Here is my favorite quote by this great lady:
"Soul is something creative, something active. Soul is honesty. I sing to people about what matters. I sing to people who accept it like it is. There are tears when it's sad and smiles when it's happy. It seems simple to me, but to some, feelings take courage".
Amen.
Showing posts with label feelings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feelings. Show all posts
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Monday, May 11, 2015
Talking It Over ...
(I originally posted this in March of this year and then took it down after a few days, thinking that it was too self-revealing. I kept the hard copy and decided I ought to re-post it, so here it is):
I'll share the following in the hopes that it might benefit a reader or two in the way it helps me. This is about feelings :)
When my feelings -- especially anxious feelings -- start grabbing a monopoly on my mindset and my thoughts, I like to get out of the house and on the road or to a park. I also have a meditation room in my home that is very welcoming, where I like to spend some time each day.
While driving or at a relatively serene natural place (or even, at urgent times, in a shopping center parking lot), I make the effort to focus on the feeling that is bothering me and causing my discomfort. As I write this, I recall that as a child, I was taught by example and by habit to repress my feelings. So in my past (when I was young), my strategy -- if it could be called that -- was to dodge, deny, or shift my feelings of discomfort so that they would seem to "go away". This resulted in what I remember as a never-ending drama that tended to put me in the role of emotional shape-shifter. It really was an effort to modify or appease or justify or collude with whatever was causing the uncomfortable feeling. And it caused me to suffer.
At some point in more recent times, it became clear to me, largely through the writings of my favorite author, Thich Nhat Hahn (to whom I was gently steered by my very close friend), that looking directly at a feeling is the best thing to do. At first that seemed difficult and sometimes it still is. But, honestly, it is one of the best medicines I have found (the others being meditation, prayer, nature, and music).
When I chose the post title "Talking It Over", I meant talking it over with Self when each urgent or important feeling arises -- truly acknowledging the feeling. As I need to actually hear my own voice speaking of my specific feelings, this conversation is best done aloud in a vehicle or within some other personal and private environment. Yes, I'm suggesting talking to oneself. The conversation can go into detail or it can be simple like saying "This is a feeling of anxiety", "This is a feeling of fear", "This is a feeling of need", "This is a feeling of disappointment, "This is a feeling of resentment", "This is a feeling of anger" -- and that BIG one -- "This is a feeling of insecurity". Once the statement is uttered, the feeling becomes easier to understand and handle. It also, I believe, helps to bring angelic energy to my aid.
I try to remember to similarly also bring to the surface positive emotional feelings like "This is a feeling of wonder", "This is a feeling of joy", "This is a feeling of trust", "This is a feeling of achievement", "This is a feeling of love", "This is a feeling of peace", "This is a feeling of acceptance", "This is a feeling of comfort", "This is a feeling of gratitude". The utterance of the words, I believe, reinforces angelic and positive energy.
Of course it's a very good thing to be able to be "talking it over" with a trusted friend or a professional listener. Always, though, Self is there as a valued, accessible consultant.
I'll share the following in the hopes that it might benefit a reader or two in the way it helps me. This is about feelings :)
When my feelings -- especially anxious feelings -- start grabbing a monopoly on my mindset and my thoughts, I like to get out of the house and on the road or to a park. I also have a meditation room in my home that is very welcoming, where I like to spend some time each day.
While driving or at a relatively serene natural place (or even, at urgent times, in a shopping center parking lot), I make the effort to focus on the feeling that is bothering me and causing my discomfort. As I write this, I recall that as a child, I was taught by example and by habit to repress my feelings. So in my past (when I was young), my strategy -- if it could be called that -- was to dodge, deny, or shift my feelings of discomfort so that they would seem to "go away". This resulted in what I remember as a never-ending drama that tended to put me in the role of emotional shape-shifter. It really was an effort to modify or appease or justify or collude with whatever was causing the uncomfortable feeling. And it caused me to suffer.
At some point in more recent times, it became clear to me, largely through the writings of my favorite author, Thich Nhat Hahn (to whom I was gently steered by my very close friend), that looking directly at a feeling is the best thing to do. At first that seemed difficult and sometimes it still is. But, honestly, it is one of the best medicines I have found (the others being meditation, prayer, nature, and music).
