Song Circle - Getting Out Of The Way
Last night I led our Song Circle in the chapel of my spiritual community, Center for Spiritual Living in Reno. We’ve been gathering for a couple of years now, and it felt like more evidence that this really works best when I get out of the way.
It’s not something I can manufacture or create. It happens in the moment. The less I try to steer it, the more space there is for something real to happen - a kind of shared experience that feels grounded and alive.
There’s something about singing together that settles my body. My breath deepens and my nervous system has a chance to soften. I think others feel the same way. It’s like we all drop out of our heads and into our bodies, even if we don’t always have the words to describe it. Within the chants and songs I feel us all take a deep exhale.
When I look around the room I can see how different we all are - different lives, beliefs, politics, worldviews, dreams, hopes. On a normal day, those differences can feel loud. But in the middle of singing, so much of that seems to dissolve. Not because we suddenly agree - but because agreement stops being the point.
It might just be in my own mind, but it feels like we’re connected in a way that doesn’t happen when we’re just talking or thinking or scrolling. When we sing together, something bypasses our defenses and reminds us that we’re all being humans, together. Something lets us feel the present moment - not as a woo-woo idea, but as a lived experience.
Something kind of funny happened last night. I was going to sing a song to the group - not one that we were singing together, but just one I wanted to offer. As I started, I noticed how connected I felt to everyone’s faces. Like they weren’t looking at me with any expectation, but just experiencing the moment and our little community we’ve created. Then I got to a line in the song, and completely went blank. I started over, and when I got to the same place, I forgot the lyric again. At first I freaked out. Is this a senior moment? Am I finally losing it? But looking back this morning, I realized that I was so wrapped up in the feeling of connection - in how supported and held I felt - that the words just didn’t matter as much as the moment. We all had a good laugh, and I assume they were laughing with me and not at me. lol
Song Circle for me isn’t about performance or polish. It’s about creating a space where people can breathe deeper, feel a little more honestly, and remember what it’s like to be in a room where we don’t have anything to prove.
Everytime it happens, it reminds me that the magic isn’t in trying harder or controlling the moment. It’s in trusting the moment and getting out of the way. Music is the gift that keeps giving, that reminds me that we don’t have to do any of this alone.
