Music Meditations: Sound Healing Bites w/East Forest

063: Let It Out

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:29:56 -0700

In the words of Charles Eisenstein, let us release the "more beautiful world our hearts tell us is possible." It's not 99% versus 1%, it's 100% and we're waking up together. Let us let it out. This is the great release from all we have been holding, Let go. Open arms. Wide Heart.

062: PCH

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:31:16 -0700

First a heart felt thank you to recent East Forest donations from,

Hayden M.
Steven T.

Your support and thoughtful help keep me motivated and the EF ship running.

In this episode of the podcast settle into this live version of Pacific Coast Highway recorded in Utah. Breath into the gentle ebb and flow. Sometimes it takes patience to forgive ourselves in instances when we could have acted smarter or been less careless. But we all dance amongst the full range of colors of habit. It takes errors for us to learn where and how we want to go higher. We have to fall to rise. It is part of the way we learn here - it is Law. Allow it, accept it, and forgive ourselves as we stumble through it. All we can ask is for grace.

061: End Of The Road

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:45:26 -0700

Karina and I headed out to go backpacking last weekend and as we were driving to the trailhead the road suddenly ended: there was a giant sinkhole rendering the forest road impassible. It was hot, nearing the middle of the day, and as opposed to turning around we decided to park the car right there and march forward hiking the remaining five miles on foot to the trailhead. While it wasn't the most enjoyable five miles across hot pavement, it reminded me of the importance of flexibility and of moving forward even when we hit the 'end of the road'. When obstacles present themselves or when our planned expectations seem to have run out, consider the alternative perhaps slower approach. We can always put one foot in front of the other and see where each step leads us. The path is curvy and dots don't always connect in a linear fashion but our main job is to continue onward with heart filled trust in a process that is larger than an immediate obstacle - like water finding it's way to the ocean our job is to just keep flowing.

060: Landing

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:03:01 -0700

Wow, it's been a bit of a break since my last post! I've been enjoying the Oregon summer, traveling a bunch, and getting started on a few new music projects. Thank you for your patience.

First, let me thank recent donation of the EF ship:

Jon T.
Alison M.

Thank you!

I have been dreaming up some new creations. The podcast might get (or already has?) a little less than weekly, but I'm thinking of making of a comp album of certain podcast releases. Greatest hits anyone? I'm up for suggestions...

059: portLanders (excerpt)

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:27:08 -0700

Here is a little slice of a new live ceremony recording now available titled, "portLanders". Download the entire 70 minute concert from the East Forest downloads music page: http://www.eastforet.org/downloads.

I will be away for nearly all of July heading into the jungles of Peru. Please excuse the radio silence in the meantime. Enjoy the portLanders sound journey and I hope to have many new field recordings to weave into even wilder East Forest creations upon my return.

Many blessings.

058: Come Home

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:30:52 -0700

What is it like to travel a lifetime (or a thousand) and make your way home after a trip so long that you don't even remember where it began? Close your eyes, listen with calm breath, and see where your heart is leading you. What does it mean to come home?

057: Why'd You Go

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:40:36 -0700

Live track (well, they're all 'live' - this one just had other people listening at the time of recording) from a ceremony held in Portland Oregon. A lament for the running we do from our center, from the true action, from ourselves. Why do we go?

056: Roll With It

Mon, 30 May 2011 19:53:19 -0700

Rolling with the punches often helps when you take them one at a time. The multi-tasking can leave you breathless and bruised. Take a moment, eyes closed, and listen to this meditation and ponder the focus you have for any task -- that you conquer with gentle singular attention.

055: It Just Is

Tue, 24 May 2011 13:08:28 -0700

Close your eyes and repeat (silently) after me, "It just is". Follow this internal mantra with the rhythm of your breath or perhaps the phrasing of the music and see where it takes you. How does it feel to release into and acknowledge all that is 'so beyond'? The recognition and acceptance of 'what is' is a sweet surrender. Allow it to just exist like a mother waiting for a child to be born.

