Musitations™: Exploring Music, Meditation, Creativity and Wisdom

I was so honored to be interviewed on McCall's podcast Falling Into Soul: An Exploration of Inner Alchemy on the subject of Burnout & Soul Renewal, a subject near and dear to my heart. Having burned out 3 times in my life, I knew this would be a deep dive and it was! She graciously agreed for me to post it on my youtube channel and included it on my own Musitations podcast since this was the third in our series of soulversations. In McCall's words for the episode: In this episode, Michael DeMaria and I explore the rich, complex, and paradoxical themes of burnout and renewal central to our lives as empaths, recovering codependents (over givers) and creative types. Speaking from our personal experiences with burnout and how-not-to-burn-out, Michael and I explore: The importance of the soul (water, earth) in tempering the creative fire and air of spirit. How to honor and be in conversation with instead of pathologizing processes of the soul that feel dark, slow, and counter to creative productivity. Learning to differentiate between the ego being fed and the soul being fed through creative purpose. How to be who we are....sustainably I also share the story of how I burned out nine years ago on fulfilling my soul purpose, what I did to recover, and how I engage with purpose differently now. You can find out more about McCall and her wonderful work and book, "The Other Side of The Mountain" on her website at: https://www.mccallerickson.com/ or her podcast at: https://mccallerickson.buzzsprout.com/1225844 Time Stamps: 00:00 Intro 03:50 What is Burnout? 08:15 How the Soul Keeps Us Balanced. 11:20 Burnout vs. Shamanic Death/Rebirth 13:30 Inscendence vs Transcendence 17:00 Moving from the Fear of the Darkness to Welcoming it 15:30 Welcoming the Descents and Fallings into Soul 22:30 Dark Nights and Going Insane 24:50 What is Soul Sickness and What Nourishes the Soul 25:15 The Answer is Within 28:00 What feeds the soul? 29:45 Discerning the Difference Between Feeding the Soul and Ego 35:00 Becoming Whole 39:50 The soul is not languaged 40:40 When we let go over everything, everything supports us 42:40 Selfish/Selfless Paradox - and becoming Soul-fish 46:00 What is a soul initiation? 49:00 Seeing the Soul as a Wise Stranger we share our lives with 54:50 The Water of Life as an antidote to Burnout 1:00:00 Improvisation, Unconsciousness and Soul Flow 1:08:00 "He Plays Like A God" Story 1:13:00 Finding Your One Thing!

For those who know Mark Nepo's work he needs no introduction.  For those who are not yet familiar with his work, Mark Nepo has been called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time,” “a consummate storyteller,” and “an eloquent spiritual teacher.” A bestselling author, he has published twenty-three books and recorded sixteen audio projects. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Recent work includes Surviving Storms (St. Martin’s Essentials, 2020) and Drinking from the River of Light, a Nautilus Award Winner (Sounds True, 2019).  I have been following Mark's work for over 30 years.  Yet, I first connected with him when my music was used on his two audio programs for Sounds True, Reduced To Joy, and Inside The Miracle.  Since then I have had the honor and privilege of being part of a number of his mentoring circles for authentic living.  Mark has a unique capacity to bring the inevitable complexities, challenges and inherent paradoxes of life into an intimate, clear and accessible focus through the power of story, metaphor and his timeless poetry.  In this episode, we dive into his most recent book, "Surviving Storms: Finding the Strength to Meet Adversity".  It's as all of his books a powerful, deeply intimate read about becoming truly ourselves in times of adversity, challenges and suffering. Today, more than ever, Mark's timeless wisdom is a welcome healing balm and lantern to light our way through the dark.  Mark's Main Website: https://marknepo.com/   Marks Website for Live Webinars: https://live.marknepo.com/ 04:52 The Basic Chords Under Everything 06:24 Between The Song of Life and The Pain of Life  07:57 Exhausted Open To the Joy and Pain of Living 09:30 The Everyday Broken Hallelujah 12:31 The Liminal Space of Being Born Premature  16:00 Losing the Connection to the Chords Under Everything - Our Primal Home 16:30 Where is Your Soul At Home 20:57 The Essential Paradoxes of Life 21:40 Whales and Dolphins as Examples of Solitude and Relationship 24:00 Our Direct Connection and Reverence for Life  24:45 Presence and Depth of MY Truth vs. Relationships and Truth Beyond My Own 25:50 The Gifts and Liabilities of Solitude and Relationship 26:30 The Maturing of Compassion - Staying Open To Your Pain Without Losing Yourself 28:00 Un-individuated Love and Codependency 28:39 We Have the Switch To Our Own Light, Not Others  30:00 Through Suffering and Loving We Find Our Inner Light  31:00 Being a Greenhouse for Each Others 34:00 Dealing with Paradox by Stepping Back To See the Wider View 35:00 The Hawk and The Horse - Balancing Revelation and Step by Step Living 39:00 Letting our Soul Catch Up With Us 42:00 Circles for Authentic Living 43:00 Progress vs Incarnation (doing for others AND seeing for myself) 46:00 Breaking Codependence (Extension of Suffering vs. Being a Resource for another Suffering) 48:00 Not Avoiding Suffering and Becoming a Hand Carved Flute 49:00 Being Fully Carved Open Like a Flute 50:00 Everyone Has a Gift Which Gives Us The Capacity to Live Life to The Fullest

