Send me your humorous contributions.
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n.), a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
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1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it..
6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
9. Karmageddon (n): it's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
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Send me your humorous contributions.

Send me links to your favorite videos.

Frank Zappa and Paul Carman
Ravel's Bolero, Barcelona, 1988

Conor's Roast


Dear Editor


Elvis Presley and others in Idyllwild


Conor, Frank, Herb, Tim and Hubert directed by Steven


Visit Idyllwild!
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Send me links to your favorite videos.

4:50 in the AM and I'm up writing my unconventional pitch for Ketch My Drift...

Tag Line:

“Ketch My Drift” follows the epic journey of three ordinary American families who have been selected as goodwill ambassadors on an extraordinary sailing circumnavigation.

One Page Series Outline:

I remember finding an adventure education program a few years back and trying to get my son to watch it with me. He was eight years old at the time and had wandered off before the first commercial. I began to actively search for a program with the requirements of being wholesome yet stimulating family entertainment that could keep my son captivated but not insult my intelligence. This became a holy grail effort because I had a lot of good memories watching shows with my family like “Little House on the Prairie” or “Jaques Cousteau” that would provoke relevant and formative discussions in areas of philosophy, ethics, science and the arts. Out of the five hundred plus channels on my satellite service, I was perplexed and bothered to find nothing that met those basic standards. Had TV become so market specialized that the legacy of family programming was dead? I found plenty of intelligent programs out there for adults and tons of things for kids, but I failed to find a common ground for families that want to learn, laugh and be inspired together. “The Simpsons” was the closest thing I could find, but sarcasm was dominant over sincerity. I’m not Mr. Morality by any means but I did want to share that once a week show that made for thoughtful dinner table discussions and also made you feel reasonably good about the world.

I really get into the simple pleasures in life. I love to have what my friend Jeff Salz calls, “a cold glass of water with warm company.” I love travel and I really dig the ocean. I love challenging my son and my students to be more than what they thought they were. I like to give a helping hand when I can but most of all I love to share stories. I’ve been a day sailor for over ten years and always fancied taking off one day to sail around the world -- not just talking about it, but really casting off. I have also been passionately making my own films to play at festivals for several years now. Then, in the fall of 2007 I finally made a big connection and realized what I was meant to do.

If the full vision of “Ketch My Drift” could be expressed in a single page, I would have already written a script and shot it. I did go out and shoot a pilot episode (on a zero/public high school teacher budget) last summer; not to give a full representation of the show but to prime the pump for something much bigger -- an epic show that can only be told over several episodes. The fact is that this show will be the most dynamic adventure series that has ever aired on television because it will take us to places we never knew were out there and challenge us to find things that we never knew were within us. The series will begin this summer by inviting 10 families to join an expedition we are coordinating to Haiti to build a Marine Memorial Preserve from earthquake rubble. Of those 10 families, three will be selected to go on a sailing circumnavigation as American ambassadors on a humanitarian and ecological mission of consciousness. The three families will rotate between two cutting-edge, classic ketch sailboats and pick up a fourth “guide” family at each incredible location. This show has been intensely and brilliantly planned with details that go as deep as the ocean if you care to explore further. I hesitate to even call it a show at this point in that it is much more like an adventure franchise. If you want to join this production and can help to make it happen, I know that it will provide abundance and fulfillment while being the most incredible ride of your life. Don’t miss the boat.

