Category Archives: Self Confidence

Focus, Murder and Healing

Posted on March 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

The murderous results of negative focus:

It has been interesting, reading about Anders Behring Breivik and how he chose to focus his attention in increasingly destructive ways in the years leading up to the mass murder. I find it extremely valuable to see the correlation between focus and action in human behavior.

When I was recovering from a serious head injury and addicted to prescription drugs, following a serious car accident in my late teens, I too was negatively focused for periods of time. My emotions ranged from depressed to homicidal, which created some rather disturbing thought processes.

I don’t know exactly why I didn’t end up as a drug addict, alcoholic or murdering maniac in the end. I certainly had enough crazy thoughts and violent emotions in me to go there. Was it that little voice of reason that guided me through the despair and kept me on the path of healing rather than destruction? Was it the music that allowed me a positive outlet for all kinds of thoughts and feelings? Was it family, friends and angels on my path who gently nurtured me back to Self?

How life affirming choices makes a difference:

I am fully aware that I made choices every single day of my recovery. Choices that probably saved my life. But how come I chose the way I did? What was it that made me able to quit the prescription drugs, cold turkey, in spite of the horrible pain I was in, when so many others simply cannot? And what was it that made me choose being good over being bad when bad felt so much more in sync with the painful state of mind I was in? How was I able to transform pain into something life affirming and positive when every cell in my body was screaming bloody murder?

Some say I had it in me from the start, that I was born with a powerful ability to positively focus my attention beyond immediate needs. This I do know: The power of music and having permission to express myself, verbally and vocally, with no holds bar, has made it possible for me to come full circle. I think we all have the ability to do crazy destructive things if  we are bottled up inside. Having a positive outlet is key to any healing journey.

The power and magic of Vocal Freedom:

One of the main reasons I choose to share my journey of healing transformation in words and music is to give hope to those who are struggling with similar issues. Many who experience trauma go through similar negative behavioral patterns as a result of the pain and the fear involved. People may have different coping mechanisms based on their upbringing and support structure, but many patterns are triggered through the subconscious fight/ flight mechanisms, which we all share, regardless of our make-up and social habitat.

Vocal Freedom Camp is specifically designed to gently find, strengthen and nurture the voices in each and every one of us that need to be heard. In addition to promoting my new musical thriller, Finding Venus, which tells the story of my powerful transformational journey, I am working to set up a series of Vocal Freedom Camp seminars to tour Norway and the US.

Please let me know if you have venue suggestions or would like to book a seminar in your town. I am also available for private one-on-one sessions.

More info at www.carolinewaters.com

All Love, Caroline

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Posted in Communication, Healing, Liberation, Posttraumatic stress, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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Finding Venus – Come Hell or High Waters

Posted on January 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’m not exactly sure why it took me so long to find the courage to share this particular story. It’s not like I haven’t shared at all, but my sharing has mostly consisted of blippets of life and carefully selected soundbites to illustrate an emotional journey that has left many questions unanswered.

Stilling the voices of fear
It has taken almost ten years to finish the process of writing this memoir. The writing itself didn’t take that long, but stilling the voices of fear and arriving at a point of feeling worthy of sharing it took lots and lots of processing.

Since I grew up as a child star and got ample validation for my performance, sharing myself in musical and theatrical ways have been much easier than sharing myself as a person. In many ways, I have hidden behind my artist image, carefully selecting the pieces that had “promotional value” for public display.

At this point in my career, all I really care about is to share my truth and being in ways that will empower and build bridges of love, tolerance and understanding. And, in order to do that, I need to be as real and honest as I possibly can.

Finding Venus – Come Hell or High Waters is the true story of how I managed to recover and come back to life after the near death accident that left me with temporary brain damage, amnesia and enhanced psychic abilities.

During this time, Stefanie Stroh, the only person I felt any kind of connection to after the accident, disappeared in the Nevada desert in the same area the notorious serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells operated. My search for her was instrumental in bringing me back to a sense of Self and purpose.

