Julie Powell
March 23 1999 in Marquee
Athens Daily News

(This article was published before a recital at the University of Georgia on March 24 2000.)

"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I thing what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on a purely physical plain will have resonance within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive."

"Joseph Campbell inspired me with these words," says massage therapist and pianist Joey Freeman. "Indeed this quote compelled me to call my firm Lifework. I wanted to communicate by this title that when a massage therapist works with the body he is working with the essential energies of life that resonate within our innermost being. I wanted to communicate that understanding the mind-body-spirit unity is a life's work and that fully revering life's energy and unity were the keys to full happiness."

In his own life, Freeman has pursued many paths, ultimately garnering the experiences and knowledge that would lead him to one all encompassing pursuit. Having received advanced degrees in piano performance from the University of Georgia as as well as an MBA, Freeman also spend time in India teaching career planning to Tibetans and has written a nationally published book. However, only recently has he found the conjoining keystone in the art of massage therapy.

"In massage I work with physical tension and pain that represent blockages of energy and potential," Freeman says. "Since body, mind and spirit are one when the restrictions of the body are loosened, the mind is liberated and the spirit is set free."

"In today's stress filled environment many people find that the massage table is a place where they can deeply relax, feel appreciated and have no demands placed upon them. On the massage table they can appreciate the unique potential contained within their unique body and in so doing realize dis-ease causing stress is not inevitable, that pain is not necessarily forever, and that it can feel wonderful to be alive. There they can gain aa glimpse of the inner vital, creative essence that may have been obscured by years of stress, conformity, and negativity. Massage can truly liberate."

While the obvious focus of any massage is the physical technique, it is the subtle undercurrent on intention, understanding and approach which allows the therapy to transcend a good back rub.

"After many years of absence from the recital stage, I have felt drawn back as I began to study massage," Freeman says. "I found that when I played the piano I was able to give more sensitive, flowing massages. I found that understanding and respecting the composer through the written notes on the page was similar to understanding and respecting the h¬man being on the massage table through the patterns of muscular tensions responses. In addition, piano playing enable me to find common ground with other performers including athletes, actors, executives, and musicians of all types."

In his second concert in two years, Freeman will present a challenging all-Liszt program.

"Perhaps what has attracted me to Liszt is his rapturous approach to life and art," Freeman says. "Whether as a holy man or a lady's man, as a passionate and serious musical craftsman or as a showman who sometimes crossed the line into charlatanism, Liszt was almost always rapturous."

"The program I have selected represents Liszt at his most sublime and rapturous. 'Liebstraume III' serves as an invocation of love and loss. The Sonata in b minor is a towering masterpiece that is both intellectually rigorous and sweepingly passionate. 'Vallee d'Obermann' reflects despair, struggle, exaltation, and defiance. The hammer chords that end ÎObermann" melt away to the shimmering arpeggios of 'Les Jeux Deaus A La Ville D'este,' an affirmation of faith inspired by the play of waters in a beautiful fountain. The concert ends with a sublime blessing "Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude."

Whether performing Liszt, reading Joseph Campbell or studying muscle fibers, Freeman has found an approach to life that allows him to incorporate all of his experiences and use them to positively inform each other.

"As I evolve, I increasingly see my mission as nurturing expression, creativity, performance and good feeling, so that individuals can enjoy life as complete human beings with tremendous inherent possibilities. This is the thread that unifies my work in massage, music, and career advising."

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