Today's DailyOM Offerings...
May 22, 2015
Harp Music for Healing
Sarajane Williams
2011
Study after study has scientifically shown that the music of the harp has noted effect when it comes to promoting relaxation and healing. The old image of angels playing them on clouds may be there for a reason. The tones and vibrations soothe the spirit and re-align the body's stressed energy patterns back to their ideal settings, making it ideal for bedside visitations. Picking up on this, many hospitals are arranging bedside harp performances and the results are conclusive -- the harp heals. Sarajane Williams is right on the cusp of this revolution. A practicing musician and psychologist, she uses harp in her therapy. Her Harp Music for Healing is exactly what it says in the title, and its effectiveness cannot be denied.
Williams' specialty is Celtic material, represented here by standards like "The Foggy Dew" and "Star of the County Down." With playing that's relaxed, quietly emotional and slow enough to bring even a fight-or-flight crazed workaholic down for a landing, you can feel your heart rate slowing just listening to Williams' fingers on the strings, the feeling as if a block of ice in your brain has finally melted enough to come sliding down your neck and freeing yourself to think and breathe freely. The lower, heavier notes anchor the glittering high ones in the mind's eye, painting a landscape of wild green hills offsetting deep, bright gray and black storm clouds, jackets whipping in the winds off the water.
You can feel a lessening of distance between your heart and the world's when listening to Sarajane play her magic harp, a closing of the warm space between you and your loved ones, between yourself and whatever ailments or aches you may be feeling and the simple joy of being present for each new glowing note of the harp. Playing Harp Music for Healing at work or while driving may not be a great idea; you may find yourself nodding off to a blissful dreamland or becoming hopelessly lost in reverie and introspection. Keep that in mind and save it for home base and/or your hospitalized loved one's get-well iPod. Consider it a kind of renewable aspirin - its medicinal effect well-proven, its potency never fading with time, its powers nothing short of angelic.
May 22, 2015
Intuitive Confidence
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel strong intuitive hunches about your future today, which could help you gain confidence in your inner guidance. We all have moments of psychic insight, but it is only when we listen to the messages and try to follow them that we can learn to distinguish true intuition from fantasy. Our chances of hearing the messages that come through us increase when we regularly take the time to become still and listen. When we get in touch and spend time within, we become familiar with another level of experiencing the world. Today may be a good time to pay attention to the small voice that guides you, and see if your day improves.
Most of us carry on an inner monologue of things we want to accomplish, pursue, and analyze, among many other things. We may have an inner critic who evaluates our every move, or perhaps we have songs that run through our heads and provide a soundtrack to our day. But we have the power to direct or filter our thoughts, so it is important to learn the difference between the intuitive voice and the inner critic or other voices. We can do this by learning to quiet our mind’s chatter and focus it on silence and pure being. Then, when we open ourselves up to listen, we can tune in to one voice rather than inviting chorus. When we take time to focus on intuitive guidance today, we can follow our psychic hunches to their most perfect conclusions.
May 22, 2015
Avoiding the Center
Hovering Around the Sun
by Madisyn Taylor
Quiet time each day is so important, but many are so out of practice that it’s almost unnerving to be in stillness.
It’s funny to imagine our lives as something we spend a lot of time avoiding, because it seems like that would be impossible to do. Our lives consist of everything we engage in, from showering to sleeping, but also a lot of busy work that distracts us and keeps us from looking at our lives. Experiencing our life from the inside means taking time each day to simply be alone and quiet in the presence of our soul. Many of us are so out of practice that it’s almost unnerving to have a moment to ourselves. As a result, we may have stopped trying to carve out that time to take a seat at the center of our lives.
One of the reasons it can be uncomfortable to sit with ourselves is because when we do, we tend to open ourselves to an inner voice, which might question the way we’re living or some of the choices we’re making. Sometimes the voice reminds us of our secret, inner yearnings, dreams we thought we had forgotten. When we already feel overwhelmed by our busy schedules, the idea of hearing this voice can be exhausting. However, its reflections are the chords that connect us to our authentic selves, and they are the very things that make our lives worth living. When we continually avoid connecting with our life, we risk losing out on the very purpose of our existence.
To begin the process of being more present and less absent in your life, you might want to set aside just a few minutes each day to simply sit with yourself. This doesn't mean watching a movie or reading a book, but taking time each day for self-examination to avoid the avoidance, to be with yourself in an open way. After a while, you may start to enjoy this part of the day so much that you make less busy work for yourself, so that you can spend more time at the center of your own life, rather than hovering like a planet around the sun.
