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NEWSLETTER - MARCH 23, 2011 Dear Friends,
This is Hozanji, my temple
in Japan. I will be going to Japan in 7 days to offer my Healing Music
at this sacred temple. I will also be playing a Benefit Concert in
Nagoya. Please join me in sending light through your heart to this
temple, to the land of Japan, to all who are suffering.
I am also offering a Healing Music/Yoga benefit event today, March 23 here in Toronto. Please go to www.bigstretchyoga.com for reservations. I will be taking donated funds this trip and also in the future to my friend in Japan who is a doctor and runs a hospital in Nagoya. He will be sending donations directly to a hospital in Sendai to support the relief effort. Please contact: info@healingmusic.com for information about the donations. NEWSLETTER - DECEMBER 30, 2010 Dear Friends, Happy end of the year newsletter. Wow, it has been the most amazing year of wild energetic shifting. I hope that you are all well and are having a lovely wee rest this week. I would like to share some of my adventures from this incredible year with you starting with the auspicious event that happened on my birthday yesterday. I was standing at the edge of Lake Ontario in the direct line of the sun blazing down onto the water. I was almost blinded by the shimmering water and down this corridor of light a beautiful swan floated right up to me. The brilliant light, the gently lapping sounds of the water, the beautiful swan, all wove a mantle of peace around me. This event marks the end of this year's energy for me, the Year of Power. (Every year I have a theme and 2010 was The Year of Power). I have felt powerful shifts in the balancing of the Female and Male energies this year. I hope that each and every one of you have felt some profound balancing of Ying/Yang energies in yourself, in those around you and in our delicate balance with the earth, the animals, the moon, the stars.... I will start my remembering with three things that have changed my life this year. An event, a person, a place. I¹ll start with the event. There were many, many deaths this year and a very sad one in my personal life but I am so grateful for this experience - each walk with grief is as unique as the being we knew and loved. This grief literally took me through the veil and the whole left side of my field was transported to the other side. I am so grateful to my friends/healers who were there to help me through this powerful, beautiful, heartbreaking time. Of course I returned but profoundly changed. As always, my temple in Japan was a place/energy that sustained me during this difficult time. I visit my temple each day in meditation and this spring I will travel there again to mark the year end of this death in a ceremony of music and love. I felt so blessed during this time to receive some Tibetan Buddhist teachings about dying from Zasep Rinpoche. Wonderful wisdom. The person that again touched my heart so profoundly was Don Miguel Ruiz - he wrote one of my favourite books, The Four Agreements. I first met and played for him years ago at a Wellness Conference in Galveston. His heart energy is the most beautiful, powerful, and encompassing I have ever felt from a healer. I was so happy to play for him again here in Toronto and when I finished playing he again imprinted his heart into my mine. Thank you Don Miguel. The place that has touched my heart so much this year is actually two places, each an interesting mix of female and male energies. It felt so right for me to be playing at these special locations at events that have helped to balance the energies of Ying and Yang. One of these lovely places is Grail Springs in Bancroft. I have been there to play three times this year and have three events planned for the new year. For me this lovely place has hooked into the energy of the Chalice Well at Glastonbury. I have met some wonderful folks there and have had some quite amazing experiences including this one I will share with you. I was walking/playing on the Labyrinth with my new friend Madeleine and I could hear the sound of a horse walking with us. I knew that I would encounter a horse there at the Grail and the next visit I was invited on a ride. I am a great rider, I used to jump bareback! and I have never fallen from a horse. Well, on my ride the saddle slipped sideways and I fell off, flat on my back. I was O.K. but it was an abrupt lesson in being grounded! This is funny, the horse¹s name was Grace and so I have now fallen from Grace!!
