Today, July 4th, is national Independence Day in the USA. So, it’s got me thinking a bit about how we could celebrate our freedom and independence as individuals and as musicians. I firmly believe we can have a powerfully positive effect on the world by paying more attention to our own body-mind-spirit integration, and sharing ourselves and our music to help others be free and whole, too.
So, as I consider independence and freedom today, I’d like to stimulate you to think about ways in which YOU can become more independent and free within yourself. Since we’re all musicians here, let’s take music as our springboard to wholeness. While honoring the obvious necessity and benefits of form and structure, today I invite you to consider how you can be free and independent of the following things, within that form and structure.
Can you be free of…
- Tension and stiffness in your body? Can you free yourself to move, aware of how your body-mind parts move together; and, can you be free of your habits of moving too much and wasting energy in unnecessary ways?
- The notes on the page and your need to be perfect, getting it all right? Can you let yourself be free to be creative and enjoy yourself in the moment?
- Dry, rhythmic perfectionism? Can your rhythm be free and lively within the structure?
- Staring at one place on your instrument, at your music, or elsewhere. Can your eyes be free?
- Your fears? Can you let go and abandon yourself to expect the goodness in All-Possibility?
- The tyranny of your thoughts and emotions? Can you notice them and let them go, making way for the creation of a new, more tranquil state of mind, and new, positive thoughts that take you in the direction you want to go?
- Past teachers and relatives that might not have taught you in the most loving ways? Can you let go of resentment and self-sabotage of all kinds
- Your resistance of change and fear of the future? Can you start to live your dreams by clarifying them and taking a specific action today?
- Your rejection of failure or imperfection? Can you allow yourself to better reflect the infinitude of life through the richness of your music?
- The need for feedback from others? Can you simply make your music, for yourself and the world, independently of a need to get something back?
- Those who might have more status or skill than you do? Can you let them be who they are, in order to let yourself be who you are?
- Competitiveness? Can you let go of comparisons and judgement, in favor of joy, love, and a larger community, and making music for your own sake?
- Any obsession with money or the lack thereof? Can you start being more content with what you have, and think of money as something neutral? Can you let go of your fears and habitual ways of thinking about money and trust more, so that it can simply start flowing to you in its own good time? Can you realize with gratitude that you actually have enough in this immediate moment?
What else can you free yourself from today, on Independence Day? No matter where you live, let it be your own, inner Independence Day today. I’d love to hear about what you’re letting go of. Please tell us in the comments below – your ideas help others! 🙂
♥
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