Imagining the world with music at our core: Part 1

I arrived in the wee small hours of Tuesday morning, in downtown Vancouver. And am now situated in a small retreat center outside of the city, enjoying the peacefulness of nearby woods, and the sounds of birds outside my window. This is a perfect place to come together with fellow attendees of the biennial, North American, Association for Music and Imagery (AMI) conference. This year’s conference title is “Imagining the world with music at our core”.

Most of the approximately eighty attendants of this conference are either Fellows of the association, or trainees in Guided Imagery and Music (GIM). It is an intimate group, although people have come from the U.K., Ireland, Mexico, Columbia, Spain, South Korea, China and Australia, as well as from all over North America.

I am excited to spend several days learning from my colleagues, and expanding my connection to this amazing method of working. GIM training infuses all aspects of my work, from my understanding and use of music, to the way that I verbally guide clients, to my appreciation for and understanding of non-ordinary states of consciousness and the spiritual lives of my clients. Most of all, though, this method encourages listening; it acknowledges the power of deep listening, and how an attitude of surrendering to music within a therapeutic relationship, can transform our inner worlds.

I am truly honored to be surrounded by folks that carry the wisdom of this work into the world, and wish for more people to know about it. For this reason, I will be sharing some highlights from the conference in the coming days. Stay tuned.