The other new place in my
life this year is a lovely performance I also offered Eckhart Tolle meditations at this space with its founder Rob. These were fun and gentle teachings that went on for about nine months but I think that they were part of the birthing energy of the new space and they have now ended. I played at a interesting symposium called Awakening the Dreamer. From the energy of this event I have started a new workshop that incorporates many of the things I love - Shakuhachi Meditations, Labyrinths, Trees and of course Tea! I have offered this workshop in several cities and will continue these in the new year. So much fun. I continue to play at Labyrinth events wherever I go. I so love the energy of the Labyrinth and how it weaves us all together in its web of light and 'interconnectedness'. Thanks to Deb and Nancy for inviting me to play again at their wonderful Labyrinths on their Healing Grounds. I returned to both the University of Toronto campus downtown and the Scarborough campus to offer lectures, meditations and workshops. I was also up at York University again for a lecture/demonstration. Both old stomping grounds were I have studied and taught over the years. I am so grateful to have found a wonderful class of Qigong led by Andrew of the Gitche M¹Qua Centre. I played there last year to mark the Solstice and I felt so at home I joined! They have been playing my music for years and so it was like arriving at another home when I first walked in. I mark the changing of the seasons by playing at each Solstice and Equinox class. I love the energy of this group. I returned to play at the annual Edgar Cayce conference in Kingston. A wonderful time and wonderful folks. At the conference I was introduced to the gorgeous paintings of Alma Rumball and later I went up to Huntsville to play in the energy of the original paintings. This is something new and fun. I have been playing for beautiful candelit Yoga classes led by powerful and graceful gals. Thanks to Joanne and Cathy for inviting me. There were some wonderful summer events. I played several times in Ottawa at Remic Rapids in front of and around the beautiful rock sculptures of John Ceprano. So gorgeous playing there. I played at my third Sacred Dance Festival, this one again down in Connecticut. Wonderful folks - I love to play for these dancers. We did a Flash Mob Dance in the town of New London and I don¹t think we will ever be forgotten!! I continue to play at all the Memorial Services at Sunnybrook Hospital. These are very special Memorials and I am honoured to be a part of them. Thank you to all the Chaplains that work so hard and do such healing work at the hospital. I continue to teach Shakuhachi in Toronto, Guelph and Ottawa. This year we had our Fifth Annual Shakuhachi Playday!! Thanks to all my wonderful students, I love you! I am also continuing my Healing Sessions for individuals at churches and homes and also my Music Meditations - playing in as many Sacred Sites as I can. I played for the first time in Niagara Falls at the Temple with 10,000 Buddhas. My favourite place to play at this Temple was in front of the Quan Yin statue. As I played I felt her energy focus down into my heart and her music played through me to the group and out to the Falls. One of the listeners felt her arms embrace me as I played. So beautiful. I also offered a workshop in Niagara Falls at a friend¹s beautiful Labyrinth and we continued the workshop out at the Niagara Gorge. Thanks to Kassandra and Kim for their work in holding and healing the water energy there. I have been doing regular clearings at homes and workplaces - including a six storey building. Whew!! This is work I do everyday at home and it feels so lovely to expand this energy outward... I played at another benefit concert with my friend Mark for the Pegasus drop in centre. This was at Hallowe¹en and we dressed up, I was the Moon Spirit and Mark was the Autumn River Spirit. A really fun night and a great fundraiser too. This was a magical evening - I played at a Haiku Reading and Music Event at the Japanese Embassy in Ottawa with one of my students, Catriona. I love doing these events. Beautiful poetry and the wildest combination of instruments you could imagine including Shakuhachi and accordian! I played more this year then I have ever done in the past. I am feeling more grounded (I am smiling as I write this) but really, this ability to play at so many events and travel so much is something I couldn¹t have done years ago and so I am grateful for this shift. A special thanks to Steve and all my friends and family who travelled through this wild and wonderful year with me. I am looking forward to another year of transformation, healing, joy and fun. Next year will be the Year of Bliss...... I hope that you have a wonderful 2011.
