Valerie Moysey

Sound Healer, DJ, Writer
Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Calling In the Muse

What is my muse?

The Dance

The spreading of toes
and the placement of heels
flattening wood slats
the creak of the release
inhalation
chasing thoughts away
my arms and head
fling about
Rolling and dropping
gently to the floor,
ready for more. 

Sound Healing

Whispering
yield
RECEIVE
words, thoughts, and knowings
trickle in,
onto the page,
into the next
turn of my hip,
and emerging soundscape.
the caravan of sounds
exiting from my mouth,
hands, and
fingertips. 

What is my muse?

Nature

Nose diving
into the wind
on a blustery day.
Meandering
along
the rugged shores
of Superior
at twilight.
Lying bare
on the big,
hot rocks
of the
Great Lakes.
Being baked
warm
by the sun,
the moon,
and all things
celestial.

The call of the loon
echoing through
my bones
shattering
monkey mind
remembering me
back
to
breath and touch.

The soft canopy
of the rainforest,
2,000 year old
Douglas firs,
rising overhead
holding
the brightest rays
at bay
along side
the harshest rains.
Undergrowth
of fungi,
fiddle heads
mosses
and undulating
verdant carpets.

Starlight igniting
bedrock
Spring peepers
rising from the mud
speaking
their early spring
songs

The aurora borealis
streaking
pulsing
green and white and brown
lying on deck boards
arms akimbo
receiving
the heavens
Bounty
Big Dipper
North Star
Little Dipper
Milky Way
Shaken of knowing
Everything slowing
Down.

What is My Muse?

Open Hearted Intimacy

The tangle
of legs
and arms
and jaws
after
making love.
The wide open
jaw aching
laughter
that comes from
surprise
and delight.
Ripe longings
fractured
into
bite-sized
pieces
of want
and desire.
You.

Artist Statement:

My heartfelt thanks goes to Erica Ross and Open Studio for the labour of love that is this art show.

I think of each of my muses as a pipeline to the divine. They are many (as I have discovered through this project and through Open Studio) and they are door openers. In these three pieces I touch into the dance, sound healing, nature, and open hearted intimacy as muses of mine. Music is also a muse and it is woven into the dance. It seems that whatever inspires my heart to open is a muse for me.

As for the process, I did stream of consciousness, free writes into the question, “What is my muse?”

I then gathered the ensuing phrases into thematic groups and created listicles which I then transformed into poetry.

A little bit more on process…

On ‘good' days it seems to me that my creative process is one of receiving. My work is to align with the ever-present flow of my muse.  I do this by pendulating between writing and dance. I write until the flow trickles and slows. Then I move. Sometimes it’s with soft, undulating movements but most often I shake or I dance hard to several songs, so that my overactive mind takes a back seat to breath and sweat and muscles working. Then I return to the page. And, back and forth I go many times throughout my ‘writing’ time. Sometimes the flow comes in mouthfuls, hiccups of creativity, and other times it’s like a rising river.

Bio:

Valerie Moysey has an interdisciplinary, community arts practice with a focus on DJing, sound healing, and writing. Several of Valerie’s stories have been published in sound healing pioneer Karina Schelde’s books “Expression into Freedom” and “Soul Voice”. For 11 years Valerie’s DJ’ed at The Move and moving meditation events such as Ecstatic Dance Toronto, Dance Dare, and Blue Skies Music Festival. She delights in creative movement, big water, and old growth trees.

Contact: vmoysey@gmail.com