First You Learn To Tie Your Shoes

Music Credit: Kevin McLeod

Sometimes even the simplest of tasks require adaptation. But, if we let go of planning, expecting or anticipating that they will be difficult, hard or complex then perhaps we could figure out how to do them…. with our eyes closed.

Click to Listen to: First You Learn To Tie Your Shoes

Come Thursday Morning

I admit, I spend a whole lot of my time dealing with the ways that the world crashes around and about us all. I don’t have to, but it is the life I’ve chosen for myself. I love what I do, but it gets loud sometimes, deep inside me. It can resonate with a drumbeat compelling, intense and urgent. So, I have learned to give myself the ease of time with me. I am a pleasant companion, in part because I can smile and laugh at myself.
Usually, the place I go to get “far, far and away” is for a long, long walk. I stretch my long legs and just go and let the “Whew!” tell me when I’m done.
Today the wind was blowing the day around with a sense of fun that made me want to stay and play with them both. As I trampled through fallen eucalyptus tree branches and walked through open fields with patches of orange, violet-blue and white wildflowers I moved into a grassy field and there I saw my …… reminder.
I saw a moment counting….
There in that field was a dad with his two kids. One looked about five, the other, well, maybe 3 years old.
There they were.
Here was Dad teaching them how to get their kites up into the magic invisible rivers of air that would carry their wood and paper dream catchers aloft.
Then I was looking at those little ones, tiny bodies of energy and excitement that could not hold still for the thrill of the possibilities happening RIGHT THEN, in that very moment.
I stood and watched, a joyfully captive witness to a grand event to come; the whispers in the air told me so.
Suddenly, up went Batman!!
Up went Snoopy!
And amidst all the giggling, shrieking and laughing I realized I was applauding, tears rolling down my face.
Dad turned, beamed a grin of pride that seemed to paint his entire face with a brilliant light. And I knew that for all of us….. those moments counted for more than any of us would ever be able to properly put into words….but, I thought I would try……

The Cave

It has been used for centuries by every culture, every tribe, every species as a safe space. Where, in this very busy, very crowded world, do you create your sanctuary, your cave?

I have a problem with "hate".

iPhones use the Download link to listen

How do we define who we are?
How will we define what we are to become?
How can we define what we will create?
Now, where do we begin?

Click to Listen to: I Have a Problem With Hate

The Thunder in You

Do you recognize your necessity?

Perhaps my very asking of the question makes you uncomfortable. I am sorry; it is not my intention.
My intention is to make sure you realize you have necessity.

We impact the world with our presence.

I find people constantly make the assumption they are not necessary. They assume they are not as relevant as are others. They believe they do not matter and that life would go on “as usual” if they were no longer here.

Hmmmm.
Honestly, I am not sure I understand what that means.

In fact, the most re-published science fiction story of all time deals with concept of the absolute relevance of even the most minute of living items.

The story is Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder”.

This poignant piece of work strikes at our inner, perhaps insecure, core. But why?

In this story the whole world as we currently know it, and everything about time itself, is altered only because human beings, who in the story have the power to time travel, go back in time and, by accident, harm one tiny creature.

So I ask you, since Mr. Bradbury’s story continues to be republished across cultures and continents, resurrected in radio plays and audio books and was, a few years ago, revived as a film, what about this 60-year-old story still scrapes inside us?

Is it doubt about the ideas of our relevance, of our significance? Or, is it because we completely trust the truth of those ideas?

On the other hand, are we drawn to the story not only because we are still searching within ourselves for relevance, but also because we are searching for our relevance within the context of the continuum?

Without equivocation I will state:
We impact the world with our presence.

So, I ask again, do you recognize your necessity?

A Change of Heart

iPhones use the "Download" link to listen

Music credit: Holly Near, A Change of Heart

Will Rogers said, "We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by."
And, while I think Will had a valid point, Holly Near's song "Change of Heart" offers a perception I believe Will would agree with. To paraphrase it: Our hearts and minds change when we participate in empowering the lives of those around us. In addition, when we observe others' acts of kindness, we are further inspired.
So I believe Will would agree with me when I say the two roles, hero and curb sitter, in his statement, shift and revolve many times in the cycle of our lives. Sometimes we are the curb sitters, applauding loudly and enthusiastically for the brave ones who take the chances and change the lives of others with action or deed. Other times it is we who are the ones heralded, noted and admired for the valor or voice we have demonstrated.
Yet at our fingertips is the opportunity to make our energy felt, for a platform as accessible as Facebook makes it possible for any of us to stand wherever we wish in Will's rumination, and to grab the mantle of impactful engagement to which Holly inspires us to in her song.
So, whichever part you are now playing in your performance of this magnificent human showcase, execute your role with intention and it will be guaranteed to be significant.
Are you ready for a change of heart?