Many layers
This story has many layers: In addition to describing the transformational journey of healing from amnesia and post traumatic stress, it is also a testimonial to how I found my identity as a human being, how I dared to come out of the closet as a sexual being and how I managed to embrace life from a whole new perspective.

Since I also have written songs that go hand in glove with this particular journey, Finding Venus – Come Hell or High Waters is also being transformed into a 90-minute musical stage performance, which I am currently preparing to showcase in Oslo, New York and Los Angeles. I am terrified, to tell you the truth, of putting myself out there is this manner. And, at the same time, I am excited to finally let the cat out of the bag and share this powerful adventure of transformation and healing.

Consciousness expanding activities
If you or anyone you know have ever experienced trauma to the brain, loss of identity, amnesia, performance pressure, challenges in relationship to parental opinions, enhanced psychic abilities, paranormal activity, post traumatic stress or other consciousness expanding activities, you might find this musical particularly intriguing, comforting and empowering.

Sharing the love
It is my desire to share the love that I experienced throughout this powerful healing transformation in ways that will entertain, humor, enlighten, delight and give hope for the future.

Please stay tuned for show dates and more info at www.carolinewaters.com

Here’s a taste:)

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Posted in Caroline's Concerts, Communication, Getting out of denial, Healing, Liberation, Life and Career, Love and romance, Mourning, Paranormal Activity, Posttraumatic stress, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Songwriting, Vocal freedom

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The Key to Happiness

Posted on November 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

Why do we spend so much time worrying about, criticizing, evaluating and complaining about the desires we have yet to manifest? Why don’t we simply BE HAPPY that we are alive and on our way to our new destination? Why don’t we savor and celebrate every single step of the journey, including the difficult stepping stones that propel us further toward our desired goal?

Some say our brains are wired to focus on problem solving as a modern extension of our basic survival instinct, no matter how well we are doing/ being. We also seem to have forgotten to utilize the art of appreciation and acknowledgement on a daily basis. Until Thanksgiving comes around, or Christmas, we seem to bury our heads in the sands of our tasks.

The glorious results of childhood conditioning
I spent most of my childhood in eager and active pursuit of goals related to my intellectual, physical and artistic progress. I learned early on to appreciate the value of discipline, hard work and focused study. And for this I am grateful. But for the longest time I didn’t realize that I or anyone else, or life itself for that matter, had value other than in the achievement of goals or perfected performance.

Today, after a rich life of contrasting experiences, I savor and appreciate as much as I can, as I know it is the KEY to my happiness.

The important art of savoring
When we savor a moment, we let ourselves be filled with awareness which in turn expands our consciousness in that instant. Have you noticed that when you stop to smell a flower, you also become aware of more of your surroundings?

When we become aware of our surroundings in the spirit of appreciation, we  open ourselves to what is possible and to the gifts that are there for us.

The dangerous art of complaining
It never cease to amaze me when I listen to someone complain about something and I realize that they are totally blind to the opportunities that would be apparent to them if they’d only stop complaining. For example:

I met a man in a seminar I attended, who was buried in grief about his daughter’s illness. I listened patiently for a while and then offered a resource that I knew had helped a lot of people in the same situation. But it was as if he didn’t want to know about it. It seemed as if he was more interested in continuing his rambling than finding a solution to his daughter’s condition. I wrote the name of the resource on my card and handed it to him, but found my card on the floor underneath his chair when he left the seminar. My heart just ached.

Living like there’s no tomorrow
I was blessed with a serious car accident that helped me get out of my own way. I don’t wish this on anyone else, but for me it almost seemed like it was necessary to force me to “let go and let God”. During the course of my tremendously tumultuous journey of recovery and discovery, I have learned to appreciate and savor each moment like there’s no tomorrow.

Today, I appreciate every single day I get to wake up and seize the day. And as I practice savoring every lesson learned and every single being who grace my path, I am discovering a whole new world of opportunity, creativity and deliciousness I never knew existed.

