How to take things we are innately good at and parlay them into something that seems ridiculously infeasible in one lifetime.
I wrote Misty Mountains, not as just a song, but as an experiment.
I wanted to see if I could make something really cool happen by doubling up on the idea of dreamboarding and a theory in physics. You know, just for fun.
Well, the results are in, and here is the story, and the how-to, juuust in time before the Fall Equinox release of the song Misty Mountains on September 22, 2023.
1. I love me a good dream board, if you've never heard of it or even have never done one, it is the concept of hand-making a visual aid of your dream or dreams, that you see every day to look at and therefore focus thinking on, overrides our natural habits to either forget about, give up on, or even counteract negative thoughts by leaving no room for them to weed over ( i like a little gardeners pun now and again) . I have made a dream board twice in life and was able to manifest some pretty cool stuff.
2. The other part of this concept is the quantum physics theory that any "thing" cannot exist without first being observed. Read this cool book if you want to learn more on this fascinating subject.
My thinking was if I could one-up the dream board idea by creating an actual song with the lyrics and hopes of my biggest dream, along with performing it, singing it over and over, sharing it, recording it, and all the inevitable focus that comes in when writing and producing a song. Basically achieve an even bigger and seeming impossibility, as well as experiment with how fast that possibility could come from nothing (not observed, not existing) to something!
The dream? I have wanted to own a piece of my land since I was a little girl. The idea of having my own little wilderness, a place to grow and harvest herbs and food, learn more about the nature surrounding me, have space to make even bigger messes and unlimited possibilities. A big place to have friends and family around a big old wooden table full of homemade food, somewhere sacred to call home and grow old on. I've moved constantly since I was born, and thus began my quest for an anchoring place. To me living in the city feels more wild than living in the wild, and I cannot wait to reverse my challenges from moving my car for the street sweeper in my pajamas so I don't get tickets, to tending my crops in my pajamas while I harvest breakfast.
About 1 year and 9 months ago, along with this idea, I wrote the song Misty Mountains.
The Lyrics are:
Misty Mountains
In that dust there's gold.
Where Magic water flows.
Watch the mirror shrink the wicked world,
Start again, like leaves unfurl.
Roses on your lips,
Honeyed fingertips,
Cut back worries overgrown.
Make the outside air our home.
I just want the misty mountains,
Dirt and needles beneath my feet.
No sound but my breath on the water,
No more prayers no need to speak.
Deafening, the wind.
Driving rain that takes you in.
I have never felt complete...
But here I have no need.
Interlude Ooo’s and violin Insert the line I wrote for Jamie Shadwolight's amazing violin here
Sunlight filtered air,
Floats treasure everywhere.
Though the land cannot be owned,
Blessed I am to call it home.
Time line:
-Project began Winter 2021
-Song was written one year and 9 months ago winter 2021
-New Loan offered to me to help with a purchase Spring 2023
-Perfect Land parcel located spring of 2023
-Misty Mountain the Song was recorded early summer of 2023
-Music Video filmed summer 2023
(next door to the land that we didn't know if we would be getting)
-Land purchased September 2023
-Song release date September 22 2023
-Video release date TBD Sept-oct 2023
*At the time of the idea and before the song was written there were no prospects for a land parcel, funding, or loan approval. Basically, I had no freaking idea how in the world this could come to fruition. My dear friend Wendy (hey girl!) encouraged me to just start looking for land for sale, she really was the first one who made me feel like it wasn't totally impossible and that at least if I tried I would feel good about learning more. (PS check out Wendys amazing book Beyond Blending In.)
In 2008 I had been asked by a fan if the songs I had written were about things that had happened to me. I paused and answered that actually, those things I had written about happened after I wrote the songs. The lyrics in question were not exactly desirable things, and after a little more thought I decided to try and write a song (Dance with Me) to test this result in a more positive outcome. For this experiment, I wanted to learn to dance and have a partner to dance with, neither of which were on the radar, so it seemed like an unlikely enough dream to try. A few months later I had a relationship and I had also "happened" to meet him at my first salsa dancing class.
If you are like me, sometimes even the most amazing things can happen, but I need them to happen just ooooone more time, maybe two more times to really see if it was a coincidence or a miracle.
Fast forward to 2021 and I realized I had not even tried to see if I could get this seemingly miraculous experiment to work again, I had my control group, getting it to work when I wasn't even trying, and I had my first meaningful windfall, so why not experiment with an even bigger, possibly THE biggest dream I could think of?
The Experiment: Write song, record song, sing song, perform song live, and make video of song to see if an otherwise seemingly unachievable dream could be not only reached but reached in an accelerated amount of time.
The Dream: To own a minimum of 3 acres of Wild Forest Land
To build an educational, self-sustaining livable homestead with an art studio, music room, woodworking shed, greenhouse and edible gardens.
The Experiment timeline: To have the land before my 41st birthday (after passing my 40th as the first intended goal;)
The likely outcome sans experiment: Possibilities ranging from giving up on the dream (as had once done in year 3 of search) changing locations to meet goals, not finding the land parcel size, and or deciding dream was not worth the effort due to continued hurdles.
The state of affairs pre-launch: 4 years of searching for land prior to no avail, no loan yet approved for the lot size needed for the project, no experience in buying land, no ability to compete with cash buyers on parcels for sale, no perfect parcel located. No song written yet.
Once I met Gavin, I added wanting to see him have a place for him to build his Didgeridoo and woodworking orders that was better than our backyard. Gavin being a contractor, we talked about how cool it would be to build the perfect off grid model home, a futuristic example of how to live on your own in luxury, off solar, with a food forest, nature, tranquility, a place to try all the ideas we had drawn up over the years and be able to walk friends and clients through what it costed, how well it worked, and how to do it. One of the first things we realized when we met was that we had both been spending out free time drawing the perfect wilderness home!
I also wanted to have a larger space for all my friends and family as currently we live in a tiny house (400 sq ft!) so my guest space is at a premium, to say the least.
On the Super Blue Full Moon we finally got the call, that 3.5 acres of totally wild land was ours!
That being said this song release on Fall Equinox will be the most meaningful of any before it. I cannot wait to share it with all of you and afterward the Music Video, which was shot all on the same Mountains of Idylwild, will be released this fall.
Thank you for sharing these travels with me, I hope to see you all at the next show, or Mountain dinner!
L,
Aja
Setting up for a day of filming for Misty Mountains, about a quarter mile south of the land that would become ours after taking this picture.
Commentaires