Download Change of Heart from iTunes

Download Change of Heart from Amazon

Click to Listen to: A Change of Heart

Anam Cara - Ancient Celtic Secrets of Friendship

John O’Donohue did much in his short life to popularize and demystify the history and lore of Celtic tradition and spirituality. His gifted authorship captures me its reflection of his own inspired living.

O’ Donohue’s focus was on Celtic wisdom’s teaching that within each of us is a world of possibilities and that we must take responsibility for our own choices and our own destiny. He thereby sheds a light on the sacred views of the Celts, thus illuminating the familiarity and similarity in their traditions to the time-honored beliefs woven throughout the rich blankets of so many other world cultures.

Perhaps John’s best-known work is Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom. “Anam” the Gaelic word for “soul”, “cara” the Gaelic for “friend”. Therefore “anam cara” literally means “soul friend”. In Celtic tradition, this is the treasured recognition of love within friendship, the concept that souls connect and bond across time and space, through life and beyond into death.

Historically, your anam cara is a person to whom you look as the person to share, confess and reveal the hidden intimacies in your life. With your anam cara you can express your mind, your heart, the very core of your innermost self. Your friendship with your anam cara is not just a friendship, but also an act of belonging, a place of recognition. Therefore, the most powerful gift you can bring to your friendship with your anam cara is your attention and awareness. It is your responsibility to be completely present with your anam cara.

John points out, it is not unusual for many people to have an anam cara of whom they are not even aware. In other words, their anam cara may be one who offers them a space of light and peace, but they do not have this person often present in their lives. This lack of awareness “cloaks” the friend and sometimes it is only through the loss of the friend’s presence and the feelings of “distance and absence” this causes that the true awareness of the anam cara is revealed. Perhaps we know this tradition by a different term: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

You see, in Celtic tradition, as John notes, “The stranger does not come accidentally; he brings a particular gift and illumination.” And this is why it is said “that the “anam-cara” perspective is sublime” for “it permits us to enter this unity of ancient belonging.”

Discussing the Celtic spiritual thinking that believes the soul radiates all about the physical body, this energetic experience is often referred to as the “aura”, O’Donohue explains therefore when you connect with another person, when you become completely open and trusting with that individual, your two souls begin to exchange energy. Or, explained another way, your auras flow together. When a strong bond of this type develops, they say you have found your “Anam Cara” or soul friend.

John O’Donohue explains: “The Celtic tradition recognized that an anam-cara friendship was graced with affection. Friendship awakens affection. The heart learns a new art of feeling. In Celtic tradition, the anam cara was not merely a metaphor or ideal. A soul-bond existed as a recognized and admired social construct. It altered the meaning of identity and perception. When your affection is kindled, the world of your intellect takes on a new tenderness and compassion. You look, see and understand differently. Initially, this can be disruptive and awkward, but it gradually refines your sensibility and transforms your way of being in the world.”

Most important is the understanding that your anam cara accepts you as you truly are, cradling you in beauty, knowing you as light. The Celts believed the development of your anam cara friendship assists you in awakening your awareness of your best and truest self and helps you experience a greater joy in being with others than you know before it’s arrival.

The Celts also believed that this unique and special fellowship, when you lovingly and willingly open your life to another, brings with it a new dawn. You have a sense of belonging you've never known before, a deep sense of special companionship and all your needs for barriers, walls and shields tumble and collapse. That person has permission to walk, with love and care, into the deepest places in your spirit, your quiet and special places within, and the sacred ground of you, which you choose to share with them.

It takes tremendous courage to allow someone so close. However, when a friendship is of truth, of light and knows itself as a great gift it will remain open and trusting. O’Donohue quotes John Cassian who wrote in his Conferences “This, I say, is what is broken by no chances, what no interval of time or space can sever or destroy, and what even death itself cannot part”.

