Alternative Response to Gaza - Light in the Darkness

War and peace exist at the same time. It's all what you focus upon. This is not to make light (pardon the pun), of the sorrowful bombs going off in Gaza. It is to show that there are alternative ways to live.

The people in the above picture, Jew and Arab alike, gathered in Galilee last night for the housewarming and opening of the Voices of Eden peace gardens and healing music center.

See more photos here.

Healing Meditation Music

I am so excited to have just completed this Healing Meditation Music video following an inspiration to start making them regularly.

What do you think? I need feedback to know what is most helpful to you.

Look forward to hearing from you, and wishing you much peace.

Happy Chanukah from Israel

I spent the second night of chanukah making this movie.
If you want to know what I have been up to these last six months, watch this short film and you'll find out.

Hope you will be inspired. The music is new stuff I recorded for the holidays a few weeks ago, in an ancient Galilee cave. Please give yourself a true gift of peace, and save yourself a last minute trip to the mall (cuz it's instantly downloadable and green for the environment).

Making peace with the holiday scrooges in your life

You're looking forward to sharing meaningful connections with your family and friends during the holidays. After all, this is the season of celebrating joy and peace. It's the perfect opportunity to gather, relax and appreciate the holiness of the unique goings on of each others' lives.

But how do you remain centered in your holiness when you meet up with the scrooge in your family who always seems to kill your sense of holiday spirit rather than increase it?

It's not as if the family scrooge is the only thing challenging your sense of sacred space. Shopping, writing holiday cards, getting to the post office to mail out the cards and packages on time, waiting in line, tackling the crowds, rushing to it all done with very little time, can easily kill the joy of an otherwise restful time.
As an exercise in creating peace, you invest lots of time and energy thinking about preparing that special recipe they took three helpings of last year. Then you run around town looking to find them that special gift that will also fit within your budget. Fear of their displeasure causes you to buy a gift more expensive than spend more money than originally planned leaving you with a sick sense of shame and embarrassment.

It's anything but sacred.

In wanting to keep the peace, you second guess yourself and them. You act nice and speak pleasantly, but you aren’t authentic with yourself or with them. It feels really empty.

So how come with all of the energy you're spending to go out of your way to please them, you're feeling even more stressed than you dare admit?

Perhaps it has nothing to do with what you are or aren't doing.

What will help you most to bring the sacred into the holiday season, even in the face of the family scrooge is to accept the sacred in yourself, exactly as you are.
The key to creating peace with yourself and the family scrooge is accepting yourself and the scrooge, right where you are, in the midst of holiday overwhelm. It's not enough to want it. You've got to place your heart as first priority to connect to the real holy and remain open to your critical family member.

Scrooges don't necessary have to be people.

They often show up as unseen voices of inner criticism. Whether heard or silent, your voice makes an impression upon the entire atmosphere. How you attune your voice makes the difference between your experience of harmony or disharmony with yourself and others.

Consciously attune your voice as an instrument of harmony and peace during the holidays.

Here are three ways that you can attune your voice to create peace and harmony within yourself and with those around you:

1)Reconnect to the Source of your voice. Silence is the source of all sound. It is the source of true harmony. In the morning, even before getting out of bed, take a few moments to listen to that silence. You may notice the scrooge voices begin to clamor for your attention. That's ok. Just noticing the difference between them and the silence will help you to choose where to place your focus.

2)Attune yourself to the Source of your voice. For example, when you need to speak with the scrooge on the telephone, take a moment to tune into the vibration of calm and peace you would like to experience within yourself, before you dial the number.

3)Feel the harmony in the Source of sound. When you are listening to your favorite holiday music, notice what it is about it that you love so much. Allow that to deepen. When someone says something that has a positive impact upon you, notice where in your body you feel the harmony of the sound behind their words. Then, when scrooge comes –a- calling, you can easily tune yourself into the source of harmony and meet them with love.

Remaining centered in your holiness when you meet up with the holiday scrooges can actually increase your sense of holiday spirit and true joy when you are willing to meet yourself and your loved ones, right where you are, right now.

This is what creating joy, peace and goodwill during the holidays is all about.

PS. If you are wanting to enjoy some peace right now, click here for a free download of holiday musicfrom the Holy land that will help you bring the holy back into your holidays. It was recorded in an ancient Galilee cave with peace doves who flew in for the occasion from Jerusalem. The album makes a great gift item, and it's instantly downloadable.

Holy music meditation for the Holidays

I am absolutely majorly jazzed to have made my first music meditation movie to promote the Holy Music from the Holy land project, brining the holy back to the holidays.

