Commemorative Meditations

“Commemorative Meditations” is a musical project that I began several years ago, but revamped in a new light in 2021 (read “Inspiration & History” below for more background). With these tracks, I take audio from saved voicemails, videos, etc, of a loved one that has passed on, and incorporate them into an intuitively composed soundscape.

The intention of these musical tracks is for the listener to be gently held by melody & sound whilst connecting to pieces of someone they may have lost; to be able to go deeper into whatever emotion resides there, whether it’s sadness, longing, or joy & reminiscence (or all of those things, since grief is often complicated and multi-faceted). Personally, I use tracks that I’ve made for myself to deepen healing during personal meditations, therapy, or ceremony.

Music can often be a portal into things we weren’t able to experience prior, and that type of heart-unlocking is what I hope can come from this offering.

This project will no doubt morph and grow as it begins to live & breathe more openly. If you or someone you know would be interested in participating, please reach out to me! I would love to gift this to whomever feels intuitively drawn to ask for it.

INSPIRATION & HISTORY

A few years ago, I had started a musical project centered around grief; I interviewed people about loved ones that had died, and intended to put parts of those recorded interviews—as well as any soundbites they had of the person that had passed—into an ambient musical soundscape. That specific project was postponed because… well, life happened. But recently, I started at it again.

For a while now, I have been creating my own personal “sound healing” tracks. They hold something special for me, each one imbued with whatever emotion is present at the time that I make it, along with real-time intuitive exploration of melody and sound in relation to what comes up. I often keep these and return to them whenever I need to. Recently, I found a voicemail from my grandpa—I hadn’t heard his voice since he died years ago—and it took my breath away. In the spirit of the project I’d started years prior, I mixed parts of the voicemail in with music. I’ve listened to it dozens of times. Putting it into a soundscape has enabled me to go into depths of healing I wouldn’t have before.

I believe that music is a powerful tool, one that can make our biggest griefs more palpable. It’s why we listen to songs we love over and over again, even ones that remind us of things that may be painful. I have had a dream of creating personalized healing music for people for a long time. Songs that they can use for their own inner healing work, in a ceremonial context, or just simply have.

I don’t really know how to put all this out into the world, other than to be vulnerable and say: I have known for some time that music is the thing I am supposed to pour myself into. I can’t do this fully without support from community. I would love if you would consider becoming a patron. I would love to be able to do what I did with my grandpa’s voicemail for some of you out there who have videos or recordings of loved ones who have passed on, and I want to be able to do this on a donation basis (aka, for free). Support from those that can afford it will enable me to dive head first into these (and other) endeavors of healing and art and offer it to those who need it.