054: Old Skin

Tue, 10 May 2011 12:14:01 -0700

Like a snake shedding its skin many of us are facing opportunities to shed our old skin - unwanted habits, in-artful behaviors, and just plain sloppy living. An old skin can be very familiar and comfortable but it doesn't always want to let go. Everything changes, everything serves its purpose in its time. Shedding our tired ways might seem like a lot of work but the reward is an entire new way of being that is just waiting to be born.

Eyes closed and with simple awareness, what comes up for you while listening to this meditation that might be an invitation to shed?

053: Waiting

Mon, 02 May 2011 15:19:21 -0700

You can't stare at a plant and watch it grow. You have to give it space, come back another week, and slowly over time, you will notice the increased height, the larger leaves, and the bending towards light. The plant is growing but it takes a little patience to observe. So many things in life require us to just let them be so they can play out, grow at their own pace, and we can check in down the line to appreciate the progress. Obsessing over the details along the way is not only futile but infuriating. A little water, love, and space is sometimes all it takes.

052: How Low Do You Want To Go

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:08:39 -0700

How low do we want to go? What depths do we have to reach? How deep does it have to be to clear the way for the more beautiful world we know is possible?

051: It's Ok

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:28:26 -0700

A call to the fire keepers: it is time to tend the fire. Mercury retrograde, the rising of a new season, endless Portland rain, whatever you want to call it, for me, it has been a hell of a few weeks. It seems like nothing is on my side and I have had to go back to the basics: media fast, welcome in base-line consciousness, double up the meditation, and extra nature. Even driving a few hours east into the desert just to get a few hours of sun isn’t doing the trick. I'm searching for grace on the deck of a sinking cultural booze cruise. The Great Cleanse is far from over and I wish to remind us all to tend the fire of hope that remains lit at the core of our being. The fire represents the part of us that knows it’s all ok. The flames are waning but it is far from out. It just needs a little attention. What can you burn?

050: Galactic Ranch Ceremony

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:24:28 -0700

In honor of the 50th episode of Music Meditations (or 'Sound Healing Bites', or 'Sound Journeys', or whatever you want to call it) please enjoy this gift: a complete 65 minute live sound healing ceremony, recorded live on the spring equinox/full moon of 2011 in the Utah high desert. The equinox is a time of change, hope, and opportunity. What do you want to leave behind and what do you want to plant as a new seed as we tilt closer to the sun in our cycle? I want to try new things, new sounds, new experiences unencumbered by my history or past explorations - I want to invite in the new. Lie down and join the journey! And thank you for listening and participating with me on this podcast adventure.

049: Learning To Die

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:11:24 -0700

Apologies for the late release - I was in Utah spinning musical webs. I hope to have a few releases from that trip ready soon. In the meantime here is a musically guided meditation for us to contemplate the notion that we need to 'die to be alive'. What is waiting to be released to allow for your true freedom?

048: Patterns

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 18:29:42 -0700

A meditation for the people of Japan. When something goes what comes in? When you leave one thing behind what are you moving towards? When something leaves something invariably fills its place. Balance is sought. Our job is to bring intention to the void. Let us invite compassion.

047: Hold On If You Can

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:05:50 -0800

The brighter the light the greater the shadow that may be cast. Amidst the darkness of chaos and desolation so also exists cooperation, forgiveness, and new ways of being. As light intensifies the shadow slowly recedes eventually being completely consumed by the ambient all pervading brightness. The fire will burn out -- hold on to your inner knowing that all will find balance and peace.

046: You Are What You Are

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:20:03 -0800

Sometimes it can be so hard to allow the quiet stillness of who you are. In a material external world we often have a good deal of 'matter' between our heart and our mind. Forgiveness opens the doorway and behind forgiveness lies the great I Am. The release into being is beautiful and this track invites you to surrender to what is: the perfect balance of this eternal presence, the perfect balance that is you.

045: The Path

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:22:13 -0800

I don't know about you but my mind often wants to know everything. But maybe we are not meant to know it all. We live in a world of information sickness where any mundane answer is a few key strokes away but the greater answers of our lives remain elusive and behind the veil. Such is our path. At the end of the day, the path is all we know. It is everything. And it is all we need to know.

