I know I'd said months ago (maybe even half a year ago) that I'd soon be releasing the popular Meditation Getaways guided meditation series as a line of retail downloads. Well, I'm proud to say that they are here! Take a look at the latest version of the Moodstreams product catalog.
For those who are hearing about Meditation Getaways for the first time, here's the scoop: In early 2009, I launched a free podcast series of guided meditations that were all about exercising the imagination and developing creativity. They featured Moodstreams nature sounds as background ambience, while my voice guided listeners on these "adventures of the mind" to various remote locations in the imagination, and it gave us all a chance to practice thinking abstractly in order to bring balance to our lives in a society where analysis and critical thinking are becoming increasingly dominant. The Meditation Getaways became very popular thanks to iTunes and other podcasting services, and there was a demand for me to keep making more of them. I released 8 meditations throughout the course of the year, after which I felt it necessary to take a break from them for a while, and decide where I might go with them next or whether I had already accomplished everything that I could accomplish with the series and that was it.
During this break, the podcast series continued to gain in popularity, and I decided that I should just incorporate them into the retail part of my business. As proud as I was of the podcast, they were still very "podcasty" in nature, in the sense that every single episode had a long introduction where I would say who I was, what I did, the name of my business, the website people should go to, the purpose of the meditation series, etc. etc. In other words, it was full of ads and promotion for myself, because that's how you keep things free while running a business. So faithful listeners who used the meditations frequently had to wade through this long introduction to get to the "meat" of the meditation. Some listeners expressed their annoyance over this!
So, for starters, I simply decided to re-release the entire series of 8 meditations as a collection of high-quality retail MP3 products. The new Meditation Getaways, which are available now on Moodstreams.com, are recorded and issued in the same outstanding audio quality as the Moodstreams nature sounds (instead of inferior podcast-quality audio), and have no ads or promotion. When you press "play", you hear me say the name of the meditation, and then I start guiding you into the meditation right away. They're available for the low price of $5.99 per individual meditation, or $19.99 for the complete collection of 8. Each meditation is between 14 and 20 minutes long. If you get all 8, you get well over 2 hours of meditations. Not bad for 20 bucks!
From now on, when I record a new episode of Meditation Getaways, it will simply be added to the retail line. The podcast continues to exist, but I won't be adding any new episodes to it for now, although I may occasionally add audio recordings of simple breathing exercises and relaxation exercises.
So if you are intrigued by the concept of Meditation Getaways, or are already a listener of the podcast who is sick of fast-forwarding through my shameless self promotion, you might want to give the retail series a look!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Paul Nguyen, Certified Placebo Practitioner
These days, more and more people are looking for natural ways to take care of everyday problems, from the common cold, to obesity, to arthritic pain, and beyond. Yet, many people are still looking for the "hard data" that proves that these natural remedies really work, because we are a statistics-obsessed culture that needs to see graphs and hear what the sample size is and what the standard deviation is, and so on and so forth. And we need to know exactly WHY a certain cure does what it does. According to this recent health article in MSNBC, the only reason you need to know for why most alternative methods are effective is a simple one: We believe in them.
It's the good ol' placebo effect, people, and we've known about it for a long, long time. When people simply expect that they are receiving a treatment, they tend to get better. According to scientists, the placebo effect accounts for about a third of the benefits of any treatment, and that includes the rigorously tested medicines produced by the pharmaceutical industry.
Fortunately for me as a hypnotherapist, I'm able to make an entire career out of the placebo effect, and not only do I have no shame about that, but it is the exact reason why people come to see me. The placebo effect accounts for ALL of the benefit a person receives from hypnosis. Here's how: By the time a client has dialed my number, they are already aware that the problem is in their mind, and, therefore, so is the solution. If a client believes wholeheartedly that they will succeed with the help of hypnosis, then my job is bascially already done, and a successful outcome for that client is all but assured. And as a session concludes, if a person truly believes that the problem in their subconscious mind has been eliminated, then, in fact, it has been. Thank you very much, you may pay with cash, check, or credit card, and make all checks payable to either Moodstreams, or Paul Nguyen, Certified Consulting Hypnotist.
Is that a bad thing? I, of course, would say it's not. A client is paying for a solution to a problem, and I give them that. Money tendered for services rendered. Yet there are a few people out there who might still see themselves as being "cheated" if whatever benefit they were receiving from a treatment - whether it be acupuncture, a prescribed pill, an herb, or hypnosis - was actually coming simply from their own positive expectation. They'd like to know that those needles poking into their feet were ACTUALLY doing something, and that the bitter decoction of herbs that they have to drink daily was ACTUALLY rearranging their body chemistry somehow.
