June 26, 2014

Today, an apple made me cry.

Here’s how I arrived at this moment in which I was moved by an apple.

Last week, my friend Janet and I challenged each other to follow our respective eating plans perfectly – no fudging or cheating. We are both committed to having lives that include nutritious eating and well being. Over coffee last Friday, we were chatting about eating and noticing how neither of us seem to be able to go for more than a day or two before we chose the cake or candy instead of the fruit or salad. I said, “This is crazy. When you look at it, what is the challenge in promising to follow an eating plan perfectly for just 1 week? It’s not like some amazing feat or breakthrough.” Yet, based on our past experience, it seems it is indeed a challenge. So there and then at 12 noon on Friday, we challenged each other to follow our eating plans perfectly. She’s inspired by the paleo diet. I’m inspired by Dr Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live approach to eating.

This is not ultimately about the diet or about losing x number of pounds by the end of the week. It’s about honouring and respecting ourselves and following through with a promise to ourselves because we made it to ourselves. When I make a promise to myself and I don’t keep it or avoid acknowledging that I have not kept it, I diminish myself. I chip away at my view of myself as an amazing being with my own special set of gifts, abilities and things to contribute. Bit by bit, I lessen and lessen myself. These little promises to ourselves that we break are all over the place. If you look at your life, do you see some? If you look honestly, I bet you will find some. I think this breaking of promises to ourselves is human. To be human, is to do so. It’s not personal. It’s part of being a human being.

The rules we created are simple. Follow the principals of your eating plan exactly as it is designed. No bending of rules. Do it perfectly.

We created a secret Facebook group where we could check in and share thoughts and feelings that come up as we play our game.

We have both noticed how powerful desire is. We both came up against the muffin in the coffee shop beckoning and pleading to the automatic feelings and urges that get triggered when we see it. The difference this time, is that my whole focus is on my promise to myself and honouring what’s fundamentally important for my well being and my future. I could have made a number of promises – my finances, my living environment, my physical fitness, or contributing to people in my life. The point is to fulfill on the promise because you said so.

This has actually been a miracle for me. There have been wonderful surprises and rewards. The first reward was that I knew I was going to meet the challenge and fulfill on my promise by the end of day three. I got for myself that I can do this. Doubt ran away. As urges and desires came forth, it was easy to say “no”. The second surprise is that my passion for cooking has been reignited. I used to cook a great deal and I loved it. When I moved away from my family and then converted my dining area into a workspace, cooking disappeared from my life. Not completely, but what little I did became this rushed activity that was getting in the way of other important activities. Over the week, I’ve had to cook for myself to ensure I am following the plan perfectly and I’ve had so much fun discovering wonderful new recipes. The third reward has been noticing a shift in how food tastes. I’ve been following Fuhrman’s principals loosely for some time, but immersing myself in it completely has created a shift. There’s very little salt in his eating plan and I am now finally beginning to not miss it. In fact, I am noticing the salt that already exists in food naturally. With the complete removal of salt, processed sugar, processed flours and processed oils, what remains is the natural flavours. I am becoming much more attuned to the flavours. When you removed the addictive mask of salt and processed sugar you start noticing the subtle and much more varied flavours underneath.

The Apple.

Back to the apple. Today, I was sitting outside eating a delicious salad for lunch. I finished the meal with an apple. As I ate the apple, I became intensely aware and appreciative of the miracle of the apple: the juices and flavours exploding in my mouth and the wonder that such a thing as an apple even exists for me to eat. I became deeply connected with the apple. Yes, that is what happened and I was moved. I became aware of all the beauty and wonder that surrounds me all the time everyday. It is always there. Often, I am just too busy “thinking” about things that have happened or might happen to appreciate the gold I already have at hand.

During your next meal, take some time to intensely and intentionally be present to the food you are eating. Stop talking, stop watching TV, stop reading your facebook timeline, stop checking your text messages. Simply be with the miracle you are putting in your mouth. You won’t regret it and you’ll likely get present to the wonder and gift of being alive.

The Exotic Music of The Soul of Sound
with Quiet Hearts

Journeys in a Musical Oasis

Wednesday, July 23, 2014
4:30 to 5:45pm

St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, 1012 Nelson St., Vancouver, BC. 
Occasionally we have last minute cancellations. Check our online calendar to confirm events at 
www.amicusmusicduo.com or call 604-662-3053

A minimum donation of $10 is recommended.

