Being a songwriter or a painter you're definitely facing your fears. You're facing your fears because you're speaking your truth; you're speaking from your heart. That's something that's not easy to do, you set yourself up for all sorts of criticism or vulnerability but that's why we do it.

Brett Dennen

Categorized in : Heart Easy Criticism

Don't forget that love is all you came here for, not anything less. Need I say more?

Brett Dennen

forget love-is needs

Follow your heart and you won't get lost.

Brett Dennen

follow-your-heart heart lost

The ocean inspires me because there's the energy of the water moving.

Brett Dennen

ocean water moving

Blessed is this life, I'm gonna celebrate being alive.

Brett Dennen

celebrate alive blessed

Pain is part of how I get inspiration and part of how I gain wisdom on life. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I don't transform it, I just let it be. I kind of let it move through me, let it consume me and I let it take me over and hurt me, and I let it go away when it's ready to go away and I understand that it's just part of the process.

Brett Dennen

pain hurt moving

For some reason I can articulate my feelings better in song. I wish it would come out better in regular life too though. The issue is that I struggle with is that I'm worried about what people think, or how they'll react to whatever it is I have to say, and obviously that's not a good thing.

Brett Dennen

feel-better struggle song

The mountains inspire me because they are just still and they have such a strong, quiet presence that feels very old.

Brett Dennen

mountain strong inspire

I want to live the way I choose. It's all about happiness. I'm a happy person. But to find true happiness, peace within yourself and the world, that is something achieved in the moment. No matter the circumstance.

Brett Dennen

matter want world

I know musicians who think that drumming and guitaring can be very meditative, but singing is different because when you think about things, you put words to them. So I try to just stay present most of the time, I try not to let my mind wander and I also try not to clear my mind. I like to still have thought and be aware of people and whatever that's happening, but I also like to just focus on the words that I'm saying.

Brett Dennen

focus people thinking

I think most artists would agree, it's one thing to be playing in front of a crowd that's loving it, it's another thing to add cameras, but it's a really cool trade off to be on television.

Brett Dennen

cameras artist thinking

If I hear a really good song it's like, oh man, I want to write a song that good. But the urge to create mostly comes from nature, weather and I think it just effects me.

Brett Dennen

writing song men

Nothing has happened too fast, nothing has happened too slow. It has been a mellow rise, and I'm thankful for that. I haven't lost my head, and I haven't lost my desire to keep growing.

Brett Dennen

growing desire lost

I used to want to be fully observational, but I'm just not that kind of writer. My process always changes depending on how, when, and where inspiration stiles me.

Brett Dennen

kind inspiration want

As an artist I write about the world I want to live in. And as a musician and someone who is in the public eye, I think you have this responsibility to influence people. So I try influence people to live from their heart and make conscious decisions , and I try just inspire people to make positive change. That's purely the reason I do it. I want to see the world get better, you know?

Brett Dennen

eye heart writing

Bringing up issues that are hard to deal with is a challenge for me, and I think that's what draws me to song writing.

Brett Dennen

writing song thinking

What I strive to do with songwriting is be really honest, authentic and try to be open and share that with people. I choose that over trying to be clever, poetic, or lyrical.

Brett Dennen

clever trying people

The people at festivals are much more open to dance and just sing along. They come right up to the stage and they're very thankful. That's one thing I really appreciate about the yoga culture, that the people are very thankful. They come up to you as much as any fan would, but they express sincere gratitude and I appreciate that.

Brett Dennen

gratitude yoga people

When you're young that's when you feel like you can change the world. Then you get older and you buy a house and have kids, and you don't want to be so bold anymore.

Brett Dennen

house kids world

I come from a place of sincerity. I write about what I see and feel. I write about what I want, I don't have a political agenda. Politics may enter into a song but it always comes from the heart.

Brett Dennen

heart writing song

I don't wanna limit myself to anything, but I eat like a vegetarian and I eat mostly raw.

Brett Dennen

vegetarian limits