Saturday, May 23, 2015

Love Me or Love Me Not

Picture a little girl picking off the petals of a flower saying, "He loves me, he loves me not..." Years later, she is still singing this song...


Subtle is the way we let things go
Hoping that you'll choose to stay
Passive and aggressive, you should know
Life is all about the change

Love me or love me not?
Love me or love me not!
If you're not the one who can love me as I am...
Then it is what it is not love...

Hiding in the friend zone long enough
Caring from a far is safe
Intimate is far more intimate
Suddenly the tides have changed

Love me or love me not?
Love me or love me not!
If you're not the one who can love me as I am...
Then it is what it is not love...

All I need is for you to love me.
Don't change me. Then who would I be?
If you're not the one who can love me as I am...
Then it is what it is
What it is...What is it?
Well it is what it is NOT love.

-Shawna Ray, today


Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S® 6.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

NEW MUSIC in Process. Please celebrate my birthday with me...


Today is my birthday. Presently is the name of a new song I wrote on a milestone birthday, April 30th and the proposed name of a new collaborative EP - where I am asking you to celebrate with me by supporting new music. Through surveys on Indiegogo and Birthday Backer voting, whether you support with $1 or up to $10,000 - you become members of The Ray Team, as if you are the record label. So you get to help decide what songs end up on the EP, and what the cover looks like. There are corporate sponsorship opportunities at the highest levels and I would love to work with you if you are interested in those options. And in the end, the story will be ours to tell. You're not only the supporter - you're the co-creator.
Five years after my OPEN album was released, I have so many more songs I want to share while also seeking publishers for my book, “Destination is the Journey," a memoir that shares the stories behind these songs. Because of health issues and a major surgery in 2010 and again in 2013, I never got to tour with OPEN album, so that is the plan with this new venture, now that I am healthy and determined to turn my creative side into my career.

LINK TO CHECK IT OUT...

Other Ways You Can Help

For those of you who have already given so much and have a full plate of your own bills and goals, I totally understand if you are not able to give at all. Prayers and good vibes are free and also much appreciated. Also please share the links with your network or select contacts you feel might be interested in sponsoring. I have sponsored several projects, from $5 to $25 and friends and people I’ve ever met but believe in were able to publish books, make documentary films and record albums this way. So I am excited and getting over the uncomfortableness of asking for help.

Thank you, for everything. I truly appreciate your support, love and friendship. 

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Make Room

I'm sending love to the demons
I feel you coming for me
If in the blood there's forgiveness
It must be hell to relive

I'm setting you free
Setting you free
Letting it go in love
To make room for peace

I'm sending love to the haters
I feel you fighting with me
If I remind you of traitors
You think I'm the enemy

I'm setting you free
Setting you free
Letting it go in love
To make room for peace

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I'm sending love to my young self
You cannot know until you know
All of the wounds brought you to now
It's in the learning you grow
And this might all seem cliche
Well this is a new day
I've learned to love the hard way
Best lessons come from mistakes

I'm setting you free
Setting you free
Letting it go in love
To make room 
So make room 
For peace 
...................

It's all good,

Live, give, love, laugh and learn,

Shawna Ray, today...

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Dressed for Debate


Which picture is the original? And what colors do you see there? It varies - right? So the great dress debate is about lighting, filters and perception. It has also brought to light how narcissistic many become when trying to get others to change their mind or see things the way they do.

I have heard, "You're wrong, you're dumb, you're stupid and you're crazy." Upon first glance, I saw goldish taupe stripes of lace on a white or light blue fabric dress. Some of my friends swear it is blue and black...period. I asked them to clarify the color of blue they were seeing by having them point to something with the same color. It was usually a bright, sort of royal cobalt blue?


If I hold my phone back and squint, I can see how the dress can be seen as blue and black. Either way, I find an interesting lesson in it all. Narrowing our focus to only that which we see, is clearly what divides us. And just think of how much energy you have wasted in this silly debate. I obviously bought in as well. You can link here to see John Mayer posted a video on Instagram using a color finder that I enjoyed  https://instagram.com/p/zoKAV3OEcv/ (FYI the black at the bottom of the circle is stationary - look at where the pointer is aimed). And here is a screenshot of an Instagram post that shows the dress in different lighting compared to the picture that sparked the debate.

So this selfie Sunday, I took this picture, inside, from my phone,  late last night. There is no natural sunlight, only one overhead light and a lower lamp. Each time I changed the lighting, it changed the color in the picture. And once I decided on a picture, I added different filters. 

It's all the same. No need to debate. Just accept and respect that others may see things differently than you do.

Oh and by the way...the 2nd pic down is the original (with a little touch up on my forehead to soften the wrinkles that appear when I make that face).