Music
WHAT IS MUSIC LIKE AT OPEN CIRCLE?
The musical experiences offered at Open Circle have gone through many iterations. In the beginning, we brought in local musicians to perform their original songs. This offered our local musicians a space where they could be heard as well as offered our community an opportunity to practice deep listening together.
More recently, we have been singing spiritual songs as a community which originate from an array of traditions. As humans, we’ve been singing together longer than we’ve been talking to each other. Music is even attributed as the precursor to language, so finding ways to authentically participate in this ancient practice is an essential component in our community gatherings. The general lyrical orientation of the songs we sing are aimed at connecting us more deeply to ourselves, one another, nature, and the sacred. Generally, emphasis is placed on the felt-sense experience of the music in our gatherings instead of emphasizing the words or “right beliefs.” We also utilize instrumental music as a backdrop to guided meditations and visualizations.
WHY DO WE INCLUDE MUSIC IN OUR GATHERINGS?
Music offers us a chance to find and use our own unique voice as individuals, as well as learn how our voice fits into the collective.
Music offers us an opportunity to connect with ourselves, one another, nature, and the sacred in an embodied and participatory way. This allows for a deepening and release from our modern default to cognitive processing and needing to “have things figured out”.
Music shifts our awareness, allowing us to engage with the rest of the gathering and each other deeply.