July 23 is a special opportunity for Quiet Hearts fans. We are again joined by Kathy Cameron of The Soul of Sound.

Have you ever heard a Moyo Drum? An Ocean Drum? How about a Shruti or a Manipuri Heart Singing Bowl?

Singing Bowl

Then there are Kathy’s gongs. She has four very large gongs. When all four of those gongs resonate and sing you will discover how your whole body does the same. All of Kathy’s magical sounds inspire new improvisational adventures and discoveries for Mark, Howard and Craig when they play along with her on their more traditional western instruments. You have to hear it to believe it.

Listen to Kathy playing her gongs at a past Quiet Hearts musical journey.

Gongs

Shruti

What is Quiet Hearts?

Quiet Hearts is one of  Vancouver’s most exquisite and unique experiences. 
It is an intimate and relaxing musical occasion that is like a holiday away from everyday pressures. Entering St. Andrew’s-Wesley’s magical space is like discovering an oasis in a stressful and noisy urban environment. Professional musicians improvise beautiful music in one of  Vancouver’s most stunning cathedral acoustics. 
Quiet Hearts listeners are transported, moved and inspired by enchanting flavours of music embracing classical, new age, jazz, folk and world styles. 
It’s romantic. It’s meditative. It’s soothing. 
Listeners rave that they “can’t believe” these musical journeys are 
composed on the spot. Quiet Hearts is truly a journey in a musical oasis.

Who is Quiet Hearts?

The Amicus Music Duo – Craig Addy, piano  &  Howard Meadows, clarinet  |  Mark De Silva, violin & vocals | Special Guest – Kathy Cameron, percussion

Contact us

for schedule updates and information at 
604-662-3053 • www.amicusmusicduo.com  •  [email protected]

I had the pleasure of being invited to contribute both a presentation and musical experience at the Lower Mainland Grief Recovery AGM on June 5, 2014.

Board members and grief counselors Chris Newell and Carolyn Main have attended several Quiet Hearts events and Chris has also experienced Under the Piano.

I shared my own personal journey with music and how it provides solace, stress relief, and reprieve in difficult times. While I am not a trained music therapist there is no question that what I create is music therapy for many people. I was so happy to provide the nurturing and healing power of music for a group of people who give so much to others who are recovering from the loss of a loved one.

The LMGRS is a non-profit registered charitable organization that has been organizing grief support groups in the greater Vancouver area since it was incorporated in 1990.These programs are offered in the communities of Kerrisdale, the North Shore and Downtown Vancouver.

Our programs are designed for those who have suffered the death of a significant person by helping them understand, cope and live with their loss. We help the grieving person move from pain to healing in a non-judgemental, compassionate and confidential environment.

Learn more here: http://lmgr.ca/

I discovered something about myself recently that has had a profoundly disempowering impact on my life since I was a child.

Here’s how it happened

On the morning of Monday, April 14, my phone service got cut off. I had waited too long to make a required payment. Such is my financial life – an endless cycle of taking things to the edge and scraping by. It seems I only take actions that produce financial results when something truly urgent, like this or having an eviction notice slid under the door (yes, been there too), happens.

I used to be proud of this frantic money causing – I’d say “See what I can do when the cards are down”. But in this reincarnation of the cycle, I had the presence of mind to see what it really was – an ever repeating part of the same cycle and that I had to consider it was not powerful at all.

I stopped.

On Monday morning, I had the presence of mind to simply stop.

I stopped the action and allowed myself to be with the upset. Underneath the urge for frantic action was a deep and heavy lethargy. For a day and a half I sat with not wanting to do anything. I vacillated between sad and tearful and numb. I got coaching and didn’t want to do anything I was told to do.

Then I got more coaching the following day at 3 pm.

In that conversation (on Skype) I distinguished for myself the foundational source of much of my disempowerment in life. We finished the call in laughter – I told the coach, I was hoping for something a little more profound, but there you go.

This is what happened

I was probably 4 or 5 years old when one night my grandmother came into my bedroom. I had wet my bed. I can see the open door with the light from the hall streaming in and silhouetting her and I remember the look on her face – the pinched mouth and nose, the frowning eyes. While I don’t remember her exact words, I remember the deep disapproval and disappointment and the communication that I must not wet my bed. I’m not supposed to do that.

Then I decided something 

Then I decided something about myself that has been invisibly ruling my life ever since.

