Today's DailyOM Offerings...
July 6, 2011
Brain Massage
Kelly Howell
2003
Kelly Howell is a sound wave healing pioneer with an ear for reuniting the disparate right and left hemispheres of the brain for optimum mental functioning. When she sets her sights on something as relatively simple as deep sensory relaxation, you can bet she'll nail it, as she does with Brain Massage: Revitalize Mind and Body. As a male voiceover on the CD notes: "To experience the benefits of this extraordinary technology, stereo headphones are required." So get this album on your iPod or in some form for easy access with headphones, and prepare to shed your stress and tension and bask in the absolving frequencies of Howell.
With the goal of opening and relaxing the mind until all stress and toxins are melted away through a combination of delta, beta, and gamma waves, Howell's Brain Massage works efficiently and simply over the course of two tracks. The first is music; drones and chords dissolving in rainbow-colored showers, and beta (alert, relaxed listening) delta (healing, detached awareness), and gamma waves (inspiration, focus) that throb like a seesawing wave of energy between your ears. As drone music and gentle sine wave-activating synth chords cohere, you'll feel like someone is washing your hair even as you lie half-asleep in bed.
The second track offers a half-hour of natural ambiance: a running brook and distant wind through the trees, through which the throbbing of the sound waves acts as an "open, sesame" call to the gates of your inner cave's treasure. It’s the core of the unconscious, where deep relaxation is hard to reach, and if this occurs you just made a very powerful friend. Kelly Howell has made a lifelong study of how to best bring about mental changes and growth in the human brain via sound waves and vibrations, and in Brain Massage she delivers the goods and then some. While not recommended for driving or operating heavy machinery, Brain Massage is perfect for deep at-home meditation, naps, certain forms of yoga, and simply detoxing after a hard day, in your favorite chair or on your meditation cushion, with a pair of headphones.
July 6, 2011
Respect And Be Open
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
Your sense of integrity could make you more open-minded in your professional interactions today. Perhaps you realize that by being respectful and tolerant of differing ideas you can achieve more when working with others. Making an effort to navigate between all sides of an issue and finding mutually agreeable solutions to problems could help you be even more effective in your dealings. Should you find that you have to deal with conflicting ideas in some form today, you can think about the needs and wants of everyone involved. Putting your ideas down on paper through a diagram or chart might be a way for you to see the different factors involved and maybe even a way to come up with a creative solution. You may find that being nonjudgmental and broad-minded could not only help you to act honestly but can also assist you in finding what works best for everyone.
When we are receptive to everybody’s ideas, win-win outcomes are more possible. Even though it can be challenging to meet the needs of all the people we interact with, if we truly take the time to understand their ideas and then try to integrate them with our own ideas, we will more readily gain their respect. Having this mutual regard for each other will make it easier for our team to accomplish its goals. By being open and showing respect in a professional capacity today, your interactions will not only be more positive but also more productive.
July 6, 2011
The Music of This World
Natural Sounds Meditation
Meditating with the natural sounds of nature will help you connect to something larger than yourself.
The tool most commonly used to focus our minds in meditation is the breath. When we sit down to meditate, drawing our attention inward counteracts our habitual tendency to be scattered. Meditation on the breath helps us gather our energy into our bodies, centering and grounding us in the present moment. Almost as readily available as our breath are the sounds of the natural world. From rain to wind to the ocean and birds, meditating on these aural manifestations brings us not only a sense of peace, but also an experience of connection to the physical world.
It is easy to get stuck inside our own heads and our individual lives. We get caught up in our goals and plans and almost forget that we live in a world that is always there, humming away in the background. There is an internal shift that occurs when we tune into that background and really give it our attention. It’s as if we are discovering a more expansive world, because we are. We are also experiencing ourselves in relation to something larger. This discovery makes us feel rejuvenated and more expansive.
The vast and ceaselessly churning ocean is an ideal place for meditating on the sounds of nature. Sit quietly and surrender to the sounds of the thundering, crashing waves. Let go of your ambitions and listen. Rivers and lakes also sing their own songs. Even if you live in the middle of a city, the wind howls and whistles and the rain taps out a variety of sounds depending on where it falls-on the sidewalk, a tin roof, a car window, or a muddy slope. Tune into these sounds next time you hear them instead of letting them fade into the background. Stop and listen as if you are hearing a sublime piece of music. Let the music of this world take you on a journey of natural sounds.
