After an unexpected hiatus, Unstruck Sound returns with some personal updates and reflections on another paradox: holding on and letting go—as inspired by an OpEd piece from the Washington Post by David Von Drehle.

What do the concepts of today's episode evoke for you? Let me know at ⁠https://unstrucksound.com⁠  Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love. Transcript: ⁠⁠https://share.descript.com/view/yXMIYaNy1q1

Join me for an exploration on how GPS and Christianity are related, an exercise from Tristan Gooley’s How to Read Nature, and some influence from an essay from the 90’s sparked by a presidential affair … and how that all leads to the question of what lesson have we yet to learn from traffic?

Perhaps, traffic is a paradox that won’t go away until we really accept it and face it …. because the mapping apps that were supposed to make it better haven’t really done that at all—and I’d posit that they’ve made it worst. 

The book: How to Read Nature by Tristan Gooley

The essay: Imperial Bedroom by Jonathan Franzen

What do the concepts of today's episode evoke for you? Let me know at https://unstrucksound.com  

Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love. Transcript: ⁠https://share.descript.com/view/MA9SyHL5hD6⁠

Join me as we discover what in the world the “Unstruck Sound” is anyway—and how this podcast came to be. Audio slightly adjusted to be more consistent throughout. Originally aired: February 1, 2023.

Welcome to a new series born of an experiment and named after a discovery made in this pilot. Daily poetry, readings, discoveries, affirmations, nuggets, all with the intention of creating little pockets of space in your life where you can be reminded that you are brilliant—that you already contain the wisdom you seek and can access it in the space of the "unstruck sound."

About me: a middlish-life student learning how to better embrace what it means to be human. This series is an exploration and expose of my journey into daily somatic practices to better my ability to BE ... to be a human "BEing". I struggle with meditation—so perhaps this is my wrangling. And yet another imperfect, vulnerable voice here to share that you're not crazy—it's hard to make space and yet so worth it. And, so I figure, 5 minutes is better than none. What do you say? I look forward to spending +5 minutes a day with you, assuming I figure this out.

In this raw and sometimes awkward episode:

1. Kim Krans's "Animal Spirit Cards"—Explore her artwork and "Wild Unknown" decks. She has children's books, too.

2. David Whyte's "The Bell and The Blackbird"—a poem in an eponymous book. While looking for a good link, I found this site which displays it elegantly and includes a link to where you can buy it. Check your local library if you can. (And if you live in Portland, perhaps you can request it, so they'll order it for our collection.)

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/Y9aW6k8WeJC

What do the concepts of today's episode evoke for you? Let me know at https://unstrucksound.com 

Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love. 

Recently, my best friend was sharing her perspective on how food is a path to empathy—and time travel. Join me as I explore how this began to color some of my world views and a practice around food to add (or simply celebrate) a bit more space in a day, building empathetic awareness and flexing gratitude.

ps. In my rush to record and share this before class, I don't think I did her share justice—yet I hope it sparks an expanded view for you nonetheless.

My friend’s blog on food (and more): https://lizzbert.wordpress.com/category/cooking/

Not discussed, but more on this topic:

_Time travel w/food: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221005111928.htm

_You are what your Grandparent’s Ate: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/44492402

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/5bvvCrMRpw3

Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love.

Some reflections on the black moon this weekend, ahead of Tuesday’s New Moon, another reflection on moon phases including another snippet from Beth Schiller’s essay, Moon Tide—from TapRoots Magazine. Stay hydrated and stay curious. What can you learn in the darkness? What can you let go of to start anew, again?I’d love to hear from you.

Share and subscribe at https://unstrucksound.com 

More on what you heard in this episode:

_Moon Tide from Issue no. 6: https://taprootmag.com/products/issue-6-water (bonus: artwork by Nikki McClure)

_Author: Beth Schiller, https://taprootmag.com/blogs/contributors/beth-schiller

_Author’s Farm: The author’s Dandelion Spring Farm, https://dandelionspringfarm.com

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/P40mGPqiVrO 

Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love.

Join me as we reflect on my first love: photography, and what can happen when we take a moment to see with our eyes and feel with our bodies before we take the picture. Included is a reading from a poem by Tess Taylor [https://www.tess-taylor.com] from the Spring 2018 Issue of Orion Magazine [https://orionmagazine.org] called “On Not Posting the Bees to Instagram”.  

Questions for reflection: Where do you notice yourself wanting to take a picture so you can rush on and come back to it later? How often do you come back to it? What happens when you pause next time you feel called to take that picture and ask yourself: what am I trying to capture? where do I feel this desire?

I’d love to hear from you. Share and subscribe at https://unstrucksound.com 

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/9X3ubBzPbRR

Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love.

The growing, nearly-full moon caught my attention last night and inspired a mid-week episode. Fresh from the closet, an article from the first year of Taproot, a beautiful magazine you must check out (now on their 55th issue, timely named “Lunar”).

For more on what I read in this episode:

_Moon Tide from Taproot Issue no. 6: https://taprootmag.com/products/issue-6-water (bonus: artwork by Nikki McClure)

_Author: Beth Schiller, https://taprootmag.com/blogs/contributors/beth-schiller

_Author’s Farm: The author’s Dandelion Spring Farm, https://dandelionspringfarm.com

What do you notice in yourself when the full moon comes? Do you prefer stillness or do you crave movement? I’d love to hear from you. Subscribe and share at https://unstrucksound.com 

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/iq3MEXUAXC3

Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love.

A passage from Carolyn Myss’s “Anatomy of the Spirit” book (more at https://www.myss.com/) and some contemplation on where the experiment of focusing on having “easy” lives has led us. What can we learn by accepting and allowing that life exists on a spectrum—more paradoxes—and how can that help us take action in our own individual and collective healing?

What does this reflection spark for you? Where does craving “easy” impact you in your life? What have you done to build resilience? I’d love to hear from you. Subscribe and share at https://unstrucksound.com 

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/YKeE0kxu3qF

Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love.

Join me as we discover another description of the Unstruck Sound, within Hazrat Inaya Khan’s “Music of Life”—and a reflection on all that which has been known before us, finding our resonating chord, and the wisdom inherent within all of us.

ps. In contrast to the translation provided in the book’s forward, “Fare forth to the West as a musician of the soul and tune the hearts of men to the divine harmony,” an online article (link below) states that Inayat’s dying teacher instructed him: “Fare forth into the world, my child, and harmonize the East and the West with the harmony of thy music. Spread the wisdom of Sufism abroad, for to this end art thou gifted by Allah, the most merciful and compassionate.” — a reminder that despite all that we read being someone's interpretation of their experience, so much can be lost and added or shifted in translation.

How does this resonate with where you are on your path? Let me know at ⁠https://unstrucksound.com⁠ 

Episode Transcript: ⁠https://share.descript.com/view/baYzSdqNz4u⁠

Brief on Hazrat Inayat Khan:

And Sufism:

Sources Links:

Join me as I reflect on the slow and fast energy swirls in the shifting from winter into spring and a poem attributed to the 14th century Persian poet, Ḥāfeẓ (nick-named so because he memorized the entire Qur’an).

The Poem— https://livingthepresentmoment.com/the-sacred-dance-for-life-hafiz/

Background on fake poems attributed to Hafez and other Persian poets— https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/6/14/fake-hafez-how-a-supreme-persian-poet-of-love-was-erased

What are you learning in your seasonal transition, whether that’s from winter into spring or summer into fall? Let me know at https://unstrucksound.com 

Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/spYyJvW2CoVCredits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love.