Today's DailyOM Offerings...
June 25, 2010
Can Cladders
High Llamas
2007
Brought together with an eye to creating "music for the community," London-based outfit the High Llamas were meant as an antidote to the weary, downtrodden grunge of the early 1990s. The band, created by singer Sean O'Hagen, along with Jon Fell on bass and drummer Rob Alum and keyboardist-cellist Marcus Holdaway, stuck around through the decades and gradually their warm sound came to involve sunny strings, tinges of Brazilian bossa nova, high-end harmonies, and a crisp mix of guitars and synthesizers, creating a frothy "fun by the seaside on a late afternoon" feeling. One's first thought on listening to Can Cladders might be that Brian Wilson is back; the second might be, "Isn't life grand?" With harps, whistles, violins, and stately guitars, there's a smattering of royal pride, along with the surfside promenading and wistful sea-gazing of the Llamas’ best, sunniest work.
A spry harp, prominent and soaring strings, swinging guitar, and brushed drums all create a gentle beachlike flow. In "Clarion Union Hall," O'Hagen sings of "Town Hall's / poor souls," with strings, electric bass, and a cooing, female doo-wop chorus. In the title song we get a detailed portrait of a drunken poetry reading accompanied by bouncy chimes and strings: "All the can cladders and poets were there / To read through Williams / Just upstairs / Tearing through the pages and swinging the chairs." "Rollin'" has heartfelt invocations of simple greeting ("We say hi to the rivers / We say hi to the rivers and the mountains") with a roller-rink organ creating a mellow feeling, as if Burt Bacharach was doing his early morning grocery run just outside his private California beach house.
O'Hagen's love of gentle, life-affirming melody comes through in songs like his ode to the great, late lady harpist of jazz, "Dorothy Ashby," or in "Sailin’ Bells," which has the feel of a lilting Sgt. Pepper spying from a balloon through grayish clouds on a Rio beach. There's plenty of mood and minor-key currents to make this as morning-gray-sky melancholy as much as sunny-day "towel on the beach" headspace, making it an all-weather vacation. With its mix of harmonies, strings, and retro-futurist organs, Can Cladders is truly timeless; this record could have come out in 1967, 1973, or 1995, and sounded ahead of and just behind its time, pointing toward a concept for which truly sophisticated audiences may just now be realizing they have the potential. Say hi to the rivers and the mountains-tell them the Llamas sent you.
June 25, 2010
Enchanting Others
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may enchant all you meet with your charm today. Perhaps your appeal lies in the beauty of your spirit, which is shining through and wishing to extend happiness to everyone you encounter. Since you might be in close contact with the part of yourself that is pure and joyful, you may consider bringing that sense of beauty to others today. Giving everyone you see a heartfelt smile today is an example of a way in which you not only can captivate other people but also spread joy and goodwill, letting them know that there is someone in this world who cares about them. This is a form of attractiveness that shows off the magnificence of your spirit and can have a lasting and positive impact on those around you.
Using our charisma to create a greater sense of connection with others bathes our world in the light of love. So often we may draw on our appeal to get something from other people, in our jobs or personal lives, which means that instead of giving we are taking from others. Tapping into the appeal of our true nature-our spirit-however, makes us truly attractive for our concern is not receiving something from others but making them feel loved, wanted, and needed. By consciously sending the beauty that is in you to those around you, even through something as simple as a smile, you will use your charms to their fullest today.
June 25, 2010
Stronger Than You Know
Getting Ourselves Worked Up
We are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe ourselves to be.
Our capacity to cope successfully with life's challenges far outstrips our capacity to feel nervousness. Yet in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to an event that we believe will test our limits, we can become nervous. While we may have previously regarded ourselves as equal to the trials that lie ahead, we reach a point at which they near and our anxiety begins to mount. We then become increasingly worked up, until the moment of truth arrives and we discover that our worry was all for nothing. We are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe ourselves to be. But anxiety is not rational in nature, which means that in most cases we cannot work through it using logic as our only tool. Reason can help us recognize the relative futility of unwarranted worry but, more often than not, we will find more comfort in patterns of thought and activity that redirect our attention to practical or engaging matters.