00:00 Intro  04:17 Letters to a Young Poet Inspiration 05:51 Rodin and Rilke’s Relationship 08:00 Rilke asks, “How should I live?”  09:22 Rodin’s Answer 11:51 Rilke’s quest for a Muse  14:29 Heart Work and Empathy 19:45 Creativity and Madness 21:12 Do we need demons to create? 26:00 Art and the Mystery of Being 27:45 Seeing with Awe and Wonder 30:37 Looking through Rilke’s Eyes 31:57 Letters and Poems 35:41 Art and the Survival of our Species 38:51 Art and Nature 39:02 Truth over Beauty? 39:17 Nature and Truth  41:00 On Solitude and Togetherness   The title of this podcast is the provocative title of one of my favorite books I have read in recent years, Rachel Corbett's masterwork of historical non-fiction, You Must Change Your Life: The Story of Rainer Maria Rilke and August Rodin.  It really rocked my world. I had read Rilke's monograph of Rodin back in grad school 40 years ago, and have always wondered why someone had not written more about the relationship between these two men of vision, heart and artistic genius. To many Rilke is considered the greatest poet of the 20th century, and Rodin perhaps one of the greatest sculptures of all time.  In particular, Rilke's masterpiece, "Letters to a Young Poet" spoke so deeply to me as a young aspiring poet/artist and musician - that it has shaped my own approach to life and art in deep ways, and remains (as it does for many) as one of my favorite gifts to give to young, aspiring creatives of all types.  I was also going through a very difficult time when I read this book as we were entering the pandemic and it was as if Rachel was speaking directly to me through her thoughtful, wise and empathic prose.  I have wanted to have her on the show for quite some time and I'm THRILLED she agreed.  You won't be disappointed and PLEASE go buy this book and read it! If you want to experience Paris and the artistic/intellectual climate at the turn of the century - it will take you on a fascinating, wonderful journey - particularly with a caste of characters as diverse and extraordinary as Lou Andreas-Salome (Rilke's lover, mentor, guide and muse) and Camille Claudel (Rodin's gifted, brilliant and ultimately tragic muse) and so many others. Here is a bit more about Rachel:  Rachel Corbett is the author of You Must Change Your Life: The Story of Rainer Maria Rilke and Auguste Rodin, which won the 2016 Marfield Prize, the National Award for Arts Writing.  She has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and New York Magazine, among other publications. She lives in Brooklyn. Website: http://www.rachel-corbett.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelncorbett?lang=en Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corbett_(art_journalist)

