SharedBliss: The Sweet Sounds of The Callen Sisters

If you've been reading Blisschick for some time, you know how important music is to me. I just recently got rid of a daily music link not because I wasn't interested any longer but because it was taking up too much of my time; I too easily get lost in iTunes and could lose whole entire days moving from one great find to the next.

Music is almost always playing in our house. When Marcy and I visit people who don't have music on, we feel out of sorts.

As I wrote about toward the very beginning of this blog, music -- or my soundscape -- is very much how I create or change my day.

So to find that someone commenting on this blog is herself a working musician and singer/songwriter was a little thrill, to say the least.

Jessa Callen commented on one of the posts about body image to say that it was something she and her sister, Beth, thought about enough to write a song about it.

I promptly looked into their music to find that they are doing something unique -- using the harp in popular composition.

You can find their website here; their myspace page is here; they are on twitter; they are on facebook; they blog here; and you can buy their music here.


Describe the PrimaryBliss of your life. How did you come to know that this was your PrimaryBliss?

Music is our bliss! As a listener, writer, and performer, music drives us and makes us feel alive. We have both always loved and been involved in music.

What types of choices and sacrifices did you make to be able to craft this bliss-filled life?

We both gave up good paying jobs with health benefits and a sense of security - but the payoff has been great. Our lives feel happier and more satisfying.

How does your PrimaryBliss radiate out into the rest of your life?

Since our career in music makes us both incredibly happy and fulfilled, we have more to give others. It has also made us more aware and has given us the freedom to enjoy simple things.

What are some other activities that also give you this sense of bliss? Things that make you lose track of time?

Beth: Spending time outdoors, snowboarding, watching sunsets, laughing.

Jessa: Same as above, as well as knitting, working with animals, taking care of my body (exercise, massage, etc)

What is your daily or weekly spiritual practice?

We take time to relax and contemplate, whether that means meditating, doing yoga, or just spending 10 minutes relaxing with our cats (we both have 2 cats and Jessa also has a ferret).

What music is your bliss?

Playing our own songs is the most gratifying. But listening-wise, we love music with harmony vocals, guitars, pianos. Jessa also loves Celtic and harp music. We like many different kinds of music from Jimi Hendrix, Tori Amos, and Crosby, Stills & Nash to Debussy, Beethoven, and Satie. Sometimes a particular song from an artist captures our bliss. In Beth's case, the song "Fever" by Neko Case has recently grabbed her attention. The list of music we love is very long and evolving.

Name books or authors/poets or people who are your bliss, who influenced your bliss.

Our first and most profound teacher was our mother, who always encouraged us to follow our hearts and passions. Her favorite thing to say was "do what you love." She was incredibly positive and supportive of our desire to be musicians. She also followed her passion and wrote a self help book on crisis management entitled "Keeping Your Boat Afloat when the Big One Hits." We were raised on many of the principals in her book.

Some people, authors, etc. who influenced our bliss are:

Jessa: Tori Amos, Kurt Cobain, the band Blind Melon, Fiona Apple, Esther Hicks, the movie "The Secret" and several of the teachers within it, Queen Elizabeth I (she ruled a whole country in a time when women did not have rights!), Jack Canfield, Louise Hay, and many more

Beth: Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Tori Amos, Sheryl Crow, Rumi, the Dalai Lama, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Esther Hicks, and Jack Canfield

What advice would you give to someone who feels they have not yet discovered their PrimaryBliss?

Beth: One of my greatest friends once told me, "Your heart will never lie." If you can put all else aside, be totally honest with yourself and get in touch with your heart / truth to find what makes you happy or gives you a flicker of excitement, you are on the right track. I think sometimes we have ignored or been distracted from our bliss, our inner guidance, etc. so it needs to be nurtured back into the light. Time is irrelevant here, only the present moment matters - it is the only place you can realize your own power.

Jessa: Like our mother always said, "do you what you love." Follow your heart and everything else will follow.

Do you have a favorite quote you would like to share?

"What others think of you is none of your business." - Jack Canfield

Our good friend Jessie O loves this quote from our song Life: "Nothing lasts forever / We are changed by each endeavor." She told us that she wrote it on her little chalkboard in her kitchen and likes to read it every day. We thought it was so sweet of her!

Some days the phrase "this too shall pass" really strikes a chord! :)



I find this sister partnership inspiring. Do you have a partnership in your life that supports your dreams? If not, spend some time writing out what that partnership would look like and then focus your energy on attracting it.

Also make sure to spend some time on the Callen sisters' myspace page. Their music is inspiring. And keep an eye on their tour dates -- you never know when you might have the opportunity to see them live.