The Trick: Replacing fear with appreciation
There is one little trick to this appreciation business. You can’t be fearful and savor at the same time, so you’ve got to let the fear go bye-bye. This takes a bit of courage to do, but if you practice savoring the stuff that has less of a charge, your appreciation muscle will soon become strong enough to shoo the fear away!

I have done it, so I know it works:)

Finding Venus – Come Hell or High Waters
If you’d like, you can catch a sneak peak of my journey of recovery and discovery, as I have just finished creating  a web site for my new musical, Finding Venus – Come Hell or High Waters, with video and sound clips  and all that Jazz!

Finding Venus - Come Hell or High Waters

All Love, Caroline

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Posted in Caroline's Concerts, Healing, Liberation, Life and Career, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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Clear Your Space – Free Your Creativity!

Posted on September 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

The Effort to Begin

How easy is it to procrastinate in the face of anything that needs organizing, in my case, boxes that need unpacking? I open the first box, peak inside and freeze as the thought of all the content in all the boxes comes tumbling into my mind. “This is going to take forever!”, “Where is it all going to fit?” and “Do I really want to do this now?” are sentences that appear in quick succession. So, I close the box, walk into the kitchen, make myself toast, a cup of tea and plop my buttocks in front of the TV.

I feel the relief for a little while, then guilt for being a lazy ass, knowing all too well those boxes will not magically unpack themselves while I watch multiple episodes of Law & Order. Getting started is the hardest part.

The Rewards of Taking Action

As I decide to take action, one box at a time, carefully discarding/ putting aside paper and stuff for Good Will as I go, I feel tremendously relieved and proud of my accomplishment. As I finish, after taking my time to find the best possibly place for each item, I am exhausted but satisfied. The house feels good. The energy feels good. And my mind has opened to a tremendous flow of creative impulses.

Creative Freedom

Clearing and organizing my space not only feels good in terms of every day living and working. It also creates space in my mind for new thoughts and ideas to grow and play and expand. When tools, papers, programs and gadgets are easily accessed and neatly placed, being creative can be amazingly easy and fun.

Julia Cameron talks about “putting the drama on the page” in her amazing book, The Artist Way. This is of course easier to do when the drama is out of the way or at least organized in some fashion or another.

The Drama on the Page

I am in the midst of writing the manuscript for a musical thriller, titled “Finding Venus – Come Hell or High Waters!” Getting to this point has taken years of therapy, life, love and processing in all kinds of ways. The story is deeply personal and powerful songs have emerged as a result. And here’s the interesting part…

When I resist the creative flow and try to hide from my story, the drama projects itself into my present life, in ways that only serve to delay, distract and irritate. And when I actually dare to put the drama on the page in its pure and honest form, no matter how scary it is to begin the process, my life is put in perspective – in a way that makes sense and feels empowering and fun.

So, “Finding Venus” it is – “Come Hell or High Waters!”

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Posted in Self Confidence

Planetary Relief and Focused Intention

Posted on March 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

We are pummeled, on a daily basis now, with powerful images of the force of nature as She rains and shakes and shifts and overflows. We are also pummeled, on a daily basis, with powerful images of the force of people, as we unite in protest against tyranny and dictatorship, as we kill each other in the name of God and just cause, and as we cause major disasters in the name of capitalism and industrial progress.

The art of appreciation, focus and communication

How can we set the tone for a more harmonious co-creation? How can we empower each other to collaborate in the spirit of love? How can we allow ourselves to receive the good that abounds and let the energy of good vibrations reverberate into the world at large?

These are some of the main tools that help me stay focused and inspired:

Appreciation – Express what you appreciate as often as you can, in words and action, and bask in the feeling of that which you appreciate as you go about your day. Write it, sing it, speak it, show it in all kinds of ways you  can think of and watch how your perspective and the world around you transforms as a result.

Focus – Keep you eye on what it is you wish to accomplish, create, receive and avoid fear based distractions. Give your attention, time and energy to that which you love and want to see blossom and thrive. Do this with any scenario that has your attention and see what happens.

