Enlightening Entertainment
 
Donna De Lory: Songs of the Divine      
How precious did that grace finally appear The hour that I first believed. Now I believe in amazing grace, amazing grace. I was blind, but now I’ve seen your arms. I am free.

Donna De Lory is a singer, dancer, and songwriter gifted with a beautiful voice imbued with spiritual devotion. Her soulful soundtracks are infused with elements from Western pop, devotional hymns, dance rhythms, African grooves, and Sanskrit mantras, and thus create a unique, eclectic, and transcendental ambience. Today, we are glad to have Ms. De Lory share with us about her life and music.

Amazing grace, amazing grace. I was blind, but now I can see.

Donna De Lory was blessed to be born into a musical family. Her grandfather was a double-bass player and cellist who was a member of the Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra. Her mother was a talented singer and dancer. Her father, Al De Lory, was a legendary musician and producer for the Beach Boys, Phil Spector and Glen Campbell. Donna De Lory was thus able to nourish her own inborn talent to sing and dance since an early age.

I was always sitting by his side while he was playing the piano, listening to the melodies and the changes. And then later on he went on to scoring films, and I would be there and I always heard melodies in my head. When I was little I remember being very shy. But I just knew that I wanted to sing. I knew I could, I had a voice, and I loved it, it was my bliss.

I also had grown up dancing and performing, and I always wanted to do that. So I pursued my music in Nashville for two to three years, ended up moving back to Los Angeles, and I just started knocking on doors in Hollywood, and dancing. I was young and I had tons of energy.

At age 21, Donna De Lory became Madonna’s backing vocalist, a role that brought fame and acclaim to Ms. De Lory. For more than one decade, she was Madonna’s trusted stage companion in her world tours.

I was 21, very young, ready to go out into the world and have my mind opened up in that way. And I knew it was my destiny. The best thing was that I was living my dream, singing. And just got to go to Japan, and got to go to all over the Europe. Over the many years that I toured with her, we went to a lot of places, which was beautiful. And then later on, traveling with her really exposed me to the world music and being in Turkey and Israel, I got a really big picture. I got the big picture by being out there.

With the breadth of knowledge gained as a top backing vocalist, when Ms. De Lory began her own career as a singer songwriter, there came the depth of life’s experience.

Thank you. Thank you. This is Cameron Stone on cello. That’s Dave Allen on drums and percussion. We’re going to hear him soon.

Om Shanti (Inner Peace)

We're going to wake up to a brighter day Realize love is the only way Now we’re walking out of yesterday We can rise up Be the change we want to see in the world today in the world today Thank you, Mozart.

My spiritual journey had started when I was in high school, when I went to a church of religious science and I heard the minister talking about Buddhism and Hinduism, more Eastern philosophies that really resonated with me.

Let’s be the change we want to see in the world
Let’s be the change we want to see in the world Let’s do it together

With her music, Donna De Lory has also been encouraged by the teachings of Integral Yoga founder Sri Swami Satchidananda and integrates them into her songs. Her interpretation of the spiritual practice of yoga lends to her compositions a sense of sacredness and bliss.

I read a lot about that the lover and the beloved are one. And that in a relationship, it’s really our search to connect with God and the God inside of us, and that it’s about union. And I feel like that’s what yoga is, and it’s linking back to yourself and that God, and that place of Divinity that we all have. It’s the thread that ties us all together.

So I’ve always felt that in my music, and not been able to maybe articulate it so much, but it’s that, it’s underlying in all my songs.

Hare Krishna Krishna, Krishna Hare Rama Rama Rama
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama

We’ll hear more from Donna De Lory and her spirit-lifting music when we return. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Welcome back to Enlightening Entertainment on Supreme Master Television as we continue our interview with the graceful spiritual singer, songwriter, and dancer Ms. Donna De Lory. Through years of searching, Ms. De Lory has established her own distinct and memorable style.

In 1993, she released her debut album on MCA Records, self-titled “Donna De Lory,” which was immediately acclaimed. The album’s single, “Praying for Love,” charted number one in Japan, and “Just a Dream” reached top 10 in the US dance chart. In 2000, Donna De Lory released her second album, “Bliss,” collaborating with cellist Cameron Stone. It was then that she ventured to new avenues in her music.

