Leela Music Newsletter, July 2010Michael Stribling Here's an overview of what you'll find in this issue:
The new CD, Paradise Lost, has arrived and is on its way to broadcasters and reviewers around the globe. You can listen to the entire CD by clicking here. I also invite you to listen to Paradise Lost: A Guided Tour, which is the interview session I did with Jonathan Scott this past month. You can hear the CD in its entirety, without us talking over the music, along with commentary and discussion about the process of developing this album. Paradise Lost is already available at CDBaby and Amazon, and you have the option of ordering a CD and/or downloading as much or as little of the album as you want. The two-month international promotion begins August 1. Here's hoping the CD is well received. I hope you enjoy it. In the meantime, I'm already working on the next project, because I've learned that I can't not be in the studio (apologies to the grammar police). I'll keep you posted (IKYP).
This month, I'm recycling a newsletter article I wrote over three years ago. After re-reading and re-viewing The Secret for the umpteenth time, one concept keeps surfacing in my thoughts: the importance of joy and gratitude. According to the law of attraction, when we think gloomy thoughts, we attract more gloomy situations into our lives. When we think joyful thoughts, we attract more good stuff. (How's that for technical jargon?) "But what about all the bad things that are happening in the world?" Thinking about them only gives them more energy, only feeds them and helps them grow. The great spiritual avatars said we should not resist evil, but merely avoid it. Instead of dwelling on the bad, focus on the good (send your energy in that positive direction). Think about feeling joy, about being happy. As the saying goes, "When you face the light, the shadows will fall behind you." If we seek joy and pursue it, we will attract more of it into our lives. So how do we summon that joy? One way is to practice gratitude. This is another idea, which has been around for thousands of years, that we just don't seem to put into regular practice. While we can think of lots of things to complain about, we have much more to be thankful for. We take it for granted that we can wake up every morning; breathe easily; get out of bed and walk upright; live with a roof over our heads and food on the table; witness the blossoms of spring that announce and reflect the renewed cycle of life; read and understand the words on this page; listen to the sounds of laughter and music; smell the aroma of yummy food; touch the skin of a loved one ... is it getting warm in here, or is it just me? Ahem. You get the idea. I like Lee Brower's idea of a "gratitude rock" to bring this idea into focus. Basically, you carry a rock with you in your pocket, one that has special meaning for you, and every time you reach into your pocket, you touch that rock and are reminded to be grateful for all the wonderful things that life offers. My gratitude rock happens to be a coin that I received years ago while I was a member of a spiritual fellowship. Every time I touch that coin, I remind myself to practice gratitude. The more we practice gratitude, the more we attract people, things, and situations to be thankful for. Practice gratitude. Be joyful. Attract only good things.
Bank Account A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. "I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. "Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged; it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away ... just for this time in my life. "Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. "So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! "Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. "I am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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 Michael Dana. 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 Leela Newsletters page. Thank you for your support. Please invite your friends to visit Leela Music 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. I wish you peace, joy, and love. Namasté, Michael Stribling If you would like to be removed from my mailing list, please reply to this email and type the word "unsubscribe" in either the subject line or the body of your reply. One more thing: if you change your email address without telling me, I won't be able to send you any more newsletters. So, please keep me in mind if/when you change your email address. Leela Music Newsletters
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