Singing Heart Arts

A bit more about the sessions...



I have used meditation and creative visualisation since my mid teens. Meditation came into my home, not via India or an Ashram but, via a Collins St Specialist in the 1970s.



As a journalist with The Age, my father reviewed Dr Ainslea Meares' meditation book and when, shortly after that review, my father developed terminal cancer, he consulted with Dr Meares for assistance with his palliative care. So meditation was just there on the kitchen bench at an intense time in my family life. It didn't occur to me to question it, like I didn't question vegemite and toast.



A few years later I consulted Dr Meares' protigee, Pauline Mckinnon and  attended courses at the Ian Gawler Centre, as well as exploring other sources of meditation practice.In my early 20's I sufferred from agoraphobia and again used meditation and especially visualisations to help me recover. I resumed singing and was able to perform comfortably and to develop a career that had me travel through Australia for about 5 years singing for my supper. I took up teaching singing when my daughter was born.

The term Gentle Blessings is not derived from any religious intention or philsophy. I chose the term Gentle Blessings to keep the focus on the state of grace, that comes when we feel centred and grateful for where we are; the expression  "I feel blessed" that comes spontaneously when we connect to the feeling of gratitude that sometimes comes from unexpected places. I found it one day in the Gladwrap drawer. I was tidying up the kitchen and looked down and saw my gladwrap and realised that my life had traveresd all those tricky moments of adolesence and early twenties loneliness and crazy shared houses and I was now a person who lived in a home with a family and I had a gladwrap drawer! And I felt blessed.



So our Gentle Blessings is aimed at the Michael Leunig, Jane Siberry kind of blessings that belong to the people.
 

Running the Gentle Blessings sessions is also inspired by attending the 2013 Clare Bowditch BIg Hearted Business Conference at Abbotsford Convent. As part of the conference, we did a short meditation session each day, using the "Smiling Minds "  smart phone Apps, developed by Jane Martino and others.  It was brilliant and I realised how much I had taken for granted being able to access mediation and visualisation as a tool in my life and what a wonderful thing it is to give someone the space to access guided relaxation.

So I thought I would make that space and invite people in.
 

Then I realised my friend Michelle Davies also had much to offer in this area so we decided to make it a double bill.
 

Using breathing, guided relaxation, visualisations and also some beautiful songs, we will give you a moment in your busy day to let  other things go and hear your self. And after we've relaxed and centred ourselves we'll sing, using warm ups and songs I have developed over nearly 20 years of working with singers.
So after your day of contributing to the world around you, take a little time to centre yourself and find your happy place.
 

I have chosen some lovely songs to start with and am also looking for suggestions from people as to what songs make their heart sing.  Let me know what songs reach you.