Surrendering to the Beauty of Earth's Songs ~ Including Your Own ...
Wendy Robertson Fyfe. Founder, Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus 2025
Dawn, East Beach, Dunbar, Alba/Scotland, 4 February, 2025. wrf
Welcome, welcome, welcome to this year’s approach to Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus, a Ceremony now in the 8th year!
For those of you new here, Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus was founded in January 2018 through deep listening, revelation and invitation as a way for humans around Earth to consciously participate together creating a wave of human song around Earth at dawn. Humans joining in, participating with Earth Community, the more-than-human-others, seen and unseen, ancestors and future ones wherever we are at dawn on 1 April to create a human wave of song as the sun rises around the globe. It seems particularly important this year to offer our attention to the beauty and songs of the world, the Sun, the Moon, the Planets, the Cosmos ...
The Ceremony is a way for us to listen deeply to and with the songs of the others; to wonder/sing our own. We might wonder what the resonances, the impacts might be if we consider a kind of ‘butterfly effect’ in an animate Earth. What if song, also animate, singing into a world of specific and unique Earth lands, creatures, humans, clouds, a person, trees, rivers and seas, beasts and fish and more beyond national boundaries can bring our attention to the utter exquisite beauty wonder of this alive planet Earth. When considered with the human conflict, extractions, unravellings, endings and beginnings currently around the globe, what may emerge? What if our attention is offered in focussing with a way of awakening one morning together wherever and whoever we are in yearly rhythm?
Here’s an example of Earthsong revelation, l’ve heard many others from many people. Briefly, in November 1995 when wandering completely in love with the forest and the river, surprisingly, I hear a small spruce tree singing who then invites me to sing particular notes with her, a few at a time. I join in as she adds notes slowly until a full riff emerges. When I sing the full riff, the whole forest sings out in the most exquisite ‘rounds’ in chorus harmony of the same riff singing on and on… and on… Even when leaving, the song rings in the distance to a quiet echo. Those few minutes shift my understanding of life and the trajectory of the rest of it: to follow the song rather than the life laid out to me by the current culture. Surrender and severance needed to do so. Twenty three years later near Durango, Colorado, hearing … listening to a coyote party in the dark … and Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus is dreamed-in by the morning.
Each year since we tend towards a particularity of Earthsong. For example, one year we held a yearlong monthly Earthsongwave New Moon Council listening to the voices of the others’ on the land, in dreams, in poetry, in art, for what is required of us, and more. This year we are offering another way below to participate as well as the usual ways you can find on the website.
First though, delighted to bring the news that Amy Tuttle is joining the co-conspiring of Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus this year. You will see her posts arriving here as well as on Instagram. She describes herself:
“Amy Tuttle, also called Thunder, loves practices of attuning with connections of beauty- between humans and nature. She's dedicated to guiding experiences with a range of themes like: deep connection with nature, clarifying purpose, healing from challenging experiences, and working with life's various transitions. Tuttle considers her practice a simple+deep process of storytelling to transfer meaning, build bridges of communication, engage across differences, and explore building the world together. Tuttle believes the arts can support individuals and communities in personal growth, community-building, and cultural transformation.
The call for Amy to Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus is a simple/deep resonance: to sing with the earth and her communities.”
Amy Tuttle Thunder
Welcome Amy Tuttle, Thunder…
In our conversations together, we noticed particular threads-songlines emerging. Here are some you might see/hear in our conversations:
A deeper desire to widen accessibility and participation across different cultures, to widen and deepen the song, the chorus. Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus has already travelled to 87 countries. How might we invite all voices to join in together, all languages. It may be that some of all language folks are already offering their songs. Please let us know and send in translations to share. Maybe you have some ideas and offerings to send in, to share, or can share this post with those who may be interested.
A continuing desire to offer reciprocity, the desire to ‘give back’, feed the Earth rather than extract; to be in healthy relationship as Earth expression. How might we contribute to the aliveness of Earth and Earth songs? Everything here is a gift, an offering to Earth, there is no financial exchange.