Communication – Share your strengths, vision and gifts in ways that gives you joy and feels good in your heart and soul. Ask for help when you need it and receive the love that abounds with open arms, also when it comes in unexpected ways.

These simple tools have helped me in more ways than I can describe. By keeping my eye on the ball, giving and receiving in the spirit of joy and heartfelt communication and practicing the art of appreciation as much as I can, I am able to stay positive and creative in the face of adversity and turmoil. By focusing on the positive aspects, I can see the beauty and creative potential in people and situations that otherwise would have scared me and inhibited my expression.

Here’s my song Did You Know as I performed it with cellist Erlend Habbestad at an amazing venue called Smöga in Sweden last summer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4swoKym5y5Q

Love and Blessings, Caroline

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Posted in Caroline's Concerts, Climate Solutons, Healing, Liberation, Planetary Relief, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Songwriting, World Peace

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Heartfelt Success

Posted on February 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

THE MEANING OF SUCCESS
How do we define success in a world where incessant focus on the material and external is so starkly contrasted by inequality and struggle for survival? How dare we be so obsessed with our own hoarding and self glorification when the larger part of us, our extended family in the world and mother earth herself calls out for our focused heart connection?

Here’s my definition: Success happens when my heart and soul is enriched by my being, when I follow the song in my heart to it’s most joyous potential and let that joy reverberate in words, music and action into the world at large. My success is not defined by sales or ratings. It is measured only by my passionate involvement and how well I care for the life and talent that is available to me at any given time.

Thank YOU for being part of the passionate musical journey that sent my heart soaring in 2010! Your joyous participation helped my music expand into Sweden, New York, Washington DC, Tennessee, Arizona and more of California, and brought about a glorious gig opportunity in San Francisco for 2011.

THE NORWAY DAY FESTIVAL 2011
On April 30th and May 1st, I will be representing Norway as entertainer at the Norway Day Festival in San Francisco. I have been asked to open the festival, sing the Norwegian and American national anthems, give two feature performances at the main stage (one each day) as well as several pub performances during the day. This is a great honor and I am very excited to create a most delicious music menu for this.

The menu will include songs from my most recent albums, Exposed, Being Totally Alive and Venus Envy, as well as songs from my upcoming musical, Come Hell or High Waters (which is aaaalmost ready!). I also plan to include some of my dad’s material as an honorary part of the performance, since he was one of Scandinavia’s most renowned entertainers of the last century.
Love and Blessings, Caroline
(Photo shoot in Central Park  w/ Ingvild Waerhaug’s designer dresses)
Photo shoot with Caroline Waters

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Posted in Caroline's Concerts, Liberation, Life and Career, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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Passion Versus Workaholism

Posted on December 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

Blurring the lines between work and play

I learned early on to blur the lines between work and play. My dad was a master at making work fun and I assimilated his attitude in many ways. As many of you know I worked as a performing artist from a very young age. And I loved it. The only problem was that performing often took the place of hanging out and playing with other kids. And in order to sustain such a young career, other things, like homework had to be done at warp speed. By the time I was ten years old, I was able to juggle school, sports and my career as an entertainer with relative ease. I enjoyed working hard. I enjoyed the discipline of practicing my violin every morning before school. I enjoyed the race against time to finish my homework between classes. I enjoyed competing in sports, as long as I won the game. And I loved the theater more than anything.

Learning about the dangers of workaholism

As an adult, I have struggled to find balance between work and play, simply because work equals play for me in so many ways. It has been almost impossible for me to enjoy so called non-productive activities or to appreciate playing a game just for fun. But as I am learning more about the dangers of workaholism (yes, there is really such a thing!) and suffering the consequences of burning the candle in both ends one time too many, I am also learning to balance my life in a new and hopefully improved way. When I work myself too hard, I am often critical of those around me and less able to receive the gifts they have to offer. When I make sure to rejuvenate and let my creative well be filled anew, I love everybody and see with such clarity the beauty and magic that abounds.

