Vocal Freedom Testimonial by Julia Othmer

Posted on January 11, 2022 | 4 comments

I was so deeply moved and honoured to receive such a heartfelt testimonial from beautiful and brilliant singer/ songwriter and pianist, Julia Othmer, that I had to share with all of you. To see and hear the amazing video she recorded, which includes some of her amazing performance, please click on the link below the photo. Love Always, Caroline

“Hello my name is Julia Othmer and I have been a student of Caroline Waters for almost two years now. And in that time I have seen a huge transformation in my voice. I cannot recommend Caroline highly enough. I’ve had an expansion of my range in both the top and bottom end. I have so much more ease when I’m performing. I’m so much more relaxed. 

Within the notes that I do have I also have a much broader palate of textures and colours at the various points of my voice that allow me to have a greater range of expression. And Caroline as a teacher is phenomenal. She’s very conscious and conscientious in the way that she speaks. She listens very deeply. Very much responding to your request as a singer as to what you would like your voice to transform into. 

You know, in the past, I would sing my heart out. And I wouldn’t know if I would have a voice the next day. I often was fatigued and it hurt to sing. And since I’ve been studying with Caroline all of that have just completely shifted. I can still hit these huge notes, well, even bigger notes than normal. And it feels really good. And I’m pretty positive I’m going to have a full voice the next day and the next day and the next. 

The stamina that I’ve been able to accrue has been fantastic. It has all been so incredibly liberating to me. Just to have so much more ease and comfort and be som much more relaxed in singing. Something that always has this kind of intensity to it. The intensity now is coming purely from the emotion. Nothing from the technical aspect if it. 

And, you know, the greatest gift in life is to be able to have an amazing teacher. And I am 100% sure of Caroline being exactly that. And I have tremendous gratitude that I get to be her student. So, sign up for some lessons!”

Click HERE to see and hear Julia Othmer’s Vocal Freedom Testimonial video.

For more information, go to www.carolinewaters.com/vocal-freedom

To schedule your session(s), send an email to voice@carolinewaters.com

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From Gunk to Grace

Posted on July 1, 2021 | Leave a comment

More often than not, I see myself as a positive person. Someone who tries to make the best of things, no matter what. I try to see the beauty and the light in everyone and everything, no matter what. But sometimes I fail. Sometimes I lose sight of the light and the beauty. Sometimes I fall into a black abyss pit, – a pit containing all the feelings I try to avoid.

I am in this pit right now, tempted to cancel my upcoming performance. Tempted to cancel most things. Tempted to give up on my self. It’s just a feeling, I know. A temporary state of being. It’s no more real than anything else. But at the moment it feels like everything. At the moment it feels like my whole life. At the moment it is nearly unbearable. And at this moment of nearly unbearableness, I can feel a slight shift in the energy.

As I let the pure energy of the black abyss pit wash over me and have its way with me, – as I allow the discomfort of feeling this low, this alone, this helpless, without trying to fix it or avoid it. As I allow it to simply be felt by me in its entirety – as I surrender to it, I can feel it transforming and releasing and dissolving into grace. Such is the gift of grace.

Sometimes I have to let myself feel whatever gunk it is that wants to come to the surface and be released, in order to let grace carry me. Otherwise, I am too busy managing my life. Figuring things out. Making things happen. Being a doer. Sometimes the gunk that reside in that black abyss pit is a huge blessing in disguise, allowing me to surrender completely to my higher power.

Ah, what a joy it is to let life carry me.

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Posted in Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Healing, Self Awareness, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression, Vocal freedom

The Journey to Vocal Freedom

Posted on January 17, 2021 | Leave a comment

In addition to my musical artistry, I am now available as a Journey Therapist and Vocal Freedom Coach via Zoom. The Journey, which is developed by renowned psychotherapist Brandon Bays, is a powerful way to access and process the emotional core of a current issue.

Being a survivor of a near death bicycle accident that left me with a traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress, the processes offered by The Journey helped me heal some deeply unconscious emotional blocks. And as a result I was able to achieve a higher level of ease, joy and freedom of expression.