Lots of Love,
NEWSLETTER - DECEMBER 2009 Dear Friends, Welcome to another of my yearly newsletters. Time really flies, we must be having fun! This has been one of the most amazing years in terms of energetic shifts. So much has gone on in my life and the lives of those around me. Here is what I have been up to. A highlight of the year was the trip to Japan. I travelled there with a group of friends/students and we had a whirlwind trip to many of my favourite places. I have included a picture of me playing amongst big bamboo. We played Shakuhachi at many temples, including my temple of Hozanji near Nara. We were invited to some wonderful special events hosted by my friends in Japan. I had a very life changing event at one of the temples where I received teachings in an energetic form that I brought back to one of the Shamanic workshops I played at. The next group trip will be in the spring of 2011. I was invited to play at three Shamanic workshops this year. Each one was a powerful tool for transforming/healing the earth¹s energy. At the first workshop Theodore offered a gentle journey that helped participants strengthen their connection to Mother Earth. Louise helped carry us over a multi-dimensional Golden Bridge. The teachings I received in Japan were an integral part of this bridge journey. Paula went to swim with Dolphins and brought back their wonderful healing energy to her workshop. I could feel the dolphins dancing/swimming around me as I began my playing. One of the meditations I offered in the lovely home of Sue also became quite a Shamanic event. I could feel the trees around her place gather in with us and become part of our group. I am always aware and grateful for the trees and their wonderful healing presence.
In contrast
to all these profoundly transformative gatherings I played some concerts Also in the spring I offered a benefit concert here in Toronto with Steve on piano and Mark on guitar. We raised money for a drop in centre for adults living with disabilites. A weird aside, this concert was in the United Church that I practised piano in when I returned from living in the Bahamas many years ago! Small world. I was invited to play a meditation in Wakefield at the new Centre of Peace. It is a peaceful, wonderful space and this was their opening event. Again, I could feel the beautiful trees that surround the building moving in to listen to the music. A very healing evening. In May I returned to play again at the Edgar Cayce conference in Kingston. This is a yearly event and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the teachings of Cayce. A wonderful group attends and it is a lovely weekend. The painter Alex Grey came to Toronto from New York in June - he is one of my favourite artists. I was thrilled to play with him at the lecture he offered. He read some of his poetry and I wove the music around his words. It was a fabulous summer and I played at some of the most interesting events you could imagine. I danced and played through a Lumiere Labyrinth built by my friend Ruth - 1,000 tea lights in paper bags. Wow. I played at a Haiku conference concert with Catriona. Wonderful folks at the conference and the concert was a huge hit! I played at the Ottawa Folk Festival at the beautiful Britannia Park. I often stay with my Fairy friend Wendy and her house is right beside the park. Wendy and I offered a Sacred Dance event and we trundled all our supplies over in a red kid¹s wagon. Fun. I also offered a meditation at the festival with the participants looking out over the water. Plus I played at several other events during the weekend. I was thrilled to meet Bruce Cockburn there - what an amazing musician and a wonderful person. Guess what, he played my favourite song for me at his concert, entitled Tokyo. I used to listen this piece over and over when I lived in Japan. Also in July I was invited by Linda & Michael to offer a Labyrinth event at their Sahayoga Centre in Prince Edward County. I love their place, it is one of the nicest I have ever played at. It was a wonderful and powerful event (plus the best food!!). I played at several events at ITM (The Institute of Traditional Medicine) here in Toronto. I love this space and thanks to Mona & Marco for hosting all the events. I was also blessed to have the opportunity to play for Zasep Rinpoche¹s birthday