Today's DailyOM Offerings...
January 8, 2010
Chet Baker Sings
Chet Baker
1956
As photogenic as he was talented, trumpeter and singer Chet Baker’s easygoing style and appeal are exemplary of West Coast swing. Raised in California, he had a minimal amount of formal training in high school but spent the rest of his life playing by ear, in true laid-back, California style. In 1946, when he was only 16, he dropped out of high school to enlist in the army and was sent to Berlin, Germany, where he played trumpet in the 298th Army Band. After being discharged, he bounced back and forth between the military and schooling before committing himself solely to being a musician. Success came easily to him, and he played in the bands of Vido Musso, Stan Getz, and Gerry Mulligan; the latter band folded when its leader was jailed due to drug charges. Like many of his jazz cohorts, Baker wrestled with drug addiction, which he developed in 1950. Though he was incarcerated a few times, it didn’t stop him from singing and recording several albums, touring the U.S. and Eur! ope, and developing a healthy acting career.
His wilder lifestyle led to a fairly erratic recording career; fortunately Chet Baker Sings was released in 1956, before his addiction became a problem, so the listener gets to revel in the young, unmarred voice of Baker. His delivery is smooth, easy, and gilded as he effortlessly croons jazz standards, lovingly enunciating each syllable, making the album a perfect soundtrack for romance on cozier winter evenings. Though recorded for an audience, Baker sings with a personal affect that makes songs like "Someone in Love" seem like a shy introspection sung out loud. In keeping with the song’s musing tone, he laughingly describes the all too familiar side effects of love. The piano gently prods the shy singer, making the song an intimate affair, bound to inspire closeness.
Baker sings one of the most popular renditions of "My Funny Valentine," at once both tender and wistful. His voice lingers affectionately on each word, infused with a half-laugh of wonderment about the perfectly imperfect object of his affection. The album ends with the sprightly "Look for the Silver Lining." Delightfully optimistic, Baker adds an artful touch of restraint with his low and even bell-like tones. Backed by nimble piano and warm dusky percussion that hint at sunshine, despite the cloudiness of his voice, Baker’s vocals dance as he urges his listener to see the sunny side of things, providing a delightful end to a delightful album.
January 8, 2010
Purity of Balance
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may enjoy a charitable mood and feel a desire to help others in need today. You may explore the possibilities for donating your money or material objects to local charities, or you could feel drawn to volunteer your time in meaningful ways. Your desire to help can be a powerful motivator for making a difference in the world, but it could also lead you to a state of burnout if you don’t carefully balance your efforts today. You may find it beneficial to spend some time thinking about your other obligations and gaining a clear idea of the time you have available to devote to others. You could then come up with a schedule or detailed plan that allows you to accomplish all of your objectives.
Creating a healthy balance among the important parts of our lives allows us to be more productive while maintaining a positive state of mind. It is easy to forget that too much of anything can be a bad thing and lead to feelings of burnout, including our efforts to serve others in meaningful ways. Rather than letting our desire to help others overshadow the rest of our lives, we can choose to take a balanced approach to all of our activities and preserve our strength and positive outlook. This allows us to feel more balanced and donate a purer quality of energy to our charitable activities, as well as meet our other obligations with ease. With a balanced approach, you will find it easier to accomplish all of your objectives today.
January 8, 2010
Transforming Anger to Light
Give Your Anger to the Earth
As humans, we all have anger, sometimes more than others. A healthy way of purging our anger from our bodies is to give it to Mother Earth. We can imagine ourselves being grounded as the electrical energy passes from us into Mother Earth below. We can see that energy go straight to the earth’s core where it becomes part of the continuous growth process of our planet and is transformed from negative to positive, from dark to light. When we choose to give our anger to the earth, we trust our connection with the natural world we live in and the great universe that fuels it all. Mother Earth will lovingly transform your anger into light so no need to feel guilty about unloading to her.
We can make this offering of our energy from any location, whether many stories up or on a ship at sea. We know the earth is below us, supporting us and sustaining us. If we have the opportunity to physically connect to the earth by going outdoors and touching unpaved ground, we may find it easier to connect to nature’s energy flow. It may also be easier to receive the flow of positive, calming, healing energy that comes to fill our bodies when we have emptied ourselves of our anger. To begin, sit and breathe deeply, ask Mother Earth to accept your anger, and imagine it coming down your spine out of your tailbone, and into the earth’s deep core. To finish, be sure to honor and thank the earth for her loving service.
