Here is simple exercise that I have used to flush out and shift a limiting belief. It is a valuable starting point… and the awareness I have received with this process has been truly helpful… For me, a trigger belief ended up being a pathway to understanding something much deeper about myself and my purpose. How cool is that?!?!
Before heading into 2014, I took some time to reflect on the beginning of my love for music. Where did it all start? All spotlights point to my sweet “drama mama.” Mom has a bigger than life personality, is fearless in crowds, and never hesitates to sing a high C at any given moment… we won’t even go into her soprano “who-hooo” that beckons her children and grandchildren over isles and rounders in every public grocery or clothing store. Growing up, music filled our home. Melodies played on thick latex records introduced me to Robert Goulet, Beverly Sills, and Yuma Sumac. We enjoyed family outings to symphony concerts and ballet in the park. Dad, Mom, and I would often gather round the piano and sing hymns in 3-part harmony and, on our frequent road-trips, Spirituals and folk songs made the miles pass with ease. A fond music memory includes listening to Mom sing Summertime and Lord’s Prayer for civic events. “Summertime, and the living is easy!”
Want to reach a specific goal in 2014? A goal card can help…
The end of 2013 is fast approaching and the season of creating New Year’s resolutions is right around the corner. Already, I have exercise and dietary changes I want to make, and I have some big business and community goals I want to meet. I am using a goal card to take my visions and make them a reality.
Giving and being grateful is easy-peasy, but receiving…that is a different story. Join me in allowing space to open-up this holiday season and receive.
This week, I challenge you to take control of mastering the art of performing by committing to perform on a regular basis… monthly if possible. Take the idea of performing out of your head, out of the practice room, and on to the calendar – schedule it. In this post, I explain why it is important to consistently perform, and I also give you some ideas of venues.
Let’s face it, performing can bring up nerves for even the most seasoned professional. Unfortunately, fear shows up at the most inconvenient of times and in the most obnoxious of ways….breathing becomes shallow, throat gets tight, mouth gets dry, lip quivers, or shaky knees…we have all been there. Before you give up the stage for good…there are ways to master your fear and perform with more confidence, and today I am going to share with you a 20-minute exercise that will help transform your butterflies into songbirds.
Stan asked me to come and photograph rehearsals of their upcoming production of the Mini-Ring – a four hour reduced version of the five day full Ring Cycle. Who would I be photographing, you ask? If only you could see my smile…right now…none other than international and national opera stars, several of whom have performed at the Metropolitan Opera House. Jay Hunter Morris, Lori Phillips, Richard Paul Fink, Sarah Heltzel, Phillip Skinner, Kevin Langen, Sally Wolf, and Joseph Hu. I was so excited to be with all of these wonderful people…and my expectations were exceeded. I went with a heart to learn, and here’s what this handful of Wagnerian Gods and Goddesses taught me…
Performance mind-set is really life mind-set. What we bring to the stage is how we live life, and for me, the more I understand myself and why I do what I do, not only will I better serve my art, but I will live life with more awareness and…that means more beauty. I seek to share myself transparently with the hope that by living my truth you may find what you are looking for and we may share this very wonderful experience.