celebration. He is the spiritual leader for the Gaden Choling Buddhist temple here in Toronto and we are so lucky to have him here with us during these pivitol times. I played at four Sacred Dance Guild events this year. Wonderful healing movement dances with Claire and fun clapping/dancing rhythms with Greg. Plus I did the music for a gorgeous dance offered by Natasha down at the Ottawa River with John¹s magnificent rock sculptures growing out of the river behind us. I continue to play my Shakuhachi meditations at a variety of spaces, including yoga centres/churches/homes. I also did some Kirtan singing with Brenda at some yoga centres. Very fun. I am playing Shakuhachi at all the Sunnybrook Hospital Memorial Services. Very healing events and I am so grateful to be a part of them. I also continue to play at memorial services for individuals. These are quite powerful heart connections for me as the folks that have died were listeners of my music. The music is being carried to new places. I am being called upon by listeners to do energetic clearings at their homes and workplaces. This is work I have been doing for myself and friends for many, many years. I am happy to be doing this work for more folks. I also continue to offer my Healing Sessions and meditations for individuals and small groups. This year my students and I had our Fourth Annual Shakuhachi Playday. I love my teaching and continue to teach in Toronto, Ottawa and Guelph. I am so lucky to have the nicest, most wonderful students!!! I have expanded my teaching and am now incorporating some Shamanic shaker work and also North American Native flute. I have found another healing place for my own meditation practise with my friends at Lost Horizons. Thanks for being there. I had decided at the beginning of this year that it would be The Year of Peace. During this wild year it wasn¹t exactly feeling all that peaceful but as I take time to wind down and reflect I feel that I have been transformed by all the amazing energetic shifts I participated in. There was an enegertic block that I had carried with me since Priestess times that released back down into the earth. I do indeed now feel a peace that is deeper and more present. I am so grateful for this year and the old and new friends that have passed through it with me. I wish you all a wonderful, peaceful, joyful, fun filled end of the year and all the best for the next year to come.
Lots of
Love,
Japanese
temple NEWSLETTER - DECEMBER, 2008 Dear Friends, Welcome to another year end newsletter. I hope this letter finds you all well and happy. Whew, time has really flown since I last wrote. Here are some of the events I participated in this past year.
2008 began for me with a
profoundly moving experience when I was asked to play my flute at the
Sri Chinmoy Memorial Service here in Toronto. For those of you not
familiar with Sri Chinmoy he was an amazing spiritual leader and also a
wonderful writer, painter and musician. I played a song that he had
written for one of his visits to Japan and as the music flowed through
me I was filled with the deepest feeling of peace I have ever felt. I
even look like a bit like him in the picture taken while I played. I
would like to offer my thanks to Sri Chinmoy for the wonderful radiant
peace he left behind for us all.
There will come a time when
this world of ours Soon after this beautiful Memorial I had a gig playing for a modern day Tea Ceremony. The artist, Amy Barbour, had built an entire installation made out of tea soaked fabric. The lucky participants basked in a cocoon of complete sensory delight. I had the wonderful job of playing Shakuhachi for them all. In April I offered a Healing Music Benefit Concert in Ottawa with Steve on piano and Ian Hepburn on harp. This year the benefit was for Ottawa Friends of Tibet to help them raise funds for the retirement home they are building in India for Tibetans living in exile. The land there was donated by the office of the Dalai Lama. It was a fantastic evening and we had a sell out crowd of 350. $7,000 was raised between the ticket sales and the market of Tibetan arts and crafts. I wish them well with the building. I played at several Edgar Cayce events this year. The highlight for me was playing at the May conference in Kingston - their 25th anniversary event. I wove my music throughout