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I remember when she passed, our whole family would have to get together and practice the ceremony with for the offering of the incense and everything.
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And one day we were all doing that and I remember I went outside and I saw like butterflies flying around and I was like talking to the sky.
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Like I would literally remember being this little baby and like talking to God and saying, you know, you can bring my grandmother back.
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Like it's okay, I won't be scared like if she falls from the sky, but blah blah blah.
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And then I saw two butterflies go by and I was kind of like something about that moment kind of made me feel like, "Oh, okay, she's here."
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Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health podcast in the world thanks to each and every single one of you that come back every week to listen, learn, and grow.
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Now, I'm really, really looking forward to this next conversation because it's with someone who's been pouring their heart into making music about meditation, making it an opportunity for revelation in our own lives, and making it about healing.
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Today, I'm talking with Jhené Aiko Mhm.
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about the sound healing and creative intention she pours into her music.
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Jhené is a six-time Grammy nominated R&B performer.
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In addition to her music career, she's a Barnes & Noble best-selling author and mother.
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Her new album, Chilombo, is absolutely phenomenal.
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It's a work of art and it's truly been the album of the year of helping people this year get through their struggle, their pain, and their challenges.
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And I'm so glad to have this conversation and share this space with her right now.
1:47
I want to start with asking you probably something totally random, but I saw the other day you posted something on Instagram, which is where we connected, and you posted "adventure" in your caption, and then you were like what looked like next to an unearthed tree, or it was like this crazy Can you tell us about what that place was?
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Yeah, so I was in Point Lobos, which is in Carmel.
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I think they call it the Central Coast.
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It's like up the California coast.
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It was like a hiking trail.
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And literally while I was walking, I was looking at the roots, and I've been like obsessed with roots lately.
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Like actual roots of trees, and my own personal roots as well.
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And I saw them coming out while we were walking on the trail.
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And they were so smooth and shiny and strong, and I was just like, "Wow."
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And then we just came upon this Like you said, it looked like a almost like a tree had gotten like ripped from the ground, and all the roots were exposed, and they were like It was like a wall of roots.
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And I was just like, "Wow, this is cool."
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And I first I took a picture just of it, and then my boyfriend was like, "Do you want to be in the picture?"
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I actually didn't want I just wanted a picture of that, but then I was like, "Okay, cool."
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And so yeah, that's what it was, and I just thought it looked really cool. Yeah. It did. It looked amazing.
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I I It caught my eye straight away, and I I couldn't wait to ask you about it because it looked like an incredible experience, and I'm more fascinated now because of what you just said of your fascination with roots.
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Tell us about both your fascination with the roots of trees, but then tell us about your own roots as well, and what formed you into who you are.
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The past maybe 3 4 years, I have been studying my family history.
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And I feel like most of us sort of just We only know what our parents and grandparents have told us and you know, some families they do have more information about you know, the family and the roots and like where everyone comes from, but my family is from all over and I just remember hearing so many different things.
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You know, like I said maybe four or five years ago, I was like, I really want to figure out for myself, you know, and really study my family history.
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And so I did the DNA thing on ancestry.
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com and the results were like, what?
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Like these are you know, like it was things I didn't know that I had that um the results basically I didn't know a lot of that information.
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So within that site they take you to different um records of the people in your family and then it just keeps going deeper and deeper and deeper.
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deeper and deeper. And so those roots I of course got super intrigued by and I just felt more of myself, you know, learning about and seeing pictures of, you know, these relatives that I knew nothing about, you know, and even more so they they pull up people that share your DNA and so they'll pull, you know, first cousin, second cousin, third cousin, fourth cousin, fifth, sixth
5:18
and you see these people and you get to message each other and they all look different, you know, and they all but then it just I don't know, it's just such a fulfilling feeling to connect with people that are your family that you didn't know about, you know, and just learn about family and I think part of me feeling more grounded today is discovering that my roots are so deep and so widespread. And so now when I
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And so now when I look at trees and I see the roots, I'm just like, "Oh, this is like I'm a tree."
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And and my family, you know, the And those are my roots. So, yeah. Yeah, I love that.
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Yeah, it's such a grounding feeling. Yeah.
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It's such a centering feeling of realizing that your roots are ancient and old and you've survived and your family's like thrived for this long and the amount it's got through.
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I remember doing the test, too, the the ancestry.
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com test and I remember finding out I I was 77% South Asian, which is what I expected.
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But then I saw that I was 1% Native American and that for me was just I I didn't realize that there was any part of me that was from anywhere else and I agree with you when I started tracing it, too, it's it's phenomenal to see how interconnected we all are.
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I I don't know if you've heard about my one of my teachers, one of my monk teachers always talks about uh the redwood forest and the redwood trees.
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And I don't know if you've heard about their roots. No.
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So so their roots do something really interesting.
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You've just sparked this.
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They don't grow down and far.