John O’Donohue’s makes the point that in everyone’s life, there is a great need for an anam cara. For in this love you are understood, existing in the love of your anam cara without mask or pretension. The half-truths, functional lies and superficialities fall away. You can be as you really are. This bond between friends is indestructible. For love allows understanding to dawn, and this understanding is precious for where you are understood, you are ever at home. So, when you are bestowed with the allegiance of your “Anam Cara”, it is believed, you have arrived at the most sacred of places, your true HOME.

The Eyes Have It

When we look at each other what captures us? What do we catch in a glimpse making us want to look back, look away or look again? And do we trust ourselves enough to do what we feel driven to do? What do you think?

Click to Listen to: The Eyes Have It

Music: Open Your Eyes by mykleanthony with Scomber

Time Machine Set: Your Mission is Confirmed

All systems are go! Everything has been arranged. But I will tell you now, you only have 6 hours to do the job and do it right. This mission is yours, it has been chosen especially for you. I can get you back to the right time and place and then return you home again, but only you can do what must be done. Good luck, my friend, I know you will succeed. For at this task you are the only master.




Click to Listen to: Time Machine Set: Your Mission is Confirmed

Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod

From A Distance

A campfire under a night sky blazing with stars. It is both an opportunity to find your littleness and your bigness in the universe and to contemplate the significance of you - from a distance.



Click to Listen to: From A Distance

Music Credits:

From A Distance: James Galway, Vincent Fanuele & The Galway Pops Orchestra
icon

From A Distance: The African Childrens Choir

About the Song: From a Distance

At a small concert I was at in Boulder, Colorado many years ago, songwriter Julie Gold shared the story of how she created the song “From A Distance”. She explained to her audience that she had been composing on a small electric keyboard with poor sound quality during the years she had been living in New York, since she had left Philadelphia. But for her 30th birthday, in February 1986, her parents arranged that the piano she’d grown up with, an upright piano, be delivered to her apartment.

The day after her piano arrived, Julie sat down to her treasured reunion. And, as if in celebration of two dear friends rediscovering the synchronicity of each other’s sounds, Julie and her beloved piano brought forth that very day the ballad “From A Distance”.
She wrote it in one hour.

But when music publishers and record companies did not seem especially interested, Julie’s close personal friend, quick, witty performer and talented singer/songwriter Christine Lavin, shared the song with a close friend of her own, folk songstress Nanci Griffith. Griffith, liking the song very much, chose to record it for her 1987 album, Lone Star State of Mind. It quickly became a favorite of Griffith’s fans worldwide.

In 1990 The Byrds released a boxed set and chose to record only four new tracks as additional material for the compilation. One of those tracks was “From A Distance”.

Later that same year Bette Midler recorded it. Within weeks it hit #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and then went on to win the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1991.

“From A Distance” has been translated into numerous languages including German, French, Cantonese and Spanish, to name just a few. It continues to be translated and sung the world over and has, as of this date, has been aired over 4 million times.

Volunteering for Disaster: Interview with American Red Cross volunteer M. Ann Smith

As a member of the American Red Cross National Disaster Human Resource Team, M. Ann Smith has been deployed to 16 national disasters in 15 states. She provided relief to victims of 9/11 and Katrina as well as innumerable tornadoes, floods, tropical storms, forest fires and home fires. Although officially retired from her teaching job at Chadron State College in Nebraska, Ann is never unoccupied, or without an adventure in her back pocket.



Click to Listen to: Volunteering for Disaster: Interview with American Red Cross volunteer M. Ann Smith

iPhones: please use the “Download” link to listen in Quicktime.

Music credit: admiralbob77

Laughing Science

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul"
Yiddish proverb

I hold on to the pinpoint luxury of those words.

However, there are people who study the intention behind the subject of those words.

For laughter and laughing have a science all their own. It’s called:

GELOTOLOGY.

That’s right. I realize that sounds more as if it suggests it’s the science of Jell-o or gelatin than the science of laughter. But hey, maybe that’s why they describe a good belly laugh as makin’ ya’ shake like a bowl full of jelly….whatdaya’ think?

So, do Gelotolgists, (that’s a mouthful, huh?) just sit around all day and tell each other really great jokes to see who gets the best laugh on some cool laugh meter, with the winner getting treated to lunch everyday or what?

No, from what I’ve figured out I guess it’s a lot more complex than that.

By now we probably all know the old adage “Laughter is the best medicine.”, if only because the Reader’s Digest told us so. But, Gelotology is a true science committed to substantiating and validating why and how that traditional adage works in our everyday lives. Additionally, it is a science actively involved in the development of beneficial new therapies practicable by not just medical and psychological professionals, but also by individuals in all walks of life who wish to use humor, laughter and joy as a way of assisting others in changing their physical, emotional or psychological well-being.