Most of us find it remarkably difficult to focus on two distinct thoughts or emotions at once, and we can use this natural human limitation to our advantage when trying to stay centered in the period leading up to a potentially tricky experience. When we concentrate on something unrelated to our worry-such as deep breathing, visualizations of success, pleasurable pursuits, or exercise-anxiety dissipates naturally. Meditation is also a useful coping mechanism as it provides us with a means to ground ourselves in the moment. Our guides can aid us by providing us with a focal point wholly outside of our own sphere.
The intense emotional flare-up you experience just before you are set to challenge yourself is often a mixture of both excitement and fear. When you take steps to eliminate the fear, you can more fully enjoy the excitement. Though you may find it difficult to avoid getting worked up, your awareness of the forces acting on your feelings will help you return to your center and accept that few hurdles you will face will be as high as they at first appear.
June 25, 2010
Reiki Touch, Yogihead, Ten Things
Gift of the Week
Reiki Touch Home Learning System - Learn the ancient art of Reiki (energy touch) at home at your own pace with our Reiki Touch Home Learning System. This system combines the advantages of video, audio, reference cards and written instructions to provide a comprehensive set of tools for uncovering Reiki's most potent secrets.
View Reiki Touch Home Learning System
Yogihead (CD) - From mastermind film composer Jeff Shiffman comes the cinematic yoga-music project Yogihead. Sparse and minimal, this album creates an uncluttered space that is ideal for relaxation; reflective of the emptiness of mind you would strive for.
Listen To Sound Clips
The Ten Things to Do When Your Life Falls Apart (book) - Kingma's latest is a lifeline for those in the isolating depths of personal tragedy. Its purpose is to hold, to heal, and to listen, and it comes from a very real place. With chapters dedicated to the necessity of tears, the freedom of letting go, and the fulfillment found in simple living, these techniques are all about practicality. This work is about more than just getting by; it directs the reader toward transcendence and peace.
Read Excerpt
For more information visit DailyOM Gift Shop
Can Cladders
High Llamas
2007
Brought together with an eye to creating "music for the community," London-based outfit the High Llamas were meant as an antidote to the weary, downtrodden grunge of the early 1990s. The band, created by singer Sean O'Hagen, along with Jon Fell on bass and drummer Rob Alum and keyboardist-cellist Marcus Holdaway, stuck around through the decades and gradually their warm sound came to involve sunny strings, tinges of Brazilian bossa nova, high-end harmonies, and a crisp mix of guitars and synthesizers, creating a frothy "fun by the seaside on a late afternoon" feeling. One's first thought on listening to Can Cladders might be that Brian Wilson is back; the second might be, "Isn't life grand?" With harps, whistles, violins, and stately guitars, there's a smattering of royal pride, along with the surfside promenading and wistful sea-gazing of the Llamas’ best, sunniest work.
A spry harp, prominent and soaring strings, swinging guitar, and brushed drums all create a gentle beachlike flow. In "Clarion Union Hall," O'Hagen sings of "Town Hall's / poor souls," with strings, electric bass, and a cooing, female doo-wop chorus. In the title song we get a detailed portrait of a drunken poetry reading accompanied by bouncy chimes and strings: "All the can cladders and poets were there / To read through Williams / Just upstairs / Tearing through the pages and swinging the chairs." "Rollin'" has heartfelt invocations of simple greeting ("We say hi to the rivers / We say hi to the rivers and the mountains") with a roller-rink organ creating a mellow feeling, as if Burt Bacharach was doing his early morning grocery run just outside his private California beach house.
O'Hagen's love of gentle, life-affirming melody comes through in songs like his ode to the great, late lady harpist of jazz, "Dorothy Ashby," or in "Sailin’ Bells," which has the feel of a lilting Sgt. Pepper spying from a balloon through grayish clouds on a Rio beach. There's plenty of mood and minor-key currents to make this as morning-gray-sky melancholy as much as sunny-day "towel on the beach" headspace, making it an all-weather vacation. With its mix of harmonies, strings, and retro-futurist organs, Can Cladders is truly timeless; this record could have come out in 1967, 1973, or 1995, and sounded ahead of and just behind its time, pointing toward a concept for which truly sophisticated audiences may just now be realizing they have the potential. Say hi to the rivers and the mountains-tell them the Llamas sent you.
