Ravens Word - Tactical Withdrawel

‘Maybe there’s nothing more to say, and in a funny way I’m calm. Because the power is not mine, I’m just going to let it fly’
The Corrs

There is a rune called Teiwaz it’s shape is simply an arrow pointing upwards. This rune has to do with the spiritual warrior, the counsel of this rune when chosen in reverse has got to do with the tactical withdrawal of ones energy from a circumstance or situation when it is appropriate.

In my booklet on runes I gave it this meaning ‘ know when it is appropriate to back off. Forcing a situation when you yourself are not ready to take it on will further your pain. Don’t force an issue for the sake of having it your own way. This will cause unnecessary conflict and a draining away of energy and will’.

So often we don’t realise the benefit of removing our energy and will from a situation that is not serving us. We continue to throw our thoughts, and actions at something long after it no longer serves us. Most often in these situations the feeling is one of hopelessness and powerlessness, a struggle to force something we desire out of a situation or another person out of some need for gratification we may have.

This theme has come up for me so many times in my own life and in the lives of the clients I have worked with recently. What one finally has to realise though, as the song lyrics above state, ‘the power is not mine’ when you are dependent on someone else for that gratification you give away the power to choose in the situation. The most appropriate action here even if it is only or more importantly on an energetic level is to ‘let it fly’.

‘The more you are dependant on forces outside of yourself, the more you are dominated by them’
Harold Sherman

© Copyright 2005 Tegwyn Fietze. All rights reserved.

Under no circumstances may this be poted onto any bulletin board or intranet site without the author's permission.

Birthday celebration with Dickie Loader

Took my mom out on her birthday to see Dickie Loader playing at Monte Casino in Johannesburg. What a stunning evening, and Dickie is still as fabulous as ever, playing now as a duo with his wife Carleen. I don't think I have ever met two more wonderful people, and as a booking agent, they are probably the easiest, most accommodating couple to work with.

And if anyone is interested, they play 3 times a week at Monte Casino at various venues. A must see - it is obvious why Dickie was one of the few South African musicians who truely made an international name for himself.

Worth a visit - nice one!

Facts of Life for playing in Pubs & Clubs

For all you muso's out there, I am sure you can relate.....

Unless you are in a concert situation, most of the people are not there to hear you. Your music is incidental. People go to restaurants and bars to eat, to drink, to socialise, do business, or maybe to be alone in a crowd. So if you reach some of them and entertain them, you've done a hell of a job.

Any volume is too loud for someone.

The talent of anyone who wants to sit in, is inversely proportional to how insistent he or his friends are about his sitting in. The most talented musician that you would really like to play with will be sitting there quietly and will have left his axe in the car.

Most people sitting in a bar don't think about the physics of a microphone boom. They will playfully poke the weighted end of the boom, slamming the mic into your lips and teeth while you're singing.

The crowd would rather hear a terrible rendition of 'Sweet Caroline' than the tastiest arrangement of one of your originals that they've never heard before.

The customer who asked for 'Sweet Caroline', his favourite song, won't realise you're playing it until you actually reach the word 'Sweet'.

Someone in the crowd will have halfway heard you play 'Sweet Caroline' and it will remind him of the song, so he'll request it right after you've just played it.

Nobody at the pub will care, or even hear the hip chords you're playing for the song they requested. They want to hear the song played exactly like they heard it on the radio.

In most pubs, your main objective is to try to entertain without bothering anybody (or without anybody bothering you).

Unless you want to marry her and be the one who takes her home every night, don't hitch your star to a girl singer.

Most of the 'professional' singers asking to sit in with you will not know their keys.

Always have an extra mic available and hooked up. Girl singers (sometimes guys) will always leave lipstick on the end of your mic.

it almost makes you giddy when a singer sits in, knows their tunes, keys, tempos and knocks everybody out. If you play in restaurants or lounges, make sure you're comfortable with keys. Most professional girl singers sing about a fourth away from the original and won't accept a half-step difference.