When I chose the post title "Talking It Over", I meant talking it over with Self when each urgent or important feeling arises -- truly acknowledging the feeling. As I need to actually hear my own voice speaking of my specific feelings, this conversation is best done aloud in a vehicle or within some other personal and private environment. Yes, I'm suggesting talking to oneself. The conversation can go into detail or it can be simple like saying "This is a feeling of anxiety", "This is a feeling of fear", "This is a feeling of need", "This is a feeling of disappointment, "This is a feeling of resentment", "This is a feeling of anger" -- and that BIG one -- "This is a feeling of insecurity". Once the statement is uttered, the feeling becomes easier to understand and handle. It also, I believe, helps to bring angelic energy to my aid.
I try to remember to similarly also bring to the surface positive emotional feelings like "This is a feeling of wonder", "This is a feeling of joy", "This is a feeling of trust", "This is a feeling of achievement", "This is a feeling of love", "This is a feeling of peace", "This is a feeling of acceptance", "This is a feeling of comfort", "This is a feeling of gratitude". The utterance of the words, I believe, reinforces angelic and positive energy.
Of course it's a very good thing to be able to be "talking it over" with a trusted friend or a professional listener. Always, though, Self is there as a valued, accessible consultant.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Dreams, Innovations, Feelings ...
Recently, when thinking about music (well, that's nothing new!) I marveled at how some songs have the power to live, endure, inspire, and even blossom anew, long after their composers have left the earthly scene. Two of the songs I included on my legacy CD (which I'll be delighted to talk about in a moment) are old covers, written back in the 1930s and for which I got licenses to record. I did change some of the lyrics -- not so much to make them contemporary, but so that they would more closely describe my own life happenings and experiences. And so, each of them lends itself well to me :) Those cover songs are Blue Moon by Rodgers & Hart and It Had To Be You by Jones & Kahn; I truly had an enjoyable time creating my arrangements of these evergreens. The other songs on the CD are among the very best of my originals. There are seventeen tracks in all.
"Lifescape ... Dreams, Innovations, Feelings" is the CD title ... and the solo artist (vocals & keyboard recorded in real time) is yours truly, Clara ... the Lady Wolf. Choosing songs to include was fun, though presented a few challenges because there are many more good ones than what could fit on a CD. So I like each chosen song for the special feelings I have attached to it. Moods run the gamut (passion, pain, love, hope, and humor) and genres are blues, jazz, ballads, latinesque, and a couple that I would classify as inspirational. The project was expertly handled from inception to completion -- recording, mastering, art work and graphics design, and packaging -- by Songwriters Recording Studio in Knoxville, with creative, musical, technical genius William (Sandy) Garrett at the helm. I'm delighted with the CD :)
As I said at the beginning of this post, some songs have the ability to seemingly live forever ... and that's a really good thing. I hope that many years from now, people will be listening, humming, singing, whistling, smiling, weeping, working, dancing, romancing, even exercising ... to my music! Of course, there's no need to wait -- now could be an excellent time. :)
For more info, contact me via Comments or send an e-mail to claralandau@yahoo.com.
"Lifescape ... Dreams, Innovations, Feelings" is the CD title ... and the solo artist (vocals & keyboard recorded in real time) is yours truly, Clara ... the Lady Wolf. Choosing songs to include was fun, though presented a few challenges because there are many more good ones than what could fit on a CD. So I like each chosen song for the special feelings I have attached to it. Moods run the gamut (passion, pain, love, hope, and humor) and genres are blues, jazz, ballads, latinesque, and a couple that I would classify as inspirational. The project was expertly handled from inception to completion -- recording, mastering, art work and graphics design, and packaging -- by Songwriters Recording Studio in Knoxville, with creative, musical, technical genius William (Sandy) Garrett at the helm. I'm delighted with the CD :)
As I said at the beginning of this post, some songs have the ability to seemingly live forever ... and that's a really good thing. I hope that many years from now, people will be listening, humming, singing, whistling, smiling, weeping, working, dancing, romancing, even exercising ... to my music! Of course, there's no need to wait -- now could be an excellent time. :)
For more info, contact me via Comments or send an e-mail to claralandau@yahoo.com.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
The REAL Down And Dirty Blues !
This morning I spent a couple of hours at the dealership with my truck. When I arrived in the customers' waiting lounge, I grabbed a chair in one of the "business" cubicles, as far away as possible from the mindless clamor of the television set. Within moments I was writing a new post for my blog.