Chris and I have been having musical soulversations for close to two decades.  An accomplished film composer, conductor and musician based in LA, he has worked with Michael Bublé, Dr. Dre, Christina Aguilera and many others.  More importantly, he has a deep and profound understanding and approach to the art and practice of creating music. We went through David Darling's Music for People apprenticeship together and share a similar love and passion for the art of improvisation. We dive into the first time he heard Dark Wood one of David's poignant solo cello albums that helped him begin to look at the art of music making from a more profound and simple approach - what David often called Deep Listening - or playing from INSIDE the music, i.e., allowing the music to be birthed from this incredibly intimate, innocent and vulnerable place we all have within.  Join us for this deep dive into what "Being In The Music" means to us and how David's legacy lives on a year after he transitioned to the other side of things. Here is a bit more about Chris: As a conductor and orchestrator, Christopher Anderson-Bazzoli has worked with top recording artists Michael Bublé, Dr. Dre, Christina Aguilera, and She & Him, among others. He is also an Emmy-nominated composer whose latest classical work, Continent’s End, is available on the Delos Music label. His music can be found on the web at posthornmusic.com. Chris' IMBD: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1125129/ 00:00 Intro 04:00 David Darling's Album Darkwood - Simple, Deep, Personal Expression 05:00 A Tuba at Esalen Institute  10:21 Spirit and the Breath 19:35 Playing from Deep Inside the Music   21:00 Soul Source and Jung 23:00 Returning to Child as Healing 25:00 Vulnerability of the Voice 29:00 Play One Thing - Simplicity and the Moment of Belonging in a music improv  35:00 Even the Most Accomplished Musicians Struggle with getting out of their way 39:00 Deep Listening and Being Inside the Music  44:03 Film Composing  50:00 Power of Community in Supporting Creative Expression

Thrilled to have my good friend, colleague and fellow Multi-Grammy® nominee Will Clipman on Musitations™ for the kick off of season 2! I have admired Will and his profound work in world music and percussion for more than 3 decades!  It is such an honor and treat to have him on the show.  Little did I know we had so much in common; both being published poets, devoted world music multi-instrumentalists and most importantly survivors of a near death experience - which is how we connected while collaborating on a project for the IANDS (International Association of Near Death Experiences) conference last year.  We immediately connected and began discussing doing an episode on Musitations™ together which is now live! We discuss the meaning of mythopoetic, conscious creativity and the importance of having "serious fun" when creating - as well as the importance of listening, stillness and silence.  Here is a bit more about Will:  Will Clipman is a poet, percussionist, performing and recording artist, maskmaker, storyteller and educator. He has been nominated for seven GRAMMY® Awards, including one for his solo world music album Pathfinder, and his pan-global instrumental palette is featured in his Planet of Percussion® workshop and performance. Will has recorded over seventy albums, including thirty-five for Canyon Records, the world’s foremost producer of Native American music. Will’s poetry is widely published, including his book Dog Light (Wesleyan University Press). His masks and mythopoetic storytelling are showcased in his workshop and performance Myths & Masks®, which is available as a DVD. Will has conducted over three hundred artist-in-residence programs for elementary, middle and high schools, colleges and universities, senior centers, adult and juvenile prisons, hospitals, libraries, resorts and retreat centers. His work as an educator has been recognized with an Arizona Commission on the Arts Decade of Distinguished Service Award and three Governor’s Arts Awards nominations. Will has toured throughout the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as in Germany, Canada, Morocco and Russia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Syracuse University and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Arizona. For further insights into Will’s work, please visit his website at www.willclipman.com. 08:14 Mythopoetic 13:28 Conscious Creativity  14:40 Serious Fun  24:05 Planet Percussion  31:12 Will’s Musical Origin Story  33:33 Feeling Good and Groovy  37:35 Our Near-Death Experiences  47:19 The Importance of Listening, Stillness and Silence  49:40 Will’s first poem 56:40 Playing a Duet with Silence

