Tags

  • Published on

    128. Prayer for Peace

    2:2 Breathe Change Determination Empower Fire Future Harmony Heart Justice Love Peace Prayer Scale: Minor Song Form: Call & Response Song Form: Harmonized Wisdom
    Song: Prayer for Peace
    Music: Gitanjali Jain
    Lyrics:

    In this world that's ripped apart,
    there's a calling in my heart.
    Prayers for justice,
    prayers for peace.
    May we all have love and ease. 

    In this world,
    in my heart;
    there is peace.
    There is love.
    Picture
    Notes: Gitanjali Jain pours heartbreak, tension, anger, confusion all into this prayer for peace, which has some of the scrunchiest harmonies we've ever done on A Breath of Song. And although you could call these stacked harmonies, I decided to call them melodies -- because it's not clear to me that there's a single melodic voice -- to me it is the voice of many combined. Feel the frustration of the sounds hitting against each other; all those wishes we carry for peace, love and ease. Then notice how you feel after you've sung it... is there connection to Gitu, to me, to others feeling all the complexity of our beloved world?

    Songwriter Info: Gitanjali Jain is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in music and theater. Born in Mexico City to her Mexican mother and East Indian father, she has focused a significant part of her work on the study of her ancestry and lineage. Other formative experiences include seven years in Hawai’i, where she worked as an aerialist, actor, and dancer in the award-winning production 'Ulalena.

    Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Gitanjali always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

    Links:
    Gitanjali on Bandcamp: https://alicuanta.bandcamp.com/

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:35
    Start time of reprise: 00:17:08

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, mostly harmonic minor, harmonized call & response

    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share) to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    ​Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

  • Published on

    126. Meditation

    6:8 Accept Be Present Breathe Calm Chant Enough Flow Gentle Grieve Harmony Heart Listen Notice Release Ribbon Scale: Minor Song Form: Harmonized Tend Trust
    Song: Meditation
    Music by:​ Neal Jolly
    Lyrics:

    The beat of the heart in the chest,
    The pulsing of blood in the hands,
    The in and the out of the breath,
    The here, the now, the you.
    Picture
    Notes: A vivid reminder of what it's like to drop into hyper-awareness of breath and body... combined with a song that makes me extra aware of breath flow (like, it runs out! ) Very satisfying combination. The harmonies also move in intriguing ways -- now close, now far, now drawing back together and intertwining. As often happens, I struggled a bit to release this episode -- it's not perfectly, exquisitely in-tune... and it's not a perfect, exquisite voice that's singing! But I remind myself again and again that the point here is not perfection -- it's good that you'll be able to understand the song and sing it, too... and carry it off into your world. It's good that I spent an evening singing a song that helps me be more aware of my breath and body. It's good that I got to gaze at Patty Piotrowski's artwork for this piece as I sang. This is just a darn good way to be spending my life... so thanks for your company in this practice of singing beyond perfection!

    Songwriter Info: Neal has been leading singing sessions in Cornwall for seven years. His style is influenced by membership of the Natural Voice Network and the sessions are non-performance, inclusive, mindful and with an ear to the spiritual/sacred in the widest sense of those words. Neal's songwriting is inspired by outdoor spaces where he does regular singing events, and being in the present: the only place where we can experience the world and each other.

    Sharing Info: Please share this song and make a donation to https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jollygoodsinging, the amount reflecting your own income and assessment of the song's worth to you.

    Links:
    Jolly Good Singing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jollygoodsinging/

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:00
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:41

    Nuts & Bolts: 6:8 minor with harmonic minor moment, 3 part harmony

    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list (https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share) to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    ​Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    99. Turning Wheel

    4:4 Change Cycles Determination Empower Grow Heart Justice Love Ribbon Scale: Minor Song Form: Layer
    Song: Turning Wheel
    Music: Lisa G. Littlebird
    Lyrics

    Part 1: There’s a wheel that is turning, calling me in to my power
    There’s a wheel that is turning, calling me in to my voice

    Part 2: It’s turning, we’re learning to stand inside our hearts
    It’s turning, we’re learning to stand in love
    ​
    Part 3 & 4: I will not be silent

    Picture
    Notes: A helpful therapist once said to me that feelings can help me understand how I perceive the world – I feel sadness when I experience loss; fear lets me know that I'm seeing a threat, anger flags where I see unfairness or injustice. What I love about this song is the way it lets the feelings roll into a grounding of power -- one's own voice and ability to stand in love -- and not be silent. Lisa wrote it in the aftermath of the violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August of 2017. I invite us to recognize where we see wrong, and let this song help find our powerful voices in response, aligned in heart and love.

