Ciao, tutti! Happy Autumn! (Or possibly Happy Spring, depending on your hemisphere.)
Just a brief note to update you on the goings on in my life.
I recently subscribed to an excellent yoga website, where I stumbled upon a set of videos called "12 Days of Awareness" by Taetske Kleijn. She takes you through a series of exercises which help to bring you into full awareness of each moment. The point is to help you realize that the only time that exists is right now. To quote Taetske, even if you are speaking about an event from the past, you are not really describing that past event itself, but rather, your memory of it. And your memory of that past event exists right now.
After I heard that piece of information, my brain just about exploded. I realized how much baggage and burdens from the past I was carrying around with me and how they were impinging and infringing on my ability to live fully and freely in the moment.
I also realized how much we deaden our senses, especially when it seems that we are overly stimulated through our sense of sight. In this fast-spaced, plugged in world, sometimes it seems like the only senses that we use are our sense of sight and possibly the sense of touch as we swipe through our mobile and computer screens.
During another day of meditation, I began to realize how not just our fingers and hands, but indeed our entire skin is capable of the sense of touch. How often do we go through the day not even aware of the feel of our clothes on our skin or the wind on our face? How much do we make our poor eyes do without even giving a chance to the other many senses that we have?
So the 12 Days of Awareness have made a big impact in my life. I made a conscious decision to just do one thing at a time, whether it be reading an email, eating a piece of fruit, or talking to somebody. This has really helped to quieten the constant chatter of inner voices, and has been especially useful in my singing.
After I returned from Germany, my teacher gave me an enormous list of music to learn and we began to prepare three separate recitals'-worth of music.With my new focus, I have been able to learn music so much quicker than before, especially because I am not having to stop every few seconds to berate myself with what the inner voices are saying. They simply don't have time or a place to make themselves heard.
Thus continues my journey of self-awareness. I am always intrigued how all of these different methods and techniques that I've found (Alexander, Grinberg, Yoga, Feldenkrais) seem to dance around each other, yet they are all leading us in the same direction: freedom to choose how we live, right here, right now.
That being said, I wish all of my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!
And to everyone else, stay warm, dry, and well!
Much love,
Daniella
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Happy Holidays! (AKA "nothing gets done in Septober")
Ciao, tutti!
Since returning to the Motherland, I seem to be experiencing an endless holiday: first, the new year, then Yom Kippur, and now we've just had a week of Sukkot. We actually get 3 days off for Sukkot: 1.5 days to mark the beginning and the end. Of course, the unending days of holiday don't exclude us from Shabbat, so it seems like we've had 3-day weeks for a month. Not that I'm complaining - I enjoy every peaceful moment that I can get in our normally bustling city.
Yom Kippur was really special because in Tel Aviv, it means that everyone celebrates the absence of cars by biking/walking/skating on the streets and highways. Zoya and I took a midnight walk in the street to mark the occasion. We could have walked on the sidewalk, of course, but what's the fun in that? Now we've reached Sukkot, which I really can't tell you very much about except that it is some sort of harvest holiday that is also about welcoming guests. And probably has something to do with the destruction of the Second Temple, like many holidays.
For me, all of these extra days off have meant more time for thinking.
I've been thinking about how often I encounter negative words like "war," "attack," "fight," and "anti-" in my daily life. They seem to have become as common in our vocabulary as "Facebook" and "Google." But I wonder at the intent behind these words. Sure, "stopping the war on wolves" may seem like a noble cause, but who is at war with the wolves? Are there armies of rival wolves battling in the wilderness? How does lack of adequate protection for wolves' survival constitute a "war on wolves?"
The problem with using these words is that it only makes people afraid. This triggers a "fight or flight" mode which bypasses our brains and reaches straight for our holsters: "We may not even know if there is a real threat from our invisible enemies (ahem, Ebola), but by golly, we're going to beat them!"
But the bigger problem that I see is that when we label something as war, we are engaging in a war. Even if we believe that we are on "the right side," we have become part of a war. And as we have countless examples, wars do not bring peace, just temporary non-wars.
Why not simply ask for support towards solutions instead of instilling fear and outrage in people?
I recently watched an excellent talk by Chimamanda Adichie about the problems of only considering one side of a story. I won't go into too much detail because she tells it much better herself: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story. Adichie stresses the importance of seeking out other and as many points of view as we can to get the bigger picture.
Adichie's talk made me think of all of my special interest groups, pitting themselves against "big, bad [oil/government/other-special-interests-groups-who-we-don't-agree-with]." Nobody is really interested in reaching a symbiotic solution, they just want to make sure that they come out ahead. After all, they're on the "right side." But this just provides a catalyst for future conflict, it doesn't actually result in a sustainable solution. What would actually be sustainable would be compassion, communication, and the desire to understand the needs and wishes of one another.
