Monday 29 October 2012

Experiencing the Oneness


Experiencing the Oneness

Through much of my life I suppose I have felt on the edge of it all. I think many of us feel that way. A sense of missing out, of not fully engaging in all that life has to offer. It's a hard one for the ego for it is really impossible to experience everything in life. The thing to do, I have found, is to find appreciation of what you have done and find a way of dealing with what you haven't experienced.
Two things happened to me in the last month that really helped me with this one. First, in my last blog I spoke of a trip to the Scilly Isles and I how I saw the idea of riding the waves help in the broader aspect of riding the waves of life. While I was physically struggling with the rolling waves I stayed below deck for most of the journey, which is most unusual for me. At the end of the trip when my group met up I was told that dolphins had been spotted and how exciting it had been to have been able to see them. I was immediately disappointed that I'd missed this experience. However, I had recently finished Richard Bach's book 'One' in which he and his wife meet many of their alternative selves and how it teaches them that we are all just many aspects of the one and we can see and enjoy other people's experiences through them rather than feeling diminished by them. This really helped me let go of the disappointment.
A week or so later driving in Wiltshire my partner and I spotted some starlings in the field next to the road. Now I know that I always miss the beautiful displays that the starlings put on for us each year as I never take the time out to find them but always say how much I'd like to see them. We're all good at that one (as a saxophonist, if I had a pound for every time someone told me that they've always wanted to play the saxophone!) but here was an opportunity right in my hand. We quickly pulled over and though it only looked like there were a few little groups of starlings, suddenly they were all gathering together and flying over our heads into the field where we were stood. I immediately ducked, well with that many birds its always best to take cover as there's always going to be a few managing their waste disposal. All clear, so I stood up straight to the sound of the flutter of wings overhead which was amazing and although there were only hundreds rather than thousands the closeness of them and the display they put on was simply gorgeous. I was reminded how it is now known that there is no leader, they all just work as one connected body and it was breathtaking the shapes and kaleidoscopic visuals they created in the sky. 
At last I was truly experiencing this and just to bring home to me the reality and closeness of it all, as they changed direction one more time right over our heads we received a direct hit. My partner was splattered on his forehead and my gift was in my hair. Some say it's good luck. I don't believe in luck myself but I certainly felt very much in the heart of what life was offering me. We had to laugh.
I felt that my desire to investigate this issue, this problem of feeling left out, that others are getting more out of life than I am, was being answered. I was being shown how this feeling is a truly ego led view of life. That we need to learn to respect the ego and led it grow with experience rather than giving it a hard time for making mistakes. We can't all experience everything but when we accept this and stop feeling hard done by and less than we are, we can be open to allowing some really beautiful experiences in and live our one life to the full and enjoy the rest through the experiences of the other as an alternative version of ourselves.


Monday 1 October 2012

Riding the Seas of Change

Riding the Seas of Change


My dad was in the navy in the second World War and always claimed it was the best time of his life. For years I struggled with this concept until I was able to grasp a wider view of what this meant for him. I realise that as I see him now at the grand old age of 89, an amazingly fit and healthy, easy going person in all senses of the word, I realise how his few years at sea stood him in good stead for the years to come. Unfazed by the great changes he has witnessed since the 20's he has been able to ride the seas of change with ease.
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to play with one of my bands in the Scillies. These are islands, 3 hours by sea off the coast of Cornwall and what a truly beautiful place it is. However, in September it is a lottery on what kind of crossing you may in encounter. As the waves threw the ship rocking from side to side, even after years of being brought up with boats as the love of playing on the sea never left my father, I felt the need to stay below deck and keep an eye on the horizon. As I concentrated on relaxing, it came to me how this had a much greater importance than merely handling a rough crossing. 
Aware that the universe is purely vibration from the very fast to the slow and dense, life is about riding these waves and at the moment we are being battered by the energy waves our sun is sending us as we are all shifting together. As the Earth is hit by these extraordinary waves from the sun so are we all affected. Now I know that if you are on the sea and the rise and fall of the choppy waves is making you feel sick the worst thing you can do is tense your stomach  muscles and try and fight the flow. The best thing to do is relax and go with it so you're flowing in harmony with the incoming energy. I feel this is what is happening for so many people now. The waves of change - which are actually beautiful if you prepare yourself in a way that allows you to let go of the old, however attached you may feel to it, and bring in the new - can be almost impossible to get to grips with if you create a feeling of fear, tension and stress. Trying to block the new frequencies arriving at our door is as futile as putting your hand up to stop a tsunami. 
As I continue to watch my father with great respect, I thank him for what he has unknowingly taught me ( a man who shows the way most effectively by his actions and not with words) and have found this year to be an extraordinary gift of challenges and changes, all of which I have managed to cope with so far.
Let's see what the next three months bring. Remember, though, don't forget to breathe and don't put up a struggle. Enjoy the ride.....

