Truth & Freedom

Have you been thinking about freedom?

I have. It’s what my July 8th online event for harp players, “Play with Freedom” is all about and it’s what I think about a lot.

I’ve been thinking about what it takes to ‘be free’ and how hard that can be as an artist – and as a human.  How, when someone says ‘just sit down and play what you feel’, you can become completely blocked.

I’ve been thinking about how learning to be free as an artist is very much like learning to be comfortable in social situations.  That’s a big one for me because it’s waaaaay easier for me to feel free on stage than to feel free in a social situation.

‘Letting go,’ ‘saying what you feel’ – or even telling a simple truth in the moment – it’s not always so easy.

And I think about how to do it A LOT.  When I’m writing lyrics – for songs or musicals, I’m not thinking about the rhymes – I’m thinking about how to tell the truth, with both words and music. When I get stuck I stop and think, “OK, exactly what is happening? What is this character’s truth at this moment?” and then put that into words and music, getting as close to the truth as I can.

I believe that “the truth will set you free” — and that truth and freedom are two sides of the same experience – almost as if truth is the expression and freedom the experience.

I think about how to tell the truth as a human in everyday life: how to honestly tell a coach I work with exactly what they’ve helped me with, how to thank people honestly, reflecting as honestly as I can what I’ve experienced.

I practice my instrument so I can be fluent,  responsive and completely present in the moment on stage, so I’m not fussing with technical issues in that incredibly precious moment we’re together as artist and audience – but can be completely present with the audience – because that’s one way I speak with truth and freedom on stage.

I think about how to  bring that freedom to the artists I mentor in my “Harness Your Muse,” yearlong mentorship program by telling them exactly what’s moved me in their work, where I’ve seen their truth, and how they might make it even clearer or truer to them, so I would see even more of their truth.

I try to bring the experience of MUSICAL FREEDOM to the many harp players who take my online classes – like my “Summer Harp Jam” 6-Week Virtual Summer Camp for Harpists.

Why?? Because I feel PERSONALLY LIBERATED when I hear students say things like “Wow! Maybe I CAN improvise after all!” or “I never thought I’d be able to do this” – and because the way they truthfully express what they’re experiencing and what they’re learning liberates me.

Because we’re all searching for human truth and freedom — and whether you’re ‘teaching’ or ‘learning,’ the truth you bring to the conversation gives everyone in that conversation greater freedom.

Register for my FREE online training “PLAY with FREEDOM” NOW and then join me LIVE on Sun. July 8th at 2:30PM EDT. Even if you can’t make it to the LIVEstream – registration includes both the LIVE event AND the REPLAY!

How you do YOU look for truth and freedom in your life? How do you practice it?