• I decided that there was something wrong with me and that I was helpless to do anything about it.
• I decided that I was “supposed” to be able to do something about it but couldn’t.
• I decided that no one must find out.

This did not go well. Imagine how sleep overs, overnight school outings, and hotel visits went. I dreaded them, because people would find out.

I wet my bed right up until I was nearly 15. There were many attempts to fix the problem, including visiting Dr Ping to consider an operation and, when I was younger, late night wake ups to be taken to the bathroom. I remember literally falling asleep against the wall in the hallway and bathroom as I was guided to the toilet to take a pee and avoid the bed wetting disaster – nothing ever worked.

How it has impacted my life

Even though I no longer wet my bed, I live my life like I am still always “going” to wet my bed. It’s important to get, until now, this has been invisible to me.

My whole hidden unconscious agenda in life is hiding that I wet my bed. At the same time it’s pointless because it will ultimately be discovered. Everyone will find out eventually. Grandma will come in and admonish me.

The biggest and most profound impact is I am powerless to say how anything will go. I can say it will go this or that way a million times, but underneath I know I will still wet my bed. I know it will not work out. I know I have no say in the matter.

What it looks like

I’m starting to see the impact all over the place in the smallest things to the biggest things. Self doubt arises so easily. I avoid deciding on or choosing even simple things. I just don’t want to commit to anything because I know I will fail.

There can be no chinks in the armour. Any weakness is a window to discovery of how damaged and wrong I am. Nothing can be wrong or people will find out. It is why I have been so thin skinned about criticism and why I must appear to know everything. It is why I don’t like hanging out in groups for too long. It is likely why I have never been willing to truly give my heart to a partner in life – a bed wetter is not interested in sharing a bed.

As I laughingly said to my coach – I see why I always stay up late at night – I stay up until I simply can’t keep my eyes open, even when I know I need to get up in less than 5 hours. When I go to sleep “trouble” will surely follow.

Discovering all this is paradoxically profound and hilarious

Who would of thought some stinky liquid on a mattress has been ruling my life. It’s nothing really. It’s all a grand and silly joke. Yet, it’s also been everything. Look at what I’ve made it mean about myself.

What’s possible now

What’s possible for me now is that anything IS possible. I do have say in the matters I care about in life. I am creating myself as a person in the world who is boundlessly creative, expressive and an enormous contribution. I get to move beyond the barrier of me, the bed wetter, and create a world for all that is boundlessly creative, expressive and full of enormous contribution.

Standing here right now I REALLY can say how it will go. I know we can have hundreds of people attending Quiet Hearts concerts. I know I can make a difference for up to 40 people each month when they come and lie under my piano. Every week, clients and listeners go out of their way to share how the music I create touches their hearts and makes a difference for them in deep and meaningful ways. I’m done with providing this for 10’s when it can be 1,000’s. I’m done with keeping myself small with pointless and ultimately trivial financial problems. That’s not what I’m here for. It’s time to be big and make a difference on a much larger scale.

I am not saying it will be easy. I am saying it’s possible.

My inspiration out of this discovery is to live a life being vulnerable, bold and tenacious. There is freedom in being vulnerable – in sharing this. I’m shouting to the world that I was a bed wetter. You all know now and I’m still alive and well. The sky has not fallen.

My mission and vision

My big dreams and aspirations are simple and powerful. I know they are powerful, because I already get to see the difference my music makes for people. My musical offerings have made a difference for mothers who have lost babies, people grieving the loss of loved ones, people looking for relief from daily pressures and stress, artists seeking inspiration, couples celebrating and honouring their relationship, and people who simply want to get out of the state of over-thinking and analyzing everything. I am creating beautiful music in the world that provides nurture, solace and a haven from pressures and difficulties in life. It provides an access to “be” with issues and resolve issues. It also provides the space for personal creativity to emerge and flourish.

Are you in?

If anything about this inspires you and you see what’s possible for yourself and others out of playing a bigger game in life, then now is a good time to act. Make a difference for yourself or someone in your life. If my dream and vision for music making a difference for people inspires you, support and contribute to me.

I have some big games. Accomplishing them would see the end of financial struggle and create huge opportunities to expand the difference my music makes to a whole new level.

