Pathway To Peace Course

A close friend of mine suggested I do a writing course with her called “Pathway to Peace” a few weeks ago. It was a four week course, and this past week was the final week of the course. It was an amazing experience, and I turned a couple of the writing prompts into songs.

The final assignment was writing a sacred letter to your younger self. I had plenty to write, but here were the three most important points I walked away with for my past and future self:

  1. Maintain the belief that you are worthy. Everything in life is a process, and believing in your worth is not something I take for granted. But for me, it is essential and deserves time and effort.
  2. Prioritize your health as being critically important. I learned some tough lessons early, and ignoring what your body needs means you’re too broken to show up for the stuff that matters if you don’t listen. And by then it’s much harder, if even possible, to fix the problem.
  3. Be true to yourself. Cliche, but so true. Trying to force yourself to become someone else version of what’s right for you will leave you feeling empty and drained. I’m really flawed, but I also have good things to offer. If I ignore that completely, everyone will miss out on the good stuff. 🙂

Musings for a Saturday. The air finally cleared later today, and I’m grateful for it. I’m happy I can finally think clearly and don’t have a burning sensation in my throat. 🙂

Skin

Today was a difficult day, and this week’s been more difficult than other weeks. Over the past few years and months, the unfair and harsh realities of life have become acutely clear, and my ability to cope has been truly tested.

One ray of sunshine is my latest release going live in a few hours. 🙂 This song is about loving yourself as you are, and accepting truths you can’t change and yet valuing your growth and potential no matter what other people say or do to you. It’s one of my favourites. I hope you all enjoy it and are able to find peace and joy this weekend.

Broken, Perfect (Album) – I can’t believe it’s finally over

A huge thanks to all the people I roped into this project: we did it. 🙂 Robert sent me the final versions of all the masters for “Broken, Perfect” last week, and I uploaded all of them on Soundcloud on Friday. Here’s the link! https://soundcloud.com/samayaformusic/albums

My friend Maira (an amazing graphic designer) designed the cover, and captured the heart of what I was trying to convey incredibly well. Thank you!

I can’t believe it’s done. Strange mixture of emotions, relief (we made it to the finish line), happiness (OMG, I’ve released my second album!!), but also a very real sense of loss (what’s the point of my life now??). A part of me almost feels shell shocked, because we’ve been pounding the pavement so hard for a while to get the album done. I think this is what empty nest syndrome must feel like. 🙂

The next project is our show at Brick and Mortar on August 6th (Sunday). The date is coming up really fast; I feel like this crazy year’s been speeding by.

Wish me luck on everything else to come, and hope you all had an amazing weekend!image1

Cycles: New Track on Soundcloud!

Just uploaded a new track on Soundcloud! If you’d like see us live at Monroe, get tickets here: http://aftonshows.com/samaya.

Cycles went through several incarnations, and we had to go back to the drawing board and do everything over for this one. It’s funny how that happens to songs on albums sometimes. 🙂 When I released the first version of the track that Robert and I wrote, we really liked it. We listened to the original version a few months later and couldn’t stand it anymore and realized it was completely different from the album concept.

We’re working hard on the show now and time’s flying by; I can’t believe April’s almost over!

Joy

Amazing Saturday, went for a swim, worked on music, had lunch with good friends, fantastic weather, and just had a great voice lesson working on one of my original songs. My voice instructor told me the 15/8 time signature totally works, and I’m really excited to keep working on it until it’s good enough to perform live. Can’t wait!

Fresh ideas blossom

Working on two new songs. I finished writing one of them six years ago and put it on the back burner for years…it felt great to pick it up again and still be able to work on it like it was fresh in my mind. Both of these will hopefully go on a new album soon.

Sudden Inspiration

Just started putting together the skeleton of a song I finished writing six years ago. It’s probably the most straightforward song I’ve ever composed and I’m hoping all the experience I’ve gained writing the songs for the EP will make this one easier. I’m excited to see it come together. The lyrics are particularly relevant the current time frame in my life. Wish me luck, world!

Vocals Done!

Two nights of vocal recordings done…Loved every second of it. About to drink some herbal magic mix to repair my vocal chords. I torched my back as well and the sprain’s resurfaced again. Almost time to take my exhausted body to bed. My world is at peace tonight. I love you, Universe!

Writer’s Block

I’m stuck writing the only remaining song for the album. I thought it would be the easiest one to write, because it’s the most fun and light song on the album. I’ve been watching dance videos on YouTube to try and get in the right mood, but nothing yet. The videos were awesome, though. Wish me luck!