    ​Songwriter Info: Lisa G. Littlebird facilitates group singing as a transformational personal practice, healing art, and to foster healthy communities. She is the creator of Littlebird Flight School, a community song leader training program with more than 400 graduates worldwide. She also founded the 160-member Wholehearted Chorus in Big Sur & Monterey, CA and has been on the faculty at Esalen Institute for 15 years. 

    Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Lisa for recording and/or performing permission

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:04:21
    Start time of reprise: 00:14:15​

    Links: 
    Lisa's Website: https://thebirdsings.com/
    Lisa's Patreon: patreon.com/thebirdsings
    Lisa's song library:     https://thebirdsings.com/song-library/
    Turning Wheel in Lisa's library: https://thebirdsings.com/turning-wheel/

    Nuts & Bolts: ​​4:4, minor, 4-layer song

    ​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    89. a spell for intergenerational trauma

    12:8 3 Layer Belonging Cycles Empower Legacy Pain Release Ribbon Scale: Ionian (Major) Scale: Minor Tend Trauma
    Song: a spell for intergenerational trauma
    Music & Words: Alexandra (Ahlay) Blakely
    Lyrics

    ​Breaking
    Breaking
    Breaking the cycles now

    Ripple through
    Through to the ancient ones
    Ripple through
    Through to the future ones
    ​
    Healing at the Root
    We’re calling
    Healing at the root
    of our belonging
    ​
    ​
    Picture
    Notes: Patty Piotrowski, who creates the art for each episode after learning the song, wrote about painting for this song of Ahlay Blakely: "The word that jumped out for me was “breaking”. I have a plate, a whole pottery plate on my kitchen table, that holds broken porcelain shards of dishware from the late 1800’s when there was a fire that burned the hotel on Star Island and so much was lost at sea. This past summer when I had the opportunity to go to Star Island for two weeks of art making, I walked the shoreline, and found these remnants of past plates and bowls and cups. These pieces of porcelain from England were worn smooth on the edges from being tossed and turned in the ocean for over 100 years. Each one was a precious discovery for me, telling a bit of the story. The beauty of the brokenness. Back home now and months later I have them arranged on a plate with a candle, reminding me to understand and honor the past, and to heal what I can inside myself in the present."

    As we navigate the rage and wounding and grief in ourselves and others, it can be so helpful to have a framework for understanding… the kind of understanding that leads to healing and compassion. When we break these cycles, it affects the future ones – and it also reaches back and in some way fills the aching dream of those in the past. I love this song for the conviction that my own ache for belonging ripples through time, breaks harmful cycles, and creates a fundamental healing. Don't miss Ahlay's upcoming project, Wails, and the chance to be part of the ripples of change it could create by supporting it.

    Songwriter Info: Alexandra "Ahlay" Blakely (she/her) is a song carrier remembering that which was meant to be forgotten in her lineages: song technology as connective tissues of the communal body. She blends song, body percussion, dance, stillness, breath & silence with the deepest intention to support others in remembering their inherent birthright to singing and rhythm. Her ancient ancestors of Old Europe (Ashkenazi, Scandinavian, Finnish, English, Scottish, Irish) sang while building, creating, birthing, working & being in reciprocity and bring with the Land. She understands song to be fundamental in the expansion of ones internal capacity to participate in the collective shift towards life-affirming conditions. An underlying prayer in her song offerings is that they may contribute to the shared effort to transform white culture into being more connected with our bodies, emotions, Land & the animate world around us. ​ These songs are swirls of spells for cracking open, falling humbly to our knees and cultivating more access to the conversations our souls are aching to have with us about their most intimate longings. They are dedicated to the more than human world, the Waters and our Kin in both the seen and unseen realms. We sing to shame, courage, for breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and for the preparation of being ready for these times we are living in, all while sending these song-beings in ripples through to the ancient and future ones. The songs sung have come directly through Ahlay.​ ​ Some of her mentors: Whale, Mycelium, Rue, Lightning, Rain, Oak, Redwood & Rosemary
    ​
    Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Ahlay always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