Making time for people, nature and mindless activities

This Holiday season, I have taken some real time off to ski and watch movies and dine with friends and family and read mindless literature such as Donald Duck. As a result, I am sleeping better at night, my appetite is up, new inspiration is pouring into my creative horn of plenty, my body feels stronger and my brain somehow feels more able to deal with the challenges an artist career has to offer. My commitment to myself for the new year is to incorporate more playtime with friends and family, plenty of excursions in art and nature, and to arrange my work schedule in such a way that my body is completely taken care of in the process.

Making sure it’s passion, not compulsion

I love my life as an artist! I am passionately in love with my creativity and the privilege of sharing my hearts desire in words and music and singing my life into higher vibration. I just have to remember to check in every now and then, to make sure I am in the passion and not in the compulsion of it all.

Here’s a song for you, just for fun, and the lyrics too so you can sing along!

DANCING IN THE NUDE Click here to see the video!
Words and Music by Caroline Waters
Copyright 2005-2010 by Caroline Waters

Dancing in the nude, getting in the mood
Laughing as I groove into my being
Fully alive, feeling the drive to be completely wild
And seeing all my worries fade away
As I begin to seize the day
I reach for my spirit in the sky
Flying high, not questioning why

Dancing in the nude, getting in the mood
Laughing as I groove into my being
Fully alive, feeling the drive to be completely wild
And seeing all my worries fade away
As I begin to seize the day
I reach for my spirit in the sky
Flying high, not questioning why

//:Dancing in the nude, getting in the mood
Dancing in the nude, getting in the mood://

 

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Posted in Self Confidence

Starting Over

Posted on October 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

The gift of a car accident

When I was eighteen years old, I was hit by a car that severed my left leg and sent me flying 28 feet through the air, landing face first in the pavement. Long story short, it took awhile to get my body and brain up and running again. Four years, to be exact.

The first amazing gift of this event was learning that I could be perfectly happy in the moment without all the elements I thought I needed to be happy. I actually received the gift of loving me, just for being. The elements I thought I needed to be happy were things like; being an A-student, winning competitions, looking sharp, slim and fit, performing well and being a people pleaser.

By removing these elements for a period of time, and thus being effectively stripped of superficial distractions, I learned to appreciate the gift of every moment of life that was available to me.

Today, 26 years later, as I am about to leave for my first National Tour of the USA as a solo artist, I feel incredibly blessed by the perspective the gift of starting over has given me. I feel that I am starting over in so many ways, and instead of feeling nervous or pressured, I feel grateful simply for the gift of being alive and for the gift it is to be living my dream as an artist.

The gift of releasing fear and worry

Yesterday, in the midst of composing press releases for the upcoming tour, I found myself in the not so uncommon sea of worry about the future. Will they ignore me? Will enough people show up for my performances? Will I be able to make ends meet at the end of the road? All these thoughts scurried around in my head as I struggled to find the most perfect wording to entice the New York media.

The worrying didn’t help at all. I can tell you that right away. It put me in a space of feeling heavy and incompetent and unfocused. Realizing this, I was able to release the fear and the tension and the worry in a surprisingly short amount of time. And the transformation that occurred was astounding.

The moment I decided to release my fear of not being/ doing enough and embrace the gift of my being, messages began to trickle in from people all over the world, affirming their appreciation and support of my music and performance. This felt wonderful of course. But the most important transformation took place within me.

I woke up this morning feeling truly liberated in my body. And I had this knowing within that who I am and what I do in this world is enough. It doesn’t matter how many people show up for my performances or how many CDs I sell or how many newspaper articles gets written about me. The only thing that matters is that I keep letting my heart move me into action and let that song that makes my heart sing be heard, loud and clear, far or near, wherever it takes me.

I am excited for this Tour, for the people I’ll meet and the places I’ll see. I’m excited to move and be moved, to love and be loved, to listen and explore, and eternally grateful for the chance of starting over every single day.