Many of you know that I have been coaching Vocal Freedom for many years, both as a tool for empowering voices and performances and also as a tool for healing from post traumatic stress. And I am thrilled to have added Journey Therapy to my list of services offered, both as a stand alone practice and in combination with Vocal Freedom. More info available via www.carolinewaters.com

Let me know how I can be of assistance to your journey. I offer processes in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and English.

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When it Rains, Savour the Water

Posted on December 6, 2020 | Leave a comment

I am currently quarantining at a fabulous place called Bjelland in Norway. This 10-day quarantine, once completed, allows me to complete a small concert tour of Norway. For those who cannot make it in person, we have chosen to stream the last concert live on Facebook.

The weather has been unusually warm for this time of year in Norway. And most days it has been raining. Today was no exception. I did, however, discover a small window of a break from the down-pouring earlier in the day. Naturally, I hurried outside to move my body, catch a glimpse of nature and breathe some fresh air.

As I came upon an old gravel road that would take me into the woods, I saw cascades of water tumbling down the green forest hillsides, trickling into small brooks, weaving their way through gravel and moss, creating a symphony of soothing, healing nature sound. This sound, this music, lifted my spirits and opened my heart to an abundance of gratitude. And it got me thinking:

We who hail from colder weather, where winters are dark and moisture abounds, we often long for summer, sunshine and sandy beaches. We complain about the rain and the cold and the dark. We wish we were in some exotic, Mediterranean place. We forget how blessed we are. Because we grew up this way, we take for granted that we always have plenty of clean, fresh, mineral rich water, to drink, to cook with, to clean with, to bathe in, to shower in, to listen to, to enjoy.

As I continued taking in the immense beauty and power of the running water that surrounded me, I began to notice the vibrancy of the trees, the moss, the leaves, the grass and even the rocks that were caressed so thoroughly by it. I could feel the life force surging through the forest floor, the ground I was standing on, connecting heaven and earth in perfect synchronicity. It felt so good. Arriving back at my quarantine apartment, I felt rejuvenated and fully alive, my heart and soul overflowing with joyous appreciation, truly savouring my life and the water that sustains it.

The moral of the story: Open to receive and savour the gift that each day presents, come rain or come shine. Each element has the power to move and connect us to that place where we can let our hearts sing.

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How To Stay Positive During Covid 19

Posted on May 4, 2020 | Leave a comment

It wasn’t fun, I can assure you, to have my entire tour cancelled, due to a tiny little virus. After having spent nearly a decade preparing the Finding Venus album to be launched world-wide, I can safely say, my timing sucked.

My whole, entire, plan for 2020 was about live shows, live seminars and touring. That was how I was supposed to make back all the money I had spent, preparing, producing and pre-marketing this product.

Needless to say, as the pandemic hit, I felt as if the whole rug of financial possibility, my one genius plan for getting out of production debt, got ripped from underneath my feet in one feel swoop.

But I didn’t give up. “I can always stream concerts and seminars via Facebook”, I thought. Since I had spent the last ten years, also building rapport with nearly 5000 Facebook fans, I now focused my attention on how I could reach my goal in a digital fashion.

As fate would have it, less than one week into my new resolve, someone managed to hack their way into my Facebook account. Before I knew it, my personal account and all related business pages, along with all my contacts and content, had been permanently deleted by Facebook.

At this point, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with staying positive during Covid 19. I am getting to that.

Sometimes, in order to appreciate what we have, it has to be taken from us.

All the things I have taken for granted; the ability to travel the world, the ability to perform live concerts and seminars, the ability to reach out to friends and fans via Facebook and the ability to visit my 96-year-old aunt, I don’t take for granted anymore.

What I have learned from this experience, after feeling all the angst and worry, disappointment and despair, from not being able to count on any future plans as I had imagined them, is this:

Being fully present in the moment, is everything.

There is nothing more important than who I am being, right now. As a result of this thought, I become more fully present in each moment and pay attention on a whole new level.

I appreciate my self and everyone around me. Talents, strength, vulnerabilities, differences, nuances, become so much more interesting when I am fully present and aware. What we appreciate, we also nourish. So, when I appreciate my self and those around me, I prepare healthy meals, exercise, rejuvenate and celebrate on a whole new level of being.

