Creative for a Cause

Lisa Cypers Kamen and Bekah Eden and both creative artists and cause artists—they devote their work to giving back and helping others.
Lisa’s a documentary filmmaker, philanthropist, author, radio and television talk show host, renowned happiness expert, public speaker and mother of two children. She educates individuals and organizations in developmental growth and happiness, especially when confronted by traumatic events.
Bekah’s a singer, songwriter, musician and teaches her students nationwide. She was recently named Best Upcoming Female Artist of the Year at the 2012 Malibu Music Awards.
Lisa and Bekah also work collaboratively, currently with our nation’s wounded warriors. We spoke with them recently about their current efforts.

Lisa and Bekah

Cultural Weekly: What is the greatest inspiration for your work with wounded warriors, both collectively and individually?
Bekah Eden: My mission in songwriting is very simple; I write songs to help heal the world. Lisa Kamen and I found common ground based on that mission resulting in a partnership benefiting HH4Heroes with the hope of touching the hearts and lives of as many post combat military men and women as possible. I was really drawn to HH4Heroes by the proactive compassion of Lisa and her desire as a civilian, to help our military’s wounded warriors and veterans rebuild their happiness after risking their lives on the battlefield. Offering the song on iTunes as a fundraising tool for HH4Heroes is how I can personally contribute to the healing of our veterans, and invite others empathetic to the challenges our warriors face in post combat, to do the same.
Lisa Cypers Kamen: The greatest inspiration for my work is knowing that heartfelt service generates happiness personally and globally. I am inspired to pay it forward by helping to heal our valiant US Military service men and women challenged with the invisible wounds of PTSD deserving of a thriving life after war. Music, film, writing and all creative arts are emotional portals for expressive healing that otherwise would be difficult to tap into and release. Our collaboration with Bekah and her beautiful powerful anthem, In-Between, offers a gentle knock on our hearts and minds to touch those wounded places within our warriors, and also within ourselves. In-Between quietly invites listeners to access their sadness, pain, anguish and suffering while inspiring hope, belief, optimism and ultimately inspires transformation of the emotional storms into strength and sustainable joy.
CW: Lisa, you’re not only the Founder of HarvestingHappiness.com and HH4Heroes.org, you are also the organizer of TEDxMalibu, which focused on Living out Loud in 2012, and where Bekah premiered In Between live on stage. What does Living Out Loud mean to you both?
LK: To me Living out Loud is not just a text acronym but a modern mantra for us all! Accessing our emotional, social and intuitive intelligence to live mindfully and in the present are not something we, as a culture, proactively teach. However, if we can learn how authentically show up in every aspect of our lives, “LOLing” then becomes a pathway to cultivating greater sustainable happiness.
BE: For me, the phrase Living Out Loud really came alive when I focused my energies on songwriting for cause music. My work with HH4Heroes has given me a remarkable opportunity to showcase my mission and vision as an artist. Personally, Living out Loud is using my gifts to be a voice for the voiceless, to raise awareness for causes I believe in, and to be an ambassador for justice in our society.
CW: With April being the Month of the Military Child, how do you both foresee your collaboration for HHHeroes helping our nation’s military families in the future?
BE: I whole heartedly believe in the positive power of songwriting to influence and heal. As an artist and music teacher, I believe that learning how to channel one’s emotions in a healthy way like songwriting, is one of the most rewarding experiences for kids. Our military kids have a wealth of emotions and situations unique to their cultural like repeated deployments of one or both parents, repeated relocations, new schools and transient new friends, and those scenarios can create stress and disruption to their stability as they grow up. Songwriting and learning how to utilize music as therapy, is a great way for our military kids to express the emotions of their experience, especially when combined with solution based programs like HH4Heroes offers.
LK: Military children are the legacy that will live with the affects of war as they grow into adulthood. Providing opportunities for them to express and understand their emotions in a positive, unbiased manner is vital to overall post combat healing for our military families. Second-hand trauma in children of wounded warriors exhibits itself in many different ways in youth but can manifest as the same destructive behaviors as their parents (addiction, rage, suicide, etc.) when they become adults. Our nation’s military kids can often times sacrifice much of their childhood as they assist in some of the care taking for their wounded parent. It is vital to the health of our nation that we as a society provide our warriors and their loved ones the opportunity to heal and enjoy “the good life” regardless of our individual or collective politics or stance on war. Our nation sent them to fight and it is our moral obligation not only to the individual but to society as well, to help them heal as families. Collaborating with like minded visionaries like Bekah, that understand the depth of that responsibility and need, enhances what HH4Heroes offers in terms of solution based outreach in teaching positive psychology management tools for our military families. Positivity is very powerful!
HH4Heroes is launching the R.E.B.O.O.T online community program thanks to partnership with Groupon Grassroots on May 22, 2013. There are 20 open scholarships for May and 20 for the June classes that will be available for veterans to apply for. To learn more visit: http://www.hh4heroes.org/reboot/#
See the premiere of Bekah Eden’s new song, “In Between,” here.
Photo: Lisa Cypers Kamen (left) and Bekah Eden.

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