Dear friend 💜,

I hope that this letter meets you wherever you are and know that I am sending love to you even if we have never met. The brightest light of the year in the northern hemisphere is already beginning to recede, even as the reverberations of that light continue to bring intense heat to the Midwest. Isn't it interesting that the heat never peaks right when the days are longest? It always lags behind. The sun's effects take time to fully arrive.

It seems much like my own dream and desire to find peace in my soul and radiate that peace out into the world.

It's funny — as I write these songs and put them into the world, the songs have to reverberate within me to teach me the lesson I'm needing to learn, long after the song has been born in me. Just like the sun, just like the shadow of heat that falls through the summer into the fall. In fact, it is almost like the song has to come first, before I can really grasp its meaning.

I think that's why this new song feels so special to me. Exhale of Peace is now streaming everywhere and I wrote it just a little over a year ago beside a holy well in Ireland. This truly has been a year-long gestation of my yearning for peace. I know the full fruition of finding that inner peace within me will be a lifelong journey. But especially in this last month I feel like, despite the chaos and distractions of the world, I'm able to come back to that sacred place of inner peace within me more easily, more quickly, and more deeply.

That's really what I hope and pray for you too.

I hope this song can help conjure up that deep feeling of your own sacred inner peace. I hope you can take a listen — may it remind you that all you need is deep within.

Listen to Exhale of Peace

This month for me was filled with three weekends of performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, where I played both Hippolyta and Titania. The theme of peace resonated throughout, because the whole play is really asking in Shakespeare's words "What is the concord of this discord?" How can we find that peace within the wars of our world, and of our own minds?

The play was presented outside, in a park, in an outdoor theater constructed to be reminiscent of the Globe Theatre. The production was a huge success and had record attendance. But it was so fitting that as we created this magical world of dreams — sharing this story of finding peace within the discord of the fairy world, and the world of Athens, and the world of the comedic mechanicals — we were always, in this tender and intimate outdoor space without amplification, subject to the reverberations of the world around us. The Life Flight helicopters passing overhead that fly to and from the largest hospital in Iowa located less than a mile away. Traffic noise, ambulance sirens. Even a heavy metal concert blaring across the river.

It was fitting that more than once the sirens came during the most intimate moment of the whole play — at the end when Titania and Oberon lift up their voices together in a sacred duet to bless the place with the message of peace. It was so beautiful, but so delicate. Our ability to conjure peace is just as delicate and fragile, and putting it out into the world is never safe or protected.

That's why it's so important that we find that deep inner peace within that we know we can always, always come back to — when everything around us swirls into a hurricane. We do not live in an ultimately peaceful world. But I truly believe we are called to become that peace, so that we can each, in our own way, bring it back out to the world.

The play also reminded me about the importance of imagination. I believe it is so powerful to imagine peace. To imagine what a peaceful world looks like, and to look for the beautiful, often hidden moments of peace interwoven into our lives every day.

Every performance I would lie "asleep" as Titania behind a chiffon curtain for about twenty minutes before I woke to the sound of Bottom singing transformed as a donkey. Because the stage lights shone through from the outside, I could open my eyes without the audience seeing. So I would lie still with my eyes open, watching the stage lights soften, glow and glimmer through the chiffon fabric as the actors were reduced to silhouettes dancing in dreamlike wonder before me.

Such beauty. Such peace. Often hidden behind a veil. Yet very much tangible if we open our hearts to the possibility of the existence of peace amidst the blaring noise and discord.

My own journey of healing — both musically and poetically — reminds us that the journey to find peace within us is not usually peaceful. It can be dark and difficult. Slow, arduous, and requiring patience — which is often my struggle. But the most beautiful peace can be found after the darkest storms, reminding us to find that bright light within us that lights our way and brings us, eventually, to the green heavenly valley.

In my dreams, I see brighter, more golden beautiful light than I have ever seen on this earth. And that is what I imagine I see within each of you.

With so much love and light,

💜Mary Jane🔥

Ps. This July I am working on some online offerings for those of you that are not local to Iowa and I am excited to share them with you next month so be on the lookout!

Also next week I'm heading to Nashville to be featured in a songwriters round. If you happen to be in the area I'd love to meet you there!

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Studio Updates!

July is a studio rest month — no in-person sessions until August! If you have a recurring time, your spot will resume then. If you'd like to reserve a weekly time starting in August, now is the perfect moment to reach out.

A few important updates coming with the new season as I want to make sure as many people as possible are served effectively:

Rescheduling policy — Starting in August I am asking for at least 5 days' notice to reschedule to ensure I have maximum availability for everyone. Cancellations with less notice, including illness, cannot be credited or rescheduled. If you are feeling unwell please reach out before your session — I will do my best to offer alternative support such as an online lesson, recorded warm-ups, repertoire suggestions, or written feedback.

Booking structure — Individual one-off sessions are no longer available. In their place I am offering a new Three Session Package, because real progress takes more than one conversation and I want to make sure every student gets the support they deserve.

Coming soon — Stay tuned for a separate email about my new Vocal Guidance offering — an asynchronous option for support between sessions. Cannot wait to share it with you!

Wishing you a beautiful and restful July. I look forward to welcoming you back in August. As always, reach out with any questions!

💜Mj