Like most people, I had ideas about my future when I was growing up. But life had other plans for me, and fortunately I learned to listen to the flow. When I teach people this process now, I call it developing an inner friendship.
Learning to listen inside in a compassionate and curious way has guided me to unexpected experiences like the one I want to share today — recording a spoken word healing album in Nashville with a Grammy-nominated rocker. The unusual combination of short spoken teachings surrounded by powerful soundscapes is now available on all music platforms.
The album — called Over The Counter Meditations — is a collaboration with an incredibly talented musician and Nashville-based producer named Lincoln Parish. Lincoln was a founding member and the original lead guitarist for the Grammy award winning band Cage the Elephant for nine years, starting his musical career with them at age 15.
The idea for the album showed up during the Covid lockdowns. I had already been working as an inner work teacher for many decades by then, and I had never seen so many people show up to learn. Two years and thousands of client hours later, I had tools I wanted to share far and wide. I met Lincoln in 2021 when he was producing for Alicia Blue, one of my beloved creative artist clients. I proposed the spoken word project to him in 2023. We spent time in the studio, and magic happened.
My album is a curated healing journey, a collection of mini healing sessions. Listeners can take the full journey or choose a song based on the teaching topic or the music genre. Some sound like lullabies. Others are more compelling. We even have a few dance tunes. Each one will have a music video created by artists in my learning community.
My wish is that this project will invite people to learn about themselves and the flow of life. This is what has happened for me, once I began to turn toward myself with warmth and wonder. It really is the key. This is the message in all of our songs.
For example, I never planned to do healing work. I trained as a journalist and worked as a reporter for many years, starting out in high school as a copy girl in the newsroom.
I never thought I would have children or live overseas. Yet life brought two amazing sons into my world, and I spent 12 years living with my husband and kids in India, Nepal, Dubai and Kazakhstan.
I never thought I would teach about the inner journey. I had grown up in a family of healers and spiritual seekers but felt more drawn to writing. Then at 23, I entered a spiritual school in Berkeley, Calif., where I studied for 15 years, received transmissions from master teachers in other countries and ended up working with people worldwide.
Eventually I learned to listen to the flow. Let’s all learn that, together.
Pre-save the album — Over The Counter Meditations
Listen to the single — Your Side of the Street
