Serenity Now: Pianist and Composer Is in Tune with Good Health

In the sheer busyness of our lives, in a world of massive disruption and distraction, of quasi-obsessive connection to our devices, it is easy to lose the most important connection of all: the relationship with our essential selves. We have forgotten how to attune and listen to the subtle music that plays within.

I certainly did. Coming back to the piano after a drawn-out corporate hiatus and creating relaxing and healing music helped me re-establish this connection. Yet I had to go further still. It took work on myself. Every one of us can achieve this whether we do play music or not. As a matter of fact, we all do –– play music, that is –– and here is why: We are all made of music, of vibrations, frequencies, amplitudes and rhythms.

What does it take, then, to re-attune and reconnect with ourselves?

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In my book, “7 Keys to Serenity: A Musical Metaphor on Creating Inner Harmony,” I outline seven keys that helped me transform my own life. The first and most important key is A, which stands for Awareness. It is also called consciousness, vigilance and often, more simply, paying attention. However, it is far more than that: It is a way of being.

Awareness could be compared to an embedded antenna that allows us to effortlessly scan our inner and outer environment. It is the art of listening — very much the way a conductor listens to his orchestra.

Awareness plays out in synergy together with all the other keys and allows us to truly become the composers and conductors of our lives. The biggest challenge to awareness is in fact that most of us live in “autopilot” mode, meaning that many of our thoughts, words and actions are created by our subconscious mind. We think one thing and say something else. We say one thing and, again, do something else entirely.

Sound familiar? Thoughts, words and actions create subtle energies which, when not aligned, generate dissonance and therefore inner conflict and ultimately disease.

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Awareness allows us to produce coherence and to implement a convergent strategy of self-care throughout the four essential sections of our “orchestra”: the physical, the mental, the emotional, and the spiritual. Self-care isn’t about being selfish or self-centered in a narcissistic way. It is about nurturing and empowering ourselves with self-love, self-respect, self-acceptance, and self-forgiveness.

If we don’t love, respect, and care for ourselves, chances are we won’t be able to care for others either.

But how does a strategy of self-care play out in day-to-day life?

Physically, we become aware of the “information” we take in through food, drink and any other substances that we ingest (drugs, medications, etc.) Everything we absorb has a specific frequency that interconnects with the frequencies of our cells, creating either harmony or dissonance — hence the importance of carefully listening to our bodies. Thus, we become aware of our internal rhythms, of breathing deeply, of balance between movement and rest.

This allowed me to transform into a fit, energetic individual who looks at least 10 years younger than his chronological age!

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Mentally, we also learn to become mindful of the “information” we absorb: the junk news, the manipulative news, the false news, the trivial, and the many ubiquitous distractions we are tempted with, every day. We learn to filter what comes into our mind, in turn creating clarity and coherence. We learn to assess the validity of our beliefs, many of which are acquired by conditioning, reinforcing the ones that empower us and dissolving the ones that diminish our potential. We create our reality (key of B, C and D).

Conscious living is the art of creating the “sound” of your life.

In the emotional section of our “orchestra,” we attune to the energy of our feelings (keys of E and F). Ignoring them or repressing them creates subtle energy blockages that often lead to the onset of psychosomatic illnesses. Emotions are like waves in the ocean. They can smash us to pieces or carry us to bliss. Rather than suppress them, we need to express them, yet manage them by tapping into what is called the “heart intelligence.” Playing these keys helped me dissolve many forms of anxiety — particularly stage fright — and achieve flow and effortlessness in my life.

Lastly, in the spiritual section––the section of the heart and soul––We become aware of who we are at the core and begin to live in authenticity. We learn to trust and believe in ourselves and to harness the inner powers that lie within us (key of G). This particular key has become my GPS, which guides me on the seas of life.

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These four sections are all interconnected in holistic fashion. What happens in one affects the others. Our health and wellness and ultimately, our happiness, are shaped by how mindful we are in creating and implementing this strategy of self-care. Conscious living is the art of creating the sound of your life. I did create mine and so can you. All it takes is practice.

Serge Mazerand is an improvisational pianist and composer of healing music based in British Columbia. He records and writes under the private label and brand Keys to Serenity®.