Becoming a Singer/Songwriter!

What has integrity got to do with me Becoming a Singer/Songwriter? Well, it has to do with me finally doing what I feel I should have started a long time ago. Let me give you some background first.

I've been around singers and songwriters since I was born, and I've always been in a supportive role with them. I've had a guitar for 25 years, and a piano for about 17, yet I never really mastered how to play either instrument. I was always too busy working, or at least that's what I told myself. Suddenly, in January, 2006, I wrote a song in the middle of the night, and songwriting has been my passion ever since.

If you want to know the truth, I guess I've had a secret wish to be a singer/songwriter for a long time. A now ex-boyfriend, who has some success as a singer/songwriter, used to encourage me to write with him whenever I gave him constructive criticism on his songs. But I never felt confident enough. So now it's my turn!

For the first 10 months I created all my songs without using an instrument. I even sang acapella at a local weekly song contest a couple of times - another thing I never thought I'd ever do. My elder brother Lenny, whose stage name is Lenny Zakatek, was the singer in the family, not me. Lenny sang 24 tracks on 8 Alan Parsons Project albums.

Nine months into my efforts at songwriting without any instruction, I went to Nashville to take some songwriting workshops through NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International.) I learned so much, and while I still have a long way to go, I can see how much better my songs are getting as I apply the tips I picked up on the art and craft of songwriting. If you are thinking about writing songs, or even if you already are a songwriter, I highly recommend the NSAI workshops, and also joining an NSAI Regional Workshop (chapter.)

There was no NSAI Regional Workshop in my area, so I created a Songwriters' Group last November. We meet once a month for support, networking, education, and song critiques. By September, 2007, our growing group will become an Official NSAI Regional Workshop. I'm also working on creating an annual Songwriters' Festival where I live.

During my 3 1/2 weeks in Nashville last fall, (where I also had my first 2 co-writing experiences,) I took one guitar lesson from former Box Tops band member, Gary Talley. He teaches songwriters to play guitar so that they can more easily accompany themselves in songwriters' showcases. One lesson with Gary, plus my determination to become a better songwriter, caused me to just start playing guitar - something else that I thought I'd never master. Again, I've got a long way to go, but I'm on my way. It's amazing how much difference a great teacher can make.

As for the local weekly songwriters' contest, after I'd entered it 5 times, I took a break for 6 1/2 months. It all felt very overwhelming to be running before I could walk as far as performing in public was concerned. Since my guitar playing wasn't very good at the time, I used to get way too nervous to actually enjoy the experience. During my break, I kept writing songs and playing them for friends now and then. However, about 5 weeks ago, I decided to go back to the contest, which requires all songwriters to create a new song every week. Guess what? I won 4th Place 2 weeks ago!

For me entering the weekly contest is not about winning, but about challenging myself to grow as an artist. It's more about the doing, and the joining in. Along the way, I've made many new friends too; some are fellow songwriters, and others are audience members who love hearing what each songwriter is creating week after week.

So, I sing, write, and play guitar every day, and I LOVE IT! These were three things that I never thought I'd really ever do, even though I had a secret desire to do each of them for a very long time. Now I can actually say, and believe, that I AM A SONGWRITER, and so I am in integrity with my Authentic Self. Soon, I hope to feel comfortable saying that I am a SINGER/Songwriter.

If you have a passion, follow through on it now! You'll be happy that you did. I know I am.

Loving Mother Earth: Yin and Yang Out of Balance

Chinese philosophy describes Earth energy as the dark, yielding, receptive, primal power of yin. It is a female-maternal energy that works with, not against, male-paternal energy, which is the light, strong, activating primal power of yang. Yin energy complements and completes; while Yang energy competes and combats. However this is not a dualistic situation because each needs the other to not only co-exist, but also to thrive.

When we consider how we have loved Mother Earth since the dawning of the Industrial Age, we don't have to guess which kind of energy has been uppermost: It's Yang! There hasn't been a happy marriage of both Yin and Yang, which is why our dear Mother is in such trouble! Yang energy that is unchecked by Yin destroys habitats for its own gain without thinking of the consequences on the life that already exists in the region, be it animal, vegetable, human, or even mineral. It upsets the natural order and just keeps going, conquering one area after another.

Yin has been too overwhelmed to do very much to change the situation. But her voice has not been silent. It has struggled to be heard, and finally, the dominant Yang energy, that has created the destruction and devastation we see all around us, is beginning to understand that it has contributed to its own downfall! It sees that it can no longer go on as before. That something has to be done on a major scale in order to shift the energy back to the middle, and it has to be done pretty quickly or else we will all suffer greatly.

So this is not just about saving wild habitats and animals, or someone else's way of life. We have all contributed to the imbalance, and continue doing so every day. That's why it's so important for each of us to commit to saving our Mother Earth starting today!

HOW CAN WE LOVE OUR MOTHER EARTH BETTER?
Everyone can do something, even children. Here are some tips:
UNPLUG: Did you know that even in the off position each electric plug is drawing 40% of power that you are paying for? So unplug everything that is not in immediate use and watch your electric bill go down. You'll also be helping lower toxic emissions from the power plants that provide your electricity.
CHANGE A LIGHT BULB: Use CFC light bulbs. They not only use less energy and therefore also lower toxic emissions, they last much longer than traditional bulbs.
PLANT A TREE: Whether in your backyard, or in a Rain Forest on the other side of the earth, planting trees helps to increase oxygen and lower toxic emissions that create the greenhouse effect. National Arbor Day in the U.S. is on April 29th. For more information and/or to plant a tree in a Rain Forest or a fire-ravaged area visit http://www.arborday.org
USE LESS WATER: Share a flush. Install low-flow shower heads. Use less water in your garden. Create a Native Plants garden that needs less water to maintain.
RE-CYCLE ALL YOU CAN: http://www.earth911.org in the U.S. will give you information about what can and cannot be recycled in your area. All you need is your zip code: Look for similar programs in the country where you live.
WHAT'S YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT: Complete the survey to find out how your lifestyle choices are affecting Mother Earth: http://www.earthday.net/Footprint/index.asp
WATCH THIS: Sunday, April 22 : The Planet Earth Series Marathon starts at 9:00 am on The Discovery Channel in the U.S. It will change the way you feel about our Mother Earth.
GET THE DVD: An Inconvenient Truth is now available on DVD. Watch it with you family and friends. The time to save the Earth is NOW! Order it here.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Chris : )

