To celebrate my favorite time of year on Cape Cod, I have decided to create Sweet September: 12 Days of 12 Rebirth.
In this series I will be sharing a track from my recent Album 12 Rebirth, talking about its creation and also linking it to an earlier song of mine. Read more about why I am doing this at Day 1.
Day 12 Born Free and Wise Innocence
I am grateful fo have arrived at Day 12 of this series. It has been so fun to share these songs with you and enlightening to remember and tell some stories I hadn’t thought of for a while.
Wise Innocence was recorded in 2015 at Brick Hill Studios in Orleans, produced by Jon Evans. It was a leap for me at the time to work with Jon and I am so grateful for that experience and recording that many have heard and use often in their meditation or yoga practice.
I was also blessed to make an official video for this track and so enjoyed the process with Kevin Lasit directing.
I partner this song with Born Free because they both have a kind of rock out vibe and include the chord Bm – which is one of my all time favorite chords.
Both Born Free and Wise Innocence are about reflecting on one’s childhood from the wiser perspective of the adult now. They also encourage each of us to remember our purest and truest essence.
There is great joy and healing in both songs and I invite you to sit back, roll your windows down and soak in all the vibration.
Thanks again for tuning into my 12 Days of Sweet September. If you have a certain day or song you really enjoy, I encourage you to share it vie email or social media.
And be sure to check out Creative Play with Viv and Alicia. I will be sharing a full moon chant this Saturday recorded at Creacon Wellness Retreat.
To celebrate my favorite time of year on Cape Cod, I have decided to create Sweet September: 12 Days of 12 Rebirth.
In this series I will be sharing a track from my recent Album 12 Rebirth, talking about its creation and also linking it to an earlier song of mine. Read more about why I am doing this at Day 1.
Day 11 of 12 Walk Your Way on Through and Winds of Sinai
It feels amazing to be writing this blog on 9/11 – the 18 year anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center inside the loving and peaceful vortex that is Creacon Wellness Retreat. I was living in Brooklyn on 9/11/01 and was temping on a top floor of Rockefeller Center when the attack actually happened. It was a powerful experience to be in Manhattan at that moment and living in Brooklyn for the months that followed.
18 years later. Wow. That is hard for me to fully believe and reminds me of my song 11 years later that I wrote for 12 Rebirth.
1 + 8 = 9. Completion. It is my prayer that the most quantum healing that is possible for each being hurt by that experience come into full awakening and completion. And that we as a collective Humanity begin awakening more and more, so less and less unnecessary suffering must happen.
The other thing I am contemplating right now is that the two twin towers when standing made an 11 and how I have come to resonate with the energy of 11:11. What I have learned over the last 18 years in a very real way is that suffering is real and all humans will experience it, no matter where they live or how much money they make. And in that human reality, there is great spiritual possibility for joy, love, healing, celebration and collective change that can help eliminate a lot of unnecessary suffering.
It is time for all of us to awaken out of material greed and conditioned fear and come into Unity, Trust, Cooperation, Connection and Love.
These two songs help support this process in me individually and in our collective. I wrote Winds of Sinai in October of 2006 when I went to Egypt for the first time and did a two week pilgrimage with a group of extraordinary people. I was 35, my head was shaved and my mom was still alive (though she would die within the year). What a blessing those two weeks were!
I wrote the lyrics of this song in the Sinai desert. As a part of the pilgrimage, we spent 2 days in the desert, riding camels in between the two evenings of our camping. We travelled and ate with the local Bedouin and ultimately dropped into total silence. It was a beautiful experience and the lyrics came to me during that time. I wrote the music a few days later in a hotel in Luxor.
To this day, when I sing this song, I feel an amazing vibration move through me.
While in the Sinai desert I felt the connection between the three monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. I felt how the human stories of each of these traditions are rooted in the same land. Winds of Sinai is about Unity – finding peace within ourselves and building peace in our communities, nations and world. What a perfect intention on the 18 year anniversary of 9/11.