When I realise that every moment is precious, because I have no idea what will happen tomorrow or the next day, I fill each moment with what I value the most. For me, that includes catching up with friends and family over the phone, taking care of the house and garden,  singing, playing instruments, writing, composing, arranging, hiking, bike riding, taking care of paper work, updating web pages.

Every challenge that we face is an opportunity to grow and learn and appreciate.

When we can’t make money a certain way, we have the opportunity to let our creative juices flow, to surrender to divine inspiration and to let our talent organically flow towards the possibility of the present situation.

When we can’t travel the way we planned, we have the opportunity to deal with what is here and now and how to make the absolute best of our present situation. For me, right now, it means I get to take care of all those things I put on the back burner when I was busy being productive out in the world.

Now, that I have let go of trying to fix the future, of which I have absolutely no control, it’s actually pretty great. At this moment, I get to finish and record songs I almost forgot about. I get to learn things about my loved ones that I didn’t have time to listen to before. And, because many things that otherwise serve as a convenient distraction has become unavailable, I get to deepen my self awareness.

Because of the pandemic and all the restrictions that come with it, I get to sit with my discomfort and really feel it. I get to allow it to move me to a new level of awareness, where new concepts, songs and musicals are born.

My top 7 keys to staying positive during Covid 19 are:

  • Stop criticising yourself and others. It’s a brand new world.
  • Appreciate what the pandemic has to teach you, personally, professionally and globally.
  • Be fully present to each moment, to yourself and to each other.
  • Allow whatever feelings are there to guide you into the next moment.
  • Celebrate and Savor and Allow your heart to fully open.
  • Find fun, creative ways to express how you feel.
  • Nurture your body, mind and spirit in a joyous, non-judgemental manner.

Enjoy this time, as much as you can. Let it inspire you to create, relate and celebrate. And, please let me know if I can be of assistance to you in any way.

For those of you who wish to empower and enhance your vocal ability, I now offer Vocal Freedom sessions via Zoom. And for those who wish to access and process the emotional root cause of a current issue, I also offer Journey Therapy sessions via Zoom.

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Caroline's Concerts, Communication, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Healing, Liberation, Life and Career, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression, Vocal freedom

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Finding Venus Goes Vinyl and Touring

Posted on August 8, 2019 | Leave a comment

“It was a miracle that I made it, after the lawyer, who appeared to be driving drunk and driving like a maniac, hit me so hard I flew twenty-eight feet with a severed leg. I landed on my nose. My name is… I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t know. I reside in the physical form of a woman named, Venus. There was an accident. A green Mazda and an eighteen-year-old on a ten-speed bike. It was a miracle that I became a human being again. And it took more than all the king’s horses to do so. Mama and Papa didn’t know what to do, so they decided to do what they knew best. The show must go on, they said, and left for a tour of America.”

This is how the Finding Venus album begins, accompanied by a tango of joyously gorgeous cello and grand piano. Adding deeply expressed vocals that range from lonely despair, longing and fury to humorous introspection and sensual awakening, we are taken on a quest to find identity, love and meaning. A quest that takes us all the way into the Nevada desert, in serial killer territory, in a desperate attempt to find the one person who made sense to us. A quest that forces us to face our deepest fears, admit our deepest longings and let go of what we love the most, so that we can, in turn, return to and realize who we really are.

“This is art. High art. It is also a compassionate, realistic study of what unsolved mysteries can do to a human life. How do we let go? How do we say goodbye when we can’t? How do we move on? How do we smile again? We find Venus.”
A.J. Llewellyn

As many of you already know, Finding Venus is my way of sharing my own incredible, but true, story of hope and transformation. It was, indeed, a miracle that I made it. I mean, recovering from the horrible accident that crushed my body and sent my brain into the land of deep confusion and indescribable pain was one thing. Making sense of the scattered pieces of memory that gradually was presented to me, was another story.

To be honest, I am still trying to make sense of it. And, in this making-sense-of-it process, I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to express what I have experienced in such a deliciously musical format and with such incredible musicians and actors. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for being part of this journey, as listener and co-conspirator, as mentor, supporter, friend, ally and fan! I could not have done any of this without you. It is my deepest prayer and desire that this story will help and inspire those who are struggling with issues related to trauma, identity, recovery and the loss of a loved one.