Everyone knows I love Blues music. I love it because it is pure, heartfelt, goes right to the core of the issue, puts it out there where the light of day can get at it ... and makes me feel good, or at least, better.
There exists a different kind of "blues" though ... and I speak now of clinical depression. That's the real down and dirty kind of blues. Rough to go through, it tends to revisit when it wants to. When it lifts, though, the feeling is wonderful, bright, and peaceful.
An artist needs contact with the extremes of both joy and sadness; that is where creativity is born -- at that intersection, that juncture.
I've got four songs preparing for recording. Two of them (originals) came out of my most recent bout with depression. The first one, "Reverie On Wings" (alternate title "Let's Do It'), is a rhythmic and eclectic offering about escape and freedom -- or what I should call "flying the coop". It is about trying to handle perceived confinement in an upbeat way that cuts through fog, clutter, and density. The second one came while I sipped my orange juice during the morning hours on December 31st, when the depression episode was fully engaged and very heavy. The song is eight-bar blues and it lyrically talks about pain -- the nature of it, the spirit of it, and the depths of it, and so the song is named "I Can't Stop The Pain". At first, I set it up in a minor chord format, but it was too "laden", dark, so I changed it so it presents in C major, though with some minor chord passages. The third song is an ancient cover that I've always liked and could relate to in an abstract way. "It Had To Be You" is timely now in a more literal way and it feels good to do it. And fourthly, my 12-bar "That's The Way You Make Me Feel" blues original is ready to be re-recorded -- this time with a more robust character, more initiative!
While deeply honoring the work and talents of all the early blues musicians and those current artists whose efforts have nurtured and maintained the genre, I'm an innovative soul ... and so I take liberties and add my own musical touch :)
And so this morning produced for me the writing of this post, a pleasant visit with my co-visitors at the dealership, and my happily-repaired truck ! And, amazingly, the outdoor temperature had soared to 40+ degrees :)
Everyone knows I love Blues music. I love it because it is pure, heartfelt, goes right to the core of the issue, puts it out there where the light of day can get at it ... and makes me feel good, or at least, better.
There exists a different kind of "blues" though ... and I speak now of clinical depression. That's the real down and dirty kind of blues. Rough to go through, it tends to revisit when it wants to. When it lifts, though, the feeling is wonderful, bright, and peaceful.
An artist needs contact with the extremes of both joy and sadness; that is where creativity is born -- at that intersection, that juncture.
I've got four songs preparing for recording. Two of them (originals) came out of my most recent bout with depression. The first one, "Reverie On Wings" (alternate title "Let's Do It'), is a rhythmic and eclectic offering about escape and freedom -- or what I should call "flying the coop". It is about trying to handle perceived confinement in an upbeat way that cuts through fog, clutter, and density. The second one came while I sipped my orange juice during the morning hours on December 31st, when the depression episode was fully engaged and very heavy. The song is eight-bar blues and it lyrically talks about pain -- the nature of it, the spirit of it, and the depths of it, and so the song is named "I Can't Stop The Pain". At first, I set it up in a minor chord format, but it was too "laden", dark, so I changed it so it presents in C major, though with some minor chord passages. The third song is an ancient cover that I've always liked and could relate to in an abstract way. "It Had To Be You" is timely now in a more literal way and it feels good to do it. And fourthly, my 12-bar "That's The Way You Make Me Feel" blues original is ready to be re-recorded -- this time with a more robust character, more initiative!
While deeply honoring the work and talents of all the early blues musicians and those current artists whose efforts have nurtured and maintained the genre, I'm an innovative soul ... and so I take liberties and add my own musical touch :)
And so this morning produced for me the writing of this post, a pleasant visit with my co-visitors at the dealership, and my happily-repaired truck ! And, amazingly, the outdoor temperature had soared to 40+ degrees :)
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Month Modes –
No one commented on my end-of-May’s post about how each of the months on the calendar brings with it a mood, mode, feeling, theme of its own. I mentioned May being merry and June being sultry. I’d really like to know if other people ascribe moods to specific months. Here’s another one of mine: September – blissful. And another: March – energized. And another: April – tricky. Just think of the descriptive word that immediately comes to mind about a particular month!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Curtain Call --
A recent evening spent at Songwriters Recording Studio with William (Sandy) Garrett in Knoxville, reminded me not only of how talented this studio owner-engineer-musician-artist is, but also how fortunate I am to have him as a friend.
