By |

Non-violence. Ahimsa.

MLK with Thich Nhat Hanh

On this MLK day of 2013, I am reading his speeches on non-violence. Yes he had a dream, but I believe his greatest legacy was his experience of using NON-VIOLENCE to help awaken and change hiimself, his community and the world. This is what we are all called to do today and forever.

I encourage you to read his speeches beyond the quotes we always see. I encourage you to meditate on Ahimsa. non-violence. inside your own heart. your families. your communities. and ultimately, your world.

May the dream of Ahimsa arise and awaken in all our hearts and in the world.

FROM the Power of Non-Violence – June 4, 1957 MLK  – taken

from http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=11

Another basic thing we had to get over is that nonviolent resistance is also an internal matter. It not only avoids external violence or external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. And so at the center of our movement stood the philosophy of love. The attitude that the only way to ultimately change humanity and make for the society that we all long for is to keep love at the center of our lives. Now people used to ask me from the beginning what do you mean by love and how is it that you can tell us to love those persons who seek to defeat us and those persons who stand against us; how can you love such persons? And I had to make it clear all along that love in its highest sense is not a sentimental sort of thing, not even an affectionate sort of thing.

AGAPE LOVE

The Greek language uses three words for love. It talks about eros. Eros is a sort of aesthetic love. It has come to us to be a sort of romantic love and it stands with all of its beauty. But when we speak of loving those who oppose us we’re not talking about eros. The Greek language talks about philia and this is a sort of reciprocal love between personal friends. This is a vital, valuable love. But when we talk of loving those who oppose you and those who seek to defeat you we are not talking about eros or philia. The Greek language comes out with another word and it isagape. Agape is understanding, creative, redemptive good will for all men. Biblical theologians would say it is the love of God working in the minds of men. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. And when you come to love on this level you begin to love men not because they are likeable, not because they do things that attract us, but because God loves them and here we love the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does. It is the type of love that stands at the center of the movement that we are trying to carry on in the Southland—agape.

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1131

By |

Alicia at winebar 2013

So here we are. the first new moon of 2013.  It’s been an interesting ride hasn’t it? Dec 21, 2012 came and went and here we are. life is just about the same – or is it?

In 2013, I will be blogging consitently on the new and full moon. why? because I LOVE the moon and LOVE the cycles it has and what it teaches me about my own cycles. We are human – a part of nature – and we have cycles.

new moon

On Dec. 21, 2012 a 26,000 year old cycle ended and a new one began. This is a scientific fact, not a woo hoo spiritual prophecy. If you believe in science, you must acknowledge how much has changed for Humanity and our planet over the past 30 years and that we (whether we like or not), must change along with it.

Change: this is often a hard thing for us humans. In the Buddhist tradition, we are taught, NOTHING IS PERMANENT. Try telling that to this lingering cough I have had for almost 5 weeks. YES, perhaps like you, I have been navigating life while also having a cold. It has reminded me to rest, go slow, be kind to myself and others and TRUST, that no matter how I feel – physically or emotionally that too will pass. Thank you lingering cough for enlightening me (once again!)

If you are going through changes, experiencing loss, confusion (a lingering cough), or just find yourself feeling like you could use something new, please consider calling upon me through Sounding Still Wellness at our new location right in Barnstable Village. A Rising Star Healing Session, Voice lesson, or Meditation Class could be just what the Doctor ordered.

And as always, I hope to see you at Chat House on the Cape or in some yoga studio for some live musical love.  Happy Happy new moon! Create Love. Enjoy this song I recently posted on youtube.

By |

FREE download of Better Me and Om Nimah Shivaya now available. Happy New Moon! c u tonight at Chat House! 7-9. http://ow.ly/gJeFa

72101_10151271410202145_1547330697_n

By |

TUNE in to Webcast on Friday Dec. 14 from Ireland

Happy 12/12/12. Register here for the LIVE webcast from Creacon Lodge in Ireland

By |

Happy Full Moon! Happy Wednesday!

Image

It’s been an amazing couple of months for me and I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have had to sing my songs, share some yoga, and just be me all over the place. This picture is from the BB&N gym in Cambridge where I was blessed to share some songs and chant with some kids on behalf of Yoga Reaches Out Kids Yogathon. what a blast!  

Before that I was out in Northern California at this amazing place leading a women’s retreat with my great friend and yoga teacher Andrea Spacek. Stay tuned for more retreats here on Cape Cod and in Northern California. I have been playing all over the Cape and have lots of dates in December from the Chat House to new yoga studios in Falmouth.  You can currently download both my CD’s Winds of Sinai and 2012: Isn’t it Amazing? for a DISCOUNTED price through Dec 21. ENJOY and spread the word.

And now the FULL MOON. Join us tonight in Yarmouth at Sounding Still Wellness for the Crystal bowl celebration. I will be singing and it will be a fabulous opportunity to release all that no longer serves you and open to the NEW. 2013 is truly a NEW year and I invite you to allow yourself to be NEW. So often we hang on to our past or our old stories of who we are or how the world works. Everything is new now, so feel safe and be confident in following your heart and being what you love.  I have special deals for energy healing until the new year if you would like some assistance in this process of letting go.

I am so grateful for every opportunity I am given to serve – whether by singing, laughing, talking, meditating, singing some more or doing a Rising Star. And it is because you are open that I get to serve. THANK YOU.