The Jazz-, blues-, pop- and cabaret arrangements on this album are brilliantly executed by bass players Abraham Laboriel and Jennifer Leitham, drummers Mark Schulman and Chris Wabich, pianist Tom Zink, guitarist Julian Coryell and cellists Irina Chirkova, Carter Dewberry and Elisa Herbig. The voices of Mama, Papa and Stefanie are beautifully expressed by J’Nae Fincannon, Gary Imhoff and Aina O’Kane. Katisse Buckingham flavours the album throughout with his poignant, sultry, lavish and energetic sax, flute, beat box and synth programming. And phenomenal sound engineers Tom Zink, Bob Rice, Leslie Chew, Tony Shogren and Jan Erik Kongshaug makes us all sound awesome!

The Finding Venus album is now available as a Limited Edition 2 LP white Vinyl, as well as CD, Downloads and Streaming at www.carolinewaters.com

The Finding Venus Tour 2019 is happening in Sweden, Norway, UK, USA and Canada, starting next week!!! Amazing cellist, Ruti Celli, is joining us on the first leg of the tour and others will join as we proceed. Concert dates will be posted as they are confirmed at www.carolinewaters.com/calendar

If you like what you hear, purchase the album, buy tickets for our shows and share with others you think might resonate! Also let us know where you want us to perform next. Click here to make contact or to join the VIP email list.

Love Always, Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Caroline's Concerts, Concerts, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Feel Good Music, Healing, Liberation, Musical Theatre, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment

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Overcoming Procrastination and Finding Venus

Posted on April 28, 2019 | Leave a comment

Roughly seven years after the birth of the idea to create a musical, based on chapters from the novel-eh-thriller-memoir that took a half a lifetime to dare to write, I am finally ready to release the double album, Finding Venus.

I am both excited and absolutely terrified. Not that the album itself is so dangerous. But the emotional content that is attached to each of the songs, brings up a world of issues for me. They remind me of times in my life where I have felt utterly powerless or deathly buried afraid or wanting to kill myself.

The songs, in themselves, are tremendously empowering, full of hope and strength and courage and humor and powerful expressions. Yet, for me, they bring up all the hidden passages of what it took for me to overcome the fear and pain and uncertainty of the trauma I lived through.

In addition to working hard to have it all come together, the book, the musical and the album, I must confess that procrastination techniques have been at play. Techniques such as, nitpicking, delaying making a decision, constantly debating the pros and cons of each decision made, beating up on myself for not being slim enough to present it, etc.

Now, that I have made the decision to move forward with the release, I realize the amount of fear that has been holding me back. I realize the kind of self doubt that I have carried with me for so long. In spite of the fact that I have been a great promoter of Vocal Freedom, I have held myself hostage, in a way, to my own fear.

The fear that I now have surrendered completely, in order to move forward with this release, is connected to a very old message, launched deeply within my younger self. This old message is about Not sharing personal stuff, about Always smiling to the camera, about Appearing strong and happy, even when I feel vulnerable or sad. Serendipitously, herein lies the core of the new message I wish to relay with my music and story:

Don’t be afraid to Be and Share who you are. There is tremendous power in opening to the inner wisdom of your being, allowing it to move you and expressing it powerfully in words, music and action.

All the songs for Finding Venus can now be enjoyed and purchased via www.carolinewaters.com and we’ll be super happy if you can make it to the Release Party at Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood on May 4th.

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Posted in A Call To Action, Caroline's Concerts, Concerts, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Feel Good Music, Getting out of denial, Healing, Liberation, Musical Theatre, Posttraumatic stress, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression, Vocal freedom

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Let’s BE That Change!

Posted on October 14, 2018 | Leave a comment

If we want to live in a world where truth matters, where equal opportunity matters, where preserving our soil, our water, our basis for living, matters, we need to be honest to the core of our being.

We need to speak the truth about ourselves, about our own experiences, about how we feel. We need to stop spreading and feeding into the poison that fear-based propaganda is. We need to focus, wholeheartedly, on cleaning up our own, distorted, world views and make sure we come from a place of love and integrity with every single word we speak and type and sing and act on.

