Senior Center to Host Concert Featuring Local Author/Musician

The following news item appeared in the Flemington edition of InJersey on November 9th.

Senior Center to Host Concert Featuring Local Author/Musician

 

Lebanon Township author and musician ‘spreads the light’ to children, adults

The following story appeared in the Feb 3rd 2010 edition of the Hunterdon Review.

By DOMINIC SERRAO, Contributing Writer
LEBANON TWP. – Seventy-year-old musician and author John Beavin says he never grew up. His motto is, “It’s no fun unless it’s fun!”

The Lebanon Township resident, who lives on Green Oaks Road, is a retired heavy equipment operator. He began “writing” song parodies long before he learned to write.

At the age of 5, he would sing songs that he would hear his two sisters singing. They were already in the high school Glee Club then.

“I heard one line as ‘chasing all our dog hairs away,’ so that’s how I sang it. They laughed hysterically,” he recalled.

When his mother told him that the line was actually ‘Chasing all our dull cares away,’ for a few moments, his ego felt ridiculed and crushed.

“Almost right away though, I decided they weren’t going to laugh at me, and joined them laughing and singing. We sang that parody for years after, always laughing.”

Beavin, who has written hundreds of original songs, has been playing his music at the Unity Spiritual Center in Asbury since 1989.

He recently launched his latest music CD, “God is the Light in which I See: How to Laugh at the Tiny, Mad Idea.”

The artwork on the CD’s jacket is by established Hunterdon artist, Rhoda Yanow.

“She heard just one song from the CD, and became very excited; her one unfulfilled dream had been to do a CD cover!” The CD was produced locally and recorded at Tom Sciro’s Boulderwood Studio in Clinton.

“When I recently read Cervantes’ “Don Quixote,” I remembered first hearing it as ‘Donkey Hodie,’ which is the title of an original song on my new CD,” said Beavin with a smile.

He recently added author to his list of accomplishments as well. Beavin’s book, “The Parable of the Stars” explains the constant struggle between individualism and collectivism. As we separate and grow into distinct people, he said, we feel guilty that we have destroyed the whole to gain our individuality.

“We feel a sense of separation, which fosters fierce competition, pitting us all against each other in an endless struggle to be the best. These constant rivalries only leave us exhausted, hopeless, and unable to see our own brilliance as a whole,” he said.

According to Beavin, the book is a story of rediscovery as little stars come to remember their true beauty and power within their oneness as the single beautiful light. Published by Strategic Publishing Group as a children’s book, “It’s a book for all ages.” It is accompanied by an audio CD narrated by his wife, Lainie, a retired school teacher and master gardener. The cover is illustrated by artist Jennifer Bennett. While reading the manuscript of the book, Bennett found the book so helpful that she was reading it every day. “She told me she was seeing all these mental pictures while reading it. Bingo! I had found my illustrator,” he said.

According to Beavin, “The Parable of the Stars” transcends all religious, spiritual and atheistic boundaries. “Each time I hear Lainie’s narration on the CD, and at the same point in the story, the same indescribable emotions well up in me. Happens every time, and surprises me every time!”

The book and audio CD are available on Amazon or by contacting the author via email at beavin@embarqmail.com.

 

The Parable of the Stars

Author John Beavin uses The Parable of the Stars to explain the way people struggle between individualism and collectivism.  As we separate and grow into distinct people, we feel guilty that we have destroyed the whole to gain our individaulity. We feel a sense of separation, which fosters fierce competition, pitting us all against each other in an endless struggle.  These constant rivalries only leave us exhausted, hopeless, and unable to see our own brilliance as a whole.

The Parable of the Stars is a story of rediscovery as the stars come to remember their true beauty and power within their oneness as the single beautiful Light.  This shift in perception has already chaged the lives of many people and is sure to affect many more in the same way.  The Parable of the Stars is available at Amazon.com and other bookstores.