I first met Felipe when he asked me to be part of a local PechaKucha, a fascinating form of storytelling that celebrates humanity. Felipe was the driving force and organizer for our local chapter. For those that don't know PechaKucha’s 20x20 presentation format allows each presenter 20 chosen images, each for 20 seconds. In other words, you've got 400 seconds to tell your story, with visuals guiding the way. PechaKucha means "chit chat" in Japanese and began in Tokyo in 2003, and since then it has grown into a worldwide movement.  I loved the experience and was immediately impressed with the quiet strength, compassionate wisdom and presence of this young man and the community he helped develop in our Gulf Coast town for our fellow creatives. As you will find out Felipe loves hanging out with ALL the muses of life - and most importantly his love of people, family and the creative process. Felipe is an award-winning artist, a five-time entrepreneur with 20 years of marketing experience, and a decade working on business branding and consulting. He's been coaching and training professionals since 2010 on how to work creatively with various tools and more recently focusing on assisting individuals on living a more mindful and meaningful life by embracing their spirituality, creativity, and exploring new positive experiences. His father is a fine artist and interior designer, and his mother is an educator in theology and philosophy. Early on, ideas, concepts, and experiences allowed him the privilege of having time and space to develop critical thinking, compassion, and an existential drive that motivates him to this day in appreciating the beauty in every person and every moment. As a father of two expressive and creative children, now more than ever, he appreciates all the experiences that his childhood provided him. Join us as we take a deep dive into all things creative in particular how he has developed his Art and Meditation practice and our mutual passion of combining present moment awareness with the creative process! You can find out more about Felipe as: https://munoz.work/about or https://empathicpractice.us/

I am thrilled to have my good friend, fellow flutist Sherry Finzer on Musitations Episode 12! We've known each other close to a decade and share a love of the flute and a passion for bringing more healing, meditation and mindfulness into the world through music. Topics we explore:  What led you from classical/jazz to more healing music? How do you use music as a meditation for yourself and others?  What do you love most right now about your exploration of healing music? Can you tell us more about The Tank and recording there and what you love most about it? What is your creative edge? Being the first musician to live stream on Insight Timer! Sherry Finzer believes that music can heal. Her musical journey has taken her from classical to jazz, pop, world, and flamenco, to today, where she feels her music does the best work by helping to calm, soothe and bring people to a state where they can begin to heal through her New Age music. Fueled by stories shared by listeners and fans of how her music helps them deal with stress, depression, and physical ailments such as tinnitus, stroke, and cancer, she records, performs, composes, and runs Heart Dance Records – a label consisting of artists with a focus on creating music to be used to help mentally and physically heal. Sherry specializes in the low flutes - alto, bass, and contrabass, as well as Native flutes. Sherry's music can be heard on SXM Spa Channel, Pandora, Spotify, Music Choice Soundscapes, Galaxie Spa Channel, Calm Radio, River of Calm, Journeyscapes, international radio programming, multiple airlines, and overhead music channels. She was one of the first musicians asked to live stream on the Insight Timer app, and performs weekly on this platform. She has recorded over 27 New Age & Contemporary Instrumental CD's and has released many singles. You can find out more about Sherry at: https://www.sherryfinzer.com/

I so loved doing this podcast with one of my newest soul friends Susan Harper - a true moving storyteller, dream weaver and continuum teacher who opens portals to the vast space of creativity we all have within us!  This last year, I became a huge fan of the work of Emilie Conrad. I spent most of COVID reading, re-reading, digesting and book marking her riveting autobiography "Life on Land," where she introduces how we all have aquatic origins.  That book brought me in touch with Susan who I truly see as carrying on the soul of Emilie's work, bringing together the 3 muses of movement, sound and breath.  At the end of the soulversation, Susan helped shed light on a vocal trauma I suffered at the age of 10, and also helped me dive more deeply into my current grief around my father's dying process I am currently traversing with him as a soul doula. So grateful for this time with her. Themes we explore on this rich, deep dive of a soulversation:  1) The relationship between vocalization, breath and movement in continuum. 2) What Musicianing is when it comes to our own breath, movement, sounding process? 3) The dual process of rooting and reaching. 4) The dual process of autonomy and connection (interdependence). 5) Cultivating Fluid Presence. 6) What is an Improvisational moment. 7) Ways of dissolving to discover primordial wisdom. 8) Tension between what is and what is possible. 9) What is our soul-heart-song?  A bit more information about Susan and how to connect with her and her work: Susan Harper is a Continuum teacher, a heart-soul-counselor, creative instigator, and inspired teacher of perceptual and movement inquiry. Susan has the ability through personal demonstration of sounds, breaths and movement to transmit a primal and spiritual fluidity that inspires participation resulting in embodied innovative discoveries. Her students call her a moving storyteller, a dream weaver, one who opens portals into the vast space of creativity, which is available in all human beings. Susan joined Emilie Conrad, founder, in 1975 to study, and eventually became a partner in developing the organization and work of Continuum. Emilie and Susan developed teacher training programs, and co-founded Continuum Teacher Organization in 2000. She continues to mentor many of the authorized Continuum teachers. Susan creates contexts for those who love to inquire, who dare to listen at the edge and in the depths—to be in the frontier conversation—who are aware of the adventure of courting the unknown. You can find out more about susan and her work at https://continuummontage.com/ Beautiful documentary of Susan and her work:  https://vimeo.com/449520710

