Amusing Musical Musings

Really I don’t have any! I just liked the way all those words fit together. Let’s see what happens with a little stream of rambling though. I can’t call it stream of consciouslness because I’m not sure how much consciousness will actually be expressed here!

Some of the things I have been recently ruminating on… First, the sound journey I did two weeks ago at St. Mary’s Church in Portsmouth, RI. I played longer than usually- not incredibly longer but maybe 8-10 minutes longer… and I felt like I could have just hung out and gone on and on. I had to reel myself in at a certain point (that point being when I looked at the time).

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It was such a gorgeous space- I had been wanting to do a sound journey in there ever since I first went there for a yoga class about a year ago. I record all my sound journeys so a few days ago I was listening back to this one. I often don’t remember what I did after a sound journey- I am in such a focused and meditative state. I just remember the feeling and the overall vibe of it. Sometimes there are certain instruments that stand out or maybe a particular chant. This one happened to be particularly trippy- there were a lot of combinations of tones that were creating very interesting and powerful binaural beats and as I perceived them I began to play off them and amplify them.

A few nights ago I went to a ukulele class. Now THAT was fun!!! I expected a small group of 12-20 people but it turned out that there were over 50 people in the beginner’s class- probably closer to 60- and the songbook we have been given is so much fun. Goofy songs like “Put The Lime in the Coconut” to songs by Herman’s Hermits, The Beach Boys and the Beatles- lots of Beatles tunes. My new favorite song to practice is “Don’t Pass Me By”- not something I ever imagined playing on the ukulele!

And then I went to an amazing workshop this past weekend at John Beaulieu’s property in Stone Ridge, NY- auriculotherapy with tuning forks- ie using tuning forks on acupuncture points in the ear, a brilliant therapy that I have wanted to learn for 20 years. It was a small group and thus a very intimate workshop and just what I needed for balance, inspiration and some great new information. John also gave me a really powerful treatment as part of his demo on Sunday morning which was also sorely needed. I have been trying to get my energy back and release some of the physical and emotional toll that my trips to Utah took on me earlier this year when my son Benjamin was having health challenges. A short treatment with John- who is such an extraordinary sound healing practitioner, bringing together his skills as a psychologist, osteopath, craniosacral therapist, musician extraordinaire and so much more- was just the right medicine.

And to top it off, we were in John’s sound studio which is for me, and I am sure all of the other sound healing practitioners, artists and musicians who are drawn to being there, like Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory was for Charlie!

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Sweet Dreams

Last night's dream concert led to a night of deep sleep and rich dreams. Our experienced has been enhanced by drinking raw cacao with various other herbs added to it- the most intoxicating to me is the touch of rose which is completely intoxicating.

John Beaulieu~ "The dreamtime concert is an environment for incubating dreams".  Looking forward to sleeping tonight.

Silvia Nakkach~ "Music has oceanic possibilities".  She says she is the Minister of Transportation. Indeed. Her music transports us to wondrous places!




Successes and Synchronicity

Today's successes...
Completed on new flyer for Wholistic Sound
Spent hours fixing my harmonium so that I could play it at class tonight
            *Thank you Daniel Tucker for the How To Fix Your Harmonium 101 at Kirtan Camp 2011!
Taught the first class on Mindful Yoga and Sacred Chant at Sandywoods with my friend Morgan Ford Brunketurner
            *Starting with an hour of yoga and then going on to chanting is definitely a recipe for success! And the acoustics in the room are wonderful!
Set up two kirtans in Newport (March 5 and March 15)
Spread paperwork all over the floor as the first step to pulling out stuff for tax person and organizing!
            *Definitely a job for brain tuners- results will be posted!
Through random synchronicity suddenly came across my book on The Tibetan Yoga of Dreams and Sleep
            *Very exciting since I am delving into that arena right now- taking a workshop on Sound and Dreams in June with John Beaulieu and Silvia Nakkach and going to sleep each night listening to Jeff Bridges' Sleeping Tapes, which is an amazing experience. If you haven't downloaded it yet I am urging you to GET ON IT!

Speaking of synchronicity here's a little throwback to 1983 for you! Love the backup singers- those girls are great!

"Synchronicity I"


With one breath, with one flow
You will know
Synchronicity

A sleep trance, a dream dance,
A shared romance,
Synchronicity

A connecting principle,
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible.
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectible
Yet nothing is invincible.