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They actually grow across and wide. Nice.
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And they intertwine with other trees.
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And so the other redwood trees that are like baby redwood trees, they tie up with the big redwood trees.
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And then all the trees share their nutrients through their roots across the whole network, which I think's That's amazing. Yeah, it's unbelievable.
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So, yeah, your fascination with roots is very uh it's very justified.
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There's there's there's there's a lot to learn there.
7:33
But I I was speaking to you earlier when we were just chatting briefly before about how you've really been bringing this spiritual energy into your music. Mhm.
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And and I I've really genuinely admired and had so many amazing meditative experiences listening to your work. Oh, good.
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Uh and and uh I want I want to start with where did your spiritual journey begin?
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Where did that journey for you kind of ignite before you even thought about bringing it to your music?
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Huh, my spiritual journey was ignited when I was I think I was like four or five.
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Miyoko, do you remember when um grandma passed away? Right?
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I was maybe like four or five, I think.
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I I was I was really young.
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And I had I it felt like I had just met her maybe you know, your baby mind is the time is a little different.
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So, in my the my memory is that I just got to know her, you know, maybe like it was probably I knew her for like a year, at least in my memory of being you know, such a young baby person.
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Didn't get to spend that much time with her, but I fell in love with her immediately.
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She um this little Japanese lady we she used to let me play with her wrinkles.
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Um she didn't speak a lot, very quiet, very just like cute to me. She was like a kitten. And she passed away. And I was just like hm?
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And I remember asking my dad my dad who is a pediatrician he would always explain things to us in a scientific way.
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So I'm like, well, where did she go?
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He's like, well, she went to sleep and she didn't wake back up.
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And I'm like, okay, so and and then what about like her body?
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And he was like, they burned her body."
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And so in my in my mind, I'm like, "They burned her body. Huh?"
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You know, so I'm thinking of all of these things and at the same time we were preparing for her funeral, which was a Buddhist funeral.
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And I guess that was my first um that was my first funeral for sure, but my first sort of spiritual encounter.
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And at the same time my my grandmother would take us to Sunday school um to a Christian church.
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And so I would hear about, you know, how I would hear about praying and praying to Jesus and God and so I was like, you see so you know, I knew the story of Jesus and now I'm learning about Buddha and I'm five and my grandmother has passed away and they said that she's burned, you know, they burned her body and but I'm like, "Mm, but I don't think that she just went, you know, she's not gone."
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So just from that moment I was like almost even fascinated with death, you know, and like okay, not even necessarily trying to figure it out, but just kind of like yeah, fascinated is the word. And loss as well.
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Just, you know, always trying to figure out what different feelings mean and I remember when she passed I think one day after cuz we our whole family would have to get together and practice um like the ceremony with for the offering of the incense and everything.
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And one day we were all doing that and I remember I went outside and I saw like butterflies flying around and I was like talking to the sky.
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Like I would literally remember being this little baby and like out loud saying like, you know, talking to God and saying, you know, you can bring my grandmother back. Like it's okay.
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I won't be scared like if she falls from the sky, blah blah blah blah blah.
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And then I saw two butterflies go by and I was kind of like when they flew by, I looked up um in the window and my cousin, my older cousin was looking at me talking to myself.
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And so I was like, oh, okay.
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But then I saw the butterflies and it something about that moment kind of made me feel like, oh, okay, she's here, you know, she didn't have to like drop out of the sky type of thing.
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And just from that moment on, I don't know, I've always been contemplative, you know, I've always when I was little even, I'm the youngest of five or I grew up in a household of five older s- I mean four older siblings.
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And so it was really loud.
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And uh most of that time I would just be like observing and just, you know, trying to figure things out or just staring at things and just like I feel like really I was like meditating on them now that I think about it, but yeah, so it it really started at that moment.
12:43
That was a wonderful story and and a wonderful sharing of that experience. Thank you.
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And and it's amazing to see how much you remember from when you were that young.
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Yeah, that's one of my most vivid memories and I've written it down a few times throughout my life to see like ever, you know, if it change. But it doesn't.
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It's I think it's I think that was a real one. That's wonderful.
13:05
And and I guess when was it where you started to realize this connection between your spiritual interests and music.
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Was that always there from the beginning of when you started your music journey or was that more when you felt a certain level of personal growth and and personal confidence in what you were finding?
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When first started my musical journey, I was 12 going on 13 and it was just fun.
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It was you know, I was traveling and meeting new people and it was just more so fun for me.
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I didn't really start to incorporate my own personal story into my music until I was started going through my first little heartbreaks, you know, and then when I had my daughter, by that time I had been through a few things and I was really focused on putting my real story and my personal story into the music and you know, as as you get older, you know, the more things that you go through.
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Um So obviously having my daughter was a spiritual experience.
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So I was started, you know, making songs about that and just my love for her.
