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Acts of Kindness
2007-11-30 09:01:00 Leo Babauto, author of Zen Habits wrote a post about acts of kindness (with the goal of bringing people closer together). This is a concept I truly believe in. What prompted him to write was that when he went to the DMV (in Guam where he lives), a woman who works there was particularly helpful and he was so grateful.And yet, when he was talking with his sister Katrina, she said she felt that most people aren't as kind as they used to be. She's noticed that people say "thank you" less often, and don't smile at strangers. They spend less time walking and talking with each other and more time in their cars where they often act rudely. They watch more TV and spend more time on their computers and less time outdoors interacting with others.Leo mentioned that when he thinks of ways for people to establish community and help each other, the image that comes to mind is Amish barn raisings.He is hoping that by offering to do kind things for others (he gave away 50 eBooks to the first 50...
The Mozart Effect
2007-08-06 05:50:00 One of my favorite books on the healing power of music is The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit by Don Campbell. The following are some quotes from this book."In an instant, music can uplift our soul. It awakens within us the spirit of prayer, compassion, and love. It clears our minds and has been known to make us smarter."Music can dance and sing our blues away. It conjures us memories of lost lovers or deceased friends. It lets the child in us play, the monk in us pray, the cowgirl in us line dance, the hero in us surmount all obstacles. It helps the stroke patient find language and expression...""Yet it is more than all those things. It is the sounds of earth and sky, of tides and storms. It is the echo of a train in the distance, the pounding reverberations of a carpenter at work.""From the first cry of life to the last sigh of death, from the beating of our hears to the soaring of our imaginat...
Bipolar Blowin' in the Wind
2007-07-06 09:01:00 As many of you who read my blog with regularity may know, I play a number of instruments. Some, I'm fairly good at; others I play badly.Over the years, I've taken up different instruments during hypomanias. So, I've played the banjo, accordion, ukulele, harmonica, electric guitar, and now the Autoharp (I've got one just like the Chromaharp that's pictured above, which is available from the Harp Doctor in case you're interested).When I was a kid, I played the violin (in the sixth grade), the piano (for a few years in junior high school and I was quite awful) and the guitar for many years (I play fairly well).During prior hypomanias and depressions as well, I've written lyrics to songs I like. Since I mentioned a few days ago how much I like Blowin' in the Wind (by Bob Dylan), I thought I'd share my lyrics. Some of my lyrics are funnier than others. I wrote this one, which is quite sad to me, a few years ago during a long depressive episode.Talkin' To Your Shrink(Sung ... |
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