Short term goals – by December 31, 2014

1.  700 people are attending our Quiet Hearts Concerts each week.
2. 1000 Facebook fans for our Quiet Hearts page by June 30, 2014.
3. 30 to 40 people lying Under the Piano each month.
4. 1000 Facebook fans for my Under the Piano page by June 30, 2014.
5. Increase CD and digital downloads of my music by 500%
6. Release our first Quiet hearts album.

Bigger 5 year game

1. Under the Piano and Quiet Hearts goes international
2. I want to take this beyond the confines of Vancouver and provide this gift to people in cities like New York, Paris and Tokyo
3. I am now traveling for annual concert and music workshop tours
4. I have 60,000 Facebook fans for each page
5. I can’t keep track of music download sales and CD purchases anymore – there are so many.

How you can give support

Giving the gift of my offerings to yourself or a music loving friend or family member is the best way to support me in forwarding my dreams.

To assist in having that come alive in the world today:

1. Come to a Quiet Hearts concert – http://www.amicusmusicduo.com
2. Book an Under the Piano session for yourself at http://www.UnderThePiano.ca (go to services & products)
3. Give a gift certificate for Under the Piano at http://www.UnderThePiano.ca (go to services & products)
4. Purchase and/or download one of my CDs. http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/CraigAddy

In addition to the above or if you can’t provide support financially at this time but you are inspired by music and what I am creating, become a fan by “liking” my pages, signing up for my newsletter, and sharing my music. Please only do this because you are truly inspired. I want fans and email subscribers who are genuinely moved by my music and vision. I don’t need you to be “nice” to me. Every ‘like’ gets me one step closer to 1000 fans by the end of June, 2014.

1. Like our Quiet Hearts page at https://www.facebook.com/AmicusMusicDuo
2. Like my Under the Piano page at https://www.facebook.com/UnderThePiano
3. Sign up for my newsletter at https://craigaddy.com/ – every page has an Email Sign-up form
4. Use the share links on my Reverbnation music pages to share my music http://www.reverbnation.com/craigaddy  & http://www.reverbnation.com/quiethearts
5. Share music and events I post on Facebook and Social Media whenever you see them
6. Connect me with someone who can help spread the word about my music and what it provides in the world.

Many thanks
Craig

Quiet Hearts, Gongs, & Other Sonic Delights
March 5th, 2014 • 4:30 – 5:45 pm

If you are a Quiet hearts fan or have been meaning to come and check it out, put March 5th in your calendar as a day to attend for sure.

March 5th is a special occasion for Quiet Hearts. We will be joined again by Kathy Cameron of The Soul of Sound. Normally, Kathy uses giant gongs, singing bowls and other rare and magical instruments to provide healing sound sessions for people. Those instruments make a wonderful contribution to a musical experience as well. The sound of 2 to 4 gongs (yes she has 4 of them) is indescribable. For me, it is the sound of the Universe. Today, she brought many of her other musical treasures to the church and we played with them, finding out which instruments meshed well with the piano, pipe organ, clarinet, recorders and Howard’s growing collection of instruments. A must “hear” occasion if you are available on March 5th.

Another new aspect of Quiet hearts, is the lighting. We have taken to turning all the lights off and lighting many candles. As the daylight gradually fades the space turns into an intimate candle lit space which lets you be in your own private personal space as we take you on a musical journey.

Here is a recording of Kathy’s gongs, called “Cosmic Aura” from when she last joined us (caveat – a recording cannot give you the full real life experience)

Learn more about Quiet Hearts here:
http://www.amicusmusicduo.com/amicus_whats_new.htm

Quiet Hearts

March 5, 2014
4:30 pm to 5:45 pm
St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church
1012 Nelson at corner of Burrard (enter on Burrard Street)
By donation ($10 to $20 recommended)

If March 5th does not work, were performing the following days as well.
Always Wednesdays from 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm
Mark De Silva, violinist and singer, rejoins us again starting on April 2nd (perhaps sooner)

• Feb 26
• Mar 5
• Mar 12
• Mar 19
• Mar 26
• Apr 2
• Apr 9
• Apr 16
• Apr 23
• Apr 30

Under a 9 Foot Concert Grand Piano
February 28, 2014 – 5:15 pm – 50% sold out

If you have already experienced an Under the Piano session with me, you know the magic of being bathed in beautiful vibrations from a piano for 40 minutes. If you have not, you will not believe it until you can actually experience it.