All living beings want the same things: a safe home to raise their families, food and water, and a healthy life. A mosquito knows its purpose from the time it is born and it does all it can to accomplish that in its brief 24 hours of life. We are given infinitely more time than mosquitoes, yet we let ourselves become involved in so much that goes against those basic needs and desires.
How much more constructive would "peace talks" be if they actually tried to understand all of the people involved?
How much more support would we have for protecting and preserving our planet and our children's future if we had constructive dialogues between corporations and environmental protection groups?
What if we stopped using fear-mongering words and instead chose words that actually described what we supported?
Well, I shall get off of my soapbox. I hope that this short novel has given you some intriguing food for thought.
In other news, we had our first thunderstorm of the season today, officially marking the coming of cooler weather! I hope that you are having a lovely October, wherever you are.
Un gran abbracio,
Daniella
Since returning to the Motherland, I seem to be experiencing an endless holiday: first, the new year, then Yom Kippur, and now we've just had a week of Sukkot. We actually get 3 days off for Sukkot: 1.5 days to mark the beginning and the end. Of course, the unending days of holiday don't exclude us from Shabbat, so it seems like we've had 3-day weeks for a month. Not that I'm complaining - I enjoy every peaceful moment that I can get in our normally bustling city.
Yom Kippur was really special because in Tel Aviv, it means that everyone celebrates the absence of cars by biking/walking/skating on the streets and highways. Zoya and I took a midnight walk in the street to mark the occasion. We could have walked on the sidewalk, of course, but what's the fun in that? Now we've reached Sukkot, which I really can't tell you very much about except that it is some sort of harvest holiday that is also about welcoming guests. And probably has something to do with the destruction of the Second Temple, like many holidays.
For me, all of these extra days off have meant more time for thinking.
I've been thinking about how often I encounter negative words like "war," "attack," "fight," and "anti-" in my daily life. They seem to have become as common in our vocabulary as "Facebook" and "Google." But I wonder at the intent behind these words. Sure, "stopping the war on wolves" may seem like a noble cause, but who is at war with the wolves? Are there armies of rival wolves battling in the wilderness? How does lack of adequate protection for wolves' survival constitute a "war on wolves?"
The problem with using these words is that it only makes people afraid. This triggers a "fight or flight" mode which bypasses our brains and reaches straight for our holsters: "We may not even know if there is a real threat from our invisible enemies (ahem, Ebola), but by golly, we're going to beat them!"
But the bigger problem that I see is that when we label something as war, we are engaging in a war. Even if we believe that we are on "the right side," we have become part of a war. And as we have countless examples, wars do not bring peace, just temporary non-wars.
Why not simply ask for support towards solutions instead of instilling fear and outrage in people?
I recently watched an excellent talk by Chimamanda Adichie about the problems of only considering one side of a story. I won't go into too much detail because she tells it much better herself: http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story. Adichie stresses the importance of seeking out other and as many points of view as we can to get the bigger picture.
Adichie's talk made me think of all of my special interest groups, pitting themselves against "big, bad [oil/government/other-special-interests-groups-who-we-don't-agree-with]." Nobody is really interested in reaching a symbiotic solution, they just want to make sure that they come out ahead. After all, they're on the "right side." But this just provides a catalyst for future conflict, it doesn't actually result in a sustainable solution. What would actually be sustainable would be compassion, communication, and the desire to understand the needs and wishes of one another.
All living beings want the same things: a safe home to raise their families, food and water, and a healthy life. A mosquito knows its purpose from the time it is born and it does all it can to accomplish that in its brief 24 hours of life. We are given infinitely more time than mosquitoes, yet we let ourselves become involved in so much that goes against those basic needs and desires.
How much more constructive would "peace talks" be if they actually tried to understand all of the people involved?
How much more support would we have for protecting and preserving our planet and our children's future if we had constructive dialogues between corporations and environmental protection groups?
What if we stopped using fear-mongering words and instead chose words that actually described what we supported?
Well, I shall get off of my soapbox. I hope that this short novel has given you some intriguing food for thought.
In other news, we had our first thunderstorm of the season today, officially marking the coming of cooler weather! I hope that you are having a lovely October, wherever you are.
Un gran abbracio,
Daniella
Friday, September 26, 2014
More bits...
Amanda and I met in a foreign country and did not do any of the following:
get lost, scale a seaside cliff, navigate based on presence of rutabagas, or exclaim excitedly at sheep.
