The first time I heard the words’ Divino BetSatori was in 2013. I had just moved to Los Angeles to dedicate most of my time to study and practice yoga. In the first week of February I traveled to Santa Barbara for my first Foundation Training certification. The training took place over a stretch of four days, and on the first day, I was lucky to meet a lovely person who invited me to sleep at her house. Exciting, I know.
Blessings in Disguise
However, things didn’t flow as their first seemed they would. My new friend had another friend, one she took to her room the first night I was sleeping there. Awkward, I know.
But luck was still on my side. The following night, I invited her to go with me on a full moon walk. She said no.
So I went on my own. I walked and walked, heading towards the ocean. I didn’t know how far it was or whether I would make it; the moon was high in the sky; the roads were close to empty; the breeze was soft. The whole walk was about 6 miles long, give or take 3 hours.
It was during that walk that I first heard the words: Divino BetSatori.
What’s in a Name
Divino BetSatori is a multi-lingual name, but it is also an action. These days my favorite definition is “We bet on our divinity”. You can find a more in-depth analysis of the name here: Divino BetSatori Meaning and Definitions.
To give credit where it is due, the word Bet came into mind because I was thinking about my lady friend: Beth.
Nothing happened between us. I may have seen her two or three times after that trip. Her name though, was the spark, the duality of the moment drove the feelings, and the mind filled the void with magic.
Opening the Heart and Throat
Years went by, and little by little Divino BetSatori grew inside of me. It became the seed that would later grow into my alter-ego, the more spiritual side of me. For a long time I thought about taking it as a spiritual name. My plan was to give up Bruno Treves and become Divino BetSatori.
It was around the same time that my love for music grew exponentially. This was probably due to a sudden, massive, unexpected exposure to Bhakti Yoga and Kirtan. These are two practices I took on when I arrived to Los Angeles. They opened my heart and my throat. In fact, kirtan music was the first type of music I ever performed on stage. It is part of the foundation and base for what Divino BetSatori is and will become.
From Love Songs to Love Songs
The first two songs I wrote were centered on community, connection, and spirituality. It was during on a yearly event called Family Camp and organized by the team from Create Community. A magical place, brought to you by Burners with 20 year old kids.
The inspiration came on the first morning of the event. Two songs, one after the other. There was barely any thinking involved. I owe much to the magic of the redwoods and the Family Camp vibrations. By the end of the event, I was performing one of the songs, no tomatoes on my face. God bless their heart.
From there I continued to write several types of love songs: Songs about the love for community, God, relationships and the Self. It seemed as if I was on the road to become the Hare Krishna son of Ricardo Arjona and Leon Gieco.
Riding on the Music of Giants
Much of this changed when I was introduced to the music of Wookiefoot. “Don’t Hold Your Breath” was the first masterpiece my ears were blessed with. Strolling around the campground at Arise, blasting from the speakers of a car parked a circle of tribe members passing the peace pipe. In case you are not from Colorado, I am talking about hippies smoking weed. They gave me a free copy of Wookifoot’s album. It was the only CD in my car for over a year.
Twelves months later, it was the speakers of my car that were blasting Wookiefoot’s music at Arise’s campgrounds. My mind was also blasted when they played the last set the festival. From then on I’ve tried to attend all of their shows whenever they come to Boulder, or somewhere near Colorado.
Wookiefoot’s music helped me bring more intention to my songwriting. Since then I’ve been focusing on writing more songs that will help people feel uplifted, joyful and alive. I want to write music that will bring people together, in voice and dance. I want my music to be community oriented, to be a benefit to humankind.
Aside from Wookiefoot, I’ve been inspired by music from Trevor Hall, Tubby Love, Satsang, you know, the Shangri-La crew. These musicians continue to light up the way, showing what is possible; proving there is room to be myself, and love it.
This is how I do it.
