Setlist from May 2 Retrain Your Lizard Brain

Here are the songs we sang at the very first Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience at Walker/New City Church on Thursday evening, May 2, 2024.  Enjoy the links to online recordings for your at-home remembering pleasure!  

• Neuroplasticity Song (Ahlay Blakely)
• The Center Will Hold (text: Brene Brown, from Atlas of the Heart; music: clb)
• Do You Feel? Do You Heal? (Lu Aya Nephew, The Peace Poets + Deirdre Shabaaz)
• The Cure for the Pain (text inspired by Rumi; tune: Yam)
• Grief is Coming (Aurora’s Song) (Liz Digitale Anderson)
• The Shame Song (Ahlay Blakely) 

* no online recording available. If you discover one, please let us know in the comments!

Here are some of the Resources we promised to share:

• About the Card Decks: Having a tangible tool to sit with and reflect our feelings back to us helps us slow down, process, and make space for emotional work and intentions we otherwise tend to ignore. In May we spread out the Rest Deck by Tricia Hersey and the Artist Grief Deck, made by hospice workers in the pandemic.
• Instruments we use: 
• CajonTab by Louson Drum - Conie has a 12" CajonTab; Liz has one of the Pro series. Get to know a bit of the cajon's musical history here. Use Liz's affiliate link to get 10% off!
• Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA.

Thank you to the crew who jumped in to retrain their lizard brain!  The right people were there, tenderness, grit, and support were shared. Community was tended. This is part of the world we're working towards!

Many thanks to Mni'sota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute for offering the amazing Strategies for Trauma Awareness & Resilience (STAR) training that Liz and Conie took in June 2023 and to being interested in partnering with us when we expressed interest in offering a hand-on offering.  Many thanks to Jean for their supporting hands-on support to bring this into being!  

We're planning to make this session monthly because the work of Trauma Awareness and Resiliency is long and slow!  The next Retrain Your Lizard Brain session will likely be Thursday, June 13, 2024; stay tuned for details on this blog as they unfold or sign up for the In-person Singing and/or the Good Trouble Songleaders newsletters

Keep singing and stay warm, hydrated and creative!

Love, Liz and Conie, a.k.a. Good Trouble

Setlist from April 28 edition of Tending Your Fire, Tending Your Heart

Dear Friends,

If you're reading this, you might have attended the Tending Your Fire, Tending Your Heart gathering on Sunday afternoon, April 28 in South Mpls.

We invited folks who have been carrying a load for their community, in a season of deep service, organizing, and/or mutual aid work to lay it all down for a weekend and receive some spaciousness and care.

Here is a list of the songs we sang over with links to online recordings.

• Am I Willing (Ahlay Blakely)
• Love from the Inside Out (Moon Clemetson)
• Armor (Ahlay Blakely)
• The Way Knows the Way (Lyndsey Scott) and the studio version
• Healing is Possible (Orion Johnstone)

Here's a list of Instruments: 

• 
  Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA
• CajonTab by Louson Drum - Conie has a 12" CajonTab; Liz has one of the Pro series. Get to know a bit of the cajon's musical history here. Use Liz's affiliate link to get 10% off.

May all of these resources support you in your work and in your rest.

Liz and Conie, a.k.a. GOOD TROUBLE  

Upcoming Visiting Songleaders: Shireen *May 9-10* + Ahlay

We are so excited that two fantastic song leaders are traveling through the Twin Cities soon! Check out the details below and make plans to join us in singing with them.

Shireen Amini is in Minneapolis, May 9 & 10!  A fantastic musician, healer, song leader and incredible non-binary (pronouns: she/her/elle) human of Puerto Rican-Iranian heritage, Shireen Amini will be holding a Drum Song workshop on Thursday night and a Community Song Circle on Friday night.  Come for both if you can!  I had the opportunity to participate in her virtual Drum Song series and it was sooooo good online; this will be amazing! 

Drum Song Workshop with Shireen Amini

Thursday, May 9, 5:30-8 p.m.

Center for Performing Arts, 

38th & Pleasant, Mpls

Register here.

Community Song Circle with Shireen Amini

Friday, May 10, 6:30-9 p.m.
New City/Walker Church, 3104 16th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407, USA
Register here.

Ahlay Blakely is back in town in July!  

Mark your calendar for July 22 & 23 and check back for more details as it gets closer!

Setlist from April 19 Songs In Your Body On This Land @ The Beautiful Studio

Here are the songs we sang at the BIPOC+Mixed Race song circle, Songs In Our Bodies On This Land at the inclement weather location of The Beautiful Studio in the Dow Building on University Ave on Friday night, April 19, 2024 with links to online recordings for your at-home remembering pleasure.

1. Comfort* (Heather Wilson)
2. River Water Flows* (Earth Practice)
3. Let Go and Move (words: Candance Butler/music: Velma Frye)
4. One by One (Michael Stillwater)
5. One Body (Ahlay Blakely)
6. Holding Song (Ian Carrick)
7. We breath together / Stop the occupation (adrienne maree brown) plus harmonies and Ceasefire refrain by Rise Choir Collective
8. The Cure for the Pain (text inspired by Rumi; tune: Yam)
9. It’s not yours to carry anymore* (Liz Digitale Anderson)
10. PLZ PLZ Universal Soul (Lyndsey Scott)
11. The Way Knows the Way (Lyndsey Scott)

* no online recording available. If you discover one, please let us know in the comments!

Here are some of the Resources we promised to share: 

• 
  The World Wide Labyrinth Locator - an online resource to find labyrinths near you and around the world that are in public and private places.  
• My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem - Book recommended by Pauline.
• About the Card Decks: Having a tangible tool to sit with and reflect our feelings back to us helps us slow down, process, and make space for emotional work and intentions we otherwise tend to ignore. In April we spread out the Rest Deck by Tricia Hersey and the Earthcraft Oracle Deck (Hay House).  
• Instruments we use: 
• CajonTab by Louson Drum - Conie has a 12" CajonTab; Liz has one of the Pro series. Get to know a bit of the cajon's musical history here. Use Liz's affiliate link to get 10% off!
• Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA.

Thank you to the crew who sang with us! The right people were there, tenderness, grit, and support were shared. Community was tended. This is part of the dream Liz and Conie are working towards!  

And many apologies to you if you didn't hear about the location change until too late.  We don't make a decision to change details of an event lightly and believe we made the right decision considering the wind and coolness.  

Many thanks to Michael G for lending us the cozy Beautiful Studio for us!

  
It takes more than desire to keep this BIPOC song circle going. Your contributions, energetic, trades, and financial, a0re welcome and needed! If you missed the big blue-green tip jar, contributions can be sent through Paypal or Venmo or a check can be mailed to P.O. Box 11791, St. Paul, MN 55111.

The next BIPOC+Mixed Race Song Circle will be a special one!  On Friday, May 10, 2024 we are directing everyone to join us in singing with guest songleader Shireen Amini, an amazing Puerto Rican-Iranian musician and non-binary human (she/her/elle).  More details here for Friday night's song circle and Thursday night's Drum Song class!  After that, we'll should be at the river on Friday, June 21, around the summer solstice!  Stay tuned here or signup for the "Soul Songs BIPOC/Mixed Singing Space" list here.

Keep singing and stay warm, hydrated and creative!

Love, Liz and Conie, a.k.a. Good Trouble