The Journey These songs were all written between the years 1994-1998 and recorded between 1998 and 2000. They were not originally intended to be a collection of songs. Each one was written to help me cope with a series of extremely challenging experiences I was going through at that period in my life. I was dealing with serious health problems and multiple joint replacement surgeries that ultimately forced me to be unable to play guitar as well as serious repercusions from Autism that my only son began to experience as he approached adulthood. Music and songwriting gave me a way to cope with life and remember to keep focused on the spiritual perspective of the things I was experiencing. I was performing regularly during this time and often played original songs in my performances. Friends encouraged me to record some of my songs. I had originally intended to record many more songs, but in 2000 my life became completely ungluded as I had hand surgery that made it impossible for me to continue to play guitar and simultaneoulsy lost the legal right to be involved in my son\'s life, lost my home and lost my relationship with the man I had considered my best friend and the only one I could trust. The recording project was put on hold as I struggled to survive and make sense of my life. My relationship with my Guru was the only thing that kept me alive at this time. Struggling to let go of the dual identites of \"mother\" and \"musician\" I went into seclusion for several months and then decided to return to college and focus my teaching career. I ended up getting both a Masters Degree and a Doctorate in Education and then went on to work with troubled youth, using music, drama and meditation with them, before I ultimately became unable to work full time. The one thing that kept me going was my faith in my guru and that some day it would all make sense. During the last 8 years the master of this recording has been stored in my closet. In a moment of inspiration I gave a copy of it to a fellow disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda and he was inspired by it and believed that others might find some inspiration and hope in these songs as well. He encouraged me to revive the project. It is to him that I owe all the credit for daring to bring this recording into being. I pray he is right, that others may find some inspiration from it. Bio: Julie Rose I grew up in rural Oregon, where music, nature and a natural inclination toward spirituality marked my earliest years. My grandmother was a piano teacher and started me on music at a very young age. Singing was my true passion. As a teenager I was introduced to the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and meditation. I became a life-long member of the organization he personally formed to carry on His work, Self Realization Fellowship www.yogananda-srf.org My spiritual practice and membership in SRF have seen me through the many ups and downs of my life. As a teenager I became interested in the guitar, which I began to play and then to use as a vehicle for songwriting. Young adulthood brought me marriage, a move to Boise, Idaho and the birth of my one child, who was diagnosed with Autism. When my son was several years old his father and I divorced and I enrolled in the Boise State University music program, with an emphasis in jazz guitar. In a practical moment I decided to get a music education degree. I went on to a rewarding career as an elementary school music teacher. Throughout my life I have continued to write music and perform in a variety of bands. I have played and performed nearly every style of music at one time or another. Through the years arthritis began to make it harder and harder for me to play guitar, although I continue to play keyboard, sing and write songs. Eventually, I became frustrated with my “day job” because of the trend toward devaluing the arts in public education so decided to go back to college. In 2000, I enrolled in the Boise State University Master of Education program where I got a degree in Special Education with a focus on music as an early childhood intervention. When I completed my Masters Degree I decided to continue my studies, in pursuit of a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. My primary concern at that time was the injustice created by taking music and the other arts out of public schools and making them a privilege experienced only by those who are financially fortunate. One of the effects this has is to devalue the imagination and favor students with a specific learning style. During this time I took a break from music and focused on another interest; writing. As a part of my dissertation I wrote some songs but I also wrote children’s stories, autobiographic narratives and poetry. I successfully defended my dissertation in 2004 and relocated from Boise to Seattle, where I was the Educational Director for a residential addiction recovery program for teenage boys. In my work there I used music, writing, drama and meditation to inspire the young men to draw on their strengths and continue their educations. In 2008 I was forced to give up full time teaching and performing because of health challenges. Soon after, my son was accepted at Rusty’s Morningstar Ranch, in Arizona, a wonderful residential program for adults with Autism. www.rmr.org in order to be closer to him I relocated to California. I am currently living in Encinitas, California where I indulge my triple love of children, teaching and music at Shantivanam Children\'s Community www.encinitaschildcare.net where I integrate music into the curriculum. Harmony And Peace: Positive Young Children’s Music(www.happychildrensmusic.com) is my latest venture. Some of my next goals are to publish some of my children’s stories and perhaps some of my narratives, and to record more songs. In the meantime, I indulge my secret passion, gardening, at the Self Realization Fellowship Encinitas Temple Garden and the SRF Farm, Swami\'s Acres. I always have and always will consider my life a spiritual journey. My music reflects my deep-seeded need to reconnect with my inner divine nature.