When we work with our anger this way, we acknowledge that like everything else it is merely energy that can be used positively or negatively. During our grounding meditation, we may be given direction to channel this energy for its best use. We may find that the earth can help us cleanse misplaced energy to use for its rightful purpose. When we do this with gratitude, we know that we are not misusing the earth for our own selfish purposes. Instead we are connecting ourselves with the energy of our homeland, and when we do this we nurture the earth as it nourishes us.
January 8, 2010
Altar Blessings, Awakening of the Heart, Power of Emotions
Gift Of The Week
Altar Blessings - Altar Blessings can provide much needed comfort and a sense of support by reminding you that divine assistance is always at hand. Larger than our Pocket Blessings, our Altar Blessings can be a welcome addition to your altar or any special place in your home. To use : spend time each day in the presence of your Altar Blessing, surrender your troubles and worries, unburden yourself and know that you are loved.
View Altar Blessings
Awakening of the Heart (CD) - German-born Turiya Hanover promises to help listeners transform "hate and anger to love, bitterness and resentment into compassion" in Awakening of the Heart. The disc is broken up into two tracks; the first finds Hanover guiding a meditation of awakening. She has a pleasantly maternal voice that fuses strength and focus with a playful sense of mildness and calm. Unobtrusive and almost dreamlike in her cadence, it's clear Hanover knows how to reach your innermost ear.
Listen To Sound Clips
The Astonishing Power of Emotions (hardcover book) - This leading-edge book by Esther and Jerry Hicks, who present the teachings of the Non-Physical entity Abraham, will help you understand the emotions that you’ve been experiencing all of your life. Instead of the out-of-control, knee-jerk reactions that most people have to their ever-changing life experience, this work will put those responses into a broader context. You’ll come to understand what emotions are, what each of them means, and how to effectively utilize your new awareness of them.
Read Excerpt
For more information visit DailyOM Gift Shop
Chet Baker Sings
Chet Baker
1956
As photogenic as he was talented, trumpeter and singer Chet Baker’s easygoing style and appeal are exemplary of West Coast swing. Raised in California, he had a minimal amount of formal training in high school but spent the rest of his life playing by ear, in true laid-back, California style. In 1946, when he was only 16, he dropped out of high school to enlist in the army and was sent to Berlin, Germany, where he played trumpet in the 298th Army Band. After being discharged, he bounced back and forth between the military and schooling before committing himself solely to being a musician. Success came easily to him, and he played in the bands of Vido Musso, Stan Getz, and Gerry Mulligan; the latter band folded when its leader was jailed due to drug charges. Like many of his jazz cohorts, Baker wrestled with drug addiction, which he developed in 1950. Though he was incarcerated a few times, it didn’t stop him from singing and recording several albums, touring the U.S. and Eur! ope, and developing a healthy acting career.
His wilder lifestyle led to a fairly erratic recording career; fortunately Chet Baker Sings was released in 1956, before his addiction became a problem, so the listener gets to revel in the young, unmarred voice of Baker. His delivery is smooth, easy, and gilded as he effortlessly croons jazz standards, lovingly enunciating each syllable, making the album a perfect soundtrack for romance on cozier winter evenings. Though recorded for an audience, Baker sings with a personal affect that makes songs like "Someone in Love" seem like a shy introspection sung out loud. In keeping with the song’s musing tone, he laughingly describes the all too familiar side effects of love. The piano gently prods the shy singer, making the song an intimate affair, bound to inspire closeness.
Baker sings one of the most popular renditions of "My Funny Valentine," at once both tender and wistful. His voice lingers affectionately on each word, infused with a half-laugh of wonderment about the perfectly imperfect object of his affection. The album ends with the sprightly "Look for the Silver Lining." Delightfully optimistic, Baker adds an artful touch of restraint with his low and even bell-like tones. Backed by nimble piano and warm dusky percussion that hint at sunshine, despite the cloudiness of his voice, Baker’s vocals dance as he urges his listener to see the sunny side of things, providing a delightful end to a delightful album.