  

Tuesday 4 September 2012

The Power of Music


The Power of Music

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream,

A dream you dream together is reality."

John Lennon

I don't really want to say too much about this subject really as it should speak for itself and so many have already said so much.
This is my life, as a musician, as a teacher and a healer. To me there is no separation and music does all the work. The vibrations and the places it takes you goes beyond anything else in this world except love and light. The thing about music though is that it brings people together in so many ways and the words remind us of this whether we are talking about harmony or good vibrations etc. To me everything, the universe, is made up of vibrations or frequencies whether it's light, sound, brain waves radio waves or solid beings such as ourselves and the earth which we all know vibrates with the understanding of string theory. The higher the vibration the higher and lighter the density and energy. All this carries its own wisdom and if we take time to listen it teaches us just by our connection to it. We just have to learn to join in and sing along.
I have had the good fortune to catch a wonderful television programme about Paul Simon's Graceland and the controversy it brought up. It was a beautiful story though hampered with issues from the start. All those old enough to remember those dark times of trying to resolve the apartheid situation in South Africa, although it is far from over like any political crises it takes more than a few years to heal, music certainly played its part. Paul Simon was severely criticised for working alongside the black South Africans as were the South Africans. They thankfully laughed at the politicians and said you can't victimise us twice! They all stuck to their guns and chose to write and play music that defined an era. They chose to write songs not of a political nature but about what they as brothers loved to sing about most, that has made the album timeless. 25 years on and Paul Simon recognised and apologised for going against rules that had to be upheld if the politics was going to work, but knew he had to do it anyway. The ANC are finally at a place that Paul Simon was at all along and recognise that the music rides above all politics, above race and all issues we humans choose to cling to and forgave him whilst also feeling humbled by the wisdom of the music the musician carries with them everywhere they go. It was a beautiful moment. Music can break down all barriers and create accordance, love and harmony for all those who wish to participate and sing the universal song together. I leave it to you if you'd wish to join in.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Money makes the World go Around

Money Makes the World go Around


Four years ago it was explained to me that Pluto, the planet or rather ex-planet as it has now been demoted, entered Capricorn in 2007. It was also explained that Pluto holds a very special energy. It represents our shadow aspect of self. From its distant place in our cosmos it is not interested in us as individuals only as a global community. As it has journeyed through the previous signs it has offered us many challenges. In the Eighties Pluto entered Scorpio, its ruling sign. Scorpio is all about transformation and deals with the taboo aspects of our society, ones we do not like to face like sex and death. Highlighting the shadow aspect of this sign, in the Eighties we had to contend with the tragedy of Aids on a global level.
In the Nineties Pluto slipped into Sagittarius. This is the sign of finding your voice; your truth. This is the journey of the spiritual quest. In this time we had to deal with Fundamentalism and this reared its head throughout many of our religious cultures it seemed. In the summer of 2006 Pluto entered Capricorn: the world of business and wealth and we had the collapse of Northern Rock. Then Pluto retrograded out of Capricorn and everyone breathed a sigh as it was believed that it was just a blip. 2007 and Pluto re-entered Capricorn fully and the world recession began. As the banks and the City did its best to prevent the walls of their castle from crashing down, such is their power that they can create any illusion to make it look good. However their smoke and mirrors could only last for so long before some began to look behind the veil and see through the trickery. This month the news has been filled with many being brought to account. What will the future bring?
Pluto stays in each sign for about 17 years and it pulls no punches. It cares not for the king, nor the peasant, only that the light be held up so that all the shadows are illuminated for what they are. It is our choice as a community to let this time be one of change for the good, sweep away the energy that does no service to us as a whole and rediscover what money and wealth really offers.
For me money is an energy, something that if it is allowed to flow in and out without blocks then there is always plenty for all and the river can flow to all our doors. The problems start when we forget to go with its flow, living in a place of fear then people begin to hoard their money, damming the river so those living below the dam go without. The energy of fear is the main block. It causes people to either grab all they can at any cost or buy into the idea that there is not enough and go without.
At the moment there are dams all through our system. Though the big ones are at the top so that many live in poverty while few have wealth beyond belief, as a community I believe we can let the positive energy rise through our pyramid of wealth by letting go of our fear at the bottom of the pile. We can start to release the grip those at the top have on our financial system and bring those castle walls down. If we choose not to buy into the fear of recession but learn to value only what we need, we can start building a truly wealthy society.