Well, the reality of it is, an element of belief exists in the effectiveness of EVERY therapy since the dawn of mankind (and maybe the dawn of animalkind), regardless of what form it takes, or how that therapy is advertised to work. I would say that hypnosis is at one extreme of that, while pharmaceutical drugs are at the other extreme. See, hypnosis deals with the human perception of things, which everyone can admit is entirely subjective, and consequently so is the therapy. And drugs tend to treat more measurable characteristics like cholesterol or pain, but also treat subjective conditions like pain or anxiety. Drugs have also happened to be the most rigorously tested of all the treatments on this continuum over the years, and here is where people started to acknowledge the power of human belief, as in many of these tests, people given dummy pills frequently experienced the same effects as people given the real drug, as long as everyone was told what benefits to expect. The article goes into greater detail about how this might work.
So, if even "hard science" has shown that human expectation plays a role in recovery regardless of what the treatment is, isn't it time we all started to embrace Placebo Power? And isn't it time we started to measure the total effectiveness of a remedy (which includes the power of belief), instead of measuring the effect of the remedy versus the placebo?
In the end, who really cares how you're getting better, as long as you do get better, right?
If you think about it in those terms, that actually makes hypnosis the most honest profession of all! We tell you the benefit is all in your head, and that's exactly what you get. No need to wonder if it's the pills, the needles, the herbs, or your mind that's doing all the work. So with that in mind, who's next in line to have a big fat dose of nothing?
It's the good ol' placebo effect, people, and we've known about it for a long, long time. When people simply expect that they are receiving a treatment, they tend to get better. According to scientists, the placebo effect accounts for about a third of the benefits of any treatment, and that includes the rigorously tested medicines produced by the pharmaceutical industry.
Fortunately for me as a hypnotherapist, I'm able to make an entire career out of the placebo effect, and not only do I have no shame about that, but it is the exact reason why people come to see me. The placebo effect accounts for ALL of the benefit a person receives from hypnosis. Here's how: By the time a client has dialed my number, they are already aware that the problem is in their mind, and, therefore, so is the solution. If a client believes wholeheartedly that they will succeed with the help of hypnosis, then my job is bascially already done, and a successful outcome for that client is all but assured. And as a session concludes, if a person truly believes that the problem in their subconscious mind has been eliminated, then, in fact, it has been. Thank you very much, you may pay with cash, check, or credit card, and make all checks payable to either Moodstreams, or Paul Nguyen, Certified Consulting Hypnotist.
Is that a bad thing? I, of course, would say it's not. A client is paying for a solution to a problem, and I give them that. Money tendered for services rendered. Yet there are a few people out there who might still see themselves as being "cheated" if whatever benefit they were receiving from a treatment - whether it be acupuncture, a prescribed pill, an herb, or hypnosis - was actually coming simply from their own positive expectation. They'd like to know that those needles poking into their feet were ACTUALLY doing something, and that the bitter decoction of herbs that they have to drink daily was ACTUALLY rearranging their body chemistry somehow.
Well, the reality of it is, an element of belief exists in the effectiveness of EVERY therapy since the dawn of mankind (and maybe the dawn of animalkind), regardless of what form it takes, or how that therapy is advertised to work. I would say that hypnosis is at one extreme of that, while pharmaceutical drugs are at the other extreme. See, hypnosis deals with the human perception of things, which everyone can admit is entirely subjective, and consequently so is the therapy. And drugs tend to treat more measurable characteristics like cholesterol or pain, but also treat subjective conditions like pain or anxiety. Drugs have also happened to be the most rigorously tested of all the treatments on this continuum over the years, and here is where people started to acknowledge the power of human belief, as in many of these tests, people given dummy pills frequently experienced the same effects as people given the real drug, as long as everyone was told what benefits to expect. The article goes into greater detail about how this might work.
So, if even "hard science" has shown that human expectation plays a role in recovery regardless of what the treatment is, isn't it time we all started to embrace Placebo Power? And isn't it time we started to measure the total effectiveness of a remedy (which includes the power of belief), instead of measuring the effect of the remedy versus the placebo?
In the end, who really cares how you're getting better, as long as you do get better, right?