the weekend and rarely have I felt such a clarity of light in the energy field of a large group of listeners. There were so many big angels there, what a joy and a privilege it was to play in their midst. In May I also went to Utah to play at a workshop in the mountains there, so beautiful. I combined that trip with a visit to my friend Tim Landers in Las Angeles to do some work/play on a new recording. More news on this next year. In June and October I was invited to Sunnybrook Hospital to play at the Memorial Services offered for the patients who have died and their families, friends, and the staff who have had the privilege to attend them. There is a very committed group of Chaplains working there at Sunnybrook and they do an amazing job of offering spiritual guidance for the 10,000 people (patients and staff) under their care. I offered several ŒJourney to the Heart¹ workshops with my friends Lorraine Gane, Wendy Morrell and Jill Davey. One in Toronto and another in Guelph. Lorraine and I also had an Earth Prayers Solstice gathering in Toronto, dancing led by Moira MacDonald and guitarist Mark Battenburg joining the celebration. In June I spent a week playing at the Sacred Dance Festival in Connecticut. It was the 50th anniversary and some of the original founders of the Sacred Dance Guild were there. It was one of most wonderful festivals I have ever attended. Dancers of all kinds from all over the world. I think I played the most I have ever played in one week! On our last day we had a trip to Jacob¹s Pillow, one of the first dance centres for modern dance. I saw three performances, all fabulous, and best of all I was so happy to spend the day with Carla DeSola. Carla is one of the founders of Sacred Dance and is an Angel of Dance. Thank you Carla for being here. Thanks also to Wendy Morrell, organizer extrordinaire for her excellent dance festival planning. Well done! In November a British choreographer living now in North Carolina, Claire Elizabeth Barratt, came to Toronto to perform with me and friend Celina Carroll at the Gladstone Hotel. I met Claire at the Sacred Dance Festival, what a wonderful dancer. Claire and I then drove to Ottawa to offer a Sacred Dance workshop there - Phoenix Rising. The trip fell on the Remembrance Dance weekend and I was blessed by being able to attend the Memorial Service at the Cenotaph in downtown Ottawa. Very moving. Afterwards I went with Wendy and friends and drank beer and danced at the Legion. My life is always full of strange contrasts! Back to Toronto to play an Autumn Trilogy concert with Steve and Mark. A lovely wee concert enjoyed by all. The year had some really unique, fun events. I played at Kathy and Patrick¹s super fun wedding at one of the gorgeous estates at Sunnybrook. I had my Tarot read by Kathy out in the courtyard here under a mystical tree. Wow, it was an amazing story the Tarot had to tell. Ruth and I danced on a magical labyrinth woven through the woods somewhere in Almonte. There were lots and lots of fairies dancing with us. As always the Labyrinth inspires and guides me, plus offers wildly fun opportunites for dance and frolic. Our Guelph workshop was held at the Jesuit Ignatius Centre and the outdoor Labyrinth offered us a sacred space where we were blessed by Sun, music, dance and festive scarves! At Toronto Island I danced on the beautiful red cedar chip Labyrinth that rings a wise old tree and had a huge revelation occur that day. One of my oddest Labyrinth workshops was held at the University of Toronto in a noisy common area - still the magic managed to flow through to the walkers and observers both. I continue to play my Shakuhachi Meditations at a great variety of spiritual centres - some of my favourite being yoga centres. I also continue offering Shakuhachi lessons and Healing Sessions in Toronto, Ottawa and Guelph. I have such wonderful students, a joy to be with. We had our Third Shakuhachi Play Day - here in Toronto this year. I am planning a trip to Japan in the spring with some of these students and any new and old friends that wish to join us. Shakuhachi meditations under the cherry blossoms at my favourite temples. I have met some wonderful new friends following the Sufi spiritual path and I will be finishing off the year joining them to play at a Festival of Lights gathering this month.
