Abstract

Subtle activism is defined by Nicol (2015) as 'spiritual or consciousness-based practices intended to support collective transformation.' I propose that subtle activism through the arts, in my case music and songwriting, has the potential to create a ripple effect that amplifies in magnitude to an unknown extent as it translates from subtler to more manifest dimensions. I will discuss how I discovered the research of Jungian analyst Anne Baring while studying with Alef Trust, and how it inspired me to begin documenting, through song, her book The Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soul. This incredible book works toward understanding the origins and causes of human suffering and guides us on how to reconnect with a deeper reality than the one we inhabit in this physical dimension of experience. I will discuss my process as I have moved through the six sections of her book sequentially to produce two songs per section. I will also provide a live demonstration of some of the songs within the collection. I will finish with a discussion around the hurdles encountered along the way and the plans to move the finalised songs into the next phase of the project by setting up a home studio to independently record and release the album into the public domain. Finally I will discuss the possibility of also self producing an animated film as an accompaniment to the album.

About the speaker

Siân Brown MA MT NMT is a singer/songwriter, music therapist MA, sound healer and Shamanic practitioner residing in Cork city, Ireland. Siân obtained her MA in music therapy (hons) from the University of Limerick, Ireland in 2018 and her qualification in neurological music therapy (NMT) in 2020. In recent years she has also completed a postgraduate diploma in Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal Psychology with Alef Trust & John Moores University in Liverpool, UK. Siân wrote, recorded and launched two studio albums prior to her MA and another two following, all released independently in Ireland. She is currently working as a self-employed music therapist with Cork Simon homeless services, Phoenix Creative Psychotherapy Centre, the elderly in her local community and teenagers suffering with anxiety and depression. Siân obtained a Diploma in Integral Supervision from IICP college Dublin, Ireland in 2021 and sees a number of supervisees. She has also lectured for IICP in 2022, focusing on reflective practice. Siân specialises in therapeutic songwriting and, in 2022, wrote, recorded and released the charity album 'Compassion: The Life and Work of Sr. Mary Carmel O' Donoghue', dedicated to her friend, mentor and founder of Phoenix CPC, a charity set up to bring the creative arts therapies to the marginalised children of Limerick city, Ireland. This summer she is set to release another album 'Simon Says!', a fourteen track album written by the service users of homeless services in Cork city, Ireland. In conjunction with her beliefs, her work and her studies, Siân has now finished writing another album focusing on the research of Anne Baring and her book The Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soul. Believing Anne's message to be of the upmost importance to the future of our beautiful planet, her hope is to record and release this album so as to push Anne's spiritual message out into the world, and the Cosmos, as far as she possibly can.

The video recording of the event will be available on our YouTube channel Spirituality and the Arts Special Interest Group 

Join our  Facebook Group called Spirituality and the Arts using this link. 

For more details, see https://spiritualitystudiesnetwork.org/Spirituality-and-the-Arts-SIG

The SIG Chairs: the Rev. Prof. June Boyce-Tillman, Dr Lila Moore, Annalisa Burello.