This is short notice, but if you are available on Friday, February 28th at 5:15pm you can experience an Under the Piano music spa at a whole new level. Under a Mason & Hamlin 9′ 4″ Concert Grand Piano. A colleague and I had booked the Silk Purse Gallery for a different event that night and we have had to cancel.

However, I am taking it as an opportunity to do some recording with a divine musical instrument or to make a special offer for past Under the Piano clients.

I have already done a workshop using this piano and also with the 9 ft concert Steinway at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Pyatt Hall. Participants who have experienced Under the Piano under both my own smaller grand piano and these larger pianos have noted that the level of vibrations under a 9 foot concert grand is greater.

I this case, size does matter. The Silk Purse Gallery’s Mason & Hamlin piano is nearly 4 feet longer than my 5′ 9″ Kawai Grand. Deeper, richer and more powerful bass notes and a much larger sound board make for more vibration. Plus this piano is long enough for one person to lie under lengthwise. The value of a Mason & Hamlin CC 9’4″ Grand Piano is over $120,000 US!

Here’s a recording with this piano that gives you a glimpse of how rich and powerful the bass is. However, a recording can’t begin to do it justice.

Book Now

If you would like to grab this opportunity, or if you know someone who would like this, please contact me as soon as possible to reserve your session.

604-662-3053
[email protected]

I have already booked a session for a client at 7:15 pm, so you must be on time in order to have a relaxed and unhurried experience. I am not charging any extra fees for this opportunity despite the booking fee for the room. Future opportunities will likely cost more.

Prices (tax included)

• Individual Session: $94.50
• Couples Session: $136.50
• Optional MP3 Recording (downloadable): $26.25
• Optional CD Recording: $47.25

Under the Piano at the Silk Purse Gallery

Friday, February 28, 2014
5:15 to 6:45 pm
1570 Argyle Ave, West Vancouver, BC V7V 1A1
Prepayment required – credit card or eTransfer accepted

Valentine’s Day Under the Piano – February 14, 15 & 16, 2014

Valentine’s Day is often Under the Piano’s single most busy day of the year. That’s no surprise given it’s romantic, intimate, beautiful and genuinely unique. What’s unique about this premium musical experience? You and your partner will be treated to a musical concert which is spontaneously composed on-the-spot just for you. No one, including me the composer, will have heard this music before. But that’s just half of the unique factor. The other half is the unusual premium placed seats for your experience. Where? UNDER the Piano. You’ll actually lie with your partner cocooned amongst luxurious and sumptuous cushions and satin sheets underneath my grand piano. As you nestle together in this calming and soothing hideaway under the piano, you will experience music and the powerful vibrations of the piano in a way that leaves you awestruck, full of wonder and deeply moved. Purchase your session now. The 4pm and 8pm times are already booked. Just 4 sessions are available in total on this special day for lovers. I also have some times available on Saturday, February 15 and Sunday, February 16.

Prepayment is required to reserve your seat.

If you are intrigued, but have reservations or concerns, read the testimonials further on in this blog.

Learn more about Under the Piano

Purchase your tickets on Eventbrite

Options

A recording of your session. Listen to the recording of your exclusive music composed just for you at the session and relive the original experience each time (This option can be purchased before or after the session).

Wine or Champagne (prepayment for this option is required).

Purchase your options on Eventbrite

Testimonials

It’s not unusual for many people to have reservations about leaping in and trying an Under the Piano session. Some people think it’s weird, even scary. This first testimonial is a wonderful example of how people who have reservations feel after they stepped past them and experienced Under the Piano.

“I was once taken to Under the Piano on a date. At first I was terrified, I don’t think I uttered two words on the ride there. When we arrived I hovered near the door in case I wanted to make a quick escape. But Craig Addy was so easy with us. It just made perfect sense to take off my coat and crawl under the grand piano to lie on pillows with this date I barely knew. And when Craig started playing it was like omg why was I ever scared, it was like being taken to another world and being wrapped in luxury. He was so present to our energy, it was pretty astounding to hear it played out loud. Everyone needs to try this.”

Kristina Agosti

“I took my sweetie for an Under the Piano session for Valentine’s Day. It was a wonderful experience. Craig has such a unique business. The setting is warm and comfortable. I felt so brilliant pulling this out of my hat for a V Day gift. Certainly not the usual chocolates and flowers. I recommend Craig’s service over and over to my friends. When I left I felt the same way I do when I have had a massage, relaxed and detoxed, I know it may sound strange but you just have to experience it. Don’t just go once, make it a good health habit.”

