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Steven López (33) ist in Puerto Rico geboren und aufgewachsen und lebt seit 2012 in Hamburg. Hier arbeitet als Massage-Therapeut und Ausbilder, Musiker und Sänger. Der Papa von Santiago (4) hat sich selbst beigebracht, 14 Instrumente zu spielen und verbindet Weltmusik mit Mantren und Latin Sounds. Für schreibt er über die Bedeutung von Musik für seine besondere Beziehung zu seinem Sohn. Auf Englisch, weil er sich in dieser Sprache neben Spanisch am wohlsten fühlt.

First of all, I must say, in my home Puerto Rico, music and dancing take a very strong part in society and culture. I grew up surrounded by music and I was always fascinated by the way how music can touch peoples' hearts and inspire them – and about how music can heal people and make them feel better. I was also fascinated about how by just singing a song, people can pour their hearts out as an act of pure devotion to life or to the Divine. At the age of 13, I got my first little music keyboard and from that day on, I was crazy about music! This idea, of how to experience music, is the one I am sharing with my son since he was inside his mother's belly.

I was so happy with the thought of becoming a father and I always believed that it's our duty as parents to inspire our kids to do great things. Between my son and me music is our special connection.

When the mother of my son was pregnant, I used to sit near her with my guitar, near the big belly and I closed my eyes and just improvised songs, just with the feelings of the moment. Slowly we built a routine that every night before sleeping, we played music for Santiago. Sometimes, I played the guitar and other times we played a CD. We played music from Krishna Das, Snatam Kaur, Mozart, also some reggae songs from Bob Marley, the traditional German song Lalelu and relaxing instrumental music.

Music can really help in building an effective sleeping routine for babies. One of the things we first noticed was how well Santiago slept every night. He fell asleep very quickly with music always at the same time. Whether I played something on my guitar and sung a mantra lullaby for him or if we used the same music that we played every night during the pregnancy. Now he is 4 years old and we almost never had any sleeping problems with him. He basically sleeps all night, every night and around the same time! This is something I truly recommend to all parents: just find the right music or the right mantra for your kids, and just enjoy it together every night before sleeping.

Music and mantras can also work as a source of inspiration for the whole family!

I truly recommend to parents, if you use a mantra with your kids, take some time to talk about it, about the meaning of it or what it means to you. My favorite one is Om namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, one of the meanings of this mantra is: I bow to the Divine Light of the Universe. It is a call or a reminder, that we all carry this light inside, and this light is to shared with others. Many people also believe, that when you chant this mantra during pregnancy, you will have a spiritual child. These ancient words in sanskrit are the ones I have been using all the time. Since my son was a small baby, I always spoke to him about the Divine and about how we can do good in this world, how we can care about others and to be thankful for every little thing we have.

I admire how much he loves and enjoys music and dancing. And one of the things I love the most is what he likes to do every night before he sleeps. He puts his hands together and he tells me in Spanish, „a Papa Dios, gracias" (let's give thanks to Daddy God) and he says this in spanish.

„Papa Dios, gracias por la vida, por mi familia, por mis amigos, gracias por el amor, te pido que haiga paz en el mundo. Amen, Om shanti shanti shanti... then he hugs me and tell me, Te amo Papa!"

(Daddy God, thanks for life, for my family, for my friends and I ask you for peace here on earth...)

And that „Te amo or I love you" from my son is what I am living for as a father. For me this love is the most pure expression of Divine Love and that is when my son becomes my teacher...

Many blessings!

Steven

Für alle, die sich klangvolle Inspiration wünschen, empfiehlt Steven folgende CDs (Werbelinks):

• Mother's Blessing von Snatam Kaur
• Kirtan Kids von Jai Uttal
• Heart As Wide As the World von Krishna Das

Fotos: Steven López, Jannik Schmiedl

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