A Dream Set Free 

Saturday Evening

Thank you for letting me share this wonderful experience with you!

I hope you enjoyed this series about songwriting.

Now for the performance!

It was Saturday, at twilight, at Taproot, I couldn't ask for a better place or audience of friends.

Looking out at everyone's faces was the best. I am so glad that I can finally look out and see love instead of fear.

For so many years, I used to stand in front of audiences so scared of what they where thinking about me.

It was so hard to look out at people and not be scared, scared that I would make mistakes, or look bad, or get upset with how they were reacting to my most vulnerable self.

I am super sensitive, I was that little girl who was always way too shy to speak. It was painfully hard for me to talk to people, even as a teen.

So for me to be able to finally stand in front of an audience and share my music that lives in me and in the heart of my friends, was just so transforming.

To be...

A Dream Set Free 

Saturday Afternoon

Let your dreams become reality!

On this day, August 8, I witnessed a dream of mine, set free ~ writing a song with friends.

I was surrounded by love, beauty, freedom, friends, as time stood still long enough to write this song.

We hope you enjoy it!

Here is the moment we completed the song and we captured our practice performance.

The plan was to sing it for everyone that evening at the Saturday Night Sharing.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Check out Part 5 Now

A Dream Set Free 

The Essence of Taproot

 Part 1 was brainstorming and coming up with verse 1

Part 2 was coming up with verse 2 the next day out in nature

This is Part 3 the essence of Taproot Teacher Training

[Me, Jodie Mesler and Jean Miller]

In this blog post, I want give you a feel of A Dream Set Free, which is a very important part of songwriting. What is the collective feeling of this time together?

[Our small group, moms with kids 1st-3rd grade]

Rudolf Steiner, founder of Waldorf Education, states,

"We look at a painting and see beauty, with music we become beauty...

in the sculptural and pictorial realm we look at beauty, and we live it;

in the musical realm we ourselves become beauty...but in music humans themselves are the creators.

What they create does not come from what is already there, but lays the foundation and firm ground for what is to arise in the future."

The songwriting vision I had before I got to Taproot was...

A Dream Set Free

Part 2 of my songwriting experience at this year's Taproot Teacher Training, hosted by Jean Miller and Barbara Dewey.

Saturday morning, August, 6, I sat under a tree as I witnessed God Manifested beauty.

In front of me was 

a beautiful lake,

with a vacant canoe,

beside me was rolling grassy hills,

and above me where blue skies with white puffy clouds.

I took in the sounds all around me, the buzzes and hums of summertime.

The warm wind gently blowing in my hair.

The peace.

The oneness.

The calm.

The love.

I sat with my guitar and just played with no singing, taking in this feeling.

Planting this feeling in the song.

Finally, when the time was right, I tried out our lyrics from yesterday.

"A dream is just a simple thing,

It starts as a seed.

A wish deep within your heart,

That longs to be freed. 

Planted deep, and still asleep,

Don't hold it in, let it out." 

Then, new lyrics for verse 2 came to me as I rested in this...

A Dream Set Free

Check out this clip that I caught on my Voice Memos App on my iPhone and some video footage of the campground.

How many times have you had your dream set free? Here is one of my dreams being set free and I want to share it with you.

A Dream Set Free is a beautiful new song written by me and my friends at the 16th annual Taproot Teacher Training, hosted by Jean Miller, of Art of Homeschooling and Barbara Dewey of Waldorf Without Walls.

Over 30 amazing friends came together for this training and retreat from all over the USA to Camp Asbury in Ohio. These incredible parents and teachers are changing the world on breath of love at a time. 

It was an inward and outward, playful and collaborative project that was so amazing!

Guess who was in this session?

Amber Hellewell of Hearth Magic and published author of the new book, A Summer's Call: A Michigan Day.

What a great start to our session, having her with us.

In the water with my mermaid friends

...

Anna and I have made you another Tea Time video.

Summer Iced Tea Time

Anna has been a big help here at Living Music. She loves music and she loves helping me make videos.

She is featured in 8 of my Youtube videos and she is in my piano courses, Playful Pentatonic Piano. In the courses, she is featured singing the songs, playing the songs, and playing the games. 

The teens these days spill the tea with each other, so we spilled some tea together on our ride to get some lunch. 

Wait until you hear what she is up to!

It is so hot! It is not normally this hot yet, I am missing my 80s temperatures, as we are experiences high 90s-100s in Atlanta.  

Summer is here, and I told her that I am excited about getting ready for my trip to

Ohio, for Taproot Teacher Training.

She had some really great things to say, I love middle school kids!

Here is what I asked her: 

• What do you think of music today? How does it compare to older music?
• The way...

May your journey be safe,

May your worries be few,

And may love always guide what you do

May you grow like a forest straight toward the light,

Grounded in the mother earth

Every year at Taproot Teacher Training we sing this as our closing song.

Want to hear it? Click here

What a beautiful song to bless us all as we enter back in with our families to renew our homeschool journey.

Barbara Dewey and Jean Miller, along with our Taproot team, gave such great value. We all tuned in live on Zoom to the workshops, got hands on experiences, got to participate in the chat, and meet in breakout rooms. I got to invite everyone to sing my song, Joyful Creation, live on Zoom, on Friday, with Miriam and her kids; and then live on Saturday at the hotel. The event was so wonderful and we all felt such a sweet connection.

What I find most fascinating is that this event usually takes place every year in Cleveland, Ohio, with a max of about 30 parents; but...