    ​Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:02:51
    Start time of reprise: 00:15:09

    Links: 
    Wails: Songs for Grief Fundraiser:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/community-singing-album
    Bandcamp digital album "SPELLS FROM THE UNKNOWN" https://ahlayblakely.bandcamp.com/album/spells-from-the-unknown
    Ahlay's Website/Newsletter https://www.healingattheroots.com
    Ahlay's Patreon - new music monthly, 1-3 songs per month https://www.patreon.com/alexandrablakely
    Instagram @alexandra_blakely
    Resmaa Menakem: My Grandmother's Hands -     https://centralrecoverypress.com/product/my-grandmothers-hands-racialized-trauma-and-the-pathway-to-mending-our-hearts-and-bodies-paperback

    Nuts & Bolts: 12:8, flat-7, both major & minor; 3-layer song

    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    70. As I Relax with guest Lyndsey Scott

    2:2 Be Present Celebrate Change Empower Flex Flow Generosity Grow Hope Open Release Scale: Minor Song Form: Layer Songwriter Conversation Trust
    Song: As I Relax
    Words & Music: Lyndsey Scott
    Lyrics
    ​As I relax, I know my needs are met, And I live my life in joyous anticipation
    This draws in what I most desire, So I can live my life in full-on participation

    I'm alive to the life in me; I'm alive to the Mystery; ready ready ready ready; Grow!

    I let it happen to me; I let it happen through me; I'm molting -- unfolding -- Open

    I can feel the future calling, drawing, dreaming, pulling me towards it.  I'm letting this Be
    Picture
    Notes: I've shared this song with my pocket song singers online group, meaning I was live-looping it... and the layers are intricate! The different lines interweave closely, creating a dense, beautiful texture. Lyndsey and I enjoy our conversation -- hear her talk about dropping root to choose what to do in the morning and set an intention, about how grief can be a healer, and wealth of teachers and mentors she draws on. Learn which voices still niggle at her, even with all the wisdom she has steeped herself in, and how she includes and cares for those parts, too. When we recorded this, I was in a particularly fragile place, feeling a little unmoored -- I felt better after this time spent talking and singing... more connected, more hopeful. As usual, I left with more questions than I started with... but it feels like a big door has opened and is welcoming me through. Following the links will keep me learning for a good long time!

    Songwriter Info: Lyndsey Scott is an artist-goofball-yintennae devoted to priestesSing the Heartland, (literal and figurative).  She weaves community singing to empower earth-based spiritual consciousness, and gathers soul circles that, through Song and sacred listening, decompose oppressive scripts that get in the way of freely living the Love we are. With jams that get you skipping easily between the sacred, sexy, and sssssilly : your inner child, exiled banshee, and wise elder are all very invited to the circle. 

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:06:40
    Start time of reprise: 01:14:35​​

    Links: Are you ready??? Lyndsey had so many resources to share, so this is the longest set of links yet!

    Let's start with links for Lyndsey and As I Relax:
    The song is free to share but Lyndsey always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.
    ​    Lyndsey's website: lyndseyscott.earth
    Everything Lyndsey! https://linktr.ee/lila.gaia
    We Belong Community of Song: https://www.facebook.com/webelongcommunityofsong
    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lyndseyscott
    Lyndsey's album on Bandcamp: https://lyndseyscott.bandcamp.com/album/well-held

    And now links to things that came up during the conversation -- starting with some of the quotations.

