Connections

It sometimes amazes me that when I really get connected in my heart and just let energy move around me that I get hooked into a power of Universal thought that can be mind boggling. That may be why my mind would rather me not go there. It doesn’t like to be boggled. It would rather feel like it had some control.

That connection in my heart gives me a kind of radar system into the overall scheme of things. I would think that my ego would really like that because of the grandiosity of it all, but I guess my mind is the squeaky wheel when it loses its seat of command. My mind needs to be re-focused in its job description.

For instance, my mind’s use of vocabulary is a little limited and sometimes short-sighted. While it would like to have the best intentions, I’m not sure that my mind has the ability to see very well. It’s kind of like how a child doesn’t understand that ice cream for dinner may sound like the best idea, but in reality it’s not a great main course.

I’m very grateful that I have a mind because it is very good at processing things. It seems like it gets a little over ambitious at times, but that may just be because it does do a lot during the day. It’s a big job to keep a body working the way it needs to. It also may be that my mind is actually processing more than I can see.

What I think is fascinating is that I can be experiencing things on a collective level and not even realize it. When ever there is a shift happening in the world, like an earthquake, fires or floods, there is an underlying current that impacts me and what I’m doing. People also tend to comment during those times how much of a funk they’re in.

It’s almost a given that when someone comes to mind or crosses my heart that they’re dealing with something in the collective and don’t recognize they’re in a pattern shift. I can make a call or an email based on them showing up on my radar for some reason and it’s always an accurate hit. We all have the capability, we may not all be using it.

Blessings!Laura

If you want to talk more about being in the collective, send me an email at:
http://www.lauracohnmusic.com/
Where Music Meets Artistry

When It's Meant To Be

I’ve decided that I’m not going to concern myself with what I do in my life anymore. It’s just not worth my time. When I’m supposed to be doing something it fits in perfectly with my schedule. In fact, it’s almost comical when it happens. I don’t even try and things just show up that I need.

Here’s an example: I got an email about an infomercial for a fitness product. I did one at the beginning of the year and got to workout with a personal trainer 4 times a week. It was awesome. I tried to keep up with the workouts, but I’m just not that motivated sometimes to push myself with exercise.

So I called about doing it and got an invitation to meet with the producers and the trainer. This infomercial has classes with the trainer three times a week and it just so happens that the times of the classes fit in perfectly with my schedule. And I got an email yesterday telling me that I’ve been chosen to participate.

It’s great for me to have these things show up in my life this way. Now I can remember that when I’m wondering how I’m going to get what I need taken care of that most things will take care of themselves when I show up, communicate and make an effort to be responsible when I do things.

I don’t have to know how something will work out, I just have to show up to be there as it is working out and do what comes up for me to do. It’s good news for me because my mind should take a break from thinking so much. It tries too hard and doesn’t always take time to look at things for what they are in the big picture. Does your mind ever do that?

Blessings!Laura

Check out the online store if you want to get some new music at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Priorities

I always know when something or someone is important to me because I’ll drop what I’m doing to show up or be available no matter what. When I question whether or not I should go somewhere, I’m probably not all that motivated for some reason. The right thing at the right time gets me every time.

There was something someone said that I find is true in my own experience, that success loves speed. When I can jump at an opportunity that usually brings me success. It means I’m open to the possibility. It means I care and that I’m prepared. When I feel I’m idling sitting by biding my time, I can be productive.

An ex-neighbor of mine had a little girl and she was very cute. One time her dad and I were talking and she was waiting for us to finish our conversation so she could ride her bicycle with him. She had turned her bike into the wall of the building and couldn’t move from where she was.

When she commented that she wanted to go, we let her know that she wasn’t ready to go because she had blocked herself into the wall and if she wanted to go, she could get herself ready while she waited. It was a brilliant lesson for me not to block myself into a wall while I am waiting for the time when I can do something I want to do.

Blessings!Laura

You can sign up for my weekly newsletter and get the heads up on my LA life at:
http://www.lauracohnmusic.com/
Where Music Meets Artistry

Mortality

Tonight I had my first acting class at CAP, www.completeactorsplace.com, and it was fun. There was a scene that was done where one of the characters told the other character that he was dying. I came home and read an email that my friend’s mentor just died. It made me think about what is important to me in life.

The scene brought up a conversation in class about mortality and what death looks like. Lonny Stevens, our director, posed questions about it to the class, “When someone tells you they’re dying, do you see death? Can you see what dying looks like in a person, and can you see that they’re dying when you look at them after they tell you that?”

I remember when I saw my Uncle after I hadn’t seen him in a number of years and something looked wrong. Within a year he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and went very fast. There have been some other people that I’ve known that have come down with cancer and again something didn’t look right to me and then they were diagnosed.

It’s an energy thing. Caroline Myss, www.myss.com, writes about alternative healing. She reads people’s energy and can give medical diagnoses. What seems to be prevalent in the people I’ve known who have gotten very sick is that they seem to be grieving something very deeply in their lives. They’re upset on a core level.

Most grieving that I’ve experienced and heard about from people is over a loss of love, a lack of love, not being loved and feeling unlovable. In my opinion, the thing that creates sadness is staying away from love out of fear that love will be lost, ruined, or betrayed. That kind of fear can create some very interesting behavior.

Love is something that seems like it should be natural for me. I like to love deeply in my heart. It feels better when I live that way. I don’t know what created pain here on Earth. I know there are stories and beliefs about creation, the fall of man, and other things. There are a lot of stories being lived out in humanity.

The next time I see someone who has that look like something is wrong, I’m going to see if I can sit down with them and talk about what’s going on. A very smart doctor once told me that sometimes you just have to give someone a chance. Then they can find some glimmer of hope inside of themselves to try something else and get better.

Blessings!Laura

It would be great to hear what you do to get better. You can send me an email at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Trees

My friend and I were talking and I don’t know why, but the conversation headed to the subject of trees. Maybe because I sang my song “Life Is Good” at CAP. One of the verses is about trees so trees are fresh in my mind. If you want to hear the song, go to my EPK at www.sonicbids.com/lauracohn. It’s in the media section.

The lyric in the verse is…”Trees are standing like great towers through the nights and every storm. They hold life with so much power. They can see how time is born.” That was inspired by a singer I knew named Margo Reed. Her sister, Francine, sang back ups with Lyle Lovett. The whole family was musically gifted.

She told me that she learns a lot looking at nature and talked about how trees stand where they are no matter what shows up around them, unless of course some lumberjack comes around and cuts them down. But what came up in my conversation today was noting how much strength there is in simplicity and how nice life is when I keep things simple.

A tree spends its entire life in one place. It stays where it is and whatever shows up where it is, is what the tree deals with. Maybe it’s the illusion of me moving around in this body that gives me the feeling that I go different places in my day. I’m on the same planet in the same atmosphere. My body doesn’t give my soul a way out while it breathes.