044: Live on-board Crystal Starship (Excerpt)

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:25:41 -0800

The first track from a live ceremony held on a farm lovingly called the Crystal Starship. Hop on board and see where the journey takes you.
You can download the entire ceremony at, http://www.eastforest.org/downloads.

043: Go

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:35:42 -0800

Just returning from a weekend of live work and really feeling the vibe. This meditation asks where you are dreaming to go? Perhaps it's time to bring a little intention to our vector, Victor.

042: MothersMilk

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:29:33 -0800

Special guest Katy Kanfer adds her amazing vocals on this musical improvisation of swirling tones. Also in the Love Tuning. I hope it swims around your heart. Thank you Katy!

041: Trailblazing

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:51:08 -0800

Now in Solfeggio/Love Tuning frequencies! - this week's podcast kicks off the use of a new tuning, the "Solfeggio Frequencies or Love Tuning". I have retuned my music to be slightly away from the traditional A=440Hz tuning into what is described anecdotally as the "love tuning", a tuning reportedly more in line with the frequencies and vibrations of our natural world. More information to follow on the Music Meditations podcast page.

And, this week's release is accompanied by a video version of me snow shoeing at Crater Lake. You can check out the video here: http://www.eastforest.org/?p=862

Check it out and let me know if you feel a greater heart awareness with these frequencies?

040: The Sound

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:07:49 -0800

Sound is the physicality that emanates from your body and ripples across time and space, sending your signature resonance, your filtered interpretation, your call to being, to all of the universe. Like a stone dropped into the ocean the ripple continues. Sound is your physical connection to all that is. Consider the power of your words. What do you want to incarnate? What do you want to call? Do you dream a more beautiful world your heart tells you is possible? Speak it.

This Sound Meditation is the third in a series from a live ceremony held in Portland Oregon held on 1/1/11.

039: Almost There

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:13:12 -0800

I'm just going to say it: I think we are almost there. Where is "there"? If it isn't somewhere then it is a whole lot from nowhere. It is the center that has no center, the end point that marks the beginning, it is a completion that is both ugly and beautiful at the same time - confusing and confounding - a complete and utter mind melter. Lead with your heart, Know, walk with the intuitive wild abandon that has led you right where you are. There is nothing to fear because it is looking like we designed it all ourselves -- we can never be lost.

This is the second release in a series from a live ceremony head in Portland, Oregon on 1/1/11.

038: Made It This Far

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:53:23 -0800

How far have we traveled to get to this moment? How long have we been on the road? Do you sense a closing of tasks and time? Perhaps we are at a place ripe for clearing out of the closets and for welcoming in our highest selves. We're almost there, what are we waiting for?

This Sound Meditation is the first in a series from a live ceremony held in Portland Oregon held on 1/1/11.

037: Solstice Slice

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:13:04 -0800

What's real?

036: Allow

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:42:33 -0800

I recently finished a cleanse. The master cleanse that is. I had known intuitively for several months that I wanted to do the cleanse but my mind had other ideas. In short, I was terrified of starting the endeavor and my ego came up with all sorts of wild 'what if' scenarios in a blitzkrieg attempt to keep me from diving in. But once I got into it, it really wasn't as scary as I had been thinking. Challenges came up, I dealt with them, and moved on. Like so many ideas or events in our lives that we might have major mental blockages with, you often just need to start - like jumping in a cold lake - you just do it. The sooner we can allow in what is knocking at the doorstep of our lives the less mental suffering we will have to endure. And more often than not, the process isn't as bad as we thought. What is asking to be allowed into your life?

035: Sugar Shuffle

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:08:11 -0800

How would it change your thinking if you lived under the premise that we always get what we want? Maybe it's time to start defining your desires and proclaim them out to the universe, allowing the intention to ripple, ricochet, and see what bounces back. Is it coincidence or synchronically? Are you running a victim mentality or a co-creative collaboration? Perhaps we just need to wake up to the fact that out hands are on the joystick of life whether we like it or not and it's time to define (out loud) what we want.

