We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kennedy Oneself a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kennedy, thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
When I realized that the direction of my life was moving in a way that would not be fulfilling or satisfying to me, I dropped out of college quit all my jobs and decided to cut off all expenses so that I could have a wealth of time to find out who I am and what I liked to do.
For about six or seven years, I lived with no income, and found any way I could to survive while enjoying my life. I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself, what my passions were or how I could contribute my gifts to society.
After being patient in the process for a number of years, I began making handcrafted didgeridos and guiding meditation experiences through music. My life and my career naturally unfolded because I had a lot of time and passion in order to put into my work once I realized what that was.
Still having a lot of flexibility and freedom in my lifestyle because of my low expenses, I was able to put another handful of years into deep devotion cultivating my gifts and figuring out how to spread them in the world while getting paid. Now I’m a full-time national touring sound bath artist, and it couldn’t have happened, I believe, without having such formative years focus on my own internal growth and figuring out what gifts I’d like to share with the world.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My mission in this life is to lessen the amount of suffering in the world by offering opportunities for people to experience that peace comes from within us. I am fostering a sense of serenity in the world by using an incredible variety of sound healing and musical instruments to encourage people to relax.
I teach meditation, and I do so in a variety of instances, including prenatal substance abuse recovery, adolescent recovery juvenile detention facilities etc. I have a charismatic way of expressing how peace is available to all of us no matter our circumstances and privileges. And I use the widest variety of sound healing instruments that I’ve ever seen anyone to use, with such a masterful touch that participants are regularly experiencing the deepest peace and serenity that they have in decades.
I also host make your own didgeridoo retreats, and sound healing facilitator training, as well as make and sell many other instruments. I do this because I believe that music is a powerful gateway into a deeper wellness, for the musician and the listener.
Peace within is the answer to so many problems. If we individually access wellness, and make our decisions from that space, the world becomes more well. I am fortunate to have found a way to spread peace while remaining peaceful myself, which is the best way to set a precedent.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Early on in my career, I was running a small backyard garden building business, while also starting to flourish in my didgeridoo crafting and guided sound meditations.
Although a big part of me really wanted to pursue both of these paths, it felt very clear to me that if I wanted to really Excel, I would need to choose one and devote wholeheartedly. I’m grateful that I made this decision, because running a garden building business while touring nationally around the country for music would be very hard to uphold :-)
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I am very fortunate to have discovered an inner wellspring of serenity. Having found that that eternal peace is not created by circumstance, but is available to all of us, has fueled my passion to encourage others to find this space as well.
My mission is to encourage the blossoming of a more peaceful world
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