Performance anxiety, perfectionism, persistent physical pain . . . we can often trace these back to core soul wounds triggered by events that caused us, deep down, to fear for our personal safety. If we want the music hidden inside us to shine, soar, and be heard in all its radiant, flowering beauty, then we need to ask how these deep fears and wounds can be healed.

The first step to healing is to recognize that something is amiss. Something’s out of balance within us that is worth paying attention to, listening to, and learning more about.

Once we realize that something’s wrong and we have a desire to heal, we need to open to the possibility that our subconscious mind, our innermost heart, and our body’s wisdom carry all the keys to our pain, our healing, and our freedom. The miracle of conscious awareness gives us the power to choose our thoughts and therefore shape our experience in the next moment.

By taking full responsibility for our own well-being and taking intentional, mindful action to change our lives right now, we can create a future more in alignment with our truest nature and desires. Seeing that we have a hand in shaping our future builds our confidence, which is what allows us to create inspired art.

The best art, healing us by bringing us back to the beautiful integrity of our wholeness, reflects the ultimate truth of who we are.

When a musician is inspired, she is tapping into the source of Inspiration, which is the deep, vibrant Love within and everywhere around us. In the moment that she connects to this loving Source, her ego begins to soften and melt, and the true, innermost Self is allowed to shine through, like the ever-present sun suddenly revealed when the clouds part.

In this magical moment, grace and beauty are transmitted . . . souls are touched, moved, seen, heard, and transported. As Plato put it, “Beauty is the splendor of the True.”

Real Inspiration enables a deep and natural healing process, in which our energy or ‘life force’ is allowed to flow with greater ease, and our biochemical and neuromuscular healing mechanisms are freed up to do their jobs of caring for us from within.

When a musician becomes a clear channel for the transmission of a musical idea, she has the potential, indeed the beautiful divine birthright, to convey profound meaning and the full richness of the human experience through an elixir of sound.

When skilled in the art of Inspiration, the artist knows how to tap into creative flow and play with Spirit in such a way that her own emotions are awakened, which causes the emotions of the receptive listener to resonate with those vibrations. This in turn awakens emotions within the listener, who then assigns his own meaning to the experience.

During inspired music-making, both musician and listener have the potential to wake up more fully to who we already are, while realizing our freedom to choose who we wish to become in the future—beginning in this very next, fresh moment that is now.

This process has the potential to be profoundly healing and uplifting for everyone who is open to being moved by what comes through. The process is uncommon and profound, even though it’s entirely natural to the way human beings are designed to function and share experience with others.

The problem is, most people think and move in ways that block the free expression of musical ideas, and they don’t understand how to let the endless streams of their emotions flow into rivers of inspired creativity.

Instead, fear and performance anxiety are allowed to run the show, and unhelpful thoughts get in the way . . .

Wondering what other people will think of you gets in the way . . .
Perfectionism, self-criticism, and self-doubt get in the way . . .
Physical pain gets in the way . . .

Technical problems get in the way . . .

You get the idea.

Freely receiving and transmitting musical ideas with creative spirit is natural. But being able to ignite, draw on, and develop inspired creative flow at will, with conscious intention, is a rare skill. Some people are naturally more available to this process than others, but this skill can be learned by just about anyone who has the sincere desire.

With warmth and light,
Jennifer

P.S. If you’re curious about exploring these ideas more deeply, I invite you to join me for an upcoming workshop designed to help musicians stay calm, strong, and centered even when the world around us feels chaotic. It’s a beautiful opportunity to begin experiencing more freedom, healing, and inspired music-making for yourself.