Songwriting is a form of self-help, here's why...

It’s EXHILARATING to finish a song that represents a time in your life where you were looking for a resolution!

There’s no better feeling than tying a beautiful bow on an emotional experience.

There are two reasons for that…

1. It makes the journey feel complete which gives a sense of calm and closure.

2. It allows you to help others find the resolution quicker, making your suffering not in vain. 

It’s a rare thing in life to have one’s experiences neatly wrapped up.

Perhaps art is the only thing able to do that.

What’s so special about music is that it speaks not only to our conscious mind but also to our bodies and subconscious.

When we combine the two, the result is so powerful and therapeutic.

Often when writing a song, the words will suggest a melody. Then, when I run out of words, that melody will suggest more words. It’s a beautiful dance and at its best it feels like the song is writing itself. 

I know the song is complete when it feels like it doesn’t need to go anywhere else. It went wherever it needed to go. And then you feel the ultimate relief. You’ve completed the experience within yourself. 

And now you can share that shimmering example of emotional processing and the resulting relief in an enjoyable way for others which will ultimately ease and heal hearts. 

My favorite example of this is my Heartbreak song, which I will break down for you all next week as an example structure you can follow when trying to resolve your own stuff in this way. 

Spending time trying to resolve your emotions through songwriting is something that I highly recommend. Be open to surprising yourself.

If you want me to literally walk you through the process, join me for the Blooming Soul Song workshop on 4/4. 

Bask in the glorious paradox of our humanity

Have you ever wanted something, but actually not?

Have you ever been so vulnerable that you actually felt really brave?

Have you ever wanted to be adventurous, but not outside your comfort zone? 

Humans can hold opposite emotions at once. Our paradoxical nature is as beautiful as it is confusing.  

The more we can embrace our duality, the more integrated and powerful we become.

It’s not this OR that. It’s this AND that. 

Music can capture that complexity so well…Echoes and Rhymes’ song For Love is a wonderful example.

Songwriter, Edith Lundahl, breaks it all down for us on the Self-Help Songwriter Podcast. We love breaking down break-up songs! This one is written in a way that doesn’t reveal too many details, but just describes a particular flavor of emotional torment and longing. 

We discover that there is inherent strength in showing weakness. When you are able to be really honest about something you’re not proud of, it’s a bid for connection and an opportunity for healing. Not only that, it’s honoring yourself and honoring your true experience. Living honestly is one of the bravest things you can do.

There’s an energy of opening when you decide to be honest and vulnerable. Life can respond to the authentic you, which makes chances of happiness much greater. You’re able to receive what is meant for you. You’re motivated by love and its children (positive emotions). Not fear and its children (negative emotions). Fear is welcome aboard but it cannot steer the ship!

Although the two primary emotions, love and fear, seem opposite, they are two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other.

It is our curse. 

And our blessing. ;)

Because it’s only in the full expression of our human complexity that we feel most ALIVE! It allows us to feel what we know: that we exist in multiple dimensions at once. 

Now go make a list- what songs allow you to feel two or more feelings at once? Share your answer with me in the comments or on my instagram. You can always take this a step further and journal about those emotions. 

Some of mine are: Because by the Beatles (pretty much the whole Abbey Road album) and Kacey Musgraves’ Happy and Sad (DUH!) 

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If you want to take control and learn how to CREATE a song that combines your unique emotions, come to my Blooming Soul Song workshop on Monday March 21st!

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