Con and Gráinne Murphy, traditional musicians from the heart of Co. Mayo, are drawing on their deep connection to the land to advocate for a more grounded way of living. Here, Con opens up about this journey
Hi Con – you have had many strings to your bow, but in essence you have built a life rooted in connection. Can you explain the work you currently do?
How lovely to share with you as I sit in the old part of our humble little country bungalow in Aghamore at the foot of Mallaí Mhór! Music is an ever-present thing in my life and I share my music weekly with audiences in Mayo and beyond. My main work that I do, however, is based around the world of ‘grounding’ or as some people like to call it ‘earthing’. You can say either! I am the founder and director of my own family business that I share with my wife Gráinne and we trade under the brand name ‘DreamAcres’, which supports individuals that engage with us and the land under their feet to realise and achieve their full purpose, power and potential. We specialise in beautiful and luxury ‘grounding’ products and we also host grounding meditation and visualisation in-person sessions. In these, we guide attendees through practices focused on deep relaxation, rooting down into connection with the earth as we offer rest, relaxation and reconnection to the self and what is truly important in their everyday lives. In essence, we truly want anyone who engages with DreamAcres to feel connected to the land by various means, to understand the healing power of earth connection and grounding and to live more fulfilled lives as a result.
For someone who may not be familiar with it; what exactly is grounding and how does one practice it?
Grounding comes in many forms, I believe but I always focus specifically on three pillars: the mental, the physical and the spiritual. The mental is exactly that, using techniques to quieten the mind and breathe into the belly to bring deeper connection to the root chakra and to get people out of their heads. Research has also shown us that grounding practices such as walking barefoot or lying on grass/the beach regulates our central nervous system. The spiritual element is the meditation; the breath, the reflection on life itself and what does and does not serve our highest good.
When the body is in a grounded state, it functions better, heals faster and regulates more efficiently. Because spending hours a day barefoot outside may not be practical for everyone, we introduced our range of products – such as organic cotton fitted grounding bedsheets embroidered with high quality conductive silver fibres. Those silver threads are connected by a cord to the earth (ground) connection of a wall outlet, creating a passive connection to grounding indoors. We also have grounding luxury blankets, grounding fitness and meditation mats. Our latest product is a travel version of the bed sheet called our ‘Recovery Cocoon’ which is made from the same materials as the organic cotton bed sheets and silver fibres – the difference being it can zip up like a convenient very lightweight sleep cocoon that you can take anywhere in the world no matter your bed size!
You’ve spoken about feeling deeply connected to the landscape around your home in east Mayo, and how the land itself has become central to your daily rituals and wellbeing. Can you take us back to the moment when that relationship with nature shifted from simply where you lived to becoming the foundation of your work?
Oh, I love this question! We are lucky to live in a really beautiful place here surrounded by rolling hills, hawthorn trees, stone walls, rescue donkeys, hares, foxes, pheasants and more. The longer I have lived here, the more energy I have felt from the land simply by walking it, respecting it, not interfering with it and breathing it in. This may all sound a little woo woo, but I have really begun to realise in the past couple of years how deeply nourishing these surroundings are and just how much I need this in my life.
I am a visitor here for a short time in this precious life and the more time I spend here grounding and raising a family, the more deeply connected and grateful I feel to have the opportunity to be hosted in this ancient and very spiritual space. This to me is the essence of mental, physical and spiritual grounding and is the base from which I share with our wider community. There may not have been a particular moment I can pinpoint where it all landed for me, but I have had a couple of unexplainable experiences here that are hard to describe. Energy off the land, things that have happened and that I have witnessed in the early hours of winter mornings that have attuned me more acutely to the fact the land holds a deeper otherworldly energy that can be hard to describe. Rather than question or dismiss it, I flow with it and lean in respectfully and open.
Before fully focusing on DreamAcres, you spent a decade developing and facilitating The Uke & Me Project, creating musical spaces for adults in recovery within Mayo Mental Health Services. Looking back, what did that experience teach you about healing, connection, and the power of shared creativity?
There was a time when I thought this was all I would do in my career or as my professional work as I truly loved it so much, although it was very challenging and emotional at times. As I reflect here, I can see how it impacted me positively and negatively in equal measure. For me, music, like grounding, is healing and it is healing because it is energy that vibrates and weaves a space between humans that taps into a deeper energetic subconscious. It cuts through and deeply into the emotional side of our being and I witnessed incredible breakthroughs for patients I worked with. It could be a simple song, piece of music or conversation around a piece of music that bound us socially, spiritually and mentally.
I have often said that some day I will write a book about this work and my experiences as a tribute to the privilege of a lifetime supporting individuals in their toughest and darkest moments through the provision of the magic of music. It has made me realise how important creative and alternative healing is in mental health and sadly how under-resourced these interventions are. To facilitate and hold spaces of shared creativity and exploration through song-writing and music and to support so many individuals to achieve and reach outcomes they may not have realised they were capable of is one of the warmest greatest experiences of my life. Not only did it have a huge impact on patients and clients but also the broader teams of staff and families of those whom we supported.
When I left the HSE, I vacated a position that I gave my heart and soul to for ten years, based on a model of Social Music Therapy, the foundations of which were underpinned by my background in Social Care and Sociology study. Despite the demand for my services and the various requests for support to grow this model and take on additional staff to help it reach more people and demand – this did not happen and ultimately it burnt me out. Grounding and DreamAcres became a necessity for me over the past couple of years for my own balance, healing and growth which I now dedicate my life to full-time. This, you could say, is how I continue to support people far and wide with their mental health as better sleep, inflammation reduction, recovery, deeper relaxation and nervous system balance is a new type of healing harmony we bring to homes all over Ireland and that fills my heart with such joy. To think that this initiative and investment is having such a positive impact on so many lives is simply an extension of my social music therapy work over the past decade in a different form.
