Water Lily Waits: Music for Movement and Meditation by Kathy Gracenin, MFA, Kristen Short and Rusty Wiltjer Norway, ME: Sea Siren Records, 2007 2 CDs, 118 minutes Reviewed by Susan Scherr Water Lily Waits: Music for Movement and Meditation is a delightful collaboration by vocalist and arranger Kristen Short, percussionist and composer Rusty Wiltjer, and lyricist, dancer and spiritual director Kathy Gracenin. The three of them have produced a deeply stirring two-disc set, perfect for movement classes, body prayer, ecstatic dance, and moving and seated meditation. Gracenin holds an MFA in dance and movement from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and has created a class called Energy Choreography, which is a blend of Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, Pilates, and moving sequences that invite the Spirit to the dance floor of the heart. In Disc 1, titled Movement, there are five selections that open the heart, inviting the body to explore and flow with wondrous and hypnotic rhythms created by Wiltjer. His drumming in “Song of Cicada” is a tour de force sure to whirl you into ecstasy. The lyrics by Gracenin are infectious, interspiritual, prayerful jewels written in haiku poetry form: first and third lines being five syllables and middle line being seven syllables. An example is “Water lily waits…open to the light Divine…deep meditation.” The title song, “Water Lily Waits,” is the first selection on Movement. Kristen Short has an ethereal voice. Other selections on this disc include “Enter and Center,” “Come Holy Spirit,” and “Take a Drink of Rain.” The songs average thirteen minutes and allow the listener and dancer to enter a meditative state. Short arranged and shaped each haiku in mantra-like fashion. You will find your favorite leaping into your consciousness, unbidden. One that frequently comes to me is “Come Holy Spirit…unlock my curious heart…silence is the key.” Disc 2, titled Meditation repeats the first four selections from Disc 1. Carefully set into each piece is an interlude of ten minutes of silence for meditation. “Enter and center…my Beloved is calling…be still and listen.” With a silent interlude, the listener can settle into the shimmering aliveness. Although music and chant have been a part of my spiritual practice for a long time, Gracenin’s energetic choreography helped my body and mind join with the sacred. Water Lily Waits could gift others with a similar experience. Susan Scherr lives in Seattle, Washington, USA, where she is a spiritual companion. She is currently enrolled in The New Seminary Interfaith Ministerial program in New York, New York, USA, and has a photography business specializing in spiritual expressions. She can be reached at susanscherr@comcast.net.