In episode 10 I'm thrilled to have the talented musician and author McCall Erickson back on Musitations™!  I first read a quote 5 years ago by McCall that touched me deeply, “Soul work is not a high road. It's a deep fall into an unforgiving darkness that won't let you go until you find the song that sings you home.”  It was a beautiful distillation of what I have found to be true on my own journey. In Episode 6 you can hear more about her book  The Second Half of the Mountain: A guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening. Since our last episode we have stayed in touch and found a mutual focus, concern and interest in the following topics particularly around emotional sobriety and how it relates to healing from codependency, developing our creativity and supporting our well-being. Topics explored: What is emotional sobriety? Our personal journeys with healing codependency and learning to transmute feelings and emotions Feeling vs. Emoting and how they're both necessary Our work to live beyond the drama triangle Forming secure attachments outside of the drama triangle Attachments vs. connections Link to McCall's website: https://www.mccallerickson.com Link to the video version of this episode (coming soon)

I was thrilled when my good friend and musical colleague from my Music for People days asked me to be on her wonderful Sounds of Healing Podcast.  We decided to create a 'soulversation' for both of our podcasts as we dove into The Sounds of Mindful Living from the Heart which I have renamed Soundful Living from the Heart for our Musitations podcast episode 9!  A particularly special, heartfelt part of this particularly soulversation is our sharing about our beloved teacher, friend, mentor and colleague Grammy winning cellist David Darling who passed away earlier this year.  Here is a little more about Karen's amazing work and background:  Dr. Olson uses her sound healing method to help people find peace, freedom and the power to live their dreams.  She has established herself as an authority in emotional and physical wellbeing. Her education, training and personal experience is the subject of her award-winning book, SoundPath: Using the Power of Sound and Silence for Health, Harmony and Happiness Karen draws upon a rich background of degrees, certifications, strong faith and many gifts to be able to hold a space for Divinely guided energetic answers for her clients. She is a multi-award-winning, Billboard-topping musician and composer, best-selling author, international speaker, and bio-energetic practitioner. Dr. Olson has advanced degrees from Juilliard, Yale, and NYU. She is a violist with eight CDs, has been on the top-10 of four Billboard charts and has won multiple awards. She is a member of The New York Pops with regular appearances at Carnegie Hall. She has shared the stage with superstars Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Liza Minelli, Roger Daltry of The Who, Sarah McLachlan and many many more. Her recent music video featuring Deepak Chopra and Michel Pascal is used to help give prisoners a sense of peace and is part of a program at the United Nations. Dr. Olson was also featured in the UN’s Global Bwell/BKind Challenge. Experience her music and programs so you can receive deep peace and answers for a path to freedom, peace, improved health and happiness. You can find our more about her at her website: https://www.karenolson.com/