January 8, 2010
Purity of Balance
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may enjoy a charitable mood and feel a desire to help others in need today. You may explore the possibilities for donating your money or material objects to local charities, or you could feel drawn to volunteer your time in meaningful ways. Your desire to help can be a powerful motivator for making a difference in the world, but it could also lead you to a state of burnout if you don’t carefully balance your efforts today. You may find it beneficial to spend some time thinking about your other obligations and gaining a clear idea of the time you have available to devote to others. You could then come up with a schedule or detailed plan that allows you to accomplish all of your objectives.
Creating a healthy balance among the important parts of our lives allows us to be more productive while maintaining a positive state of mind. It is easy to forget that too much of anything can be a bad thing and lead to feelings of burnout, including our efforts to serve others in meaningful ways. Rather than letting our desire to help others overshadow the rest of our lives, we can choose to take a balanced approach to all of our activities and preserve our strength and positive outlook. This allows us to feel more balanced and donate a purer quality of energy to our charitable activities, as well as meet our other obligations with ease. With a balanced approach, you will find it easier to accomplish all of your objectives today.
January 8, 2010
Transforming Anger to Light
Give Your Anger to the Earth
As humans, we all have anger, sometimes more than others. A healthy way of purging our anger from our bodies is to give it to Mother Earth. We can imagine ourselves being grounded as the electrical energy passes from us into Mother Earth below. We can see that energy go straight to the earth’s core where it becomes part of the continuous growth process of our planet and is transformed from negative to positive, from dark to light. When we choose to give our anger to the earth, we trust our connection with the natural world we live in and the great universe that fuels it all. Mother Earth will lovingly transform your anger into light so no need to feel guilty about unloading to her.
We can make this offering of our energy from any location, whether many stories up or on a ship at sea. We know the earth is below us, supporting us and sustaining us. If we have the opportunity to physically connect to the earth by going outdoors and touching unpaved ground, we may find it easier to connect to nature’s energy flow. It may also be easier to receive the flow of positive, calming, healing energy that comes to fill our bodies when we have emptied ourselves of our anger. To begin, sit and breathe deeply, ask Mother Earth to accept your anger, and imagine it coming down your spine out of your tailbone, and into the earth’s deep core. To finish, be sure to honor and thank the earth for her loving service.
When we work with our anger this way, we acknowledge that like everything else it is merely energy that can be used positively or negatively. During our grounding meditation, we may be given direction to channel this energy for its best use. We may find that the earth can help us cleanse misplaced energy to use for its rightful purpose. When we do this with gratitude, we know that we are not misusing the earth for our own selfish purposes. Instead we are connecting ourselves with the energy of our homeland, and when we do this we nurture the earth as it nourishes us.
January 8, 2010
Altar Blessings, Awakening of the Heart, Power of Emotions
Gift Of The Week
Altar Blessings - Altar Blessings can provide much needed comfort and a sense of support by reminding you that divine assistance is always at hand. Larger than our Pocket Blessings, our Altar Blessings can be a welcome addition to your altar or any special place in your home. To use : spend time each day in the presence of your Altar Blessing, surrender your troubles and worries, unburden yourself and know that you are loved.
View Altar Blessings
Awakening of the Heart (CD) - German-born Turiya Hanover promises to help listeners transform "hate and anger to love, bitterness and resentment into compassion" in Awakening of the Heart. The disc is broken up into two tracks; the first finds Hanover guiding a meditation of awakening. She has a pleasantly maternal voice that fuses strength and focus with a playful sense of mildness and calm. Unobtrusive and almost dreamlike in her cadence, it's clear Hanover knows how to reach your innermost ear.
Listen To Sound Clips
The Astonishing Power of Emotions (hardcover book) - This leading-edge book by Esther and Jerry Hicks, who present the teachings of the Non-Physical entity Abraham, will help you understand the emotions that you’ve been experiencing all of your life. Instead of the out-of-control, knee-jerk reactions that most people have to their ever-changing life experience, this work will put those responses into a broader context. You’ll come to understand what emotions are, what each of them means, and how to effectively utilize your new awareness of them.
Read Excerpt
For more information visit DailyOM Gift Shop