When did you first start exploring your spiritual side?
I think I’ve always been aware of this side of myself.

How does music connect with your spirituality for you?
I think in the same way that ancient tribes would use rhythm to trance themselves into alternate states of mind, Music is a very potent vessel to these other worlds. You can discover a lot of things about yourself in that place.

What was your first spiritual experience?
As a child I remember sometimes I would sit in stillness and I was aware my senses would disappear and my mind would swirl into eternity. It was many years later I realised I was basically meditating!

I hear that your new album is interlinked with a reading. Could you tell more?
It was not so much a reading but actually a ceremony which was the turning point in my life that resulted in these songs. I was experiencing an internal crisis at the time, I was in a pretty dark place, this resulted in me taking part in an Ayahuasca ceremony where I experienced a whole new perspective on life with such a profound clarity.

What do you want to get across with your album? Is there a message? A certain way you want listeners to feel?
Though I wish for it to inspire I try not to be didactic in my words or in my subject, all I can really comment on is what inspired me to write it.

What are your goals going forward, musically and spiritually?
At the moment I am trying to rid myself of all my addictions. I am travelling through Europe and writing more at the moment, I have been all around but settled in Belgium for now, there’s some wonderful musicians here and some beautiful places. I plan on recording another album very soon.

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For more information on how you can listen to the album please visit https://davidellisuk.bandcamp.com/album/misty-heights   or find it on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/album/2PgyszrJb7PbMsM0Rip1T9?si=6Ez6FpmpQuCTXp4a-WvR-w

For more information about David, you can find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/davidellisUK/

FINJA is the creator of original songs inspired by life, love and spirit. Her intention is to uplift her listeners out of time and place and move them into a state of joy and empowerment. She believes in the virtue of music as medicine and its inherent ability to bypass the noise of the head and be received in the heart. Her bold and buoyant message is expressed through her music and the way she lives life. But this hasn’t always been the case. For Finja, adversity and drama was the catalyst that propelled her out of a life lived dreaming in the shadows and onto the path of making those dreams a reality.

Finja had always wanted to sing, write and perform her own songs. But, like most of us, she kept her singing to the confines of the shower, and as she “grew up” she convinced herself she’d missed the boat and that her dream was an unrealistic one.

In her mid-twenties Finja studied metaphysics and consciousness, and discovered bhakti yoga, kirtan and plant medicine circles. At age 29, right in the middle of her saturn return, she moved to Ubud, Bali:

“A place where spirituality and self-expression go hand in hand. It was liberating and inspiring to be amongst it.”

Being in a community of open-minded, spiritual seekers she began fantasising about using her voice to uplift others. It was here that she met the father of her firstborn child. Finja fondly describes him as an incredibly playful character and their relationship as a wild adventure.

“He helped bring my voice out with his words of encouragement. Beating my chest as a drum he would tell me I shine. We would ride our motorbikes down the streets of Ubud singing at the top of our lungs and laughing hysterically like school kids. It put the playfulness back into singing and the joy back into my heart. I felt like a care-free child, a feeling which was missing in my youth.”

As fun-loving as their relationship was it was also very volatile. After two years of chaos it ended in a painful separation. One year later Finja was informed of the suicide of her former partner. This was a devastating blow and Finja felt a deep sense of loss and regret for what could’ve been.

Her now husband, a new friend at the time, sent her some recordings of Abraham-Hicks; source energy channelled by Esther Hicks and master teachers of the most powerful law in the universe – the Law of Attraction. From their perspective, every death is a form of suicide. Their teachings describe us as eternal and that there is no death, only life. This is because we move as individual conscious spirits between the physical and non-physical planes. These concepts really resonated with Finja.

“It took the stigma out of suicide. I released the guilt and shame I felt, and the fear of blame from others. I made peace with his choice and I felt love for him in a more unconditional way.”

During her time of grieving Finja removed herself from the influence of the outside world. She went within and the songs started to pour out of her. The first one she wrote was borne out of a desire to honour the love that existed between her and her deceased former partner. In her despair she found the courage to approach a producer, expose the vulnerability of her heart and mind and begin recording; a process she describes as thrilling.

Now, just two years later, and having officially released her debut single ‘Calling You Home’, she feels only gratitude for what she describes as her dark night of the soul.

“It motivated me to pursue my dreams. I was tired of feeling low. It was so painful that I found a new determination to feel good, to see the light and create a future that could be very bright.”

‘Calling You Home’ can be described as a beautiful lullaby that is sung from the perspective of your inner being, your spirit within, to you. Inspired by the teachings on manifestation by Abraham-Hicks, Finja’s intention is for it to remind you of your divinity and to gently empower you with the knowledge that you can do, be and have whatever you want.

