This is a practice track for an upcoming retreat.
Hope   by Debbie Nargi-Brown

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the Soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all" Emily Dickinson

Never, never never, never, never, never, never, never. never
Never give up, on hope

Hope is living in my Soul

HOPE

Heart of the Shamans is a divinely crafted sonic prayer, a ritual transport into the heart of the universe. The finely tuned arrangements of music producer Amani Friend are skillfully interwoven with threads of global rhythms, natural atmospheres and enchanting vocals, arousing in the listener a desire to merge with the medicine of the soul. Heart of the Shamans intentionally evokes a cyclical, visionary journey through the body’s energy centers, and is a tapestry of sound, inspirited with ancient lineages and ancestral depths; from the ceremonial dances in the deserts and pueblos of New Mexico to the traditions of the Amazon jungles. 

Heart of the Shamans features ceremonial medicine songs intended for healing and trance journeying. The outstanding sound artists who contributed to this project are some of the same as in the first Liquid Bloom album, Shaman’s Eye: Robert Mirabal’s Taos flutes and Native chanting; the sacred medicine songs of the vocalist Ixchel Prrisma; the ethereal vocals of Sarah West; the overtone singing of Rara Avis; and the didgeridoo, percussion and nature recordings of Amani Friend, who also provides the overall sound design, production and framework for the compositions and arrangements.

1. Ceremony of the Heart			    8:48
2. Cosmic Soul Lotus				    6:06
3. Healing Fire Breath				    6:34
4. Temple of the Goddess                        3:16                            
5. Ecstatic Grounding                               6:28                  
6. Sacred Blessing				            7:56
7. Jaguar Dreaming (Medicina mix)	    16:08
8. Roots of the Earth (Medicina mix)   16:40

Healing Fire Breath - Demo Sample

A three-part chant celebrating the gifts of the darkness.  Lyrics:  Every time I go into the darkness, I return with fistfuls of jewels.  Midnight velvet wraps all around me; stars glitter brilliant above.
Dreaming darkness, dreaming light.  @ Big Bug Music.
This is now a video! Watch here....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OjQ_v7VtFI&ab_channel=BarbaraMcAfee

Jewels

Sun Dance Call -Sasaba Zazopoulos

Amy Ringle

Vocals - Batya Levine
Percussion - Simcha Halpert Hanson

Nechama - Batya Levine

Tu B'shvat Nign

A slow song brought to you by the waters of the Webatuck swamp - Schagticoke / Mahican land. 

Water provides life. From the rain, the dew, the ocean, water heals and holds, and sings so many songs through us. I am grateful to the waters for being such a teacher, and invite you to honor them with this song.

The hebrew at the end is the traditional prayer said for a Mikveh, ritual immersion or bath:

Barukh atah Adonay Eloheynu ruach ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al ha-t'vilah.

Blessed are you, source of creation,  of the universe, who sanctifies us through mitzvot and has shown us immersion.

lizard popping bubbles

Great Waters

Lyrics:

I enter the void to receive
Sacred darkness breaking down, remembering
Blood and bone, alone, conjuring
Womb and tomb invoke ancestry

I burn with the flame of compassion
Shedding skin in cycles, cleanse the burden
Flow free, energy, transmutation
Illuminate liberation

I am like a rose, I am stronger than you know
Walk with the cloak of my shadow, so the light of my love may glow
Our blood is the seed, returning the earth to peace
Roots of the womb diving deep, we are returning with the keys
Returning with the keys

Awaken, awaken, awaken,  awaken
Remember, remember, your magic, your magic
Awaken, awaken, awaken,  awaken
Returning, returning, to freedom, to freedom

Silence we enter, we now remember everything
Pain crack me open, chains now be broken, setting free
Fires of passion, strength of compassion, open me
Radiant beauty come to embody ecstacy

I am like a rose, I am stronger than you know
Walk with the cloak of my shadow, so the light of my love may glow
Our blood is the seed, returning the earth to peace
Roots of the womb diving deep, we are returning with the keys
Returning with the keys

Awaken, awaken, awaken,  awaken
Remember, remember, your magic, your magic
Awaken, awaken, awaken,  awaken
Returning, returning, to freedom, to freedom

Silence we enter, we now remember everything
Pain crack me open, chains now be broken, setting free
Fires of passion, strength of compassion, open me
Radiant beauty come to embody ecstacy

Codes of the Rose

This recording was updated in July 2024 for Wholehearted Chorus and is one half-step higher than the original key.

Sharing this song in community holds transformative powers... I find again and again Debbie's songwriting has a particular knack for validating and embracing our shadows while still luring us back into the light. This was a joy to record with Debbie and my Wholehearted Chorus in January, 2020. Enjoy!

For lyrics, and more information, visit: https://thebirdsings.com/ohgrief-ohjoy/

Oh Grief, Oh Joy by Debbie Nargi-Brown

Melody derived from the Ashkenazi trop (cantillation) for Eicha (the text we read on Tisha b'Av, a Jewish day of mourning)

Hebrew text from opening phrase of Eicha (sung in Ashkenazi trop, with Ashkenazi pronunciation)
אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָדָד, הָעִיר רַבָּתִי עָם--הָיְתָה, כְּאַלְמָנָה
Eicha yashva vadad, ha'ir rabasi am haysa k'almanah
[Translation: How is she sitting alone, the city who was once full of her people, how she is like a widow]

Oh weary one, lay your head down and rest your aching bones on the ground
Oh fearful one, lay your head down and let your body breathe on the ground
Oh hopeless one, lay your head down and rest your heavy heart on the ground
Oh yearning one, lay your head down and sing your song into the ground
Oh rageful one, lay your head down and let your tears flow into the ground
Oh weary one, lay your head down and rest your aching bones on the ground
Oh ANCIENT ONE, as we lay our heads down, please lay with us on the ground

Artwork from 14 Century German Book of Eicha