I don't usually write personal stories that have nothing to do with sound or healing, but I have been compelled to share my thoughts about something very close to my heart. In March of this year, my nephew, who I have had the fortune to known since shortly after his birth, graduated from military training in the Infantry. He is now stationed somewhere in Germany and bound for Afghanistan. The only word I can think of to describe what I feel is "conflicted." I love my nephew. I know him to be a lion-hearted being following his path. But I detest war...I detest the way we perpetuate it, waste money on it, accept it as necessary, and use it to justify so many unjust things.
It is a struggle for me to speak out about the war because I would never want to offend my nephew nor dishonor his sacrifice. And his sacrifice is so valiant...because it is innocent. He really believes he is protecting his loved ones from terrorists and religious persecution. He is young. He trusts authority. He believes the stories they tell to justify secrecy, violence, and killing, and he doesn't yet see behind the veil they've so carefully woven to the absolute hippocracy of war. I sometimes wonder if it is better he never do, for his sense of betrayal will be fierce.
He tells me he wants me to be safe from "them". It warms me, his desire to protect. It is so beautiful. The absolute irony is that I am far more in fear of my own country and its corrupted leaders than of any foreign body of people and their beliefs. I am more in fear of a system so topsy-turvy and confused that it's got us all numb, silent, and in a perpetual state of disbelief and inaction.
I am afraid of the threats we continually ignore as we pour our energies into sustaining those we only imagine.
I pray for my nephew's life every day. I pray that he gets to experience a life free from fear, bigotry, fanaticism, and the horrors of war. And I hope one day, he is in a position to change the world in a way that makes it safe for every human life...not an "us" or "them"...a life in which our constitution is more than a set of token symbols we convince ourselves we experience while all the while surrounded by corruption, slavery, and suffering. I hope he lives justice, freedom and happiness.
I know he has it in him to be great, to take what he experiences, question it, and some day make his mark. And I know being called upon to stand up for unacknowledged truths, he will do it, even at the risk of being ostracized and humiliated, even if threatened with his life, because he has already proven himself a man of courage and honor, just not with the luxury of having chosen his own beliefs. When he begins to discover his own, look out world!
God bless soldiers everywhere doing what they believe is right. Awaken. Awaken. Awaken.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Music as Intended
Enjoy this really fascinating article about the origins of tuning and the effects our alterations are having on music.
"In a simple but extraordinarily conclusive experiment, it was demonstrated that the sounds produced in low tuning (C=256HZ) have a greater abundance of overtones. The result: The sounds have more color, and their volume and carrying capacity are greater." To read more: Retuning C
My question is, what was the rationale for ever changing our tunings in the first place!?
"In a simple but extraordinarily conclusive experiment, it was demonstrated that the sounds produced in low tuning (C=256HZ) have a greater abundance of overtones. The result: The sounds have more color, and their volume and carrying capacity are greater." To read more: Retuning C
My question is, what was the rationale for ever changing our tunings in the first place!?
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Life of an Idea
The Life of an Idea
A very powerful, utterly profound, gently mind-shattering podcast from Gary van Warmerdam of Pathways to Happiness.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
3 Steps to Freeing Your Voice
It's been quite awhile since I've written a post on this blog. I've been taking the easy albeit still valuable way out of posting fabulous videos. But I think the time has come to talk about our collective fear of the voice.
I recently met a woman who near broke into tears just speaking with me about what I do. Just talking about singing and expressing herself freely was enough to ignite her deepest fears underneath which hid her deepest longings.
Why are we so frightened by our own voices? Why do we judge the way we sound on an answering machine? What is that fear that keeps our mouths so tightly closed when we really, really want to speak? Why do we deny ourselves the joy of singing along? Maybe you don't. Maybe you've managed to break through the myriad inhibiting beliefs, and you've set your voice free. But if you haven't been one of the lucky ones, then what?
So, first, the whys. And then on to the "then what?"
At some point in our lives, we have experienced "the clamp". It is a defining moment or moments when we learned it simply wasn't safe to open our mouths. Either we were yelled at or physically abused, ostracized, or humiliated for something we said. Regardless of the details of the situation, we realized that we could instantly lose love by something as simple as making a sound.