Walk Your Way on Through has become one of the favorites from 12 Rebirth. Different people are experiencing it in different ways, which I love as a songwriter. For me it is connected to Winds of Sinai because in a way it feels like a song about initiation and inviting myself and others into a higher version of who we are.
When I went to Egypt later in my journey in 2009 and lived there, I had many challenges. Those challenges continued as I taught music in Beirut, Lebanon the following year. Even though I had received many high vibrational teachings and healings, I was still struggling to fully inetrgrate it all in this one human body known as Alicia. This struggle would often manifest as anxiety or depression or conflict in relationships.
This song reminds us all that we must keep walking our way on through no matter what is in front of us. Keep walking forward. Keep walking and trust. What I have truly learned over these last 18 years is that even when we feel we are alone, we are not.
I wish you all a beautiful Sweet September day! Thanks again for reading and listening. If you are interested in more play and joy check out my new Patreon Page. I will be uploading an exclusive chant this weekend for the full moon.
I will leave you with one of my favorite sayings through this picture taken today.
To celebrate my favorite time of year on Cape Cod, I have decided to create Sweet September: 12 Days of 12 Rebirth.
In this series I will be sharing a track from my recent Album 12 Rebirth, talking about its creation and also linking it to an earlier song of mine. Read more about why I am doing this at Day 1.
Day 9 Love Again and Highest Good
Day 9 has arrived and it also happens to be Sept. 9th.
Day 9 on 9/9. LOVE that alignment. What does the number 9 mean to you? For me, it has always meant completion. Something is completing for me, individually and collectively.
A completion doesn’t have to mean a dramatic end, it could be a very subtle internal shift. The great thing about life, consciousness and meaning is that we get to create it for ourselves. That’s right.
We are the creator of our own reality.
It’s amazing to me that on this day of completion, I am sharing two songs that are about love and how to remember love even in the face of loss or change or completion. Both of these songs were inspired by beautiful women that I loved. Both relationships changed and “ended” in the form they had been, however both these beings are forever in my heart and have forever changed me for the better.
In Love Again, I explore my whole experience with loss, not just romantic love but that early loss we may feel as children when we offer our heart in its purest form and someone else just doesn’t get it. Some of us are more sensitive than others and so this early experience can be marked deeply in our psyche even if the moment wasn’t really that big a deal in another’s reality.
And so, it really becomes our responsibility to love ourselves, acknowledge the truth of our experience and remember how to love again. Love bigger, love better, love with joy and risk even knowing that love can sometimes lead to loss.
In Highest Good, which I wrote in 2008 and recorded on Winds of Sinai, I was very inspired by the music of India Arie. (If you have never listened to her music, I recommend I Am Light)
A relationship that I thought was deeply spiritual and absolutely “meant to be” ended. The writing of this song was my practice of letting it go and allowing a bigger picture to be made known to me.
Since writing that song, my understanding of love and connection has matured greatly and I now truly believe that all relationships are reflections of our relationship with our self and that the end of any relationship is never a failure but rather an opportunity to go inside and reflect on who we are and what we are attracting into our lives.
I fly off to Ireland tonight to be at my spiritual home, Creacon Wellness Retreat and I am beyond grateful that I will be completing this 12 part essay series in that amazing vortex.
Thanks for tuning in and remember wherever you are, whatever you are experiencing, All is Well.
Nothing is here to hurt is.
Everything is here to awaken us to more of who we truly are.
To celebrate my favorite time of year on Cape Cod, I have decided to create Sweet September: 12 Days of 12 Rebirth.
In this series I will be sharing a track from my recent Album 12 Rebirth, talking about its creation and also linking it to an earlier song of mine. Read more about why I am doing this at Day 1.
Day 7 Be Creative and Be The Light
Day 7 is all about Being. What is the difference between doing and being? Perhaps you have heard that witty quip, “We are human beings not human doings.” I have spent a lot of the last 15 years unlearning many patterns of mind, so that I might BE more and do less. This is an ongoing process and the writing of songs is a crucial part of my growth and healing.
In my creative process, I often write poems or channeled words that have no music. Sometimes I write in my journal. Sometimes I record directly into my phone.
