Teaching today I was struck with how we sometimes think something is wrong with our voice or our life when in fact we are just not applying enough energy to the task!
Generally, it is easy for me to sing well. I'm quite used to how much effort it really takes and I apply it almost automatically.
Singing is an athletic event and being an athlete helps!
Well, how about when creating money? or romance? or expansive lifestyles? or physical health?
How athletic am I there?
I gradually got used to how much effort, strength, flexibility and stamina my voice required of me to use it well and accurately.
For many its hard and almost not worth mastering....
Does that make singing easy or difficult to accomplish? And by whose measure?????
I'd really like to analogize this out into our greater lives.
Apply this principle to making money, being in relationships, spiritual attainment or anything we deem worth having or doing.
There are two camps. Everything should be easily attained because that's how you know you are on the right track and in the flow so to speak. And its opposite: everything worth doing is hard: hard work, hard labor, hard won = more value.
Its true: everything we want is easy to attain if we actually want it, do whatever is suggessted to aquire it and never look back!
The actual steps may involve enormous amounts of time, study, practice, patience and love...but none of that is particularly
difficult to figure out. And its true: some of those steps will have you break a sweat! Is that hard? If one is making an enormous effort easily, while breaking a sweat does that mean the task is "hard" and therefore the thing not easily done and not worth doing?
Simply going for 'ease' all the time means there's probably a reaction to a lifetime (or 10) of suffering to attain anything.
The point of view is still rooted in limitation. It can seriously give you the impression that WORK is a bad thing!
Remember, everyone may have a very different way of interpreting a word and its meaning.
It is amazingly easy to sing 30 scales in tune and in time. What made it easy was a series of small steps, in themselves rather mundane. The awareness of what my voice and body required to make singing these particular scales easy is what really grew over time. And the comfort or ease with which I handled the uncomfortableness of the "work" and many weary muscles became second nature, all to be expected, not resisted and....easy.
Once in a while a skill or talent just "happens" and is labeled "TALENT" (which is supposed to be easy).
But I say for myself, there was a lifetime past where all the work had already been put in and make no mistake about it.
Therefore, if certain things come easily to you, you can apply that way of being to attaining other things as well!..but show other people what part is easy and what YOU mean by EASE! Go step by step....to make it easy.
So, have fun singing and rehearsing and allowing what has seemed illusive to become second nature once again.
WORK AT IT! Focus on it, relax into it: whatever it takes!
And go ahead: surmount some obstacles!
Having surmounted a few hundred, I myself am ready for a nice cup of tea and a cookie.
Have a day filled with action and strength, flexibility and fervor filled with the ease of knowing you are doing exactly what you want to do! Now THAT'S ease.
This is Divy Nelson for
The Singers' Daily
Ciao for now
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Your First Time...
Witnessing someone sing in public, for the first time,
is really a treat.
They've chosen a song, strengthened their voice, gone through a tiny bit of hell and showed up onstage!
It SO deserves applause!
I always feel that, no matter how they sound, they deserve huge hugs and kisses just for showing up.
For most of us, taking ourselves and our voices seriously is a big step in allowing ourselves to be the
NUMBER ONE STAR in our very own production called: My Life (...the musical!)
I've noticed that consciously asking for the spotlight, stepping into it and saying to the Universe at large , "Bring it ON!" seems to bring a pretty big response from all four directions!
Most people gear up for the negative judgement that they just KNOW is on its way. The judgement they are counting on so they can use it as an excuse to justify their "I'm not good enough to do this" point of view...
They usually aren't prepared for the onslaught of positivity that rains and pours...
The Universe at Large seems to
particularly appreciate what it takes to sing a song!
And this theme seems to be somewhat Universal.
Taking into account strange religious rulings about No Singing,
generally, in every corner of the world,
singers get measurable and exalted praise.
However, in the United States singing has lost its practical recognition in the community.
People generally think of 'being a Star" when they refer to someone wanting to sing.
But actually we should remind ouselves that singing has always been a point of ritual and commemoration,
celebration and punctuation to our daily lives.
That being said, singers ( or anyone willing and able to lend a vocal chord!)
provide a very necessary service.
Think of a funeral or wedding without singing! Or a birthday or New Years Eve or a ballgame!
If we think of integrating our best singers back into their communities not only will we have REALLY HAPPY HAMBONES who love to sing, who know they are needed and are willing to do all sorts of events at the drop of a hat, we will also stop making singing only for The Stars.
Everyone will learn to do it once again and stop thinking of it as an exclusive ability for only a chosen few.
That alwasy bugged me..the chosen few thing. Only a few have talent, etc
If you've been reading this blog you'll know what I think of the term "talent"...
Anyway:
Singing belongs to every BODY that has a voice.
Re-integrating it, on a daily basis, back into our lives will nourish and support everyone being able to express themselves
more frequently, more beautifully and with less stress.....
singing is normal.
Birds do it! Bees do it!
I dunno about fleas...
But I definitely know that YOU
can
sing!
This is Divy Nelson for
The Singers' Daily
June 2009
is really a treat.
They've chosen a song, strengthened their voice, gone through a tiny bit of hell and showed up onstage!
It SO deserves applause!
I always feel that, no matter how they sound, they deserve huge hugs and kisses just for showing up.
For most of us, taking ourselves and our voices seriously is a big step in allowing ourselves to be the
NUMBER ONE STAR in our very own production called: My Life (...the musical!)
I've noticed that consciously asking for the spotlight, stepping into it and saying to the Universe at large , "Bring it ON!" seems to bring a pretty big response from all four directions!
Most people gear up for the negative judgement that they just KNOW is on its way. The judgement they are counting on so they can use it as an excuse to justify their "I'm not good enough to do this" point of view...
They usually aren't prepared for the onslaught of positivity that rains and pours...
The Universe at Large seems to
particularly appreciate what it takes to sing a song!
And this theme seems to be somewhat Universal.
Taking into account strange religious rulings about No Singing,
generally, in every corner of the world,
singers get measurable and exalted praise.
However, in the United States singing has lost its practical recognition in the community.
People generally think of 'being a Star" when they refer to someone wanting to sing.
But actually we should remind ouselves that singing has always been a point of ritual and commemoration,
celebration and punctuation to our daily lives.
That being said, singers ( or anyone willing and able to lend a vocal chord!)
provide a very necessary service.
Think of a funeral or wedding without singing! Or a birthday or New Years Eve or a ballgame!
If we think of integrating our best singers back into their communities not only will we have REALLY HAPPY HAMBONES who love to sing, who know they are needed and are willing to do all sorts of events at the drop of a hat, we will also stop making singing only for The Stars.
Everyone will learn to do it once again and stop thinking of it as an exclusive ability for only a chosen few.
That alwasy bugged me..the chosen few thing. Only a few have talent, etc
If you've been reading this blog you'll know what I think of the term "talent"...
Anyway:
Singing belongs to every BODY that has a voice.
Re-integrating it, on a daily basis, back into our lives will nourish and support everyone being able to express themselves
more frequently, more beautifully and with less stress.....
singing is normal.
Birds do it! Bees do it!
I dunno about fleas...
But I definitely know that YOU
can
sing!
This is Divy Nelson for
The Singers' Daily
June 2009
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