Jonathan Best is a multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist who is devoted to helping the world transform through music. A true music gardener, Jonathan and I met while we were both going through a life changing program known as Music For People guided by our beloved teacher, friend and fellow musician David Darling.  We had scheduled this session before David suddenly and unexpectedly took his last breath in his body just days before this episode was recorded.  David's life and music touched and inspired us and allowed us to dive very deep on this particularly episode about what David and music has meant to us. In particular, Jonathan's work with the Maasai tribe in Africa is a powerful example of the ability for music to empower us by creating healing heart-centered community. Jonathan teaches at Prescott College in Arizona, and touches lives by making the impossible possible and expressing the inexpressible through the language of love - which we both agree is the essence of music.   Jonathan evoked in me in this episode a deep emotional moment at 1hr and 2min in - where we both agreed that making a sound, even hitting one note is a sacred prayer if done with the right intention and sincerity, which we both discovered very young.  David Darling taught us that we ALL have music in us and we become healthy individually and culturally when we make room for ALL of us to feel safe enough to make a genuine sound from our hearts.   From Jonathan: I have put music front and center of everything I do since childhood from playing on street corners and subway platforms and in storefront churches, traveling the south in a gospel bus to traveling the world with rock stars. I was put in jail for inciting a riot with music. In 2007 I enrolled in a four year Musician Leadership program at Music for People while at the same time making trips to Kenya to work with the Maasai people creating a media center and co-creating documentaries by and for the Maasai communities. What I learned from the Maasai people is that when music is interwoven into the very fabric of a community, the community is able to withstand debilitating drought and oppression. These experiences inspired me to start a non-profit called comMUSIKey where music is the key to community, which runs workshops and gives lessons in developing community-centered music. This, in turn, led to the BuildTheBridges.rocks project which entailed bringing music and musical instruments to the US/Mexico border and to shelters and to churches housing asylum seekers. We are forever looking for ways to use music to build bridges and take down walls between people and ideas. Information on how to connect with Jonathan below: Live show every Wednesday at 3 pm MST (10 UTC) and Music for Every Body Lesson every Sunday 1 pm MST (8 UTC) https://www.youtube.com/enjolis/live jonathanbest.com http://www.buildthebridges.rocks/ comMUSIKey.org listen to music at jonathanbest.bandcamp.com watch music at youtube.com/enjolis

Bill Schulz (Chiz) has been my oldest and dearest soul brother and friend for the last 42 Earth years.  He was the first one that awakened in me both the practice of meditation at the age of 16, and the first person I explored musitations and soulversations with.  We have shared a love of using music as a form of inquiry into the nature of reality and being-at-large through our over 4 decades of friendship.  Our love for exploring the stars, night sky, and the natural world equaled our love of creating music for healing ourselves and others.  In this rare and deep dive into the origins of the idea of musitations and soulversations we explore understanding of music, nature and the soul.  We also journey back and discuss what we use musically call  'Soft Space' which was another phrase for what we understood as 'soul space' where we both felt our identities 'dissolve into a river of sound.'     Topics we explore in Episode 7: What is the relationship between music, nature and the soul? What was unique, strange, curious about our particular form of playing and listening to music from the beginning? What is the role of silence in our lives and music that we love to listen to and play? Why is the awareness of impermanence, emptiness and death central to understanding music and musitations? When was the first time you felt seen, heard and were able to talk about and share what is most important to you?

In episode 6 I have the wonderful opportunity to have a deep soulversation with musician and author McCall Erickson.  I first read a quote 4 years ago by McCall that touched me deeply, “Soul work is not a high road. It's a deep fall into an unforgiving darkness that won't let you go until you find the song that sings you home.”  It was a beautiful distillation of what I have found to be true on my own journey.  We explore her journey and her book The Second Half of the Mountain: A guide to Personal Alchemy After Awakening and many shared interests in the overlap between the soul's journey and the creative process - in particular music - and the importance of honoring decent, growing down and darkness as sacred and critical in finding an authentic life grounded in the wholeness of being, including the times we must embrace the sacred dimensions of emptiness and not-knowing.    For me a soulversation is two souls encountering each other in the present moment tracking the music that arises between there own rhythms, melodies and see what third element arises - like the harmonics that arise spontaneously and seemingly out of nowhere in music.  I hope you'll enjoy ours, I sure did!