I found myself quite intrigued. For instance, some of the different therapies include:
“Laughter Clubs”
“Laughing Meditation”…which can be done alone or along with
“Laughter Yoga”
There’s also:
“Humor Therapy”…which is different than…
“Laughter Therapy”…which, of course, is very different than….
“Clown Therapy”….(which by now, listing these, I rather feel like...)



But, heck, I was havin’ too much fun doin’ this blog to stop chucklin’ long enough to try any of ‘em yet! But, what it does make me realize is that there is a whole profession of people who spend their entire days doin’ everything they can to try to make every one of their moments count by helping us find every reason we can to laugh.
I appreciate and applaud their every effort.

Hey, go do something FUN!!!!!

Changing the World

You want to get involved in helping to make the world a better place. You see so many places that need your help. But there are 6.8 billion people on the planet. You see so many things that need to be done. There are so many demands on your time, your attention, your energy, your resources. What can you, as one individual do that will make any impact on this enormous world?

Here's how you change the world, one moment at a time, one person at a time.



Click to Listen to: Changing The World

Music credit: admiralbob77 Baby Bird at www.ccmixter.com

The Light

Sometimes we have a light. Sometimes we have a way to see through the darkness. But sometimes the only way to see our way through the darkness is to know within ourselves, to trust something within us knowing that we are going in the direction of the light.

Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod

The wisdom of the black bear cub

Click to Listen to: The Wisdom of the Black Bear Cub
With so many points in our lives where we can't stop, where we have to push through and accomplish the goals, meet the expectations, fulfill the needs, we can't forget that pushing so hard means we leave important things behind. What can the black bear cub teach us about the important moments of our lives?

The best you can be

None of us is offered every perfect element to create a perfect life. Yet, we create the most perfect version of ourselves we can with the opportunities, experiences and tools available to each of us.

Change a Moment

Click to Listen to: Change a Moment

iPhones click through to Moments Count where you will find a "download" link.

We come into this world and we change it. Whether you live to be 98 years old or 9 minutes old, you change the world. Your life has impact and each time you encounter another person you have a chance to change a moment, to change a life.

After The Fire

Click to Listen to: After The Fire

music by Kevin MacLeod, Daybreak

Recorded by a stream in a damaged forest five months after a fire, the redwood forest doesn't stop to mourn its loss or consider its tragedy. The forest immediately begins the process of regeneration, of rebirth. Seeds immediately drop, seedlings sprout and life moves forward. What may appear to be a tragedy may well bring new life, new beginnings, changes we don't immediately understand.

Vincent

Click to Listen to: Vincent

Somewhere in you is an artist. Somewhere in your life is an artist that you can appreciate and support.

What is always important is that we take the opportunity to express the artist within and to understand and support the artists in our lives. And when we make the choice to criticize we need to be honest enough with ourselves to understand from where the criticism arises.

For the art that is created is an expression of the interior landscape of the person who created the art and there is no criticism of that expression that does not become a criticism of the human being.

Resources to find your inner artist:

Below are a few of links that we think are helpful if you are thinking about exploring your creative side. If you know of other good resources let us know and we'll post those links here as well.

Paint something:

Click the picture or this link to visit Bob Burridge's website

Bob Burridge is an internationally acclaimed artist who teaches art in a way that allows you to look at your own work and develop along the lines you choose for yourself. And as he says: "It is stress-free, but be warned: you could wind up with too much enthusiasm for painting." Bob's workshop schedule includes classes all over the US. And his initial "Loosen Up" workshop is a great way to find your creative side no matter what medium you want to work in.

Find your inner troubador:

Although this is not a link to lessons, it's a link to song from one of my absolute favorite musicians, David Wilcox about the song that won't shut up until he gets it out of his head. So if a song is really struggling to get out of your head, find a local guitar teacher and find your inner troubador! Then post your cover on David's page! And remember that the right teacher for you will make you feel very good about yourself!

How to change that little voice that says "I can't..."

"We always get exactly what we want. However, we are not aware of most of what we want. To make matters even more challenging, most of us are not even aware that we are unaware of wanting all kinds of things we aren’t conscious of. That is why there is so much disparity between what we think we want and what we actually get..."