The World of Sam Crowell

April 22, 2010 (Eighth in a series on Holistic Thinking) Holistic Thinking as Holistic Awareness It is Earth Day and outside my window I see tree limbs bending with the weight of snow - unusual for this time of year; but in Idyllwild, it has snowed as late as June. I've just been shoveling, so I know the heaviness of those frozen water crystals compacted together in their luminescent, white clusters. Beautiful, yes, but somehow it contradicts the season. I am reminded how intertwined my lifestyle is with Nature and that really, I cannot exist apart from the natural world. We are not only stewards of the planet, we are part of its very definition. To live in harmony with Earth seems so much more viable and practical than to try to control its processes or mindlessly exploit its resources. Part of the message of Earth Day seems to be a recognition of our integral connection with Nature, and the need to foster a holistic awareness of the intricate web of relationship that contains and connects us all to the "everything" of Earth. Over the past few weeks I have introduced ideas and concepts that include how the fact of connectedness can help us reconsider the fragmented and isolated perceptions most of our society and its institutions have internalized as assumptions. I have tried to show that life and nature are inherently bound up in relationship, and how our perception of relatedness can be progressively expanded in all directions. I discussed the holographic, self-similar qualities of wholeness, and how every part contains the whole in terms of both form and function, and yet every whole is but another part. I hope I was effective in illustrating how wholeness is not a static unity but rather a dynamic, ever-changing complexity; this complexity is always emerging and adapting itself to the multiplicity of change that never ceases. Thus, Life cannot be separate from its context and context is more expansive than our imaginations can conceive. To focus on anything independent of its context has only short-term value and cannot be a sustainable way of thinking. Concepts such as connectedness, relationship, holon, emergence, dynamic complexity, self-similarity, and wholeness can be useful in helping us think holistically, however concepts are merely abstract categories - markers that help us organize our experience and create recognizable patterns around it. Inevitably, thinking only through concepts conditions us to separate whole experience into parts and fragments, even if those fragments concern wholeness and non-separation - and ironic dilemma. So unless holistic thinking is rooted in holistic awareness, it remains only an alternative mind-set seeking to justify its own insights and perspectives. As awareness, however, it has direct impact on our lives. Awareness is different than thought. Our minds are filled with racing thoughts throughout the day. Most of these center on a past event or issue, some anticipation of the future, or streaming observations. Conceptual thinking often feels separate from our experience, as if we are observing it. We may or may not act on the thought. In contrast, awareness feels more visceral and connected to experience and often engenders a response although sometimes we allow thoughts to supersede or drown out awareness. Some examples. Last week I was hiking, and while looking straight ahead my eyes fixed mindlessly on an indistinct form. Suddenly, I realized it was a bird. I stopped walking and observed it, taking in the trees and foliage all around me. My thoughts were varied and included questions about the bird, imaginative fantasies concerning its circumstance, and my desire to get closer without disturbing it. Becoming aware of the bird was very singular and specific. My thoughts, on the other hand, were more general, more removed from the event. Over the weekend I was leading a group at the James Reserve, a protected wilderness behind Lake Fulmor. It was early morning as I waited for my students at the entrance area of the lake. The morning sounds included wild ducks playfully splashing out on the water and the occasional sound of a fish jumping. The constant sound of moving water created a background of monotonous, white noise when suddenly I was aware of some distinctive quality in that sound. I hurriedly crossed the road and descended a small hillside to discover small, cascading falls, full of water, racing onward to a still larger drop over rocks and debris. The sudden awareness seemed to happen before my thoughts about it. Awareness and action were directly connected to the specificificity of sound, whereas my thought processes related more to the problem solution of discovery. I had yet a different kind of awareness just the other day. I became suddenly mindful that my body craved greens. It was a spontaneous insight that was followed by a recollection of my previous meals and then whether I needed to go to the store to get some, and then questions about what kinds of greens would be best. The experience was different than seeing an ad about french fries on TV and then thinking I wish I had those right now. The advertisement is such a mind thing, but my body's message around specific green vegetables was a strong, but subtle kind of knowing. I am sure my body constantly gives me this kind of subtle information and most of the time I am just not listening; I remain unaware. But when I do listen, awareness, thinking, and action act like a singular and whole process. When we are "aware" of connectedness, relationship, holism, and emergence within the particularized contexts of our lives, then our "thinking" is connected to personal experience and responsive action. On this