Category Archives: Creativity

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

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

The Power of Emotional Communication

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

How To Stay Positive During Covid 19

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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Finding Venus Goes Vinyl and Touring

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

Overcoming Procrastination and Finding Venus

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.

From Paralyzed to Energized

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!

From Workaholic to Finding Venus in West Hollywood

It’s been a while since my last post… and for that I am truly sorry. So much have happened and I haven’t been good at letting y’all know in any kind of timely fashion. Since my last post, I finished the concerts I had already scheduled for Spring and Summer in New York, Florida, Norway and Sweden. With flying colors, I might add, well, sort of, until my body said, “Stop!”

As some of you may know, I have been struggling with being a workaholic for most of my career. One of the problems with being a workaholic is that I often ignore the signals my body are giving me when it needs rest and rejuvenation. Long story short, I decided to take the rest of the summer off, completely, just to rejuvenate. And it has worked wonders for my well being and creativity.

I am now back in LA, working in a more sane tempo to finish my book and to come up with a plan for a new and improved album release for Finding Venus. Even though I finished recording the album already, I decided to put the release on hold until I got my body back in shape and a team in place to help me promote it, along with my story, in a most fabulous fashion.

If you’re in the hood, feel free to join me for a drink, a chat or just to listen to a super relaxed concert this coming Thursday at The Grafton on Sunset in West Hollywood. I’ll bring my guitar and some CDs and enjoy your company.

Caroline Waters LIVE at The Grafton on Sunset

Love Always,
Caroline

On Stage with Yo-Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall

The magical power of joyously focused intention

As some of you already know, one of my dreams has been to play Carnegie Hall. Another to play with Yo-Yo Ma. And, just three days ago, this thought entered my mind: “Wouldn’t it be fun if I got to attend a concert with Yo-Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall, so I could put my energy in that room, with him, on that stage?”

So, as I Googled that thought, I found that Yo-Yo Ma was, in fact, going to be performing at Carnegie Hall. One performance only. But it was sold out. And according to Carnegie Hall, it had been sold out for months.

My next thought was, “I could swing by, just for fun, and see if an opportunity presents itself. Perhaps there’ll be a ticket, just for me.” So, as I strolled in through the entrance doors of Carnegie Hall, my heart was joyously soaring and I was fully immersed in the fantasy of, not only being present at Yo-Yo Ma’s concert, but also being up close and personal with my hero.

Imagine my facial expression as the ticket person tells me, “We have one ticket available. That is, if you don’t mind being on stage with Yo-Yo Ma.” I won’t leave you wondering – here’s my facial expression:

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Long story short, I had the extraordinary privilege of sitting on that stage, less than ten feet from Yo-Yo Ma, as he became one with his instrument and danced his passion, sensitivity and brilliance into each and every breath of Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas.

For three full hours, I got to savor every detail of Yo-Yo Ma and his performance, his amazing pianist, Emanuel Ax, the beauty and majesty of Carnegie Hall, filled to the brim, the awe and admiration on people’s faces, the standing ovations. I got to take it all in, as if I was the performer. It felt as if we, who were so lucky as to be seated on stage with him, were part of his orchestra that evening, energetically reflecting his genius in our listening and being.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that he smiled, small talked and flirted with me as he passed me to go off and on stage 😉 This whole experience, in itself, is a dream come true! And it goes to show that anything is possible when we put our heartfelt intention to work 🙂
Yo-Yo Ma

What’s Happening Next?

Feel free to join us this coming Tuesday, April 19th, as we are celebrating my new album, Finding Venus, in concert at Caffe Vivaldi in Greenwich Village. Incredible Russian cellist Anastasia Golenishcheva is playing with me and singer/songwriter Katelyn Richards is singing backup vocals. There is no cover charge, but reservations are highly recommended!  Click here for more info!

Join us on Facebook!

