Viśuddha: Live Out Loud @kalafarnham-blog1 - Tumblr Blog

Who needs pillows when you have cats?

Home sweet home 💙 (at Harkness Memorial State Park)

When I walked into a local music joint last year to catch up with some friends and hear the band touring through from Western Mass, little did I know that I was listening to my future bandmates! Fast forward to March, 2018, when Lunar Carnival and I teamed up on double header gig. I was blown away by the lush arrangements string players Alex Korolov and Daniel Gripp created around my compositions... So excited to be sharing the stage with Alex and Daniel tonight at Homefield Brewing 7-10pm. Come on out and you'll hear why I'm gushing! (at Homefield Kitchen & Brewery)

Stowaway kitty prepares for her expedition in mommy's overnight bag.

It's that time of year! 🎧 So excited to be doing session studio this month with some talented local artists ~ and soon, very soon, heading back to the studio to record my own compositions! Yippee! 🎶💕

This Saturday, May 5th at 7pm ~ Join us for an evening of original music and storytelling by yours truly @ The Unitarian Universalist Congregational Society of Westborough, MA 🎶 Tickets $20. Reserve your seat by visiting https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-of-music-with-kala-farnham-tickets-43812912601

This Saturday ~ Can't wait! Please join us for an evening of original music by Kala Farnham & Glenn Kendzia of Wild Sun @ The Packing House Acoustic Artist Series. Hosted by the "Eastern Connecticut Center for History, Art, and Performance" (EC-CHAP). Doors 7:00pm / Show 7:30pm. TICKETS $12.00 in advance (online) / $15.00 at the door Soft drinks and snacks available. "BYOB&F" - Bring Your Own Beverage & Food (Wine & Beer Only - I.D. Required). For information and table reservations, please call 518-791-9474 or visit http://thepackinghouse.us/

My excuse for why 80% of my songs have bird references, courtesy Mary Oliver. 🐦

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My new song "Mara (If I Were A Seamstress)", performed live Nov. 2017 @ Victoria Station Cafe in Putnam, CT ~ Filmed by Frank Anastasio Film and Photo. Watch the whole video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/e2bqJnSHHAo "Hateful words, they can't destroy you ~ Love is an army. Now go and deploy it." ♡

#littlevictory of the day Gossip, bullying, verbal abuse - Many of us have been through it at one point or another. I often let what other people say about me, or how they treat me, define how I feel about myself. But lately I'm getting better at recognizing and sharing my own truth, without fear of whether or not I'm heard. Lately I'm getting better at focusing my energy on that which builds me up rather than that which tears me down. Because here's the thing: We all deserve for our truth to be validated and to be treated with respect, and that includes the way we treat ourselves and the energies we surround ourselves with. It's a small change of perspective, but speaking as someone who's wrestled with self-esteem much of her life and allowed it to get in the way of functioning at optimal capacity, it lifts a weight off the heart. What untruths has the world feed you about yourself that you need to release? What important truths do you need to honor about yourself, regardless of how others perceive you? How can you direct your energy in a way that you and your world allow space for the best version of yourself to shine through?

#littlevictory

"HISTORY" Some folks flip through photographic history pages. Flipping through phonographic waves, I am content to visit our history in the overtones of my recall. I keep our song preserved like strawberry jam in air tight jars, hoarded for a lifetime of winters where my only comfort is a warm slice of pie. At twenty our greatest melody was the sound of a broken guitar string snapping. Our stage was a department store floor where shoppers tossed us pennies for our thoughts and a discount dance routine. My first rehearsal was a midnight brain storm, and you were the first thunder to break through my cloud - to strike me with the might a bolt of enlightenment could produce. I cowered under my blessings like a dog under a desk, denying the dark side of the moon. At twenty six our philosopher's chair was an ocean dock. We fished for signs of magic in the bay of our psyche, and you bent me like a metal spoon with your mind. At twenty eight, my iron lung has become more malleable with age. I reside on the dark side of the moon, and live by the glow of my own lightening. Even with you gone, our history carries on scribbling tablature in the uncharted pages of my symphony.

Yes yes yes. Over the years I've gone through my life with increasing open-mindedness to experiences I would have rejected as a younger version of myself. Sometimes the experiences you think are meant to be don't work out, and sometimes experiences that you would have written off as not-your-cup-of-tea end up being immensely fulfilling. What I've come away with: You never know until you try. Experiment and step outside of the comfort zone. It's okay to let go of something that's not fulfilling you at the soul level. If one door closes or opportunity doesn't work out, go ahead and grieve: But then take a look around. The world is full of doors just waiting for you to step through, if you're open to trying something new. "It is ok to try many things. I would argue that you should try as many doors as possible, especially if you are not happy in your current situation. This could apply to jobs, relationships or circumstance. Try new things, as you would shopping for new shoes in a store, and see what fits with your unique personality and situation. Then one day, something you love starts to gain traction. Opportunities and experiences you never thought possible start to snowball into something bigger and bigger, until it becomes your reality. THAT is YOUR DOOR. Remember the other doors didn’t open for a reason. Why? Because they were not YOUR door!" - Gabriel Schirm

QUACK GRASS I'm learning to overcome shame. It's like weeding the garden. Shame sprouted one day, when I was old enough to be self-aware, Looking like the other plants, An innocent guest in the soil of my body. I didn't know that it was going to spread like quack grass, choking out the whole garden: Vitality and Nurturance, Forgiveness and Playfulness. And when it did, it convinced me that its monopoly of the soil was for my own good, that I was too much trouble to be growing flowers of those names. The thing about shame and quack grass is that it spreads by way of underground runners Releasing a chemical to inhibit the growth of neighboring blossoms. By the time you realize what's happened, all the flowers are gone. It can take years to remove quack grass. But you can't let your eagerness get in the way: If you pull the roots too quickly or roughly, they'll break and you'll be left with all the root fragments growing back next year. You mustn't be discouraged, either: You just have to work delicately. First, [gently,] shaking up your soil with a garden fork then [carefully] lifting the deep roots out: Slowly, and in clumps. Repeat often. One day, your blossoms will return.

Pema Chödrön

How a songwriting workshop and the #metoo movement inspired me to come out as a survivor of sexual assault; and a tribute in song to fellow survivors ~ https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/01/a-stunning-tribute-to-survivors-of-sexual-assault-song/ "But we are not our shame. We are not defined by our pain or trauma. We are living proof of how much strength and resilience the human soul is capable of. We are courageous, resilient women. We are survivors."

#metoo

One of my resolutions for the new year is to become more invested as a writer. Excited to announce that one of my poems was published with Elephant Journal this morning! Take a look ~ https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/01/a-message-for-lonely-hearts-poem/ "Solitude is not a loneliness; If your own soul is kind to itself Its good company to keep."

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