Earth Day, 2010, I wish for us all, the blessing of holistic awareness followed by informed thinking, and engaged action. ----------------------------------- April 4, 2010 (This is 7th in a series on Holistic Thinking) Chaos and Order It is spring break. Debbie and I are renting a place in Cambria, along the central coast of California. Cambria tends to be our Idyllwild substitute when we are hungry to be near the ocean but away from the populous resorts and hordes of people. Mine were the first footprints on the beach this morning. Each step I took sunk at least three inches into the wet sand. The surf was loud with enormous curls showing glints of aquamarine just as the sun was apparent in the sky. I saw the full moon set this morning amidst the off shore clouds. It was an ethereal scene. The moon emerged from behind the clouds as if it were making an entrance onto a stage. The clouds acted like curtains being pulled back so the full effect of the soft light could be felt. A circle of blue sky provided the back drop. So amazing. So beautiful. After a half hour of tai chi, I sat facing the ocean, eyes closed in quiet meditation. The warmth of the sun mingling with the cool breeze left an exquisite sensation on my skin. The coming and going of the waves seemed to match the cadence of my breathing. I was full and empty at the same same. Thoughts were first contained, then uncontained. Feelings moved from emotions to sensations. Then just the awareness of sitting. This afternoon I walked along a trail on bluffs several hundred feet above the surf. Craggy rocks were visible along the entire coast and the white sea foam accented the shoreline for miles. The waves were cresting at what seemed to be 12 to 15 feet, and as I looked out to sea I noticed the waves forming like columns of a marching band. Amidst this orderly and predictable formation was the chaotic happening of the wave itself. And as they rose and fell, each wave merged into the other to form a single wall of water heading to shore. What a display of chaotic order! In holistic thinking, the idea of chaotic order, or chaordic systems, is quite prevalent. We all have become very familiar with either-or thinking. There is an appealing rationality about one-directional causality. Despite our need for neatness and closure however, natural systems are abundant in ambiguity and emergent behavior. It is because of the intricate web of relationship and interconnection that emergence is possible. When all the potential conditions become boundaried around a single event, emergence happens. David Stapp, a well-known quantum physicist, once stated that the world of matter is not made up of objects, but rather it is completely comprised of events. The wave I was watching today was not an object at all; it was an emergent act of creation that took place in time and space. Some quantum scientists might even say that my own observation of the wave was part of its event-ful-ness. Perhaps it is the same with each one of us, in that our own lives are but emergent events that are filled with both the chaos and order of life, and self is but an ambiguous concept that we cling to for the sake of identity. As I sat today, looking out at the vastness of the ocean, I thought of all the streams, creeks, rivers, and brooks that flow into its waters. I thought of the rains and snows, the many forms of moisture that make up the cyclical system of water. The fact that it is a completely chaordic system seemed unimportant. As I gazed at the vastness and listened to the incessant drone of the waves I felt a connection that did not need words. Wholeness was in the truth of my experience. ----------------------------------- March 24, 2010 (Sixth in a series on Holistic Thinking) Holism and a Nourishing Environment In this series I have been exploring some of the feelings, perceptions, and aspects of holistic thinking. I have been using my experience of living in Idyllwild as a backdrop for these ideas. I hope you can see that holistic thinking cannot be contained in a singular definition. Rather, it can be found in the complex of experiences - realities and perceptions - that make up the whole of our lives. Many of my observations have been about how lessons of wholeness are all around us, but this week I want to focus even more directly on how our connection and relationship to the larger environment is central to holistic thinking and is even fundamental to who we are. We are so fortunate to live in this place we call Idyllwild. Both the tranquility and the dynamism of living within a natural environment is such a gift. We are just above the most poisonous gases from the populated valleys below. The trees filter our air, and while water is a constant issue for us, there is a satisfaction knowing it comes from the belly of our mountains and from the streams filled with rain and snow deposited on hillsides and meadows. There is a grace in this, a thankful gratitude that escapes from our lips after a generous rain or is accompanied by a deep breath as we look upward to the bluest blue sky framed by varieties of green evergreens and oaks. We should realize that the conditions we live in are part of who we are; they are not extraneous to us. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, dont just affect us, they become us. Bruce Lipton, a well-known cellular biologist, noticed that in growing cell cultures, they would either thrive or deteriorate depending on the quality of the environment. This seems obvious to us since we see the same thing when we plant trees, shrubs, and flowers. What he later found however, is more surprising. Cells actually change their structure and function as a result of their environment. Cells are shaped more by their environment than by DNA or the nucleus. What allows this to happen is the receptive nature of the cell membrane which is in constant interaction with the environment. The individual cell while in a sense is self-contained, is nevertheless also a part of the environment. The membrane has receptacles that constantly receive and react in such a manner that the cell, too, becomes part of the environment affecting other cells. This is not much different than us going to a happy party and suddenly becoming part of the joy of the experience or going to a funeral and becoming part of its sadness. We affect others even as they affect us. Cells themselves become part of healthy or unhealthy environments; we do too. These are holistic processes at work and cannot be reduced to singular causes, for everything is affecting everything all at once. So holistic thinking perceives the importance of looking at the quality and nurturance of our whole environment. This is why lifestyle choices become so important. Every aspect of our life affects every other aspect. The idea of being a separate and self-contained entity is merely an illusion. In fact, the etymology of health means wholeness, being whole. We are fortunate in Idyllwild to have opportunities to buy organic, regionally grown food and to take advantage of alternative health resources that attend to the whole person. We have a wonderful variety of religious traditions, meditation teachers, and others who offer spiritual and emotional guidance. There are many avenues to a sense of belonging in the Idyllwild community. We have opportunities for generosity, service and giving, like the Help Center, the time bank, and service organizations; altruism and generosity are central to fostering a nourishing environment. We are blessed with art and music that enriches the core of our lives. And of course there is Nature enveloping us in its arms and renewing us each time we step outside. Holistic thinking views the individual as part of the larger environment. We can make rational as well as intuitive choices to create a more meaningful and healthy life or to realize more deeply who we are meant to be. The more expansive our understandings and the more nuanced our intuitions become, we can cultivate the best of who we are. This week let yourself think holistically about the environment that is you. ----------------------------------- March 17, 2010 (This is fifth in a series on Holistic Thinking) The Whole in Every Part It is almost spring in Idyllwild. Once again Nature cycles toward its familiar patterns and the earth seems to respond in its predictable ways. But it only appears that way. Each spring has its own personality. Embedded in spring will be the reoccurrence of cold winter days as well as days that foretell the heat of summer. Buds on the trees will open forming the leaves we will rake in the fall. Already my bulb plants are getting tall and Ive started looking for the first signs of flowers. Familiar birds are returning, new nests are being constructed, and soon the tiny chirps of new life will be heard. In spring it seems like the whole natural world is making love. Spring enlivens us. It is a living example of the process of change and transition. Almost imperceptibly, the world around us is reborn and we feel our own sense of aliveness within it. Exploring the phenomenon of spring through the disciplines of astro-physics or biology is amazing, but the simple wonder and beauty of this season is enough for most of us. Spring represents an on-going process of self-similarity that occurs throughout nature. There is a geometry of pattern that is always unique and different, yet ever the same. This fractal geometry is non-linear and recursive; it moves us into the world of complex irregularities that are more descriptive of the natural world than Euclidean models. Hubert or Barnaby could better explain the math for you, but I want to focus on the implications this has for holistic thinking. In nature, patterns are replicated over and over again but the replications take on their own unique identities. Thus, we have a pine forest. Thus, through the replication of self-similar cells we have you, a whole organism - a physical self we can identify as unique in the world, but also a part of the larger family of humanity. Even the natural shapes of jagged hillsides, peaks, and valleys take on their own fractal form that shows a self-similar wholeness that is not immediately noticeable. The holistic quality of the pattern is embedded in every part. A different example of this idea is our DNA. The information carried by our DNA is in every cell of our body. Thus, our entire physiological pattern is encoded in every part of us. The whole is in every part. Therefore, in holistic thinking it is not only true that parts make up the whole, but the whole has already established itself in the parts. Take this single idea and apply it to societies, to cultures, to families, to organizations, to your own life and you will begin asking questions from a holistic perspective. We are not just a compilation of parts, our wholeness is alive in all the facets of our life. We are not just made of stardust, we are stardust. Enjoy the spring; I hope you see it with new eyes. ----------------------------------------- March 9, 2010 (This is fourth in a series on Holistic Thinking) Relationship is Everything Idyllwilds rich history begins with Native Americans. This history remains a part of our lives today as we encounter the pictographs recorded on rock faces or each time we look above our town to see and feel the looming presence of Lily Rock and Tahquitz Peak, reminding us of the Cahuilla legends. Many