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And then when my brother passed in 2012, that was like a that was probably like the most pivotal moment um in my life but I also in my, you know, music because I had so much to express and it was such a it was soul changing, you know what I mean?
14:43
It was something that really reworked my whole being and my whole perception of life and, you know, family and love and all of these things.
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And so as I started trying to figure out my emotions and how I felt about losing the closest person to me, I started, you know, like self-medicating and trying to escape and like trying to forget about it and then obviously I'm like really small and I'm also just really sensitive.
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Um And so that took a on me for sure, like mentally, physically, spiritually.
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And having a daughter and watching as she got older, it was you know, I I recognized the responsibility of having, you know, a a whole human being that I was really solely responsible for, you know?
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Feeling physically and mentally not all there because of what I how I had been trying to uh heal myself with these substances.
15:55
Um I realized, okay, that's probably not the best way to get through this.
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And so you know, throughout my life I've read books about meditation and I've, you know, tried it and all these things, but once I got to that point where I really was like, okay, this is like a life or death situation, then I really really got into it.
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And you know, my music is just a reflection of me and what I'm going through at that time.
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And so, you know, for the past several years, that's what I've been going through, you know, um trying to heal and just evolve and ascend and, you know, be my highest form of myself. And so, yeah.
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I don't know if that answered Did I Did I stray from the question? No, you answered it. You You answered it.
16:53
I I want to be honest with you that sitting here listening to you, it's transforming internally for me.
16:58
Like it's it's wonderful to hear you think through and hear about reflecting on pivotal moments in your life because none of them sound easy, and you're going through them so young.
17:14
And so to hear you actually share them in this way, I'm hoping that everyone who's listening and watching right now is feeling the same way that that they're feeling like they can reflect on their own life Mhm.
17:23
and and find how these moments have made them stronger or made them more reflective or more meditative or more introspective because as you said, all of these things that are happening are just trying to help us learn something and help us find something more about ourselves. Right.
17:43
And so when I hear you say that it was that moment when meditation became more real for you, uh what else do you think happened at that moment that you feel like at such a young age you've been able to develop that curiosity but also resilience and that strength of who you are?
18:00
I think a very pivotal moment in my life was and I don't even remember I think I was just in a bookstore and I liked I was probably in the astrology section and right across from it was the Eastern religion and I saw a tick not hand book Peace Is Every Step.
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And at that point I was probably like 17 or 18 and I just I think I just liked I just liked I just liked that, you know, um that title.
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And I read it probably in two or three days and when I was younger I used to read books like that but at that age, 17, I wasn't reading books, you know, especially in two or three days and it was so simple, so poetic and I applied it immediately and I just I just felt I just felt good, you know, I felt good, I felt happy and from there on I would always get his new books and give them to people and I think with meditation it was the same thing.
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When I When I felt how it made me feel, then I was like, "Okay, this is something that I want to exercise.
19:20
I want to practice this because I can feel, you know, physically, mentally, spiritually, everything. I I just feel better."
19:29
The reason why I love Thich Nhat Hanh, he states things so simply that anyone could could understand.
19:38
And the beautiful stories he tells to arrive to the lesson that he's teaching, it just makes it so much more impactful for me and I love his meditations as well.
19:55
They're so simple, you know, the red light meditation.
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Take that moment to to breathe into your belly.
20:02
Um things like that that have helped me practice more of a meditation as more of a way of living and not just like meditate every day for this amount of time.
20:16
It's more like breathing through every moment, difficult or not, you know?
20:21
And, you know, it's something that I'm not perfect at or the best at or even may even in the top, you know, percentage of people that are great at it.
20:35
Um but it's something that, like I said, as I get older and things get even more real, it comes in handy, for sure.
20:46
Can you share with our listeners the red light meditation so that they understand it more and then they can apply it, too?
20:52
Okay, so Thich Nhat Hanh says, um instead of viewing it like you're in traffic, you have to understand that you are the traffic.
21:01
When I read that, I was like, And I personally love to drive. I Um Me, too.
21:10
I view it as a sort of a meditation and cuz I'm just in that moment driving.
21:17
I'm not thinking of anything cuz I'm a safe a really safe driver and probably a slow driver, too.
21:22
So, the red light meditation is every time you arrive at a red light, you come home to yourself.
21:32
You take that red light as a bell of mindfulness to you know, center yourself instead of viewing it as uh this red light is making me late and letting it frustrate you.
21:47
Um It's more it's a moment to take for yourself and just breathe. Yeah. Or that's how I take it. Yeah, that's wonderful.
21:54
We definitely share a love for Thich Nhat Hanh in in a special way.
21:58
I think he's absolutely phenomenal and uh the books that he's written, the work that he's done, and that example was a perfect synopsis of why he's so powerful because it takes a very simple concept and something that we all deal with on a daily basis Mhm. Mhm.
22:14
and turns it from how we usually view it to something that's so much more profound and meaningful for each and every one of us.