Somehow I think we’re all Divinely guided and I show up where I’m supposed to. Not that it seems that way all the time. But I love the idea of life being so simple that I just have to be where I am and life will come to me. That may sound silly, but I’ve been known to come up with stuff that makes people shake their heads in bewilderment.

The opening lyric in the song “Life Is Good” makes me smile every time I sing it. I wrote the song when I lived in Telluride, CO where I watched A LOT of snow fall every winter. The song describes looking at the snow falling outside and how I wished that life “could be so easy like the flakes just falling down.”

“We could all be out together; have a party with the ground.” I love the idea of having a party with the ground. Trees have a party with the ground every day. They’re completely connected without even trying. It’s just how they are. Trees are very cool. They really come to life when someone notices them. Have you ever noticed that?

Blessings!
Laura

There are other songs you can hear in the online store at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Naming Hurricanes

I think that we should start naming hurricanes after butterflies and moths. They’re harmless little creatures and they look pretty when they flutter around. After the wrath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the infamous hurricane Camille in the 60’s, I think we should stop naming hurricanes after women.

Have you ever seen pictures of the Monarch butterfly’s migration into Mexico? There are hundreds of thousands, maybe even milllions of butterflies that show up there and they don’t knock over trees upon their arrival. They do their thing and then leave. It’s actually good for the environment when they show up.

Women are powerful and when given momentum they are a force to be reckoned with. I’m tired of reading about the fury of female storms. I’m a female and I know from personal experience that feminine energy is best kept soothed and calm. Naming a storm in the feminine gender is just asking for trouble.

Maybe it’s me, but I think that we could get off the “horror and terror” diet in humanity. Why invoke trouble when we don’t have to? What is the pay off? What are the costs? Are we having a good time being stressed out? I’m just curious. I wonder what it would be like if the world stopped creating havoc for itself for a week. I would like to try that.

Blessings!
Laura

Listen to “Highest Power” in the online store and get a glimpse of what I mean at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Stretching Out

What I love about playing at CAP in Studio City, www.completeactorsplace.com, is that every time I play there it’s different and there is always something new at the end of the night that I’ll be doing the next time. That’s because Lonny Stevens, the art director, sees something in me that I don’t know is even there.

Last month when we were done with our show, Lonny told me that he wanted me to “lose the guitar” for 3 songs and just sing vocals. So we got a second guitar player to join the mix, since our violinist wasn’t going to be able to make it for the show. Then when we were doing the sound check, it was decided that I wasn’t playing guitar at all.

I’ve learned to just say, “Okay.” and smile when Lonny tells me what I’m going to be doing because what he tells me to do always makes what I’m doing better, even if I have no idea how to do what he tells me to do. At dinner before the show, I was still in my “deer in headlights” mode when my bass player asked if I was alright.

It wasn’t fear going through my veins. We had rehearsed 3 songs without me playing guitar. It was the unknown of what the other 6 songs were going to sound like. I didn’t really know what I was going to do just singing without the guitar on 3 songs and now I was going to be without the guitar for the whole show.

There’s a first time for everything and this was my first time singing my songs as a vocalist. It was a lot fun once I got used to it. There were new things I did vocally that came out just because I was singing on vocals instead of concentrating on what I was doing with the guitar. That made the show easier for me.

The audience seemed to like it better, too. That’s key. I actually didn’t know my pipes were all that strong until tonight because I never really stretched out as a vocalist before. The wind just sailed through every note in a way that came out beautifully. My phrasing was different and it was really great to be in my full range.

After the show, Lonny told me to start coming to his acting class every other week and that he’s going to have me work with a choreographer. That will be very cool. I love training with people. Getting direction makes such a big difference. Things have really changed since I first played at CAP as a solo artist 7 months ago. It’s all good.

Blessings!
Laura

Our next CAP show is Oct. 22nd. Sign up for my weekly newsletter to get show info at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Guitars

Every guitar seems to have its own personality. Maybe that’s why musicians name theirs. My 6 string Cordoba classical guitar is named Rosie Hitler. She’s a cool guitar. She’s in the shop because she needed some work done. The pick-up system wasn’t getting much signal, so my friends over at Renson Guitars, in Studio City, are checking it out.

My band mates are bringing me a couple of guitars for the gig at CAP, since the pick-up situation will take more than one day to resolve. It inspired me to go over to Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks, www.guitarcenter.com. I’ve been thinking about getting a 12 string guitar. I was primarily a 12 string player for years.

Guitar Center usually has a pretty vast selection of guitars. I played a number of Gibson acoustics, www.gibsoncom, a fabulous Taylor 12 string, www.taylorguitars.com, a Martin 12 string, www.martinguitar.com, and some different Cordoba nylon string guitars. The Taylor 12 was my favorite of all the guitars I played there.

There’s a connection I get with certain guitars. That Taylor 12 string reminded me of an old Martin 12 string I had for awhile. Her name was Butter. This Taylor guitar just rang out like an orchestra. The action on it was so smooth and finger picking was a breeze. I can really dig into a good 12 string guitar and get happy real fast. I was smitten.

It seems that when I start to play on a new guitar it’s easy to write new songs. I didn’t buy the Taylor 12 string but it was fun to check it out. I’m not sure what kind of guitar my next one will be. I want to wait and see how my pick-up situation pans out with Rosie first. The nylon string sound is nice with my voice.

Blessings!
Laura

You can check out a couple of different guitars I’ve recorded with in the online store at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Loving Kindness

There was a time when I was into reading orthodox literature in Judaism. I’m not orthodox, but I found a lot of the deepest spiritual teachings I have ever read in my life in their books. I’ve always been kind of a truth seeker, so finding the heart of my own heritage was helpful to my understanding why some things impact me more than others.

My favorite thing I learned in my reading was that one of God’s attributes is loving kindness. I don’t know why, but reading that gave me a warmth in my heart that is precious to me. Even now when I think about it I get happier. It’s good for me to know that God’s kindness is loving kindness because that’s an example I can model.

God’s loving kindness helps me find a way to be more loving in my life. I can be kind to others. There doesn’t have to be a reason for it other than to be kind. Being kind is a choice I make in my day. When I consider what the best thing is that I can do for another person, the answer I usually come up with is that I can be kind.

I’ve noticed that people tend to appreciate kindness when I’m kind to them. When I think about how to be kind, it becomes a practice of listening to another person, hearing what they need, and making an effort to be helpful and supportive to them. I can see a person’s breathing change when I’m being kind to them. They seem more relaxed.

I love seeing the look in someone’s eyes when they are genuinely happy and feeling comfortable because they are being treated with kindness. They become so beautiful to look at. Their faces shine and you can see their real soul start to come out. I’ve watched a person turn from stressed and shriveled to glowing and young looking just with a smile.

People are really wonderful when they’re given the chance to be. I love creating magical moments with people using loving kindness. It’s so much fun. I get to learn what makes them special and honor their importance in the world. Even when I’m only around someone for a moment, it’s nice that the moment can be wrapped in loving kindness.