034: Run If You Want To Run

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:58:23 -0800

I have been thinking this week about how the search can sometimes be the surrender. We sometimes feel that we are on a continuous wheel of searching, wanting something more, something in the future, something missing in this dualistic existence - always running. And simultaneously we can recognize that the end result is always surrender - letting go to what is, releasing our grasping, ending the "search". But the search leads one to that realization, it fuels the surrender. It is a sort of paradox that happily coexists and needs to exist. The in and out of our consciousness, the grasping and releasing is the fuel of existence, the fuel of the being. So run if you want to run as you will always end up in the same place.

033: Always By Your Side

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 23:01:53 -0800

As you place the headphones on your head and close your eyes visualize a spiral. As we move relentlessly forwards we are ever turning -- inwards to an irresistible point of attraction, an omega point destination where inevitability and free will meet. Our rotations of experience move faster and faster as we reach the fractal event horizon. And as we all spiral along together in space time recognize that we are always side by side, across the way, spiraling together, past, future or present still one fully connected vector. You are never alone. You are never lost.

032: Fly Higher

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:31:06 -0800

If you were to dream really big what exactly would you want? You still have to 'chop the wood' but how? What kind of world do you want to live in? Get specific, write it down and see what happens.

031: No Where To Run

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:25:20 -0700

There is no where to run on this spiraling rock. Where are you going? We are all headed in the same direction. But where are we collectively headed? How do our individual paths connect and how do they inform our shared journey? In a way, we have already arrived, as there is no where to go, but our choices -- our individual vectors -- add our unique intentional mojo into the mix. How much grace can we each bring as we place one foot in front of the other - how much grace can we exercise in a choose your own adventure path that maintains a fixed direction? What intentionality can you bring to the endless momentum that pulls us all forwards? There is no where to run, so why not walk.

030: Love

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 20:51:26 -0700

Track 2/2 from the Utah 10-10-10 live ceremony.
We never know who is really running the show. Our minds? Our hearts? A guru? Big brother? All of the above I suppose. It can be frustrating sometimes to want to get a grasp on where we are and were we are headed.
Sometimes the best antidote is to let go, trust, say, "I don't know", and rest in Love. Meditation 30 invites such surrender.

029: Hold On While You Can

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:08:41 -0700

Here are two tracks from a live sound healing ceremony in Utah on 10-10-10, one released this week and another in next week's podcast.
Meditation 29, "Hold On While You Can" asks the question, are you willing to be who you need to be? What stands in your way? Letting go into the unknown reveals the grace of existence and sets us forward on our path. Are you ready to allow your highest self to come into existence? Can you allow what you need to be?

028: How Far To Fall

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:20:58 -0700

Part two of your double feature week.
The image attached to this MP3 is of a crack in a sidewalk in Brooklyn where the front tire of my bicycle slipped ever so briefly and the next thing I knew I had two horribly broken bones in my left arm. This was over three years ago but I often find myself exploring the trauma and searching for the place it fits in my path. I don't have any easy answers but wonder how far can we dive in?

027: Alive

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:17:04 -0700

I'll be away for the next two weeks because I'm getting married. That's right. Taking it deeper. So you get another double feature.
I was digging through some of the unreleased recordings and these two jumped out just now. 'Alive' came out of the pressure we all feel from this top heavy society - but somehow it's all divine. What comes up for you when you listen?

026: Jefferson Park

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:07:53 -0700

Close your eyes, slap in the headphones and picture Jefferson Park. Jefferson Park is an Alpine wonderland in the central Cascade range of Oregon. At 6000 feet in altitude you are often inside the clouds as they roll in, and at sunset the longitudinal light turns the air orange-yellow and suddenly, for a brief moment, you are bathed in the body of the sun. Mt. Jefferson towers above, day and night, snow and rain, resolute and patiently grounding our experience.

025: Uncoiling

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:24:14 -0700

Thacher Schmid returns on Violin and Mandocaster!
Are we coming undone, or are we coming together? Are we living in a prison or are we unlocking one door after another? Do you want to close down or do you want to open up? Change often arrives in as a beautiful mess. Without slinging mud, what opportunities do you see in the challenges that you face?