We noticed how 3 s’s slipped into our conversations with importance: severance, surrender and sacrifice along with 3 w’s: what, who, way is needing severance, surrender and sacrifice. These can all have a kind of negative note about them, particularly surrender and sacrifice currently in relation with dominant religions. We were/are feeling into the necessity of all of these 3 s’s and w’s. For example, seeing outwardly with two eyes to becoming seeing with one eye out to the world, the other eye seeing inside both the inner world and Earth; of two breasts facing out, to becoming one breast facing out to feed the world and one breast in to feed self and Earth. In doing so, we also found depth and intimacy increasing. You too might wonder, for example, if anything and what is needing to be surrendered, sacrificed right now in your life and in the ever consumer/consumption world, that can feed an Earth reciprocity; create hollows, spaces and aliveness of songs breath to sing.
You might see song sheets turning up here with these themes and more.
There are now thirty beautiful writings and songs in the Earthsongwave Conversations in the ‘blog’ website. Take a look ~ Highly recommend the beautiful writing/music/visual songs there from a whole myriad of Earthsingers if you haven’t visited yet. More to come this year … let us know if you have any ideas to contribute.
You can subscribe here if you don’t want to miss anything:
You can message us here:
You can share Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus here
In addition to the website and substack, you can go to Facebook and Instagram for regular updates and Earthsongs
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Finally, for now, this year we are excited to invite a new Earthsongwave Council on the approach to Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus by way of stirring participation and deep listening for songs singing around Earth. Three of us have come together from different time zones: Jenni York in Western Australia (WST), Wendy Robertson Fyfe in Scotland/Alba (BST) and Amy Tuttle Thunder in Cincinnati (EST). Please check the relevant time zone for your area below. You are warmly invited to participate. You are also welcome to set something up for your people and write any tracking in the comments below or message us. We are also wondering, might there be a pattern, or a request from the others, or a longing, or grief/joy cry to be heard from the Earth, Earth Community, ourselves?
Jenni York
I am privileged to live remotely in the SW of Western Australia on 150 acres of land that chose me in 2019. Here I am surrounded by and tend the more-than-human world. I'm blessed with opportunities for daily encounters with trees, plants, birds, the resident mob of kangaroos, spiders, the occasional snake and lizard and the many other beings that live here. I also record/track life here. Currently, I'm working towards publishing my writing and poetry.
I have participated in Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus since its inception in 2017 and am delighted to join with Wendy and Amy in offering Council as a means of deepening relationship in song with the more-than-human world on April 1. In a previous life I was a clinical psychologist. I have been involved in nature-based practices/training/programmes over some years.
Here’s the kind of thing we’re listening for, being called towards and inviting you into. Before we all met, Jenni and l popped in together to discuss ideas/possibility to come in. As we speak, a beautiful tiny robin red-breast arrives at my garden bird bath. Sparrows, Blackbirds, Starlings, are here a lot, sometimes Sparrowhawk, but not so Robin. I feel my heart miss a beat in joy and stop talking on the zoom call to acknowledge him, speaking out loud to him. Jenni then notes that a Scarlet Robin unusually visited her birdbath that very morning. Suddenly there is a felt sense of Robin flying between us like messengers, Western Australia to/from Scotland. We are both so very deeply touched. I have heard of other synchronicities. Tracking what happened afterwards we noticed:
* We took the time to pause for beauty touching the heart with two red Robins on the bird bath
* We both spoke the meetings with Robin out loud
* Both experiences became linked in our conversation
*We both felt a kind of Earthsongline awe with Robin. Also that Robin is the bird on the Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus image (though we don’t get the blue breast Robin in Scotland/Alba) felt significant. And, what if there is are bird songlines, some ancient cultures already know and remember?
*Wonder miracle. How many such encounters might we walk past without wondering or sharing/speaking out? Let’s see, a wee listen-in anyway. These experiences appear quite common through stories heard.
Meeting with Thunder afterwards, she mentions the song of the Coyotes when she was away recently; feeling deeply moved by them, feeling ‘caught’ and stirred … entranced by them. She’s unaware at the time of the relationship between Coyotes and the founding of this yearly ceremony …
Such a beauty and ripeness about these experiences. What experiences and encounters might be revealed between us all around Earth? Are you curious enough to join in this Council? Are you longing for such connections?
