What do you hear in your own voice or those close to you? What pain can you recognize and address? What can you admit to, what can you let go of?
What Does Your Sound Say About You?
Remove the Lampshade (Shine Your Light #7)
The solstice is tonight. I am deep in wonder what the return of the light will bring. What will happen as I choose to stay open? Will I have the courage to take off my lampshade that hides my light?
Following Brightness: My TEDx Experience
An hour ago I gave my first TEDx talk. I wish you could have been there, in the sold out black box theater at Lewis & Clark Colelge, packed in with the 80 eager listeners. The title of my talk
Shine Your Light: Ten Ways in 30 Days
During this month of September, I invite you on a journey to increase your musical and spiritual brightness using the concept of light. Religions and spiritual practices reference both sound and light. I’m intrigued to see what they have in common,
The Secret Beyond Stillness
(This blog is from the mystical side of my musical/spiritual practice) I use music daily before meditation to awaken my relationship with the Divine, chanting sacred sanskrit verses with my harmonium. The effect is always uplifting, energizing and centering, but
A Gift Given
I’m about to share something dearly close to my heart. On July 4th I led an all-star group of colleagues and former students in a concert celebrating Ananda’s 50th anniversary in California. As we played Life Is the Quest for
A Call to Arms for Musicians of Light
I grew up in Pittsburgh. Yesterday’s attack hit me hard. My weekly cello lessons with Michael Lipman took place just blocks away from the synagogue. Again the question arises: what can I do in response? Last night at the Oregon Symphony,
Music, Yoga, and the Divine Response
Live music & yoga: what incredible, dramatic impact they have on each other! I experienced this firsthand in February at the Northwest Yoga Conference. Then in March, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a yoga class, this time with a
Giving the Gift of Love Through Music
I sat at the end of a quiet hallway at Randall Children’s Hospital and unpacked my cello for what seemed just a few passersby on the 4th floor unit. My idealism faded away—what good could my music truly do for
A Thanksgiving Pilgrimage
It’s fun to be a pilgrim traveling to a sacred place at Thanksgiving. This week my family drove down to the Ananda Village in California, where we lived from 2001-20013. As soon as we arrived, I felt the essence of what