22:23
And I think that's almost like what what all of us need to become is every day we need to be able to take these very ordinary daily things and turn them into these extraordinary experiences Mhm.
22:35
uh rather than the other way around. Mhm.
22:38
And so, yeah, thank you for sharing that. I love that.
22:39
I I hope everyone's going to try that especially in LA traffic. Yeah.
22:44
Uh I'm I love driving, too.
22:44
So, I I feel I You know, when you said that, I was like, I feel the same way.
22:49
I can go on a long drive for hours and just feel completely Mhm.
22:54
you know, satisfied and fulfilled and hit as many red lights as I have to. Yes, exactly.
23:01
And I loved what you said then.
23:01
By the way, there's no one who's the perfect meditator or you know, we're we're all learning and working and figuring it out and and what I love about meditation is that when you feel you've reached a level, there's just another level. Yeah.
23:15
And there's just always this continuous awakening. Mhm.
23:18
And I want to talk about how you've put so much intention into your creative expression because you're not just making music, you're actually creating art to help people heal. Mhm.
23:30
I was watching this video on YouTube and anyone who's listening or watching right now, you can go and check it out.
23:35
Uh it was your experience.
23:35
You you designed an immersive experience, uh Wisdom LA. Yes.
23:43
And I loved it because you had everyone like lying down and and looking up and these absolutely phenomenal designs that look like the inside of someone's mind. Mhm.
23:55
Uh and then you were playing the sound ball and the harp and chanting and and uh and singing and I was just like, wow, like this is a healing experience.
24:06
Tell us about how how you came to create that and feel that that was how you wanted to share it.
24:14
Yes, that was a dream come true that hopefully I can take on tour sooner than later.
24:22
So, when I was probably around the same time I start reading Thich Nhat Hanh, there's a store that my father loves that's it's not there anymore, huh, in Santa Monica, but they have, you know, a bunch lots of sound bowls and it's like a spiritual, you know, new age store.
24:47
And there was a Tibetan singing bowl.
24:47
I picked it up, started playing it, um not to its full sound, I guess, cuz the the owner came up to me like, "Oh, let me show you how to do it." I'm like, "Wow."
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And then I immediately understood what he was saying.
25:04
And I was just like, "Oh my god, this is the best feeling ever."
25:07
Literally, like I loved the feeling of my wrists going in a circle, and obviously loved the sound and how it was making me feel.
25:15
So, I bought one, and then I kept buying them, and I would just, you you know, play them when I was feeling away or just when I was bored even, just cuz I loved how they sound and how they make me feel.
25:30
And fast forward um to maybe 5 years ago, my friend Chrissy sent me a picture of this woman with all of these really pretty crystal bowls. And I was like, "What? Like, what are these?"
25:46
Cuz I've seen the big white crystal bowls, but I had never seen them like so iridescent and just like in all these colors and and sizes.
25:54
And so, I looked it up and I found the company.
25:59
And at the same time, you know, I have been working on music and I guess even my my album before Chilombo, I wanted to incorporate more acoustic instruments.
26:14
Um you know, live drums, live flute, live and I would collect these instruments from like different festivals and different places that I would travel, cuz I just felt like you could feel them more than the you know, computer sounds.
26:30
And so, so, I'm already incorporating those into the music.
26:36
And then now I find these bowls.
26:39
And I'm just like, "Duh, like this is this is what I have to They're they're so easy for me to play."
26:46
And I thought they were easy for everyone to play, but I've actually seen, you you I have friends try and they're like, and I'm like, oh my god, maybe this is my instrument, you know?
26:56
And so of course, yes, I'm going to put it in the music.
27:00
So, people would always come up to me and let me know, share stories about how my music helped them get through something or helped them, you know, make a decision or just, you know, all of these things that felt so much more than just someone saying, oh, like, you're a great singer or, oh, you're so pretty or whatever.
27:23
It would always be, you know, we would like, a lot of times end up crying together because we, you know, this their stories are so like, um, touching to me and they're always, they'll always say, your your music really helped me.
27:39
And when I'm creating the music, it's really just to get through, you know, what I'm going through and helping me, you know, express myself and transform whatever the feeling is into some type of art, um, and it's a release for me.
27:53
So, I started to realize that the reason why I'm so compelled to share that is because I think the purp- my purpose or one of my purposes is to help people deal, you know, to to and and heal, you know, deal and heal.
28:12
And when I discovered these crystal sound bowls and started playing them and then seeing how beautiful they were, I knew I wanted to incorporate it into my live shows.
28:24
The thing is, they are not just for any type of show, any type of setting.
28:30
Um, you have to be indoors so that you can, you know, feel the acoustics, exactly.
28:35
So, I was doing a lot of festivals at the time and then there was like certain theaters that I would perform in and they just the the venues were not equipped for these bowls.
28:49
And I'm like, how do I like take this on the road?
