If you’re new here, welcome! Every new moon I publish a list of “3 Good Things,” usually around a theme that calls to me that month. Enjoy!
The new moon eclipse has come and gone and I’m a bit late getting this 3 Good Things list out. Today centers on the healing power of music. I’ve been very aware of how much music speaks to my heart and soul in a way that words alone sometimes don’t. A couple of weeks ago, my dog Lucy and were attacked by another dog – we’re okay now – and I turned to music as a way to soothe my shattered nervous system and help me process what happened. I was reminded of some gifted musicians I’ve been blessed to know in this life, and wanted to share them here. I hope you’ll check each of them out.
1 JAMI SIEBER
Jami’s electric cello and exquisite voice are vehicles that carry her love and compassion to the world. She’s been making music professionally for decades; her first solo album, Lush Mechanique, came out in 1994. Jami’s recent collaborations with poet Kim Rosen offer the listener a transformative journey into grief and love. She’s also known for her profound relationship with elephants, and created a whole album exploring interspecies communication and expression, Hidden Sky. Extraordinary human, extraordinary music. Visit Jami’s website to learn more about her music and other projects.
2 SUSAN OSBORN
Back in the 1980s, I lived and worked in Connecticut as a music therapist in a state psychiatric hospital. During that time, I attended an amazing singing workshop taught by Susan Osborn, who back then was part of the Paul Winter Consort. The workshop was life-changing, the first time I ever came in touch with the power of my voice. That was the gift that Susan had as a musician and a teacher, and it also came through in her songwriting. Her website offers all of her albums to download by donation. Two of my favorites are Living Music (1986) and Signature (1983). Sadly, Susan died in March of this year. She’s most definitely in a choir of angels right now.
3 ALAN SENAUKE
My friend Alan Senauke is a Zen Buddhist teacher and priest, and he’s also a phenomenal bluegrass and folk musician. He doesn’t fit neatly into this list with Jami and Susan, but in his own way Alan’s music is here for the healing. His 2012 album Everything is Broken is a merging of blues, bluegrass and Buddhism. As the subtitle puts it: Songs about things as they are. In Alan’s own words: “This collection of songs contain[s] vivid, sometimes stark lyrics about the way our lives unfold, marked by impermanence, love and loss, fragility and toughness, joy and depression, friendship, attention, and – of course – the blues.”
WRITER'S TIP JAR
Dear readers,
This year, I’m taking less paid work in order to focus on writing a memoir about my journey with my elderly parents over the past decade as they moved through a difficult period, and how my own relationship with them transformed before they died of COVID in 2021.
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Wow. Buddhism and Bluegrass is not something I'd have imagined.Thank you! I feel like it takes me waaay back but let's me keep the things I've learned since!
I love receiving recommendations for music, books, and the like… those things that can help us in our journey. Very much appreciate this, thank you. I am checking all of it out. 🥰