Branding is something that has become a bit of a buzz word in the business community. Look it up online and you’ll get as many definitions for it as you will Google entries relating to its importance.

In spite of the many and varied descriptions, most people get what branding is, just as they “get” the meaning behind the brand itself - that is if the branding was done effectively. (I offer “Disney” as an example, being perceived by most people as a source of wholesome, youth-oriented entertainment.)

Branding implies ownership. Using the illustration of cattle ranches, ownership was expressed by marking that property with one’s brand: a symbol that was created uniquely for the entity using it to express where and to whom that property belonged.

So branding (I’ve decided) speaks as much to location as it does identity….

After writing a song called “Sacred Fire” (which can still be purchased, as well as viewed on YouTube and on my website: www.adriannalarkin.com), I was so taken with the concept of an intrinsic spark of Divine energy fueling the whole human machine, that I expanded the concept to explain my journey as a book called “Igniting the Sacred Fire, Reinventing Yourself at Any Age” (also available on the website as well as www.Amazon.com)

From there I went on to host a radio program called “Sacred Fire Living: Creating the Life You Want, Using the Gifts You Already Own” and had the good fortune to feature nationally and internationally known teachers and authors. It was a great platform to from which to help others begin to believe in their own innate spark so they too could live “on purpose".

“Sacred Fire” and all that it carried both in context and by definition could be understood then from all of my products, as something universal, something global, something that was, at least in this instance, beginning to look a lot like my brand.

…with one small problem:

It had neither a specific location nor was it exclusive to my identity. In fact it were exclusively mine, then it would be in direct opposition to what I was trying to communicate: we all have this amazing and beautiful spark of the extraordinary within us.)

Paradoxical isnt it?

My book recounts the “how” I came up with Sacred Fire as an anthem title as well as the “why” it was chosen to symbolize the divinity in human potential. And while I do not feel that I “own” the term in the traditional sense of a brand, it has become a symbol of my identity (one which I gladly share) and a location of where I am (that has nothing to do with geography).

In Part two, I will talk about the different definitions given by the various peoples through time and land mass who reference “Sacred Fire” as an intrinsic part of their human-Divine experience…which just is another reason I’m singin’:

“This brand is your brand..this brand is my brand, from California… to the New York Islands…”

Namaste

True to my belief that we are always evolving, I am no exception. After 14 years I am retiring my stage name of Adrianna Larkin. The name that once offered a protective anonymity while performing music in clubs and raising a young son as a single parent, is no longer needed.

It was not a decision that was made lightly. I gave it a lot of thought. Although I would not be the first artist to take on (or take back) a different name, reverting to my real name of Nancy Herold had to be considered carefully. Nancy is after all a fairly common name—and frankly one that I would not have chosen for myself.

Then there was the daunting task of having to rename all past projects written and recorded under the stage name of Adrianna Larkin. But the real truth be told, although I had chosen to go by a different name for practical reasons, I had enjoyed choosing a unique enough name that let me stand out in a crowd.

That is what we artists like to do.

The story of how I chose the name was pretty straightforward. The last name of Larkin was the one I arrived at first. I shared with those who knew of my secret identity that it was symbolic of the songbird, and I hoped it would carry the association of that for my audiences.

For me however, it had a double meaning. I had arrived at being a singer-songwriter in a truly accidental way: I was only trying to teach myself to play guitar. Although I had a wonderful time doing this, songwriting came so easily that I couldn’t take it seriously. It seemed like ridiculous play. In other words, the whole thing was a “lark”.

The first name of Adrianna was chosen in remembrance of my father. Adrian in Hebrew means “the dark one”. While most often used to describe coloring, it also offered a double meaning for me that symbolized one who remained in the shadows and had a secret life. I learned to enjoy being somebody else on stage, yet inserting my own character as I crafted my performance.

That is what we artists like to do.

