Leela Music Newsletter, March 2009

Michael Stribling
Leela Music, BMI
Newsletter, March 2009

Here's an overview of what you'll find in this issue:

• Musical Memos
• Spiritually Speaking
• Points to Ponder / In Other News
• And the Winner Is ...

MUSICAL MEMOS

I'm having fun developing the new website (http://www.free-new-age-music-and-more.com). I especially like listening to the various compilations that I've produced so far. I hope you'll have a listen soon and let me know what you think.

I'm also enjoying the behind the scenes work on some new videos for the site. So far, there's no shortage of video footage, only the time to put it all together. What's more, Spring just officially began this past month, so I'm looking forward to capturing more wild flowers, waterfalls, etc. on video. That makes for even more footage to sift through.

The next CD project is taking its sweet time to gestate, hovering currently around the 75% complete mark. That's okay. I'm in no particular hurry. All things happen in their own time, in their own way.

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING

To get from Point A to Point B, you have to leave Point A.

Some of us want to see change in our lives, but we don't do much to bring it about. We want things to be different, but we also want to continue to do things the same way we've always done them before.

We want to lose weight, but we aren't willing to change our eating habits.

We want to make more money (so we can "get ahead"), but we keep spending more than we make.

Maybe we're just afraid. We want to stay nice and safe in our little hobbit holes. We don't want to risk too much, stray too far from the familiar, or leave anything (or anyone) behind.

We want change, but we're not willing to pay the price.

Well, the truth is simple: If nothing changes, nothing changes. Huh? Let's try that again.

If nothing changes (we keep doing what we've always done), nothing changes (we'll keep getting what we've always gotten).

Truth is so simple sometimes. We just don't want to hear it. To try to escape the inescapable, we complicate things (and we do that to distract ourselves from the obvious). Or, we create drama in our lives, because ... wait, tell me again why we create drama in our lives?

It's really simple (I'm saying that word a lot, huh? Anybody have a better word for simple?). If we don't like where we are, who we're with, or what we're doing, it's probably because we don't belong in that place, with those persons, or doing those things, and we probably need to go somewhere else, be with someone else, or do something else.

Oh, but we make excuses, don't we?

To get what we want, and be where we want to be, sometimes we have to give something up. We have to let go of the familiar and reach out for the unfamiliar.

There's an old Zen saying that you can't put more tea into a cup that's already full. You have to pour something out first, to make room.

Here's a quote from Baird Spalding that got me thinking about all this:

"When the individual starts for the Promised Land, the land of darkness must be forsaken, forgotten. He must leave the darkness and start toward the light. It is impossible to go and stay at the same time. The old must be forgotten, the new adhered to" (Baird Spalding, Life and Teaching of the Masters of the East, vol. 1, p. 138).

Have you ever watched the trapeze performers at the circus? The only way they get from trapeze A to trapeze B is to let go of trapeze A and reach for trapeze B.

Sometimes, we have to do the same thing.

To get from Point A to Point B, you have to leave Point A ... in spite of the fear.

POINTS TO PONDER / IN OTHER NEWS

A GREAT RECIPE FOR LIFE!

• Take a 10- to 30-minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
• Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Listen to the still voice within. Turn off the phone and lock the door if you have to.
• When you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement: "My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for ______________."
• Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
• Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds, and walnuts.
• Try to make at least three people smile each day.
• Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
• Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
• Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
• Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
• Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
• You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
• Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
• Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
• No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
• Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this really matter?"
• Forgive everyone for everything.
• What other people think of you is none of your business.
• However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
• Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!
• Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
• Each night before you go to bed, complete the following statements: "I am thankful for __________. Today, I accomplished _________."
• Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
• When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

AND THE WINNER IS ...

Every issue, I give away a free CD (autographed, of course :-). If you're on the mailing list, you're automatically entered in every drawing. This month, the winner is Serena Colombo. Congratulations!

That's it for this issue. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you liked, or didn't like, in this issue, and any recommendations or requests you have for future editions.

Thank you for your support. Please invite your friends to visit my website and sign the guestbook. Oh yeah, it's okay to order some CDs, too! They make wonderful gifts :-).

I also have a page on MySpace.com. Have a look and join the list of friends at www.myspace.com/leelamusic.

And please visit the new website: http://www.leela-radio.com.

I wish you peace, joy, and love.

Namasté,

Michael Stribling
www.leela-radio.com
www.leela-music.com
info@leela-music.com

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