefit from meditation. After my exchange with Rob, I’ve come to look at my spiritual principles as tools to create magic. I now share them freely without fear of judgment, because the look on someone’s face when they have a breakthrough and begin to live a higher quality life and create higher quality work in priceless.