of us can identify with the Native peoples who followed game into the mountains, escaped the scorching heat of the desert, and gathered seasonal plants and herbs they would use in the year ahead. This seasonal movement through our mountains marked time in a different way. Sacred spaces were created as containers for the power of ceremony and place - power that can still be felt today. The meadow in our own county park is one such reminder of memories that do not die. Several years ago I was hiking off-trail and decided to follow what seemed to be either an old dry stream bed or a deer path. This led me to an outcropping of rocks on a crest of a hill shaded by a small grove of old oaks, now covered in mistletoe and showing the gnarled effects of time. On the rocks I found six mortars where in the summer Cahuilla women would grind acorns into flour. I sat there looking out at the view of a gradually distant valley in front of me, the closeness of the steep hill that loomed as a mountain of its own, feeling the comfort of the trees as their branches formed a gentle embrace and swayed silently in the breeze. As I sat there, I felt as if I could hear the Cahuilla women talking and laughing together, telling stories of the foolishness of their men, or perhaps admonishing their children to quit playing and get back to gathering acorns for them to grind. Although I felt a part of this place, I could not get over the feeling that I was intruding. As I left, I used words from my own Cherokee heritage to express gratitude and appreciation. Gali eliga. Osala heliga. Osadoduh. I have always admired the integral relationship native peoples had with Nature and how they expressed this in the context of everyday life. And no matter what your ethnicity or ancestral background is, we are all related to native peoples - be they Navajo, Celt, African, Saxon, Aztec, or the ancient tribes of Israel, Palestine, and Asia. We carry their genes and the vague reminiscences of their stories, passed on, forgotten but embedded in our social memory and our archetypal sensibilities. Even today, indigenous peoples use the phrase All my relations in many of their ceremonies and sacred events. It reminds them that everything is connected to everything else. This includes the past and the future. It includes the Great Mystery that has many names or none at all. It means that there is nothing separate unto itself. There is no action that can take place that does not affect the rest of the world. It reminds us that all the peoples of the world and all the species that inhabit the earth are ultimately related, connected in an intricate web of interaction, and interdependent in a myriad of ways. Nurturing this relationship we fulfill our roles; forgetting this relationship we fall out of balance with the whole and with ourselves. In balance with these relationships, we sow the seeds of harmony. Out of balance, we sow the seeds of destruction. It is a simple set of understandings, really. But it is not so easy to live this way in our time. Humans have gradually moved away from this kind of intuitive awareness. The sciences of the modernist period led us in the direction of reductionism and mechanism, where the dominant metaphor of our time has become the increasingly sophisticated machine. Our desire for accumulation and dominance separated us more and more from a sense of community and from a natural relationship to our work. Our thirst for knowledge became a thirst for acquisition of information rather than wisdom. Manipulating and controlling the external world has taken precedence over cultivating ones inner life. We ceased to view our bodies as whole organisms interacting in relationship with our environment. Instead we have come to view each part in isolation, each ailment as a separate entity, the cure of a single symptom as health. Every major social institution that dominates our lives today was founded on the ideas of a separate, objectivist, self-contained, reductive reality that could be understood completely by technical/rational methodologies. To be fair, much good has been created from these ideas. And they continue to be useful when technical environments can be isolated and controlled. These ideas, however, have also taken their toll and no longer can be seen as a panacea of enlightenment and reason. While the material world has yielded itself to our demands, we have experienced a continuing alienation that pervades many levels of our existence. Even our sciences have begun to call their foundational ideas into question. No longer can science continue to study the world as it is without dealing with the complexity of relationship. No longer can it ignore the essential connectedness of the world or force it into categories of isolation. Questions of non-locality, inseparable unity, and consciousness have become legitimate scientific mysteries. The investigation of wholes have become as important as the investigation of parts. Holistic thinking brings relationship back into focus. It connects the reductive with the expansive. It acknowledges that individuals exists within a context and that context has inner and outer qualities that have no real separation. It turns attention to the relational processes of structures rather than structures as static objects. Holistic thinking sees the world as embedded in a constantly changing web of relationships. So as you look up at Lily Rock and Tahquitz Peak this week, I hope you will be reminded of the web of relationships that we in Idyllwild participate in and that holistic thinking perceives each one of us in relation to everything else. May you honor all the relationships in your life and may you be honored in return.

