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.
Here I am, into my second month of life on the river – and the peace and beauty of our inner and outer surroundings IS sinking deeply into my bones!
GRATEFUL I truly and deeply am… And may this peace and beauty permeate into and out of me, and into and out of all that I think, say and do. 🙂
Isn’t it interesting and truly delicious when we have moments of noticing how everything fits together and truly IS one?
This morning, as I was thinking about what I wanted to share with you this month, I re-read my April and May newsletters about ALLOWING and RECEIVING, and “connected” these “dots”:
– In keeping with the Abraham Maslow quote that I shared in April (“A musician must make music…”), I’ve made a new commitment to my NS Stick.
ALLOWING myself to put my music FIRST has grounded me deeply and has enabled me, after our move, to truly “get my groove back”; as I’m fond of saying, making music is the “hub in my wheel”…
– AND… Reading more of Amanda Owen’s “The Power of Receiving” has invited me to move much MORE deeply into my “groove” by inviting EVERY moment into the present (Amanda calls it “The Big Circle”). To quote Amanda directly: “Not only is it an acknowledgement of your humanity to embrace all of your experiences and feelings, but in addition, when everything is in the Big Circle… you can pick and choose the experiences you would like to have. When feelings are disowned… they… Run you from behind the scenes… Become shadow figures… Make you obsess about those qualities in others… Show up in the people you marry, go to work for, or give birth to…”
!!!
NOTED! And I accept Amanda’s invitation. 🙂
THANKS to Amanda Owen for writing this juicy little book, and to Jeri Goldstein, my dear career coach (www.PerformingBiz.com) for recommending “The Power of Receiving” to me.
How about YOU? How are you RECEIVING in YOUR journey? I’d truly like to know, so please e-mail me at NathenAswell@me.com and share it with me – we’re ALL in this together, and we have much to learn from each other. 🙂
REPORT
Here are my highlights from the last TWO months or so:
– Performing:
with Michael Stillwater (It’s ALWAYS a treat to sing and play Michael’s beautiful chants);
with Jerry DesVoignes and friends to commemorate Earth Day (Making music with Jerry is ALWAYS magical and sweet);
with Sandra Dawn on Easter Sunday (The more time I spend with my buddy, the more I love her!);
with Janet Warren and the Higher Ground Women’s Ensemble (Janet “plays” the choir like an instrument – truly a joy to behold and to hear!);
with The Euphorics in Pender Harbour (This crew gets me back to JOY every time – !);
at CSL Vancouver (I’ve wanted to work with Rev. Mary Murry Shelton for quite a while – she’s the real deal!);
at The Labyrinth at St. Paul’s (It’s SUCH a treat to fill up that beautiful space with sacred sound!)
with Amir and friends at his monthly Kirtan (It’s ALWAYS a love fest!).
THANKS to ALL – I am truly blessed to share my path with each and every one of you. XO
– On May 1st, Justin St. Vincent released his book series “The Spiritual Significance of Music” worldwide. It’s my good fortune to be one of the artists included in the series, and as a result, Justin has offered me and all of my online community FREE DIRECT DOWNLOADS to Books 2 and 3! Here are links to the downloads; I hope that you enjoy them. www.xtrememusic.org/book2.pdf / www.xtrememusic.org/book3.pdf
– On May 24th, I submitted three new songs for next year’s POSI AWARDS in Orlando, FL: “A Prayer To You”, “Metta” and “I Surrender”. I’ll keep you posted on their progress…!
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
BIG NEWS:
– I’ll be RETURNING TO CALGARY at the end of July – more details in next month’s newsletter!
– My week of PERFORMING AT ASILOMAR (in PACIFIC GROVE, CA) as part of the music team during the second week (AUG. 7-13) of the CSL CONFERENCE draws ever closer! It would be wonderful to see you there… For more information and to register, please visit http://asilomar.csl.org/
SPECIAL EVENTS:
– It gives me great pleasure to announce that THIS MONTH, I’ll be attending the NORTH WEST NEW THOUGHT MUSIC FORUM in SEATTLE. (Details are below.)
– On the HOME FRONT, I’ll be performing at TSAWWASSEN UNITED CHURCH with Sandra Dawn Nash and Shawn Soucy, and at a HOUSE CONCERT with B.J. Schmidt IN NORTH VANCOUVER. (Details are 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
12, 7:00 PM – Tsawwassen United Church (693 53rd Street, Tsawwassen BC) – “Heart Sing: Voices Uniting In Sacred Song” – sing along concert, with Sandra Dawn (vocals, piano), myself (NS Stick, vocals) and Shawn Soucy (percussion, vocals) – By donation.
18, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM – Seattle Unity Church (200 8th Avenue North, Seattle WA) – NW New Thought Music Forum, for sacred music leaders in the Pacific Northwest. (For more details and to register, please visit http://www.seattleunity.org/wp-content/uploads/NWNewThoughtMusicForum3.pdf)
19, 9:15 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living Vancouver (Maritime Labour Centre, #08 – 1880 Triumph Street, Vancouver BC) – Church Service
19, 12:30 PM – Unity of the Valley (meets in Sunnyside United Church, 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey BC) – Church Service
26, 7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30) – 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.)
July
3, 10:30 AM – Centre for Spiritual Living White Rock (14600 North Bluff Road, Centennial Park, White Rock BC) – Church Service
10, 11:00 AM – Unity of Vancouver (5840 Oak Street, Vancouver BC) – Church Service
NEW WEB SITE CONTENT
As well as updating my “Calendar” and “Blog” pages, I’ve:
– added the lyrics to a song (“I Surrender”) from my upcoming CD to my “Lyrics” page;
– simplified my “Music Store” page, and made it easier for folks to buy my music;
– added new photos of the views from our new float home to my “Photos” page;
– added new comments (THANKS, dear Mary & Mike, Paula, Kirsten, Don, Dorothy, Toresa, Barb, Suzannah, Shirley, Kathy, Perry, Bonnie, Patsy, Laura, Denise, Derek, Jason, Jennie, Mike, Katherine, Chris, Eleanor, Gary, Daniel, Kelly, Joy, Julie, Susie, Greg, Denine, Tracy, Lisa, Peg, Shannon, Sandi, Arleen, Mark & Amy, Mahalia, Ann, Sophia, Matthew, Heather, Brock, Zoey, Teri, and Kim – I greatly appreciate EVERY word!) to my “Praise” page.
Happy June, everyone. Go with LOVE! 🙂
With love and gratitude,
– Nathen
www.NathenAswell.com
www.Facebook.com/Nathen.Aswell (I’d be honoured to have you as a Facebook friend)
www.MySpace.com/NathenAswell
www.SonicBids.com/NathenAswell
http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Nathen-Aswell