Blessings!
Laura

My song “You Are Love” touches on loving kindness. Listen to it in the online store at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com.
Where Music Meets Artistry.

Things Just Work Out

Maybe it’s because I’ve been around for awhile, and have experienced time and time again that things happen for a reason, that I don’t concern myself much when something needs to get done that isn’t done yet. I just follow what comes in next to do and let things happen. My latest opportunity for this came about this week.

I’m playing a show with “my band” at CAP, in Studio City, this Saturday night. I put “my band” in quotes because I have yet to play with the same group of musicians on the same stage more than once since I’ve been performing in LA. Good musicians are busy and I’m lucky enough to play with really good musicians.

My percussionist performs with a number of different artists and bands. He’s an amazing player and the vibe he brings to the stage is vibrant. It turns out that the one night another singer/songwriter he plays with booked a show this month happened to be on Sept. 24th, the same night as my gig at CAP.

The last I had talked to him, he was going to get me a sub. We both got busy and hadn’t spoken in a couple of weeks. Late Tuesday night when we did talk he let me know that everyone he knew was already booked. So we decided calling Remo Drum Center in North Hollywood, http://www.remo.com/ , was a good idea and we were right.

What I love about living in LA is how great the people are. I called Remo the next day and talked to Jerry Zacariaf. I let him know what was going on, what I needed and asked if he knew of anyone who might be available to play. He was very cool, fun to talk to and gave me names and numbers of a couple of guys to call.

The first call I made got me a percussionist for the show. He’s even going to rehearse with us on Thursday night. That may sound odd, but I’ve met musicians for the first time the night of a show at the sound check. When you can get someone charts and a CD it doesn’t take much to put on a show. Like I said before, I play with really good musicians.

The whole band is rehearsing for this show before we get to the gig, which is a first for me in LA. The guitarist is bringing another guitarist in to play because in this show I’ll be putting my guitar down for 3 songs and the band will back me up. This will be the first time I’ve sung any of my songs without playing the guitar performing live.

So I’m looking forward to hearing what we sound like playing together with this combination of musicians. One music guy commented to me that what I’m doing keeps things fresh. That’s accurate. I have yet to know what “my band” is going to sound like when I get to the theater to play a show. It makes me smile just writing that.

Blessings!
Laura

If you want to see some pictures of me performing at CAP, go to:
http://www.lauracohnmusic.com/
Where Music Meets Artistry

Learning Something New

I was invited to a lecture given by Rabbi Bouskila at the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in LA. He was speaking about the meaning of Rosh Hashanah and the shofar. (It is the season of the High Holidays.) I love hearing people speak who are passionate about what they do and the Rabbi is one of those people.

One of the things he pointed out about Rosh Hashanah is that is isn’t necessarily what people think the holiday commemorates. According to the Jewish calendar, God began creating the world on the 25th of Elul, which is September 29th this year. On the 6th day, God created man, humanity.

That’s on the first day of Tishri, and this year it falls on October 4th which is Rosh Hashanah. So the celebration of what is commonly known as the Jewish New Year is actually the anniversary of when man was created. It is humanity’s birthday. This includes all of mankind, not just Jews.

Over the years, it seems that Rabbis have done their best to make things interesting for the people in the congregation, so they have added new meaning to the Torah, rearranged the stories to create a powerful message and to add more bang for the buck they’ve created rituals. I’m sure it has all been with good intentions.

Rabbis needed to add more material to the meaning of Rosh Hashanah because there isn’t much said about it in the Torah and the service wouldn’t last more than about 30 minutes, if that. So they took writings from here and there to make a day of it. In fact they made two. In my heritage, we can say in 10 pages what could be said in 3 paragraphs.

In ancient days, people looked in the sky to see when the new moon was until the calendar was established. People would observe the holiday for two days to make sure they got it right. Most holidays in the bible are centered on agriculture events because Israel was an agricultural society. A lot of what Jews celebrate is farming, hence the focus on food.

I really enjoyed the lecture Rabbi Bouskila gave tonight at the temple. He’ll be doing a series of lectures on Tuesdays at 7pm with dinner. The food is good. Kosher Chinese is a treat if you’ve never tried it. You can make reservations for next week’s lecture about Yom Kippur by calling the Temple at 310-475-7311.

Blessings!
Laura

Thanks for reading. If you would like to hear some of my songs, go to the online store at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Players vs. Composers

It is an interesting thing being a songwriter as opposed to being a “musician”. While I am called a musician at times and can use that name, it’s not really accurate or fair to what I call real “musicians”. The difference is significant. As a songwriter, who uses a guitar as my instrument, I write my music with my guitar. I even have some decent chops.

A musician can play any style of music, usually plays an array of other people’s songs, and can jam with most anyone. As a songwriter, that’s not my craft. I can follow some basics and do remember some of the songs I used to play with my friends before I became a songwriter. But now, playing with a new progression brings on a new song.

It’s not that I have an inability to learn, music in general is not my passion. Some of it has to do with the fact that most of what I wrote when I first started writing music was too hard for me to sing and play. What I was writing was way beyond my technical skills as a performer. I also am not here to be a great musician. I’m an artist and have things to say.

I thought it was more important for me to be able to play my own material rather than concern myself with anyone else’s. That may sound dumb or even arrogant, but some of my early songs took me more than 2 years to get down to the point where I could play them and sound decent. I’ve had to work at having talent, it didn’t just come naturally.

Because of that it’s also pretty easy for me to tell when I’m dealing with a real musician as opposed to a composer/songwriter type. I can hear it in recordings. That’s why producers are so valuable to people like me. Some people, like Prince, are blessed with being both, musician and composer. I’m not one of those kinds of writers.

The good thing about being a songwriter is that there are a lot of musicians who don’t write and like to find new things to get their chops on. Standards are great, but most of what can be done on a standard has been done, so it’s not like a stretch the way getting on a new song can be. That’s where some very cool magic shows up.

I’m lucky that I’ve been graced with talented musicians to play my music with. The chemistry between musicians is one of the most heart-felt things around. People who don’t normally connect in that way in their hearts with people find musicians to be very magnetic and intriguing. We tune in without even realizing it. It’s just natural.

I’ve said before, that if you put me in a room with 1000 people and there was only one other musician there, I would end up talking to the musician. Music people tend to exist on multiple levels in the third dimension. Other kinds of people do it to, but we seem to have our own wavelength here.

Blessings!
Laura

If you want to hear a magic connection, listen to “Tell Me” in the online store at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Decisions

When I was in my twenties I realized that there were only 2 things in life I could really control, on a good day; my attitude and my behavior. Then I realized I wasn’t really able to control my behavior because I could be unpredictable. So then I was down to one thing; my attitude. But what did that mean?