Here is the information on the Councils. There will be two Councils for each of the 3 time zones here; one Council before 1 April to evoke/invite Earthsongs and one afterwards to hear stories and witness. They will be 1.5 hours long. Since Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus is a self-organising Ceremony, you are also welcome to create your own Council, or be in your own conversation with the more-than-human-world with the invitations below, and take notes/record your song; write in comments below or message us with your experience/encounter to be included in the tracking. What if we hear similar songs … the idea is not to sing songs you know, but to listen to the land, your body, for the songs that want to come mysteriously forth, wildsongs.
Please contact your area Council holder for Council links and any further information:
Time zones along AWST
with Jenni: jenniyork@southernphone.com.au
Pre Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus Council is Wednesday, 26 February, 2-3:30pm AWST
Post Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus Council is Wednesday, 2 April, 2-3:30 AWST
Time zones along BST
with Wendy: wendy.fyfe@btinternet.com
Pre Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus Council is Thursday, 6 March, 4 - 5.30pm GMT
Post Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus Council is Wednesday 2 April, 4 - 5.30pm BST
Time Zones along EST
With Amy: tuttleamyj@gmail.com
Pre Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus Council is Tuesday 4 March, 3 - 4.30pm EST
Post Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus Council is Friday 4 April, 3 - 4.30pm EST
Poetry
Here are a few poems to wander with in your heart, your home, garden, park, imagination, wilderness place. You might feel more drawn to one or the other or both poems below. Go with which feels right for you. Choose a quiet time and place, if possible, to read them first of all.
When you read them, notice what happens in your body. Linger there with the poetry, words, body as you do so, and then linger longer. Don’t rush through, take your time. Notice any feelings, senses, images, resonances, longings, dreams, memories arising. Take the poem or poems into your life before we meet together in Council. Read these words out at different times of the day … to yourself, to Dreammaker, learn them by heart for when you wander with wild lands, read them out to other people you know/to strangers and see what happens. Let them become song. Lay the poems, or one of them, on your Altar or/and Altar of Earth. Listen to responses including your own. Maybe you hear a particular song from the more-than-human world being sung today? You might find words or sounds, colours, or movements uttering through your own hands, mouth, body. Bring it all with you to Council.
Maybe you are not familiar with Council, if so, what a treat you have coming. Council is a way to deeply listen, speak, be surprised, be listened to/with/from and by the heart, the heart of the world and Mystery. You’ll hear and see how it goes, so just come along.
1st poem. It is an honour for Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus to publish and hear Jenni York’s poem here, one from her forthcoming collection of poetry. We love opening this Earth-wide open invitation listening with a beauty tiny bird with a loud yet oh so sweet voice, with a kind of ‘wren effect’ singing it’s way around. May you follow your song too, as the wren does.
Splendid
This morning
a tiny Splendid fairy wren,
slender, dark cobalt tail upright,
perched on the top strand
of a wire fence, opened her small beak
and sang
her song of praise and joy
to the rising sun,
to the wakening land,
to Life itself
~~~
Against a backdrop of delicate pink roses
set amid bright green foliage,
her tiny body, head back,
fully engaged.
~~~
A gentle, barely noticeable waft of air
received her notes
and ushered them forth
into the listening world.
~~~
In that moment,
I sensed
every Being present in this place
paused, their attention captured,
then reached out
to this tiny, precious one
in an embrace of loving delight and recognition.
~~~
What a blessing,
what a privilege
to bear witness
to this brief moment
of Beauty and Grace.
Jenni York 2022, unpublished
~~~~~
2nd poem. Mary Oliver excerpt. We love being brought into presence, being reminded of the voices of the others as holy, patience of listening and slowing down, the urgency of these times …
And slowly, very slowly, it became clear to me
what they were saying.
Said the river I am part of holiness.
And I too, said the stone. And I too, whispered
the moss beneath the water.
~~~
I'd been to the river before, a few times.
Don't blame the river that nothing happened quickly.
You don't hear such voices in an hour or a day.
You don't hear them at all if selfhood has stuffed your ears.
And it's difficult to hear anything anyway, through
all the traffic, the ambition.
Mary Oliver
~~~~~
Sending Earthsong blessings to you and your kin around the Earth. May you sing-in wildly. May you share this ‘other news’ on a deeper frequency far and wide.
Wendy
What date is the earthsongwave this year?