One night while I was sleeping, I heard a melody come to me. It sang. It danced. It taught me things. And when I woke up, it was gone.
So I got out of bed with the sun. I ate grits in a bowl. And I looked around at the empty house. I watched a movie. I did handstands in the hallway. And then I heard it again…
And like a flash I was out the door. I jumped on my bike, opened the gate behind the house, and left everything behind. I left my dad. I left my mom. I left myself. And to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever come back.
My bike took me out to the desert that day, further from home than I’d ever been on that trail. Higher up on the mountain than I’d been before. And all the while this melody played in my head, getting louder and louder.
When I reached the highest cliff I could get to I dropped my bike in the dirt, stepped to the edge and yelled! As loudly as I could! I yelled because I was 19 at the time and I didn’t have a plan. Because everyone expected me to have one and I didn’t have one. I yelled because I didn’t know what to do with myself. I yelled because I felt unworthy of being happy. I actually felt unworthy of being in control of my own life. Then came the tears. And the guilt, and the shame, and the loneliness. I’ll never forget how overwhelming that feeling was.
And then? As quickly as the urge to run had come, all the pain stopped suddenly. Like the faucet had been turned off, or maybe the radio channel had been changed. I found myself sitting at the top of the world in total silence.
The silence lasted only a few minutes, but then I heard that melody again. And with it came a new awareness of myself: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. A new level of understanding emerged. I realized that the journey of my life is unfolding like a melody. It ebbs and flows. It has high points and low points. Sometimes it takes me to places I don’t expect. Sometimes the low points and the unexpected key changes throw me off and I lose track of who I am. But for my whole life I ride this sound wave in and out and up and down.
And so do you.
Become the Composer of your Life Song
Just like melodies are unique to specific songs, your own journey is unique to the song of your own life. To embrace your personal experiences and goals and dreams is to embrace the uniqueness of you.
But rather than just listening and following along, why not become an active player in the song of your life?
It is your purpose in this life to become a conscious composer of your own life song, and share your uniqueness with the rest of us.
Since that fateful day on the mountaintop I have used this understanding to consciously compose my journey at every step of the way. I’ve learned how to tap into the Power of Melody to create a life song that is in alignment with my goals, dreams, and desires.
I used this power when I wrote and recorded my first independent album, Urban Legacy. In 2007 I created an album of music that I called Conscious Acoustic Soul. 10 years later and that music still resonates with people because it was composed in a state of flow.
I also have been using this power to consciously create my musical children’s book series, Musical Tales for Modern Minds. Using original stories and songs I introduce musical concepts to young children, much like I do here on my blog.
These creative works have propelled me forward on both personal and career fronts. And they only manifested because I used the Power of Melody at each step of the way.
Accessing The Power of Melody
So how can YOU use this power in your own life? Here’s what you can do to tap in:
- Learn to listen to the silence. Before you can hear your own song, you have to first be silent. It’s where all creative energy comes from. It’s where your life journey begins and ends. Start here. Meditation helps, but there are other ways to find silence in your life, too.
- Ask yourself what direction to go in. If you do not ask, you will not be given the answer! Your melody moves for you and you alone. No two melodies are the same. So no one, NO ONE, can compose your life song for you. At the end of the day, it’s you who is riding this sound wave. Why not make it a masterpiece?
- Know that your melody does not always present itself in a musical way. Usually your melody comes as a feeling or an emotion. It’s a deep-down gut feeling that is pointing you in a particular direction. This is your compass. Follow it. It will lead you in the right direction every. single. time.
- Trust that your path is unfolding as it should. Even if you don’t exactly know HOW you’re going to get wherever it is that you’re going, trust that you WILL get there. You might be lead in directions that you weren’t expecting, but these unexpected paths are like tributaries in a river that is carved for only you. If you trust the unfolding process, you will get where you want to go. Have no doubts.
- Repeat steps 1-4 as needed. This is your prescription taken everyday, or whenever you find yourself at a stand still. Think of it as therapeutic music for your Spirit.
This power gets easier to access the more intentional you are about using it. Sometimes it takes hours, and sometimes it takes years. But the more you trust the process, the more deeply aligned you will be to it.
Good luck, and have fun on your journey!
Have you ever used this power before? Did it work? Tell me about it below…