What happened to me wasn’t as important as what I did in response with what happened to me and how I used the experience. It got old and worn out being upset about anything and it didn’t seem to improve any situation for me either. I had to find things I could do that were productive to me. That meant making good decisions.

I stopped asking “Why?” That was a worthless question for me. Once a situation was over things had changed, so “Why?” wasn’t as useful to me as “How?” “How did that happen?” “How can I do things differently next time?” That was a better place for me to stand. I dig solid ground.

The other question I got a lot of mileage out of was “What?” “What is good about this happening?” “What can I learn from this?” “What was I thinking?” which led me in time to “Whatever” and knowing better next time. I do better when I stay light-hearted because serious energy is heavy and not as happy for me.

One of my favorite questions in difficulty is “Where’s the beauty in this?” I like to see the gift I’m receiving. That can take time depending on what’s going on. Some situations are longer than others. It’s almost like stepping into a math equation when I deal with people. Sometimes it’s basic math, a quick calculation and we’re done.

There have been other times when stepping into a situation meant a long, drawn out equation with sub levels and loops. I’m not a math wiz by any means, but I can tell when I’ve stepped into an advanced physics or calculus equation with someone because it doesn’t fit onto one chalkboard, it requires a ton of conversation and it seems to be endless.

The only way out of an equation is to come to an exit point of resolve, that point where the = sign shows up. Some people call that closure. I call that a breath of fresh air. That place where I can exit is a dream in some cases. I’ve learned to go through the motions with equations I’m in with people. Fighting it doesn’t change the fact that I’m in it.

I’m always grateful when I can recognize an old equation before I step into it. That saves me a lot of energy. Some long equations are special and wonderful. It depends on what components are involved that make up the equation. Usually the words someone uses in a conversation are a good indicator to me as to what kind of equation a person is in.

Blessings!
Laura

If you want to check out one of my equations, watch the video clip at: http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Clearing Energy

Today my friend and I went down to Dulzura, CA and did an Indian Sweat Lodge with Daniel “Thunder Hawk” Moon, www.pathtocreator.org . It was Daniel’s 50th birthday today so it was a big party. My friends from San Diego were there and some new people I had never met before. The nice thing about being involved with this group is the energy there.

I’ve always been attracted to healer types. Some people call them “light workers”. Some people call them body workers, holistic medicine practitioners or other assorted variations on the theme. There are a lot of healers that show up for Daniel’s sweats, probably because he is a powerful healer.

People who work on healing others need to clear their energy and regenerate on a regular basis. We had a powerhouse group with us today. The cool thing about being with these people is I get to learn more about what is going on with the planet from a different frame of reference. That can be very helpful.

Looking at things from a new perspective can change a lot about how I approach what I’m dealing with. A different idea gives me a new choice to take a different action which can give me a new result. The same action will give me the same result. Like how mixing mayonnaise and ketchup will give me variations of Thousand Island dressing every time.

Today I got to be grateful for the things that have given me the most difficulty in my life. Once I embraced those things I was able to let them go and they were all cleared. Daniel always reminds us that it’s important to put something new in place of the old energy so we don’t end up bringing the same thing back in again.

The new stuff is good stuff and more in line with what I’m interested in having in my life now. Clearing out the old is great and bringing in the new is awesome. The whole idea of doing the sweat lodge is to look at the world one last time before entering the “Mother” and coming out of the lodge re-born into a new world. A new world for me is really good!

Blessings!
Laura

Send me an email and let me know what’s new in your world today at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Neighborhood Bars

I played at Michael’s Pub in North Hollywood tonight. It’s a neighborhood bar with a pool table, juke box, dart board room and the regulars hanging out. The stage area is set up where people play darts. It’s got that old shoe, comfortable vibe, darkly lit atmosphere that leaves the world behind when you walk in the place.

Since I’ve been gigging in LA, I’ve been playing in bars, but Michael’s Pub reminds me of my old hang out in Highwood, IL around where I grew up. It brought back memories of being in the Silver Dollar Bar for me of playing pool, drinking beer, doing shots and hanging out with my bar buddies until closing.

Then we would go to Denny’s for breakfast or anything greasy to eat. Breakfast at 2:00 in the morning was a regular weekend thing. I’m still a night owl from those days. I thought that maybe it was my being a musician and getting home late after playing shows that kept me up late. Now I think it was from hanging out in bars.

There’s a great peacefulness to being up late when most people go to sleep. It’s like the city slows down and the nocturnal life begins. I’m a tiger in Chinese astrology and tigers are nocturnal. I also have two white female rats, Carole and Nicole, and they get really active at night. Carole must run at least a couple of miles on her wheel after midnight.

A lot has changed in my life since my Silver Dollar days. It’s cool to get those glimpses of the past every now and then to see where all that was leading me to. When I was 23, a friend of mine asked me where I wanted to be in 10 years. I had no idea. Now I know where I want to be and that feels good.

Blessings!Laura

If you’d like to know when I’m playing gigs, sign up for my newsletter at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Quotes

I like reading quotes from famous people because I get a glimpse of how they thought about life. That usually gives me some insight to why they were so brilliant or what drove them to be the person they became in history. I don’t remember who said that necessity is the Mother of invention, but that seems to be true.

Some of the heroes in my lifetime became heroes because they wound up in a position where they needed to do what they thought was the right thing. To me, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a perfect example of that. He found himself in a position that required someone to step up, speak out, and stand up for what was right. He took the call.

There’s a quote I just got off of someone’s email signature from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that rings true to me. He said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” I know that truth. I live that truth everyday. I thrive on speaking out about the things that matter. I write blogs everyday just to do that.

I never considered that speaking out was the thing that kept my passion for life alive. Maybe that’s what being an artist is really about. The fire in my heart that keeps me speaking out makes me grow in ways I wasn’t thinking about most of the time. And when I’m just showing up to be somewhere, I usually find my way pretty well.

The other thing I like about quotes is that is saves me time from having to learn something that someone else already figured out. I don’t like wasting time. I like learning from people. Everyone has a special gift that they’ve been given and it’s wonderful to discover what that is.

Blessings!
Laura

If you have any quotes that you like, let me know what they are at:
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

It Happens By Chance

Every situation I get involved in seems to be a stepping stone to something else. I never know why I meet someone or what the significance is of what they were in my life for until I’m down the road a piece. A lot of times the reason why I think I’m showing up somewhere isn’t the real reason why I was there.

A couple of times when I went to see other artists perform I wound up booking gigs at the venue because I showed up there. It’s happened with meeting friends. I met one of my best friends at a temp agency when I went over there to work on their computer. She was there for an interview.

Connections seem to happen for a reason. I know there are people who talk about past lives, soul groups, karma, and reincarnation. I don’t know how to qualify that stuff. I’m dealing with enough illusions on a daily basis, so it’s not like I can get a handle on anything other than a feeling or an impression and that seems to change, too.