28:53
Like, you know, am I going to do small shows in just little yoga studios?
28:57
Like, what's How am I going to do this? And my sister, right?
29:00
I think my sister she sent me a link to Wisdom.
29:07
We went there and the owners ended up being there and then they're like, "Oh, you know, they knew who I was."
29:12
And I'm like, "Oh my god, I want to do something here.
29:14
I want to do like a sound bath slash, you know, concert slash like visual thing."
29:21
And like you said, they have these like it's an immersive experience where you just lay back and it feels like you're in virtual reality, but you're it's it's real. It's reality.
29:33
And because you're in a dome, it feels like you're traveling through whatever you're looking at.
29:37
And I'm like, "This is perfect for the bowls because that's how the bowls make you feel even without having a visual in front of you or even when your eyes are closed."
29:47
So, we got together and we put this show together.
29:50
I forgot to mention my sound bowl mentor.
29:56
Her name is Jerilyn Glass.
29:56
She's like she's amazing.
30:00
She basically started to teach me about the healing aspects of these bowls and just music in general and sound in general.
30:12
Something I'm I'm still learning. I am still studying.
30:16
And this experience I knew that I wanted to travel with and I just wanted it to be a part of all of my shows.
30:25
So, I started to bring like other um smaller bowls to venues even when they said like this is probably not going to sound good.
30:33
I'm like, "Let's just try.
30:34
Like, at least we tried and we can say that we tried."
30:38
Um but yeah, I've I started having these this idea of like a lot of people listen to other a lot of other types of music to like distract themselves, but that is no solution, you know, to distract yourself.
30:55
distract yourself. So, I'm like, if I can give people experiences like this and music like this that you know, you maybe you do want to just put it on to forget about what you're going through or whatever, but when you're listening, there's that intention
31:11
there and that real healing in there that is really going to resonate within your body and your spirit and actually help, you know, and help center you or ground you or, you know, whatever it is really that you turned on the song for, that's what that it's going to it's going to help. Yeah, I I
31:28
Yeah, I I recommend everyone go and watch the video and try and imagine you're in the experience. Yeah.
31:36
Because I think, like I was saying this to you before we started, and and I really do mean it that when I started coming across mantra and frequency and vibration and these conversations around how healing could take place through music and through words and through language.
31:56
Now, I can't sing to save my life.
31:56
So, I've always deeply prayed and wanted for incredibly talented musicians uh to hopefully one day use their platform to do that because I just think that music is the most powerful thing in the world. Mhm.
32:11
And as you said, it's it can just be a distraction or it can truly be something that deeply touches the heart and and heals the heart even more than just touching and and uh to see you do it is just extremely hope-giving for me.
32:26
Uh and and by the way, and it's different for different people like and this sounds totally random and strange, but like for me growing up listening to rap music was extremely healing. Yeah.
32:37
Uh because for me, being able to listen to someone who had a tougher experience than I did, but giving me the permission to be able to express how I felt.
32:45
And so I would sit and write poetry or spoken word when I was younger.
32:51
Again, I can't sing, but I would I would write and I would share and I would think and I think even now when I journal or when I wrote my book or even when I do the podcast, for me language is so powerful and words are so powerful.
33:05
And when you put that to music or you put that to sound, Right.
33:08
it's it's out of this world.
33:08
And so yeah, I feel like that was a universal experience that you were putting people into.
33:13
There was There's also the other one that I've used of yours before, which was the uh the one that was for triggers. Yes, yes, yes.
33:21
And and that's another great example of how you're creating stuff that's very specific for people.
33:25
Tell us about Tell us about why you created that one and where that one came from. Okay.
33:31
So, I was working on my album, which just means I'm living life and creating music at the same time.
33:39
I was going through a period of time where I felt very triggered.
33:42
And when I was at the peak of feeling triggered, I recorded a song called Triggered.
33:52
And it was a freestyle and I was just kind of just like let it all out.
34:00
And immediately after, I felt you know, a release and I felt calm.
34:06
And I was working with my sound bowls at the time as well.
34:11
And I'm like, I'm going to do a mantra or song, we call it modern mantra. Yeah.
34:19
That can hopefully help people not reach that point of feeling enraged or chaotic or, you know, out of control.
34:29
Because I I for me, I can create a song when I'm feeling like that, but you know, other people need other outlets or a lot of the times they'll they will turn to um music.
34:42
My intention was to have it be when you feel triggered, turn this on.
34:47
And I use it for myself, too. Like I still do.
34:49
Like on the plane and stuff like that where if I just need to calm down for anything, um I'm like, oh, this this actually is working cuz I got with my sound bowl teacher Jeralyn and picked bowls that were very intentional, you know, picked notes and alchemies of the bowls that were really going to aid in how it resonates within everyone that listens to it. So. Yeah. Yeah, I know it works. It's it's awesome.