Here is my schedule:

Thurs Nov 29 Cape Cod Chat House 7-9
Sat Dec 2 Be-Fit Yoga Holiday Party 2pm
Wed Dec. 5 MDC Yoga Studio Opening Party  Falmouth 7:30pm
Thurs Dec 6 Cape Cod Chat House (with Fugan Dineen) 7-9
Sun Dec. 9 Unity Church Hyannis 10am service
Fri Dec 14 Creacon Lodge Healing Center 7pm IRELAND (STAY TUNED for a webcast link)
Fri Dec 21 Cape Cod Chat House 7-9
Sat Dec 22 Lululemon, 9-10am Hingham, MA with Jill Abraham teaching yoga

ps. For Dec 12-19 I will be in Ireland for a concert and some wonderful recharging time at my spiritual home Creacon Lodge Retreat Center. If you would like a Rising Star Healing long distance while I am there please contact me.

By |

October can be a big month of self-reflection and going within. It is also when the veil (between life and death) is the thinnest. I started working on this new song around Oct. 1. feels good to be writing again. hope it will lead to a whole new album by Spring.

In the meantime if you are enjoying 2012: Isn’t it Amazing?, you may want to download Winds of Sinai, released in 2009. some good tunes on it. Come hear this song hopefully finished this Sat Oct 13 at the Chat House or some other time in the future.

I Image

Just keep walking forward, even if you can’t see the love, 

Just keep walking forward, sometimes walking is enough

Just keep singing your heart out, even if you don’t know why,

Just keep singing your heart out,  you know one day we’ll all going to die

 

Don’t you want to feel you gave it your call

Don’t you want to feel you shared your gift

Don’t you want to feel you answered the call

And helped everyone around you lift

just watch everyone around you lift

 

Copyright 2012 Alicia Mathewson

By |

Happy August. Happy Full Moon.

August has always been a very special month for me, because my birthday falls at the very end. It’s like some sort of internal system clicks into place and I hear my inner guidance say, “Hey you, it’s time to be brilliant”.  I have lived on this earth for almost 41 years now and I am fascinated by cycles. The cycles of nature, the cycles of families, and the cycles of my own thoughts.

Do you notice your cycles? what do you notice? sometimes slowing down to notice can be one of the most powerful choices we make, yet many of us resist it. I believe it takes great courage to slow down and notice, because sometimes what we notice is not always so comfortable. It also takes great courage to move forward. To notice, allow yourself to change and then act.

I have learned that this process of noticing internally what might be out of balance, making a change within ourself and then moving forward requires LOVE. It requires the courage to keep loving yourself and others even when things may feel uncomfortable.

When we summon this courage, anything is possible. And so in August I choose courage. I choose to wake each day, see myself for who I am, love it in all it’s light and dark ,and comitt to allowing change. Allowing change.

It takes great courage to allow change.

May your August be blessed with courage, love and awakening action. And if you haven’t heard my song Isn’t it Amazing yet? download it today. It’s all about courage.

By |

Image

You may remember 40 chants in 40 days last year from July 15-Aug 24 that helped raise over $40,000 for SQ Foundation. Because of it’s success and the JOY it brought to me and many others, I am launching a similar campagin this time to raise money for a specific project called LINDA”S LINK. Again through SQ Foundation, this will help fund equipment and resources to get clean water to many families in the Amazon of Peru. Alicia’s fundraising PAGE

In honor of Linda O’Neill who was the epitome of service, I will be selecting 4 chants to compose and offer for FREE on Youtube. I will be deciding the chants in the next 2 weeks, so if you have any requests, please let me know.

Thank you for listening and for your ongoing support. I love what I do and it’s because people like you listen and tune-in that I get to keep doing it!

This was one of my favs from last July NAMO QUAN SHI YIN PUSA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7c6mVSe2YQ&feature=g-upl

Happy Happy Summer!

love love love, Alicia

By |

It’s time to write a blog and I have seriously started 4 different topics. focus issues anyone?

I was listening to Derek O’Neill‘s radio show The Way this past Monday on dream interpretations and there were two dreams that involved the ocean. Both were very deep and both were connected in some way to being lost at sea. Let’s just say I could relate.
I live near the ocean and lately I have been going to the beach every day. It’s like home. I watch and I listen to the waves and somehow feel something inside say, “yes, this is how it is – ebb flow ebb flow – Trust in trust.”  I long to maintain a center point – a resting spot, and yet the flow just seems to flow completely out of my control. like the breath – in, out, in, out. In reaching for a resting spot or an answer, solution, something –  I see how I am actually pushing it away from me and creating more discomfort.
It’s funny too, because my life is incredibly blessed right now: I live in a beautiful place, I am developing my own business doing what I love and what I feel my purpose is; I just released a beautiful CD; I have friends and family all around me. So what gives? What is this lingering sense of being lost at sea? This feeling that can hit me sometimes leaving me feeling quite uncomfortable and in the unknown?
I am not totally sure what it is, but I am grateful for it. I am grateful because I hold certain spiritual teachings, like “What we focus on expands.” And so, when I am feeling lost, I think “Thank you”. When I am feeling happy, I think “Thank you”.  Slowly, slowly I believe this practice of awareness and gratitude helps to bring the polarizations that live within me into Union, transcending a sense of duality and separation.
I remember one time being at Creacon while teaching music in the middle east and was talking to Derek and sharing some of my struggles. His words often still come to me: “Throw out all the other teachings and say thank you for everything”
so that’s what I continue to do. When I am too in my head scrolling through all the different teachings, I just breath and say, “Thank you”. Try it. It really works.
And in the meantime, why not enjoy the view of the vast deep blue ocean of unknown we are all floating around in right now?
thanks for taking this journey with me. It’s so nice to know I am not alone.
love love love 
Alicia