November 4, 2009
Muses of Aqua
Luminous World Orchestra
2009
Film-score composer Steven Chesne created the Luminous World Orchestra in order to merge the music of meditation and yoga with the sweeping, emotional, grand orchestral music he creates at his day job. The results on the LWO's debut, Deva, were astounding, and for their sophomore follow-up they do not disappoint, taking the same approach and going even deeper into the zone where mysticism and classicism combine and form new beautiful, new visions in the clearing mist. Utilizing orchestra music's potential for conjuring emotional responses, and with an ear for transcendence and beauty, the Luminous World Orchestra hums with inspired late-night brilliance. It’s the perfect soundtrack for meditations the night after a session of deep massage or acupuncture, when toxins and long-repressed emotions come suddenly pouring out in gushes of tears and grateful sighing.
Such a key moment is heard early on in the gorgeous "Grassland," which hovers in a field with beautiful woodwinds that sound slow and dreamy in an elegiac meditation over deep, supportive strings. A single flute rises softly above the rest for the high-end plaintive note before surrendering the center back to the strings, which roll over it all in a forgiving, cleansing sweep. "Beautiful Release" explores the Asian environment with the exotic erhu violin and chunky bells and harps rummaging amidst the strings supporting the crying erhu.
The mood of wistful sad reverie continues beautifully with the hypnotic mournfulness of "Twilight Flight," which lives up to its name. It’s a flight seeming to be going home from visiting a beautiful place and perhaps leaving the love of your life behind, with moody, deep string passages underwriting cycling acoustic guitar and, finally, uplifting flutes. Emotional and deeply satisfying on all levels, Muses of Aqua lives up to its exotic title, creating something at once both dizzyingly beautiful and hypnotic, all without ever being over the top or commanding attention with sharp, jagged atonal edges or sappy interludes. The Luminous World Orchestra is something you can play for your cool friends who blanche at more "earnest" New Age music, creating instead an ideal mood for writing long, sad letters to faraway lovers, or just gazing out the window on a cloudy day, as well as for meditation or healing work. With the LWO, there's no difference between art and illuminat! ion, and even the depths of the sea can feel your love in their soft, pulsing waves.
November 4, 2009
Basking in Self-Love
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel loved and accepted today. You may find yourself seeking comfort and acknowledgment from loved ones and experience a sense of connection and belonging. You can also choose to strengthen your sense of self-love by pursuing activities that make you happy. Engaging in a self-love meditation to infuse yourself with feelings of happiness could also prove helpful. Simply set aside time to be alone, release all of your worries, and call up feelings of love from your heart’s center. Visualize yourself as safe, happy, loved, and content, and allow these feelings to spread through your entire being. Spend as much time today as you wish basking in these feelings, and keep them with you as you proceed with the rest of your day.
Fostering a strong sense of self-love gives us a feeling of joy and contentment that enhances our every experience. As we focus on loving ourselves and engaging in activities that make us happy, we lend powerful energy to our personal development and strengthen the connection to our higher selves. We then benefit from a deeper awareness of our existence, and we are able to connect more deeply with others and engage more fully in every moment. This lends a deeper sense of richness and contentment to every aspect of our lives. By devoting time to making yourself feel loved and happy today, you will lend more meaning and joy to every moment.
November 4, 2009
Creating Connections While Apart
Family Ceremonies
Life's journeys may sometimes take us away from our families and friends, but there are many ways to stay connected. Aside from making use of the technology available-speaking on the phone or seeing each other from across cyberspace-we can create simple ceremonies using nature and our own thoughts to connect our hearts across the miles.
The first step in creating your ceremony is to look to nature for similarities in the different surroundings. The second step is agreeing upon something that is meaningful to all involved. If your mother loves birds, then perhaps each time you hear a bird chirp, you can think of her and mentally send love. You may choose the sight of a butterfly, the feel of a breeze or raindrops, or the scent of flowers to remind you of a special someone. The pink glow of sunset might be your favorite time to send a thought, or perhaps the warming oranges of sunrise. We can all see the sun, the moon, and an array of twinkling stars when we look to the skies. The monthly full moon may be your time to connect with your loved ones, or the first star you see each night, knowing that they, too, are gazing into the night sky and sending love. You could choose a day that you would usually celebrate together, such as a holiday or a solstice. If you once shared Sunday brunches in the garden, you can! each seek out a garden on Sundays. Or you can choose a specific time and account for the time difference in order to connect by heart and mind at exactly the same moment.
With practice, we may learn to recognize the feeling that comes when a loved one sends energy our way, and the feeling of soul-to-soul communication. In this case, distance may indeed make our connections stronger. There is certainly much to make us think of our close friends and loved ones often, but when we decide upon a reminder together, we create a simple ceremony of connection that defies any distance.