    “He who sings, prays twice.” ― St. Augustine
    “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” ― E. B. White
    “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman

    Orland Bishop: Orland Bishop (presswarehouse.com)
    adrienne maree brown: adrienne maree brown – 'The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.' – camus…documenting my liberation
    San Francisco mural by Susan O’Malley: SusanOMalley_Mural_2009-2048x1536.jpg (2048×1536) (rootdivision.org)
    ​Starhawk, “The Fifth Sacred Thing” The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk « Starhawk's Website
    Marianne Williamson: Marianne Williamson – #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author
    A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume: Foundation For Inner Peace: 8601421955508: Amazon.com: Books
    Shireen Amini: Shireen Amini Music Medicine and Shireen Amini
    Shelley Tochluk: Living in the Tension & Workshop Series (shellytochluk.com)
    Emerald Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/jm/podcast/how-trance-states-shape-the-world/id1465445746?i=1000512752303
    Chubby Cree: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbTonaZJL2d/
    Laurence Cole: Can’t Do It Wrong / My Life Is So Cuckoo — Laurence Cole
    Love Poems from God, translated by Daniel Ladinsky: Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (Compass) - Stillness Speaks
    Grace Lee Boggs: Grace Lee Boggs - Wikipedia
    Malidoma Somé and grief ritual: Dr. Malidoma Somé, Phd. | The Legacy of Elder Malidoma Somé
    Sibomfu Somé and grief ritual: http://www.sobonfu.com/  Embracing Grief | Sobonfu Somé
    Enneagrams – here’s one summary set: Integrative Enneagram Solutions (integrative9.com)
    Aretha movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkKOIQwTiKE
    Characteristics of White Supremacy by Tema Okun: Microsoft Word - Okun - white sup culture.doc (whitesupremacyculture.info)
    Francis Weller/ five gates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBfagOEkMi4   Home (francisweller.net)
    Liz Rog/Center for Belonging:  https://www.centerforbelonging.earth/
    Earthkeeper Wisdom School: https://www.earthkeeperwisdomschool.com/
    Grief to Action: https://www.holisticresistance.com/grief
    Influential album: MC HAMMER - Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em - Amazon.com Music
    Lynn O'Brien: https://www.lynnobrien.love/
    Artist Lyndsey wishes more people listened to: Briony Greenhill. Album: https://www.brionygreenhill.com/crossing-the-ocean

    Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, Minor; 4 layers, one echoed/harmonized
    ​
    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!
  • Published on

    52. Ocean Wide

    4:4 Accept Be Present Empower Gratitude & Trust Grief & Fear Grieve Open Pain Ribbon Scale: Minor Song Form: Unison Trust
    Song: Ocean Wide
    Words & Music: Eli Marienthal
    Lyrics
    Open the ocean wide in us, open the ocean wide.
    Take all the pain inside of us, take all the pain inside.
    Open the ocean wide in us, oh, open the ocean wide.
    ​Take all the pain inside of us, take all the pain inside.
    Picture
    Notes: My interest in Eli Marienthal's song, "Ocean Wide" comes directly from how it expands my capacity to be present with deep grief and pain -- that of my own or that of others. My fear of feeling -- fear that somehow the world will crumble if I recognize how much pain I feel -- that fear is eased by the sense of having enough space inside me -- an ocean of space, in fact -- that is wide enough, deep enough, capacious enough for every drop of pain, every howl of grief. I love that this song has so much space for the singer inside it -- do you need to just sing a melody, over and over, to soothe and center yourself? Do you want to experiment, explore, let your voice speak to you? I hope I left space in this for you to fill in your own way -- and I hope you, too, find it healing to sense that oceanic space inside you.

    Songwriter Info: Since 2014, Eli has co-led one of Northern California's wilderness immersion and rite of passage organization for youth. He has wide interests -- geography, comparative lit, poetry, songwriting, spoken-word performance, theater, peacemaking, nature awareness, cross cultural respect, qi gong, leadership development and more.

    Song Learning Time Stamps:
    Start time of teaching: 00:03:25
    Start time of reprise: 00:13:34​

    Links: 
    Eli's website: www.backtoearth.org

    Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, Minor, unison

    Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me.

    Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!