I guess we're real adults now :)
Salzburg as seen through a fortress "window"
Amanda: I bet we could reach those coins.
me: Just remember those were your words, not mine.
A cool astrological sundial on the side of a church
Lovely Alps
Bubble guy in Salzburg
Lovely Salzburg with your tasty Mozartkuegeln, so long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, adieu...
I also took a day trip to Ingolstadt to visit my namesake, Theresia :)
I spent my last weekend in Berlin and despite coming down with a nasty cold, still managed to see most of the landmarks of the city...
The Reichstag building (where the German parliament meets)
Berlin Konzerthaus
Too many cupolae for me to keep track of.
The Brandenburg Gate
One of many Berlin bear statues :)
The last roses of summer...
As it's officially Autumn, I suppose I should post the rest of my pictures from the summer!
Here goes...
Whilst in search of the Munich Natural History Museum (which I never found), I passed through the Munich Botanical Gardens. Even though it was "the end of summer," there were still many things in bloom :)
Turtle Friends
So German and organized...
Munich as seen from the top of the Olympic Hill. This hill is an artificial one which was built on top of the ruins from World War II. Now it is a beautiful natural place where all of Munich flocks on sunny days to soak up some rays.
If you look closely, you can see Alps in the distance.
In honor of summer, these artificial haystacks appeared on all of the museum greens.
The Glyptothek and haystacks :)
They continued....
The Neue Pinakothek is heavily sponsored by Audi, can you tell?
I don't know why, but this really amuses me.
A lovely Muenchen sunset
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Shana Tova!
Hi, everyone! After a brief hiatus, it seems appropriate to be writing on the [Jewish] New Year. Welcome 5775! I feel that this will be an extra special year because it's a palindrome.
So, Happy New Year to my Jewish friends, and Happy Wednesday to my non-Jewish friends! May we find peace and fulfillment of our endeavors.
I stayed on in Munich for the month of August, not realizing that all of the language schools were on break, likewise all pianists had skipped town, so I had to find other ways to fill my time. I continued to work with one of our acting teachers from the program, which was a lot of fun and very freeing. After our first session, I felt a huge openness in my body, as if I had just come from a Grinberg movement class!
We worked on three scenes from My Fair Lady and now I almost wish that I could do the whole show. I read Pygmalion in high school, but I hadn't realized how much of it had been changed for the musical (namely, the amount of text that was left out). The very first film version of Pygmalion changed the ending so that Eliza comes back to Professor Higgins (Bernard Shaw didn't find out until the film was already finished!) and I'm guessing that Alan Jay Lerner saw that version and decided to adopt that ending for his show. Actually, in the original play, the final scene is a bit surrealistic: everyone (including Eliza) spontaneously combusts in church and Eliza's unearthly laughter is heard as a passerby picks up her ring from the rubble. Nobody does this ending, but Shaw was so adamant that Eliza should not go back to Higgins that he wrote an epilogue. In it, he explained that Eliza cannot go back to him, having finally become a fully whole woman and that going back would lessen her transformation.
I'm inclined to agree with Shaw. In the final scene, Eliza realizes that she doesn't need Higgins' approval, which she's been running after the whole time. And of course, the minute that she stands up to him, he thinks she's the most fabulous creature alive and exclaims that they are finally equals. But what is the point of being an "equal" with an emotionally insensitive and abusive person? Eliza finally takes her fate into her own hands and cuts all ties with him. "Bravo, Eliza" indeed!
I have been re-reading my personal bible The Women Who Run with the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés. In it, she describes how the word "alone" used to be "all one." I think this is pertinent not just to Eliza's transformation, but also to my own. Amidst all of my traveling, I have realized the importance and necessity of being "all one." As performers, we often have to remind ourselves that the audience/agents want to enjoy themselves and that they want to like/hire us: they are not our enemies. Offstage, we often think that the world is against us, but really, we are the ones resisting the world trying to help us! The more that I strive for self-sustained independence, the more that I encounter people who want to help me. Learning how to take care of myself and to nurture my creativity has been one of the biggest challenges for me, but it has also been the most rewarding part of living abroad.
This concludes my monthly rambling. Wherever you are, I wish you "all one-ness."
Love and peace,
Daniella
So, Happy New Year to my Jewish friends, and Happy Wednesday to my non-Jewish friends! May we find peace and fulfillment of our endeavors.
I stayed on in Munich for the month of August, not realizing that all of the language schools were on break, likewise all pianists had skipped town, so I had to find other ways to fill my time. I continued to work with one of our acting teachers from the program, which was a lot of fun and very freeing. After our first session, I felt a huge openness in my body, as if I had just come from a Grinberg movement class!
