Showing up with my whole self

At 2pm I was given last-minute tickets for the Portland Timbers soccer game that would start at 4:30. I grabbed my neighbor (who played and coached for 40 years) and off we went. As a kid, I was inspired by

Back on Track

Back on Track

I never thought life would turn this way. After leaving my marriage, I didn’t think there was more to come. The afternoon after finishing my AnandaCello album, I received very strong guidance to step back from the Ananda spiritual community,

Purity. Beauty. Love.

The tear rolled gently down my cheek as I lay on the couch, listening to Vladimir Martynov’s The Beatitudes played by the Kronos Quartet. The beauty and purity of the song was just too much for the loss I was feeling.

How to picture your audience (and no, it’s not in their underwear)

During my week with the Oregon Symphony, I was surrounded by 120 musicians onstage and 100 singers in the risers above. I could feel the exuberance and celebration resonating from the musicians all around me, overjoyed to be together again.

The Shift from Fear to Love in Music and Education

Musicians have lost jobs, performances, and the joy of ensemble. But now that everything has been taken away from us, what more do we have to fear? This moment is an amazing opportunity to shift the direction of music.

6 Lessons from Falling on the Scree of Life

Last week I backpacked in Yosemite for 5 days with dear family friends. It was glorious beyond imagination. We went off-trail to Nelson Lake for 2 nights and then Cathedral Lake for another 2. The weather was perfect, and it

Forests, Waterfalls and Racism

Forests, Waterfalls and Racism

I spent yesterday in the church of Nature. I drove out past Silverton, Oregon to Shellburg Falls and hiked 1.5 miles through towering canopies of vine maples to waterfalls of purification and renewal. Connection. I felt supremely connected to all

New Beginnings

It’s time. I’ve taken a break from writing for so many reasons, but now I’m back, strong, inspired, uplifted and ready for what’s next. Adding my voice to the cacophony of these past few months seemed futile. I was unsure

What Yo-Yo Ma and I did yesterday at the same moment

I went live for an hour on Facebook yesterday to play healing cello music and discovered that Yo-Yo Ma did the exact same thing at the exact same time (#SongsOfComfort). Musicians, the world needs us. We may not be able

Following Brightness: My TEDx Experience

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

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