Thursday 5 July 2012

The God Particle


The God Particle



For so many years now I've been following the journey that the world of science has been taking. The ups and downs, the truths and untruths, it's been a bumpy ride but one that has led it down a fascinating path. I, for the last thirteen years, have held strong in my belief that science and spirituality are hunting for the same answers and are saying the same truths but just using a different language and working in a different time frame.
With the entrance of quantum mechanics into our general sphere of understanding and the impossible realities that it holds, the idea that the answers could have anything to do with what the ancients have been teaching for so long has seemed out of the question. Slowly, slowly however, many scientists have been able to bridge the seemingly huge divide and bring God into their understanding of science at the risk of great ridicule from fellow colleagues.
My journey has led me to understand that science, however, amazing has removed the 'story' from our lives, reduced our world to a set of facts of figures and stripped us of meaning, of making sense of who we are and our place here. Now with the discovery of the Higgs Boson particle also known as the God Particle (I love that!) I am reading headlines such as 'Higgs Boson binds the universe, but humans give it meaning'. Hooray, I say! 
It is certainly up to us to retrieve what we have lost, help us, as a society, to rediscover the meaning in our lives and remember what we're all about. The Ancients have always understood this but in our journey to try and fathom how it works in our new speak, the language of mathematics and physics we have, like teenagers, forgotten, in our excitement of discovering a new way to look at the same story, to listen to our elders. As our new wisdom grows, scientists are at last able to look at the bigger picture, see beyond their formulaes and bring that sense of oneness to all things.   
This is a very exciting time !

Friday 29 June 2012

A Life Well Lived


A Life Well Lived


Funerals are never easy things to attend but yesterday I did go to one of the most beautiful funerals of a woman I will always admire and whose life I will always uphold as one truly lived with honour, enthusiasm and grace.

She didn’t have an easy background as a child out of wedlock in the sixties, with mixed raced parents whom she never met, she was brought up in care. Rather than this being a set- back my friend was one of the most upbeat, positive and enabling people I know. She used all her talents and experiences to help others in similar situations. As a social worker and musician she worked tirelessly to help those who were experiencing what she had experienced, whether it was children in care or people with multi-racial backgrounds. She worked continuously for refugees in Bristol bringing together her music, managerial talents and social work to create successful events and raising awareness.

When she discovered she had a brain tumour my friend battled with her illness with grace and humility and I always found her positive however ill she was. Though I cannot say I knew her well she has confirmed for me my belief that death is a doorway to a more extraordinary place, a place I have been lucky enough to glimpse for a moment, an experience almost impossible to fully describe. A place of such complete release and beauty, words cannot possibly get close.  For me the idea that there is nothing beyond life is not only extremely sad for those who chose to believe it but also makes a nonsense of science. Scientists know that nothing can disappear only transmute and we, without our bodies, are simply energy. Where does that energy go when we leave our physical bodies behind? The glow that those who journey towards death with peace and grace illuminate as they leave, show me that my experience is a truth. Life is a beautiful thing but just a stage like a cocoon from which we can emerge like a butterfly as we return to spirit and go home.