35:17
Like I said, I've I've used it.
35:19
I've shared it with people.
35:19
I I I think it's beautiful.
35:20
And again, if you're listening or watching, we'll put the links to all of this uh that I'm recommending cuz I'd love for you to use it and I'd love for you to share with Jeralyn and I on Instagram how you're finding it uh because I think these are just really powerful tools.
35:33
Like we always need something.
35:33
I I often say to people like when you're hungry, you don't panic because you know if you eat that you'll be satisfied.
35:40
But when we're anxious or when we're triggered or when we're nervous or when we're stressed, we just create more panic because we haven't yet found the tool, the substance, the mindset that satiates that hunger.
35:59
And so, but we have to view it the same.
36:01
There's there's no need to panic.
36:01
It's about finding that Yeah.
36:04
It's about finding that uh connection of of what activity or mindset can help help with that.
36:10
Kind of circling back to you talking about your roots and obviously this album being called Chilombo, which is your surname, Mhm. uh your family name.
36:19
It's it's interesting that we started talking about roots. Right.
36:24
And and you can see that in your work again of going that Tell Tell us about the importance of using that name. Yeah.
36:32
And and why that was so symbolic for you right now. Yeah.
36:34
My father chose the name Chilombo for himself when he was in his 20s, I believe.
36:43
And growing up, I don't remember when I learned that, but it was it was pretty early.
36:50
And I don't know it made me feel like disconnected from it.
36:55
And then being in school, people would um not really make fun of it, but they couldn't pronounce it.
37:03
And so it was kind of just like always annoying to me.
37:08
And I always would say, "I I can't wait to get married so I can change my last name."
37:14
But as I got older, I really started to love it and love how it sounds and love how it looks.
37:18
And I started asking my dad more questions about why he chose that name.
37:25
And he has lots of different um breakdowns of why he chose the name, the spelling, everything.
37:34
And then doing my own research, I found out it was a word in I believe it's uh pronounced Chichua.
37:40
I'm not sure how you pronounce it, but it's a language.
37:43
It's an African language.
37:46
And Chilombo means wild beast in that language.
37:52
And I was like, "Ooh, that's cool. I like that. I like that."
37:53
And so I for me, it was all kind of like a metaphor for me, like accepting myself and really uh acknowledging all the different parts of myself that make me who I am and embracing my wildness.
38:14
And embracing all that I am.
38:17
Whether people don't understand it, whether they can't pronounce it, whether they think that I'm not really connected to that last name because it's not, you know, because my father chose it himself.
38:30
Um So, yeah, that was me just embracing all that I am.
38:34
And the fact that it means wild beast, I love it because I love dragons.
38:45
I I was born in 1988, which is the year of the dragon.
38:47
And just dragons are like cool, obviously.
38:50
I always wanted to be in the year of the dragon. I'm 1987. Aw. So, I just missed out. Almost.
38:57
But no, I just I think it's a beautiful creature, but it can be destructive, but it's also graceful, and I'm just like, yes, I feel like I'm all of these things.
39:06
And I feel like Chilombo represents all of these things, and I feel like the album also represents all of these things.
39:13
It's not just me pretending to be perfect and, you know, I'm this healing this healer, you know, it's like I'm going through these real things, and I'm dealing with them, and I'm practicing um how to heal, and it's just, you know, all of that coming together is Chilombo. Mhm.
39:34
That's a beautiful definition. I love that.
39:36
Yeah, it's it's uh Yeah, it's it's so interesting because I guess we live in a world of chosen names as well, whether people are actors or musicians or, you know, and and the fact that your father chose your name, it's it is it is almost powerful to come up with our own names and our own identities or because so often we don't feel connected Right.
40:00
or we don't have a vision or a or a symbol for who we are. Mhm.
40:06
And and it's almost like getting closer to that is such a powerful thing like cuz we've realized that icons and symbols and visuals are so important in our lives, whether it's as simple as an emoji or whether it's a real, you know, it's a real emblem of who we stand for and what we are.
40:22
Like but we see mascots, we see that visualizing of who we are everywhere.
40:29
And sometimes the only visual we don't have is of us. Facts.
40:32
And yeah, it's it's it's nice to hear that definition of Chilombo.
40:36
We also came up with um me and my dad who I've gotten closer to as an adult um we came up with our own little breakdown of it.
40:48
So chi is life energy force. L um so love Yeah. The L is for love. Om Yes.
40:59
the sound of the universe Yeah.
40:59
B, which comes from the foot in Egyptian hieroglyphics is the base foundation.
41:11
And then O is everything and nothing, all encompassing circle of life. Yes, circle of life.
41:17
And so that's how we broke down Chilombo.
41:21
Which you can find uh if you order a physical copy of Chilombo, we have like a little insert that like breaks it all down. I love that.
41:32
without all my extra words. Yeah, no, I love that. I love that. That's so right.
