Flute-Prayer

There are as many ways to pray, I suppose, as there are people in this world.
One of them, for me, and my friends Joey and Laurel, pictured in the photos on today's blog, is to play the Native American Flute.
There is something about its gentle and haunting sounds, and blowing the breath gently through the flute,
and fingering the holes spontaneously to allow a melody or just different kinds of sounds to emerge,
which stills the mind, gives solace to the soul, and engages the heart.
When I flute, I feel connected to the breath of all things, the Universe, the Life that is God in and through all.
I can't play the flute without being conscious of my breathing, and that is a wonderful sort of Breath Prayer.
I am aware that every breath is a gift of Life in this body, and that this Godly Life is breathing me every moment, or I would not be alive on this earth.
I am aware that there is music in every breath too, and the flute lets that usually un-noticed breath become music!
Now that's at least a minor miracle, for me at least!

In one of the pictures you see, Joey and Laurel are playing their flutes on a beautiful trail named Marg's Draw, in the back country of Sedona, on a sunny fall afternoon. I always take my flute with me when I hike, as a way of honoring the spirit of whatever place I happen to be, and celebrating the beauty and life around me.
In the other picture, Joey and Laurel are playing their flutes on the sofa in our living room in the Sedona house. The night they did that, we spent quite some time playing our flutes by turn in a kind of call-and-response manner, and then one of the three of us would lay down the flute and take up a drum or rattle. Playing our flutes to this ancient rhythmic sound was particularly enjoyable,
This experience reminded me of our ancient inheritance as humans of making simple music together.
In our world today, it seems most of our musical experience is that of listening to others (often professional) make music.
We buy CD's and watch TV and listen to I-poeds and yet, how often do we make music ourselves, with our voices, with drums, with flutes, or any other simple instrument---for the pure pleasure of it, not as a performance or assignment or project.
My experience is that creating music myself is a wonderful way to expand and express my Soul.
I invite you to try it for yourself a bit more often, and see if that is not your experience too.
Remember, the magic is in the process, and the intent, not the "product."
I love that in English, we use the word "play" with music. "Do you "play" the piano (or guitar, or whatever)?
So---play along with me!