Probably everyone who knows me or has been reading my blog for a period of time, is aware that my life, path, and health took some unanticipated turns with the events of this past summer. And, just for the record, I’m doing everything I can to regain/attain balance in all those life departments. One of the constants in my life – music – greatly helped carry me through those difficult weeks; I wrote a spiritual-styled blues called "Give Me A Warm Shoulder To Lean On" two days after the shootings and a rhythmic, uplifting latinesque song called "I Feel Like Singing Again", during September. Surprising me completely, a ballad called "Make (Time For) Love" drifted into my mind early this month. This newest is a techy song with intriguing and challenging modulations, patterns, and passages; in fact, learning and memorizing the arrangement took some real effort, though it was a labor of love.
So, at Songwriters, I recorded the three tunes named above, along with a song I’d composed during early July, called "Rainy Day Blues". RDB is an 8-bar blues that speaks to the supreme joy I (and, I’m sure, others) felt here in East Tennessee when rain would appear on the drought-scorched summer horizon. Though out of season right now, the song deserves to be heard and will be on hand for summer of 2009!
Anyway, when I went to the studio this time, I really felt more than a bit unsteady, as I’d not done any singing and playing anywhere except in my home studio, since the shootings; also, except for my students, none of my non-church friends had even seen me in the interim (though we’d talked on the phone and via e-mail). But all went well and I’m really proud of the project, which turned out beautifully.
In all, I did five songs, including a public domain tune I love called "Rose Room" (written by two gentlemen in 1917). I decided to put the songs on a CD and call it "Curtain Call", since that phrase loosely translates to mean the bow at the end of a performance, which acknowledges audience applause and brings that delicious moment of connection. The Curtain Call concept flew into my head when I got home from the studio that evening. By nature, the term suggests brevity (only five songs are on the CD but they are extraordinary) with a savored and fleeting quality. Curtain Call will be available soon by contacting me directly (I won’t be putting it in stores). Similarly, my earlier CD "Is She Calling You?" can also be burned-to-order; I have a limited quantity of my earlier CDs, "Wild Lady" and "Solo Flight". Please call or e-mail me at (865) 522-0204, claralandau@comcast.net, if you would like to own any of these.
Probably everyone who knows me or has been reading my blog for a period of time, is aware that my life, path, and health took some unanticipated turns with the events of this past summer. And, just for the record, I’m doing everything I can to regain/attain balance in all those life departments. One of the constants in my life – music – greatly helped carry me through those difficult weeks; I wrote a spiritual-styled blues called "Give Me A Warm Shoulder To Lean On" two days after the shootings and a rhythmic, uplifting latinesque song called "I Feel Like Singing Again", during September. Surprising me completely, a ballad called "Make (Time For) Love" drifted into my mind early this month. This newest is a techy song with intriguing and challenging modulations, patterns, and passages; in fact, learning and memorizing the arrangement took some real effort, though it was a labor of love.
So, at Songwriters, I recorded the three tunes named above, along with a song I’d composed during early July, called "Rainy Day Blues". RDB is an 8-bar blues that speaks to the supreme joy I (and, I’m sure, others) felt here in East Tennessee when rain would appear on the drought-scorched summer horizon. Though out of season right now, the song deserves to be heard and will be on hand for summer of 2009!
Anyway, when I went to the studio this time, I really felt more than a bit unsteady, as I’d not done any singing and playing anywhere except in my home studio, since the shootings; also, except for my students, none of my non-church friends had even seen me in the interim (though we’d talked on the phone and via e-mail). But all went well and I’m really proud of the project, which turned out beautifully.
In all, I did five songs, including a public domain tune I love called "Rose Room" (written by two gentlemen in 1917). I decided to put the songs on a CD and call it "Curtain Call", since that phrase loosely translates to mean the bow at the end of a performance, which acknowledges audience applause and brings that delicious moment of connection. The Curtain Call concept flew into my head when I got home from the studio that evening. By nature, the term suggests brevity (only five songs are on the CD but they are extraordinary) with a savored and fleeting quality. Curtain Call will be available soon by contacting me directly (I won’t be putting it in stores). Similarly, my earlier CD "Is She Calling You?" can also be burned-to-order; I have a limited quantity of my earlier CDs, "Wild Lady" and "Solo Flight". Please call or e-mail me at (865) 522-0204, claralandau@comcast.net, if you would like to own any of these.
Labels:
audience,
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feelings,
inspiration,
life,
love,
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