41:37
All of the all of the breakdowns of it is perfect.
41:41
It's got such a it's got such a deep meaning.
41:42
And I and I love that you said the physical copy because I remember standing outside we had a store in in the UK where I grew up in London called HMV and I remember like standing outside HMV to buy like the CD when it came out and like I loved looking at artwork and and just, you know, opening it up and seeing album covers and all of that.
42:00
So I totally when you said, "Yeah, get the real cover."
42:06
Yeah, the physical there's there's definitely something in that but but that definition is so beautiful.
42:09
We should we should create a beautiful Instagram you There must be an Instagram graphic that you've created for that definition.
42:15
There is I I did post Yeah, I I did post it Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
42:20
I posted the actual graphic of what we put in the But I don't know.
42:22
I think there's, you know, I like to like you said, hold things and feel them. Yeah.
42:29
Talk Talking about that, when you mentioned Om there being the sound of the universe, like what do you think is a message that the universe has had for you over and over again that you've been learning? Surrender. Um let go. Probably, yeah.
42:50
Which same thing, but let go.
42:50
And I'm constantly cuz that's constantly in my head, but I don't think it's in my I think it's coming from the universe. Um Let go and love. Love.
43:08
It definitely has a O in it. Let go or love. Just be.
43:17
I I think I I think that I get a lot of messages from from the universe.
43:21
Um one thing that I used to do when I was younger that I didn't understand was probably considered now a meditation is I would sit in the sun cuz it felt good. And just breathe.
43:40
And every time after maybe 5 minutes I would start getting these um very clear in my head they were just like one-liners.
43:55
You know, it would be like Like little quotes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
43:59
And I would be like, what, you know, am I just It didn't feel like I was thinking of them.
44:02
It just felt like they were coming to me.
44:03
And it's something that I still do now that just feel like little downloads from the universe, from the sun, from just the atmosphere. I don't know. Um So, yeah.
44:18
When I do that and when I'm really there in that moment breathing, it's just very clear messages that I usually write down.
44:26
I used to tweet them um at one point when I was younger and then I felt like I couldn't give it out away as soon as I got it. I had to like Mm. Process it.
44:39
Process it and meditate on it and and really understand what what does that mean?
44:44
And so now I do that a lot more.
44:44
I still write them down for myself, but um yeah. Yeah. I love that.
44:49
You When I'm when I'm hearing you speak today, like I feel like and and obviously this has taken work, but you feel very in touch with your intuition and your like inner voice.
45:00
Tell us about that journey because I think a lot of people who listen sometimes struggle with like well, I don't know whether this is really my intuition or whether it's my ego or whether it's my inner voice or actually is it just my mind that's just How Yeah, tell us a bit about how you clarify the difference between the two for yourself and how you've become closer to your intuition. Yeah.
45:22
I think that is more of a recent development within myself.
45:29
Um I think naturally when I was younger in like grade school, it was my intuition and I and I knew it, but as I got older and more jaded by life, I the voices grew and it was they multiplied and I just felt like, "Oh my god, I'm crazy, you know?"
45:51
And then in the line of work that I do, I just has started to started to get a lot of anxiety about things and just really doubt myself.
45:58
Um And I feel like people close to me recognize it and me and my two friends, Ari and Felicia, we decided to go on a trip to the Esalen Institute. Have you heard of that? I have.
46:15
I haven't been there, but It's amazing.
46:17
Um we had a little retreat and she got me this book called I think this I think I remember the name of the book Silencing your inner critic. Mhm.
46:30
Because she was doing my makeup at the time and you know, it would always she would see me so stressed before shows or after shows and I would be like How was it?
46:38
Like, oh, I felt like you you know, I'll just be like so frustrated and she she didn't we never talked about it.
46:46
She just like gave me that book.
46:46
So I'm like, oh, okay, you see that I'm dealing with something right now.
46:49
Um and really that book had so many great um points and really helped me realize that I'm not these voices.
47:02
I'm the observer of these Yeah, I'm the I'm I'm listening.
47:05
I'm not the I'm not them, you know?
47:07
And so from that point on of reading that book, I started listening to my thoughts differently and saying, "Okay, hi.
47:16
Okay, that's fine, but you know, you're you don't decide, you know, who I am or how I feel."
47:25
And reading more books that are, you know, um just started yours. Um Thank you. You're familiar with Dr. Joe Dispenza? Yes.
47:37
Um He's been on the podcast, too. Oh, amazing. Amazing.
47:39
Um Becoming Supernatural.
47:44
Um The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
47:48
Um Oh gosh, there's an audio book that I'm listening to that I don't remember the name of right now, but just practicing cuz I was once again realizing that the habit of um listening to these voices in my head and letting them control how I feel about myself and how I move daily.
48:12
Um I was mindful enough to see that it was not the best, you know.
48:21
It wasn't the best practice, so now I just practice, you know, the right things.
