c3’s Community Communications Catalyst and Editor, FutureVision Newsletter
My purpose in life is to inspire, empower, and support others to their highest self-actualization through consciousness and the arts, and in my own artistic expression to bring forth greater consciousness through the media.
I started acting at the age of 4 and was immersed in all aspects of theatre throughout my childhood. I turned to music in my teens and started writing songs and singing in clubs at the age of 15, as well as touring the Midwest with my own Lithuanian folk group. In college, I studied jazz and sang standards with the big band, playing clubs with a progressive jazz trio, and eventually earning a Bachelor’s in Music Theory magna cum laude from De Paul University in Chicago. I continued studying coloratura arias in 4 languages with Doug Susu-Mago of the Lyric Opera, and sang and toured as lead singer of various bands, by now developing an alternative “fringe” persona. Moving to London, I worked on a Master’s in Writing and did spoken word performances. In Los Angeles, I did more acting and performance art, appearing in the L.A.C.E. (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) floor shows and other gallery openings, as well as playing Al’s Bar with my own a cappella female trio. I also formed a New Wave band, in which I played keyboards and sang, playing every club in L.A., and working our way up through the street festivals to the infamous annual downtown L.A. Street Scene. I appeared in and created music for two of the earliest digitally animated videos which won SIGGRAPH awards, and sang, acted in, and wrote music for several independent films, while taking classes in Recording Arts & Sciences at UCLA.
I began teaching keyboards at a shop on Sunset strip that put a larger-than-life placard of me in their store window. I caught the attention of and was hired by voice teacher Elizabeth Sabine, who was known as the “Auntie Mame of Heavy Metal”, to teach hard rock singers how to scream without losing their voices. For this, my photo appeared in People magazine. I got hired as a singing teacher at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, and then by Disney, for whom I taught singing to the members of their Mickey Mouse Club TV show for their first and only record album. During this stint, I witnessed the auditions of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and Jessica Simpson at the tender ages of 12.
I eventually opened my own voice studio, where I trained hundreds of semi-professionals, helping them not only with singing technique but also with emotional and life management. This evolved into teaching “Artist Way” workshops and eventually becoming certified as a life coach, being one of the first members of Thomas Leonard’s Coachville organization. Through it, I met Philip Horvath and we began to host Coach Study Groups at my home in Studio City. There, I was also running a post-production facility with my husband, film composer Fritz Heede, where we had the pleasure of working with celebrities such as John Hurt, Julian Lennon, Lauryn Hill, Ed Asner, and Julie Delpy. I also collaborated with Fritz on many music projects, including recording inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, commissioned work for Dr. J.J. Hurtak, the “Ritual Path” DVD with John Banks, and creating a music album with Jon Anderson, lead singer of 1970’s super-group “Yes”.
My entire life long I’ve been a spiritual seeker / student and practitioner, starting from my Lithuanian roots practicing Catholicism alongside paganism and gypsy dream interpretation, and later expanding on to other faiths and altered states. In college, I studied Eastern Religions, Ouspensky, Gurdjieff, and the I Ching. I got into psychology, Jung, the power of myth, took many seminars/workshops and read many self-growth books, including channeled material from Seth, Lazaris, Bashar, Abraham, etc. I studied channeling myself (which I believe is how artists create art anyway), and still derive much wisdom from this practice today. I eventually discovered the Course in Miracles and Louise Hay, and in 1992 became a member of the Agape International Center. Rev. Michael Beckwith married Fritz and me in 1997. I have been practicing Science of Mind ever since, creating astounding miracles in my life, and am currently working towards becoming a licensed practitioner at Center of the Heart in Santa Barbara, where I’ve been on the Core Council, produced events, and am Service Leader. I’ve produced a CD of my world-pop songs called “Parallel Universe”, and am currently producing a documentary with my husband called “Caesar’s Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus” based on the best-selling book by Joseph Atwill. Now writing, teaching, and producing more than performing, my secondary loves are design and photography. I am pleased to write the monthly newsletter and offer my services as Community Manager for consciouscreatives.net
See my posts here:
https://consciouscreativity.com/category/futurevision-contributor/nijole-sparkis/