If you think about it in those terms, that actually makes hypnosis the most honest profession of all! We tell you the benefit is all in your head, and that's exactly what you get. No need to wonder if it's the pills, the needles, the herbs, or your mind that's doing all the work. So with that in mind, who's next in line to have a big fat dose of nothing?
Monday, November 2, 2009
Let Nature Nurture You
This is the news we've (I've) been waiting for: Researchers (who may even have actual PhDs) have shown in a series of experiments that living in a natural environment "makes us nicer"! An article in MSNBC summarizes the findings.
While none of this is actual "news" to most of us, some folks wouldn't believe it unless some chunk of our tax dollars had been dedicated to proving this simple point. Just like that study that showed that abused children tended to do worse in school. Duh!
Previous studies already showed that incorporating elements of nature into our lives improved mental performance, vitality, physical healing, and reduced stress. The present studies extend beyond that and demonstrate that nature "brings out more social feelings, more value for community and close relationships. People are more caring when they’re around nature."
In one study, participants were shown a computer screen with either city images or natural landscapes. In another study, participants were allowed to work in a room either with or without houseplants. In all of these cases, the people who were exposed to natural elements rated relationships and community as more important than they had prior to the beginning of the experiments. And people who were exposed to artificial elements were more likely to value selfish goals such as money and prestige.
Researchers say that the difference lies not in being surrounded by natural elements in our lives, but in actually paying attention to them.
So there you have it: Evidence that listening to Moodstreams soundtracks can actually make you a better person. So download away. Download away.
While none of this is actual "news" to most of us, some folks wouldn't believe it unless some chunk of our tax dollars had been dedicated to proving this simple point. Just like that study that showed that abused children tended to do worse in school. Duh!
Previous studies already showed that incorporating elements of nature into our lives improved mental performance, vitality, physical healing, and reduced stress. The present studies extend beyond that and demonstrate that nature "brings out more social feelings, more value for community and close relationships. People are more caring when they’re around nature."
In one study, participants were shown a computer screen with either city images or natural landscapes. In another study, participants were allowed to work in a room either with or without houseplants. In all of these cases, the people who were exposed to natural elements rated relationships and community as more important than they had prior to the beginning of the experiments. And people who were exposed to artificial elements were more likely to value selfish goals such as money and prestige.
Researchers say that the difference lies not in being surrounded by natural elements in our lives, but in actually paying attention to them.
So there you have it: Evidence that listening to Moodstreams soundtracks can actually make you a better person. So download away. Download away.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sorta like meditation, but not really... but yes it's meditation...maybe
The author of this article I came across calls it "a basic exercise that will help you learn about the process of thinking". It's a technique whereby you simply be aware of your thoughts for ten minutes, becoming a passive observer of your own mental processes. To me, it sounds a lot like meditation, but nowhere in the text does the author mention the M word. I thought I'd share the link with you, because it sounds like it fits in with what I suggest to all my clients.
I am a big proponent of incorporating awareness and relaxation techniques into your day, no matter how busy you may think you are. Often times people get busy, they get overwhelmed, they feel miserable, they get irritated by everything, they hate their lives, and only THEN do they decide that it's time to pull back a bit and find a way to relax. By then, they've long since forgotten what it feels like to be relaxed, and so they fall back into their same old self-destructive ruts of allowing themselves to be overwhelemed. It feels normal, it feels right, it brings sympathy from others, and it seems "noble" to be be busy all the time, because they're making "sacrifices".
If this sounds like you, then the time to break the cycle is now. See, people all too often try to relax reactively, meaning they wait until they feel ovewhelmed before they put in any effort to slow their lives down. I suggest something different and decidedly un-American: Relax and reflect proactively. In other words, don't wait until it's too late; relax early and often, before things start to build up in your life.
The idea here is that you prepare for what happens in your life, so that you don't have to escape from it. Make sure you are prepared for whatever comes your way, knowing how you will handle every single situation, and then nothing will throw you off-kilter.
Do this: Start every single day with 20 minutes of quiet reflection, relaxation and/or meditation. Take the time to go over the various scenarios you will encounter and some that you may or may not encounter. Tell yourself you will handle every situation that may arise in a calm and confident manner. Use your imagination to see yourself calmly dealing with the various situations as they play in front of your mind's eye like a movie. Decide exactly how you would like to perform in each scenario, and rehearse it that way. Plan for your life, and then live the plan.
