The Transformative Power of Music
I've been reflecting on Fire this past week as part of a wonderful class I'm taking with Sarah Faith Gottesdiener called Elemental Intuition, deepening intuition through exploring the Tarot minor arcana. She mentioned how Fire is an expressive, or more external element.
It struck me that music is also an expressive art form– it takes up a lot of space, unlike a painting confined to a canvas. Sound waves literally flow through your body, so folks whose hearing is impaired can still feel sound.
Music creates the conditions for us to harmonize with one another, finding a shared beat and creating collective rituals of co-regulation. We chant at sports games, in religious spaces and sometimes even workplaces, feeling the pulse of the words enliven and connect us.
Music can transform my mood, and shift the state of my whole being. Sound therapy like crystal singing bowls or waves clear and settle my energy. A meaningful song awakens vibrant emotion, and a pulsing low beat calls me to root into the ground, and shake off everything I am ready to release.
Music, as an expressive force, can drive powerful social transformation. Protest songs often serve as rallying cries, community building, and inspiration.
On the whole, I believe political power follows culture, it does not create it. The true magicians of change are rarely politicians, they are artists. Those whose creative expression sparks new connections, expanding understanding of our different experiences, our grief, joy, anger, love, everything that makes us human. Those who express a truth which many of us are afraid to name, but desperately need to.
While preparing for next week's Breathe Free Circle, I recalled an important teaching "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny." Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this in Letter From a Birmingham Jail.
We are often taught to separate out issues, to rank and prioritize. We are taught to separate based on arbitrary borders and constructs of gender and race. However, this is not how our brains and emotional bodies operate. We are connection-making machines, and for each of us abortion rights may tie into a range of other concerns. My current processing around abortion rights is inextricably tied to the current woman-led revolution in Iran.
The reality of what is happening in Iran terrifies me. Protestors are being murdered, arrested, and tortured. Their families are being threatened and forced confessions are being extracted. My only solace is knowing they are doing this because they believe in freedom. They are claiming freedom for themselves, and are risking everything to build freedom for all of us.
As always, artists play an essential role in building the revolutionary power in Iran. Today I'll offer two music videos to explore. Shervin Hajipour, Toomaj Salehi and countless others have risked everything to have their voices heard.
Baraye (For)-- the anthem of the revolution, by Shervin Hajipour bringing together quotes from social media posts on why they are fighting.
2. Meydoone Jang (The Battlefield)--by Toomaj Salehi, explicit call for unity against the dictatorship, across ethnic divides, class, everything
Music helps me drop into my body, a space deeper than conscious thoughts. In next week's Breathe Free Circle, music will create the landscape for deeper connection to ourselves and one another.
We'll open the space with 5 minutes to freely move your body while music plays.
Then we'll have time for optional sharing. This is a witnessing practice, meaning it is not a conversation. Often we are listening and formulating what we will say in response, not giving full attention to receiving what the person is trying to express. In this practice you can trust that you don't need to respond, you can simply listen and tend to your energy.
After sharing and witnessing each other, we'll move into breathwork. This is a guided practice with music playing. The playlist will feature music that has inspired and fueled revolutions.
So often we feel that we have to process everything on our own, and miss the chance to be seen in our authentic process. By allowing ourselves to be seen and seeing each other we build resilience, and expand our collective power.