This is one of my favorite cards in the deck Inspiration for Violinists. Through shamanism, I have learned the meaning of playing music on an instrument in which animal products were used in its production. The caveat is that the instrument needs to be held sacred and used in ceremony.

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“Open the safe and take the money” was the original statement from my former teacher and mentor, Moriah Marston. When editing my cards, friends didn’t understand what this meant and I had trouble explaining it. I understood this statement to mean an alchemical moment when all was possible if I

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Prior to a shamanic journey, those in attendance will usually begin by smudging with smoke from burning white sage, sweetgrass or palo santo which is for cleansing and purifying one’s energetic body. The shaman will then call in the spirits of the four cardinal directions as well as the sky,

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Creating the music of your life could mean composing your own music, improvising, arranging music, or it could refer to how you interpret and perform music composed by other musicians. As I have written in previous posts, even when working as a musician for financial employment, in order to feel

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“Nothing is lost in translation.” Hearing this message changed my life. At the time I was suffering from not being able to get beyond Twinkle with my public school students and not having enough time to do the amount of performing I did while free-lancing in Boston. I was loosing

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Channel your inner virtuoso. I included this card because so often we sell ourselves short. Over the years I have had many experiences in which I saw a live performance, video or listened to an audio recording that inspired me to play much better than I thought possible. It is

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Many things can take us out of the music. It could be nerves, fatigue, anger, frustration, boredom, and/or perfectionism. Whatever it is, you will experience the proverbial “omelette without the eggs” if you are not fully present in your music. Your music will feel like an anemic series of notes,

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Prana, chi, holy spirit all refer to a connection with a divine force. In yoga we learn how to access prana with breath. It is your way of taking in life force and oxygen. It is how you sustain life. It is your first and last action. In shamanism we

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I’m writing this post just two days before returning to rehearsals with my orchestra colleagues for the first time performing in a concert hall since March 2020. It seems like an appropriate time to consider my relationship with my symphonic friends. In music school and while taking national auditions, I

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To survive playing beautiful music, one has to accept pain. What does this mean exactly? My interpretation is that you have to accept that you’re in pain and not ignore it. It definitely does not mean that experiencing pain is intrinsic to violin playing. During the process of healing from

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