Love Always,
Caroline

 

 

 

The Key to Sanity, Productivity and Creative Expression

My Papa was an annoyingly positive and persistent person.
In the summer, he would wake us up in the wee hours of the morning, by singing and dancing and ushering us down to the ocean for a swim in annoyingly enthusiastic manners, no matter how cold or windy it was. For that, I am eternally grateful.

I realize now, four decades later, how his attitude of joy combined with great discipline, work ethics and creative expression, has given me an incredible foundation to live, work and create from. It wasn’t always fun back then, to be subject to someone so intensely dedicated to absolutely everything he focused his attention on.
Per_Caro_900
As a matter of fact, it has taken me years in therapy and self development, to fully appreciate and utilize the amazing gifts I received. And I try to remember the feeling of the not so fun moments when I feel myself mimicking his less elegant methods in my own desire to empower myself and others to greater productivity and expression.

The key to sanity, productivity and joyous expression.
In order to keep myself from crashing, burning or acting out on others, I strive every single day to maintain balance, between work and play, productivity and relaxation, creativity and reception. This balancing act requires that I allow myself to be less enthusiastic and joyous at times. It requires space and time to listen to myself and others and to simply be, without trying to move, fix or change anything.

In order for a tree to grow big and strong and fruitful, it needs ample time to grow and stretch it’s root system to ensure a rich supply of water, minerals and vitamins. In today’s society, so filled with lights and sounds and demands, it is easy to forget that we need the darkness, the aloneness and the silence to deepen and expand our root system.

Embracing the darkness, going deep into the soil of our subconscious, allows us to also discover and extract the gold and the diamonds that exist there.

The process of Finding Venus.
I’ve spent the last four years producing an album for Finding Venus, the musical thriller. In addition to the small village of brilliant musicians, actors and sound engineers who has blessed this project, it has taken all that I have had to give of my enthusiasm, talent, time, heart, listening and going deep into the soil of my emotional being to see it through to the finish line. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

FindingVenusEnsemble
Click here to stay tuned for upcoming shows and release dates 🙂 

Musically Yours,
Caroline Waters

Angels, Bandits and the Power of YES

Amazing things happen when we open to receive the good that abounds. Last summer, I said YES to perform at a music festival in Brønnøysund. It took three days to drive there with my sweetheart in a super cool electric Nissan Leaf and three days to drive back, across the beautiful mountains of Norway. And, as I thoroughly enjoyed the whole festival experience and appreciated all the aspects of the journey, I received another proposal. A group of extraordinary women musicians asked if I wanted to join them in a band. Again, I said YES.

Engla & Banditta

Our band name is Engla & Banditta, which in English means Angels and Bandits. The name itself is significant for many reasons. In addition to our music being incredibly expressive, deep, joyous and diverse, ranging from Bluesy Rock to Jazzy Pop, we have a fierce social engagement and a soft spot for the underdog.

Banjo- and guitar playing Tove Bøygard, who sings in real Halling, is improving the lives of drug addicts and prostitutes as a social worker. Bass- and castanet playing Venja Ruud Nilsen and sax tooting Bente Mari Mortensen are improving the lives of women prisoners as music therapists. Swedish singer/songwriter and electric guitar player Sara Andersson teaches and performs with extraordinary depth and compassion. Legendary drummer Metch Johannessen fights for the downtrodden with every beat of her heart and drum. And I, in addition to sharing my own personal story of overcoming adversary in Finding Venus, give seminars and teach Vocal Freedom for anyone and everyone who wants to heal from post-traumatic stress, find/ strengthen their voice and let their heart sing with no holds barred.

Engla & Banditta in Action

Engla & Banditta recently completed our first concert series, with performances at Iris Scene in Odda, Bredtveit Women’s Prison and Herr Nilsen in Oslo, Norway. The audience response has been amazing and we are now getting ready for a delicious summer of joyous expression in both Norway and Sweden.

If you would like to book us for your event, party, club, stage, TV or radio program, let us know via booking@englaogbanditta.com. Chances are, if schedules allow and the price is right, we’ll say YES!

Click HERE for a video teaser from one of our shows in Oslo!

Musically Yours,
Caroline Waters