Here’s the tour schedule and a video: http://www.carolinewaters.com/shows.php

Love and Blessings, Caroline

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Posted in Caroline's Concerts, Healing, Liberation, Life and Career, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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Writing and Vocal Expression – Why it Works

Posted on August 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

Have you ever felt trapped in your own mind? Imprisoned by your fear or anger or depression? Well, I have, on several occasions. When I was eighteen years old I was in a car accident that reduced me from a vastly successful performer, athlete and A-student to a physically and mentally impaired, fear ridden, morphine addicted head case with post traumatic stress disorder in one fell swoop. It wasn’t fun, I can tell you that, and it took many years to heal.

Two things helped speed up my recovery more than anything else: Writing and Vocal Expression. By writing my thoughts and feelings on paper, I found a way to process the overwhelming amount of fear and trauma that otherwise created panic attacks. And by singing the songs that emerged from the deep of my soul, I was able to transform feelings of rage and despair to empowered joyous expression.

This transformation didn’t happen overnight, by any stretch of the imagination. It happened slowly and gradually, over many years. But I can tell you this. The more I allowed myself to express myself, verbally and vocally, the faster I healed. Today, after eight albums, eight movies, somewhere in the vicinity of fifteen hundred performances and two decades of Vocal Freedom, I am grateful beyond compare.

Why writing helps: Writing gives us a sanctuary, a place to explore and expand and appreciate and clarify and organize and summon and release. We have so many treasures hidden within, simply within our ability to perceive. When we allow ourselves to tune into our inner wisdom, our consciousness expands, we reach a higher level of vibration and more of our dreams and aspirations are available to us.

Why singing helps: Singing inspires every single cell of our being to its fullest potential. It soothes our nervous systems, distracts our otherwise busy minds and aligns us with our dreams and aspirations. When we allow ourselves to sing the song that is in our hearts, we allow ourselves to tune into our inner wisdom on a purely vibrational level, which expands our consciousness even more and connects us to all that is in the most joyous fashion. From this point of connection anything is possible.

Enjoy your expression!

Love Always, Caroline

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Posted in Healing, Liberation, Life and Career, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Vocal freedom

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Sweet People

Posted on May 30, 2010 | Leave a comment
The Eurovision Song Contest
I watched The Eurovision Song Contest last night, for the first time in many years. It made me cry and laugh and dance and sing, mostly because it showed how such a large group of people, of the world, could be so easily united in music and dance.
Profound expression
It touched me deeply to witness the singer from Ukraine deliver such a profound expression of desire to heal this world that we are all part of. I wish she would have won, so the message of “our home” could be shared and felt by as many as possible. I also wish that we, in the not too distant future, can gather again and again to share our hopes and dreams and prayers through music and dance and other heartfelt expression, stripped down to the bone, where the heart can be fully visible.
Freedom to celebrate our diversity
I want for us to receive each other in forums where clothing and financial status simply doesn’t matter, and where the song in our hearts is what matters the most. Imagine places where we don’t have to use drugs or alcohol to keep out the industrialized impressions that fight to get our attention, where we are free to breathe and listen with our hearts. And perhaps more importantly, where we are free to celebrate each other for our individuality and diversity.

Bringing people together
This “song contest” used to be called “a melody festival” in the past in Norway.  I really liked those words… This event was created for the purpose of bringing together people from all different countries, coming together as one people, to celebrate our hearts in song. It really doesn’t matter who wins. It matters that we are all in it together, creating a space where the songs in our hearts can be heard and shared by many.

Let’s focus
Let’s not worry so much about what fashion statements are being made or what country can produce the flashiest show. Let’s focus on what unites us and inspires us to love.

Here’s the song, Sweet People, as sung by Alyosha from Ukraine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AvMJueiCyo

In Love Always, Caroline

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Posted in Climate Solutons, Getting out of denial, Healing, Liberation, Self Confidence, Self Empowerment, Songwriting, Vocal freedom

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