This is a two minute music meditation with pics of the ancient Galilee cave where I recorded it, replete with the doves who flew in from Jerusalem to help.

Holiday Stress - Dealing with Holiday Stress - Bringing the Holy back to the Holidays

Too stressed and tired to enjoy the sacredness of the holiday season?

By the time you read this page, you may just be itching to enjoy the holiday spirit. Maybe you've got a headache from contemplating what special gifts to buy that are meaningful, unique and they fit within your tightly stretched budget and there's too little time to complete all the items on what seems like your "to do list from hell".

Even if you don't feel on overdrive, if you're sensitive, whatever is simmering in your subconscious will be magnified, and you'll feel it more intensely.

What to do?

Click here to find out.

Accapella Peace Anthem Performed by Jewish Arab Ensemble

Rapeh et Libi - Ghalbi Fi Salaam - Heal My Heart

Please Heal My Heart
Please Heal My Soul
Let Peace Grow Inside Us
We will Know Another World

Please Take me to the True Place
The path of all I Dream
Of Love
Of Life
Of Clarity

We'll Know a Better World

The song was collectively written by Eliana Gilad, Arnon Friedman and Rania Haddad. The three of us: American, Israeli and Syrian lived in Paris around the time of the Oslo Accords.

Performing the song is the Jewish Arab accapella ensemble from Safed Ethnic Music college, where I headed the singing department. Performing with me are Zohar Lev, Shira Yaari, Sharon Levy and Hasan Kablan. The piece was performed at a year end concert in the City of Safed, center of Kabbalah - Jewish Mysticism.

Healing through Music

http://smallhandsbigideas.blogspot.com/2008/11/music-of-inspiration.html?showComment=1227057060000#c537362970716945146

Click to watch a really inspiring and uplifting music video, recorded around the world, showing regular people collaborating together. Grace Boyle has put together a lovely blog that is uplifting as well. Click on the link above.

New Pledge of Allegiance

This morning, I remembered the pledge that we used to repeat every morning during my grade school years, growing up in the United States of America... and the following updated version spilled from my pen...


The New Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the heart
Of the United States of my Being
And to the Republic for which it stands
One nation, Divinely created
With liberty and justice for all

What do you think?
How would your life change for the better, if you were to remember this in your heart?



Do you feel like the Lone Ranger of Peace?
Ever feel like you are the only one in your environment living peacefully.

This week, I discovered a great new movement: http://ipeace.ning.com/.
If you are interested in finding other people who are committed to living peacefully, you'll be very pleasantly suprised to find thousands of people.

Alternative Rosh HaShana in Israel

Rosh HaShana, the Hebrew New Year is being celebrated throughout the Jewish World today. In the Diaspora, for example in the US, where I was born and raised, Rosh HaShana means going to synagogue. Even those Jews who are not religious, will identify with their religion on this holiday, by going to the synagogue.

But here in Israel, where the majority of Jews are secular, it is only the religious who go to synagogue. The rest of the Jewish population celebrates the beginning of the new year (according to the lunar calendar), by taking the day off and celebrating with family and friends.

Last night with family and friends, we enjoyed a vegetarian gourmet feast, prepared pot-luck by each one of us. Today, I have been spending the day resting and recuperating from the last few weeks of intense construction work at the new Voices of Eden center.

In the afternoon I went for a walk to keep myself in shape after last night's eating frenzy (think Thanksgiving or Christmas family meal, then multiply it by 10!). In the park, I was tickled to find adults playing on the children's swing sets. You can watch them here:



Now, as I am writing this, it occurs to me that these people were very well finding their own creative ways for working off last nights festive meal!

One young man speaks with his friend (in Hebrew) as he swings to and fro, while behind him, two middle aged Russian women, gab, as they swing back and forth on another kind of swing.

As I type this entry, in the background, I can hear the Muezzin, calling the faithful to prayer from the mosque tower in the local Moslem village across the way. Today also marks the end of the Ramadan monthly fast, and several days of celebration begin.

I think I am pretty lucky to live in such a diverse place, where the new year and the Divine are being called in at the same time in so many different languages and faiths. This is harmony to my eyes and ears.

The Temple is Entering It's Final Phase

This is a photo of the mosaic that will adorn the entryway to my home and the permanent center of Voices of Eden. I am making good on my promise to revive the music of Miriam from the Ancient temple, which by the way, you can read an excellent review of at: http://bethanymagdalene.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

Once the center is complete, I will have an open house so that people can come and hear the music. Here is a whole slew of updated photos from the sacred construction process. There are some photos of my son and me there too, as well as a Druze feast, and a visit to Magdalenes well with colleague Rosalyn Clare during her visit from England.




