Flutes: Ocean Love Song

Lighthouse

Before the sun rises I tiptoe across the sand

climb the rocks and trail to where the osprey land

I scan the seas, the hills, the winds and then…

I race into the light

I am watching over you all

I am alive at the Lighthouse

I look for your sails to guide you, shine you, wave you home

I am your mother

I am your water

All your souls streaming in across

the shimmering waves

the stirring winds

and along the humming earth

with my beating heart

and my shining crystal rays, I’ll beam you home

All you children

All our beautiful children

Know that you are never alone

With every living being breathe in all our air

Open up your heart

we are all here

I can sit quietly anywhere. On the train. In the library (that’s easy, everyone is supposed to sit quietly), in the middle of a crowded airport, in my home, in a mass of agitated people. How? I meditate with my pencils and paper.

The ancients call this a Yantra. A mantra which is drawn. It can be a mandala, crafted with a compass and protractor. It can be a simple meandering in colour and line. See this one? This is a landscape of my thoughts while I was sitting and waiting for something, someone, a time.

It is said that we cannot change others or other situations – that we can only change ourselves, our thoughts, our responses. I find that drawing or sketching or just colouring in shapes helps me to cope with ‘the wait.’ In the end, I have a lot of pictures to browse through, the landscape of my colourful mind, the outpourings of my fingers and threads of my pencilled thoughts.

Drawing places me in another dimension, a quiet one. A greasy crayon ‘amen’ or a delicate Derwent-inspired ‘hallelujah’ and sometimes a coloured felt tip ‘om mani padme hum.’

I invite you to lift your spirits up. Sometimes, we are the only ones who can do this. My friend once said to me, “So! You think you can be happy all the time just by making the decision to be happy and content?” My friend thought this was extreme nonsense. He is still very cranky and unhappy in his life and blames everyone else for this.

I said, ‘YES!’ and then I decided to be happy and content, accept the universe is helping me and that all my timeline serves some eternal purpose. I said, ‘YES!’ instead of worrying about finance and the future and the far flung goals and objectives.

Ever since I said this word, ‘YES!’ things go well for me. I have met people who teach me exactly what I need to learn. Fabric goes on sale when I need to make two more djembe bags. People who owe me something suddenly make things right. My aunt experiences a miracle. Cars involved in an accident come to a halt before hitting my car. I find signs on the shoreline that I am on the right road.

I said YES and my flutes were crafted and sent to me. I said YES again and the drum makers said they just received 100 mahogany shells from Java. The wind chime makers sent me beautiful products. The sage harvest arrived. The markets invited me to be a part of their Village Life section.

I said YES and the songwriter asked me to co-publish his new tune.

I said to the winds ‘Send me someone who is a good match for me right now.’

Within minutes (not days) there was a stranger speaking to me and asking me about my life and then coming to my flute and drum workshops and then inviting his friends and now guess what? All is going extremely well and I am learning about another culture and its songs from the South Pacific islands. We are jamming with instruments and sounds I have never known about and the rich life of music is expanding.

Please say yes. YES. YESSSSSSSSSSS……

Please remember to sing. Your unique voice and your own song holds within it a special energy. One of the reasons you are here, with a voice, is to use it to make song. Your song can work wonders for the universe. Sing it. Just let go with your voice and breath and allow your song to come out across the land, the water, the skies. Night or day, take your song outside.

If you are lucky enough to like your song and your singing, you might wish to gather others and lead them in song, sound and music. I promise this will lift you and raise the vibration of the surrounding area in concentric ripples. Throw your stone in a pond if you want to see what I am writing you about.

Embarrassed? Did someone once tell you not to sing? That you didn’t sound good? That you can’t carry a tune? Do you tell this to yourself? Please stop! Your song is perfectly tuned, and you are most welcome to use it.

Song uses a part of your brain which you need to activate in order to step into your full life.

Do you think this is silly? Consider this: I may be wrong, but I may be right. IF I am right, you have nothing to lose. IF I am WRONG, guess what? You still have nothing to lose!

What I want to remind you of today is this: your own heartbeat, unlike any other, can be guided by your own free will. The stuff of your emotions. The meaning behind each ray of sunlight which warms your chest cavity. The beating of another heart. The purring of your pussycat. The exhileration of a dash to the finish line. Your own heartbeat. Nobody else’s.

I didn’t know it last August, but now I do know that I am a great teacher of the djembe. I have taken master classes with drummers all over the world. I have been drumming for many years. I love sharing the drums in a giant circle of people, singing and drumming and being boisterous and vocal. I love showing someone a new beat, or getting into a nice ‘talking drum’ conversation with good people. The beauty is that everyone can speak this language, everywhere.

