Peace through Music—
Strains of Activism Ring Out with Dean & Dudley Evenson
Originally published in Healing Garden Journal, December 2004

For over 35 years now, they have been in the forefront of the peace movement. Most peace advocates have marched, protested, or boycotted. Dean and Dudley Evenson have engaged in a different way—playing musical instruments, writing or producing albums, and founding a visionary company, Soundings of the Planet, whose focus is music for peace and the healing of Mother Earth.

Dean begins, “It seems as if our hearts have been focused forever on peace—seeing more peace on the planet. Daily, our prayer and life work is to create a more peaceful planet, to work together to create a ‘healing space’ for all of us to live in.”

“We have been actively working for peace for 30-40 years now,” Dudley chimes in. “The dilemmas we are facing today have brought out the worst and the best in people. The times we are experiencing invite us to apply the principles we believe in and put them into action—to create a global community rooted in peace.”

“And sometimes,” continues Dean, “things must be really opened up until they are raw, like now. This allows us to move in ways we haven’t heard about before. To think of new possibilities and solutions. To connect with others in innovative ways. I believe we are actually stronger now because of the world situation we find ourselves in, because we have the capability of joining together collectively to create a new peace-filled way of being in the world.”

Nodding in agreement, Dudley concurs. “Since 9/11, we have been shown that we still have a long way to go towards peace. I believe, without a doubt, that we can work hard to make the shift happen—in all our relationships—with ourselves, with one another and with our planet.” Smiling broadly, she admits, “Dean and I are eternal optimists in this way.”

Optimists they are indeed, creatively partnering with outstanding people and musicians from around the world, including Hungarian born pianist and composer Tom Barabas, trance guitarist Scott Huckabay, Chinese guqin master Li Xiangting, Native American elder Cha-das-ska-dum, and even the Dalai Lama of Tibet. “Our music has helped to build awareness and support of a variety of social and environmental concerns such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Tibetan and Native American issues, and, in 2001, in donating music to rescue workers and grief counselors in New York City,” cites Dudley.

Dean and Dudley met in the 1960’s, when Dean moved to New York’s East Village arts district. There he met Dudley Dickinson, who soon became his wife and artistic partner. Dean was a musician and scientist working as a recording engineer at a sound studio. Dudley was a musician as well. Both were on a quest for spiritual knowledge. Rooted in the peace and love movement of that era, they joined energies and took off in a converted school bus to explore video documentary making. They found themselves engaged in and filming some of the defining social and cultural moments of the 70’s and 80’s, including Wounded Knee, the first United Nations Conference on the Environment in Stockholm, and interviews with notable celebrities, especially those in the music industry. After many years of living the nomadic life of video pioneers, and three children later, they settled in one place and began their music company, Soundings of the Planet. The company motto, “Peace Through Music,” remains to this day. The Evensons continue to be ‘keepers of the vision” for a new generation of seekers who believe like they do, that global peace and love can become a reality. Music, they believe, is an important vehicle to make that happen.

“To transform our world,” Dudley shares, “we must shift the energy that prevails. Media is a very powerful way to do this. We must be aware of how various media affect us, from television to music, and choose the media that comes into our lives so it has a positive effect. We believe at Soundings of the Planet that we can reprogram our sound space. Music can shift our energy; it can literally heal us. When we move into greater healing, so do those around us, and outward it spreads from there.”

Continuing that train of thought, Dean states, “From the beginning we were pioneers in the music we created. Our albums incorporated recordings of natural sounds—streams, bird-songs, wind, waves, etc. We received so much positive feedback from listeners that we began to seriously study the scientific foundation of sound, music and healing. We discovered that the intention of the musicians we recorded came through; their inner peace or lack of it was carried in the sound waves. To this day, we are extremely intentional with how the music is produced and recorded.

“We continue to work with the Earth Resonance Frequency in our music. Music with this vibration can affect our health and wellness; it can have a calming effect on emotions of grief and trauma. The natural, relaxation-producing vibration of the planet is carried on all of the music we produce.”

The Evenson’s newest projects are unique collections of music that offer a rich, cross-cultural focus and are rooted in the world’s major spiritual paths. “We also believe in the power of world music (music from many cultures and belief systems), especially sacred chants and prayers that can not only enhance our lives, opening our minds and hearts up to others, but that the vibration can literally transform us.”

The Evensons have a long history with the Dalai Lama and recently completed a trip to Vancouver where they spent a day videotaping a dynamic dialogue between three Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi of Iran. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Native American Dr. Jo-ann Archibald were also included.

“It was very exciting to witness the dialogue between these individuals on a practical level,” shares Dean, “so we could see first hand how dialogue between people of different spiritual traditions can be so powerful. What brought all of us together was the complete respect that was there between us. We all found things that we agreed on, especially our moral values. Together we explored the nature of community, the challenge of sustainability and the transformative possibilities of compassion.”

“And there was so much joy there, so much laughter,” Dudley notes. “Religion and spirituality are not about seriousness, but about the connection we have with one another. The Dalai Lama, just by his presence, lifts people up. His spirit is filled with joy, wisdom and compassion. There truly is not a more important message to share with the world today than that of compassion to all sentient beings. Our current project, “Sacred World Chants,” is the follow up to the album “Prayer,” where the Dalai Lama shares a song from Tibet. Both are amazing collections of world prayers and carry the spirit of multi-cultural healing.

“You know, Dean and I are 60’s people. We have stayed with our original vision of peace and love all these years. Success on a material plane is not important to us. We need to continually ask ourselves, ‘What is life?’ ‘What is our purpose here?’ ‘How can we serve our global community?’ The task is large for all of us, especially we Baby Boomers who are now moving into retirement. It is important that we ask ourselves how we can best serve and share our wisdom and skills with others.”

From global to local, the Evensons continue to answer this call. In 2003, they co-founded a grass roots movement in Whatcom County, Washington, called “Action Now! The Solutions Project.” The organization sponsors monthly gatherings to explore better health, alternative energy, higher self-esteem, and peace efforts, through public presentations and workshops. They hope to provide a model that can be duplicated in small towns all over the country, bringing people together to dialogue, thereby creating positive change in their own communities. (www.thesolutionsproject.org)

Dean observes, “The times we are living in right now are different from the 60’s though, because our consciousness is different. We have the capability to see where we are right now. We are in it, but still conscious of it. This opens enormous doors when we have greater awareness of the bigger picture of life and how our lives are connected one with another.”

Their inspiring words, intermingled with the strains of flute, harp and natural sounds certainly do conjure a compelling portrait of two people whose gentle, yet active lifestyle, speak to the wisdom of their life choices. When the Evensons aren’t tending their garden and creating music and multimedia projects at home in the Cascade Mountains of northwest Washington, they are ‘on the road’ sharing their music and offering workshops on music and healing. If fortune is smiling upon you, you may be lucky enough to hear or meet these two “live,” and sense for yourself what the ‘Oneness’ they speak of really feels like.

Dudley sums it up well. “When we finally come to the realization that there is no real separation between any of us, we are all part of the US that exists, then there truly is no “other.” We are one being, one consciousness that lives and breathes together.”

Final thoughts, we wonder? Dean chimes in. “I’d like to say this to your readers: Please know that the peace is there and the more you express it in your own life, the more it will come back to you. It is effortless to love one another. It really is...”

To order music or for a schedule of the Evenson’s appearances, visit their website or call 1.800.93.PEACE.