Ok, so now I have moved out of my home in the Galilee hills and am living temporarily as The Official Wandering Jew. But, as you might be able to see from these photos, the sacred temple is on it's way to being completed, and with a bit of luck, I will move in before mid-October.






I am just learning to take one day at a time, and to allow the process to take it's time. There is a natural rhythm, and the building, which is sacred, must be allowed to dance it's own dance. I am moving to it's music and learning in the process to stop trying to push the river. It's exhausting enough building a building, trying to control nature is... well, let's just say, over the top.

Moving Can Be Fun

I have an entire house to pack today. Moving tomorrow. By time I hear back from you, it will be from an internet cafe.

I cannot imagine how exciting this is. Have turned over my excitement brakes, realizing that this is just about one of the most exciting things I have EVER done in my life.

Music From Antiquity - Builds Confidence, Reduces Stress

Rain poured down in biblic proportions upon the mystic city of Safed, home of Jewish mysticism. Yet no amount thunder, lightning, sleet or hail could dampen the spirits of the multifaith ethnic music orchestra members who were about to make their debut performance in the college auditorium.
As waves of people entered, the auditorium alchemically transformed from a sea of empty white seats into a crowded swell of children and adults, knotted white prayer fringes hanging from beneath the coats of the traditional Jewish men, while multicolored kerchiefs bobbed to and fro on the heads of the observant Muslim women, punctuated with bare midrifts protruding from the teenagers' hip hugger jeans.

The concert began with the traditional eastern classical orchestral modes, revered by Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures in the orient. Following a short interlude that allowed the religious Jewish men to politely exit (it is against their tradition to be in the presence of a woman singing in public), the singers entered onto stage.

When Harmony Clashes with Dissonance

After solo pieces were beautifully performed in Hebrew and Arabic, the flavor turned Spanish. Zohar, a beautiful student of mine from the north, left her usual pop tunes and prepared a song inspired by the flamenco tradition.

The guitar strings and percussion wove in colorful tapestry accompanying Zohar's voice as it edged it's way from softness to power to BAMM!!! - when she collapsed and suddenly fell flat on the floor.

Gasps from the shocked audience replaced the silence which just a moment before had absorbed the haunting melody from her voice. Her husband ran onstage and carried her outside to the fresh air.
The MC went outside to find out what was happening.

Survival - the Booby Prize

When unexpected disaster collapses your world and your survival seems at stake, the automatic response is to fight, flee or disappear. The problem is, most times you get stuck there - in survival mode.

Have you ever noticed that some of the most difficult and painful disasters in your life seem to occur when you are flying forward towards your positive growth and then WHOOSH, you are suddenly swept up in a hurricane of emotion and crash to the ground and the entire world seems to crumble beneath your feet?

How do you lift yourself up after you've tumbled to the ground?

Diving off the cliff so the wind can lift your wings

I jumped in to fill the gap. "Here is an opportunity for all of us to make harmony", I said. "Yeh, hell seems to have broken loose. We don't know what to do. We're not in control. Yet we are in control of how we react right now. We have a choice in how we respond to this situation.

I'd like to suggest that we contemplate Zohar's health and well-being, rather than worrying about her sickness, as we move to the next musical piece".

Music is food for the soul

The orchestra began as I went outside to see what happened. Though she was still lying on the ground, she chuckled at her improbable state. "She will not go back up on stage!" the authorities declared.

Nuts are more than just a healthy snack

This song represented a huge breakthrough for her in expressing her authentic voice and I suspected perhaps her fainting was in reaction to the excitement and breaking through a tough layer of fear.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. She looked like she really wanted to continue. "Do you feel up to continuing?" I asked, leaving it up to her to decide what was most appropriate. To my suprise, she answered, "Yes!"

The MC and college authorities looked at us in disbelief as I escorted her back onto the stage.

At this point, you may be thinking, "How crazy! How irresponsible! How dangerous!" From an intellectual perspective, this could be true. It was a risk to support her in her decision, but sometimes doing the nutty thing, when your inner guidance clearly directs you to do something, is the most healthy, responsible way to respond, even if it looks bizarre. I trusted the Higher Power to determine the outcome.

It's never to late to begin again

The guitarist and percussionist provided the musical introduction as Zohar rebalanced herself with focusing exercises we had worked with over the past few months. Her singing was stronger than ever. The rain outside turned into a thunder of applause and standing ovation from the audience, visibly moved by her act of faith and courage.

Is there a place in your life where the ground has seemed to cave in beneath your feet? What small step could you take now towards turning your failure into a round of standing ovation?