Reflecting upon her journey, Finja credits her new found sense of freedom and confidence to the adversity she faced and, specifically, to the tools she received.  These tools of manifestation empowered her to transmute an experience of tragedy and misfortune into a life lived in joy, power and purpose.

“I’ve finally given myself permission to sing from an untrained, intuitive space and to songwrite for the pure love of it. I craft my lyrics to remind my listeners, and myself, that our power and potential as humans is limitless.”

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FINJA would like to offer my readers a FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD of her single, Calling You Home, found here:

http://bit.ly/finjamusic

Listen to FINJA’s music here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5Z6qqRdacvgZxIBZUsqvl6

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/finjamusic/finja-calling-you-home

Youtube: https://youtu.be/qSpcLFMcFQM

Connect with FINJA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovefinjamusic/

Contact FINJA at finjamusic@gmail.com

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We’ve all heard people claiming that learning an instrument is a good way to manage our mental well-being. But is there any truth to that? What is it about learning an instrument, that’s so good for our state of mind?

Well, as a multi-instrumentalist who’s always learning something new, I can tell you what makes instrumental learning so beneficial for your mental health.

1) Relaxation

Learning an instrument can be incredibly relaxing and good for your health. Especially if you learn to play a classical instrument, which involves reading notation. As you focus on the notation, your mind clears of other things and the experience is akin to meditation.

If classical isn’t your thing, you can relax just as much playing guitar or even bass or drums. Allow yourself to feel the rhythm and to become absorbed by it. We all have rhythm: just listen to your pulse if you don’t believe me.

2) Creativity and Catharsis

Even with just a basic grasp of an instrument, you can use it to be creative. With the notes, chords or beats that you know, you can create something expressive and even cathartic. If you have something to get off your chest, try letting it out through music. It’s the universal language. Music is a superior communicator.

Creativity doesn’t have to occur when you are already suffering. It can be a part of staying mentally healthy as you make tunes, chord patterns or even full songs. After creating something, you’ll notice that your mood lifts tremendously. It’s a wonderful feeling.

3) Achievement

The longer you spend learning an instrument, the greater sense of achievement you will feel. Some people like to go through the grades, gaining certificates that recognise that progression. It doesn’t suit everybody, but it’s one way of gaining a sense of achievement.

Lots of self-teaching books are progressive, so you can measure how well you’re doing by how far through the book you are. Each time you complete a page, that is an achievement. Be proud of yourself.

4) Community

Learning to play can also be great for your social life. There are all-abilities orchestras that are great for beginner classical musicians which have a huge range of benefits including improving self confidence and sense of community and teamwork. If it’s rock that you’re doing, you’ll be band-ready before you think you are. Learn a few songs and ask around. A lot of people are amateur musicians, who would love to be in a band for fun! If you don’t know anybody who’s interested, a quick Google search for ‘find me a band’ will help you out. Have confidence. You’ve put the time into learning these songs. It’s time to make it even more fun for yourself!

5) Lifelong Skills

Finally, learning to play an instrument will equip you with lifelong skills. Whilst it’s true that you will become rusty if you don’t play for a while, you will always be able to pick it back up.

Learning to play an instrument is like learning to drive, ride a bike or speak a language. You will always be able to say, to yourself and to others, “I can do that.” 🙂

Summary

Learning an instrument is a long-term goal. However, if you set yourself manageable goals and don’t push yourself too hard too soon, you will have a rewarding hobby that will become a skill for life.

If you’ve never played an instrument before, don’t be afraid to jump straight in. Guitars are more affordable than ever and you can get great electric guitars on a budget.

Playing music can be challenging, creative or relaxing. All three of these are good for your mental health. You might decide you’d like the guidance of a teacher, or you might prefer to progress at your own pace, by yourself. If you choose the autonomous route, there are a lot of great online resources that can help you.

Good luck in your musical journey. It can help you to stay healthy when you’re well and can work as a refuge when you’re less mentally healthy. Music is a gift that belongs to us all.

Somehow listening to music while attending to the most mind-numbing tasks makes it all worthwhile. And we’ve all experienced that urge to perform the guitar solo for our favorite song. Or maybe you’ve noticed your fingers tapping along to the piano while you waited for your download. Amazing isn’t it? Those two seconds of pretend where you produced a magnificent piece of music for the entire world to hear? And just who said it had to say pretend?

With today’s innovations and the powerful reach of the internet, it seems there are no limits to what we can achieve. And given the right tools and steady motivation, your dreams of playing an instrument can become a reality!

