Hi Everyone –
Warm greetings and blessings to you all!
May you be filled with lovingkindness.
May you be safe and protected from all inner and outer dangers.
May you be well in body and mind.
May you be at ease and happy.
As I hold the intention to create more SIMPLICITY and SPACE in my life, new thoughts and new experiences are flowing into it. In April, I talked about EASE and GRACE; in May, I talked about FOCUS. This month, it’s about RISK-TAKING.
Years ago, as I read (and worked with) Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”, I came upon a John Burroughs quote that has resonated in me to this day: “Leap, and the net will appear.” After writing my May newsletter, I decided that it was time for me to finally act on those words, and I gave my notice to a couple of musical projects; as of September 1st, I will be completely focusing my time and energy on creating and performing music that inspires and heals… Since I’ve made my decision, I have felt relief, peace and excitement about saying YES to fully honouring my calling, as well as great waves of fear about the unknown and about my abilities… AND I’m grateful for ALL of it!
With this in mind, I offer you this video (http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html) and these additional quotes as routes into YOUR exploration of RISK-TAKING:
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
– Helen Keller
“Life is being on the wire, everything else is just waiting.”
– Karl Wallenda
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I . . . I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
– Robert Frost
“Are you placing enough interesting, freakish, long shot, weirdo bets?”
– Tom Peters
“A man would do nothing, if he waited until he could do it so well that no one would find fault with what he has done.”
– Cardinal Newman, British Preacher (1801-1890)
“Let’s make a dent in the universe.”
– Steve Jobs
May this video and these quotes inspire you as deeply as they inspire me.
(THANKS to my dear friend Nancy Mortifee for the TED talk video, and to www.LeadershipNow.com/quotes.html for inspiring me to deepen MY exploration of RISK-TAKING. If YOU have suggestions for inspirational media to share in a future newsletter, please drop me a line at NathenAswell@Me.com – I’d love to hear from you.)
REPORT
Here are my highlights from the last month or so:
– Performing again at Canadian Memorial United Church. THANKS to my buddy and Musical Director Neil Weisensel for always being such a pleasure to work with, and to the congregation for always making me feel so welcome. 🙂
– Performing at Give Peace A Chant with my dear friend Sandra Leigh. THANKS, Sandra, for being so passionately devoted to your path. 🙂
– Performing at the Unity Church of Calgary (for both a concert AND a church service, which included ME giving the talk – a FIRST for me!). THANKS to Sheryl Guillaume for ALWAYS going WAY above and beyond the call of duty in her support for me and for what I do, and to all of the people in Calgary that I now have the privilege of calling my friends. 🙂
– Performing with my dear and talented friend Marcy Baruch at the iEvolve Integral Relationships and Sexuality Seminar with Marc Gafni. THANKS, dear Marcy, for the opportunity to deepen our friendship and connection, and to Marc for sharing his passion and vision of World Spirituality. 🙂
– Performing at CSL White Rock and at a House Concert in Vancouver with Sue Hodge and Browne Anderson. THANKS, Sue and Browne; it was GREAT fun to make music with the both of you, and I look forward to doing it all again in a few weeks in Edmonton!
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
BIG NEWS:
– As I continue to “plant seeds” and build connections and friendships everywhere I go, I’m getting more and more invitations to travel. My next stops are to new locations in CA, WA and OR. Details will be in future newsletters – stay tuned!
SPECIAL EVENTS:
– It gives me great pleasure to announce that I’ll be performing at Mark Fenster’s “Cantoria” CD release party, at Give Peace a Chant with Sandra Leigh, at a Krishna-Ramnam night with Amir, at a ROCKIN’ Church service with Darryl Nixon, at a House Concert in North Vancouver, and at one of Brock Tully’s “One of a KIND Stories” evenings. (Details below.)
– I’ll also be returning to Edmonton this month for performances at CSL Edmonton and at a House Concert. (Details below.)