We worked on three scenes from My Fair Lady and now I almost wish that I could do the whole show. I read Pygmalion in high school, but I hadn't realized how much of it had been changed for the musical (namely, the amount of text that was left out). The very first film version of Pygmalion changed the ending so that Eliza comes back to Professor Higgins (Bernard Shaw didn't find out until the film was already finished!) and I'm guessing that Alan Jay Lerner saw that version and decided to adopt that ending for his show. Actually, in the original play, the final scene is a bit surrealistic: everyone (including Eliza) spontaneously combusts in church and Eliza's unearthly laughter is heard as a passerby picks up her ring from the rubble. Nobody does this ending, but Shaw was so adamant that Eliza should not go back to Higgins that he wrote an epilogue. In it, he explained that Eliza cannot go back to him, having finally become a fully whole woman and that going back would lessen her transformation.
I'm inclined to agree with Shaw. In the final scene, Eliza realizes that she doesn't need Higgins' approval, which she's been running after the whole time. And of course, the minute that she stands up to him, he thinks she's the most fabulous creature alive and exclaims that they are finally equals. But what is the point of being an "equal" with an emotionally insensitive and abusive person? Eliza finally takes her fate into her own hands and cuts all ties with him. "Bravo, Eliza" indeed!
I have been re-reading my personal bible The Women Who Run with the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés. In it, she describes how the word "alone" used to be "all one." I think this is pertinent not just to Eliza's transformation, but also to my own. Amidst all of my traveling, I have realized the importance and necessity of being "all one." As performers, we often have to remind ourselves that the audience/agents want to enjoy themselves and that they want to like/hire us: they are not our enemies. Offstage, we often think that the world is against us, but really, we are the ones resisting the world trying to help us! The more that I strive for self-sustained independence, the more that I encounter people who want to help me. Learning how to take care of myself and to nurture my creativity has been one of the biggest challenges for me, but it has also been the most rewarding part of living abroad.
This concludes my monthly rambling. Wherever you are, I wish you "all one-ness."
Love and peace,
Daniella
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Bel Canto, Belle Gente
Just a few pictures of my fellow songers.
More to come (hint, hint, guys, send me your pictures, please!)
Jillian and I shared many a vegetarian-themed adventure.
We found the leckerest soup at the Victuals Market - they garnish their soups with flower petals!
(The following pictures are courtesy of Jillian)
Avec Pauline en route à Salzbourg :)
(It is vital to travel with proper provisions, in this case, radishes)
Most of the gang atop the Salzburg fortress
(l-r Jillian, Jinmyeong, Stephanie, Sophie, Ben, Jeremy, Ben, Tristan, Krista, Jamie, me, Pauline)
Enjoying a good old-fashioned "German" dönner/falafel in Neuschwanstein
I love this set of pictures for Ben's outrageous expression/hair
We were relegated to the baggage car on the way back from Neuschwanstein.
Amira and Pauline were clearly thrilled. Jeremy did not share in their enthusiasm.
Bel Canto "family dinner" on one of our last evenings
(clockwise from l: Jeremy, Jamie's boyfriend, Jamie, me, Krista, Stephanie, Amira, Danielle, Rita, Pauline, Ben, Ben, Elizabeth, Laura, Ercan and Annette our acting coaches, Elena, Sophie, Michaela, Caroline)
Jamie and I were the only mezzos on the program!
We certainly had our work cut out for us - we were the only 2 Haensels vs. 7 Gretels!
Saying [temporary] goodbyes!
(l-r Danielle, Pauline, Stephanie, Rita, me)
With the young Americans...and Australians :)
(l-r Jeremy, Michaella, Laura, me, Elizabeth, Sophie, Tristan, and Caroline)
Accompanying people to the train station...
(l-r Krista, Stephanie, Pauline, and enthusiastic kiosk worker in the background)
Roomies!
That's all for now!
Schloss Neuschwanstein!
One overcast day, we traveled to Neuschwanstein for a taste of King Ludwig's madness
The Misty Mountains
Jillian and I went in search of vegetarian-friendly food (no small feat in Bavaria!)
We were rewarded with about 4-potatoes'-worth of soup, a tasty date-garnished salad and more steamed vegetables than we could handle.
Triumphant with her date!
But for the castle and mountains, I could have been back in Wisconsin
A view from our climb to the top!
I spy a castle in the distance!
A view from the castle. No wonder Ludwig liked it here.
Schloss Neuschwanstein in all of its glory
Looking down into the gorge
I really admire these trees.
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle, so here's another view of the outside
On a frightening note, when I looked at a picture of Neuschwanstein on a post card, the Disney theme tune popped into my head!
Now that is what I call effective marketing.
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