In nature

I am one who seeks my self outdoors.
Nature is gracious in its sharing with me. And, I am appreciative.
Its gentle spontaneity, capricious temperament, easy conversation and ceaseless energy offer me respite.

When wandering in fields and meadows, through forests and deserts, along shorelines and foothills I know I will hear inner sounds of my own.
I have learned when I am in the open spaces I can see beyond my physical world to my internal world.

For it is here the quiet journey of a breeze tripping through leafy tangled branches causes me stop. There is so much to know in catching the play of that tiny breeze -- a whisper, a rustle, a languid hush.

The nimble tap dance of the talented creek along the pebbly stones. If I close my eyes for a moment too long I have to push down the urge to applaud the performance, every time….

Last night though, it took a long, long time for a grin to leave my face. You see, a fat raccoon decided maybe he needed to wrestle me for just whose piece of apple it was he was scamperin’ away with, his or mine. Well, I’ll tell ya’, I looked at his clear-eyed determination behind his tailored ebony mask and had to chuckle. ‘Cuz, dang! I knew I’d lose that wrestlin’ match, even if I’d wanted that ol’ apple!!! So, he’d better just hurry, scat off and have his snack. But, as he left, I offered him a little smile of respect for his wily ability to make his way in his rangy world.

But, I’ll tell ya’ there’s nothing in this whole world that pulls me closer to center than looking up at the sky through the majestic magnetic silhouettes of huge powerful trees spiring upwards. Taking in the vision of the tops of an immense forest scraping the sky allows me to breathe with the peace of knowing how large and small is my passage on this voyage we are all taking; it reminds me how quickly it docks and helps me remember we will each disembark….

Oh, but that same sky at night, well now, that’s just such a different space. A huge shadow land above, deep, dark, black, blue and that inky canvas is freckled with tiny illuminated dots we call stars. From our very first mesmerizing childhood gaze at them they sparkle our imagination and light our dreams. And, on these fireballs, so far away, we lovingly wish for all manner of magic we long to twinkle in our lives.

I guess sometimes we forget our lives are the magic.

We Are All The World - Somos El Mundo

25 Years Ago we came together and made a difference. Let music heal the world again.
Listen. Dance. Click through. Open your heart.
And do more.
Donate.

Somos El Mundo

It could happen to you...

Click to Listen to: It Could Happen To You...

Moments Count Audio Adventures presents an other worldly adventure with Brooke Leigh Sheldon. You are walking one lovely day, without a care in the world, when a very unexpected opportunity presents itself to you. You will be offered the chance of a lifetime. What will you do?

Music: Netherworld Shanty by Kevin MacLeod

with embellishments by Valli Keller

Thank you for the kindness

Click to Listen to: Thank You For The Kindness

It can be very difficult to be kind to someone who has been unkind to you; to someone who has betrayed you, hurt you. And yet, there is a gift in being able to remember that the person who caused that hurt set up a dynamic that allowed you to reach inside, find the hurt, turn it around and find a productive lesson. There is a gift in being able to remember that love is not just in one place in our life, but in many places and the opportunity is in continuing to bestow our love, our care on those who will not take it for granted, but will value it, understand it, and return it.

Music: Accralate by Kevin MacLeod

Within The Mind’s Eye: An Adventure in Seizing the Moment, an interview with Dr. David Grand

Click to Listen to: In The Mind's Eye, An Adventure in Seizing the Moment with David Grand

Moments Count Interviews Dr. David Grand, psychotherapist, author, film maker, producer, and inventor of a revolutionary technique for healing trauma.

Music: Kevin MacLeod

If you or anyone you know needs this assistance, please provide them with a copy of this interview. It can be downloaded from our primary website at Moments Count.  Or send them to this website to listen to the interview or use the resources listed below.

To find a trained Brainspotting therapist in your area contact Dr. Grand's assistant:

Laurie Delaney, BioLateral Business Manager
2415 Jerusalem Avenue, Suite 105
Bellmore, NY 11710

lauriedela@aol.com

Telephone: (516) 826-7996

To learn more about Brainspotting:

Dr. David Grand's website: http://www.brainspotting.pro

Lisa Schwarz website (Dr. Grand's associate): http://lisaschwarz.com/

Link to BSP trainers

Countries in which BSP training had taken place

Phase One Training DVD

To purchase Biolateral CDs or downloadable MP3 files

FREE 2-minute DOWNLOAD of Biolateral Sound from Dr. David Grand available at Ignite the Genius Within

David is the author of: