Forging forward with a fresh perspective this August
There is a new curved path in Prospect Park, created in place of another one where work is being done. I walked on it today and giggled to myself at the metaphor: it is the first day of a new month, a wild hot unplanned month. There is no way forward but to forge a new path.
August always feels a bit like the time to come undone. I fear filling my calendar with things in this last summer month, wanting instead to let things play out the way they will, to take advantage of opportunities that arise, to let my intuition lead.
My sound baths this summer have been joyous and intense, and I am eager to find ways to offer my services more routinely in the fall. My belief in the power of sound to focus the mind and calm the nervous system is stronger than ever, and it seems the right time to get this message across to more people. How, exactly, to do that has yet to be determined. I am all ears for your suggestions!!
Today, I will travel from Brooklyn to my home upstate to offer a healing sound bath to a friend and her partner, who has been ill. I will bring my instruments with me to the campground I have just booked in Jamestown, RI, which will be my home base this weekend to take in the Newport Jazz Festival I am attending last minute (after beseeching a drummer friend who will play there to put me on the list for the sold out show! So excited!) I will offer up my services for a corporate retreat at Scribner's Catskill Lodge next week, and visit the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens with a group of men from CAMBA's Opportunity House shelter and find a spot to offer them a beautiful sound meditation in nature. I have some jams planned with some great musicians to see what we might come up with as far as deeper sound bath experiences... And, that's it.
I want to visit family, drive around a bit, swim in lakes and climb through forests. I want to offer deep listening experiences for those who desire it. I don't have specific dates on the calendar, but am game to do groups and private sessions for interested parties wherever whenever, as the spirit moves. Keep an eye out for posts about pop-ups, like one I did on a recent Wednesday afternoon at the request of a young acting student from London that filled up with a lovely group of sound bathers, her fellow acting students and others, in my hot living room...
August is like that, nimble and full of heart. The Leo New Moon arrives this Sunday, August 4th, and a fave astrologer friend, Ji Hyang Padma, founder of Natural Wisdom, offers up that this month has a "sense of enjoyment, style, beauty and expansion." She recommends treating this wild August like "an extended jazz session...be ready to improvise."
Ha. Always. I will think of the power of improvisation as I take in the incredible talents of jazz musicians this weekend, preparing to be unprepared, to follow the rhythms of the universe, to relax and enjoy! I look forward to hearing from you about when and where you might want to engage in a sound bath...let's improvise together, deeply listening to our hearts to move us forward through this month in a fresh new way!!
XX
In Peace & Harmony
Steph
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