Life continues after the show is over

While singing after collapsing left Zohar with a new sense of confidence, it also left it's traces of stage fright. "Perhaps it will happen again?" she worried. Following a few more months of coaching, she asked if I would accompany her on stage in another concert and help her choose the song. I answered, yes.

My lord who is eternal and everlasting

From the sand to the sea, to the sound of the crashing of the waves

For it is in the heavens, and in the crashing thunder, where the prayer of man is heard
Those are the words of the Hebrew spiritual we sang; Eli Eli. The live performance that you see see here, was composed in the moment, on the spot. It is the result of surrendering to vulnerability, allowing our bodies to be instruments, in service to the music.

I hope the Heavens heard our prayer.

I hope that you will post a comment so I can hear yours. Or visit the website.

Allow Yourself to Be Heard

Interested in deeply relaxing? Allowing yourself to be heard?

If so, I invite you to listen to a sample of special music meditation, conceived and recorded through a pure and honest practice of deep inner listening to the well of inspirational wisdom as practiced by the ancients.

The Voice you will hear comes from a process of surrendering myself, in service to the Sound. This allows me to connect to the Source of the sound allowing it to sound through me as it will.

My wish is that it will help you to connect to your Source.

The wordless vocal music is composed in the rhythm of seven. Seven allows your brainwaves and your nerves to balance themselves. The space in between the pulse, provides you with deep relaxation.

Longing for Peace - Healing War Zones of Daily Life

Not all war happens with bombs and guns.

There are war zones in everyday life. In order to make the healing and transformational power of music practical tools for daily life, I'm looking for a few readers to interview (by phone or Skype).

I'll be asking about where they most long for peace. What's in the way? What makes it hard to practice peace-making exercises?

If you're interested, please email me: eliana at voicesofeden.com

Longing for Peace - Healing War Zones of Daily Life

Not all war happens with bombs and guns.

There are war zones in everyday life. In order to make the healing and transformational power of music practical tools for daily life, I'm looking for a few readers to interview (by phone or Skype).

I'll be asking about where they most long for peace. What's in the way? What makes it hard to practice peace-making exercises?

If you're interested, please email me at musicpeace at voicesofeden.com.

Gentle Pulse - Safed Jewish Arab Music Academy

Last week, was our year end concert with the Ethnic Music Academy at
Safed College. Safed is the mystical center of Kabbalah.

I had the lovely honor of conducting the orchestra for Dulab Hejaz -
where you will see the frame drum, along with my fellow conductors
and teachers - Yair Dalal, Eyal Shiloach and Emad Dellal.

You can see gorgeous photos here photographed by Yossi Gottlieb.

To Know You Better & Transform Together

I got a haircut yesterday so my outside will reflect the inner update and transformation I am going through.

I post this photo, taken just moments after leaving the hair salon.
Yeh, it's an imperfect phone pic, but it's authentic, and THAT's what I want to share.

How about you? What are you about to update? What kind of transformation would you be willing to go through?

I'd love it if you would answer the following so I can get to know you better....


All I want is _________________, but ___________________ gets in the way.
I love ______________ but _______________________________________________.
I wouldn't ___________________________ if only ______________________________.
I'd _________________________________ if only _______________________________.
What I really need is _______________________________________________________.
I know I could __________________________ if ________________________________.

Leave a post here or email me: musicpeace at (@)voicesofeden.com

Voices of Transformation and Healing - Hear it Here

Shira Yaari, Israel Dvir and Leeanne Shalev, three graduates of the Voices of Eden ancient healing and transformational music program have been involved in a post trauma healing music program with Project Wings - Knafayim in Western Galilee to serve a very special group of physically disabled multi-faith group of young adults who healing from post trauma and with it, learning to use their own voices as instruments of healing and transformation.

The home of this project is in Bustan HaGalil which is nestled on the mediterranean coastline, very close to an archeological site where ancient percussion instruments were found from the Bronze age.

As part of our healing music project, Shira spent time with the students making percussion instruments fashioned after the ancient ones. We will use them to evolve a healing music program, which God willing, will be presented at the Hecht Museum in the University of Haifa, where the ancient percussion instruments lie on display.



If you think your limitation, whatever you believe that to be, cannot be overcome, Tamir, born blind in Ethiopia who now lives with the other students in the North of Israel and Shira Yaari will prove to you that NOTHING is impossible.




Here they use the five elements of Voices of Eden ancient healing and transformational music to release stress, focus attention and provide you with inspiration and upliftment.

Foundation, Renovation and Transformation

These days my entire world from the inside out is a reflection of:
1) Foundation
2) Renovation
3) Transformation

I am happy to share with you the process of my new home and the future world headquarters of Voices of Eden as it is being renovated and expanded.

You can see the pics here.