Defending Kumbaya –

By Jeff Salz

Building trust and deepening relationships is not just a matter of time…It is a matter of courage.
Patrick Lencioni


“These are definitely not guys you can put in a circle and have talk about their feelings.”

Presenting a half-day Adventure Advantage™ event last week with the top-tier leadership team at a Fortune 50 company, Chess Edwards and I were warned repeatedly not to expect much. “Just suggest anything even hinting at ‘kumbaya’ and you can kiss your entire event goodbye,” we had been cautioned. “These folks will stonewall you. They will cross their arms, roll their eyes and you will be effectively marginalized for the rest of the day.”

Chess and I had no choice but to risk it. After all, if we didn’t choose the unusual, the daring, the bold, we were not being congruent with our own core message. But I must admit – as at the start of any expedition with an uncertain outcome - we were nervous.

I did the keynote, unfolding stories of life and death… the search for meaning and personal significance. Chess followed up with an interactive coaching session, helping folks find their own workplace adventurer. Animated, revelatory conversations filled the room.

By the time we got to the outdoor experience people were into it.
They chose wooden ‘totems’ to represent their beliefs, painted them with bright colors and began sharing personal values. People held up crazy-colored ducks, palm trees, sailboats. They worked together to gracefully complete a series of tasks that seemed initially to be impossible. Then they cheered.

In a final debrief people committed to specific actions. A different feel was now in the air. There were heart-felt smiles. Laughter. By all accounts, in three hours and forty-five minutes (four hours minus a ‘nature’ break) something remarkable had transpired.

But how?

Firstly, we had the support of a visionary and charismatic team-leader who lent us the credibility necessary to enlist the full participation of the attendees. That was essential.

Chess and I then invoked the metaphor of adventure – the challenge of creating a truly ‘connected’ team. We dove deep. We climbed high. We did not relent. Participants rose to the occasion and the view was exhilarating – the ‘inward’ equivalent of the ‘outward bound’ experience. The entire leadership team shared a mountaintop moment that would serve them in real life situations for some time to come.

What did Chess and I learn?

Never believe the judgments and limitations we tend to place on others… and ourselves. When given the opportunity most of us will strive heroically to communicate authentically. In the most beaten-down of corporate hearts there remains a soul craving for an invitation to come out, show itself… and play. It just takes skill, finesse and courageous leadership to make the summons stick.

After lunch, our job done, Chess and I grabbed a cab for the airport. We last glimpsed the team tackling ‘nuts and bolts’ issues outdoors under the resort gazebo. It appeared they were having a good time and addressing serious issues handily… in a circle.

It looked pretty ‘kumbaya’ to me.

