choice . Those feelings of suicidal thoughts and attempts and depression and it ’ s like , do I want to fight ? Do I want to live ? I do . I want a future . I have goals . I want to make a difference in the world . I need purpose . I threw myself into art and music . They gave me purpose and meaning .
CM : That ’ s super introspective . What would you say to someone seeking purpose right now ?
Kish : The struggle that you go through , that is your fuel for your fire . That makes you exactly who you ’ re supposed to be . You have purpose . We all do . We all have gifts . In my culture we believe through the creator we have these gifts . It ’ s about figuring out what the hell that is and then run with it and never give up . Even if you don ’ t know what that means ; try , attempt . Just keep going . I still have those days where I ’ m stressing through this whole pandemic . This past year has been beyond challenging . Not just career-wise , but personal life-wise .
CM : Talk to me about that ....
Kish : My mom suffered a stroke and I ended up being a caretaker for her and just like ... all things that I thought I was comfortable with were ripped away . Just going back to those roots , like this time of struggle – well , what do I do with that ? I make art , that ’ s what I do . And I continue to use my voice and I take every opportunity and treat it as it is if it ’ s a chance to make a difference in someone else ’ s life . That ’ s how I walk my life now . Instead of internalizing like , “ This was done to me ;” “ This happened to me and I ’ m struggling .” It ’ s not about me ; it ’ s not about my struggles . How can I overcome this so it makes me stronger so I ’ m stronger for somebody else ?
CM : Wow , powerful . How much of it comes down to just making the decision ?
Kish : Oh , it ’ s all up to you . Nobody or nothing ’ s going to save you . I truly believe that , and that might sometimes sound harsh , but nothing is going to save you from yourself . Some of the greatest artists in the world have deep , dark struggles that they ’ ve been through . It gives you perspective on this pain and struggle . Then you can create .
CM : So , what ’ s the trick for you ? Do you do some breathing ? Meditation ? Any exercise ? Is there a physical thing to help you cope ?
Kish : Exercise is great , but honestly and truly it ’ s music for me . Specifically , I throw
myself into art . I drive out to a field by my house and I write . I grab my guitar , I write . I sit at the piano , I write , and just like , get it out . Get it out of myself .
CM : Thank you for holding space for this , Kish . That ’ s beautiful . Any closing thoughts ?
Kish : Yeah ... You ’ re stronger because of the struggle that you ’ re going through , so this is actually a gift . Don ’ t look at it like it ’ s something that ’ s supposed to break you . It ’ s supposed to make you . I do honestly and truly believe that because I wouldn ’ t be living today if I didn ’ t .
It ’ s clear that resilience is key . Pushing through and finding a way back into the light . For many , music is that vehicle .
This brings me to question number four : What if music was medicine ? Can our craft serve us , heal us , and in turn empower us and our world ? To get to the bottom of this I got in touch with “ The Spiritual DJ ” Brady Brewer , a coach who in my world is well-known for his bespoke coaching method and great beard . Brewer helps people heal through music . To learn more about his practice , I invite you to drop by MusicFitCollective . com . He ’ s part of the team of world-class coaches set to help musicians solve their problems from the inside out .
Here ’ s what Brewer had to say about the power of music and how he helps others harness it to move through challenging situations .
Brady Brewer
The Spiritual DJ
CM : Okay , Brady Brewer - The Spiritual DJ . That ’ s cool . What ’ s that CV look like ? Talk to me about what you do .
Brady Brewer : I am considered “ The Spiritual DJ ” because you can imagine the way music affects us , impacts us , guides us – but the way I coach and support people is through the way music impacts our consciousness and really allows us to engage with our lives and our experiences from a wholesome , grounded , and connected place . So , that often looks like going into the mind , going into the memories , going into the stories . It looks like going into the heart , it looks like attuning the chakras and really bringing us into the body . And that ’ s done through music . With music .
CM : Interesting . “ Through music . With music .” So how does music affect us emotionally ?
Brewer : Music is our companion for life . So , as we are experiencing life and responding to emotions and sensations because of how so many of us were raised – which is in many ways is disconnected from our emotions and sensations – how have we taught ourselves to feel these things ? We ’ ve borrowed emotion from music . We ’ ve borrowed awareness from music . We ’ ve borrowed the experience of our life from music and from the story that somebody else is telling .
CM : So , if you ’ re the curator , how would you suggest we use our musical soundtrack to heal ?
Brewer : Think : How can it help “ move you through ” rather than “ indulge ” and “ sit in .”
Mic drop . How many times have we flicked on a song and are taken back to the first time we heard it ? That said , one could imagine what could happen if we have yet to learn how to process the emotions we ’ re experiencing . How much of our mental stability is determined by what we tell ourselves without even thinking about it ? Things like language and breathing . What role do the daily subconscious actions have on our mental state ?
That brings me to question number five : What if our subconscious mind was more powerful than we think ?
To answer this question , I went to the big leagues ; Co-founder of Enlifted and Procabulary , Adam Chin . To set this up , Chin started explaining how he and his co-founder , Mark England , found that nearly every challenge they faced stemmed from a “ how is this happening to me ?” rather than a
40 CANADIAN MUSICIAN