And then, along the way, we come to realize that we can also use our voice to stir a bit of trouble. We can speak words that trigger others...sometimes hurting those we love most. We learn that we have a rather interesting power at our disposal. Yield it one way, and it becomes a deadly weapon. Yield it another, and it is a fine tool. Either way, it is something over which we must exert the utmost control. Or so we believe.
And hence, the fear we have today...one so complex and intertwined with so many of our root beliefs that it is quite a challenge to free ourselves from our self-imposed prisons. But we can free ourselves. We must free ourselves! Because our voice is our power to create and express Life!
Step One
So the first step in overcoming our fear is an assessment of where we stand now. Do you like the sound of your voice? If not, why not? Do you allow yourself to speak up? In what kinds of situations do you "clamp it". Do you sing? Where and how? And if not, why not? What do you believe about how you sound? Is it true? Who says? Do you want your freedom?
Step Two
Once you answer "yes" to that last question, you can take the next step of watching yourself. This is a period in which you know you want to change, but you don't hold unrealistic expectations for yourself. You simply watch yourself repeating old habits. You are learning the lay of the land, so to speak, so you can figure out where to take action in the next step.
Step Three
Once you become aware, then you can begin to take steps to change your habits. Take baby steps if necessary. Hum along to the songs that play while you grocery shop. Sing along to your music collection as loud as you dare. Allow yourself to say "ouch!" when you bump your elbow. Keep saying it until the pain goes away. Keep moving into your fear, and you'll find it evaporating like fog. The light of your voice will lead you to the other side.
And what's there? You'll find immense joy and pleasure. You'll find a liberty and strength within you you never knew existed. You'll find that you are a creative being with a beautiful voice!
I recently met a woman who near broke into tears just speaking with me about what I do. Just talking about singing and expressing herself freely was enough to ignite her deepest fears underneath which hid her deepest longings.
Why are we so frightened by our own voices? Why do we judge the way we sound on an answering machine? What is that fear that keeps our mouths so tightly closed when we really, really want to speak? Why do we deny ourselves the joy of singing along? Maybe you don't. Maybe you've managed to break through the myriad inhibiting beliefs, and you've set your voice free. But if you haven't been one of the lucky ones, then what?
So, first, the whys. And then on to the "then what?"
At some point in our lives, we have experienced "the clamp". It is a defining moment or moments when we learned it simply wasn't safe to open our mouths. Either we were yelled at or physically abused, ostracized, or humiliated for something we said. Regardless of the details of the situation, we realized that we could instantly lose love by something as simple as making a sound.
And then, along the way, we come to realize that we can also use our voice to stir a bit of trouble. We can speak words that trigger others...sometimes hurting those we love most. We learn that we have a rather interesting power at our disposal. Yield it one way, and it becomes a deadly weapon. Yield it another, and it is a fine tool. Either way, it is something over which we must exert the utmost control. Or so we believe.
And hence, the fear we have today...one so complex and intertwined with so many of our root beliefs that it is quite a challenge to free ourselves from our self-imposed prisons. But we can free ourselves. We must free ourselves! Because our voice is our power to create and express Life!
Step One
So the first step in overcoming our fear is an assessment of where we stand now. Do you like the sound of your voice? If not, why not? Do you allow yourself to speak up? In what kinds of situations do you "clamp it". Do you sing? Where and how? And if not, why not? What do you believe about how you sound? Is it true? Who says? Do you want your freedom?
Step Two
Once you answer "yes" to that last question, you can take the next step of watching yourself. This is a period in which you know you want to change, but you don't hold unrealistic expectations for yourself. You simply watch yourself repeating old habits. You are learning the lay of the land, so to speak, so you can figure out where to take action in the next step.
Step Three
Once you become aware, then you can begin to take steps to change your habits. Take baby steps if necessary. Hum along to the songs that play while you grocery shop. Sing along to your music collection as loud as you dare. Allow yourself to say "ouch!" when you bump your elbow. Keep saying it until the pain goes away. Keep moving into your fear, and you'll find it evaporating like fog. The light of your voice will lead you to the other side.
And what's there? You'll find immense joy and pleasure. You'll find a liberty and strength within you you never knew existed. You'll find that you are a creative being with a beautiful voice!
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