Month: March 2016

March 11th 2016. A memory day…

“Somehow I know, we’ll meet again. Not sure quite where, and I don’t know just when. You’re in my heart, so until then… wanna smile, wanna cry…” Some days this blog will have sad music. Today is one of those days. Today is the first anniversary of the passing of someone very special, and today is also the birthday of someone else very special who has already crossed over. The pain is fresh and burning for a dear loved one of mine. I wish I could take his pain away. I have advice; don’t we all. We can give it, but we know firsthand how hard it is to take it when we’re hurting. But is there any way to dig deep and remember that feeling the sad allows you to actually enjoy the happy when it returns? To dig deep and remember the memories mean you got to experience the person/event/feeling in the first place? Easier said than done… I know. ♥ Love you, Don. ♥ Crying, emoting, feeling, even screaming… honours the memory and allows you to open and release a little bit more of your hurt. When the channel is open and the tears have flowed, there’s a moment where love can swoop in and fill the space, like waves lapping the shore. Sadness out, love in, sadness out, love in, like breathing. To the two families I send love to, the two closest families in my life outside of my immediate own, I send love, love, love, love, love. Deep healing and deep peace. An angel message that came {through me for you} today offered the following advice: dig in and enjoy all happiness and pleasure that come your way, and release any guilt about it, because fun will bring balance back into your life. Lastly, one of the sweet freedoms I can personally finally experience as I awaken and reconnect to The Universe, is knowing that we are never truly separated from those we love, and we are deeply supported from beyond this earthly life. Our loved ones are watching over us and loving us every day. And so it is. ♥ With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Listen here: Saying Goodbye * by Jeff Moss * from the movie The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)

March 10th 2016. Special visitor today!

I had the pleasure of spending most of today with my almost-four-year-old niece. The splendour of her smile cannot be oversold. We sang and laughed and played and coloured, walked in the rain with my wonderful husband and our dogs, baked cookies, tickled the ivories, and of course, watched Frozen. Disney’s epic mega-smash came out before she even turned two, but she knows it better than scores I’ve studied for years. Because that’s how little kid brains work, and that’s awesome. Now, if you haven’t heard any of the music from Frozen, please allow me to visit the rock you’ve been living under when I need a vacation spot. We also listened to a Disney Princesses CD that I love, as it features decades of those classic, beautiful Disney ballads. While it’s true there are other potential conversations here […feminism! independence! self-worth! those Disney Princesses are rife with controversial life choices…], it’s also true they sing some darn gorgeous music. Last week I came across this stunning video by vocal coach Evynne Hollens; it’s her incredible take on the vocal evolution of the Princesses. Over a million people have now seen this video, and this week she posted a follow-up on how she did it. Both are fantastic. Imitation isn’t something I focus on much in my teaching, but maybe if I follow along I can really impress my niece the next time she’s here! With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Up first: Evolution of the Disney Princess

This week’s follow-up: How to Belt like a Disney Princess

March 9th 2016. Rise, rise, rise!

spiritmusicFurther to yesterday’s post about our (super/eclipse/new) moonlight desires,  I wanted to share an article with you from Collective Evolution that offers more insight into the significance of this triad of lunar events:

“The next six months are a great time to work towards releasing old beliefs, wounds, anxieties, and traumas that are creating limitations in our lives. Gaining a new perspective on why we behave in certain ways can be valuable at this time. Spending more time in meditation, self-reflection, finding that inner peace, clarity, and centeredness can help us tremendously in being more productive and healthy.” Click here for the full article by Carmen Di Luccio.

It’s up to you whether or not to believe this has anything to do with the Earth’s rotation and the moon’s orbit and their combined alignment with the sun in the sky! But… it seems like a good idea to consider these intentions anyway!

On Monday I woke up feeling sick and gross, but I asked for help from my natural healing community. Yesterday I woke up with a major shift, but needed to continue resting to work it all out. Today I will rise with the intention to be productive and healthy. I will send love, healing, and peace to myself, my family, my friends, my community, my nation, my planet, and The Universe. So this morning is a great time to listen to, and meditate on, the hypnotic creation of Goddess Rising by artist, composer, and sound healer Jennifer Zulli. Enjoy! With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Listen here: Goddess Rising * by Jennifer Zulli * from the album of the same name (2014)

NB: The Sanskrit word shanti and the Latin word pace mean peace!

March 8th 2016. Super new moon!

heartmusic

Did you know that during today and tomorrow we are living under the pull of a super new moon? That means the moon is in its closest position to Earth, and would appear at its largest if we could see it (new moons have dark faces). A solar eclipse is nigh. The moon is now in my birth sign of Pisces, which is a very emotional and artistic sign. A lot of people feel this phase is a remarkable time to manifest new creation in your life, to open your heart and head to birth and rebirth, and put motion and flow into your thoughts and ideas (particularly the Pisces new moon as it is the last one of the astrological year). “You’ve got ways to take hold of my thoughts, over-riding my senses…”

What do the moon phases mean to me? Well, I’m not an astrology expert so really what they mean to me are potential for migraines and whether or not I’ll be able to see well if I go out with the dogs late at night! On the surface those may seem like trite observations, but they are actually reminders of the moon’s power to illuminate our needs, and the moon’s direct influence on the ebb and flow of water in our bodies. I’m always going on about hydration to my voice students, and here I am, walking proof of how it affects us! “You stir my soul and whet my hunger and weave that spell that pulls me under…”

My 30-year love of Gowan holds strong; he’s an incredibly passionate and talented singer-pianist-songwriter, and Canadian to boot! As you decide what to manifest and create under the spell of the dark moon, enjoy this dramatic blast from the past. With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Listen here: Moonlight Desires * by Lawrence Gowan * from the album Great Dirty World (1987)

March 6th 2016. Grab your things!