Sending you all LOTS of LOVE
and LIGHT for the coming year,
Listen to the sound Newsletter: December 2007 Dear Friends, We are moving into the festive season again, marking the end of yet another year. What an amazing year it has been. I decided it was to be 'The Year of JOY' and to this end I offered a series of Joy events with my friend Lorraine Gane. We gave Joy workshops in Toronto, Ottawa and Guelph with help from friends Michelle McMillan and Wendy Morrell. The Joy theme was wildly embraced at our summer retreat at Rice Lake. Our retreat was at a wonderful 'green' centre, it was great to be off the grid in an oasis of calm and harmony. Just to get you ready for next year, it is going to be 'The Year of Gratitude and Abundance'. 2008 - look out for a fun and fabulous year. Working backwards, in November I had an action packed month of travel. I started off with playing a benefit event for 'Friends of Tibet' in Ottawa. Then I travelled down to Utah to play at a healing retreat in the mountains - I had a wonderful horse ride through the canyons; beautiful. Back to Toronto to play at the Palliative Care Conference here. I played at several events during the week but the Memorial Service in particular was a wonderful heart opening evening. My dear friend Ruth Richardson was at the conference and she laid a Labyrinth in pink tape! for one of the workshops. I then headed down to Florida to play at an event at the Ritz Carlton. I was able to spend time with my wonderful friend Donna O'Toole. I sat under the embracing arms of a Banyan Tree in Sarasota. I am a 'tree person', I love them all, hug as many as I can, but I have never felt this kind of intense energy off of a tree before. If you get the chance, go and find your own Banyan Tree and spend some quality time with it. I had many wonderful Labyrinth events to play at this year. I love the Labyrinth, the gentle energy it sets up in a space, and the opportunity it offers us to invite new healing energies into our lives. All of our Joy events included the Labyrinth. Steve and I played at Earth Dance, part of a world wide event to celebrate peace through dance. We had two Labyrinths set up that day, they looked like a giant butterfly! I continue my Shakuhachi lessons and Healing Sessions in Toronto, Ottawa and Guleph. The Shakuhachi Play Day was held in Ottawa this year and we incorporated the Labyrinth into the fabric of the day. I had one of my favourite moments - all my students walking the Labyrinth playing a heartfelt musical meditation with Ian Hepburn, harpist extraordinaire accompanying us and Ruth Richardson and fairy friend Wendy Morrell dancing the energy through. WOW. We walked the outdoor Labyrinth in Toronto's High Park for the Solstice. I saw a man sitting amongst the flowers and his head was tipped back, just like the blossoms. I invited him to walk with us and it was so lovely to meet him, he was trying to be like the flowers and plants of the earth and to absorb the energy of the sun just like them. What a treat to walk with such a person of light. I played at a powerful healing event hosted by healer Abdy. There have been many cycles of huge energetic waves moving through us this last year. This event really helped to clear a path for these energies to move more easily. Whew, it was a very intense playing experience. I am always grateful for how my Shakuhachi flute continues to teach me about new energies. I played at another event for 'Friends of Tibet' in the spring. I was walking through the audience playing a meditation. I stepped behind a Tibetan gentleman and suddenly the sound/energy shot up over my head and off behind me. I had never experienced this before. I took a deep grounding breath and carefully played into the flute and this time the sound moved through and forward. I found out after that I had stepped into the energy field of a bodyguard for the Dalai Lama! His field automatically repelled outwards, powerful but in a manner to maintain peace. This was another new experience for me, I offered a clearing for the oldest hotel here in Toronto, the Gladstone. The Shakuhachi's healing tones automatically offer clearing and invite in healing and balance for individuals and spaces but this was a Big clearing. I played from bottom to top, crawling into little used spaces and ending up with a wonderful healing ceremony on the roof. My friend Celina Carroll played her fabulous Berimbau to accompany the Shakuhachi. The Berimbau is a powerful string and gourd instrument that like the Shakuhachi has been used in the past as a weapon for protection. Some other adventures included a super hot June retreat in Utah, again with Dr. Peeke and many fun gals. Really hot, shimmering heat and a wind like a blow dryer! It was a quiet event for me compared to my previous experience there six months before. During one of mountain