Tutors at Your Fingertips:

Learning music is not easy. But it can become that much less difficult with the right teacher. Ten maybe fifteen years ago, you might have had to scour the land (or your neighborhood) searching for the right teacher. Someone nice, someone patient and someone available. Not to mention someone willing to take you on and someone affordable of course. And let’s not even get into trying to fit the music classes into your everyday schedule. Or rather fitting your entire life around your music lessons.

But thanks to the technology we have available today you can peruse whole lists of available tutors. And if you decide to take a break from your music then that’s not a problem. Because you can come back after a while and your music tutor can just take things from the top!

Sharing Your Journey:

The most difficult subject in school always felt the easiest because you had your friends to help you. If you’re just starting your musical journey you can share it online and find other amateur musicians who are maybe struggling in the same places you are. Finding a support group to fall back on for your problems is now just a few clicks away as the internet continues to bring people closer together.

An Ever Available Source of Guidance:

If you know anyone that can play an instrument ask them how difficult it can be to secure an audience to sit in for every practice piece. And even if you can beg your family to attend one of your mini concerts most of the time the critique you get are in the form of praises only for the parts where you were good. Maybe they don’t want to hurt your feelings by bringing up your short-comings. But most of the times they don’t have the technical training to tell you if you were off or the places where you could improve.

Nowadays, however, you can just upload your practice piece and over time you’ll find that there plenty of people willing to listen and critique your work. Knowing the internet, a lot of it might just be people trying to be funny. But you can also find genuinely enthusiastic people willing to help you improve.

Think of the Money You’ve Saved:

Learning and even playing music can be very expensive. Let’s add the cost of the instruments, the equipment required to fine tune your pieces to the money you would have to pay your music teacher. And already you begin thinking of a more affordable passion to pursue.

But now all you need is to find the best piano plungins that arecompatible with your computer and you are ready to go. And you don’t even have to settle for the available option that often comes with an unreasonable price. You can compare and try out different plugins until you find the one that is right for you. Especially since most of them are free.

All the Time in the World:

Welcome to a world where you no longer have to reorder your life to accommodate your practice schedule. Are you finding a hard time getting in a lesson in the morning? That’s fine. You can do it in the afternoon. Are you really a night person? Not a problem. Just finish up the rest of your chores, make yourself a hot cup of coffee and settle in for a satisfying jam session.

In a world where your music teacher can be reached at any time and anywhere you get to decide when to have your music lesson. And even whether you feel like having the same lesson over and over until you’ve got it right.

State of The Art Equipment:

Say you’ve mastered your music lessons and you’re friends and fans are cheering you on to write your own music. So you sit down to write your original songs but where do you record them? And don’t you need really expensive equipment to tune it? Not anymore. Now all the equipment you could need is available in a digital format and free!

You can just download the different software you need to record and arrange your music and start your very own studio in your bedroom.

A World Stage:

You don’t even have to worry about making multiple copies of your songs to send to record companies in the hopes that they will hear you. All you have to do is share your music online for the world stage and wait for the record companies to come to you. And if you have the talent then they will come to you.

And if you don’t find a big record label to back you then you can just produce your music yourself! In today’s world, an artist is not limited by the lack of a big label. Go ahead! Keep producing your music for free online and build your fan base. Pay forward a bit of what you have received for free from the internet. And earn thousands of fans in the progress.

The Sky Is The Limit:

Thanks to the same innovation that helped you achieve your musical dream there is no end to what you can create. You can start your own music channel, or you can turn out music tutorials. Maybe even offer critique and consultancy to other up and coming artists or even produce their music from your channel. The only limit is your imagination.

In Conclusion:

Music is the purest form of energy and inspiration. It allows us to share our favorite memories and bond over mutual experiences. Listening to good music is like taking a deep breath of clean air. Perhaps the only thing better is making music. Putting notes that float around in your head onto a piece of paper. And then finding the right instrument to help the broken sounds in your head become a symphony. Learning how to play a musical instrument is nowhere near as difficult and expensive as it used to seem. All you need to do is reach out and find the right place to help you achieve your dream.

The music industry is one which is always on the rise. With new artists adding their contributions to the mix each and every day, it can be very hard to find what you’re looking for when you want to listen to something new. Of course, though, this growth impacts the musicians themselves more than anyone else. With listeners struggling to find their tunes, they won’t be able to build a following, and this leaves a lot of the biggest out there to have to search for tools which can support them. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the best examples of them.

Viral Marketing

As the first area to think about, the music industry is one of the biggest in the world when it comes to viral marketing. With this media being very easy to spread around, getting it into the hands of loads of people isn’t too hard, as long as you can create a craze to go along with it. There have been several artists and groups over the last few years who have been able to take advantage of the way content flows around the web. This will most commonly occur on social media sites like YouTube, as these places tend to have the most users.

