It may not always seem that way, but you are on a Hero's Quest. We all are. Today is my birthday (46!!), and I am committing today to romance my life like a hero. A creative hero. (Even if I don't always feel like one.) It's part of the human story, our archetypal...
When I was working as a voice coach and mentor, I observed something that almost every single student of mine was struggling with. It had nothing to do with their singing voice. But it troubled me. To distraction. (Because I had the same bloody problem. 😩 )Despite...
It feels like appropriate timing that this message is coming to you on the first day of summer, when the sun shifts into the constellation of Cancer, the zodiac sign of the Great Mother. The Mother shows us how to receive. (Because we already know how to avoid.) My...
Habits have been my nemesis since forever. (Building the good ones, that is.) We are inundated with ways in which to self-improve our lives, our health, our diet, our mind, our productivity, our practice, our relationships, our accounting, our time, etc. Just about...
One of the most difficult things about the emotional journey of a creative is that sometimes there are simply no logical explanations for your experience. (Kind of like dating. Super fun!) Especially if we are prone to placing the value and acceptance of our work in...
I remember when I was a brand new mom. Oh man, I was having a devil of a time. Personally, I was splintered in a drastically unrecognizable way. I couldn't recognize any rational thoughts from the irrational kind (which were abundant). Enemies were everywhere. And my...
I define a creative vocation as The Thing you are called to do for 1) your own specific, conscious reasons and 2) the will of creative consciousness, otherwise known as Life itself. Creative vocation is the meeting place of Your Will and Divine Will. It is the...
Last summer while visiting my family's favorite spot in Maine, my little one Adrian and I were joyfully clambering over some of those ancient glacier-scraped rocks on the shoreline by our cottage. Alas, we were quite shocked when came upon a dead harbor seal pup who...
As you may know, I have been working as a professional singer and musician for some time, and have many notes from the field to share. Especially on how to weather the various conflicts of heart and mind that come up around our singing. I have sensed for the longest...
Imagine my delight when I opened the latest issue of The New Yorker to discover a full-length feature article devoted to my muse, Saint Hildegard von Bingen. Alex Ross wrote a comprehensive piece, and it was wonderful to witness the legacy of the great creatrix seen...
Today, February 1st, we are crossing through fire. It is a quiet, but significant, turning point in the year, marking the ancient Celtic feast of Imbolc, as well as Saint Brigid’s Day. It’s so easy to plow through this “dead” time of winter, just keeping our head...
I've been taking some time over the past few weeks and months for some deep internal processing, allowing a great deal of space for a process of "wintering.” Although I would not have called it that, had it not been for Katherine May’s beautiful book, Wintering: The...
I want to share one of the most defining moments of my life. A sophomore, I was in my college dorm room and had just cued up a new CD that just arrived in the mail. (Remember that?)I heard the first strains of the first track, and immediately felt my whole body and...
It's funny to think about how much time and energy we spend each day avoiding something we don't want to do.Sometimes, I spend months and years avoiding something, let alone a few minutes or hours in procrastination, cleaning my house or whatever busy tasks I...
Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? It's amazing.When I visited a number of years ago, I walked up and stood at the rim, and tears began streaming down my face for the sheer awesomeness of it all.Being there was also like coming face to face with Time. Not simply...
This morning I padded down the stairs with the cats in the cold, pitch black before dawn, filled with a sense of newness and readiness.My inner voice said: go look out the window! On any typical morning, the first thing I opt to look at is the coffeemaker. But I...
The other day I visited Walden Pond with my family. My little one, Adrian, ran right onto the beach and set to the important kid-business of making something up.We recently moved back to the very wonderful state of Massachusetts, close to the very wonderful town of...
I know it may not seem that way, but we are constantly in effortless motion.Every day we are spinning around the Earth's axis at about 1,000 mph.The Earth is currently hurtling around the Sun at 67,000 mph.The Sun and Solar System are whipping through the Milky Way at...
I know you may not talk about it, but I know you have A Thing that's been on your mind for a while. That quiet vision, that unspoken desire, that shimmering dream, that kernel of an idea, that sticky feeling that you really, truly, wholly want something. Maybe it's a...
As a young girl, then a teenager (oy), then a young adult, I would never in one million years have considered myself a "rebel." I have excellent manners, listen to instructions, pay my bills on time, do my chores, and do all the Right Things you are meant to do as a...
It's so easy to get caught up in the little things. In life, and especially in singing. Do this. Do that. I should do this. I should do that. I didn't do this. I can't do that. They think this. They won't think that. There is a mental chatter, what I call the "ticker...
One time recently I was watching the Beatles documentary, Get Back. It's a long, arduous haul through a rocky period for the band. But there was one moment caught on camera that created a new awakening for me about the creative process. It's a scene featuring a mumbly...
Have you ever thought... If only I knew exactly how I am supposed to use my voice! This is one of the most common questions I hear, borne from a deep, soulful longing mixed with some heady, existential frustration. Let's reframe the question so it seems less fretful:...
Tapping into your essence does not have to be a hit or miss situation. It is a radically simple formula and practice to be applied whenever you create the intention to do so. It can be a Thing You Do all the time.
W R I T T E N B Y Allison Mondel [dssb_sharing_buttons columns="5" btn_padding="0px||||false|false" _builder_version="4.9.2" _module_preset="default" share_font="Alata||||||||" share_text_align="left" width="90%" max_width="100%" module_alignment="left"...
