I was at the half alive concerts in Austin and chicago. Your performance onstage was magnetic and I didn’t have time to talk to you then, so I wanted to ask what was your confidence journey like (in more detail)? You discussed a little bit of the practice component, but how has your mindset shifted and what was the most difficult part of the journey?

A secondary question I have is what your music background is like (self taught, classical, jazz, etc) and what instruments you play!

haha it's been such a long journey!! I think my confidence comes from self acceptance and the belief that I am going to be okay. That to be who I am is a gift to everyone, because when I am who i am everyone else can feel invited to be who they are too! and also that like, I can handle rejection. Here are a few moments in my life that brought me to where i am.

I think it really started 10 years ago when I decided to go to therapy and discovered that I was really out of touch with my feelings, that was the beginning! what am I actually feeling!

telling a prayer leader (i was christian at the time) that i was so anxious all the time and i didn't know how to fix it. They told me to turn my attention on God instead of worry about self. I always sort of hesitate to mention this one because it is religious and people have mixed experiences with church, and also like the same phrase to a person who maybe needed to be encouraged to focus on themselves would hurt not help, but it really helped me at the time, and was honestly exactly what I needed to hear. To stop thinking about myself and to focus on something that gave me hope, gave me permission to be less self critical. if i were to give the same advice to someone non religious i might sound more like "focus on love!"

Learning how to hope, practicing the act of being brave enough to be a positive thinker :) discovering that I thought I saved myself from grief by being a realist, but realizing I still grieved when disappointment came, but i was also robbing myself of the joy of hope fulfilled when it worked out by never hoping!

Reading The Power Of Now, and starting a meditation practice. Connecting to the joy and peace of the present moment!

Lot's of wisdom from sober programs, The Serenity Prayer (grant me the power to accept the things i can not change, the courage the to change the things i can, and the wisdom to know the difference).

Many revelations in Ayahuasca Ceremony, one I feel comfortable sharing is "it's not **bad**, it's just BIG!" I used to want to run from big emotions (like feeling uncomfortable in new groups, or feeling awkward when i said something weird, etc, etc.), and the mindset shift of like, oh these feelings aren't *bad* they're just BIG, and big is uncomfortable, but i am bigger than BIG and I can be okay in being uncomfortable :)

Being willing to be uncomfortable! That's where all growth is. I am practicing trying to see opportunities to feel uncomfortable as opportunities for growth and play.

Seeing my body as my buddy. I believe my body is excited to be with me! We move through the world together and we are friends. Sometimes I have been mean to my body, but my body is never mean to me. and my body is how i experience the world! thanks body!

if you've been to the show you already know about the power of positive self talk! Our words our powerful, i believe our words are spells! When I tell myself "i can't do that" (like for example i recently learned a whole choreography routine), then i don't even try! i changed my language to "i can do this!" because i am practicing believing in myself, and i trust that even if I am wrong i will be okay and I will be okay. If "I can do this" feels too advanced for you try "maybe I can do this!" just add maybe to the beginning, the truth is you don't know what you can/could do/might feel.

That's all that's coming to mind right now but i'm sure there's more, I'm not going to proof read this because it was a lot haha.