Bill Protzmann News from the world of music and healing email

--------------------------------------------------------- May 10 2010 The Conversation: Does Music Heal? How? Some of you have beliefs that include healing through prayer alone -- no doctors, therapists or shamans. You seem uninterested in the idea that music -- on its own -- can heal or change physical, emotional or mental conditions. I can see why you might feel compelled by your beliefs to exclude music as a healing tool, and so it is with much compassion that I'd like to offer you the following conversation. On the other hand, if your belief set is already open and you just want to feel better, bust up the doldrums -- or create some -- read on. How Does Music Work? It's not really music, or sound, that heals, but music is the trigger. What does the work is your own body responding to chemicals released when you hear certain types of sounds. For example, if you listen to high-pitched bouncy music or even bird song, your IQ will increase slightly for a brief period of time. This can be measured. Researchers have confirmed other kinds of responses you will have, ranging from learning faster to deadening pain, based on the types of music or sound you hear. You might become agitated listening to certain types of music or to a jackhammer. Perfect! Your response indicates that your ears, chemistry and brain all agree. Other music might soothe you. Again, that's exactly right. Other kinds of music might make you want to dance. Researchers were surprised that folks who otherwise could not walk walked immediately while listening to music with a strong beat -- something about music short-circuits the connection between thinking and walking with a really great effect. What Evidence is There? John Cambell's book, "The Mozart Effect," was assembled from his observations about how listening to Mozart made folks smarter, but there was a more profound reason for Campbell's interest in the power of music: by listening to music, Campbell was able to dissolve an inoperable blood clot in his brain. This was medically confirmed. There have been many scientific studies in the last few years on the effects of music. Researchers find that listeners need half as much pain medication, or can increase levels of chemicals known to speed healing or lower their blood pressure, sleep better, and build -- or rebuild -- memory. In my own experience with warriors and post-traumatic stress caused by war, I've been told many times that music was the "only way" to keep going, in one case, by a Viet Nam vet who couldn't find relief from drinking or drugs and used music for more than 30 years before finally getting traditional therapy. Does It Matter What Music I Listen To? I think it does. Rather than give you my favorite playlists, I encourage you to find music you like and listen to it. You might find you like different music at different times of the day, or for different activities, or for different moods. Good! Use that knowledge to make yourself soundtracks -- playlists -- for all the various times, activities or moods that happen frequently in your life. I think it's important for you to become aware of the music and sound that's already around you. Once you identify what you're already hearing, try to connect the sounds with the times of day, activities or moods during your typical day. See if you always hear the same music or sounds and decide whether you like them or not; if not, get some headphones for your music player and listen to something else instead. You have a choice about what you're hearing: use it. You'll know intuitively what kind of music you like, and through experience you'll also know what you like to listen to under various conditions. Trust your ears on this one! Speed up the search for "your" music at www.pandora.com where you can test-drive music by category until you find your perfect fit. So, Is There Specific Music for Specific Conditions? Sure! If you want calm, put on soothing music. Aerobics class? Better use some dance music. Try watching a movie without the sound track to give yourself a quick idea of music's supporting role. If you have some spare cash, buy a few of those CD sets that assemble mood-specific music from various artists and listen to what someone else thought was "right for the moment." You'll find that, as you listen with awareness, you will quickly be able to connect your mood with music that fits or even complements how you feel. Liking what you hear seems to have the maximum impact for change. Next time you're feeling agitated and want a change, switch on the soothing music and just observe what happens. Or, if don't want change, turn up your favorite agitating music. My point here is to get you to play around with music and pay attention to how you feel -- it's safe and effective and you're going to learn something about yourself and may even change yourself in ways that surprise you. But It All Seems Obvious! Yes, I think we already know this on some very basic level, just like the way being part of a drum circle -- a mimic for our mother's heartbeat -- can make us feel safe and comforted. We're all aware of sound and music on some level; my hope is that you will take this awareness out of your background and give yourself a foreground soundtrack that supercharges your life. ----------------------------- April 2 2010 Greetings! I am so honored to be invited to perform for Alzheimer's patients and caregivers. This month, I'll be doing so on Monday afternoon April 19th at the Center for Spiritual Living in Palm Desert California (more information is below). Kae Hammond, who is the Founder and Executive Director of ALZ Life Matters, an organization which cares for Alzheimer's patients by caring for care-givers, saw one of my presentations at 60 Minute University last Fall, and felt that her group would benefit from learning how to use music to heal. And so they will, since ALZ Life Matters is graciously producing and publicizing this event! Ms Hammond has written a piece for our newsletter and I'm delighted for her participation this month in communicating with you, and to be a part of her work. First, a few musical notes related to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and stroke.... The Los Angeles Times published an article on March 1 2010 from which this quote is taken: "Patients in the depths of Alzheimer's and other dementias [sic] regularly respond to - and even play