Leela Music Newsletter, July 2009

Michael Stribling
Leela Music, BMI
Newsletter, July 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 beginning to feel a bit like the proverbial boy who cried wolf. After a while, no one believed what he had to say about the big bad wolf finally coming to eat everyone. But trust me, the CD is nearly completed.

And while that's still in process, I'm happy to report that my recent interview with Jonathan Scott is finally up on the website. I hope you'll have a listen. Click here to hear the first part of the interview.

Let me know what you think.

SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING

Find out where the button is, and don't push it.

We all have those buttons that can get pushed, that really stir us up. And we know where those buttons are. So do the people who are closest to us, and they know how to push our buttons and really set us off.

Of course, the door swings both ways, and we know what buttons to push in others, to get them all stirred up.

Why do we do this?

We do this to get our drama-juice fix. Getting our buttons pushed, getting all stirred up, is the primary way our egos get fed. Egos feed on drama, and whatever we feed, grows. If the ego doesn't get its drama fix, it gets hungry, and acts out in search of its meal.

We go out of our way sometimes to generate some drama, just to feel alive. If there's no drama in our lives, we'll create some, just to get our drama-juice fix. Without that emotional juice, our egos die. (On the other hand, without the ego running the show, we are able to move on to higher levels of consciousness and awareness, i.e., enlightenment. As long as we feed and cater to the ego, we remain at lower levels.)

Think about it. There's no profit in creating or activating drama (except to feed the ego). So why do it?

Here's the punch line: when you find a button, don't push it. Simple.

I know that, for some of us, that's like putting a note on a box that says "don't open this, no matter what"; that's just the bait the ego needs to be even more interested in opening the box (human curiosity, I guess).

Nevertheless, it's a simple choice, which usually leads to increased happiness (if you think, like I do, that a reduction in drama equates to an increase in happiness).

Find out where the button is, and don't push it.

POINTS TO PONDER / IN OTHER NEWS

The Original Hollywood Squares, part 1

This may not have much to do with button-pushing, but it sure tickled my funny bone. What follows is part one of a two-part ride down memory lane. Enjoy!

If you remember the Original Hollywood Squares and its comics, this may bring a tear to your eyes. These great questions and answers are from the days when the "Hollywood Squares" game show responses were spontaneous and clever, not scripted and (often) dull, as they became later. Peter Marshall was the host asking the questions, of course.

Q. Do female frogs croak?
A. Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough.

Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be?
A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it.

Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years.
A. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.

Q You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman?
A. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake.

Q. According to Cosmopolitan, if you meet a stranger at a party and you think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married?
A. Rose Marie: No, wait until morning.

Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older?
A. Charley Weaver: My sense of decency.

Q. In Hawaiian, does it take more than three words to say "I Love You"?
A. Vincent Price: No, you can say it with a pineapple and a twenty.

Q. What are "Do It," "I Can Help," and "I Can't Get Enough"?
A. George Gobel: I don't know, but it's coming from the next apartment.

Q. As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or less with your hands while talking?
A. Rose Marie: You ask me one more growing old question Peter, and I'll give you a gesture you'll never forget.

Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather?
A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.

Q. Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries. Are you going to get any during the first year?
A. Charley Weaver: Of course not. I'm too busy growing strawberries.

Q. In bowling, what's a perfect score?
A. Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy.

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 Junior Rodriguez. 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.

If you're new to the mailing list and/or you want to read some of the back issues of this newsletter, just visit the new Leela Radio site.

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.

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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