Social Media Marketing

While viral marketing often occurs on social media, musicians can often take another approach using the same platforms. Instead of relying on huge amount of likes and follows, the most persistent are able to generate a huge user base through very basic posts, including daily updates and short blogs. Acting as an influencer for their own brand, this sort of method is great when an artist is first starting out. It doesn’t cost anything other than time, and the simplest posts are often the most popular, with some musicians getting away with reposting content time and time again.

The Right Platforms

Of course, not all of the work which will make someone famous is done on their end. Thanks to the Internet, there are now several routes which can be taken when someone is reaching for stardom. To reach out to the right people, a platform which they are likely to be using needs to be chosen, or it will be hard to capture the right engagement. Below, you can find some examples of these tools, along with their best use cases.

• Soundcloud: For those fresh on the scene, there are very few services which can match the power of Soundcloud. There are loads of companies out there offering Soundcloud promotion services. Not only does this give musicians the power to avoid working through this stage of the job, but it also provides a free platform which is filled with people on the hunt of something new to listen to.
• iTunes: Getting music onto iTunes is notoriously challenging. Unlike other platforms out there, Apple doesn’t like to host files for people, and this means that you have to have an FTP server to do it for you. Once on the service, though, you will have access to thousands of dedicated users, a huge portion of which like to listen to varied music from loads of different artists.
• Tidal: Started by Kanye West and a handful of friends a few years ago, Tidal originally promised to be a great platform for new artists to get the word out. While it isn’t as easy as some hoped, getting onto this service can make a musicians dreams come true, especially considering how picky the managers are. It will be well worth the effort once you’re signed up, though.

Building A Personality

As the last area to consider, it’s time to think about personality. There are loads of artists out there which create unexceptional music, but are still able to capture the hearts and minds of the people listening to them. Through social media, public appearances, and even the work being produced, this aspect is one of the most important when it comes to a modern musician. Of course, though, it can’t be anything too normal. Instead, it is a struggle to achieve this goal, as extremes will almost always have to be crossed into to make it work.

Hopefully, this post will make it much easier to figure out how most people find their fame. In a lot of cases, marketing is the biggest part of this, with those who are able to build something eye catching finding the most success. This can even be true for artists who have found popularity in the past.

It’s no secret that learning a musical instrument, any musical instrument keeps you young. It can change your brain’s structure and enable you to become a better learner, lending you the mental acuity and capacity for learning that you may not have had since your college years (however long ago they may have been). Music is good for the soul as well. It can be a cathartic experience that helps you to come to grips with your emotions in healthy ways. It can be your refuge after a hard day’s work or it can transport you back to a particular time and place with breathtaking expediency. Whether you consume your music through a smartphone as you slog through your daily commute or whether you’re the kind of vinyl enthusiast for whom listening to music is an activity which must be done in solitude and without distraction, few would argue that it doesn’t enrich their day to day lives.

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But there’s something about learning the guitar that’s particularly appealing to music enthusiasts of any age. Few instruments can match the guitar’s mystique ubiquity and undeniable cool factor. So long as you keep it well maintained, change your strings regularly and practice every day, your guitar can be a good and loyal friend. It can be your solace after a long day and a talking point at parties. But it also has a few less obvious health and cognitive benefits which we will now examine…

It teaches you discipline

As Aristotle once said, “Through discipline comes freedom”. When we exert more discipline over our lives we’re able to manage our time better, enjoy a better quality of life and be more like the people we want to be. The trouble is that our current society is not conducive to discipline. The digital age has made us pampered babies, accustomed to getting whatever we want with a few dabs on a touch screen. The discipline, patience and diligence required to learn this instrument will help you to master the discipline needed to get back in the driver’s seat and take control of your life.

It improves memory

Do you regularly turn up late for social engagements because you’ve lost your keys or get frustrated when you can’t find where you left your wallet? It can be very tedious and if you’re advanced in years it can be a particular source of anxiety. Fortunately, there’s evidence to suggest that learning the guitar can help your brain retain up to 20% more information when you become a devoted student.

It’s therapeutic

Music therapy is nothing new but while you may appreciate the soothing capabilities that listening to music has, it’s even more therapeutic when the mellifluous melodies are the work of your very own hands. Plucking those strings provides an emotional outlet which can be the perfect antidote to a long, stressful or frustrating day.

It will also help to prevent you from choosing less healthy outlets. Instead of reaching for a bottle of wine after a stressful day, you’ll reach for your guitar instead.