“Be Creative” I wrote first and then recorded it as a spoken word, which led to some editing. I included it in some sound files that I shared with my producer just so she would have a sense of my overall vision for the project and I had no intention of including it as a track on 12 Rebirth.
Allison, my producer loved the track and actually wanted me to do more spoken word. It has surprised me how much people have responded to this this piece, letting me know it really moved or inspired them. I purposely placed it right in the middle of the experience of the album, as the journey through the songs shifts here and starts to deepen even further.
I do believe that it is creativity and my willingness to express it through music and writing that helps keep me happy, healthy, evolving and thriving.
Enjoy!
I wrote Be the Light in December of 2008. Wow that seems like a long time ago!
I had just left Brooklyn, NY after almost 12 years in the city and was staying on Cape Cod, curious about what was next. I did not record the song until 2015 and made it the title track of that album. I love playing it around the holidays in the sacred month of December and have a few fans that want to hear it no matter what month it is.
I am loving this process of sharing with you through these blogs. Whether you have been reading all of them or are just tuning into this one, I would love to hear any feedback you may have.
Do you have a favorite song from the ones I am sharing? Has it been fun hearing some of the back story to my process? Feel free to respond below.
Also, be sure to check out the Patreon Page. I will be uploading the full moon chant a week from today and it will be recorded at my spiritual home Creacon Wellness Retreat in Ireland.
To celebrate my favorite time of year on Cape Cod, I have decided to create Sweet September: 12 Days of 12 Rebirth.
In this series I will be sharing a track from my recent Album 12 Rebirth, talking about its creation and also linking it to an earlier song of mine. Read more about why I am doing this at Day 1.
Day 4 I am the Ocean and Sweet September
ahhhhh, finally the song that this whole series is named after, Sweet September.
You can listen and/or watch the video I made around its release in 2012 filled with pictures of nature. My phone has been upgraded since I made this video, so I am tempted to make a new video with even better pics…..Let me know in the comments below if you would like that.
I wrote Sweet September in the fall of 2011 after I had sung 40 chants in 40 days. You may recognize the chant Ong Namo that opens it. I sang it in the style of Snatam Kaur as a way of honoring her vibration on the planet and being in Union with it.
It truly was a Sweet September for me that year, as it was the first September I had been on Cape Cod as an adult in a very long time and it was a coming home – literally and spiritually.
I had just moved through a difficult spiritual expansion and experienced both depression and anxiety as a result. I had let go of my life in NYC and recent teaching job in Beirut, Lebanon and knew I was creating a new life, but wasn’t exactly sure how and when it would all arrive. It was a time of deep meditation, contemplation and ultimately self-healing and trust.
This time I am in now is related to that time in 2011. Again, I have let go of a teaching job and other ways I had been living my life and I am birthing something new. I am so grateful to again be on Cape Cod, enjoying the extraordinary nature and ocean all around me, reminding me All is Well.
Here’s a picture of me from 1972 – my first summer on the Cape. As you can see the Ocean and I were friends right from the beginning.
I wrote I am the Ocean in December of 2018 in a beautiful coastal town in New Hampshire. I was there supporting and enjoying a friend who had recently lost her Dad. We were in between Christmas and New Years and it was unseasonably warm. The time at this ocean with my friend and her family was magical. I have learned that when a parent (or anyone passes), magic happens. To get to be present with the one who is passing or those who are watching their loved ones pass is one of the greatest gifts of being human.
This was the sunrise the morning after my friend’s father’s service and it felt like a direct blessing to all of us.
Right before I went into the studio to record 12 rebirth I first heard the Algonquin Water Song. It is a beautiful video of the Grandmothers passing the song down to the Granddaughters. I was so moved by this song I chose to open the track with it. This vibration holds the love and strength of a Spiritual Father with the wisdom and power of the Grandmothers.
You can also hear it in Our Prayer for the Earth that Vivienne Gerard and I recorded spontaneously at Dreamland. The joyful experience Viv and I had creating the Earth Prayer has led to the launch of a brand new Patreon page, where you are invited to support us, our work in the world and our vision for Gaia’s Love Festival.
