Contemplation

As many readers know, I wound down on work at the clinic significantly in the fall of 2017 and focused more on education through workshops and Intensive Retreats in Spain. It was good for me to wind down and become more aware.

This journey to within last summer led me to attend a course called ‘The way home is the way forward’ and it became clear to me that it was fine to wind down and pay attention, and that the next step now was to treat and nourish the inner me. Every time I was asked to focus on my heart, I would hear beautiful harp music and could even ‘see’ a woman sitting and playing the harp – yes, inside my heart. There was peace, gentleness and growth here which I had to follow. Shortly after I found a teacher and waited patiently for the summer holiday to end so I could begin my lessons. My teacher called me and told me that I had to prepare for the first period of the training which would focus on how I was sitting, breathing, relaxing my body. It was about the approach to playing rather than actually playing the music.

I was overwhelmed with joy; this was exactly the right thing for me. Getting to focus in depth on how to hold my head, how I sit on and stand up from a chair as well as focusing on making the neck long and free, really helped me. I did some direction-exercises and had small tasks during my day such as holding on to the wheel of the car more relaxedly while driving. I walked more freely on the beach and yes even washing the dishes was done with the shoulders further down than before. I worked on my posture and released the tensions in my tongue and jaw.

In the beginning my tongue wanted to help, when I did new grips on the harp and when something was new and difficult, I would bite my teeth together. My dentist had previously mentioned that I bite my teeth, which I had a hard time relating to. Now I understood. I was given tongue exercises which helped me relax the root of my tongue and my neck. They are a pleasure to do. Just think, that the action of sticking out your tongue, rolling your tongue and making weird sounds can change so much, and can have such a large impact on playing my harp, as well as in my daily life. The whole magic of these exercises is to become more aware of even the smallest tensions and releasing them, so that the notes of the harp come out as pure and beautiful as possible.

Now I am sitting and enjoying every note and experiencing how clearly I can hear whether or not I have prepared properly before placing my hands on the strings. I begin with my direction exercises and feel the neck loosen up and lengthen, the shoulders hanging freely and the arms rising as the fingers seek upwards.

One hand is relaxed while the other hits the strings and then it switches round. Even just hitting one string and hearing that beautiful sound flowing through my core and bones and I feel a thrill of happiness and the occasional tear rolling down my cheeks – I am touched. One beautiful note, a vibration, which truly echoes within and like a key opens up my heart and happiness.

Here I connect myself with my love, happiness and creativity, and I must say… It ain’t all that bad.

I, as a Traveller in Health, highly enjoy how going down deeper and letting myself open up to my inner voice has brought me deeper within to my inner layers and has given me a deeper happiness. The harp has opened up an inner space within me. I look forward to sharing my experiences and new knowledge of music somewhere in the future.