What I do know is that somehow I have this inner radar that keeps me doing what I do even if I don’t know why I’m doing it. I’ve given up trying to understand how in one moment I can be fine with something and in another moment it’s completely unacceptable to me. I guess that’s called growth or evolving or being cold-hearted.

One of my friends, Dee, used the expression, “the casualties of my growth” when she was referring to the people who were no longer in her life because of what she needed to do for herself. I understand that one. Sometimes it’s just necessary to move on, whether it’s a job, a relationship, living arrangement or quitting smoking.

I’m not sure how everything fits together here in life. I just know that when it’s time for me to move on, for whatever reason, I get really uncomfortable in the situation until I get out. It happens by chance that I get into things and it happens by chance that I need to get out of things. Please forgive me if you’ve ever been a casualty of my growth.

Blessings!
Laura

Check out the song samples in the online store at:
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Where Music Meets Artistry

Change of Plans

Today I got a mailer from Tulane University down in New Orleans. I’m one of their alumni, so I get these updates about what they’re doing that ask me to send money to support them financially. This one, from the President Scott S. Cowen, is dated August 25, 2005, less than a week before Katrina hit the city.

I wonder what the next newsletter will say about the $37 million renovation of the university center that was due to be completed in June 2006, or the new residential hall that was supposed to be opening this month. They were going to be breaking ground on a second residential hall, too. And that’s just some of what they’ve been working on.

It just strikes me as odd for some reason. Maybe my mind is tainted from seeing the black population of New Orleans not being given provisions during the hurricane. Maybe it’s the knowledge of the poverty in the city that was brought to light with how badly those people were treated and how many of them died.

It’s just gives me a weird feeling inside, like something is off base and I’m not sure what that feeling even means. It’s not like I have any answers or even know all the appropriate questions to ask. I live in an area with an immense amount of affluence close by and an equally immense amount of lack around another corner, too.

It doesn’t seem like this is the way things are supposed to be even though things have been this way for a long time. Where is the switch that turns on the light so I can see? Why do I have a rumbling in my being that is so intense I can’t even put words around what it is because there aren’t any thoughts that are even coherent? What happened to us in this world? What is going on here and why hasn’t this changed?

Do you have a clue? Please write to me and tell me your thoughts. You can post your comments here or go to my website and send me an email.

Blessings!
Laura

Thanks for taking time to read what is here.
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Power

There was a power outage in LA today for a little while in the afternoon. It reminded me of how much my world revolves around electricity. It’s one of those invisible resources that I enjoy in my lifestyle. It’s not that I take what I have for granted, it’s just that it’s very noticeable how much I do on computers when I can’t use one.

It made me appreciate what I have even more. My life is comfortable because of refrigeration, air conditioning, heating, and all the conveniences that I enjoy living in the US, or at least in this part of the US. With the Gulf coast in disarray, I’m humbled before God, nature, and forces that I have no control over.

What I can do is use an invisible power to influence what goes on in my life and those who are connected to me. The power is called thoughts, prayer, faith, intention, mantras affirmations, beliefs, and visualizations in English. I’m sure there are a lot of other names in different languages. I’m just limited in my vocabulary in other languages.

It usually starts with a decision that sets up an intention that begins a series of actions that brings in new circumstances. That’s where the fun begins. Then I get to make new choices. The process requires me to be open to a possibility that a change can happen and then I need to allow the change to happen.

It’s a form of art to create change. That’s probably why I like it so much, being an artist. When I used to paint, adding a new color or drawing a line changed the dynamic of what the picture looked like, and then it seemed to take on a life of its own. I had to keep filling in what was appearing in the picture.

The personality of each piece was fascinating to me. It was like the piece had a voice that was talking to me, guiding me in its creation. When Michelangelo wrote about working with Carrara marble, the stone which he used to carve his famous sculpture, “David”, he said, “The finest artist can’t conceive a thought that the marble itself does not bind within its shell, waiting to be brought out by the hand that serves the artist’s mind.” [Quote from “Michelangelo’s Mountain”: Marveling at Michelangelo’s Marble by Eric Scigliano. Free Press]

Maybe that’s how things work here with us. We direct God in how we are to be created by the voice we use inside of ourselves. We talk to our creator so that we may be brought out from our shell by the hand that serves His mind. So in wanting to be a sculpture of magnificence, what thoughts do I need to bind within myself so that my vision of myself can be created? What thoughts do you bind in you?

Blessings!
Laura

LauraCohnMusic.com
http://LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Press Release

NAMING GUITAR AFTER HITLER SOLVES DUALITY PROBLEM FOR
JEWISH SINGER/SONGWRITER

Los Angeles based folk artist, Laura Cohn, named her guitar Rosie Hitler as part of a one-woman show she wrote and performed in 2003 in order to solve a science problem in her life. The cause and effect law in physics which states that ’For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” became an issue for Laura Cohn to address in her work after 9/11. “September 11th represents how a law in science works in life for me.”, said Cohn.

Along with millions of people, Laura Cohn watched the towers burn on the news and learned about Al Qaeda for the first time that fateful morning. She saw the outpouring of love that came to the victims in the event that shocked the nation and changed the world. As the impact unfolded, one question came to mind for this relatively unknown Jewish songwriter.

“If an action of extreme hatred brought in such a tremendous amount of love, then wouldn’t an action of love also bring in hatred?” became the question that disturbed Cohn in her mind. Cohn wondered “if there was a way to sing about love and peace without creating the need for hatred and turmoil to show up so that things would get balanced out.” said Cohn.

Cohn is a spiritual artist, singer/songwriter who graduated from Tulane University with a B.A. in Political Science. She became a private pilot at 17.

Her website, www.LauraCohnMusic.com, has a video clip of her introducing the guitar during her show.
She is performing a concert of her music on September 24th with her band at CAP, 11316 Ventura Blvd., in Studio City. 818-506-5111. www.completeactorsplace.com.

A quote from her blog page, www.LauraCohnMusic.com/blog, gives some insight as to why Laura Cohn would do something like this…“One thing that most people don’t know about me is that I tend to experiment with things in a methodical way. I look at science and math and nature to find patterns when I need new answers.” So how has naming her guitar panned out?

“Not that art needs to be explained, but an interesting thing began to happen after I used the name for my guitar. Negative energy stopped showing up in my artistic life. Something got balanced out with me. Something wasn’t creating problems anymore. I could focus on love and truth and it wasn’t attached to hatred or lies in any form of duality.”, said Cohn.

* * *
For music and show information, visit www.LauraCohnMusic.com. For ticket information, call CAP at 818-506-5111.

About Laura Cohn:
Laura Cohn began writing music after she graduated college. Her first performance at a coffee house in Vail, CO resulted in her being booked to play a festival in Idaho Springs and then being recorded in Studio C at KBCO-FM in Boulder. Her song “Silver Linings” was played on the station which began her career as a professional singer/songwriter.