June 25, 2010
Enchanting Others
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may enchant all you meet with your charm today. Perhaps your appeal lies in the beauty of your spirit, which is shining through and wishing to extend happiness to everyone you encounter. Since you might be in close contact with the part of yourself that is pure and joyful, you may consider bringing that sense of beauty to others today. Giving everyone you see a heartfelt smile today is an example of a way in which you not only can captivate other people but also spread joy and goodwill, letting them know that there is someone in this world who cares about them. This is a form of attractiveness that shows off the magnificence of your spirit and can have a lasting and positive impact on those around you.
Using our charisma to create a greater sense of connection with others bathes our world in the light of love. So often we may draw on our appeal to get something from other people, in our jobs or personal lives, which means that instead of giving we are taking from others. Tapping into the appeal of our true nature-our spirit-however, makes us truly attractive for our concern is not receiving something from others but making them feel loved, wanted, and needed. By consciously sending the beauty that is in you to those around you, even through something as simple as a smile, you will use your charms to their fullest today.
June 25, 2010
Stronger Than You Know
Getting Ourselves Worked Up
We are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe ourselves to be.
Our capacity to cope successfully with life's challenges far outstrips our capacity to feel nervousness. Yet in the weeks, days, and hours leading up to an event that we believe will test our limits, we can become nervous. While we may have previously regarded ourselves as equal to the trials that lie ahead, we reach a point at which they near and our anxiety begins to mount. We then become increasingly worked up, until the moment of truth arrives and we discover that our worry was all for nothing. We are almost always stronger and more capable than we believe ourselves to be. But anxiety is not rational in nature, which means that in most cases we cannot work through it using logic as our only tool. Reason can help us recognize the relative futility of unwarranted worry but, more often than not, we will find more comfort in patterns of thought and activity that redirect our attention to practical or engaging matters.
Most of us find it remarkably difficult to focus on two distinct thoughts or emotions at once, and we can use this natural human limitation to our advantage when trying to stay centered in the period leading up to a potentially tricky experience. When we concentrate on something unrelated to our worry-such as deep breathing, visualizations of success, pleasurable pursuits, or exercise-anxiety dissipates naturally. Meditation is also a useful coping mechanism as it provides us with a means to ground ourselves in the moment. Our guides can aid us by providing us with a focal point wholly outside of our own sphere.
The intense emotional flare-up you experience just before you are set to challenge yourself is often a mixture of both excitement and fear. When you take steps to eliminate the fear, you can more fully enjoy the excitement. Though you may find it difficult to avoid getting worked up, your awareness of the forces acting on your feelings will help you return to your center and accept that few hurdles you will face will be as high as they at first appear.
June 25, 2010
Reiki Touch, Yogihead, Ten Things
Gift of the Week
Reiki Touch Home Learning System - Learn the ancient art of Reiki (energy touch) at home at your own pace with our Reiki Touch Home Learning System. This system combines the advantages of video, audio, reference cards and written instructions to provide a comprehensive set of tools for uncovering Reiki's most potent secrets.
View Reiki Touch Home Learning System
Yogihead (CD) - From mastermind film composer Jeff Shiffman comes the cinematic yoga-music project Yogihead. Sparse and minimal, this album creates an uncluttered space that is ideal for relaxation; reflective of the emptiness of mind you would strive for.
Listen To Sound Clips
The Ten Things to Do When Your Life Falls Apart (book) - Kingma's latest is a lifeline for those in the isolating depths of personal tragedy. Its purpose is to hold, to heal, and to listen, and it comes from a very real place. With chapters dedicated to the necessity of tears, the freedom of letting go, and the fulfillment found in simple living, these techniques are all about practicality. This work is about more than just getting by; it directs the reader toward transcendence and peace.
Read Excerpt
For more information visit DailyOM Gift Shop