Harp Music for Healing
Sarajane Williams
2011
Study after study has scientifically shown that the music of the harp has noted effect when it comes to promoting relaxation and healing. The old image of angels playing them on clouds may be there for a reason. The tones and vibrations soothe the spirit and re-align the body's stressed energy patterns back to their ideal settings, making it ideal for bedside visitations. Picking up on this, many hospitals are arranging bedside harp performances and the results are conclusive -- the harp heals. Sarajane Williams is right on the cusp of this revolution. A practicing musician and psychologist, she uses harp in her therapy. Her Harp Music for Healing is exactly what it says in the title, and its effectiveness cannot be denied.
Williams' specialty is Celtic material, represented here by standards like "The Foggy Dew" and "Star of the County Down." With playing that's relaxed, quietly emotional and slow enough to bring even a fight-or-flight crazed workaholic down for a landing, you can feel your heart rate slowing just listening to Williams' fingers on the strings, the feeling as if a block of ice in your brain has finally melted enough to come sliding down your neck and freeing yourself to think and breathe freely. The lower, heavier notes anchor the glittering high ones in the mind's eye, painting a landscape of wild green hills offsetting deep, bright gray and black storm clouds, jackets whipping in the winds off the water.
You can feel a lessening of distance between your heart and the world's when listening to Sarajane play her magic harp, a closing of the warm space between you and your loved ones, between yourself and whatever ailments or aches you may be feeling and the simple joy of being present for each new glowing note of the harp. Playing Harp Music for Healing at work or while driving may not be a great idea; you may find yourself nodding off to a blissful dreamland or becoming hopelessly lost in reverie and introspection. Keep that in mind and save it for home base and/or your hospitalized loved one's get-well iPod. Consider it a kind of renewable aspirin - its medicinal effect well-proven, its potency never fading with time, its powers nothing short of angelic.
May 22, 2015
Intuitive Confidence
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel strong intuitive hunches about your future today, which could help you gain confidence in your inner guidance. We all have moments of psychic insight, but it is only when we listen to the messages and try to follow them that we can learn to distinguish true intuition from fantasy. Our chances of hearing the messages that come through us increase when we regularly take the time to become still and listen. When we get in touch and spend time within, we become familiar with another level of experiencing the world. Today may be a good time to pay attention to the small voice that guides you, and see if your day improves.
Most of us carry on an inner monologue of things we want to accomplish, pursue, and analyze, among many other things. We may have an inner critic who evaluates our every move, or perhaps we have songs that run through our heads and provide a soundtrack to our day. But we have the power to direct or filter our thoughts, so it is important to learn the difference between the intuitive voice and the inner critic or other voices. We can do this by learning to quiet our mind’s chatter and focus it on silence and pure being. Then, when we open ourselves up to listen, we can tune in to one voice rather than inviting chorus. When we take time to focus on intuitive guidance today, we can follow our psychic hunches to their most perfect conclusions.
May 22, 2015
Avoiding the Center
Hovering Around the Sun
by Madisyn Taylor
Quiet time each day is so important, but many are so out of practice that it’s almost unnerving to be in stillness.
It’s funny to imagine our lives as something we spend a lot of time avoiding, because it seems like that would be impossible to do. Our lives consist of everything we engage in, from showering to sleeping, but also a lot of busy work that distracts us and keeps us from looking at our lives. Experiencing our life from the inside means taking time each day to simply be alone and quiet in the presence of our soul. Many of us are so out of practice that it’s almost unnerving to have a moment to ourselves. As a result, we may have stopped trying to carve out that time to take a seat at the center of our lives.
One of the reasons it can be uncomfortable to sit with ourselves is because when we do, we tend to open ourselves to an inner voice, which might question the way we’re living or some of the choices we’re making. Sometimes the voice reminds us of our secret, inner yearnings, dreams we thought we had forgotten. When we already feel overwhelmed by our busy schedules, the idea of hearing this voice can be exhausting. However, its reflections are the chords that connect us to our authentic selves, and they are the very things that make our lives worth living. When we continually avoid connecting with our life, we risk losing out on the very purpose of our existence.
To begin the process of being more present and less absent in your life, you might want to set aside just a few minutes each day to simply sit with yourself. This doesn't mean watching a movie or reading a book, but taking time each day for self-examination to avoid the avoidance, to be with yourself in an open way. After a while, you may start to enjoy this part of the day so much that you make less busy work for yourself, so that you can spend more time at the center of your own life, rather than hovering like a planet around the sun.