Music has always been a part of my life...

B"H

“If they want to know me, tell them to stroll through my collection. I’m in my collection.” – Isabella Stewart Gardner; Art Collector

Music has always been a part of my life. At age 6 my mother started me on the piano. I continued with recorder and flute until age 14 when I learned to play the guitar. Having had my fill of the Berklee School of Music jazz guitar method, I continued my lessons by listening to and playing along with LP’s of the likes of James Taylor, Paul Simon, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. I was in awe of the amazing open tunings of Mary McCaslin and Joni Mitchell. I also learned a bit of Renaissance music on the recorder.

Beatle-mania of the ‘60’s opened my ears to a new beat that guided my generation all the way to Woodstock. I have fond memories of the post-Woodstock era; hippies, flower power, the feminist movement, and anti-war protests all held important messages of empowerment. Music was at the forefront during those beautifully turbulent times; Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul and Mary were very influential leaders. I grew with the music. I listened to and learned the songs of Santana, Led Zeppelin, and Earth, Wind and Fire. Music was abundant. It was everywhere; it seemed to fill the world.

The ‘70’s provided the mold that formed my identity as a youth. It was a dynamic era that embraced the ideals of the ‘60’s and moved them into the next generation. It was a time when black and white turned into living Color. Freedom moved to Love as we celebrated in Unity and Harmony and rejoiced in the Diversity that was part of our Oneness. We communed together and sang loudly for Peace. Creativity highlighted the goodness of life and, caught in the throng of living passionately, we danced our way into innovative and progressive thought. We were young, old and in the middle – discovering ourselves. We had the Power and we were confident that one person could make a difference and together we could change the world.

I spent my summers traveling. In the summer of ’76, after an initial visit to Israel, and with $400, a tent, a camping stove, and our thumbs, I traveled through Europe with a friend. We had no plans, no schedules, and no idea where we were going. We started in Amsterdam at the “Festival of Fools”, and after two weeks of outrageous clowning, mimes, theater and fabulous music, we decided to go to wherever there were festivals. That summer I felt something I had never felt before. I remember waking up one morning and, sitting outside our little two-person tent, I suddenly understood what it was to feel free. I could do anything or nothing at all; I could go anywhere or nowhere at all. I discovered the whole world opening up to me in celebration. I was free.

Autumn 1976 found me back in Israel where I lived for the next twenty-two years. I learned Hebrew, Torah, Complementary and Alternative Therapies, and about Healing and the abundance of Spirit. I married, raised a family, and played music with musicians from all over the world. I was having the time of my life. I was living music in the Presence of the Divine. Every moment offered inspiration; wonderful harmonies, happy and joyous dissonance, slightly off-key sounding scales… the music felt complete. Life was full, creative, imaginative, multi-layered and multicultural. It sang of joy, sorrow, and yearning, and reached deep into the very core of human experience. It was then that I understood that I had become rich.

At an open house event at the home of Professor Dov Noy in Jerusalem, each guest spoke briefly about themselves, their hopes, dreams and aspirations. My eyes were opened that evening to the world of possibility where hopes and dreams were achieved and became realities.

I’ve never forgotten the excitement of those days. I have walked this earth on a path that has embraced the Divine, though I have not always lived it awake in a conscious and mindful state. It is abundantly clear that living consciously under the loving wings of our Creator is a path to embrace and to follow as best we can. Today I am a Musician, Performing and Healing Artist, and a Spiritual Guide/Lightworker. This is what defines me, keeps me spiritually connected and involved with communities of all kinds. This is the closest path to freedom that I’ve found yet.

http://www.ourstage.com/profile/rahelmusic

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