Cari-Lee Stevens

“Hi Craig, I am sitting here at my computer working, listening to our CD. When one of the pieces came on, my whole body had a wonderful reaction and I felt it resonate like it was hearing it for the first time. As I am typing this to you, tears are streaming down my cheeks as I remember how I felt under your piano. I’m so glad we got the CD. The experience was one thing, but to be reminded of this each time I listen to this piece is like a gift all over again. What a wonderful experience to be tuned into every day – you are so fortunate to have discovered this gift – and we are fortunate to have met you. Thank you from both of us.”

Meralon Shandler

“I live my life feeding my curiosities daily as I explore this beautiful world. Well last night I had without question one of the top 10 experiences of my life here in Vancouver!!!! Craig has a beautiful simple business called Under the Piano.

Telling you you lay under a piano as he composes a piece of music for you would be short selling this horribly!

Describing the emotions I went through from remembering my Grandma Harris playing the Piano when I was a child, to remembering past loves, to soaring in my memories from being at the top of a mountain at 14,000 feet all washed over me as I was taken on a 45 minute journey of my life. I was in tears at times and fell asleep in the middle for 5 minutes and then spent the greatest part of my experience with an ear to ear smile washing over my body while in total amazement of what I was hearing and feeling as I reached up touching the underside of the piano, to feel the powerful vibrations of this grand piano moving through my body. Not one to lay still or calm I was simply and blissfuly relaxed and centered.

I cannot say enough about Craig and what is is like to lay under his piano as he literally and spontaneously composes a 45 minute journey for you as you lay underneath it on a fluffy bed and comfy and beautiful pillows with aromatherapy and candles.

I am still chilled to the bone as I recall it here for you!!!”

Mark E. Sackett

 

Purchase your tickets on Eventbrite

Can’t make it during the Valentine’s Weekend?

Check out

Journeys into Bliss

Akasha Bloom Jin Shin Do BodyMind Acupressure & Under the Piano

Friday, 28 February 2014 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM (PST)
Silk Purse Gallery, West Vancouver, BC

Are you looking for a creative, adventurous and unique way to celebrate your Love this month? Akasha Bloom Jin Shin Do BodyMind Acupressure and Under the Piano are providing a wonderful workshop for couples. Craig Addy will be providing soothing and relaxing improvised piano music while Alicia Kent teaches couples how to use acupressure to develop deeper intimacy, deepen bonds of trust and compassion, intensify physical pleasure and more. The workshop will be held at the beautiful Silk Purse Gallery in West Vancouver. This lovely intimate space houses a gorgeous 9 ft concert grand piano. Couples will have an opportunity to lie under the piano and get a taste of what an Under the Piano session is like during the workshop.

More info and tickets on Eventbrite

Invisible Conversations… I revealed one recently. This is one advantage of working with a great coach. Mine is Catherine Wood (coachcatherine.ca). There has been an invisible conversation operating in the background since I started my Under the Piano practice some years ago. I call it invisible because it’s an undistinguished internal conversation that has been impacting my actions, feelings and thoughts. While I’ve been present to those thoughts and feelings, I have not been aware of the conversation that generates them. The result is frustration, confusion and sometimes even bewilderment at my unwillingness or resistance to take actions that will forward my business.

During the holiday season, we created actions to take in order to generate more gift certificate sales and bookings. I did take new actions and I did increase my sales. Amongst the flurry of activity, we encountered a missed opportunity to book a session for New Year’s Day. The opportunity was right there and I did not take it. Out of  that, Catherine made the suggestion that I should start requiring clients to pay in full in advance rather than on the day of the booking. I could almost not hear it. What was going on here? Sure enough, the issue came up again in the New Year and Catherine reminded me that we had actually agreed that I would start requiring full payment in advance. I got all evasive, slippery and confused. I did not want to do that! The cost to me in the past has been last minute cancellations. There have not been a lot of them, but enough to hurt.

Then last week, we had this amazing conversation in which I distinguished what was behind my resistance. I have been modelling my payment system on those used by alternative healthcare practitioners such as Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists and Chiropractors – you book the appointment, you go for the appointment, and then you pay at the end as you leave. It’s important to note that while I have been following that model I had not  identified for myself that I was following that model. I was just doing it that way because that was what I was supposed to do based on my own experience in the past. I just fell into to it without thinking. For that reason, I could not consider that there could be another model. With Catherine’s brilliant guidance I was able to speak out loud what I had been doing and then there was this amazing space in which I could create a new model.