I know she is flying like a bird.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

Casting your spell



Casting your Spell

This plaque can be found in the square in the middle of Devizes, a market town in Wiltshire. It tells a story of a Ruth Pierce in 1753 who was buying some wheat with three other women here in the market place. It says:
'One of these women in collecting the several quotas of money discovered a deficiency and demanded of Ruth Pierce the sum which was wanting to make good the amount. Ruth Pierce protested that she had paid her share and said she wished she might drop down dead if she had not. She rashly repeated this awful wish when to the consternation and terror of the surrounding multitude she instantly fell down and expired having the money concealed in her hand.'
On reading this plaque I couldn't stop thinking about it. I have come to understand the phrase 'casting a spell', the idea that with each thought we can truly bring that idea into being. When we utter or indeed write words, spelling the word, we are literally creating our world. The phrase 'careful what you wish for' comes to mind but the awareness of the power of prayer reminds me of the positivity of this action too. It is always so easy to get hooked into the negative aspect of an idea and this story certainly does. The idea of Ruth Pierce wishing to drop down dead if she was lying, knowing full well she was, is a harsh lesson to learn. I think it is time to choose a positive way forward, to choose to believe that we if create positive thoughts we can create a positive environment to live in.
As I feel that this year is a year of removing all old energies from our lives so we can step forward with new and clear energy, taking responsibility for our actions, past and present, is a very important step towards healing all aspects of ourselves. Realising that even the words we utter hold huge amounts of power is part of taking that responsibility. It's so easy to throw words away carelessly, words that can damage ourselves or others really makes no difference. To add as an after thought that 'I didn't really mean it' makes little difference as the spell has already been cast.
Its time to take that responsibilty, think before we act, think about the world we want to bring into being through words and deeds. Let's choose to build a better world knowing we all have the power to do so within us.

Tuesday 5 June 2012

The Venus Transit




The Venus Transit

What does this mean to us? Everyone is aware of eclipses, be they of the sun and moon but rarely do we think about the occurrence of other planets coming into an alignment worth noting. Every one hundred years or so Venus steps between us and the sun and it happens twice with a gap of eight years. The last one happened in June 2004. I was lucky enough to know about it and have some old protective glasses left over form the 1999 eclipse and had a good look at it.
This year, having been the brightest star in the sky over the winter and making those beautiful conjunctions with Jupiter and the moon its only fitting that she should still be in our minds for this momentous event. The sun is literally going to illuminate and magnify its pure energy of love for us to feel even if we can't get to see it.
The year for me has been a highly energetically charged one and I am hoping that this is going to continue to make 2012 a full on year. I feel that if we are going to step into and embrace this new energy of respect and love to all with the understanding that we are all part of one body, one human race, we need to start behaving as one. To do this we need to fully respect and love ourselves. We can only do this if we completely clear out our closet of all negative ways of working and remove all old fears and pain. That means a lot of work for all but I feel that this event is going to fast track the way forward for many of us.
As usual the great British weather often gets in the way of our enjoyment of this transit visually but I think that perhaps that's part of it. We need to stop relying on our eyes and begin to feel with our hearts. We need to trust the wisdom our hearts have to offer and stop narrowing our vision by just using our eyes and begin to use our insight. Venus can do a great deal to help us with this, being the Goddess of Love and holding a very powerful tool that we have neglected to connect with for too long.
Please join me, even if its in your sleep and connect with this once in a life time occurrence.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

There Is Only One Story






If you are, or ever have been an avid film buff or book worm, like I used to be you soon come to realise that there are only so many stories to be told, only so many songs to write, before you come back to the same idea.  I watched Eat, Pray, Love for the first time this weekend and was astounded at how much it mirrored my life. The journey to the golden city as I have called my story is the idea that we are all going home.  The journey to the heart space is where we all want to be but we feel like we have been banished from the garden of Eden. How to we get back in?

