Winter 2023

Howdy my friends, I’m excited to be getting ready for some concerts over the fall and winter. I held off all summer because it seemed like this year, people were doing all the summer things they used to do before The Big Pan. But now that the days are shorter and the nights longer, well heck, how about a little yodelin’ and story tellin’ around the Big Screen TV?

It’s been a strange few years hasn’t it? But now that we’ve done it, who even knows what is strange anymore? Our emotions did a lot of rising and falling, I know that. And that brought a lot of purpose into my life in the way of hosting my weekly Zoom class called, Breathing Into Your Life. I’ve hosted almost two and a-half years of these gatherings and to my great gratitude, I love them as much as ever.

It’s not easy to get people interested in taking deep, conscious breaths now and then, and it’s certainly not easy to interest them in meditating. But I keep going and have found that once you start, if you really do try, your life gets better in ways you didn’t expect. And then people meditate because they love their life more. It manifests in so many ways. Maybe you wake up happier, instead of still worrying about what you went to bed dreading. Maybe you sleep better and just feel healthier. That is highly likely.

If I was to name just one thing that has been true in my life in the 8 years I’ve been meditating to guided meditations, it is that my life feels more enjoyable and filled with love — and when there is upheaval, it transmutes must faster through me and becomes something beautiful. That’s something you don’t expect.

Some of you may know that I created three new albums in the last four years. Two are Holiday albums that are so much more than typical Christmas albums. Songs of the Season and Winter Tales are each a collection of half original holiday/Christmas and seasonal songs. And half the songs are classics that I’ve reimagined, tried to make new again or more tender and richer in meaning. What so many people have told me is that they listen for months. Because of the combination of songs, many start listening in the fall and then keep listening all winter. You can order the CDs on my site here and the downloads as well. They are not available anywhere for streaming.

Also, I created a collection of musical spoken word meditations called, Breathe the Sky. Two of my favorite quotes by people who listen and meditate to them are — “Because of this album I’m a daily meditator now. Somehow they seem happier than other meditations.” And “Michael, what you’ve done with Breathe the Sky is to make it impossible to fail at meditating!” I believe both of those are true. CDs and Downloads available.

As always, I’m writing new songs. There is something in me that just keeps hearing new melodies and wanting to create beautiful worlds with my lyrics. I guess I’ve been doing that since my earliest songs. I feel really fortunate to get to continue and that people want to listen.

For now, I am only doing concerts on Zoom. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to play some live-in- person concerts too. But my radio play days were so long ago that it’s very difficult to get shows in various cities because without radio it’s extremely difficult to find my audience. So for now, I will keep doing these beautiful little concerts that I love, right here in my home. If you’ve never been before, I promise you it is more beautiful than you might think Zoom concerts could be. There is a level of intimacy and personal touch that I really love. I create a really beautiful space for these so that you feel wonder again as you see how much my heart is in it.

I think all of us have gone through a great deal of inner upheaval and change. I feel that I’m embracing it, but even then it can be so difficult. I’ve lost several life-long friends in these last few years. Only one was to Covid, the others to the illnesses that come to many of us over time. I feel them with me and I hope you feel your loved ones near you. I really believe they do not wish us to be devastated in grief, but to be happy that they are immersed in Love now.

I wish you peace this autumn and I hope you will be kind to yourself and start to take some deep breaths several times a day. When you do that, when you really give your attention to it, something happens that will surprise you. And it’s all good.

Thank you for reading my little note. I hope to see you at one of my breathing classes, my writing workshops or my online concerts. Be sure and say howdy.

Your friend in the wind, ~Michael Tomlinson