Music is an integral part of our lives. We love to sing, play the piano, and to learn new instruments. We play music at home, and we also use music in some of the groups. We find that music is a wonderful tool to get in touch with feelings and to express them. It can open aspects of yourself that you haven’t been in touch before. Playing music is a lot of fun for us, and it enriches our lives.

Our musical background:

Sarah has played the piano since she was eight years old. She has a classical background. Between 2002 and 2004 she studied the piano and music theory in Basel. Her Russian teacher, Boris Chnaider, inspired her greatly in her playing. She is very grateful to him for his loving, honest and professional teaching. She had other teachers, but none had such a profound impact on her playing.

After changing her life in 2004, Sarah gave up her music studies and traveled around the world. When she started playing again she began to focus on improvising. Over the last year she has given several Piano Evenings where she improvised for people. This brings her great joy.

Sarah enjoys accompanying singing on the piano. She plays, when Sarah and James sing together, and she accompanies people singing in the groups.

James made some attempts to play instruments when he was young, but he didn’t have much support for it. He was heavily moved and affected by music as he was growing up. He developed eclectic tastes and became familiar with many styles and types of music. As he grew older, he got involved in the art world as well as creating large events for corporations. There he got heavily involved in the technical aspects of music. He learned a lot about performance, recording and producing.

James had always had a secret desire to sing. Unfortunately he had been told as a child that he could not sing, so he stopped trying for many years. A couple of years ago, Sarah and James both decided to start singing together. Since then they have been playing with their voices and are enjoying singing together very much. James has learned to sing very well, after not being able to at all. This shows once again, that anything is possible.

Music in the groups:

We experience music as a great tool to get in touch with feelings and to express them. Especially singing can open up aspects of one self that have been hidden before. Singing in front of people is an act of courage for most people, and it provides the possibility for letting go and freeing one self.

In longer groups we include singing. Every participant prepares a song with which they can connect emotionally. The aim is not to do a perfect performance. It is also not importan, how the voice sounds. It is about connecting with a feeling and expressing it as fully as possible. This gives people the chance to connect more deeply with their feelings and to show themselves in front of people. We have had many touching and powerful experiences, acts of great courage and a lot of fun. People have learned that they actually can sing, some have discovered a new passion for it, and everybody was able to feel some aspect of them selves more deeply.

Before people sing during the group sessions, Sarah practices alone with them. She is amazed by the leaps people are able to make between the practice session and their performances in front of the group. She is grateful for the opportunity of accompanying everyone on the piano and supporting them. James has the ability to see people very clearly and to guide them to come more into their potential. During the singing sessions he is leading the people deeper into themselves to achieve a greater expression of life and creativity. He points out places in the body or mind where people are holding back, and encourages them lovingly to let these contractions go. We have witnessed many ‘miracles’ and people connecting with their power, by finding their voices. Our voices can be a direct expression of our soul.

Occasionally we include the keyboard in the groups or trainings during processes. The music can support people. For this, Sarah improvises on the keyboard. When we play with movement or dancing, we also play songs by other artists, whatever supports the person the most.

Piano Evenings

Sarah gives piano evenings where she improvises for people. Her unique offer is to play individual pieces for people by tuning in with them. She puts a chair close to the piano and connects with the person. Then she plays what she feels in the person. Her experience is that she plays aspects of the person, feelings the person has, potentials of the person, and sometimes she feels she gets in touch with their soul. Themes or rhythms develop, tunes, sounds or songs are happening to express what she perceives. People frequently get very touched and recognized themselves in the music.

New attempts

Sarah and James both started to learn playing the drums and the electric bass. Sarah is interested in developing her feeling for rhythm and she feels that the drums and the bass support her in that. After her classical education she is now expanding her repertoire by learning new styles.

We are playing with writing our own songs. We see this as a great opportunity to share our ideas in a fun and compelling way. We also see how integral music is in the development of people’s conditioning and would love to provide an alternative in whatever way we can.

Shifting patterns by writing a song

One of the things that we have found, that supports people in shifting patterns is to exaggerate the pattern. We have started to experiment with doing this with music. Sarah has had the experience that it is possible to shift a behavior pattern by writing and singing a song about it. She used to have an unconscious pattern of wanting to be the center of attention. James suggested she write a song about it. After performing the song a few times in public, the pattern was gone. She still enjoys being the center of attention, but she doesn’t do unconscious behavior to get attention anymore. The pattern hasn’t appeared for a couple of years and she is happier without it. She recommends people to sing songs about their behavior and to make fun of them selves as a playful way to support change.

If you want to listen to the "Look at me" song, click here to get to the Audio page.

If you want to see the "Look at me" video, click here to get to the Video page.