Saturday there were three Africans, two Indonesians, ten Australians, old and young, animal and human being… all at the amphitheatre in a curved space, all enjoying the beating of the djembes. This lights up my Saturday afternoons. Want to join us? BYO drum or play one of mine.

LA DE DA DI DA – DUN GUN FLAP SLAP FLAM!!

Do you often compose what you say to others simply because they might not like hearing what you really want to say? Do you have some people in your world, in your life, who will simply change everything you say in order to create drama, discontent or just pick a fight? Do you struggle to be able to be who you are and say exactly what you really want to say – without fearing another complaint or argument or accusations? Is there someone in your space who is really ‘IN YOUR FACE?’

Well, well, well. [don’t fall into that hole in the ground. That is his hole, not yours.] Step away from that person. Avoid contact. Do something alone or with people who can behave themselves instead.

If there is someone in your home or work space who is determined to create drama no matter how carefully you stand or tilt your head or hold your arms or craft the words you speak to them, they simply have to go. I now give you permission to completely ignore them.

You are not responsible for their world, which is their creation. You are not responsible if they want to argue or take things in a bad way or try to create a problem where there is none.

Here’s an example. My visitor is leaving tomorrow. We have had had extreme differences and I had to ask him to please go within a week. Tomorrow marks ‘a week.’ He is going. I am trying to have a last day or two of simple peace. No more conflicts or arguments. I have moved into my tipi the past five nights. He has the run of the whole house.

He: Do you want to go for a walk? I would like to go for a walk with you. That was fun yesterday.

Me: Can we go for a silent walk? (unsaid: ‘I don’t want to hear you talk about yourself, the cost of everything, or your judgement of others for another hour of beach walk. I just want to walk on the beautiful beach and hear the waves and the birds.’)

He: … all these conditions! We had a nice walk yesterday. I shared some things about myself. You want everything your way! You gave me a look! Hah! Humph! (raised voice, dramatic gestures, accusations, untruths) I’m going to the beach.

Me: Good. That is fine with me.

——————–

What could possibly be the point of saying what I think? I have said a lot of what I think, and this does not solve the problem.

Am I being myself? Possibly not. I don’t want to be mean or unsympathetic. I want to be compassionate and kind. I also am at a loss to be able to speak to this person without constant misinterpretation, accusation, drama. So, I am trying to just be myself, not cater to his requirement for drama and dissatisfaction, and not enter into another conflicted argument which cannot be solved.

I still feel that I will be able to breathe more deeply and be ‘myself’ again after he has left. Does this mean I am not being true to myself? Not at all. I am just being the most ‘me’ I can be in the circumstances without creating more negativity in my home environment. This is me.

Blessed be the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the earth.

I wish peace and satisfaction to the dissatisfied one – truly I do.

My passion # 1: expression

Some people know, from the day they are born, what they are passionate about. Their tiny, newborn limbs wiggle, wave, pump when they are liking something. Their tiny, newborn voices raise the roof when they are not liking something.

Some people take a lifetime to uncover SOME THING they feel passionate about.

What is your passion? What are your five most important passions? Your dear people? Your pet? Your pursuit? The career? Fashion? Food? Reading? Fitness?

Isn’t it fascinating that we all have so many different choices and so many different things to feel passionate about?

I feel passionate about living each moment as a joyful, expansive, learning, expressive experience. I have many passions for many pursuits. Music, singing, song, dance, art, painting, coloured pencils [duh! you can see this], the smell of the peach fuzz head on my beautiful grandson Max, the fanciful expressive speech of my loving grandson Arrow, the fact of my son, Noah, growing and growing until he can reach the stars! Ah! The wonder of humans. The miracle of life on earth. The songs of the birds so early in the mornings as I awaken, listening inside my tipi.

What are your passions? Do you know? Do you ever think about it? Do you think that you even need to know? Do you crave a passionate pursuit – something you can desire which motivates you to move forward and do something about it?

How does one begin to realise the life they dream of? Perhaps a good start is to uncover what you love in life. Perhaps a good start is to do more of what you love in life, with the people you love.

I would love to see your list of things you feel passionate about! Tell me. I want to know.

In peace…

Print this out, fill in the lines, add more, picture your beloved

MY BELOVED. My partner. My love. My best friend. My counterpart. My spicy spouse. The one who has learned that song which is in my heart so he/she can sing it to me when I have forgotten it.

Get into a quiet space and think about all the aspects of this person, whether he/she exists in your present life, or in your future days.

Print out the template and fill it in, or just get your own crayons, pencils, papers, etc. and create this in your own way.

Here is the pdf version, or just go to the ‘Play Sheets’ on the left side bar to have a closer look or print out.

MyLove