It’s November and it has been raining every day for more than a week here in Norway. November rain as the song goes (and hence the rain picture at the top of this blog). 🙂 Although the weather is a bit dreary, it’s a good time to be indoors and focus on some creative projects. That is exactly what I’ve been doing in recent weeks.
My album is apparently taking a little longer than expected, but I suppose that comes as no surprise as that is often the way with creative endeavors. I definitely won’t be releasing anything at the end of this year, but one of the songs I’ve been working on is nearing completion, so I have decided to release that song as a single as soon as it’s finished. That will probably be early next year. February is my goal. 🙂
As I wrote in my last blog post, I’ve been in a deep healing process for some time, and this year has really put me through the ringer. I’m not complaining though, as it’s really helping me release some very deep seated stuff. Patterns that have been affecting me in subtle ways all or most of my life, have been coming to the surface to be released for good, so that’s really a good thing. At the same time, though, it can be very exhausting to go through such an intense process, and that is probably the main reason why my music has had to take a back seat at times.
Nevertheless, I’ve still been able to do some work on my music, and I’m very happy about how my new song is coming along. In fact, another benefit of going through this healing process, is that it has made me realize how these patterns I’ve been entrenched in (both behavior and thought patterns) have blocked my creativity. Once I have, little by little, released them, my creativity has soared, and I’m writing and coming up with musical ideas like never before.
Through the years I have taken numerous courses and trainings to improve myself and my work. I have studied voice, audio engineering, song writing and other classes to improve my craft. At the same time I have also practiced (and taught) yoga and meditation, and done work on myself on both a psychological and energetic level. I have come to understand that the psychological and energetic work has had just as much of an impact on my music, my voice (both my singing voice and my unique expression as a musician) and my creative flow.
When studying any craft, whether it is music or another art form, or anything really that you are passionate about, and you really want to master that craft, I believe that the impact of psychological and energetic work is underestimated, and a very important part of stepping into your mastery. Through my work on myself, and also working with other people, I have developed methods to quickly uncover and clear psychological and energetic blocks that stand in the way of our unique, creative expression.
Issues of perceived unworthiness, lack of self-love and self-acceptance that often go back to childhood or even further, are common culprits and can wreak havoc in a number of ways in our lives, including our artistic expressions. When these can be unraveled and released, it’s amazing the impact it can have on our lives for the better. Since this is deep work, it’s not done overnight, but it doesn’t have to take decades of therapy either, and every little bit helps. For those that are willing and brave enough to do the work and go deep, the rewards are immeasurable and can really transform you.
And since I’m the kind of person who likes to share what I’ve learnt, I want to share a little meditation here and now. It’s a meditation for self-love that I recorded some time ago, as part of a free, online mini-course I was facilitating. It uses color visualization, sound healing (through my amazing alchemical crystal bowls), and breath work to open up the energetic center at your heart (also known as the heart center or 4th chakra). It also helps to release blocks to self-love, and increase feelings of peace and gratitude. I hope you enjoy it!
If you have any questions about how to hone your creativity and clear blocks to it, please feel free to comment below, or contact me directly. I’m happy to answer anything you may be pondering. And with that I sign off for this time. As always, I send you so much love & light!
Sweet Annie Sounds 