Category Archives: Communication

It’s Your Time – What Will You Do With It?

Posted on March 5, 2025 | Leave a comment

Oh, it’s so easy to get sucked into the sadness and frustration of current world events. The drama of it all activates the addictive brain functions and can cause long bouts of scrolling or TV-watching accompanied by various comfort foods and drinks that dull our senses and emotions. I am guilty of all of the above.

How to snap out of it? Well, one thing that works is to remind myself to stay focused on the tasks and projects that make my heart sing. Remind myself of who I am and what I came here to do and be. And to allow the knowledge of who I am and what I stand for guide every step, moving forward.

It won’t help the world at large if I become paralyzed with fear or sadness or if I turn my light down or off. As a matter of fact, I think the best thing we can do, to contribute to the fight for Democracy, is to shine our respective lights as bright as we can whenever and wherever we can.

For me personally, shining my light means using my voice to write, compose, sing, speak my heart and to empower others to do the same. And when we do these things that make our hearts sing, we also tap into something way bigger than ourselves. We tap into that great big network of inspiration, collaboration and love that makes anything possible.

On that note, I am going to continue with finalizing the mixes for my new album. It’s called It’s Your Time. And here’s my question to you: It’s your time. What will you do with it? What makes your heart sing?

Let’s do this❤❤❤

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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

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The Power of Emotional Communication

Posted on April 12, 2024 | Leave a comment

Many of us learned to suppress our emotions at an early age. We were often told not to cry, to be quiet, or to smile, to pull ourselves together, etc. If you were anything like me, you were raised to be a good, clever, service minded and productive person.

For me, since I was a professional performer at an early age, I felt I had no time for the upset or pain that I felt when hurt or injured. So I chose to ignore it completely or turn it into laughter. I became so good at suppressing pain that sometimes I did not feel anything at all.

The problem with suppressing our emotions is that we then also cut off major aspects of what makes us the unique, creative, passionate, loving and thriving human beings we are meant to be. With each aspect of our personality there is an intricate layer of emotion setting the tone, guiding the way and revealing the subtle nuances of creative possibility that resides within that particular aspect of who we are. And for each layer of emotion that we suppress or deny, we literally prevent ourselves from having access to the fullness of who we are.

When we allow ourselves to be present with these emotions. When we dare to invite them into the room and give them a voice. When we dare to listen fully to what they have to say or sing. When we embrace them with all of our consciousness and all of our love, there are treasures beyond our wildest imagination to behold.

Our emotions hold the key to our brilliance, our creativity, our curiosity, our ability to grow and learn and love and be loved. And when we allow all aspects of these emotions to be heard and seen and expressed fully, we also allow the magnificent texture of the fabric of our being to shine.

In communication, our emotions hold the key to heartfelt expression. This means that if we want to communicate powerfully, we need to be on board with the fullness of our emotional spectrum. And that means accepting every aspect of our emotional makeup. The good, the happy, the brilliant, the joyous, the divine, the serene, the ecstatic, the passionate and compassionate, as well as, the silly, the insecure, the bad, the ugly, the sad, the terrifying, the lonely, the self conscious, the malicious, the devious, the cowardous and the un-feeling.

When I teach Journey to Vocal Freedom, I emphasize the importance of including our most vulnerable selves. Those parts of us that we have pushed aside or denied because they embarass or scare us. These parts often belong to our younger selves. And when we allow those parts to be heard and seen and loved and nurtured, there is magic to behold. We suddenly discover that we have so much more to say, to sing, to discover, to explore, to give and to receive. And we begin to realize the symphony of possibility that resides within our own being.

When we add the texture of these voices to our own, we discover a whole new world of possibility in terms of communication, connection and authenticity. Each layer of emotion that we welcome into our conscious communication opens new doors of heartfelt connection with others. This, in my opinion, is also how we make the world a better place: By gently inviting every aspect of who we are, one emotional layer at a time, to sing along.

If you are curious to learn more about Journey to Vocal Freedom and how we can work together, feel free to visit www.journeytovocalfreedom.com and sign up for a free Discovery Call.

Musically Yours,
Caroline

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Posted in A Call To Action, Communication, Creativity, Expansion of Consciousness, Getting out of denial, Self Awareness, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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The Power of Silence

Posted on July 20, 2023 | Leave a comment

Growing up with three much older siblings and parents with tremendous verbal and vocal ability, I learned to speak up, as well as, sing so I could reach the farthest end of the theatre.

I got so good at being heard that I was able to sing without a microphone, in front of a forty-piece orchestra to an outdoor audience of thousands, and be heard.

Then I met Sue Raney. Yes, the legendary Jazz Hall of Fame singer, Sue Raney. She became my mentor in vocal performance while I was studying at the Dick Grove School of Music in Los Angeles.