Brain Massage
Kelly Howell
2003
Kelly Howell is a sound wave healing pioneer with an ear for reuniting the disparate right and left hemispheres of the brain for optimum mental functioning. When she sets her sights on something as relatively simple as deep sensory relaxation, you can bet she'll nail it, as she does with Brain Massage: Revitalize Mind and Body. As a male voiceover on the CD notes: "To experience the benefits of this extraordinary technology, stereo headphones are required." So get this album on your iPod or in some form for easy access with headphones, and prepare to shed your stress and tension and bask in the absolving frequencies of Howell.
With the goal of opening and relaxing the mind until all stress and toxins are melted away through a combination of delta, beta, and gamma waves, Howell's Brain Massage works efficiently and simply over the course of two tracks. The first is music; drones and chords dissolving in rainbow-colored showers, and beta (alert, relaxed listening) delta (healing, detached awareness), and gamma waves (inspiration, focus) that throb like a seesawing wave of energy between your ears. As drone music and gentle sine wave-activating synth chords cohere, you'll feel like someone is washing your hair even as you lie half-asleep in bed.
The second track offers a half-hour of natural ambiance: a running brook and distant wind through the trees, through which the throbbing of the sound waves acts as an "open, sesame" call to the gates of your inner cave's treasure. It’s the core of the unconscious, where deep relaxation is hard to reach, and if this occurs you just made a very powerful friend. Kelly Howell has made a lifelong study of how to best bring about mental changes and growth in the human brain via sound waves and vibrations, and in Brain Massage she delivers the goods and then some. While not recommended for driving or operating heavy machinery, Brain Massage is perfect for deep at-home meditation, naps, certain forms of yoga, and simply detoxing after a hard day, in your favorite chair or on your meditation cushion, with a pair of headphones.
July 6, 2011
Respect And Be Open
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
Your sense of integrity could make you more open-minded in your professional interactions today. Perhaps you realize that by being respectful and tolerant of differing ideas you can achieve more when working with others. Making an effort to navigate between all sides of an issue and finding mutually agreeable solutions to problems could help you be even more effective in your dealings. Should you find that you have to deal with conflicting ideas in some form today, you can think about the needs and wants of everyone involved. Putting your ideas down on paper through a diagram or chart might be a way for you to see the different factors involved and maybe even a way to come up with a creative solution. You may find that being nonjudgmental and broad-minded could not only help you to act honestly but can also assist you in finding what works best for everyone.
When we are receptive to everybody’s ideas, win-win outcomes are more possible. Even though it can be challenging to meet the needs of all the people we interact with, if we truly take the time to understand their ideas and then try to integrate them with our own ideas, we will more readily gain their respect. Having this mutual regard for each other will make it easier for our team to accomplish its goals. By being open and showing respect in a professional capacity today, your interactions will not only be more positive but also more productive.
July 6, 2011
The Music of This World
Natural Sounds Meditation
Meditating with the natural sounds of nature will help you connect to something larger than yourself.
The tool most commonly used to focus our minds in meditation is the breath. When we sit down to meditate, drawing our attention inward counteracts our habitual tendency to be scattered. Meditation on the breath helps us gather our energy into our bodies, centering and grounding us in the present moment. Almost as readily available as our breath are the sounds of the natural world. From rain to wind to the ocean and birds, meditating on these aural manifestations brings us not only a sense of peace, but also an experience of connection to the physical world.
It is easy to get stuck inside our own heads and our individual lives. We get caught up in our goals and plans and almost forget that we live in a world that is always there, humming away in the background. There is an internal shift that occurs when we tune into that background and really give it our attention. It’s as if we are discovering a more expansive world, because we are. We are also experiencing ourselves in relation to something larger. This discovery makes us feel rejuvenated and more expansive.
The vast and ceaselessly churning ocean is an ideal place for meditating on the sounds of nature. Sit quietly and surrender to the sounds of the thundering, crashing waves. Let go of your ambitions and listen. Rivers and lakes also sing their own songs. Even if you live in the middle of a city, the wind howls and whistles and the rain taps out a variety of sounds depending on where it falls-on the sidewalk, a tin roof, a car window, or a muddy slope. Tune into these sounds next time you hear them instead of letting them fade into the background. Stop and listen as if you are hearing a sublime piece of music. Let the music of this world take you on a journey of natural sounds.