Photo: Contributed
“Be the composer and conductor of your own life.”
For Serge Mazerand, music itself is life, as our essence is vibration. A pianist, composer, keynote player and the award-winning author of the delightfully inventive book 7 Keys to Serenity: Creating Harmony Within, Mazerand knows the magic of music lies in its power to heal us by connecting us to our true selves. It is a journey he knows very well.
Mazerand began playing piano as a young boy in France, learning the work of masters such as Schubert and Chopin, but like many of us he went on a detour into the world of practicality and business, which took him through 30 years of corporate life in marketing. In 1996, feeling the call back to his musical roots, he bought a grand piano and became inspired by his other love—nature.
Since then Mazerand has been rediscovering his true self by composing music beside his beautiful river in the forest of Northern B.C., where he lives, imagines and creates a more meaningful personal life through his work, while discovering ways to connect with the community and the world.
His work and approach to life are utterly fascinating, so I was happy to connect with him and learn even more about how he plays his unique song.
Your story about leaving corporate life and returning to your childhood love of music resonated deeply with me. Tell us about this decision, how it felt and what universal message you can relay about that experience.
The decision took a few years to execute. I just knew I was not in the right place, and it took a few catalysts to help me take the necessary steps to extricate myself from the addicting milieu of luxury fragrances and all the perks that came with it.
Then, I ended up in what I call my “half-way house,” which was the fly-in salmon fishing resort I created in B.C. Close to nature and fishing, which I loved, but still a business since we catered to big corporations. Only after some 10 years of this did I decide to stop “feeding my ego” and instead “nourish my soul.”
The universal message is that each of us has a “mission” to accomplish when we are on our earth journey. Some know it early, some late, some never––in this life, that is. The challenge is to connect with our inner music and not to fall into the traps of ego.
The approach of your book—aligning keywords for personal transformation with the seven musical keys A through G—is a brilliant way to harmonize ideas, emotions and creative actions. How did that idea come to you, and how can it serve as a guide to others in composing and conducting their own song?
Creativity manifests in weird ways. For me, the process unfolded during the four years it took me to write the book, one idea calling another. It’s like a door opening to a room and then, all of a sudden, another door to another room and so on. The writing takes on a life of its own.
The idea of “transposing” the seven musical keys into keywords came right at the beginning, though, like a revelation. I knew I was on to something exciting. It is the same with composing music. The key, though, is to trust your higher self to guide you through the process and not let ego interfere.
Trust your power, and you can do anything.
Your work touches individuals, but you also do keynote performances for group events. How does the approach you take differ between the two, or does it?
It really is the same approach. Be authentic, leave ego aside, TRUST the source to help you say the right words or play the right music for a specific audience, and go with the flow. One can never go wrong by applying these simple principles.
What is the most gratifying feedback you’ve received from someone who has read your book and/or enjoyed your music, in terms of how it helped them on their journey?
Both my music and my book seem to resonate with people’s hearts. With music, I can see it when people cry. It is a release of pent-up emotional blockages that the music dissolves; a melody, a certain frequency that finds resonance with the strings of their hearts.
With the book, some people resonate with my interludes particularly. The most rewarding compliment I received was from a long-time music fan who told me that I had written the book like I play the piano, which is why it seems to resonate with so many readers. I suppose it is the rhythm and the sound of the words.
A musician friend of mine once said that if you truly want to understand a passionate and talented individual, just engage with their work. But is there something revealing many might not know about you—an interesting fact or fun anecdote?
While writing 7 Keys to Serenity, I came close several times to abandoning the project, because I realized that I was not aligning myself with what I was writing. My higher self dictated the pages, yet I did not walk my talk, so to speak. But then, day by day, I began to change in subtle ways, and so the writing truly became a transformational process, which later gave me the confidence to tell potential readers that if the book managed to help me change my ways, it certainly had the potential to help them.
his column was submitted as part of BWB Wednesdays.
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