But the career took a rather interesting turn. In writing a book on reinvention, I became eager to share the story of my return to music and finally accepted my ability to help other people with it. As I expanded my “motivational performance” to group and one-on-one coaching sessions, the baggage of a professional pseudonym created a somewhat awkward (not to mention less than authentic) platform from which to teach other people about coming to terms with who they are.

A discussion with my friend Sheryl Lynn would give me all the direction that I needed. As I explained the name dilemma, she cast her vote for Nancy Herold . “I like her…Nancy Herold ROCKS!. She has guts and heart..AND humor”, adding: “Do you know what ‘Nancy’ really means?”

“It means ‘grace’” I replied.

Sheryl Lynn continued, “And the arrival at a state of grace is what spiritual studies teach us to be the ultimate goal…”

I offered my defense that I never liked the name Nancy. Moreover in the early days of my nursing career, “Nancy Nurse” had a bad connotation: It meant incompetence.

“And how did you arrive at ‘Adrianna Larkin’?” she asked.

Once again, I retold the story shared countless times with others on how the choice was made—as well as the double meaning that both names had for me.

“So let me get this straight…” she began, “As a ‘motivational musician’ who mentors others on how to regain their ‘sacred fire’, you exchanged a name that represents the highest spiritual outcome, for one that has you hiding in the shadows and treating your career like a joke…”.

She then followed with the knock-out punch to bring it all home, adding: “And how’s that workin’ for you?”

I had no defense—or desire to acquire one—after that. My path became quite clear. A good look at the original reasons for taking a stage name revealed conditions that no longer existed: I have remarried. My son is grown. In taking this bold new move, I believe my own growth becomes more evident as well.

In time there will be a new website titled “Sacred Fire Living”, because it’s not all about me, it’s about what I can potentially offer as the highest service through the vehicles of music, speaking, performance and writing.

In time, all books and CD’s (even those that bear a name intended for a secret life) will be offered under one name only: that of Nancy—because Nancy is who I’ve always been and…

That is what we authentic folk like to do….

One of the things that I teach about is how to adapt to change. I can facilitate this because I have had my own battles accepting change and know it has at times been my crucible. Admittedly, there are times I still struggle but I know that is largely because of my judgement that joins the change offering it the label of “good” or “bad".

While change that appears as a substitution or exchange is a form I am readily accepting of these days (and therefore neutral), change that appears as loss is not as well received.

What can I say? Like everyone else, I’m a work in progress.

As I prepare to say goodbye to yet another friend and artistic mentor (my third in 12 months) who has returned home to be placed on hospice, I am doing my best to reinforce that “loss” while unnerving, is only an illusion…as energy cannot be destroyed, but only changes form. Intellectually, as well as spiritually, I know this–however…

There is always that tricky little thing called emotion that likes to get in the way.

Anything that shows up as a loss which joins an acute emotional response can’t help but be taken “personally". It doesn’t matter how that loss shows up. It can be a death of a dear friend that leaves us wondering if we did all that we could do, it could be loss of a job (even one we did not like) that causes us to re evaluatate what we could have done differently to keep it.

In short, what I have noticed is this: If change is offered as a clear substitution (and not loss) humans in general are more likely to see it outside of ourselves…maybe even relegating it to the category of something someone else did, or offered to us.

Change that shows up as something going away however often feels like rejection as we are left staring into the abyss of a space that was once filled with something familiar.

Although two different points of view, they are ultimately the same reaction: it is a sort of “blame game” being played, the only difference being whether you play it with self or others.

The power lie in removing blame (and judgement) and accepting change for what it is…and acknowledging that loss which can show up as a friends transition (and feels difficult to accept) is as much a part of life as any change.

In so doing then we are not staring into the abyss of blame, but witinessing the vast mystery of life and all that cannot be seen, as space becomes a placeholder for all entry of the new…

–which is to become familiar once again.

I’m convinced that if we all asked the questions we really wanted to ask, we could save ourselves a lot of grief. But as I have so often alluded to in earlier writings: The extra work and inconvenience from the unasked question is easier to endure than the remotest possibility that we might look “stupid".

