Acknowledgements
So many of you are dearly departed …but are present in these memoirs with the role you have played and the guidance you have provided on my Journey. My Lineage from both my father’s side and my mother’s side nourished music in my Soul DNA and my beloved 1901 Bechstein piano has been the thread linking back through time to my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and finding expression in the present Now moment.
A special acknowledgement to Ronald Dreyer for our soul contract and so much of the experience and growth shared in this memoir.
I have been blessed with sisters Beverley Meyer and Annie Hilton who have witnessed and shared many of life’s gifts and lessons; I have soul companions who have shared parts of my journey. Beth Goodson in particular, as our paths merged and wove many threads in the tapestry of our lives, evident in many episodes I have written about and Sharon Levy; mentors and wise women who have influenced directions and my choices such as Annaliese Cowley who ‘saw’ the music wanting to come through me; Di Andrew, Rose Doel and Monica Cromhout each providing wisdom, non-judgemental and generous insights at appropriate times.
I acknowledge the profound influence of David Hykes, in introducing me to harmonic chant and harmonic presence work and the impact this had on my relationship to music. The talented cellist Francois le Roux has been present with me at key and dramatic moments in my life, helping me to adjust to changing circumstances and find peace through music.
Special acknowledgement to John Turest-Swartz who recorded my spontaneous outpouring of music in France and produced it as the CD ‘Into the light’.(2009)
I acknowledge the significant role spiritual teachers such as Jim Self and Judy Satori have played in my developing awareness as a ‘spiritual being having this human experience’.
I am deeply grateful to Dr Dawn Garisch for giving me the introduction to memoir and its exploration through several memoir writing workshops; and then the memoir-support group of Dinah Eppel and Giles Griffin and other listeners to the early chapters.
My Listening Heart:
Readers of the early manuscript in Stanford.- Rose Murray gave the first shout out and suggested I wrote Part Four; Paula Bouwer encouraged me hugely with the idea of audio recordings and a multimedia creation which it has become; The Whatsapp group of Listening Hearts who listened to the first recorded episodes in 2020 and 2024 and gave useful feedback. In particular, Leli Hoch and Tracy Rudling with heart-felt encouragement and practical inputs for the final production.
I have had such support and love during the final stage of birthing My Listening Heart in 2024. Special thanks to Fran Saunders who started listening deeply at the beginning of the year, giving poetic responses to each episode and editing each transcript helping to realise my ‘legacy’. Dax Villanueva set up and registered the site several years ago, while MLH was still a seed and gave me precious advice in the early stage of getting the materials into digital form, providing the foundation for its final transformation. Marie Minnaar has produced videos of atmosphere, piano and conversations which will enhance the overall experience of My Listening Heart.
The actual manifestation of My Listening Heart has transpired with the magical weaving by Marisa Steyn (as yet unknown alchemist in Stanford), who has taken the components of my life in memoir and laid them out in a way that you the reader and/ or listener can navigate and experience and hopefully return to.
A final thank you to you the Reader or Listener. This is an offering from my listening heart. If you feel drawn to donate you will be taken directly to the Life Righting Collective pay station, where you will be able to contribute to a most worthwhile initiative.
With love and gratitude, from my listening heart to yours.
Marilyn Pigott, Stanford. 18/11/2024