What do you get? Peace, laughter, joy, music and inspiration for your unique journey as a Soul/Human, as well as an insider view to our creative process.
To celebrate my favorite time of year on Cape Cod, I have decided to create Sweet September: 12 Days of 12 Rebirth.
In this series I will be sharing a track from my recent Album 12 Rebirth, talking about its creation and also linking it to an earlier song of mine. Read more about why I am doings this at Day 1.
Day 2 Six and Three
It’s only day 2 and I feel like I am already breaking the rules. I love breaking rules even when they are the rules that I made up as I way to give structure to my often wild and ever moving creative flow. I had intended to share a song from 12 Rebirth and from one of my other older records, but today I am sharing a song I never even officially recorded.
I woke up this morning listening to many many cars driving by on Rte 6A. I thought oh, it’s Labor Day, I bet a bunch of people are leaving the Cape. Even though this “end of summer” marker seems less and less real each year because so many are back to school much earlier, I still feel that Labor Day is a big marker of time and the end of a season.
This got me thinking about marking time and how one of the ways I mark time is through my songs. If you have seen me live over the last few months, you may have heard me talk about how each year at the anniversary of my mom’s death, I would write a song, as a way of marking that moment in my life, honoring her and honoring my journey with the grief and awareness that comes from losing a mother.
Me with 4 of the 6 nieces and nephews on Labor Day 2011
I tell a funny story about how some years, I skipped it completely or other years the song just wasn’t that good. Year Six finally made it on my recent album 12 Rebirth, which seems kind of perfect. It is the oldest song on the record and yet is a great honoring of my family and my 6 nieces and nephews. I have no children of my own and so my nieces and nephews are also how I mark time. I look at them and think, how did you become 22? Or right after you were born, I was living in Egypt and now you’re 10. Whoa!
As I was thinking of which old song to partner with Six, I got stuck until I remembered a song I wrote and recorded called Three. I never recorded it officially but I made a youtube video of it. It was Mother’s Day of 2010 and I was living in Egypt. I remember creating it in my little apartment in New Cairo in between teaching kids music. What a journey that was!
How do you mark time? Do you see value in marking time? Last night I watched Interstellar (again) and I was thrilled by how it raises so many questions about time and space and the power of science and love. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
If you enjoy songs like Six and Three, consider joining me over at Creative Play with Viv and Alicia, a patreon page we just launched that helps support my creative process towards my next record and the larger vision of Gaia’s Love Festival.
Happy Monday. Happy Labor Day. Happy Day 2 of Sweet September.
To celebrate my favorite time of year on Cape Cod, I have decided to create Sweet September: 12 Days of 12 Rebirth.
In this series I will be sharing a track from my recent Album 12 Rebirth, talking about its creation and also linking it to an earlier song of mine.
Why am I doing this?
8 years ago it was August on Cape Cod and I was approaching my 40th birthday. I had arrived at a moment in life where I wanted to do something different or more specifically, I didn’t want to do anything anymore that didn’t feel in complete alignment with why I was here.
Over the last 8 years of living and making music on Cape Cod I have grown so much – as a person and as a musician. I have taught many many children and served many families. This was an incredible gift and one I carry with me always.
Now, I am ready to expand.
After releasing my 5th album 12 Rebirth, I am shifting gears again. I am allowing my passion for creating music, awakening, healing and education to expand and I am re-committing to developing my career as a recording artist/producer and sound healer.
This is leading to two new projects Sounds of Alicia and Queen City Records. Both of these are in the beginning stages of fully manifesting and yet I could not be more excited to be on the journey towards their full realization.
In the meantime, I am first and foremost a songwriter and singer and I could not be more proud of the creation of 12 Rebirth. And so, as a way of encouraging folks to tune into it, I am creating this series.
And now off to Day 1………
Day 1 A New Earth and Better Me
I first read Eckart Tolle’s book, A New Earth in December of 2008. That experience and the new year of 2009 inspired my song Better Me which was then recorded on my album 2012: Isn’t It Amazing?