While it sounds judgemental, I do recognize that we humans are social creatures by nature and desire acceptance from our peers, so anything that threatens that acceptance or makes us an outcast can cause us to act against our own best interest.

That point was illustrated to me with great clarity years ago in a college psychology class where they provided the accounts of children in Victorian England who reported that being ignored as a punishment was worse than being beaten.

But ignoring our natural curiousity by failing to ask the question is detrimental to our wellbeing. It sets the stage for missed opportunities and causes us to decline benefits we might receive from a new technology. We may even limit opportunities for other knowledge that would make us the envy of our peers instead of a social pariah.

Even if we decide against embracing something new as our own, shouldn’t we gather all the knowledge that we can to make an informed decision? In order to do that we must put all our questions on the table and allow ourselves to be as transparent as we need to be as we exhaust our curiosity.

I’m inviting all curious minds to join me on Tuesday May 3, 2011 at 7pm cst as I host Evan Slawson, a co-founder of the AIM program. AIM stands for All-Inclusive-Method. With it’s roots in homeopathic medicine, it is a great example of frequency based medicine (which my own curiosity has led me to believe is the medicine of the future)

…but don’t take my word for it, become the “seeker” to see for yourself.

You can dial into 914-338-0821 to ask your questions by phone or access the following link to join the chat the night of the show. The same link can be used to access the archive and listen when it’s convenient

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/healthandharmonynetwork/2011/05/04/sacred-fire-living-aim-to-know-more-with-evan-slawson

We all have that song…you know the one: it’s the melody that instantly transports you back in time to reconnect you with a memory so powerful it’s like you’re reliving it all over again.

Yeah, that one.

Sometimes it’s more than one - each one getting associated with a different feeling.

When I hear the popular Christmas favorite “Let it Snow", I’m instantly returned to being the mini-diva at age 3, performing my heart out, accompanied by my Aunt Jackie as I sat perched on her baby grand. With a fireplace in the background, snow visible through the window and my parents as adoring fans…all was right in my world.

A series of other songs would conjur up equally strong emotions. Billy Joel’s song “Just the Way You Are” usually ended the set at the nightclub that I used to frequent with Marc, my first love. As we both spent every weekend dancing and were fully caught up in the heat of disco fever, it was a chance to fall into his arms at the end of the night, place my head on his chest, and grasp the last precious moments of the perfect evening that I knew was about to end.

Songs can catalogue our memories and even record them for others. My guess is that as I was offering my own stories with the songs mentioned above, they became quite visual for many of the readers of this post.

Now that is nothing less than magical when you think about it.

I once heard a radio host pose the question “Do you remember what song was playing at the time or immediately after, you wrecked your car?” The funny thing is a number of people did. His switchboard went crazy and the songs shared actually made the event a bit humorous (after the fact). Everything from Elvis Presley’s “I’m All Shook Up” to Kenny Loggins’ “Caddyshack” theme, which of course begins: “I’m all right, nobody worry ’bout me"…

In this case the music afforded a certain amount of grace for an uncomfortable situation.

Magic and Grace are in fact just two of the gifts that our favorite music has to offer us. So it seems appropriate that “Magic and Grace” is also the title of the most recent project recorded by this weeks radio guest Philipo Franchini.

Philippo has acquired the reputation of being a musical alchemist, blending sound for yet another kind of memorable experience: one that was able to replace the chatter and stress of the day to return me to the present moment. A moment so powerful in fact, that the music the magic and the grace could enter in as one.

We will be playing samples from Philippo’s newest album as well as talking about the inspiration for it on Tuesday April 26, 2011 at 7pm central. You can listen live through the following link or catch the show later as an archive (through the same link):

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/healthandharmonynetwork/2011/04/27/sacred-fire-living-the-music-of-philippo-franchini-a-night-of-magic-and-grace