So many films tell this story, I don't want to bore you with an endless list but the obvious ones like: The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Superman, Star Wars, they all tell the story of the meek, the small or the outsider finding their inner power by the initiation of the 'heroes journey' and returning home.
With so many stories about children leading the way, Harry Potter for instance always knows better then his teachers, or women trying to find their path I wonder if the male population doesn't feel slightly pushed aside. At the beginning of my journey to finding my way 'home' about 12 years ago I was told it would be the children leading the way. This is because as they have only been here on this Earth a short time they haven't been shut down by our limiting thoughts and cynical ways. The only way back to the garden is with an open heart and an open mind. Unfortunately we have been told for so long to believe in only what we can see and touch and not what we can feel we have lost all connection with our trust and faith in love and the vast energies and truth that we can discover with that connection. These are all feminine aspects and although we all carry both masculine and feminine energy within us I feel many men feel it is unmanly to connect to this world. The pain this causes in shutting ourselves down to these beautiful feelings has left many of us feeling bereft and in the wilderness. We blame ourselves and then do not feel worthy of returning home, like the prodigal lover.

I feel it is time to let go of all our fears, open ourselves up to all the possibilities life offers us and open the doors to our hearts. All these films are here to show us the way. I'm hoping that if our male energy cannot respond to the more touchy feely films on offer then maybe the disaster film is the way in. Humanity loves to believe in the doomsday idea of transformation, but I feel 2012 is a year of opportunity not an end. What the disaster movie does offer, however, is the chance to enter the idea of proving ones worth and solving the greatest problem we are facing, whether it is a meteor or global warming or simply overpopulation we have to make this world work for all of us. Unfortunately the answer isn't with technology or explosives, although technology will come into play after the shift has been made. First we have to learn to step back into our hearts, discover compassion for everyone and learn to live harmoniously within ourselves and so with our whole global community. We have to fall in love with ourselves and forgive ourselves before we can go home.

This is the message in all these films, whatever the scenario, or the setting or who ever the hero is, there is only one story and one journey. Let's hope we all make it home soon.


Friday 18 May 2012

The Creative Spark




As a musician and writer the search for the creative spark is a lifelong quest. Understanding how we reach that place of illumination has always fascinated me especially after connecting with Chrissy Philp and her beautiful study of the brain as a map of the cosmos in her book ‘The Golden City’. My interest in balancing the worlds of science and spirituality are colliding with great force at the moment and Jill Bolte Taylor’s Ted talk about having a stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain and the gifts that brought her, together with the article in the Guardian recently which was an extract from Jonah Lehrer’s ‘Imagine: How Creativity Works’ (pub. Canongate Books) have greatly enriched my journey. In Lehrer’s piece he discusses the idea that before the insight, the left hemisphere has to have given up all hope of finding what it has been looking for. In that moment of dispair it stops ‘trying’ and quietens so that the right hemisphere can be kicked into action. I feel this will resonate with anyone who has had any moments of insight of creative inspiration.

The Changing Face of Europe

The Golden City

 

No one said this year was going to be easy and for me sometimes a slow deep breath is a good way to begin any process. Its so easy to launch into something head first and realise may be there was perhaps a better approach. With Greece struggling to put its best foot forward I do worry when the media uses so many images to mirror pre-war Germany with songs from ‘Cabaret’ for instance. I think we need to be very careful to learn from the past not just remember it and so recreate it.



Well spring is truly here, the blossom is nearly over but the wind and rain is making us think we’re still in March or have we skipped to November? Our weather has never been good at sticking by the book but this is surely raising some eyebrows once more. I think it’s important to remember that the sun’s activity is very powerful at the moment and this has been felt all over the world with earthquake and volcanic shifts. Whatever energy the sun is shifting this is always felt by the Earth and so we cannot help but feel it too. We need to acknowledge this and recognise that we may be affected in more ways that we might realise. This does not remove responsibility of our actions but helps us to understand ourselves and any unusual behaviour that might be shown. Remember to enjoy the ride.