When we take 100% responsibility for how we feel and act, when we heal the internal wounds that are so easily triggered by external factors, when we stop projecting our feelings of hurt and anger and fear and instead channel all those feelings into a conscious, loving commitment to positive change, then and only then will we see the change we wish to see in the world. Let’s BE that change!

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Posted in A Call To Action, Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Getting out of denial, Healing, Liberation, Planetary Relief, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Sivilized Debate, World Peace

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From Paralyzed to Energized

Posted on May 12, 2018 | Leave a comment
I admit it. I am petrified. Frozen with fear. Emotionally locked inside a deep darkness. The big fat void of avoidance, of all things postponed, is now staring me down to the ground. I am, literally, chained to the floor of my internal torture chamber, as the poisonous venom of guilt, shame and feeling inadequate works its way through my veins.
 
These are powerful feelings and I allow them all. “Bring it on!” I say, as I close my eyes and prepare for death, still unable to move or even brace for the impact. And as I allow the waves of distain, of self loathing and blame, of hatred and shame to wash right through me, to the very core… As I allow this nuclear explosion, this unhinged train, this blow torch, this torrential rain, to have its way with me, I am strangely okay.
 
“How is it possible,” I ask, “to feel okay in the middle of my very own, personal, Armageddon?” At the moment of asking, I don’t know the answer. I don’t have to. It is what it is and I accept it as is. I’ve paid my dues. I no longer need to prove myself, not even to myself. And herein lies the answer to my quest. I no longer need to prove a thing, not even to myself. From this statement alone, another revelation is born: When we surrender the ego, all ego-related feelings, such as guilt and shame and feeling inadequate, automatically falls away.
 
In the ten minutes it took me to write this, I have moved from feeling completely paralyzed to feeling completely energized. This, to me, is the power of surrender, of being totally present in the moment, in the body, letting whatever emotions are there be fully felt and pass through unobstructed, without trying to deny it, fix it, explain it or change it.
 
Bring it on and enjoy your day!

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Posted in A Call To Action, Communication, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Getting out of denial, Healing, Liberation, Life and Career, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Tools for overcoming depression

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3 Keys to Communicating With Ease

Posted on October 24, 2017 | Leave a comment

Have you ever experienced feeling like you expressed yourself with such immaculate clarity, but for some bizarre reason, most of your intended communication got lost in translation? I have. Many times. In fact, over and over. It’s really frustrating.

So, here’s the deal: We receive 400 billion pieces of information every second. Of these 400 billion pieces, only 2000 gets delivered to our conscious mind via our brain’s filtering system. And, this filtering system is continuously formed by our emotional experiences, which of course varies greatly from person to person, depending on our DNA, our upbringing and our surroundings at any given time.

This explains why we perceive things so differently and why we can experience the same event, but observe completely different aspects of it and thus tend to give entirely different accounts when we reiterate said event.

Seeing and hearing and feeling things so differently from one another can make it difficult to communicate. Here are my three keys to making it easier:

1 – Listen with the intention to learn where the other person is coming from and how they experience what they experience. Ask them to clarify if anything is unclear.

2 – Resist the urge to offer an opinion, unless specifically asked. And, even then, I often find it more useful to ask more questions so that the other person can arrive at their own understanding first.

3 – Let new information sink in before jumping to conclusions. Recognizing that we are only perceiving a small part of the whole picture at any given moment opens the door to more playful, curious and exploratory communication. When we resist the urge to judge, we open for the possibility to expand our vision. This, in turn, expands our ability to collaborate and co-create.

For those of you who are interested, I am designing new Vocal Freedom seminars that include fun and empowering processes for expanding our self awareness and enhancing our communication skills. This, in addition, of course, to finding, freeing and exquisitely  expressing our voices.

If you want me to stop by your town for a Vocal Freedom Seminar and/ or House Concert or to give a concert at your favorite venue, feel free to shoot me an email. Many choose to book a seminar/ concert as a one- or two-day event.

Email booking@redheadrecords.com with any questions or booking inquiries.

Vocal Freedom via SKYPE/ FaceTime is also an option.

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Self Awareness, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Sivilized Debate, Vocal freedom

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