As mentioned, whether through music, community work, or grounding practices, there seems to be a recurring theme of helping people reconnect; with themselves, with others, and with the world around them. What is the deeper purpose that connects everything you do?
I absolutely love helping people and to see people doing well. I am a cheerleader of others and love to see people reach their full potential. I have a deep desire to help others as I have been helped so many times in my life up to this point and believe in the ‘pass-it-on’ mantra of life. The positive type of passing it on. I also want to be a great role model for my children and to model for them what striving to be the best version of themselves looks like whilst keeping an eye over their shoulder to see who they can help along the way. I also do not take life for granted and see it as a precious gift. Like many who will read this article – tragedy has hit my life too, losing my sister very suddenly and very close friends to accident and illness, so I do my best to not waste this life, to honour them and to build things that not only enhance the life of my family but whoever the ripples reach when doing so also.
Many people today speak about feeling disconnected; whether from nature, community, or even themselves. Through your work, you’ve witnessed first-hand the powerful impact of slowing down. What do you think we’ve forgotten, and how can we begin to find our way back?
Transparently, in my earlier years I never really thought deeply about what community meant. Connection was normal as distractions were not as addictive or, well, distracting! I took for granted I would always have my parents and my siblings just there every day and all my good friends in my circle whenever I needed them. It was when I lost my best friend at 21 and in turn went to Tanzania on a volunteer trip to work in a disadvantaged community that it hit me between the eyes. Community is survival, we just don’t see it the same way at home. For me, DreamAcres is nothing if it doesn’t build a community. This isn’t easy in a world of low attention spans, swipe left and right, skip this and no time for that mass consumerism – but I have a strong faith that those who want to learn about grounding and slowing down will find us.
I believe there is a shift at present in the psyche where here in Ireland, for example, we are actively seeking out connection to things we believe in and Irish brands and people who represent something accessible, real and honest in a world of fake news and AI. I think we have forgotten to connect to nature and mother earth in the holistic sense but through the evolution of DreamAcres I have by default become aware of and connected to amazing people doing amazing work around organic and regenerative farming, holistic healing, breathwork, bioenergy and more.
I do feel we have lost a sacred space in the family unit where we can disconnect from the outside world when we are in company of our immediate loved ones, and this has changed the family dynamic. Finding the sweet spot is so important, and as a dad of two little boys, it does worry me. We can find our way back through some of the things I have mentioned here… Grounding of course, community connections, respect for the land, sacred space at home and with our friends technology free, breathwork, meditation and reflection.
Music – as we’ve established is something you are passionate about – is something that can speak directly to our souls. Are there any particular artists or pieces that have special meaning for you?
Sharing music live with my wife Gráinne, particularly songs we have composed and constructed together fills me with a joy and magic I can’t explain. It was always a dream of mine to create and release original music so to have my wife by my side and mother of our children is a very powerful experience for me personally. I have so many favourite artists, styles and songs it is hard to pinpoint. In recent times however I am very moved by the work of local Mayo harpist Alannah Thornburgh and her ‘Shapeshifter’ album – purely because of the ancient stories and energies that led her to compose each piece. It feels like a sacred dance with Celtic tradition on the most beautiful instrument so it speaks to me when I listen to it. Her music would be the most used backing tracks on reels I make for DreamAcres also.
Interestingly, we played a show with Alannah and during rehearsals at our house, a hare came to the door in broad daylight as if to have a nose and a listen or perhaps it was called from the otherworld. It was said in ancient times in Ireland that the hare was a shapeshifter that would turn into a woman in a white dress. Hence her album title, and maybe hence the visit! ‘Otherworld’ as a track is one I am very proud of and the title track of my debut album in 2022. It is very much a calling to the sacred dance of the other side, a love story of the intertwining of this world and that one which we may feel but cannot see – unless it’s a hare that shows up at your door in broad daylight!
In a world that often celebrates constant busyness, how do you stay grounded yourself?
This is the ultimate question! Some days I think I know the answer, sometimes I am not sure. It really is a balancing act as it really is a lot. Performing keeps me grounded as I am in that mode for a couple of hours and not thinking about anything but the music. Learning to say no and allowing myself to take time out is something I am getting better at although it takes real discipline. Putting the phone in a different room, sleeping grounded, walking barefoot outside and in the past year introducing breathwork has been huge for me also to reconnect, centre and detox the mind. I find this incredibly affirming and centering. Journaling is something I really recommend and I do this when I can – and not being afraid to just be, just be and sit in silence. Allow the ‘to do’ lists to span over a few days.
I also have a deep spirituality and prayer is something I enjoy, the mantra and repetition makes me feel connected to a higher guiding force from above whilst grounding from below, if that makes sense? I’m also learning to not take life too seriously and make sure to surround myself with people who make me feel good.
An important addition here is to also mention that since March, I have been partaking in a Men’s Leadership Program designed and held by a chap called Niall Graham and his assistants, all men. I love the power of this work, exploring the deepest parts of what it means to be a man, a father, a husband, a link in an ancestral chain of men, and to explore how I want to show up as a man in this world. The powerful sacred dance between the masculine and the feminine. This work has really kept me focussed and aligned as I continue to grow my DreamAcres community and wellness business.
Find out more on DreamAcres here