024: 13:13

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:45:05 -0700

Meditation 24, "13:13" will take you deep into the womb inner exploration. Ride out the pulsing waves and allow yourself to emerge in the flow.

023: Have What You Have

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:47:44 -0700

Meditation 23.

022: August Ceremony - V

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:19:23 -0700

Part 5 of 5 in the August Ceremony. Thanks for listening and for taking the trip!

021: August Ceremony - IV

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:01:10 -0700

I'm back! Here is part 4 of 5 of the August ceremony.

020: August Ceremony - III

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 21:15:04 -0700

Part 3 of 5. I'll be out of town for two weeks so hence the double release this week. I'm going to hit the coast, all the way down to southern utah, and back to eastern oregon for some wilderness.

019: August Ceremony - II

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 21:13:21 -0700

Part 2 of 5 - the Portland Ceremony, August 2010.

018: August Ceremony - I

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:50:47 -0700

Meditation 18 starts a five part series. This track is 1 of 5 live improvisations from a ceremony held in Portland Oregon, summer of 2010. The five tracks combined form the entire keyboard section of the journey. Collect all five and have a safe trip!

017: You Are Where You Are

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:49:44 -0700

We're all running circles (or spirals?) together on this giant rock hurtling through space. Here's a meditation on where you are and where you intend to go.

016: Mary's Song

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:16:01 -0700

It's not easy waking up every day and going through the motions of participation in our insane dream. It's a drag sometimes to walk the walk in a sea of apparent "right" and "wrong". Meditation 16 asks us to stick around a little longer and reminds us that our energy does matter, our participation is integral, and this crazy game is not as crazy as it might seem.

015: Live Ceremony

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:22:02 -0700

Meditation 15 is track from the EF archives - a little piece of a live sound healing ceremony from New Year's Eve 2009 in central California.

014: So Much Time

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:36:52 -0700

Happy 4th of July! A meditation on what it mean to be in a hurry, how we're all running around on the same rock hurtling together through space. We're all on the same vector Victor, what kind of trip do you want to have?

013: Walk When You Walk

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:10:34 -0700

It doesn't matter so much what we do, what occupation we identify with, because our real being is in how we treat ourselves in each enfolding moment - in how much compassion we have for the endless banal thoughts that pass by, our hurried pace, and in our participation in what we sometimes might feel is a bankrupt game. Each moment invites us to deepen our breath and open our hearts - each moment becomes an opportunity to become more full.

012: Step Into The Dark

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:33:05 -0700

Close your eyes and step into the night.

011: Wedding Invitations

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:21:21 -0700

One old typewriter, one simple push, get on with it!

010: Slowly, But Forward

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:21:18 -0700

Special guest Thacher Schmid joins us on Violin and Viola! Slip into this meditation duo.

009: The Wait Is Nearly Over

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:42:27 -0700

Sit back, slap on the headphones, and relax into this mantra of reassurance on your path.

008: Jane's Dream

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 11:58:36 -0700

Meditation 8 takes on a journey with Grandma Jane who is 96 and she recounts a dream she had the other night.

007: I Want To Know

Fri, 28 May 2010 16:54:00 -0700

I'm sure you understand this and that but what do you Know and what would it take to awaken that endless knowledge?

006: Trying Not To Fall

Sat, 22 May 2010 17:26:10 -0700

Slow down jam with a little fear to let go.

005: HowLong

Wed, 19 May 2010 11:51:03 -0700

A little harp and piano with a questions of endurance.

004: What Do You Know

Mon, 17 May 2010 20:29:37 -0700

A dreamy question of perception

003: What You Want To Be

Mon, 17 May 2010 20:27:37 -0700

Jungle bugs, goat skin drums, and more!

002: Rustle, Rustle

Mon, 17 May 2010 20:20:21 -0700

Episode 2 brings you to the Catskill mountains

001: You Know

Mon, 17 May 2010 19:05:29 -0700

Live improvisational recordings from East Forest (& friends) designed to set you free!