Leela Music Newsletter, January 2012Michael Stribling Here's an overview of what you'll find in this issue:
Safely in the Arms of Love has ranked in the top 5 of ZoneMusicReporter's Top 100 List for the past 3 months. I'm very grateful. And now, the CD has qualified in the following categories for the 2011 ZMR Music Awards: Album of the Year, Best Contemporary Instrumental, Best Electronic Album, and Best Cover Art. The process will continue for the next couple of months. IKYP (I'll keep you posted).
Get yourself in order first. Everything else will follow. I know a lot of people who spend a lot of energy trying to change everything and everyone in the world, except themselves. Their own house may be full of disorder and chaos, "full of dead men's bones" (Matthew 23:27), yet they think their highest calling is to tell others what to do, as if they had never made a mistake of their own. It seems rather silly, doesn't it? I've often said to students, "All those who have never made a mistake, raise your hand." When nobody raises their hand, I add, "So where do we get off telling others what they should do with their lives?" It's an instructive point to ponder. I think it applies to the larger world of social activism, too, but that's just my own journey's perspective. The following quote got me to thinking about all of this: "… usually, without being aware of it, we try to change something other than ourselves, we try to order things outside us. But it is impossible to organize things if you yourself are not in order. When you do things in the right way, at the right time, everything else will be organized" (Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Shunryu Suzuki, 2006, p. 11) Before we try to change others, we might do well to go within and attend to ourselves. There's a lot of good work we can do there. Plus, I happen to think that, when we grow spiritually, the whole world benefits. So, working on ourselves actually does positively affect the world around us, without us having to pick up a placard and join a protest march. More than trying to change the world, however, we might do better by just learning to accept it as it is. Some of us have a hard time with the idea of acceptance. From a certain point of view, though, the world is perfect, just as it is. It is we who are imperfect, especially in the way we think things should be. Get yourself in order first. Everything else will follow.
Dr. Philip's Life Coaching Blogr ("The illustrations below are paraphrasings of the many frustrated women I've listened to in my many years as a Life Coach." Phil Brewer) ------------ One day, my housework-challenged husband decided to wash his Sweatshirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me, "What setting do I use on the washing machine?" "It depends," I replied. "What does it say on your shirt?" He yelled back, "OHIO STATE!" ...And they say blondes are dumb. ------------ A couple is lying in bed. The man says, "I am going to make you the happiest woman in the world..." The woman replies, "I'll miss you..." ------------ "It's just too hot to wear clothes today," Jack says as he stepped out of the shower... "Honey, what do you think the neighbors would think if I mowed the lawn like this?" "Probably that I married you for your money," she replied. ------------ Q: What do you call a brilliant, artistically-gifted, good looking, sensitive man, with a well-honed sense of humor? ------------ Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; ------------ Q: Why do little boys whine? ------------ Q: What do you call a handcuffed man? ------------ Q: What does it mean when a man is in your bed gasping for breath and calling your name? ------------ Q: Why do men whistle when they are sitting on the toilet? ------------ Q: How do you keep your husband from reading your e-mail? ------------ While creating husbands, God promised women that good and ideal husbands would be found in all corners of the world... ...then He made the earth round. ------------ Send this to at least five bright, funny women you know, and make their day! ...And send this to five bright men, who have enough of a sense of humor to take it! The Pocket Life Coach
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 Melissa Chacon. 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 have a page on MySpace.com. Have a look and join the list of friends at www.myspace.com/leelamusic. I also have a Facebook page, which you can visit. 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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