Living My Lyrics Again

On my Telluride CD there’s a song called, “Dear Mr. President”. I wrote the song when I was living in Colorado in 1992. I’ve been disenchanted with the decisions I see ourselves making that seem short sighted, fear-based and abusive to ourselves and the people we have an impact on for more than a little while.

I say “ourselves” and “we” because I can’t deny that I am a part of what is going on in this world whether I like it or not. I walk on this Earth and participate in society. Because I live and breathe on this planet, what I do influences what happens, and, therefore it is now my intention to be part of the solution to what we are facing on Earth today.

I cannot deny that what I read in the paper, on the internet and experience with some people on a day-to-day basis is sick. We are in the midst of very destructive thought processes and it doesn’t seem to be anything that anyone of us can control. We keep repeating patterns and reliving nightmares to different degrees and I’ve had enough.

In my song, “Dear Mr. President”, I pose the question, “What happened to the love we all could share?” It’s the last line in the bridge:

People can we live together? Can we find a way? This is supposed to be a gift to live another day. What happened to the love we all could share?

Are we so de-humanized that we have no compassion anymore? Have we lost touch with the ramifications of our behavior so much that we’ve decided it’s cute and endearing to be abusive? Are we so disjointed that we can no longer see what is going on? And why, when we see, don’t we change?

I’m sorry if I’m being abstract here. I’m sorry that today I find myself enraged in sadness that so many people who are in a position of strength have stopped caring about the welfare of other human beings, animals, and the state of the Earth and continue to live the same story of greed, war, abuse and human detriment over and over and over again.

I sang my song, “Miracle” today at a benefit for families that have been devastated by Katrina. It’s on the Telluride CD, too. The lyric is what’s crying in my heart now:

God I need a miracle, right now. You know I need a miracle, show me how. I’m standing here alone upon another place. And everything seems different like before. Tell me why I need to be here anyway. All I want to be right now is reassured. God I need a miracle right now. You know I need a miracle. Show me how. Show me now. Show me now.

God bless us all!
Laura

To get a copy of the Telluride CD go to the online store at:
www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Gold Paper Clips

The last time I bought paper clips, I was at Staples, www.Staples.com. I was getting odds and ends for my office. It seems that when I go shop for things whatever I need just happens to be there whether I realize I needed it when I walked in the store or not. A lot of guys would probably laugh at that one, but it’s true.

I needed paper clips and went to check out the selection. I don’t know why, but the only packages of paper clips that they had that I liked were shiny gold ones. I’m a bling, bling kind of girl anyway, so I was attracted to them right away. There’s something about having gold paper clips that makes me feel better about my life.

Maybe it goes back to when I was a kid because I got gold stars put on my homework at school. Gold stars are happy things most anytime. I like using them on home-made wrapping paper. Okay, I’m not going “Martha Stewart” or anything, but there is a little of that domestic stuff in me. I’m into arts & crafts.

Back to the clips. The cool thing about having shiny, gold metal paper clips is that anytime I use one, I think it makes my work look better. There’s something about gold that is magical. In alchemy turning metal into gold is used as a metaphor, but it’s about raising the energy of something. It’s a vibe thing, as in vibration, literally.

It’s fun to have something so little do so much for me. When ever I’m at my desk and I’m feeling overwhelmed or in a rut, (yes, it does happen sometimes) I just look over at my paper clip box and it reminds me that I’ve got it pretty good. I have gold paper clips in my life. They’re shiny, they work well, they were cheap and they look good.

Blessings!
Laura

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Magic Rooms

There are times when I’ve walked into theaters, looked at the stage, scanned the “house” and thought, “Wow, what a great place to play.” Those are usually the best venues for me because there is magic in those places. It’s the feeling of carousels, those fancy painted wooden ponies, and the music that makes a child’s face light up in awe.

I’ve noticed that when I just book myself somewhere, without going there or seeing the venue that I don’t have the same guaranteed inspiration when I perform. I remember the first time I walked into the Boulder Theater and had that “Wow” thing happen. When I played there it was amazing.

In Telluride, The Sheridan Opera House was one of the most magical places for me. I loved playing that stage and always had great performances when I had shows there. Playing in town park in Telluride was also magical. That end of the box canyon where Telluride resides is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

The first time I walked into CAP in Studio City, www.completeactorsplace.com, I was going to hear another artist perform. It was one of those “Wow” places to me and it was like I was being charmed by the room. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I’ve realized that when I don’t get that thing from a room, it’s a lot more work doing a gig that night.

The rooms I get that feeling in aren’t always large rooms. Some of them have been small coffee houses, restaurants, and outdoor stages. Sometimes it’s been a living room. I don’t know if other people notice when a room isn’t magical for me and I don’t know why every room isn’t magical for me. That’s just how it’s been.

Blessings!
Laura

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Where Music Meets Artistry

Eternal Love

There’s something about love that fascinates me. When I feel it in my heart for some person, place or thing, it gives me a feeling of being connected and contentment that is unending. There are times when circumstances change, but love seems to remain. Other things are called love, but real love is pure.

The love that gives me peace is sheer strength. “Love” that is obsessed is strange. I haven’t found anything harder than obsessive love. There’s something about it that isn’t genuine. Maybe it’s called love, but it seems like more of an addiction. There’s never enough in addiction. Mainlining off another person’s energy is not love, it’s sick.

Genuine love gives me a peace of mind that is calm, joyful and balanced. I notice that when I’m sharing genuine love my state of mind is happiness, fulfillment and unconditional support. I don’t ever argue or have a need to be “right” when I dealing in pure love with another person. What they need to do for themselves, I support.

I find that when someone says they love me, but argues with me and tries to break me down, it’s sad. I don’t think the person even knows what they’re doing. It’s just what they know how to do. I’ve been dealing with a situation lately that’s very combative. I don’t intend to go in that direction but it goes that way.

The part that challenges me is that I can see the affect that shows up from it and it’s not good. I feel there is a lesson being worked out here so I’m just staying detached so I can see what I need to do. Something in me needs to change here. I’m looking for what that is. I can see some of the mistakes I’ve made, being naïve about what I was dealing with.

I’m not one to duck out before the lesson is over. Otherwise I end up having to go through it again. Some things are best not repeated. I mention this because I know that I’m not the only one who deals with apparent conflict, whether it’s in a personal or business situation. I’m not sure what created bully behavior. I’m thinking it’s fear-based.

I can really notice the difference between being loved and being bullied because I have people in my life who truly love me. Love isn’t about winning to me. It’s about support, comfort, security, kindness and acceptance. Love strengthens weaknesses. Love gives openly and freely. It’s a childlike honesty.

Blessings!
Laura

LauraCohnMusic.com
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Birthdays

My Dad just celebrated his 75th birthday. I sent him photos via email from my photo shoot. I love the internet. I was talking to him on the phone and it was nice to catch up. He stays pretty busy. He started a new business when he was 72. He’s not the retiring kind. He’s got too much he wants to do for that.

I’ve learned a lot from my Dad over the years. It’s kind of funny how without even trying I came out to be a lot like my parents, although my life story is very different than theirs. On September 11th, they’ll be married 50 years. It amazes me that they’ve stayed together that long. I think it’s because they’re both very stubborn and very much in love.

The stubbornness is something I got along with my DNA. I come from a bloodline of very determined people. My sister and my brother have it. Once we make a decision it might as well be cemented in Heaven because there isn’t much that’ll change our minds. We don’t give up easily on certain things and we’re no picnic to anyone challenging that.

My mission is to learn to use my character traits in the most productive way I can. If I didn’t have the capacity to be redundant in my behavior, I wouldn’t be much of a singer, guitar player or performer. I have sung and played my songs over and over and over again and I’m still not tired of hearing them. That’s the gift of obsession.

What I’ve noticed about showing up on this planet day after day, year after year, is that I seem to have gotten more accepting about staying on my course. I’m not bothered by what used to concern me. There’s something really great about being in my forties. (I’ll be 43 on November 23rd.) “Whatever.”, seems to work well in many situations.

It also surprises me that I’m still alive. When I was young I didn’t think I’d live to be 18. When I was 21, I didn’t think I had more than 2 weeks to live. I don’t know why, it just seemed that way. I’ve already been near death and I didn’t die. I guess I’m supposed to be here or something.

Blessings!
Laura

LauraCohnMusic.com
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Photos

Today I did a photo session with a photographer named Gil Benzeevi. He’s an Israeli fellow. We had a lot of fun. My friend, Andre Woods, joined us and was our lighting guy. Being the lighting guy meant holding up a piece of cardboard with tin foil wrapped around it and reflecting the light on me. He was awesome.

Outdoor lighting seems to be the best when a lighting package doesn’t happen to show up in my life and today outdoor shooting was the way to go. It is nice to use natural light. God made the sun very convenient to work with. It rises when it’s scheduled to and sets when it’s scheduled to. I like it when things are simple.

The thing that’s funny to me about photos is that I’m used to seeing myself in a mirror more than anything else and that reflection is a reversed image from how other people see me. So when I look at pictures, it takes me awhile to adjust my thinking about what I look like. I usually think losing 10 pounds is a good idea anytime there’s a camera around.

There’s something about that reversed image thing that gets me thinking, and that can be like a trip down the rabbit hole for me. My self image is not how other people see me. Reflections are such funny things. They’re so not what I think people are seeing. I mean look at the pattern that looking in a mirror sets up in my life.

I see an image of myself that is reversed. So I’m thinking of myself in a reversed sense of self. Then when I look in someone else’s eyes, I’m also looking in small mirrors at tiny little reflections of myself, so now, subconsciously, I’m seeing reflections of myself in other people without realizing it most of the time because of how small their eyes are.

If you’ve never looked up close in a mirror and seen the reflection of yourself in your eyes or looked closely enough in someone else’s eyes to see the reflection of yourself in their eyes it’s a pretty cool thing to do. It’s less risky to look into your own eyes in a mirror than to invade someone’s space if you need to get really close up to see it.

I had a monologue about doing that in my second one-woman show called, “Quest For Serenity”. It was fun to act out the whole thing. It reminded me of how silly I am when I’m attached to what I call my life when I don’t even realize what I’m looking at most of the time. Thank God I have a sense of humor about things.

Blessings!
Laura

LauraCohnMusic.com
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Fate

Do you believe in fate? There must be something to that. I remember a guy I dated for about a week said to me that our being together was fate. It probably had something to do with him wanting to get laid, but the experience of dealing with him did bring me to a different place in myself, so it was meaningful in that sense.

In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, www.m-w.com, fate has a few definitions listed. My favorite is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do : DESTINY”. Simple language to me; things happen for a reason.

I like that the word “destiny” is related to fate. M-W says that destiny is “a predetermined course of events often held to be an irresistible power or agency.” Isn’t it odd that destiny is described as dictated by an irresistible power or agency in the dictionary definition? It doesn’t say what that irresistible power or agency is.

Both definitions have forms of the word “determine” in them. Predetermined and determining factors are what create fate and destiny. So what are the determining factors we’re given here and what are we supposed to do with them? If we have a predetermined destiny, where is the determination point set up? At what point can we change destiny?

In flight training it was the little decisions that led to the big issue to deal with; landing the plane. One little bad decision could easily lead to more small bad decisions which seemed insignificant until the plane was crashing into the ground. They call that pilot error. Once a trend is set into motion it can take a lot to make a correction in course.

Flying an airplane requires a lot of mundane scanning and monitoring. They say you should always stay at least 15 minutes ahead of your aircraft so you’re prepared to do what you need to do when you get there. A lot of my life is mundane, too. It is a discipline for me to pay attention to seemly insignificant circumstances.

Blessings!
Laura

LauraCohnMusic.com
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

New Ground

A lot of people are facing life today from a place of having to start over. Their life as they knew it doesn’t exist anymore. Other people died. Death creates a new beginning. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done that wasn’t on anyone’s “to do” list a couple of weeks ago. Change can be good, but it requires a lot of adjustment.

To me, this situation presents us with an opportunity for improvement. I was at a sweat lodge today with Daniel “Thunder Hawk” Moon, http://www.pathtocreator.org/, and he talked about how we don’t necessarily receive what we want, but we need to find a way to receive what we get and find a good use for it. Sounds like a start.

So I’m on un-charted ground focusing on how to work with what I’m getting rather than on what I want. When the towers burned down on 9/11 life was no longer the same. Today I look at New Orleans and remember the place where I graduated from college and it’s no longer there. I wrote a lyric in a song called “Hey LA” that comes to mind.

“Life is so strange, things never change. It’s never the same ‘til you look twice.” I also remember that kid’s song “One of these things is not like the other…” Lyrics are catchy little things for me. My sister, Jo Ellen, and I will sing song lyrics to respond in a conversation sometimes and we laugh when we do. Breaking into song is so Broadway.

I bring it up because I’m a person who looks for the underlying pattern of what is going on. I don’t know why exactly. It’s just a thing that I do. And I’m seeing a pattern that is interesting to me. Tragedy/Outrage/Big Money Raised/Some People Don’t Respond Quickly/Other People Step In and Get Things Taken Care Of/People’s Lives Resume.

It’s almost like a flow chart. It happened with 9/11. It happened with the Tsunami. It’s happening in New Orleans. And that’s just in this decade. Drama/Rescue/Adrenaline Rush. The news pours it out and the people eat it up. Most of the highest rated shows on television are centered on crime and catastrophe. What’s the appeal?

Or maybe a better question for me is; Do we know that we’re fixated on this stuff? Do we see what that is creating in our lives? My answer: Probably not. How could we know the answer to that? I just think it’s important to ask the question. How could we not be fixated? Or even better, how can we be fixated and make a change in how we are fixated?

