Music and Song Without Borders, Still- water’s is a strong voice in an emerging grassroots global movement devoted to helping people reclaim their inner song. “As a vocal art, singing is unique,” he advises. “It’s deeply connected to our sense of self.” He also notes that if our voice or singing is criticized in our de- velopmental years, we may shut down our creative expression. “We then become like cave dwellers, hiding our voice; there are millions of vocal cave dwellers in our world,” he says. Finding your song—or chant or mantra—almost inevitably becomes integrated with a pathway for rediscov- ering one’s authentic self. “It’s about letting your voice become part of your own healing medicine,” says Stillwa- ter. His film documentary, In Search of the Great Song, celebrates the use of creative vocal expression for healing and transformation.
Experience Kirtan
Kitzie Stern, producer of the New World Kirtan podcast, notes that kirtan, or sacred chanting, is known for bonding everyone in the moment of co-creation between audience and artists, followed by quiet meditation in community. Originating in India, kirtan is one of the oldest musical traditions in the world.
The mantras used in kirtan open the listener to the experience of peace. Stern explains, “The music that accompanies kirtan also helps our minds to turn off. As wallah (chant leader) Dave Stringer puts it, ‘The chant is the medicine, but the music is what helps it go down.’” One does not have to attend a live kirtan performance to reap its benefits. Stern’s podcast plays a variety of chants to help listeners tune into tranquility. She observes that, “Being able to access the quiet magnificence that exists within each one of us and live within it for some portion of the day helps us to stay sane in the turmoil of the modern world.”
Learn more at SoundMovesWonder. com,
AshanaMusic.com, InnerHarmony. com and
NewWorldKirtan.com.
Erin Floresca is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon. Connect at
ErinLehnFloresca.com.
natural awakenings December 2011 35
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