Let There Be Peace on Earth, and Let It Begin With Me

STOP THE VIOLINS! VISUALIZE WHIRLED PEAS!

I saw these two bumper stickers several years ago, and I love them because they really make us stop and think. March 19, was the fourth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, and I can't help but feel that nothing has really changed. I don't just mean with the current U.S. government. Human beings in general have not really changed that much. When my 19-year-old nephew Charlie was 8, he asked: "Chris, what's the most dangerous animal in the world?" I tried to guess, but before I could, he exclaimed: "Humans are the most dangerous animals in the world!" I had to agree. We are the ONLY animals who kill for pleasure; and wage long wars on others.

Humans will probably never stop killing, because aggression and the capacity to kill are by-products of our evolutionary past. These traits helped us protect or secure territories that contained necessary resources like food, water, and mating opportunities. But enough is enough! We also have a THINKING brain!

University of Oxford researcher Irina Bystron and her colleagues recently identified that the very first neurons in the human cerebral cortex (the part of the brain that sets us apart from all other animals) are in place much earlier than previously thought – approximately 31 days after fertilization. The cerebral cortex is concerned with cognition, perception, memory, thought, language, mental ability, intellect, consciousness, and our voluntary actions. Of course there are individual, genetic and biochemical predispositions that shape how we handle aggressive tendencies in our lives; but when you realize that humans have the building blocks in place for cognitive thought and voluntary action when the embryo is only 4 mm long, and before the development of arms, legs or eyes, isn’t it high time that we learn how to think and act differently about how to solve aggression and violence in the world?

The song, Let There Be Peace on Earth, begins: "Let there be Peace on Earth, and let it begin with me" and I agree. Before we criticize other people (your spouse, relative, colleague, friend), or governments and nations for their aggressive behaviors, we must also examine our own traits. It's important to do all possible to understand the history of our own aggression, even if it is passive aggression, and make concerted efforts to change that kind of energy. Whether engendered from our family of origin experiences, our current circumstances, or from genetic or biochemical predispositions, there is plenty of help available to change the way that we react to the world around us. So I encourage you to examine your heart and your mind and clear any aggressive energy that may be stopping you from walking in peace in your life.

NOTE: If you need help in clearing this kind of energy please have a look at my work on Emotional Freedom Technique/Thought Field Therapy <http://www.consciousconnections.com/eft.html> which is about Clearing Core Wounding so that you can Feel More Peaceful, Centered and Present in Your Life.

Are There Different Levels of Integrity?

This is discussion that I've had with several people, and I don't really understand the question. Integrity is integrity. There are no gray areas. We are either in integrity, or we're not. We either behave correctly, as the I Ching would say, or we do not. In any given situation, we have choices. One of the easiest ways of knowing whether or not I have made a good behavior choice, one that is in alignment with my Higher, Authentic Self, is how I feel in my body. Am I feeling calm and relaxed, or am I carrying tension in the places that I usually feel it? For me, it's in my solar plexus and heart areas. If I feel nervous, anxious, or start feeling a little low in my mood, then it might be because I made a behavior choice that was not in my best interests.

If the choice I made was not in my best interest, it probably wasn't good for anyone else concerned either. If I allow myself to hang out, or be in a relationship with anyone who is not exactly uplifting to my spirit, the consequences will not be very pretty. This doesn't necessarily mean that they are bad people; rather, that our values are not in alignment. So there will always be moments of tension between us, because in order to stay connected to those people I will inevitably put myself out of integrity without meaning to. So, rather than spend time with them, I would be better off doing something in the nature of self-care for my mind, body and spirit. “But hang on!” you say, “Doesn't that mean that it could become harder and harder to spend time with some people I am really close to?” The answer is both Yes, and No.

Let's look at Yes first. The more conscious you are of doing your very best to be in integrity at all costs, the harder life seems to become. You will start catching yourself being out of integrity and doing a lot of apologizing to others, and also to yourself. But this is way better than feeling so bad about your actions that you resort to depression, being defensive or aggressive, or giving in to addictions as coping mechanisms. So the more you catch yourself before you choose to be out of integrity, the better you'll feel. And, if you catch yourself after the fact, then doing all you can to put a situation right, will also make you feel so much better.

Remember too, that if you allow yourself to be in a relationship of any kind that puts you out of integrity, then the other person is also out of integrity. You can't do that dance alone. The I Ching says that while it is your duty to "rescue" those to whom you are intimately connected, the way to rescue them is to be in integrity yourself. i.e. You must have strong boundaries, and not accept incorrect "inferior man" behavior from anyone, because those responses will put BOTH of you out of integrity.

So you can see that by taking the harder road in disciplining yourself to be in integrity, and by not accepting incorrect behavior from others either, your life can become much, much easier. And that’s why the answer to the question is also a resounding No! It won't be hard to spend time with people you are close to, because the quality of your interactions will be uplifting for all – and that’s always more fun! You’ll have more energy too, because you’ll let go of the tension of being out of integrity. Try it, and let me know about your experiences.