Make sure horn players don't warm up on the stage. There's nothing like having a romantic meal at a fine restaurant and suddenly hearing a loud alto sax playing 'bird licks' and scales.

And the number one fact of life for playing in pubs and clubs.....

Your slowest night, with the most obnoxious crowd and the worst response, is immeasurably better than the best day you ever had at a day job!

Raven's Word - Motivational from Tegwyn Fietze

There is a wonderful motivational and inspirational speaker - she is Tegwyn Fietze, and she has kindly given me permission to post incerpts from some of her weekly newsletters.

She is available for corporate and private functions and has a page on the Jam Ally Website. The link is posted on the right hand side of the main blog page or you can just click on the highlighted name above.

Thank you Tegwyn...and to everyone else, ENJOY!
Ally




" . . .Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape."
Charles Dickens
Great Expectations

While I still have heart, my love is alive. While I have heart my capacity to love is alive. While I have heart I can diminish my fears by being honest in my deepest self and heart about what it is that I truly want, and what will truly make me happy. My honesty with myself and what is true and right and good for me is what sets me free. When I consider what is appropriate for me, I also make the correct choices, choices, which have an impact on others. If I am being true to me, I can be nothing else but true to anyone else too.

I can do this when I do this from heart. Yes I believe I do have heart. From heart comes courage and strength, from heart comes a willingness to keep trying, to keep looking, and to keep seeking and working toward a fulfilled and contented me. So I ask the question of you – Do you have Heart?

© Copyright 2005 Tegwyn Fietze. All rights reserved.
Under no circumstances may these writings be posted on any bulletin boards or republished without the express written permission of the author.

Beautitudes for People with Disabilities

This has been doing the rounds on the net for years now, but it is so beautiful that I thought I would post it here.


Beautitudes for People with Disabilities
BY MARJORIE CHAPPELL

Blessed are those who take time to listen to the defective speech, for you help us to know that if we persevere we can be understood

Blessed are those who walk with us in public places and ignore the stares of strangers for in your companionship we find havens of relaxation

Blessed are those who never bid us ‘hurry up’ and more blessed are you that do not snatch out tasks from our hands to do them for us, for often we need time rather than help

Blessed are those that ask for our help, for our greatest need is to be needed

Blessed are those who stand beside us as we enter new ventures, for our failures will be outweighed by the times we surprise you and ourselves

Blessed are those when by all these things you assure us that the thing that makes us individuals is not our peculiar muscles, nor our wounded nervous systems, but it is the God-given self that no infirmity can confine

Blessed are those who realise that we are human and don’t expect us to be saintly just because we have a disability

Blessed are those that pick things up without being asked

Blessed are those who understand that sometimes we are weak and not just lazy

Blessed are those who forget the disability of our bodies and see the shape of our souls

Blessed are those who see us as a whole person, unique and complete and not as one of God’s mistakes

Blessed are those who love us just as we are without wondering what we would have been like

Blessed are our friends upon whom we depend, for they are the substance and joy of our lives


Altogether now......ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !

Red Hand Blues Band

Went to the Blues Room on Saturday night to watch Red Hand, a New Orleans type blues band. Man, these guys are just fabulous. Watch them, they are going to be hot for functions very very soon.

Fabulous guys - well done.

And a bit of trivia here, the band I used to play with over 10 years ago....Jam Ally.....well there was a man there who remembered me from then!!! Talk about feeling your age......ah, fame at last - LOL!

Richard Thompson

After 4 very long years of gigging overseas, Richard Thompson has finally decided to come home. He worked as a solo, duo and in bigger bands over there, and he has already received a call or two from Dubai asking him to go back. But I think our Richie will stay in South Africa for a while. He's currently working as a solo, and is doing stand in work for Dad's Army and Sounds Like Thunder.

Richard and I worked really well together some time back in a duo called Steele. Lawdy lawd, we had a lot of fun in those days! Ah, time marches on...

Welcome home, old friend.