If we share this nightmare
Then we can dream
Spiritus mundi.

If you act, as you think,
The missing link,
Synchronicity.

We know you, they know me
Extrasensory
Synchronicity.

A star fall, a phone call,
It joins all,
Synchronicity.

It's so deep, it's so wide
Your inside
Synchronicity.

Effect without a cause
Sub-atomic laws, scientific pause
Synchronicity

And on that note- if you like Sting, read his autobiography. He is a good writer and it's very engaging- pretty much about his life pre-Police and leading up to that point. Really good, at least I thought so. Very thoughtful.

Jeff Bridges- The Sleeping Tapes

Okay, so apparently if you watched the Superbowl you would have seen this- but I am not a sports fan (nor am I politically correct) so I didn't see it until last night. I happen to enjoy food much more than sports so I was watching "Chopped" last night when, during a commercial break, Jeff Bridges comes across the screen playing a Himalayan singing bowl and "Omming" some very lucky couple to sleep! And the words came across the screen www.dreamingwithjeff.com. What??? I RUN to my computer and jump on the website!

Seriously... Jeff Bridges has made a pretty amazing album called "The Sleeping Tapes"- just what they are. This is my huge excitement right now. A mainstream superhip DUDE lulling people to sleep with his bowl and his deep OMMM.... Go Jeff! If I had watched the Superbowl I guarantee you that seeing that commercial would have been the most exciting 51 seconds of the whole thing! (In my world Himalayan singing bowls are the Superbowls!)

Here is a video of him talking about making the album and the very cool web building site Squarespace. (I've used it before- it's great.) It is a seriously cool video- you should definitely take the two minutes to watch it.
I downloaded the album last night and didn't hear the whole thing. You know what that means!

I love Jeff Bridges, I love sound healing, I love sounds, and I really love sleeping and dreaming- it's probably my most favorite thing of all! In fact I just signed up for a workshop on sound and dreaming with John Beaulieu and Silvia Nakkach, so this could not have been more synchronistic in my book.

What I am super excited about though is that this little 51 second video reached millions of people! Sound is so powerful and important and non-invasive and can be such an enjoyable healing modality. Right now I reach about 80 people a day on my blog. I'm thinking that's a lot! This year 114.4 million people watched the Superbowl. Jeff Bridges, you are definitely The Dude!

Oh by the way- all sales of the album go to No Kid Hungry. Here's to The Dude!


Inspirations


Beautiful Shyamji, my nada yoga teacher
This morning I updated my profile on my blog and spent so much time looking at pictures as I was considering updating that I came across all kinds of wonderful inspirations in the process! I decided I would share some of the things that have inspired me today- people, places, instruments- rather than getting too wordy.

The first is a suikinkutsu, also known as a Japanese water harp- an instrument I discovered while researching outdoor instruments for my healing sound gardens. The next one is a music piece by one of my teachers, music therapist, preserver of indigenous and sacred music Silvia Nakkach who has a voice of gold and a heart to match- Sarasvati incarnate!



Deity of Sound- sculpture by my dear friend
Ceramic artist and musician, Brian Ransom
The side of a music school in Minneapolis

Singing, Ringing Tree- Crown Point, Lancashire, England
John Beaulieu's sound studio in Stone Ridge, NY
Sarasvati, She Who Flows

My beautiful teacher, shaman/maestro Don Tito La Rosa
Jim Pepper's saxophone! Smithsonian Institute
"The Gift" by Patricia Bowers
Playing music for visionary artist Alex Grey
Dear friend, colleague, amazing sound healer, Baba Frejon/Fred Johnson- vocalist extraordinaire and dancer Katurah Robinson who dances from her heart
Athena VibroAcoustic Table
built by Somatron Corporation
My dear teacher, bhakti yogi,
amazing musician and "kirtanmeister "Jai Uttal
Beautiful friend, brilliant artist, hostess of my healing sound journeys Suzanne Benton-
blissed out after a Sound Journey






Another brilliant teacher teacher and revealer of the magic of tuning forks as well as craniosacral therapist/polarity therapist/naturopath/psychologist John Beaulieu
My Sanskrit teacher, the late Swami Sarasvati Sivananda
I miss you, Swami Bob!