I ended up going on my own and starting to make my own music, which really was the time when I could really feel free to express myself, what I felt inside of myself, the way I felt spiritually, and my connection with the Earth, with God, and with humanity and relationships and everything. It all could come through my music.

And at that time I also met Cameron Stone, who is the cellist that I’m work with who I love so much, we’ve been working together 15 years. And it was at that time as well that I discovered the harmonium. And I started playing the harmonium, and that really changed what I was doing. I started writing songs on it. And it just had a different quality, very devotional.

Aham Prema (I am Divine Love) Aham Prema (I am Divine Love)
Aham Prema (I am Divine Love) Aham Prema (I am Divine Love)

Over the years, Donna De Lory continued to produce albums for the soul, including “The Lover and the Beloved” and “In the Glow” in 2004, “Sky Is Open” in 2006, and “Sanctuary” in 2009.

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving I'll be a living sanctuary for You for You
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving I'll be a living sanctuary for You for You
A sanctuary, sanctuary, for You

As a mother of two children, Donna De Lory also finds a source of inspiration in this sacred role.

Yeah, being a mother is just so huge. I never knew I could give I really didn’t know I had it in me. And that’s when I started singing “Hey Maa Durga.” I started doing “The Lover and the Beloved” and began on this path of singing the mantras and putting that music out there was really in that time when I was about to have her and afterwards, in the first few months. That song is so deep for me because it’s my prayer to feel that unconditional love and give that.

And I want to think of Divine Mother, and that unconditional love.

O Mother Durga, Hail Mother Durga O Mother Durga, Hail Hail Mother.
Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother
Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother
O Mother Durga, Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother O Mother Durga, Hail Hail Mother
Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother Hail Hail Mother

In light of the world’s situation today, De Lory wishes to soothe people’s souls with her music and invite them to be aware of the oneness already existing in everyone’s heart.

I know what’s going on. And I look out and my heart is breaking, because of what’s happening with our planet and with each other in so many ways, but I do have so much faith and so much hope that this energy we’re all in, I can help; I can help open that up in people, and want to express themselves and feel that oneness, and help us come together and wake up and realize this truth. And I just pray that I can serve more and be of service.

Expressing her joy and resonance with Supreme Master Television’s constructive programs for the planet, Ms. De Lory wished to convey a message to Supreme Master Ching Hai.

I can just say thank you. Namaste (I bow to the Divine in you). Thank you for sharing your message, thank you for giving so much to the world and providing this space for information, creativity, inspiration for people to feel that oneness. It’s beautiful, it inspires me, I want to write a song about it!

Finally, for aspiring artists, Donna De Lory shares the lessons from her own journey.

If you’re really coming from your heart and you’re pure and you know your message is really clear, I think it’s beautiful. We all have to bring out what is in us and give our contribution, even if you inspire two people, that’s incredible. When you’re following your bliss you’re there and you know it.

May God's love be with you, always. May God's love be with you, always.
May God's love be with you, always. May God's love be with you
When I find When I find my way How much will I find?
When I find When I find my way How much Will I find You
Oh yeah I’ll find You I’ll find You Yes I’ll find You
Om mani padme hum (Buddhist mantra) Om mani padme hum (Buddhist mantra)
Om mani padme hum (Buddhist mantra) Om mani padme hum (Buddhist mantra)
Om mani padme hum (Buddhist mantra) Om mani padme hum (Buddhist mantra)
May God's love always be with you
May God's love always be with you
May God's love always be with you

Our appreciation, singer, songwriter, and dancer Donna De Lory, for your wonderful songs of devotion and rising consciousness. With best wishes to you and your family, may evermore people tune in to your heartfelt music and rediscover the connection with the Divine. May God's love always be with you May God's love always be with you Always, always with you Always, always with you

Gracious viewers, it was a pleasure having you with us on Enlightening Entertainment. Now, please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television for Words of Wisdom, next after Noteworthy News. May the Providence watch over you and yours.

For more on Donna De Lory and her music CDs, please visit

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