Some of my closest friends just moved. And not like across town, but a number of towns away. My town feels different to me now. We didn’t see each other every day, or even every week, but I didn’t realize just how comforting it was to know how close they were, until they weren’t.

A song I closely associate with them is Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel, a song I’d heard before but really only listened to for the first time when it was performed by my friend Paul at a work event years ago. Gabriel said “It’s about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get… It’s about letting go.” Thinking of my friends and listening to the lyrics today, I recognize and appreciate the “boom boom boom” in their hearts to make their dreams a reality by moving spaces. Finding space to breathe, to create, to relax, to rejuvenate, to honour their connection to nature, to healing, and to Spirit. I have grown to love this song so much, and today I share it in their honour. ♥ Love you, Nancy & Paul. ♥

As a Sunday extra, another friend shared this article on Facebook today, which references Peter Gabriel’s thoughts on music itself as essential stock in our “emotional toolboxes”. And that’s pretty much why I write this blog, isn’t it? Opening my emotional toolbox and hoping to make some contributions to yours. I’ll be digging into mine when I find myself missing my friends, for sure. With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Listen here: Solsbury Hill * by Peter Gabriel * from his eponymous album (1977)

NB: This particular performance is from The Late Show with David Letterman in 2011. Word to the wise: best enjoyed with headphones, please!

March 5th 2016. Fun with “Friends”!

It’s time for something lighthearted, isn’t it? It is, so I’m starting Silly Saturday. My posts have been a little intense, even though they’re mostly Muppet-filled. Today’s song is a tribute to friends! Last night some great friends took me out for a birthday dinner and it was just delightful! So today I offer this song to my friends, your friends, and my favourite tv “friends” known as Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, and Ross. The catchy theme song to the show was co-written in the early 90s by The Rembrandts and the show’s creators. It was completed and released as a pop single in 1995, much to the band’s chagrin. Below is a real YouTube find: all the intros to all the seasons, 1994-2004. If you make it all the way through and still enjoy the music after the tenth season, I’ll buy you a coffee at Central Perk! But for a nutbar fan like me, this is gold. So to all my friends, but especially the great ones I saw yesterday: “I’ll be there for you (cause you’re there for me too)”. With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Listen here: I’ll Be There For You * by David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Michael Skloff, Phil Sōlem, Danny Wilde, and Allee Willis * 94-04

 

March 4th 2016. Muppet memory lane! (Part 2)

spiritmusic

“We must believe in magic. We must believe in the guiding hand. If you believe in magic, you’ll have the universe at your command.” This beautiful song was featured on Crystal Gayle’s episode of The Muppet Show, Episode 402 in 1979. As a very young child, I fell in love with this scene. Crystal appears as a regal goddess surrounded by spirits, singing these magical lyrics with her stunning voice. But as an older child, it terrified me. As an adult I can look back now and remember that I was born open and connected to the spirit world and the universal energy, and that as I aged it was far too easy to become disconnected (and scared). As an adult I have been reconnecting, and as I find my way back, I am loving this captivating scene all over again. I hope you love it, too. I feel like we are all just lost ships trying to find our way home…and a little guidance from The Universe goes a long way (even if the form it takes is Muppet ghosts!). “Nothing can turn it around.”  And so it is. ♥ With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Listen here: We Must Believe In Magic * by Robert Lee McDill & Allen Reynolds * from the album of the same name (1977)

March 3rd 2016. Muppet memory lane! (Part 1)

heartmusic

“Everything seems to sing everywhere I go…” Without a doubt, the king of musical influences in my childhood was Jim Henson. As the creator of the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock, Jim Henson celebrated music in every episode of every show. The wide variety of styles and performers infiltrated my ears at an early age. My appreciation for the magic of the Muppet world is ongoing even at this age (just ask my husband, who has to sleep in a bedroom with a Kermit doll on the shelf). The character who most resembled Jim Henson in look and spirit was Cantus, the leader of the Fraggle Minstrels, and this character was only ever performed by him. Cantus, incidentally, is the Latin word for song. Please enjoy this delicately lovely take on the enchanting spell music can have over us all. With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Listen here: Let Me Be Your Song * by Phil Balsom & Dennis Lee * from Fraggle Rock: The Minstrels (1983)

 

March 2nd 2016. It’s my birthday!

blogimage1

“Years go by, will I choke on my tears ’til finally there is nothing left…” Well…no. Not anymore. I cry. I cry a lot. I feel so much and so deeply. But I will not choke on my tears anymore. I am learning how to hold space for my own feelings. I am allowing my tears to release, to relieve, to renew. As a Piscean INFJ empath, a teacher, wife, friend, and family member, I have held space for a lot of other people’s tears for a long time. As my birthday gift to myself this year, I am owning my emotionality, and saying goodbye to guilt. And so it is. ♥

Today (and yes, it really is my birthday) I share with you Silent All These Years by the unrelentingly prolific Tori Amos. “I’ve got something to say you know but nothing comes”. I love her pause before nothing. “I’ve been here… silent all these years”. Me too. Listen to that chilling five-second long here. And if it moves you, maybe cry a little, guilt-free, and just feel. With love, light, and song… ~Melissa~

Listen here: Silent All These Years * by Tori Amos * from the album Little Earthquakes (1991)