Setlist from May 24 Songs for Tending Our Hearts @ Yess Yoga

Friends,

Here are the songs we sang at Songs for Tending Our Hearts at Yess Yoga on Friday night, May 24, 2024:

1. Holding Song (Ian Carrick)
2. One by One (Michael Stillwater)
3. Be with me, Yah (Koach Baruch Frazier)
4. Haida* (words & music: traditional Jewish niggun)
5. Keep it open (Ahlay Blakely)
6. Let my soul dance in the rain* (unknown; learned from Scott Skoog)
7. My soul’s home* (Shireen Amini)

* An online audio or video recording has not been found.  Let us know if you find one in the comments!  

Some of you asked about the Resources we shared. Here's a short list...

• 
  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 Artist Grief Deck (https://griefdeck.com/) which was created by hospice workers during the pandemic
• And the Rest Deck by Tricia Hersey (https://thenapministry.com/rest-deck/) based on Hersey's book "Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto"
• 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
• Where else to sing in the Twin Cities? There's three places you can check! 
• Twin Cities Singing Circles (Facebook group)
  
• Perfection-Free Community Singing (Facebook group)
• AND this Google Doc of regular circles that Liz DA put together.

We are grateful to you if sang with us and to Yess Yoga for hosting.

Bimonthly dates for this grief song circle at Yess Yoga have been scheduled for 2024. Pencil these dates into your calendar:

• July 19* Revised date
• Sept 20
• Nov 22

If you'd like reminders, sign up for the In-person Sings/Good Trouble mailing list here to get an email beforehand. Or just check the Yess Yoga's website.

Keep singing and stay warm, graceful, and creative!

Love, Liz and Conie, a.k.a. GOOD TROUBLE

Jun 14: Spirit of Peace Public Meditation ONLINE

 

It feels like a season to invite folks to a public practice of the Spirit of Peace Meditation.  

If you feel called to join with others in 1) recommitting to "give our strength ... that love may reign and war may cease" and 2) to practice seeing the love and light in one's self and others, please consider yourself welcome to the next public online practice.

What:  Spirit of Peace Meditation*
When:  Friday, June 14, 4:30-5:15 p.m. Central Time USA (UT-05)
Where:  Zoom Meeting ID:  941-277-002; Password:  DUP

At this time we will meet monthly online.  It may shift to in-person and more frequently, so sign up for the Spirit of Peace newsletter on this page to be most up-to-date.  

If you have interest and delight in supporting this public practice of dedicating one's spirit to peace and seeing the holy love and light in each person, please reach out and let us know.  Use the contact form here or send an email to listening@pointsoflightmusic.net.

--

Interested in history of the practice?  Follow this link of posts tagged with "Spirit of Peace Walk" including *how we adapted it to zoomland, 

Jun 13: Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience

 

What: Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience

When: Thursday, June 13, 2024, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Where: Walker/New City Church, 

3104 16th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55407 (map)

With: Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute and GOOD TROUBLE

REGISTER HERE:  Eventbrite

Facebook event page

How do we find our way through personal, cultural, and systemic trauma towards resilience? Our culture is honestly pretty terrible at having community rhythms to process this and tools to live towards growth. Singing and somatic practice are one container offering a space to practice working through our grief, pain, and conflict towards finding joy, courage and connection.

Inspired by the STAR* training, you’re invited to a monthly community song circle of simple songs, taught call and echo, and somatic practices to check in with how our bodies are processing. You don’t need to “be a singer” - we’re not singing to perform; we sing because it changes us.

What to Bring:
To make the most of our time together, please remember to bring the following items:

• Water to stay hydrated throughout the event
• Clothes that are suitable for easy movement
• Yoga mats, pillows, and blankets for your comfort during somatic practices
• A journal and pen for any reflections or insights you may wish to jot down

Donation Guidelines

We request a donation for tickets to this event - any amount between $10-$50; we use a sliding scale in order to make this work as accessible as possible to people. For reference, we consider:

• $10 is a Sliding scale solidarity rate for folx who would not otherwise be able to come
• $25 is a Full price ticket that allows us to break even for this event
• $50 is a Benefactor rate that allows more people to attend by covering costs for our community.

If you want some help thinking through what you might be able to donate, we've found this graphic really helpful in thinking through the amount of financial privilege you carry and how it might apply: https://www.transgendertraininginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Sliding-Scale-Guidance2.png

COVID-19 Precautions:

Summer 2024 Heart Songs

 

What: Heart Songs: Lament, Longing, & Love (an online community space for you to bring your heart and your voice)

When: 6:30-8p CDT (05-UTC until Daylight Savings Time ends)

Dates for Summer 2024:  over the summer we meet less frequently because Mni'sota summers are amazing and it's hard to be inside!

• June 17
• July 8
• August 19

Where: Online: https://zoom.us/j/431161455 (see call-in options on Heart Songs' main page)

Gather for an informal singing time to re-center our hearts in community. Simple songs will be led paperlessly/taught by ear by Conie Borchardt, other song leaders, and you, if you have a song to share.

Join us. Bring friends. (Signup for the email reminder here; select Heart Songs)

Songs will be about the human experience and in that way, spiritual in nature, but not specifically religious.

This is a space intended for self-care, however that shifts for you in every moment. Bring water. Come and go. Sit in a chair, lie on the floor, or stand as you need to.

June 2024 Mn'sota DUP Tour

The Dances of Universal Peace are spreading around Mni'sota!

With gracious support from the MRAC's Arts Impact Fund, these activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.  

The Dances of Universal Peace are easy circle dances with singing. Everyone is taught call and echo.  Bring yourself and an openness to try something new with others!  Lead by Certified Dance Leaders: Conie Borchardt, Adam Wolter, and others.  Learn more about the Dances here.

Tour Dates

Sunday, June 2, 6:30-8:45 p.m.

Twin Cities Friends Meetinghouse

1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul (map)

Meetup | Facebook 

Friday, June 7, 7 p.m.

Svalja Yoga

N 1st Ave W, Duluth (map)

Register here

Meetup | Facebook 

Saturday, June 8, 7 p.m.

St. Mary's Episcopal Church

715 S. Central Ave, Ely (map)

Meetup | Facebook 

Sunday, Jun 9, 2 p.m.

St. Andrew's Lutheran Church

501 NW 16th St, Grand Rapids (map)

Meetup | Facebook 

Saturday, June 15, 2 p.m.

A Place to Move

714 Columbia Ave, Morris (map)

Meetup | Facebook 

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