You'll find that your life becomes easier, simply because your perception of it is different. You enter your life in a relaxed, prepared, and confident manner, so all situations are dealt with sensibly and efficiently. You never have to reduce your stress, because you never feel stressed in the first place!
I am a big proponent of incorporating awareness and relaxation techniques into your day, no matter how busy you may think you are. Often times people get busy, they get overwhelmed, they feel miserable, they get irritated by everything, they hate their lives, and only THEN do they decide that it's time to pull back a bit and find a way to relax. By then, they've long since forgotten what it feels like to be relaxed, and so they fall back into their same old self-destructive ruts of allowing themselves to be overwhelemed. It feels normal, it feels right, it brings sympathy from others, and it seems "noble" to be be busy all the time, because they're making "sacrifices".
If this sounds like you, then the time to break the cycle is now. See, people all too often try to relax reactively, meaning they wait until they feel ovewhelmed before they put in any effort to slow their lives down. I suggest something different and decidedly un-American: Relax and reflect proactively. In other words, don't wait until it's too late; relax early and often, before things start to build up in your life.
The idea here is that you prepare for what happens in your life, so that you don't have to escape from it. Make sure you are prepared for whatever comes your way, knowing how you will handle every single situation, and then nothing will throw you off-kilter.
Do this: Start every single day with 20 minutes of quiet reflection, relaxation and/or meditation. Take the time to go over the various scenarios you will encounter and some that you may or may not encounter. Tell yourself you will handle every situation that may arise in a calm and confident manner. Use your imagination to see yourself calmly dealing with the various situations as they play in front of your mind's eye like a movie. Decide exactly how you would like to perform in each scenario, and rehearse it that way. Plan for your life, and then live the plan.
You'll find that your life becomes easier, simply because your perception of it is different. You enter your life in a relaxed, prepared, and confident manner, so all situations are dealt with sensibly and efficiently. You never have to reduce your stress, because you never feel stressed in the first place!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Moodstreams is Going Green!
If you've been by moodstreams.com recently, you've noticed that some changes are afoot - Moodstreams is going green! All of the audio products, starting Oct 1, 2009, will only be available as MP3 downloads, and the store will no longer be carrying CD inventory. In fact, we've already been able to let the CD inventory run out for the vast majority of our products.
It's a decision I've wanted to make for a long time, since I've always been big into minimizing impact on the lovely natural world that has been such a big part of my life experience (and many of yours, too, I'd guess). With MP3 products, no waste is generated because there are no raw materials and no packaging/shipping materials. And since our MP3s are encoded at the highest bit rate, there is no loss of audio quality compared with CDs, so no one has to compromise.
So in a time when MP3s are taking over as the standard format for consumer audio, it made sense for us to ride, and maybe even help to drive, this wave of change. And you wonderful listeners and customers have made the decision easy. Over the last year that the website has been up and running, MP3 downloads have been outselling CDs by such a wide margin - due mostly to cost difference, customers' listening preference, and the immediate gratification that digital goods provide - that it became entirely impractical to continue to produce and stock CDs. And quite honestly, the other reason I'm happy is that MP3 downloads create a lot less work to do after the purchase, because there's no packing and shipping.
So, thank you listeners for encouraging this transition. It genuinely feels like a weight has been lifted off my back now that I can run my web business in a more environmentally-friendly way.
It's a decision I've wanted to make for a long time, since I've always been big into minimizing impact on the lovely natural world that has been such a big part of my life experience (and many of yours, too, I'd guess). With MP3 products, no waste is generated because there are no raw materials and no packaging/shipping materials. And since our MP3s are encoded at the highest bit rate, there is no loss of audio quality compared with CDs, so no one has to compromise.
So in a time when MP3s are taking over as the standard format for consumer audio, it made sense for us to ride, and maybe even help to drive, this wave of change. And you wonderful listeners and customers have made the decision easy. Over the last year that the website has been up and running, MP3 downloads have been outselling CDs by such a wide margin - due mostly to cost difference, customers' listening preference, and the immediate gratification that digital goods provide - that it became entirely impractical to continue to produce and stock CDs. And quite honestly, the other reason I'm happy is that MP3 downloads create a lot less work to do after the purchase, because there's no packing and shipping.
