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Singer-Songwriter Deb Varn shares her inner and outer journeys on “Jasmine’s Colors”

The spiritually rooted collection produced by Joe Taylor drops March 7 and is previewed by the first single, “Break It.”

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (29 JANUARY 2025): Troubadour Deb Varn has done a lot of living through vibrant light and into the depths of darkness, all while embarking on a spiritual quest. Journaling her transformational experiences that include a prolonged cancer battle into songs, she wrote ten tracks for her debut album for Moonwatcher Music, “Jasmine’s Colors,” which drops March 7. Joe Taylor produced, arranged, and played all the instruments in addition to cowriting three tunes with Varn, including the plucky blues rocker “Break It,” the first single that is available now.

Varn said the project was conceived as a spiritual album, but Taylor encouraged her to explore the dark side of her journeys and have the courage to share it with listeners. The tracks swirl Americana, blues, rock, country, folk, and pop while Varn’s storytelling lyrics are personal, brazenly honest, soul baring, and reveal an immensely grateful heart. 

“Deb casts light into dark places, and, because of the path she has walked, she is of service to all those she encounters. She is also a helluva singer,” said Taylor who hosted Varn in his South Carolina recording studio. 

The album opens with the haunting “Pool of Me,” an excursion inspired by a self-awareness class that Varn took.

“I was swimming when I realized that I was swimming in a pool of me. I am the creator of my experience. I am making it all up. I am here to share my gifts, talents, and skills as an awakened being. Love, forgiveness, and being fully present are my guideposts. I get to choose to see the truth behind the masks we all wear and see my brothers and sisters without a shadow of the past. I get to choose how life goes because of my oneness with Spirit. I surrender daily and pray affirmatively in the present tense.”

Varn’s voice possesses a raw emotional vulnerability and life-worn grit, both of which are in evidence on “I Ride the Wave,” a song about the human experience.    

“One of my teachers, Gloria Karpinski, said ‘No sailor goes to sea without first knowing what their boat will do, nor how to adjust the sails. Only a fool thinks they can control the tides and winds.’ Sometimes we must ride the waves and other times we swim across the tide to get to where we want to go. Surrendering is a powerful practice. I learned from Esther Hicks that nothing I want is upstream. God is a mystery. Life has taught me that everything is for me regardless of appearances,” said Varn, an Agape licensed spiritual practitioner and a certified quantum healer. 

In 2017, Varn was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, bone marrow cancer. Her faith and positive outlook served her well throughout that battle, seeding the song “Alright Already.”  

“I was sitting outside a restaurant in LA in a conversation with my practitioner mates. I was talking about my blood work and how the M-Spike that flags abnormal cells in my bone marrow were dropping. One of my friends said, ‘It’s already done, Deb! It’s alright already.’ I put that in my pocket and this song poured forth. It's the affirmative way I live my life. The hopeful and optimistic lyrics are part of my standard operating system,” said Varn who will perform music from the new album on March 8 at the Unitarian Church in Columbia, South Carolina where she lives and at the Soul Center in Irvine, California on March 16.

Varn shares the origins of her sweet childhood nickname on “Little Shadow,” an intimate acoustic ballad.

“My daddy called me little shadow because I was always right behind my momma everywhere she went. She said she loved me before she knew me, that I belonged to God, and that I would be the one to make the family proud.”

The album’s title track comes from a painting made by a five-year-old student when Varn was a teacher. 

“I used to visit the art room every chance I got just to see what the kids were creating. One day, I walked in and there were at least sixty paintings spread around the art room drying. I was drawn to Jasmine’s painting. Her teacher said Jasmine was not following directions when she created it. That made me love it even more. I wrote a song about Jasmine’s painting and played it for Jasmine in front of her class. I told her that she gave me the greatest gift when she gave me her painting because no matter what mood I was in, whenever I saw her painting, it made me happy,” recalled Varn about the painting that now adorns the album cover.

The origin of “Little Soul” emerged from Varn’s studies under Agape founder Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith, who said in one of his talks that no one gets out of here without a Judas kiss, betrayal, being blindsided or brought to our knees.

“I was on the receiving end of a ruthless Judas kiss not long before this track was recorded. I believe it helped me deliver the vocal track that captures the emotional integrity of this song, remembering that I asked for the Judas kiss and that it takes love for someone to do that for another,” shared Varn who performs at Agape spiritual community gatherings, the LGBTQ+ ministry, the Agape East and Enlightened Heart Spiritual Centers.

Varn’s thesis throughout the album comes to the fore on “On My Own,” which she wrote when she was eighteen. “I loved my morning prayer, meditation, and study time. I felt like I was resting in the arms of Jesus. Not long after that I walked away from the church because I did not feel right about what was being taught. The first verse was re-written many years later to reflect the missteps that led me back to my conscious connection to Spirit. Peace is what I found in my relationship with God and never on my own. I was always looking for it outside of myself, in another relationship, another experience not knowing it is always an inside job,” Varn explained.

Varn delves deep into her battles with multiple myeloma on “Faith of a Mustard Seed.” Over seventy percent of her bone marrow was cancerous, and she endured rigorous chemotherapy treatments along with a stem cell transplant. She returned to work as a school principal three months post-transplant, but her compromised immune system did not stand a chance with all that she was exposed to by her students. So, she worked in human resources for a period. Finding the work to be dull, Varn decided to retire in 2018 and return to focusing on music and spirituality. Two years later, shortly after beginning her studies and training at Agape International Spiritual Center, her cancer returned. 

“My oncologist wanted to throw the kitchen sink of chemo at it. Something in my Spirit knew I did not have to do that. So, I envisioned what was seeking to emerge in and through these rising numbers. I realized that I was holding back from life, not knowing how much time I had on the planet. I had to let go of attachment to outcome and lean into trust in a power and presence closer than my breath. I followed my guidance seeking out a holistic medical doctor, homeopathic practitioner, and my Agape practitioner. I worked with my oncologist and still the numbers continued to rise. In August of 2022, I remember saying to myself ‘surely I have the faith of a mustard seed’ and this song poured forth. We are vibrational beings, and I believe the vibration of this song began to heal my body. By the end of August, the M-Spike dropped 33% without any heavy-duty chemo. In September, it dropped another 33%. The M-Spike went back to the nothing-ness from which it came, and I am happy and healthy and holding nothing back from life,” declared Varn.

“Break It” is a song about loving unconditionally despite betrayal.

“What if we really accepted the fact that we create our experience…that we asked for the Judas kiss. We may have been victimized but we are not victims, that everything really does work for our good. I find it brings me peace to focus on what I am grateful for and the good seeking to emerge in my life. I can love someone whole-heartedly and let them go knowing this or something better is well on its way,” said Varn faithfully.

The set closes with the triumphant “What Now?” a life-affirming anthem on which Varn celebrates her second chance at life.

“Being in the moment is a powerful place to be. I get to sing! Whether for others or by myself, it brings me joy. I get to choose to hold nothing back from life, to live full tilt, all in. I realized that right now I am living the dream. That’s why I sing, pray, and dance. I get to let go of my history and embrace life’s mystery right now. The possibilities are limitless. I am still here, ready, and willing to share the gifts I agreed to bring to the planet. Spirit has my yes, and I ask that it unfold with ease, grace, and fun!”

Varn’s “Jasmine’s Colors” album contains the following songs:

“Pool of Me”

“I Ride the Waves”

“Alright Already”

“Little Shadow”

“Jasmine’s Colors”

“Little Soul”

“On My Own”

“Faith of a Mustard Seed”

“Break It”

“What Now?”

For more information, visit https://www.debvarn.com. 

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