Come on in!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet. I wanted to introduce myself and share a little bit about how music has helped form my approach to life and my hypnotherapy business.

I am currently in a marketing program for hippies. Yes…you read that right. A class for hippies to market their businesses. You might not think of me as a hippie…or maybe you do…but let me share a little bit of my love of music as a way to tell you a little bit about the ethos I want to grow and my overall approach to life...and why I am in a class for "hippies."

I will start by telling you that I love the music of David Bowie. I know, what does Bowie and my love of music have to do with hippies and marketing? Well, settle down, grab a cup of java, and let me tell you.

Let me shed some light on how Bowie has contributed to who I am today…and you will decide if I am in fact a “hippie” or as a beloved friend once labeled me a “granola goth” …which I think equates to about the same thing as a hippie in today’s world.  

David Bowie’s music was not associated with the hippie movement, at least not for very long. His first album, Space Oddity, which I love BTW (okay – there isn’t a Bowie album I don’t love) was hippie-adjacent…with some experimentation tossed in. Man in a space suit wearing platform boots playing the guitar singing about an astronaut??? The acoustic guitar is hippie, right? LOL

So, what the f*ck is marketing for hippies, you ask?

• It means that mainstream marketing tactics feel icky to me and something I don’t want to do, and I am hoping you don’t want to be on the receiving end of mainstream sales either.

• It means I want to show up for you authentically, because I want YOU to show up authentically in your life.

• It also means that I am incorporating ethics into my marketing approach, or at least I am trying to in a world that rewards maximalism and manipulative sales techniques. Wow, I feel icky just typing that up…ok, no more of that and on to music and how it has formed my approach to life and my business.

I feel like I am coming out of the hippie closet today ...

TBH, I am not sure I am a complete hippie… because I don’t wear bell bottoms (but I do have a few tie-dye shirts hiding in my closet!) … and there is a bit of an edge to me…or at least I like to think there is. I like to think that I don’t fit into the boxes and labels society tries to put on me.

That “edge” I mentioned? That not wanting to be pinned down by labels? I think it comes from my love of music (thank you, Mom!) and that I am a Gen X girl.

“Hippie” is a label (one I like for myself!) that harkens back to the counterculture movement that was big in the mid-60s to the early 70s. Well…news alert, I am not THAT old! I wasn’t around for that movement, but I do resonate with the rejection of mainstream societal norms, favoring peace and love.

I love almost all forms of music, and one of my favorites is the movement that came after the hippie movement, the punk rock movement. It was rooted in good old-fashioned rock and roll, but it was hard-edged, fast-paced, with stripped-down instrumentation. What does punk rock have in common with hippies? Punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream rock music and had an anti-establishment attitude.

Unfortunately, we now use the word “punk” as a derogatory label when we perceive someone as “worthless” or we use it to mean we were “tricked or deceived” when we get “punked” …it seems someone didn’t like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned or the Ramones very much. Well, I do, so label me a punk and a hippie!

After the punk movement, came the post punk genre. (someone was real smart with that label!?!?!) Music started to have more of an experimental and artful approach but still maintained the rebellious energy of punk. (starting to see the Bowie connection?) Think Joy Division and my favorite, Siouxsie and the Banshees. This is where gothic rock comes in…post-punk bands laid the foundation for gothic rock with bands like Bauhaus and The Sisters of Mercy. Two more of my favs.

What was going on during all of this? David Bowie.

Yep – his career started in the mid-60s and continued until his death in 2016. What is one thing Bowie had in common with all these movements? He was himself. His music was almost never “mainstream” (unless he wanted it to be), and he constantly pushed against labels and boxes. He was okay transforming himself and accepting change as he continued to make music he loved. He lived in alignment with his values. He pushed against the mainstream machine, over and over. He valued the importance of challenging the status quo like punk rock does, even today.

Time to bring this all back in from outer space…

Hopefully you can now see where I am coming from…and future letters will share a bit more about where I am going.

My love of music has formed who I am today – a little hippie, a little punk, a little goth – a little rebellious. I self-identify as a peace-loving, hopeful, dark-ish spirit wanting to help others while paying the bills and making more money so that I can give more of it away to help the animals and the planet survive our cruel actions.

“Never look back, walk tall, act fine” ~ Bowie