Here’s what my entire CALENDAR looks like in the next month or so. I’d be honoured to see you at any of these events. (AND please remember that I welcome any and all opportunities to serve you with my music; just e-mail me with your ideas at NathenAswell@Me.com.)
June
10, 7:30 PM – Vancouver East Cultural Centre (1895 Venables Street, Vancouver) – “Cantoria” CD release party, featuring Mark and Zoe Fenster, Bill Sample, Pepe Danza, harmony vocalists, and a string quartet of musicians from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, as well as performances by myself, Amir Haghighi & Amy Stephen, and Trio Accord. $25 (plus surcharges and taxes); http://tickets.thecultch.com / (604) 251-1363 or www.AutumnStudios.ca
11, 7:45 PM (doors open at 7:30) – Open Door Yoga Studio (2111 West 16th Avenue, Vancouver) – Give Peace a Chant (www.GivePeaceAChant.org), with Sandra Leigh, myself and Stefan Cihelka – $15 / $10 for seniors and students with card
12, 8:00 PM – Yoga on 7th (156 East 7th Avenue, Vancouver) – Krishna-Ramnam Night, with Amir, Chloe O’Loughlin, myself, Thom Evans, and Shawn Soucy – sliding scale (minimum $10 donation)
13, 10:30 AM – St. Andrew’s-Wesley (1012 Nelson Avenue, Vancouver) – Church Service with Darryl Nixon (organ), David Sinclair (guitar), Buff Allen (drums), and vocal ensemble
13, 6:30 PM (Doors open at 6:00) – House Concert in North Vancouver, with BJ Alexander and I – $20. (Space is limited, so please contact BJ ASAP at BJSch@shaw.ca or (604) 536-2357 to reserve your spot and to get details on the concert’s location.)
20, 7:00 PM – St. Andrew’s-Wesley (1012 Nelson Avenue, Vancouver) – Worship Service with Curt Allison
21, 7:00-8:45 PM – Organic Lives Restaurant (1829 Quebec Street, Vancouver) – One of a KIND Stories (www.OneOfAKindStories.com), hosted by Brock Tully – sliding scale (minimum of $5)
27, 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living Edmonton (7621 – 101 Avenue, Edmonton) – Church Services
27, 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM) – House Concert in Edmonton with Sue Hodge & Browne Anderson (http://SoundTouch.ca) and I – $20. (Space is limited, so please contact Sue ASAP at SoundTouch@shaw.ca to reserve your spot and to get details on the concert’s location.)
July
4, 10:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living White Rock (14600 North Bluff Road, Centennial Park, White Rock) – Church Service
NEW WEB SITE CONTENT
As well as updating the blogs and calendars on my web sites, I’ve:
– added a link to my CBC Radio 3 page on my “Home” page;
– added a new video from my performance in March at the Kinkora Gala Fundraiser in Montreal to my “Audio/Video” page and to my MySpace page;
– updated my bio, added new comments (THANKS, dear Mahalia, Bethanny, Tetyana and Joanne!) and a new review of “Little By Little” (THANKS, dear Sue!) to my “Bio/Praise/Press” page;
– added photos from my House Concert with Sue Hodge in Vancouver and from my iEvolve weekend in Denver to my “Photos” page and to my MySpace page;
– added links to two very inspiring men – www.AutumnStudios.ca (Mark Fenster is a fellow ex-Montrealer and creator of beautiful and inspiring music for the soul) and www.MarcGafni.com (I’ve had the good fortune of seeing and hearing Marc in action several times, and I consider him to be the most powerful speaker I’ve ever heard; I’m also honoured to now call him a friend) to my “Music Store/Book a Concert/Links” page.
Happy June, everyone. Go with love!
With love and gratitude,
– Nathen
www.NathenAswell.com
www.MySpace.com/NathenAswell
www.SonicBids.com/NathenAswell
www.ConcertsInYourHome.com/Artist/NathenAswell.html
www.Bruha.com/Music_Store/music_store.html
www.CDBaby.com/CD/NathenAswell
http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Nathen-Aswell