Blaise DeAngelo

Headed back to Ibiza today for the 9th annual @theartofarete in partnership with @internationalmusicsummit and @alphathetaglobal . When @benturnergraphite and I launched this in 2017, wellness was not talked about in the music industry. Back then, everyone was a DJ. Now, everyone’s also a breathwork instructor or life coach, and you can’t go anywhere without seeing a yoga tent or a juice bar. It’s nice to see this positive development in the industry, and equally, I’m proud of our team for staying true to our standards over the years, sifting through the noise and spotlighting the artists, practitioners, thought leaders who have really put in the work. A debt of gratitude is owed to @petetongofficial for championing the cause as well as artists like @mochakk @chloecaillet @honeydijon and our core practitioners @tensuhi @breathpod @itskeriperkins @catherine_arnold_nutrition as well as all those who have joined us over the years, and to @tensuhi especially for making the curation element so enjoyable.

On this day 11 years ago, I’d stayed up all night helping run the 24-hour livestream party for the Skrillex & Diplo’s Jack Ü album with Justin Bieber at the label office in LA and gone straight to my first lesson in Vedic Meditation in the morning. A watershed moment for American dance music and a turning point for me. I remember the teacher asking me why I wanted to learn, and I recalled an incident earlier that week where I’d thrown an apple at a security guard’s head because he wouldn’t let me use the trash can in his parking lot. I haven’t done that since, so that’s a 100% reduction in fruit assault. In all seriousness though, it has revolutionized every aspect of my life—most notably feeling less angry and anxious and more able to let go of things, quitting weed, and feeling more creative, vital, and healthy with much more energy. Since I forgot the 10-year anniversary last year, this year I asked a few close friends who have known me since 2015 to briefly share how they felt I’d changed since then and shared their responses on the next few slides. 📸 @tristanhollingsworth at @theartofarete in Ibiza

Oh 2016? On the surface, I was definitely way cooler then. I sat behind Rihanna at the Grammys, played Boiler Room in Shanghai, hung out with Murakami in Japan, Joe Jonas in Rome, and Bono in Malibu, partied at Diddy’s in Miami (not like that), went to Burning Man on a private jet, danced for days at Revolver in Melbourne, toured Underground Resistance studios in Detroit and Seinfeld studios in LA, went to parties hosted by Alexander Wang and The Weeknd, spoke on panels in Amsterdam and Mumbai, rode jet skis with the locals in Fiji, had my own butler at the St. Regis in the Maldives, traveled the world with my closest friends, hosted a regular club night in LA, and got verified on Instagram back before you could pay for it.Running Skrillex’s OWSLA label was my whole life 24/7. Skrillex & Diplo won 2 Grammys for Jack Ü with Justin Bieber, we premiered our first short film with Kanye in attendance, recorded a radio show for Apple in Sao Paolo before showcases at SXSW and Ultra, produced a music video with Rick Ross & Jared Leto as The Joker, toured Europe and Australia, and capped it off with an epic Mannequin Challenge in Fiji. It was a really special time for dance music in the US, and we were just kids riding the wave all over the world.  Behind the scenes, I was seriously addicted to weed, unintentionally emotionally abusive to others, and super stressed out all the time. Instead of working on myself, I hid behind aloofness. An important turning point in my life was 2016 in Fiji when I was getting ready to DJ: I was dead sober because weed is super illegal there, and my brain just wouldn’t function without it. @liamunderwood said “sucks you have to be high in order to do your job” and it stuck with me. I hated the idea of depending on weed or anything else. 2016 was the year I finally learned that no amount of stuff will bring you happiness. Wherever you go, there you are; and if you don’t like who you are, it doesn’t matter where you go. Soon after, I left everything behind, got rid of all my stuff, and started an 8-year spirit quest of sorts to figure it all out. I’ll always be so grateful for these experiences to show me there was more to life than clout.

Started the year watching the first sunrise in India, swam in the Ganges, rescued a street dog dressed in a woman’s saree (me, not the dog) and experienced my first heartbreak in cold rainy Lisbon, then drove an RV across the US, watched a man eat a 72oz steak in Texas, soaked in the New Mexico hot springs under the midnight full moon, ate barbecue on Route 66, apple pie on the 4th of July in the Hamptons, and cannolis in my ancestral land of Sicily, taught meditation in New York and Miami and Ibiza, hiked the coast of Portugal and fell in love with Lisbon again, learned to listen to my intuition, designed a bunch of brands for other meditation teachers, started making real money as a designer in Miami, walked 1,487,060 million steps, read lots of Kerouac and Huxley, got my health back to 100%, finally graduated from all my Ayurvedic herbs, grew my heart back even stronger and learned the real meaning of love.

Best 153,496 steps I ever took: 90 miles over 8 days from Porto Covo along coastal Portugal down to the southern tip of Sagres, originally known as the End of the World to Greeks and Romans who sailed from the Mediterranean. Slept for 24 hours combined the first 2 nights since I’ve been back.

The finish line is a fantasy. But there’s an infinite amount to see along the way. “Yeah it’s overwhelming But what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and Wake up for the morning commute?”

Brand update and website redesign for @johjarvismeditations @thelightinsidemeditation , which has already taught Vedic Meditation to over 350 incarcerated people in prisons like Rikers Island. It was an honor to help them create something worthy of the important work they do.

To understand Being is to understand how ‘manifestation’ actually works. No vision boards, positive thinking, or silly hats are required. But there are caveats. You’ve gotta be tuned into what nature is intending. The full story is available for free on my Substack via link in bio. I won’t even make you comment “BEING!” in order to send it directly to your inbox 😂

Man of the moment #KendrickLamar speaking on his personal #meditation practice with #RickRubin #vedicmeditation #music #grammys #superbowllix

Florida for the holidays

Upset about the government? What are you personally doing about it? Government is the effect, not the cause. Governments don’t deliver change, they reflect it. Change begins within—individual peace is the basis of world peace. Learn to be the cause. Learn to find solutions. The best way I’ve found is Vedic Meditation—a simple mental technique for deep rest. By releasing stress in ourselves, we reduce the amount of stress in the collective, and we become more clearheaded and capable of finding solutions instead of problems. I’ll be teaching my last course of the year in Miami this December 9-12 for 90min/day. If you’re ready for real change, I’ll be hosting a free intro talk on Zoom this Sunday November 17 at 1pm EST via link in bio where you can learn how it works and ask questions. #vedicmeditation #meditation #miami #consciousness #vedic

Buzzing from our first Creators Retreat in Nowra, Australia. The dozen or so retreat participants immersed themselves in nature, enjoyed delicious Ayurvedic meals, met for daily discussions, and practice an expanded form of Vedic Meditation called Rounding, which entails a specific sequence of yoga asanas, breath work, and Vedic Meditation, all in the name of clearing the mind of stress and creating time and space for stillness in order access deeper levels of creative insight. Most importantly, participants had ample free time for creative exploration or collaboration and deep work on meaningful projects. It’s the kind of time we always wish we could have for ourselves—time to reflect, time to connect, time to open ourselves to new insights and inspiration, time to listen to what our inner voice wants to tell us, and time to create from that place of pure Being. Already thinking about where to hold the next retreat 🤔 Big respect to @tadsouden for capturing it all