hikes in Zion National Park I entered a sacred grotto space. The arms of the Mountain Deva embraced me while I played and I stood with sacred water supporting my back. As I played the energy of the Deva poured through me and out with the sounds of the shakuhachi - I will never be the same, I was transformed by the experience. I send my love and gratitude to the Deva. I had another life changing experience when I returned to Tuscon in March to play at a Healing Music Symposium. I was staying way out in the desert with my healer friend Melinda Connor. Melinda is so amazing! We were driving home late at night and turned a corner and encountered a wall of cows, they had breached a fence. Melinda can move through time and she pulled us all back about a second and a half. When she then hit the brakes we were able to stop without injury to us or the cows. I managed to stay present in my body for the experience, it was amazing!! February took me down to Donna's great space in Florida. I played beside the waterfall in her backyard to a wonderful group. Donna took me to see Manatees, such beautiful, graceful, peaceful beings - and big! What else, lots of lectures and presentations here and there, I offered three presentations through the University of Toronto lecture series. Played at wonderful Yoga centres, United Churches, Japan Foundation events... CD news: Ambient World was released at the end of last year and is being danced to all over the world! I love the drums in this recording, I really wanted/needed some Shakuhachi music to move to. I also recorded a new CD entitled 'Feng Shui' with Steve on keyboards and our wonderful guitarist Brian Hughes. This was something new for us, we did it for a large company Solitudes and it was released through them. In the Spring Dr. Peeke and I recorded a CD with my music and her words of inspiration. I know that this will help many people on their journey. Alfred D'sa, amazing photographer/surgeon did the fabulous photoshoot, great fun. Leslie Bridger has just finished her second DVD with us, her beautiful pictures and our Healing Music. Steve did a wonderful job with the soundscore. This lovely DVD will be available in the future on our website. Christine Gross released her DVD 'We Are Timeless: The Radiance Technique in Hospice Care' at the Palliative Care Conference here in Toronto. This DVD features music from my 'Sacred Sounds for the Soul' CD which has been embraced by palliative care workers. The music is being used to help ease people through the grief process. People are also using this CD to help them during the passing over stage during dying. I have partnered up with TARA in California who owns a large company of delightful products for massage and relaxation. We have released our Sleep CD through her and envision many of our other CDs coming out with her during the coming years. Steve recorded his sixth CD of solo piano music this year entitled 'Starlight'. This is my favourite CD of piano music of all time. Steve's CDs have only been available in Japan but I will make sure that we get this one out on our Healing Music website this coming year. It is gorgeous. To finish off the year I am playing this weekend at a Christmas holiday event at Spadina Museum, hosted by the Japan Foundation. I will be joined by my students from Ottawa and Toronto with a special appearance by my student Catriona playing Shamisen, a wonderful Japanese stringed instrument. It will be a fun mix of Japanese and Victorian holiday traditions. I wish you all a wonderful, happy and fun holiday season and all the best for the coming year.
Lots of Love,
TAKE A BREATH OF JOY Newsletter: September 2006 Dear Friends, It has been a wonderful and exciting year. So much joy, so many marvelous people and places have passed through my life. Here are some of the highlights. I traveled to Japan in the summer. I spent time at my favourite place on the planet, my temple Hozanji. As I write this I look over to one of my altars. Pictures of my temple, incense from there and exquisite Japanese singing bowls that I play each day. Lovely. I was invited to Japan to meet with a Kabuki theatre group, the only troupe of women performing this unique style of theatre. We hope to work together in the future. I had an amazing trip to Tuscon in February where I played at a symposium on Healing Music at the University of Arizona. The desert is so powerful. I had a mystical experience singing in the moonlight to a dying horse named Red. So sad, such a beautiful animal. I was deeply touched. While on that trip I was able to attend the largest gem and rock show in the world. Huge crystals, beautiful gems and stones, everything was just gorgeous. In the fall I traveled to Utah where I played for Dr. Pam Peeke at another one of her marvelous retreats. Picture me on top of mountains playing my shakuhachi