Songs of Peace

"We sang all night and everybody went home early in the morning. It was emotionally so strong that the next day there were even more people. The day after, there were even more people. People took out their hidden flags. They had these flags hidden for 50 years and now they took these out and started to wave them."...Estonian "They listened to the sounds of the wind, the mountains, the creeks, the rustling grass and imagined the many spirits surrounding them. The Tibetan monks, used this as part of the preparation for prayer as a way to cleanse themselves to pray to their deities"...Humming Your Way to Happiness Sound is a healer because sound is who we are - a mass of beautiful vibrations as a result of connected harmonic strings informing us of all of that we are made of, beyond and etheric. We along with every living thing has a "cosmic hum" - which of course includes our planets (The Murmers of Earth, Carl Sagan). If we are so lucky as to be sensitive enough to hear the sound (Ah the ears of our furry critters), it is these hums, sounds, harmonics that I think prove that everything is humming along with everything - until there is a discord, putting us out of sync with the universal flow. And as we look around, there is much discord. What we have forgotten is that most ancient cultures and indigenous peoples, regarded sound as a creative generative force associated with the creation of the Universe, and capable of being harnessed to produce impossible physical and spiritual feats. I reiiterate "physical and spiritual feats", which brings me to something that I wanted to write about. Most people don't think about singing when thinking about revolutions and/or troubled times. But in Estonia song was the weapon of choice when, between 1987 and 1991, Estonians wanted to end decades of Soviet occupation. The Singing Revolution was the name given to the step-by-step process that led to the reestablishment of Estonian Indepedence in 1991. This was a non-violent revolution that overthrew a very violent occupation. It was called the Singing Revolution because of the role singing played in the protests of the mid-1980's. The movement started in 1987 with 10,000 people at a national music festival and by 1991 two million people joined hands while singing, making a human chain across 400 miles. In late December the Soviet regime was over. Let's face it - it is just getting weird out there or should I say here. Afterall, it is happening on the same planet I live on. So what do I do about it? Do I ignore it - the answer is no. Do I feed into the power of the negative as every newscaster and heandliner cast an eye on an atrocity that happened in Tucson or anywhere else. - the answer is no. The more we feed into the "paying attention" of how horrible it all is and then having knee jerk reactions which will take away even more rights, enslaving pepole that have nothing to do with these atrocities, we have to come up with a solution. Or do we find a way to "counter" the darkness of all this by bringing light and prayer? And frankly, I just don't think that we have given these incredbily powerful tools their due. It is really easy to point fingers and guns. But really, what can we do to change it? To change us? To change our world? And not to just change it, but to evolve - to have vision. Isn't it love? Isn't it compassion? Isn't it light? And since music is the most powerful thing I have ever come across and more importantly the human voice - is that something we can utilize for change. I think so. As a singer and more importantly as a voice teacher, I see people change every day as they and their voice connect. They are happier, more relaxed, more confident, their creative juices begin to flow, problem solving becomes easier and they and I have the most beautiful connection. They and I are changing, one cell at a time. Human to human, voice to voice, heart to heart. So why can't we inform change one person at a time? That is just what I am going to do. I have been inspired by sound all of my life. It has taken me to heights that sadly, most people don't get to experience. I am going to take this and do something with it. But let's not call it revolution. Let's call it peace. Let's call it Peacesong. From my sound filled, peaceful garden to yours.........