48:29
Now, I practice um doing things that I feel like are our best for me and my development as a person.
48:39
Um More audiobooks in the car opposed to music or no music. Silence. Um yeah, silence.
48:50
I drive in silence all the time.
48:51
There's never really silence also, I realized.
48:53
There's always something something going on, but that I love like natural sounds.
49:01
Um yeah, it it can be really hard though and it's just something that you have to keep practicing.
49:09
We uh usually end every episode with something called the final five.
49:12
This is a fast five round, which means every answer is either one word or one sentence maximum.
49:22
One word or one sentence. Correct. Okay. Okay. Are you ready? No. I love the honesty.
49:30
You're the only person who's ever said that to me. I love that.
49:33
I love how honest you are.
49:35
Let me prepare myself for fastness. Okay, for speed. Okay. Okay. I'm ready. Are you ready? Yes. Okay.
49:48
Janae Ika, this is your fast five.
49:52
The first question is, what has helped your mental health this year? Sleep. I love sleep. That is a great answer.
49:58
I I couldn't I I say that to people all the time.
50:02
Literally, if we just slept well, so many Go on. Yeah, Karen, you Rest. Yes, rest.
50:07
So, like sleep {slash} rest cuz yes, I think a good sleep is like when you're really resting and cuz you know, have you ever had like a sleep where you wake up and you don't feel like you were actually asleep? 1,000% yeah. So, okay.
50:23
Rest is what I would Wonderful.
50:26
I'll challenge you to Second question, how do you personally refuel after pouring your heart into an album? What happened? Sleep. Sleep again? How do I refuel? Okay.
50:42
After you put your After you Because I read I read that you were saying that you put your you know, you were like physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, like it's it's draining to create a work of art.
50:51
Like You can say rest again. That's How do I refuel? Ah, honestly, rest. Great.
50:58
Okay, you you can't give rest as the answer.
51:01
That's another rule I should add to the fast five about you can't give the same answer to more than one question. All right. Third question.
51:09
Uh what's the biggest lesson you've learned in the last 12 months? It's not rest. It's Maybe it is. Maybe it is. It can be rest.
51:18
The biggest lesson I learned in the last 12 months through difficult situations when my energy feels all tangled up inside of me is rather than try to get through it with that anxious energy to slow down and to breathe through those moments.
51:46
Uh something that knew sort of the idea of before and like read about like, okay, you know, but I think the last 12 months have really taught me that lesson because I used to get really anxious and then it would just build on top of you know. Yeah.
52:08
The anxiety, the energy which is build on that instead of me just saying, okay, let's bring it in, slow down.
52:16
The biggest lesson to breathe through it. Question number four.
52:22
Uh, what's something that you're confident about that others may disagree with you on?
52:26
Or something that you're sure about that other people may not wrap their head around fully.
52:33
There's nothing cuter, nothing more precious, or magnificent as a cat.
52:45
Cats are and I mean felines like lions, tigers, domestic house cats, um, jaguars, pumas, mountain lions, um, all of the cats are they're the best.
53:00
Yeah, when you extended the family I could I could get into it.
53:04
but but see and that's what people don't understand about house cats is that they're just little tigers and lions.
53:09
Like, who doesn't want to experience that in their wanted a little cub like always. So, Get a cat? Yeah. Or a lion cub. Yeah. Mhm, probably a cat.
53:21
All right, fifth and final question.
53:23
Okay, I'm going to try to do this one fast. Okay.
53:26
If you if you could create one law that the whole world had to follow, what would it be? It would be to share.
53:37
Share your food, share share your home, share your ideas, share everything, and it'll be always an exchange, and no one would go without.
53:50
That's a beautiful answer, very unique.
53:52
We've never had anyone say that. That's awesome.
53:54
Everyone, do me a I go Chilombo the album.
53:57
Please, please, please go and check out all the links that we're going to put into the bio here.
54:00
And Jhené, thank you so much for doing this.
54:02
Like, this is so beautiful, so special. Thank you.
54:06
Uh I hope it's the start of a lifelong friendship. I look forward to it.
54:10
And I'm so deeply grateful to have had you on the show.
54:12
Everyone who's been listening or watching back at home, or whether you're at the gym, or whether you're walking, or you're walking your cat, or your dog, uh please, please, please tag me and Jhené on Instagram and share what resonated with you, what connected with you.
54:24
What is it that she mentioned that you're going to practice or try out in your life?
54:27
We'd love to hear, we'd love to see that.
54:30
And again, I'll see you next week on On Purpose. Thank you again, Jhené. Thank you. Thank you so much.
54:35
Everyone, my name is Jay Shetty, and welcome to my YouTube channel.
54:40
Every week, I'm sharing three videos that are going to help you feel more fulfilled, feel more happy, and more successful.
54:47
Make sure you subscribe to this channel so that you can find out about the videos as soon as they launch.
54:53
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