The thing I love about this song is that no matter how many years I live, it always resonates. Often in my journey I have periods where all I want to do is lay on the couch and “check out” or rest. I have learned that this is a part of my process and I have developed great compassion towards myself and my need to do this. And, when I feel like I have been resting enough, a good song is all I need to get back up and create anew.
A New Earth on 12 Rebirth was born out of one of those “laying on the couch” times. I was still struggling with why I have these periods where I feel so inert and the more I thought about it and experienced it, the angrier I got. This anger fueled this song and yet it was my expressing of that anger that helped release it from my body in a productive way.
Some say depression is anger turned inward. In my experience, that resonates as true and I have come to realize that if depression or anger is present, it has a message for me and when I choose not to listen and act with wisdom, the anger or grief or depression becomes more overwhelming and destructive.
I wrote this song very quickly when I wasn’t feeling so good and then revisited it almost 6 months later and realized It was a great song and might speak to a lot of us right now as we are going through so much collective change as Americans and as human beings.
It was Better Me at a whole new level and with a lot more wisdom and humor. Not to mention a kick-ass band in the recording studio.
Many have told me, they have found this track healing and inspiring as they have moved through their own anger. Anger, like love is an energy. It does not need to be judged or shamed or denied. We only need bring our awareness to its presence and ask what it is here to show us.
Through our awareness, we can be with any energy and bring our love and compassion to it.
It was such a gift to record this record with a group of amazing musicians and Allison Leyton-Brown as pianist and producer. If you listen to both tracks, you can hear how much my sound has developed over the years.
Here’s to a whole new expansion in 2020!
Want to be on the inside and support me as I write towards a new record in 2020, join me over at my new Patreon page, created in collaboration with my good friend Viv. This record in 2020 is all about JOY and I can’t wait to share it – both the process and the final product.
I have written two songs about September, one when I was 25 (September Again) and living in Provincetown and one when I was 40 and I had just completed singing 40 chants in 40 days leading up to my 40th birthday (Sweet September). I had returned home from a short stint of teaching music in the middle east and the Cape Cod September was absolutely breathtaking in every way.
Right now feels magical to me, especially because I am not a traditional student or teacher returning to the grind. As a freelance musician and small business owner it feels like a breath of fresh air, a moment in time suspended in between the rich abundance of summer and the quieting down of winter. I love it! Please join me this Friday night at Centerville Yoga & Wellness for a wonderful healing & chanting concert and get a taste of this joy. Or later in the month for the first time ever in HOUSTON at Nia Moves.
At age 25 I was still reflecting in my songs on the bliss of playing field hockey – one of my most favorite activities. By the time I got to 40, I was reflecting more on how the nature teaches us that nothing is permanent and like the earth we too have cycles of loss and growth. And they are necessary and best when embraced with joy.
Now at 44, I feel the incredible gift of living in New England and of watching the seasons shift year to year. The number 4 connects for me to the heart and that is where I am now. All Heart. This has been a process and not always easy. As someone who was very well-educated and valued intellectual rigor, it took time to allow those “this is right, this is wrong” thoughts to soften and feel my conciousness literally drop down from my head into my heart. When I am in my heart, everything feels easier. There is no need to prove or defend or argue. There is just, “what’s next?” “I wonder what that is?” “How may I serve?” Obviously this is an ongoing process, but at 44, I feel the most in my heart I have ever been – at least since I was 4. 😉
As I walk on into the 45th September of my life, I give incredible gratitude for every experience, every song, and every moment of challenge I have felt. I hope to see you at a show or at Sounding Still Wellness for a Monday night meditation (beginning again on Sept 14). Stay tuned for an exciting new VIDEO release of my title track WISE INNOCENCE on Sept 21. It is ALL HEART.
What a summer here on Cape Cod. I am so grateful for the many opportunities I had to share music and love with so many folks. It is in fact a SWEET SEPTEMBER. hoping to get into the studio soon, so stay tuned for some more recordings from me. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Alicia Mathewson 