Heart of Éire Fundraising Bhakti Tour

Hey everyone, my name is Oonagh, a wild spirit from the wild West of Ireland! I am really grateful and excited to be sharing this fundraiser for recording an album of original devotional music with you. I am currently touring around Ireland in my van, creating devotional spaces of mantra singing in hopes of uplifting the hearts of Éire and inviting deeper connection to self and whatever we uniquely perceive as Divine. Any excess funds raised will be given to projects that aim to restore indigenous woodland and biodiversity in Ireland. Thank you for stopping by I hope you enjoy reading a little more about what's happening with the Bhakti Bus.

It started as a gentle whisper, a longing deep within my heart - an unrealistic pipe dream I liked to flirt with every now and again. You know, the type of harmless flirting that arises when you’re adamant that nothing could ever possibly escalate into something more. How could I (someone who still struggles to comfortably call myself a musician) record an album? As these things go, the whisper became louder, and the longing became contagious - infiltrating my whole being one cell at a time. The moment at which it became crystal clear that this was going to happen one way or another was one that I suspect will change the course of my unfolding path for the unimaginable best.

An intimate moment during the stillness of sadhana (spiritual practice), in which an instant can change everything. The essence of this moment, which is very close to my heart, was a force that electrified me from head to toe. I was parked in my van on a cliff in the North of Spain, doing my morning practice. I was contemplating, “why the heck am I here anyway?” as is quite normal in my world, and feeling into what it would mean to die. Words in Her voice jolted me like an electric shock, resuscitating me back to life, saying

“If you’re not willing to die, are you committed to fully living?”

Woah…

Am I!?

The meaning of fully living is unique to each individual being on this Earth. A profoundly intimate secret that maybe never even gets heard from within, let alone shared outwardly. Yet, we all know those magical people who wholeheartedly commit to living without even trying. You know the ones I’m talking about - who get absorbed in whatever they dedicate their time and energy to. Those who are unafraid of failing, who float on this air of “joie de vivre,” seemingly untouched by the crippling clutches of cultural conditioning and what ifs. Those who are unapologetically themselves and embody their spirited nature with ease - as if pretending to be someone else or pleasing others before self is an alien idea that has never blinked into their awareness.

As a global collective, we have all faced our fear of death more in recent times than perhaps any other point in recent history. We have had to look at the many shades of discomfort and chew on the less pleasing tastes of grief that naturally arise when facing our own mortality. Life is fleeting, transient and too short to grasp onto. It is entirely up to us to rummage some form of meaning out of it and make it count in our own unique way. For me, the devotional way of the heart - Bhakti - allows me to return to, and rest in, that sense of meaning and belonging again and again. Being devoted to love is the only way I have managed to continue to rise every day and find purpose, even in the moments when I REALLY didn’t/don't want to. Being devoted to life itself as a sentient being is what helps me trust in the flow of each moment, and trust in life as a whole. If I trust in life, why not fully commit to it?

For a lot of my life I had let my fear of failure dictate what I do (or don’t!). Yet, I have come to the point of not giving a rat’s about what that little voice says - for if I never try, I will never know. And I cannot live a life of knowing I haven’t given my all. For me, that prospect of offering up my last breath with regret for all the things I haven’t tried or committed to is a far more dire outcome than trying something and “failing." This concept of failing is quite laughable in the first place… What does it even mean to fail!? Often, the most beautiful, unimaginable creations and ideas are born from trying, failing and finding a new direction! That is the improvisational nature of life, a way of being I enjoy exploring and playing with more and more.

If I dig down to the root of it, perhaps the fear is not of failure itself but of being rejected for who I am in my most authentic expression. That is something that cuts very close to something deep inside my being. But, again, as I type it, I know that once I fully accept who I am and commit to embodying my glory, shadow and everything in between, there is nothing to be afraid of. Recently, for my 27th birthday, I set an intention to commit fully to life and take responsibility for how I participate within the beautiful ecosystem that is my life.

So, with a little more context, I share with you my dream of recording an album of original devotional music that has poured through me during some of my most challenging times. It is an offering straight from my heart that cannot get more intimate and personal. With this album, I intend to bare it all as an offering to whomever it may help on their journey. Ultimately this album is an offering to Maa, The Great Mother, whose unwavering holding, support, love and guidance is the sole reason I am where I am, doing what I love - which feels perfectly aligned as I write this. With this humility and gratitude in my heart, I am journeying through Ireland on tour in my beloved Bertha the Bhakti Bus to share kirtan with communities, create devotional spaces throughout the land, and raise funds to record this album.

I am hoping to raise €6,000. If I raise more (which would be AMAZING!), or don’t need as much as I have budgeted for, I intend to donate the residual funds to woodland projects in Ireland to restore our native woodland across the country. I feel that this project is a scattering of seeds across the land for a longer-term vision of restoring harmony and reciprocity with the land of Éire, who gives us so much with receiving very little care and devotion in return.

Here is a price breakdown of where the funds will go:

€300 per day for recording (hopefully will finish in 4 days but budgeted for 5 just in case) = €1,500

Estimated price for mixing and mastering 9 - 11 tracks = €1,700

Cover the costs of the Tour - an estimate for venues, supplies and diesel = €900

Artwork for CD = €200

Cost of 500 CDS = €700

Payment for musicians = €1,000

Total = €6,000

September dates to be released soon, including Wicklow, Dublin, Belfast, Down, Donegal, Sligo, Longford, Wexford & more!

I am extremely grateful for the love, support and many blessings that I have already received since the beginning of this tour on the 23rd of July. I am truly blown away and am so looking forward to relishing the magic that unfolds on this journey! If you would like to be a part of this devotional co-creation, I really look forward to hearing from you.

I thank you for whatever contribution you are able to offer at this time, whether it's a blessing or words of encouragement, or €5,000.

With great respect and love,

Oonagh