In this episode I have the unique opportunity to have a deep dive conversation with the author of Radical Wholeness: The Embodied Present and the Ordinary Grace of Being, Philip Sheperd.  This profound book really touched me and gave expression to many of my own experiences of wholeness.  Philip shares my love of creativity and the power of present moment awareness for helping us move from our head back into our bodies intelligence where we can ground ourselves in the wholeness of being.  We also touch on how we are a 'standing wave' not an object in space, which is very aligned with our understanding on Musitations, that we are music! From his amazing soul adventure at the age of 18 biking from England to Japan to study Noh Theatre, to his playing lead roles on stages in London, New York, Chicago and Toronto, to the international teaching he now does on The Embodied Present Process™(TEPP), Philip is on a mission to help wake us up to the inherent wholeness and grace of our being.  Join me in this very rare and not to be missed soulversation.  For me a soulversation - is two souls encountering each other in the present moment with the intention of exploring what arises.  I hope you'll enjoy ours!

Today is my paternal grandfather's spiritual birthday - the day he took is last breath 47 years ago. It is also the birthday of one of my dearest soul mentors who transitioned 13 years ago, Hugh Carter, whose soul name was Pilgrim - a deeply humble, wise and compassionate soul who taught me so much.  Hugh was a musician, teacher, and life long minister of the soul.  They both lived well into their 80's and were living, breathing symbols of humbly living from the heart while having a deep resiliency and courage.  Today I share how we are all a song - and a song never dies. It may go silent, but it is always out there flowing through the atmosphere for anyone to receive it and play it again - reviving its essence and its power to touch the soul, open the heart and calm the mind.  I share the poem "Pilgrims Glance" from my first book of poetry, Moments: Healing Poems for the Journey Home that I wrote for Hugh after his physical passing.  I also share how my grandfather, Hugh and my mother have become more present to me through their physical absence. The sounds, the songs, the music doesn't die - it goes on and on, like star light....

In this episode Michael takes listeners into his micro-musitation practice: Three breaths to de-stress. It is a resonant breathing practice that calms the nervous system, reducing fear, anxiety and increasing blood flow.  This also has been found to be very beneficial in boosting immunity and also help you in dealing with respiratory distress.  Being Music is his brand of music that explores both what it means to live each moment as a note in the song of today, while also creating music that helps us 'be' and not 'do'.  He also discusses the view that we are going through a global soul initiation by having to 'be' and not 'do' and how this helps us do inner work which is so crucial to maneuver the inevitable rapids of life with resilience and creativity. Finally he shares the title poem to his new book of poetry When All Is Lost: Finding Heart in the Dark.  He discusses how 'musitations' also means finding a meditative practice in any of the creative arts - the 'muses' that help us transform suffering into creativity - poetry, movement, visual art, gardening, cooking, etc.

"Each moment is note in the song of today," is a line in a poem I wrote many years ago while going through a dark night of the soul.  It was my attempt to stay with my experience of grief and despair, to feel my feelings all the way through until the grief and sadness cleansed me of all that was not essential and I found myself changed by the experience.  As painful as times like these are that we are going through, it is a powerful opportunity to explore the pain and anguish that often we numb through TV, social media or checking out with substances or addictive activities - that's actually living beneath the surface of life.   When we can feel what we feel and give some kind of creative expression to it there is an ease and loosening of the feeling and it can even give way to a fluid feeling of being connected to life and belonging to our own hearts again.  This applies even more to meditation, instead of trying to accomplish something in meditation, allow yourself to track the arising and dissolving of thoughts, feelings and sensations as a kind of music - sometimes harsh and painful, something cool and joyous, but always shifting, morphing and changing into something else.  No feeling, sensation or thought is final, keep it flowing and find the music that is flowing through you today.

On this first episode of Musitations™ - Michael shares his Bill of Creative Rights. Modeled after his teacher, friend and improvisational musical mentor David Darling's Bill of Musical Rights, Michael shares about the creative crisis on the planet today.  We all need a creative outlet to help us maneuver the rapids of modern life like never before given pandemics like the Corona Virus.