Who I am, and the music I carry

I am Cassandra Lorien, Song is my sword, my medicine, and my shield.

How I came to realize this, and all that music can hold, came with a drastic upheaval of my life that put me on the path to shamanic initiation.

What brought me through the darkness- In fact the only thing that touched it was somatic practice, and singing.

Following a songline, means uncovering an ancestral connection. We all have gems waiting within our personal histories. I had no idea how deeply mine would transform me.

Each language has its own unique vibration. Every letter, sound combination, and musical form, holds information and activation for us.

This is so important, that in the womb our ears develop first.

The more I learn about frequency, quantum theory, and spirituality -the more I understand how significant this all is.

Much which is unseen is carried within ancient songs and languages.

As we listen, our souls remember, our channels open, and we can reach a place of constant co-creation with the divine.

In 2021 I was in shadow. I weathered the entire pandemic on my own, had my home and community of New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Ida, and got into a car wreck the same day I lost a great love.

I was not depressed, I was beyond broken.

With the pain, came isolation, intrusive thoughts, and mental collapse.

Medicine music, and letting go of who I thought I was brought me healing, and eventually expansion beyond what I would have known was possible.

The path was not easy, there was a great unwinding of my life. I sold everything, and closed my business.

I went on a pilgrimage, traveling mostly alone through dozens of sacred sites connecting with the land in a reciprocal energy healing exchange.

I can not point to any one moment where things shifted. But little by little I recognized a whole lifetime of becoming.

I committed fully to my path, and since doing so- I have been incredibly fortunate to begin to sing in ceremony, and learn directly from some of my greatest inspirations.

I traveled to Costa Rica to attend “Song of the Ancients” for Gaelic song, and other ceremonies with Peia. I returned for Vocal Odyssey with Nessi Gomes at Pachamama.

I also pursued online study in breathwork, sound healing, Irish Gaelic fairy song, and song weaving with: James Nestor, Scarlet De La Torre, Mary Mclaughlin, and Anna Biriyani of Curawaka. These and many other indigenous voices, and wisdom keepers have helped me embody my true resonance and purpose.

I was fortunate to travel to Andalusia Spain, for a cultural immersion. There, I furthered my study of music, and language in 2024.

Many of own songlines happen to cross through Iberia. Where Occitan, Sephardic, and Celtic melodies were carried by troubadours, and my ancestors through trade routes and diaspora.

My focus is sacred, and ceremonial song, as well as old folk, and lullabies in an ever expanding array of languages.