One of the first things she said to me was, “I would love to hear you sing at no more than 10-20% of your capacity. And I would love for you to take time to pause after a phrasing. And I would love to see you sustain that pause, in silence, as you energetically reach out and stay present with the audience and allow the them to receive the message you just gave them.”

Sue Raney taught me the art and power of silence, of allowing extended pauses, of taking the voice down to a whisper while still holding the energy of being fully present and engaged. She taught me to hold an end note, perfectly still and then add vibrato for only the conclusion of it.

In her teaching and by the example of her brilliant performance, she helped me connect my voice and my song with the very core of my being. Sue Raney taught me to sing from my heart and soul.

Here she is, performing one of my favorite songs, I’ll See You In My Dreams, written by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn. Just click on the image and it’ll take you there.

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Posted in Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Vocal freedom

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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

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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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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3 Keys to Resolving Conflicts

Posted on August 7, 2017 | Leave a comment

It was recently suggested to me that I displayed classic symptoms of Battered Women’s Syndrome. My symptoms were as follows: I felt verbally paralyzed, unable to speak out or take a stance in fear of what consequence may follow.

I don’t remember being battered, but I have experienced near death accidents that have caused post traumatic stress reactions and I have experienced other forms of suppression, such as verbal abuse, scare tactics and withholding.

Some of these experiences are still affecting my life from time to time in the form of fear. Fear of conflict being the most energy- and time consuming. In the spirit of Vocal Freedom, I am going to share 3 key elements that I have found to be the most useful in terms of regaining my confidence and ability to resolve conflicts:

1 – Being Fully Present

My automatic reaction to stress is to dissociate, to leave my body. Dissociation may be an effective tool to handle stress in the moment, but is not conducive to being effective or productive or resolving conflicts. So, in order to move into a better feeling place and a place of power, I first need to become present in my own body, to ground myself in the here and now, to feel my feelings.

2 – Identifying the Most Ideal Outcome

It is easy to get wrapped up in other people’s words and actions, to take things personally. And to respond from a place of feeling wounded and needy. So, in order to counter this victim-based reactive behavior, I step back and try to see the situation from a higher perspective, by identifying the most ideal outcome. In order to do this effectively, it is vital that I don’t act from an emotional charge, but wait until I have identified what I really want to get out of the situation.

I recently stepped into a difficult conversation with a group of people I didn’t know. And, because my initial engagement happened as a knee-jerk reaction, I fell flat on my face. It took almost a day and a half to untangle myself from the emotional defense I had gotten myself into and to see my carefully drafted ignorant BS for what it was. This can be a tricky thing to identify, since the ego automatically will come up with a number of self-glorifying justifications for our behavior, as long as we remain emotionally charged. Stepping back and identifying the most ideal outcome, helped me see clearly how to untangle myself and proceed in a more constructive way.

3 – Humbly Embracing the Opportunity to Learn

It takes a great deal of courage to be humble. It requires enough personal strength, confidence and wisdom to see the value of such a receptive state of being. For me in particular, being humble is something I have fought, tooth and nail, every step of the way. Why? Because I mistook it for weakness. Fortunately, I have come to realize that humility can serve as a most wonderful tool to discover what is possible to achieve and receive. When I humbly embrace the opportunity to learn from a situation, however triggering, confusing or challenging it may be, I put myself in a position of optimal reception. Being humble and unassuming enable us to see and receive what we have to offer each other with greater ease and precision.

Here’s a song I wrote that expresses the magic and beauty of being fully present, identifying a most ideal outcome and humbly embracing the opportunity to learn: Dancing In The Nude. It features Jennifer Leitham on bass, Katisse Buckingham on sax and programming, Tom Zink on keys, Chris Wabich on drums and Caroline Waters on piano and vocals. Enjoy!

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

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Honoring the Victims of War

Posted on September 11, 2015 | Leave a comment

We must remember to whom we owe our freedom. We must remember that freedom itself is a privilege. We must remember those who die for the cause of freedom. We must remember to lend a helping hand, so that those who wants freedom can achieve it. And we must make sure that the freedom that we enjoy in our so-called civilized corner of the world is not in any way based on the suffering of others.

Tomorrow, I will sing and play my heart out with cellist Elisa Herbig and refugee kids, to commemorate those who died in an attempt to find refuge from war. Feel free to bring a rose and join us, if you are anywhere near the vicinity of Åmål, Sweden. If you are too far away, feel free to join us in song, prayer or meditation. We will meet at 7PM, behind the old church, down by the water.

Love,
Caroline

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Posted in Caroline's Concerts, Communication, Expansion of Consciousness, Getting out of denial, Healing, Liberation, Mourning, Posttraumatic stress, Self Awareness, Self Empowerment, Sivilized Debate, World Peace

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