The new model is so much more inspiring for me and so much more in alignment with my own personal passion and joy. Here’s the new model:

A spot Under the Piano is like reserving your own personal box at a concert or like purchasing premium front row centre seats in the dress circle. When you want those seats for a magical musical experience you don’t wait until the day of the concert and get in line with the expectation of getting the best seats in the house. No. As soon as you hear the tickets are on sale, you call the box office and purchase the seats in advance. Now those seats are yours. They are not refundable. It’s up to you to be there on the date and on time. Otherwise, it’s your loss. Of course you will be there because this is something you want enough to purchase in advance.

Under the Piano dances in a spectrum traveling from a pure creative musical experience to a nourishing physical and/or emotional health care experience. I like that. It inspires me more than anything when a client or couple dealing with grief or pain comes and I can make a difference for them. However, my primary job is to be a gifted , intuitive and creative musician. That provides the access for them to get what they need. I’m a musician and artist first, not a doctor or therapist. Music is therapeutic and powerful. I have discovered a way to amplify those properties of music by creating Under the Piano. The way I provide that is to be the best musician and creative artist I can be and to give that to my clients. The client brings what they need and I provide a pathway for the client to get that.

If you feel frustrated or thwarted in some aspect of your life or business, there is almost certainly something you are saying that you have not distinguished for yourself. Get into conversation – ideally with a certified coach or professional. If not that, with people you trust and respect who have some authority in the area that is impacting you. A miracle can happen in as little as ten minutes when you discover what you are saying. Next invisible conversation! Here I come!

Upcoming Musical Opportunities

 Under the Piano

“Valentine’s Day Under the Piano” – February 14, 2014

If your love is a music lover, this will be the best, most magical, and most unique Valentine’s Gift and surprise you could give them. Limited seats available.

Quiet Hearts – Musical Respites and Journeys

Every Wednesday from 4:30 to 5:45pm at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church.
A gorgeous sonic and visual experience.

Collaborations

Taste of Transformation

January 28th from 7 pm until 10 pm

Receive a Taste of Transformation with 5 practitioners while enjoying vibrant organic vegan food, lovingly prepared by Chef Sono Sugimoto.

Akasha Bloom Jin Shin Do BodyMind Acupressure and Under the Piano

Alicia Kent of Akasha Bloom Jin Shin Do BodyMind Acupressure and Under the Piano are collaborating to provide a wonderful workshop for couples. I’ll be providing soothing and relaxing improvised music while Alicia teaches couples how to us acupressure to develop deeper intimacy, deepen bonds of trust and compassion, intensify physical pleasure and more. Details to be confirmed, but it will likely be held at the beautiful Silk Purse Gallery in West Vancouver. This lovely intimate space houses a gorgeous 9 ft convert grand. Couples will also have an opportunity to lie Under the Piano during the workshop.

Learn more about Alicia at www.akashabloom.com

Creative Commons photo by Jukka Palmu

Are you really clear about your purpose in life? Looking back, my biggest discovery in 2013 was that I was not clear and didn’t even know it.

There is a lot to celebrate and remember for 2013. Sitting here and letting the bigger learnings bubble up into consciousness, I would say that 2013 was a year in which purpose and passion became clearer and stronger. It’s a little odd for me to sit with that because I am a person who has always been passionate about music and beauty. I know they make a difference for people. “Me – not clear about my purpose?! ” But, when I look at what’s so, that clarity of purpose has been hazy and haphazard over the past years. I’ve been egotistical in my firm belief and arrogance about being a person with passion and purpose. There’s been a little of the “Thank goodness I have my passion” and “I feel so sorry for you poor souls who don’t”.

Well passion with purpose is very different than passion without purpose. Or perhaps, it is more accurate to say passion without considered and clarified purpose. The result has been a tug o war between moving towards a desired goal and then being pulled away from it. Then another and another. The results: pale versions of what’s really possible, disappointment, and a healthy dose of resignation. But this past year purpose has blossomed for me. I don’t think the flower bud is fully open yet, but it’s looking very beautiful these days.

The results of 2013 sometimes arose out of actions which then revealed the purpose. Sometimes an identified or clarified purpose then revealed the actions to take.

