Lauri Jones - "Love is Christmas" [Sara Bareilles Cover]

"Hi... remember me? It's Grace. Can I come in?"

I got a "download" the other night. I was lying in bed... the light of the full moon keeping me awake (well, that and the thoughts and worries spinning in my head)... when I heard: "You are too strong". It sounds kind of judgy and critical, but I felt an odd sense of relief hearing that. It was gentle and caring... and felt like love.

I've been feeling an extra dose of anxiety lately... always a sign to check in with myself. To the deep inside part of me. To the spirit in me. Prolonged periods of anxiety usually signal to me that I am in my head too much... too ME-focused in a  "little me" kind of way. That it is ALL up to "little me" to make things happen... READ MORE

My Video is a POSI Award Finalist... Please vote! :-)

I just wanted to let you know that my video "Watch Love Rise" is a finalist in this year's emPower Posi Awards. An honor! The Posi Awards "celebrate the powerful music and extraordinary artists who are transforming lives and helping to create a world that works for everyone through the power of Posi-tive music". 

Here's the deal: The video category relies primarily on public / fan voting. It's a great way for ALL of the videos to get exposure... and also to introduce people to POSI music... READ MORE 

Official Music Video Release!

Hello, Friends! Just a quick note to formally announce the release of my first official music video! (prelude to the new album coming out early August). It's been a really fun, organic process creating this and I'm excited to share! A very special "Thank You" to Ann Hanlin, Eric Montgomery, and "Buddy the Country Canine" ;-) for helping to bring this inspiration to life in such a beautiful way. 

​"Likes" and comments on YouTube are greatly appreciated if you are so inspired. And please do share! Let's radiate this love energy and message far and wide!

​With Love & Gratitude,
​Lauri​

"What you seek is seeking you"... magical, mystical, mission-driven co-creation!

So... if you haven't gathered from my recent blogs and posts (!), I'm pretty enamored with the very inspired and organic way certain artistic pursuits have been evolving over these past several months. And when I say pursuits... it really feels like these "artistic ventures" have been pursuing me rather than me pursuing them. ​Maybe it's like that Rumi quote: "what you seek is seeking you". Whatever the case, it all makes me feel like I'm in the right place... at the right time... doing what I'm meant to be doing. Not "little me", but "bigger me", dancing and co-creating with divinity.

Well, OK... it's also just so much damn fun!!! There is that. :-) I mean, yeah, it's a lot of work, and takes considerable time and energy... but when things line up like magic and I'm in the midst of the creating, time stands still and there is no place I'd rather be. God, I love that feeling.  I know you know what I mean... we all have times like that. And when life isn't  feeling so magical (we all have those times, too), I appreciate the divine moments even more. And I look to those times to remind me and help me stay the course. And to stay focused on the WHY. If I can lift and open hearts with my music and presence... if I can help bring about even a slight shift in awareness that alters just one small step in someone's journey (rippling out to all of humanity)... then I am fulfilling that mission. And immersed in the joy of that. :-)
 
So, in addition to the new CD in the works... the collection of live recordings that transpired through "divine intervention"... there is a new music video that's just about ready for release. I've wanted to shoot a video since the release of "Walk Your Life"... and thought it would be a song from that album... but I just kept getting the hit, in light of the times we're in, to bring "Watch Love Rise" to life in this very visually experiential way... READ MORE

"We Were Made for These Times..."

So... here's another little tidbit about a song on the soon to be released CD. :-) In February of this year, I helped with the music for the New Thought Center for Spiritual Living women's retreat out in Eagle Creek, OR. On the first night, one of the amazing women there came to me saying she had an epiphany while listening to me sing one of my songs that night. She handed me a note saying, "Can we all help write a new song with you this weekend? Here's the title that came to me: First 100 Days."... READ MORE

"It just amazes me that I can be part of the energy it takes to serve each other..."

... that's a line from Carole King's (rather obscure) song, "One". It was written in the 70's and to this day can only be found on vinyl. It's a glorious piece that I had the honor of singing with the NTCSL choir last year. So... in planning my new CD (which hasn't really been "planning", the way it has all evolved so organically), I kind of forgot we had access to the multi-tracks for the performance of that song! Listened last night and just got chills. So powerful. Eric said, "OK, so we HAVE to put this on the CD". So, voila... the 5-song collection has now become 6. :-) It fits in so perfectly with the others. And thinking about this further (I just made this connection last night), it's pretty cool that the two cover songs on the CD are from two amazing, piano-playing female artists from different generations... but with a strong connection to each other.  Sara Bareilles has sometimes been referred to as the "Carole King of her times".  My soul resonates with these women... these artists... and what an honor it is to sing their songs... READ MORE

CD Project Update Video

Hello, friends! I just wanted to share a little video update live from "Wild Wish Presents" out here in Battle Ground, WA! 

Here is the link to watch: https://youtu.be/4ystvV3nrVU 

As I write this, we are 70% to the goal to get this product out there! THANK YOU to all who have contributed so far to bring this project to fruition!  We do still have a little ways to go to cover costs, so if you haven't yet contributed and are inspired to, it's not too late to kick in and be part of the magic. This indie "heARTist" is so very grateful for the support... I could not to this without it! :-) 

CLICK HERE to Contribute via GoFundMe

READ MORE...

New CD in the works... raising funds for final costs! :-)

I'm pretty excited to announce that a brand new CD is in the works... one that has been evolving organically over the past few months. Inspiration hit big this past year and some powerful songs emerged. I didn't really set out to release something new so soon after my 2015 album, "Walk Your Life"... but so goes the artist's journey... the SOUL's journey. :-) This EP (a collection of about 5 songs at this point), is called "Watch Love Rise", built around the song that came through me like a thunderbolt last fall...  READ MORE

Watch Love Rise...

Flashes of inspiration... nudges... "divine leads". Pretty incredible when you open yourself up to them. But I have to say, the rational mind can get a little wigged out with it all and try to tell you you're a little cray cray.  Like when you hear Melissa Etheridge singing the song you just wrote. So clearly. In your head. But I digress... more on that later. ;-)

I want to talk a little about songwriting inspiration in particular. I'm not the kind of songwriter that cranks out a ton of songs. Or haven't been, anyway. I tend to wait until I feel something that really needs to be expressed. I have to be inspired. And then I try to get some clarity about it: what is it exactly that needs to be expressed and why? I sit with it. With the muse... with the Great Spirit... with whatever it is inside of me that is wanting to express. Like sitting with a dear friend... just being with them. Listening. Really listening. And allowing the "conversation" between us to unfold. Getting everything out there... raw at first... and then caressing and refining until "we" are singing together. That's how I know when it's become a real song. When I can't get it out of my head. I'm singing it and feeling it and can even hear the full orchestration in my head and being. I become one with the song and the spirit it came from. Pretty amazing, actually...  READ MORE