Blessings!
Laura

LauraCohnMusic.com
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

The Reality Of Hurricane Katrina

With a National Tragedy happening in the Gulf State region of the US in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, there is plenty of information going out to the masses via the media and the internet. The images are disturbing, the commentaries are disheartening, and the general mood of most people I’ve been talking to has been sad.

We’re not a bad lot of souls here. Many of us are very caring and very helpful to one another. I find that most people I encounter are loving individuals and would do the right thing given the option and the means with which to do it.
Some of my ability to do the right thing depends on the information I’ve been given and by whom.

I find that a lot of what I see in the media is a bombardment of images and suggestions that I don’t know what to do with my life. And in the fury of all that activity, I have to sift through a lot to get to the heart of matters. I don’t think I have a sound bite mentality, but obviously that’s what sells.

Time seems to be an issue. Do I really have the time to learn all the facts? Do I care? What’s my agenda? Where’s my motivation? What are my pressing priorities? What else do I have to do right now? Is this going to affect my life, my livelihood, my family, my career, my health?

The truth from where I see things is that these people who have been living the horror we’ve been shown on TV in New Orleans weren’t particularly in great shape to begin with. Their stories just didn’t make the news until now. The poor are a difficult subject to address. Someone living in poverty is not a new story, or an unusual one, unfortunately.

With all of the information that is in the news and being reported on, I still don’t have enough information to know what happened down there and what really went wrong this week. I remember in the movie “Apollo 13” after the astronauts had died in the fire on the launch pad the explanation of what happened was very telling.

It was a lack of creativity that had caused the accident. They never imagined or thought that there would be a problem in a test on the ground. All of their attention had been directed to what could happen in space. There wasn’t anything they could do. And they were horrified watching those astronauts die, like we are horrified now.

I don’t usually have the imagination to know what something is going to be like even if I think I’ve grasped it and find myself in it. Today in CS Daily, put out by www.creativescreenwriting.com, there is a quote about the horror genre by Ehren Kruger. He starts out saying that you make a movie 3 times. You write it, you shoot it and then you edit it.

What he said struck me about what’s happened in New Orleans. "…in the horror genre. It's so visceral that things that read scary on the page often don't work on the screen and things that read mundane on the page --you know, 'She walks down the hallway' -- can be entirely gripping." “The levee breaks” is entirely gripping.

My prayers go out to all of you!
Laura

LauraCohnMusic.com
http://www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

Om Nama Shivaya

My friend, Sharon, told me that Sri Siva Baba, http://www.sivababa.org/, has been Dr. Wayne Dyer’s spiritual teacher for some time now. http://www.drwaynedyer.com/. She learned about some mantras in one of Sri Siva Baba’s programs that are supposed to be helpful for certain things. I’m a big believer in the power of the word, so I took notes.

There is a Divine tool that Sri Siva Baba said can be used to improve all conditions in life. With the worst disaster in US history playing itself out in the Gulf States, it seems like a Divine tool would probably be useful for people to know about, so I’m writing about it here.

Om Nama Shivaya is a Divine mantra that can be said as a prayer or a chant anywhere. A person can think it, sing it, say it, write it, or just hear it and it will help. I find that it relaxes me to hear a melody behind it when it runs through my thoughts. Sometimes I sing it out loud.

I feel useful when I send prayers, kind thoughts, and angels over to people in need. Money helps, too. I find that how I direct my thoughts can be very powerful. Dr. Dyer wrote about that in “The Power of Intention”. In a situation where I am not able to physically be there to help, sending love energy can do a lot of good.

There are a lot of stories walking around this globe we live on. Some of them are very difficult stories for the stars of those shows. Some of the stories have been told over and over again. I guess we like repetition here living life in the human condition. I’m not sure what creates the fascination, but I have my suspicion.

I don’t remember which field of science discusses the idea of time and space not actually being linear except to our mind’s perception. And someone said, (maybe it was Deepak Chopra), that the energy of the greatest thinkers who have ever lived is still here. You can go to a city where Plato hung out and tap into his brilliance if you know how to find it.

So if I go beyond myself to get a glimpse of myself in other places in time because my energy is there once I’ve been there, then things get even more baffling to me. I think my mind is trying to do something it thinks it should do but needs some maintenance work. After all, a car gets taken in for regular maintenance. It needs oil put in the engine every so often for it to run.

I’d like to find a good mind mechanic that can tell me when I need a mental oil change, whether or not a transmitter has been blown, or if a valve needs to be replaced. The food thing about eating right is a good practice, but I need a diet of good thinking. If a mantra can help recalibrate my mind’s engine, bring it on! Om Nama Shivaya.

Blessings!
Laura

www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry

The Tolucan Times Review 8/31/05

Here’s a re-typed copy of the review in The Tolucan Times, (Toluca Lake, CA's weekly pub). My computer wouldn’t transfer the jpeg file over to Word for me. The picture they used in the paper is the same one on the “Meet Laura” page on my website, http://www.lauracohnmusic.com/.

Laura Cohn’s Rich Songs Trace Life Influences
By Mary Mallory

Possessing a fine, clear voice, charming stage presence and smart way with words, singer/songwriter Laura Cohn and her band presented an entertaining show of heartfelt and fun songs at the intimate Complete Actors Place on Aug. 26. With a sardonic, witty take on life and its absurdities, Cohn, along with her band, passionately shared their love of music with the audience.

Cohn’s songs span the range from a sensual Caribbean beat to a bluesy feel to searching for faith. A folk singer whose songs elaborate on personal issues and journeys, Cohn’s lilting, sweet voice complemented the up tempo melodies of her songs along with the steady backbeat of her fine band.

“Don’t Ask Me Why”, her hot Latin number, contained fine percussion work by Voyce McGinley III and a throbbing electric violin solo by Paul Reese. Another up tempo number featuring fine violin hemiolas was “Bright Blue Skies.”

The song “I Am” seemed close to her heart as a songwriter and performer, with lines like “singing will heal your pain” and the “heart is destiny.” Other songs like “The Rain” and “Where Are You Going” also featured personal bents about finding your way and solving life’s questions in your own time.

“Wakantanka,” a song she wrote for a female minister in Telluride, Col., combined Oglala and Hebrew words and phrases to worship the same God through different cultural perspectives.

Also appearing on the program were African-American comedienne Gayla Johnson, who naughtily dissected romantic relationships and relations between whites and African-Americans, and sexy Zascant, an urban, R & B duo of smooth, rich singer Tony J. and pianist/backup vocalist Scooter P.

Other than a couple of sound issues with echo and feedback, the evening was a relaxing, entertaining way to start the weekend.

A confident, sexy singer/songwriter, Laura Cohn’s warm, relaxed personality charmingly brings her songs to life.

Complete Actors Place will have once a month showcases. They are located at 11316 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. Call (818) 506-5111 for more information.


Blessings!
Laura

www.LauraCohnMusic.com
Where Music Meets Artistry