For me, music serves so many purposes. It even provides things for others I do not seek out. Music can be both entertaining and heartbreaking, uplifting and gloomy, invigorating and relaxing, abstract and descriptive, emotional and rational. It provides a path for individual expression and communal expression. It can be inclusive and divisive. I like almost all these aspects of music and express them at some point or other as I carry out my musical activities. But this has been one of the problems. I’ve been thinking I have to do it all and this year I discovered I don’t have to.

My purpose, my reason for being a musician, is to provide nurturing and healing for listeners and myself. This is why I have always done music. First it was just for myself as I passed through those difficult years as a teenager which were fraught with the deep humiliation and embarrassment of being bullied. Our difficulties force us to find solutions. My solution was art and music and I became a master at using them to provide peace, healing and fulfillment. Now it’s really simple – my role is to provide the same for others regardless of the source of pain or unease. It’s a kind of crazy ah ha moment given I’ve been doing exactly that for years. But the thing is, I’ve never consciously owned it until just this past year.

Under the Piano – Grief & Loss
This year, I had the profound honour and privilege of providing Under the Piano for a number of people dealing with grief and loss – couples with stillborn babies, people who have lost their life partners, children, siblings or friends. To provide the healing power of an Under the Piano session for these people and to witness the beneficial results it provided for them is the single most profoundly fulfilling thing I’ve experienced in the past year.

Quiet Hearts – Musical Respites & Journeys
In 2013, we also launched Quiet Hearts – musical respites and journeys. At first, Howard, Mark and I thought these were meant to be musical meditations featuring soothing and relaxing music. They are that, by and large, but something else emerged. Music, when it comes right down to it, simply and powerfully deals with the palette of emotions like no other art form. So the purpose emerged out of the action of playing every week and then listening to what the listeners were getting for themselves. We saw that they were really emotional journeys rather than meditations. Numerous people have approached us to share how their hearts have been filled by these experiences, many times to the point of tears. Music lets us have emotions in a way that is safe – we are allowed to be emotional with music. That is Quiet Hearts’ purpose. It’s also an amazing journey and expression of improvised creativity, but that is simply the access to fulfilling on the purpose.

The biggest disappointment for 2013 is that I have only reached a fraction of the people I’d like to reach with these gifts. 2014 is about bringing nurturing musical beauty and relaxation to a much larger group of people. St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church is where Quiet Hearts happens every Wednesday. It holds over 1000 people. We finished 2013 with record breaking 36 people in attendance. That was actually a triumph given our average up until then had been more like 12 people. My goal for 2014 is 750 people in attendance at the final concert for that year (we want to keep the balcony and some of the side wing seats clear of people, so I’m not going for 1000 people). Given we have numerous people coming back again and again, I’m saying this is possible. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but it is possible.

For Under the Piano, I want to make a profound difference for 50 to 100 people who are on a journey of grief. Do you know anyone? If so, please contact me, I have at least 3 scholarships available for people who are in this position in life right now. The scholarships are provided by the generosity of past clients. I call this the Dharma Added Effect which I adopted from the wonderful Shawn Bearman of Radical Ideas.

To finish the year 2014 with results like that would be a powerful expression of my purpose fulfilled.

Having learned for myself that it is not just about passion but equally, if not more, about purpose, I ask you, “What is your purpose for 2014?”

Here’s to a year where all our purposes are fulfilled.

Best regards,
Craig

Quiet Hearts –  Musical Respites & Journeys

resumes Wednesday, January 8th at 4:30 pm.

Upcoming dates (every Wednesday from 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm)
St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church at Burrard & Nelson (directly across from the Wall Centre)

• Jan 8
• Jan 15
• Jan 22
• Jan 29
• Feb 5
• Feb 12
• Feb 19
• Feb 26

…and on through to June when we review the schedule with the church.
Be sure to check our online calendar to confirm there are not last minute cancellations

Under the Piano – Unique, Romantic, Beautiful & Connecting

A perfect Valentine’s Experience

I know Christmas is barely over, but Valentine’s Day will be here sooner than you can blink an eye.

Surprise your sweetheart with a gift that will provide lasting memories and pleasure – an Under the Piano session. I’m considering special packages as we speak and will let you know as soon as I have made some choices on those or call me to create your own unique package with me.

604-662-3053
Craig@UnderThePiano