So, thank you listeners for encouraging this transition. It genuinely feels like a weight has been lifted off my back now that I can run my web business in a more environmentally-friendly way.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Floss Your Way to Better Memory
I found this interesting article on how to boost your memory by treating your brain right. Surprisingly, the first piece of advice is to FLOSS! Hold on, before you press the BACK button on your browser, hear me out: neglecting to floss leads to a build up of plaque on the teeth, causing an immune reaction that attacks the arteries that deliver nutrients to your brain!
My cat's vet tells me that the plaque on his (my cat's) teeth could lead to kidney disease. I wonder if it's also affecting kitty's memory. He can never seem to remember where his toy mice are. Maybe I should brush his teeth.
Back to the article: It also mentions some other important ways to preserve memory (including proper diet and exercise), and breaks down the advice by decade, i.e. what to do in your 30s, 40s, and 50s. I guess if you're 60 and you have poor memory, you're a lost cause.
One of my favorites for 50 somethings: Use chopsticks: "Studies show that engaging the concentrated areas of nerve cells in your fingertips directly stimulates your brain," says Maoshing Ni, Ph.D., author of "Second Spring: Dr. Mao's Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age." Truth is, any fingertip activity--using chopsticks, knitting, or even rolling a pen or pencil between your fingers--also helps your brain by boosting your circulation. And good circulation helps eliminate waste products that can prevent nutrients from reaching your brain.
Video games, here I come!
My cat's vet tells me that the plaque on his (my cat's) teeth could lead to kidney disease. I wonder if it's also affecting kitty's memory. He can never seem to remember where his toy mice are. Maybe I should brush his teeth.
Back to the article: It also mentions some other important ways to preserve memory (including proper diet and exercise), and breaks down the advice by decade, i.e. what to do in your 30s, 40s, and 50s. I guess if you're 60 and you have poor memory, you're a lost cause.
One of my favorites for 50 somethings: Use chopsticks: "Studies show that engaging the concentrated areas of nerve cells in your fingertips directly stimulates your brain," says Maoshing Ni, Ph.D., author of "Second Spring: Dr. Mao's Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age." Truth is, any fingertip activity--using chopsticks, knitting, or even rolling a pen or pencil between your fingers--also helps your brain by boosting your circulation. And good circulation helps eliminate waste products that can prevent nutrients from reaching your brain.
Video games, here I come!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Nighttime Grub Puts On The Chub
Now that summer is officially wrapped up and the cooler weather is rolling in, we can take the focus off of such summer-related themes as mosquito control and put it back on to another one of America's most pressing concerns regardless of season: eating.
In my hypnosis practice, I see plenty of clients for issues concerning weight and overeating. In fact, it's my number one business (yes, I finally found a way to avoid saying that it's my biggest business, so I don't have to pull the ol' "no pun intended" bit which is getting corny and trite). Most people who have weight problems invariably are snackers, and more often than not, they are nighttime snackers, meaning they are snacking an hour or two after dinner, or just before bedtime. My clients often don't realize how big (there it is again) of a factor night snacking is with regards to weight gain. Yet when they do a session with me and are able to eliminate night snacking from their daily life, they suddenly lose 2-4 pounds (and sometimes more) the very first week! This is so often the case, that I can now guarantee that eliminating night snacking is the quickest way to start losing weight naturally; more so than eliminating daytime snacking, more so than portion control at meal times, and more so than exercise.
And so of course I love it when a study comes along that scientifically validates my own very unscientific observations. We live in a society wants to see proof before believing anything. So here's the proof: An article I came across in WebMD details the correlation between eating at the wrong time of the day and putting on weight. One study was done in mice (which I don't condone, but it proves my point nonetheless) which were divided into two groups. Both groups were fed the same diet, but one group was fed during the normal waking time, and the other group was fed at the time when mice should be sleeping. The mice who ate at the wrong time gained more than twice as much weight as the mice who were fed at the right time.
A second study was done on humans. 94 people, 29 of whom were night eaters and 65 of whom were not, were followed for 3.5 years. The night eaters gained 13.6 lbs, and the non-night eaters gained only 3.7 pounds. What a difference!
The researchers wouldn't say for sure why the mice (or the people) who ate at the wrong time gained so much weight, because that would require another study. Considering the pace of medical research, I'd check back on that in, oh, two or three years for an answer.
