Gifted healers, leaders, and coaches
In Overwhelm
Are you responsible, capable, and...
...making a positive difference in the world, but wish you were
less stressed and uptight... more relaxed and playful?
Do you get about 1 second of peace when you wake up before the flash of anxiety hits your body?
Do you envy people who...
...are enjoying themselves, exuberant, the life of the party?
Do you miss your joyful free spirit and miss your carefree, playful self?
Have you been battling...
...too much internal noise and a sense of unrelenting chaos?
In short, have your healing powers been...
...working better on others than on yourself?
And even with all you know about...
the influence of the past and the unconscious
on thoughts and behavior...
are you ready to fully engage the deeper agency, freedom and fulfillment
you've always known is possible for you?
and on a different note...
Have you always thought it'd be fun to be able to sit at a piano and really
make it sing?
I can help put these things together for you, help you find your flow again and proceed with clarity.
You can restore the confidence and joie de vivre you always loved about yourself!
I've got a soft spot for people who...
...remember where they were when they first heard The Koln Concert by Keith Jarrett and how that music stretched the very boundaries of what’s possible and made the world more wondrous.
We’d get along great if...
you get the importance of knowing where your towel is, and that as you read this sentence, you’re thinking, “I need to read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 4-book trilogy again.” Or if you've ever made sure there was nothing in the way of watching the next episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus (or the Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, or Good Neighbors, or any of several other British comedies.)
We’d be simpatico if...
whenever you think of Mark Nepo or David Whyte or Rumi or Hafiz, you remember a time when their words helped you through a dark place you weren’t sure would ever end.
If you have (the one and only) Willis Alan Ramsey record (or any of Uncle Walt’s Band’s records), we’re good.
We could be a good fit if...
when you go out in the streets, hold up protest signs, and chant with thousands of others, you’re touched by the miracle of being part of humanity, to feel its enervating power, and the joy of bringing your presence and your voice to the table.
And I’ve got a special place in my heart for...
people who’ve had the experience of going to a party, seeing someone sit at the piano and start improvising, and thinking “I want to know what that feels like before I die.”
The Vitals
You’re able and willing to invest in yourself.
You can afford to spend $1000 over the course of a year to address and resolve this problem.
You’re willing to establish and maintain a practice. You are willing to spend at least 10 minutes/day, 5 days/week on a reflective practice where you can express and examine your own thoughts and beliefs.
You understand that changing old ways and establishing and sustaining new ones will take time. You’re willing to commit to this life-changing process for 1 year.
You’re willing to establish a new daily practice.
You have the space to dedicate to The Practice, exercises, assignments, and challenges between the group and individual sessions for the entirety of our work together.
Instruments you’ll need
You’ll need an acoustic piano or electronic keyboard that sounds really good to your ears and feels good to play. If you don’t love the sound and feel of the instrument, this process won’t work.
For some courses you’ll need a hand drum that sounds good to you. As with the piano, if you don’t love the sound or feel of the drum, this process won’t work. I recommend a djembe or conga because of the relative ease of playing and the tonal variety they offer.
Access to and ability to handle the tech
You have reliable access to fast internet and are able to meet regularly on Google Meet.
Willingness to venture into uncomfortable territory
You are open to engaging a practice designed to experience, become more familiar with, and operate skillfully in unknown territory (ideas, practices, etc).
You’re willing to feel and sit with discomfort when it arises.
You have the emotional tools to recognize emotional blocks that come up & communicate about them. We will work through them together but you need to be able to recognize them
And you’re willing to experience surprise, grace, joy, and expansion when it arises as well.
The Helpfuls
You’re aware...
You must already be aware that the unconscious plays a big role in your issues.
Your attitude (i.e. your perceptual orientation)
You tend toward an attitude of ongoing learning and growth. You know that things, experiences, people, ways of thinking and behaving are temporary and that you can change and grow.
With that awareness, you are willing to try things that may be outside of your comfort zone.
Starting well
Before our first session, you will read the preparatory materials and consider deeply what you want to be different and what you want your life to look like in 1 year.
Reasonable expectations
You understand that this immersion is about a new kind of relationship with music, with sound, and with yourself. It is designed to help you establish a warm and juicy relationship with music-making and will give you foundational skills for spontaneously creating music for life.
As such, you understand that this will not be about playing other people’s music, playing to other people’s standards, or playing the way other people think music should be learned and played.
The preferables
Things to have in place before we begin
It will be helpful for you and the likelihood of success if you have the support of the people in your household. You will need time alone for your practice, and you may prefer (at least at first) to not have anyone around who could hear you play.
Making arrangements so you can feel safe and uninhibited during your practice is crucial for success in this program.
For example, sometimes you may need to express fiery feelings like confusion, frustration, and anger. Playing that out on the piano can sound noisy and gnarly.
Knowing you can make those sounds without concern for what others may think or how they might feel is vital for this process to work well for you.
Meditation in motion
You realize this process is a spiritual and a somatic practice; a meditation in motion, a mindfulness practice that presents the need to make decisions moment by moment.
You will be engaging in a wide-open orientation to your external environment while listening to, and making decisions about, ideas and inspiration from within.
Deal Breakers
This can work for anyone who wants to know what it feels like to tap their innate creativity and musicality and is willing to put in the time, attention, and care to that end.
And as you’ve gone through this page, you’ve seen some of the things that are vital or helpful in increasing the odds of your success.
But there is one deal breaker. Even this can be worked through if someone is willing to accept the possibility of being wrong about this.
But if you believe you “don’t have a musical bone in your body” or that “some people are creative and others are not, and that you are in the ‘not’ group,” and you are fully committed to those beliefs, I won’t engage in a contest with you over that.
As Henry Ford put it, “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
My Philosophy
If what you've read on this page resonates with you, if it feels like you, then the next step is to read about the philosophy that underlies this work.
If (and only if) the philosophy makes sense to you, then there's a much better chance that this approach can be helpful for you. This is important to know before we step into working together.
To learn more
To find out what your strengths and blind spots are around your creativity, check out this assessment tool, The Essential Edge quiz.
To find out why things seems so much harder than they “should” be, watch this short video on the Essential Skill we all need to liberate ourselves from old ingrained thought and behavior patterns.
For exploring what’s possible for shifting your life and going in a different direction that aligns more with what you most want, click here to read my short eBook, “Sound Your Future: 9 Ways Sound Improv Can Help You Find Stability Amidst Chaos, Shift Old Patterns, and Play Your Way Forward.”
If you'd like to talk about working with me one-on-one, or explore the year-long Sound You System immersion, click here to schedule a Curiosity Call. I'll look forward to seeing if there's a fit!
Are we not a fit?
If you’d like to believe a program like this one is possible for you, but you don’t feel ready for it now, you might like to check out:
An Artist’s Way class
A class/workshop in improv theatre
Find a local drum circle (or get a group of friends together and start one)
“The Listening Book” W.A. Mathieu
“Write What You Don’t Know: 10 Steps to Writing With Confidence, Energy, and Flow” by Allegra Houston and James Navé
“Effortless Mastery” by Kenny Werner
“The Music Lesson” by Victor Wooten
Whether we end up working together or not, I hope this page has been helpful in clarifying some things for you going forward. And I do wish you
Many blessings onward...
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