to the group while eagles soar on the haunting melodies floating out over the valleys below. The climbing is a wee bit arduous but the views are spectacular. What a fantastic planet it is! I continue my monthly trips to Ottawa. Teaching the shakuhachi, offering healing sessions, playing for workshops and at special events, my Ottawa trips are busy. I always manage to have extra fun while there with my wonderful friends, especially with smiling Ruth and fairy Wendy. We offered our yearly Ottawa Healing Music benefit, this time in support of the Friends of Hospice. Shakuhachi and voice, with Steve onpiano and Ian on harp, a beautiful night of music. My shakuhachi teaching has expanded and I brought together students from Ottawa, Toronto and Guelph for a Shakuhachi Play Day. We had a master class then ate a wonderful Japanese dinner. What an amazing group of shakuhachi lovers. I offered a series of workshops with my friend Lorraine. When I combine my music with Lorraine's poetry, magic happens. We had many special events but the themes generally centred around the topics of Spirituality, Wellness and Creativity. I also played at many Labyrinth events, indoors and out including a magical illuminated Labyrinth twinkling by the woods. 800 tealights shining under a full moon! I met many wonderful healers this year, including Roland, someone I knew from a past life in Japan. I am so grateful to have the healing presence of these souls in my life. Two more pieces of news. I had the zany delight to attend a Chris Isaak concert. Do you know his music? Lovesongs full of longing, sadness and joy. During the concert Chris came down into the audience and he danced with me!! He has quite the heart energy, I have almost recovered from the thrill. Last but not least the most exciting news. The new CD, 'Ambient World' is almost here. Number seventeen and this one has drums! It is time to get dancing. I will let you know when we have it in hand.
All the best in the coming
months. Newsletter August 2005 Dear Friends, Thank you all so much for your support of my Healing Music. I want to share with you some of the exciting events that have been happening in my life. In April, 2005, I travelled to the world EXPO in Japan to play at Expo Hall. Our trio consisted of me playing shakuhachi and singing, Steve Raiman on grand piano and Brian Hughes on guitar. It was a wonderful concert; a full house and the music was magical. We stayed on in Japan for almost a week of cherry blossom viewing at many of my favourite temples in Japan. In May I played at a women’s retreat held in Utah. The landscape there is amazing. I carried my shakuhachi in a packsack up to the top of mountains where I would play across the expanse. What an incredible experience. The group was let by Dr. Peeke, an American doctor who is promoting wellness for women. The last event I played at with her was in Aspen. I look forward to more mountain adventures. In June I performed at workshops across Canada. One of the workshops was at a favourite spot of mine, Salt Spring Island, a lovely little island close to Vancouver. I was so happy to be there, playing my flute in the old growth forests. I am planning to offer a full weekend retreat there in the summer of 2006. I have just returned from doing some recording in Los Angeles. Lots of exciting new music for a variety of future projects. Many new creative seeds were planted during these sessions. I was thrilled to be recording once again with Brian Hughes. He played an amazing array of guitars. Steve Raiman oversaw the recording in his role as producer. What a fantastic job Steve has done in producing all the CD’s in the Healing Music catalogue. It has been a rich and varied year so far. In 2004 I spent a lot of time resting and renewing my spirit after the death of my father. The last CD I released, ‘Sacred Sounds for the Soul’ was for my dad - my greatest fan. I was able to play this recording once for him before his death. As I sat there holding his hand I knew there would only be this one time for him to hear this music. It is a precious memory. My dad’s last words to me were “You are a good flute player”. I’m not surprised that this CD has been embraced by the palliative care community and is being used as a tool to help with grief. As part of my renewal last year I returned to some of my musical roots, combining my music with movement. I composed a score for a large modern dance piece based on the Sufi poem ‘The Conference of the Birds’. A work based on the spiritual journey. I also produced, composed music for and danced in a new work entitled ‘HERE, blowing Zen’. My first dance performance since I was seven years old! The piece will be remounted on the stage in 2006. I look forward to the future journey of music, healing and fun.
Lots of Love,
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