But in the meantime, allow me to speculate: During the time of day when a creature - any creature whether it be a human, mouse, armadillo or hippopotamus - is supposed to be sleeping, the metabolism slows way down. Eating at those times means that the calories from food will not be metabolized, but will instead need to be stored. And storage of calories occurs by producing fat. So for us, eating at night goes against our natural circadian rhythm and results in our bodies not knowing what to do with those calories other than storing them by putting fat on our bodies, which results in undesirable weight gain. Not bad for an unscientific yet logical explanation, no?
Or perhaps you need to hear it from an actual scientist with a PhD from an accredited institution. Arlene D. Salbe, PhD, a senior research fellow at the Kronos Longevity Research Institute says very elegantly, "Eating too much late at night is not good."
And so there you have it. A scientific principle is born. It's good to know that our tax dollars and donations go towards those types of profound conclusions, isn't it?
In my hypnosis practice, I see plenty of clients for issues concerning weight and overeating. In fact, it's my number one business (yes, I finally found a way to avoid saying that it's my biggest business, so I don't have to pull the ol' "no pun intended" bit which is getting corny and trite). Most people who have weight problems invariably are snackers, and more often than not, they are nighttime snackers, meaning they are snacking an hour or two after dinner, or just before bedtime. My clients often don't realize how big (there it is again) of a factor night snacking is with regards to weight gain. Yet when they do a session with me and are able to eliminate night snacking from their daily life, they suddenly lose 2-4 pounds (and sometimes more) the very first week! This is so often the case, that I can now guarantee that eliminating night snacking is the quickest way to start losing weight naturally; more so than eliminating daytime snacking, more so than portion control at meal times, and more so than exercise.
And so of course I love it when a study comes along that scientifically validates my own very unscientific observations. We live in a society wants to see proof before believing anything. So here's the proof: An article I came across in WebMD details the correlation between eating at the wrong time of the day and putting on weight. One study was done in mice (which I don't condone, but it proves my point nonetheless) which were divided into two groups. Both groups were fed the same diet, but one group was fed during the normal waking time, and the other group was fed at the time when mice should be sleeping. The mice who ate at the wrong time gained more than twice as much weight as the mice who were fed at the right time.
A second study was done on humans. 94 people, 29 of whom were night eaters and 65 of whom were not, were followed for 3.5 years. The night eaters gained 13.6 lbs, and the non-night eaters gained only 3.7 pounds. What a difference!
The researchers wouldn't say for sure why the mice (or the people) who ate at the wrong time gained so much weight, because that would require another study. Considering the pace of medical research, I'd check back on that in, oh, two or three years for an answer.
But in the meantime, allow me to speculate: During the time of day when a creature - any creature whether it be a human, mouse, armadillo or hippopotamus - is supposed to be sleeping, the metabolism slows way down. Eating at those times means that the calories from food will not be metabolized, but will instead need to be stored. And storage of calories occurs by producing fat. So for us, eating at night goes against our natural circadian rhythm and results in our bodies not knowing what to do with those calories other than storing them by putting fat on our bodies, which results in undesirable weight gain. Not bad for an unscientific yet logical explanation, no?
Or perhaps you need to hear it from an actual scientist with a PhD from an accredited institution. Arlene D. Salbe, PhD, a senior research fellow at the Kronos Longevity Research Institute says very elegantly, "Eating too much late at night is not good."
And so there you have it. A scientific principle is born. It's good to know that our tax dollars and donations go towards those types of profound conclusions, isn't it?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Down the River
Meditation Getaways - Down the River -
This guided meditation is the 8th in the series, and concludes the first series of Meditation Getaways. In the near future, the first series will be re-released as a retail download available from moodstreams.com. The retail download will include a couple of new meditations that have never been released, along with newly re-recorded versions of the other 8 meditations in this series without the news, announcements or promotion of the Moodstreams products or website before and after each meditation. In other words, just the meditations, and no idle chatter from Paul! Much more concise. And the audio quality of the retail download will be higher than the podcasts. Like all Moodstreams digital downloads, they will be encoded in the highest bitrate MP3 format for superior audio quality. But enough news...
In this meditation, we imagine taking a canoe trip down a river in the cool, crisp, and pristine Northern wilderness. Our boat starts at the foot of a majestic waterfall, and floats downstream, wandering through a system of connected ponds and lakes, and finally emerging in a sheltered bay. As we journey down, we go deeper into our own minds, creating unprecedented levels of detail and achieving profound relaxation. We create images of wildlife and incredible landscapes, and find peace and healing in the uncorrupted wilderness.
