A thread of music weaves through
and you won't want to miss this historical photo!
The other day, my friend Amber reached out to see if I might help with the visioning and organization of the upcoming Earth Day celebration at my son’s school. In our conversation she brought up how stressful the recent school lockdown was for the teachers. Apparently, there was someone in the area either seen with a gun or a shot had been fired nearby. The school was locked down until police searched the area and deemed it safe. As she was talking about it the desire welled up in me to support the teachers and staff and I knew it was time to offer what had been percolating in my mind and heart over the past year.
Our teachers and school administrators are AMAZING. They help our children learn to be in community and to expand their minds and hearts. They have also been through a lot in our Portland Public School district with the strike this year. I’ve been wanting to find a way to honor, support and uplift them as they support our children; to help them remember the deep well of energy resource available to them and the home they have within.
My seat wobbled under me in a surprisingly satisfying way as I shared my vision with the principal in her light filled office last week. She was grateful and included my offer of providing complimentary guided meditation and healing sound to the staff in the internal newsletter at the end of the week.
Even a year ago when this vision was slowly coming to form in my awareness, I saw myself surrounded by crystal singing bowls. I sometimes play the harmonium or shruti box to provide a healing drone sound to accompany my voice. Occasionally I will play a metal singing bowl or chimes, but have not had many opportunities to play crystal bowls.
Once I committed to this service, I reached out to see if I could borrow a set from my dear friend and collaborator, Rosemary (an amazing business coach btw!) She was happy to lend them. However, over the following hours, the realization surfaced that this offering for the school had a larger purpose in my unfolding role as a facilitator of healing and connection. I intuitively knew that I will be expanding my work to include more healing sounds from these instruments and so instead, I excitedly invested in my own set! I love them, they make me feel amazing and bring such a resonance to any space. I find that I can’t wait to play them every time I get home.
I have had a vision and deep desire to include more singing and sound in general in my work and play. It may come as a surprise to many of you, but I have actually been singing and performing music for most of my life. My mom, Connie Cohen, is a very talented songwriter so I grew up around music. I saw a 3/4 size electric bass at a music store at about age 12 and fell in love. I saved up and my parents helped me buy it. I was the only girl in my middle school to play the bass and was the lucky recipient of a scholarship to study with well known bassist, Tim Gilson, who played with the likes of Mel Brown and many others.
Before long I started to accompany my mom, creating vocal harmonies and bass parts for her wonderful original songs. We toured up and down the west coast in the years that followed, singing and playing together as a mother daughter duo, even performing at Portland’s Aladdin Theater.
We continued to play with a bit less frequency as the years went on until I left to attend college at FIT in New York. My mom and I ran retreats bringing music and singing with us in one form or another all through those years. In fact, we were just working on recording a new song of hers in the studio this week.
If you’ve been to one of my retreats over these past few years, you know how magical it can be when the element of music and singing is introduced. Many don’t think they can sing, have little practice and didn’t necessarily sign up for a singing experience. The point of opening the voice in that environment isn’t about performative singing, though. It is about joining our voices together in community which does amazing things for our nervous systems. When we do this, lots of pleasure and safety hormones are released and it makes us feel really good. In addition, we can both dislodge and harness so much emotion and spiritual energy through singing. For these reasons I integrate it into my practice in several ways. It is always a choice to participate, and I’ve rarely had anyone opt out.
So I am now inviting you to bask in the sound of my new singing bowls as part of the magical experience of sharing space with me and the lovely attendees at my Spring Rejuvenation Retreat in Hood River, May 24-26. It is a wonderful way to spend your Memorial Day weekend. We will stay in Hood River and visit an amazing animal therapy farm nearby connecting with animals and nature and learning about intuition. We'll experience breathwork embodiment with wonderful Hypnotherapist, Emily Rose Wheeler. The experience includes a transformative group mediumship session, opening and closing ceremonies, fun social time and precious free time to explore, read, nap, write, shop, hike or try out the many fabulous restaurants and bars in the area. Space is limited to 15, and we tend to sell out each time, so jump in if your heart is calling you to join us!
What attendees from our Fall 2023 Spirit Rejuvenation Retreat wrote for those considering joining us:
“Give yourself the opportunity to go within, find your center, your being and true sense of self. An awakening that you just need to experience.”
“If you feel any YES inside or a curious nudge, follow your heart and open up to this gifted opportunity.”
“It’s a holistic retreat and a wholistic retreat. There’s a diversity of modalities and the focus is on each participant’s wholeness. Absolutely glad I did it - exactly what I needed at this moment.”
“This was my second time and again I loved it. Just what I needed at this time in my life.”
“If you aren’t sure what intentional community looks like, this is it. This retreat will help you understand what it’s like to sit in love and warmth.”
I hope to see you there or soon, and here’s a loving nudge to bring music into your life in all the ways this week. Hum, sing, laugh, play an instrument and enjoy music live or recorded.