This guided meditation features segments from the "Alaska Rivers" album of nature sounds from Moodstreams.
This guided meditation is the 8th in the series, and concludes the first series of Meditation Getaways. In the near future, the first series will be re-released as a retail download available from moodstreams.com. The retail download will include a couple of new meditations that have never been released, along with newly re-recorded versions of the other 8 meditations in this series without the news, announcements or promotion of the Moodstreams products or website before and after each meditation. In other words, just the meditations, and no idle chatter from Paul! Much more concise. And the audio quality of the retail download will be higher than the podcasts. Like all Moodstreams digital downloads, they will be encoded in the highest bitrate MP3 format for superior audio quality. But enough news...
In this meditation, we imagine taking a canoe trip down a river in the cool, crisp, and pristine Northern wilderness. Our boat starts at the foot of a majestic waterfall, and floats downstream, wandering through a system of connected ponds and lakes, and finally emerging in a sheltered bay. As we journey down, we go deeper into our own minds, creating unprecedented levels of detail and achieving profound relaxation. We create images of wildlife and incredible landscapes, and find peace and healing in the uncorrupted wilderness.
This guided meditation features segments from the "Alaska Rivers" album of nature sounds from Moodstreams.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Calling all mosquito magnets!
Two posts ago, I told you about my life-long (and still ongoing) search for the ideal mosquito repellent. Over the years, I had come to realize that mosquitoes preferred to bite me rather than other people, and that made me everyone's favorite outdoor companion. After all, who wouldn't want to bring a fully portable mosquito decoy with them into the deep woods of New England? Most people were quite content to put up with my constant slapping and cursing for the chance to laugh at my polkadotted pattern of quarter-sized welts when the day was over. And all these years, I never knew what made me so.... yummy.
Well, a few days ago, I came across this long overdue article about what makes mosquitoes prefer some people over others. While it doesn't help me to pinpoint what exactly it is about me that is so tasty to skeeters, the article does describe numerous factors related to genetics and body chemistry that contribute to a person's palatability.
Astoundingly, 85% of a person's susceptibility is genetic! Also, certain bodily compounds, when found in high concentrations on the skin, attract mosquitoes. These include cholesterol and steroid hormones, and acids such as uric acid. It has also been found that mosquitoes love people who release more carbon dioxide, so that makes larger people and pregnant women (because they produce higher-than-average levels of carbon dioxide) more susceptible. So slim down, or hurry up and have that baby... or just hold your breath in the woods! Also, movement and heat are attractive to mosquitoes. So sit still and take your lumps like a man/woman!
According to the article, if you're going to be outside, it's best to be a lazy loaf, because if you are exerting yourself, you will draw mosquitoes to yourself in numerous ways: Your movement; the increased carbon dioxide you release from the heavier breathing that accompanies activity; and the lactic acid that comes from your sweat glands.
So how do you protect yourself? The article goes over a few types of repellents you can try. I personally opt for the mesh "bug armor" these days. Dorky, but effective. When I'm out in the woods making recordings I'm generally there for a long time, so I don't want to be reapplying repellent all the time. And I'm still scared of that DEET stuff. I remember from my youth that it would melt plastic on contact.
I also recall reading in several outdoor magazines as a kid that you could make yourself smell worse to mosquitoes by eating raw garlic or a yeast cake! And your own body odor just might turn you into everyone's least favorite outdoor companion.
Well, a few days ago, I came across this long overdue article about what makes mosquitoes prefer some people over others. While it doesn't help me to pinpoint what exactly it is about me that is so tasty to skeeters, the article does describe numerous factors related to genetics and body chemistry that contribute to a person's palatability.
Astoundingly, 85% of a person's susceptibility is genetic! Also, certain bodily compounds, when found in high concentrations on the skin, attract mosquitoes. These include cholesterol and steroid hormones, and acids such as uric acid. It has also been found that mosquitoes love people who release more carbon dioxide, so that makes larger people and pregnant women (because they produce higher-than-average levels of carbon dioxide) more susceptible. So slim down, or hurry up and have that baby... or just hold your breath in the woods! Also, movement and heat are attractive to mosquitoes. So sit still and take your lumps like a man/woman!
According to the article, if you're going to be outside, it's best to be a lazy loaf, because if you are exerting yourself, you will draw mosquitoes to yourself in numerous ways: Your movement; the increased carbon dioxide you release from the heavier breathing that accompanies activity; and the lactic acid that comes from your sweat glands.
So how do you protect yourself? The article goes over a few types of repellents you can try. I personally opt for the mesh "bug armor" these days. Dorky, but effective. When I'm out in the woods making recordings I'm generally there for a long time, so I don't want to be reapplying repellent all the time. And I'm still scared of that DEET stuff. I remember from my youth that it would melt plastic on contact.
I also recall reading in several outdoor magazines as a kid that you could make yourself smell worse to mosquitoes by eating raw garlic or a yeast cake! And your own body odor just might turn you into everyone's least favorite outdoor companion.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Relief for Teeth-Grinding
I will spare you the pain of reading yet another blog post summarizing the latest breathing article that I read. And God knows, there are plenty of those to choose from every week. You'd think by the number of articles that have been written recently on breathing that it was the "hot" new thing to do or something, like those "lose weight by obeying the one simple rule" ads that have been popping up in our e-mail account ad sidebars every day for the last month.
Today I will mention an article on the link between stress and teeth-grinding, or bruxism. There is, of course, a correlation, and the article mentions various ways to alleviate the pressure on your teeth through the use of mouth guards and similar apparati, but, according to Dr. Nancy Rosen, "because stress causes most of all grinding, the only real way to cure it is to reduce the stress in your life". Rosen suggests exercise and meditation, and forms of therapy that are centered around relaxation (please keep your local humble hypnotist in mind). Dr. Harold Menschel of the TMJ and Facial Pain institute "also recommends relaxation therapy and even hypnosis". Even hypnosis? Does anyone else, non-hypnotists included, sense a little bit of condescension in that? Even hypnosis indeed.
Anyway, as a hypnotist myself (or even a hypnotist, I should say), one method that I recommend is to spend more time being aware of the tension and tightness in your jaw area that leads to teeth-grinding or clenching, and to deliberately relax those areas regularly. This can be done by visualizing or directing relaxation to the area during meditation or deep breathing, or by reciting an affirmation or self-suggestion like, "My jaws are loose and relaxed, and my teeth are separated" while in a state of self-hypnosis. Do this before bed, so you can go to sleep without carrying any tension in your jaws that would cause nightly teeth-grinding. And also do it first thing in the morning, and at various times in the day when you would feel stress, whether it's while sitting in traffic, or at your desk at work, or dinner with your mother-in-law. The idea behind this is to pinpoint the stressful moments of your life and deliberately replace the tension with relaxation.
One article that I'd like to read but haven't come across yet is one that explains why so many people do carry stress in their jaws as opposed to other parts of the body. I mean, does anyone out there clench their fists as a stress response? Or tighten their kneecaps? Not so much, right?
Today I will mention an article on the link between stress and teeth-grinding, or bruxism. There is, of course, a correlation, and the article mentions various ways to alleviate the pressure on your teeth through the use of mouth guards and similar apparati, but, according to Dr. Nancy Rosen, "because stress causes most of all grinding, the only real way to cure it is to reduce the stress in your life". Rosen suggests exercise and meditation, and forms of therapy that are centered around relaxation (please keep your local humble hypnotist in mind). Dr. Harold Menschel of the TMJ and Facial Pain institute "also recommends relaxation therapy and even hypnosis". Even hypnosis? Does anyone else, non-hypnotists included, sense a little bit of condescension in that? Even hypnosis indeed.
Anyway, as a hypnotist myself (or even a hypnotist, I should say), one method that I recommend is to spend more time being aware of the tension and tightness in your jaw area that leads to teeth-grinding or clenching, and to deliberately relax those areas regularly. This can be done by visualizing or directing relaxation to the area during meditation or deep breathing, or by reciting an affirmation or self-suggestion like, "My jaws are loose and relaxed, and my teeth are separated" while in a state of self-hypnosis. Do this before bed, so you can go to sleep without carrying any tension in your jaws that would cause nightly teeth-grinding. And also do it first thing in the morning, and at various times in the day when you would feel stress, whether it's while sitting in traffic, or at your desk at work, or dinner with your mother-in-law. The idea behind this is to pinpoint the stressful moments of your life and deliberately replace the tension with relaxation.
One article that I'd like to read but haven't come across yet is one that explains why so many people do carry stress in their jaws as opposed to other parts of the body. I mean, does anyone out there clench their fists as a stress response? Or tighten their kneecaps? Not so much, right?
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