and sing - music from their distant past, without missing a word or a note. Nursing homes have seized upon that fact, exposing residents to the songs of their childhoods or courtship years to help reunite spouses in dancing and singing and try to coax dementia sufferers from their isolation." In addition to triggering helpful brain chemistry, music also triggers memory. Have you ever tried to forget the words to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" or gotten a song stuck in your head for hours at a time? Monks chanting religious liturgies benefit from the same triggers. Music and memory are intertwined in our minds in a way we can use to re-connect with emotion, memory, and even physical movement. Folks whose ability to walk is compromised by Parkinson's disease walked immediately when accompanied by music with a strong beat, and Dr Gottfried Schlaug, a Harvard University neurologist interviewed for the LA Times article, had this observation about these results: "It [music with a strong beat] works well and it works instantaneously, and it's hard to think of any medication that has this effect." Speech impairments resulting from stroke (aphasia) disappear with the patient is asked to sing the same words to any melody they choose or improvise. This is called "melodic intonation therapy" in music therapist jargon, and it works by musically bypassing the speech centers of the brain. I'd like to suggest that it may actually build new connections in the brain. If you know someone who's having difficulty speaking after a stroke, ask them to sing the same words they are attempting to speak, and see what happens. ----------------------------------- Oh...and keep your music on! Music and Healing Alzheimers and Care-giving by Kae Hammond, Caregiver, Founder and Executive Director of ALZ Life Matters The majority of us will take on the role of caregiver to a loved one with Alzheimer's without much, if any, advanced planning, prior experience or specialized training. 70% of the caregivers succumb before their loved ones according to the national Alzheimer's Association so it's crucial to learn about and understand the disease while discovering the tools needed to minimize the physical, emotional and mental drain. Taking Care of the Caregiver is really #1. Here are a few high priority tips toward successful care giving. Delete denial. No one wants this diagnosis for a loved one; weve all seen how this insidious disease affects the afflicted and, of course, their diagnosis begs the question, Will I face this disease in later years? Denial is not an effective strategy for you and limits your ability to properly support and aid your loved one. Emotional feeling lasts a lifetime. Your loved one will retain the ability to feel deeply and experience emotions until their final hours. Its crucial to remember this daily so that you speak with kindness, patience and love. Even when they are no longer able to speak they can hear and feel your tone of voice. Look directly at them when you speak so they connect the message with the expression on your face. Touch them often with softness, they will respond to gentle pats, hugs and physical warmth and this will bring them an inner calmness. Truth vs Fiction. Your loved one will revert to a life set in the distant past asking about people who have long since departed. They may want to see them or speak with them on the phone. Telling them their parents or friend is deceased will prompt extreme anguish and pain which is unnecessary. Reply matter-of-factly, They are on a cruise to Alaska and will be back in 10 days. Were going to see them tomorrow, remember? Youve avoided unnecessary pain for you both. I bet you are thinking, I cant tell them a story like that, theyll know if isnt true. If they were dealing in reality, theyd know their parents and friends have passed long ago. And you can tell the same story again and again! I hope programs like weve developed become common place nationwide to empower the caregiver to better understand the disease, thereby dramatically minimizing the physical, emotional and mental toll to themselves as they as they continue on their caregivers journey. www.ALZLifeMatters.com ----------------------------------- March 2 2010 Greetings! Music and healing continue to grab market share. Im honored to have been invited to give my program at the Second Annual Adults Healing from Child Abuse conference this coming Saturday, and Ive just confirmed a program for mid-April in Palm Desert as well! Details on both follow, and much more about the April program in next months newsletter. Im asked frequently: Bill, what music should I listen to? Youve probably read my response before, but Ill repeat it again because the point is so powerful. Listen to music that you love. We both might love the same music, and that happens often when I perform for people, but I really want to encourage you to find the music that speaks to you in the very best possible way. That can change, depending on your mood and activity, and thats completely fine, especially if you are able to set up iTunes playlists for various purposes or activities like some of the rest of us gearheads. If your not a computer geek like me and youre just getting started with intentional listening -- that is, bringing your entire focus and purpose to really hearing the music you choose -- then check out Pandora (www.pandora.com) for incredible preselected playlists that are assembled by human beings who really know the music. Pandora is free online streaming music organized by category, and it conveniently lets you choose favorites, then builds suggested listening based on what you like. A great tool for the intentional listener, and value-based too, since unlike iTunes you dont have to buy a lot of music in order to get familiar with what flips your skirt. So, listen to music that you love. With intention. Which means that you 1) sit down, 2) put on some comfortable over-the-ear headphones and 3) give yourself five or ten minutes of music and nothing but music. This stuff works! Want to know more? Check out the tabs that follow below for my Facebook fan page Notes tab for my current reading list, or the second page of my one-sheet (both are also available at www.billprotzmann.com) for real-life examples and medical studies on how and why it works. And listen yourself well. http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001GW57Qq-hwGSQ1GEGClO17X3P37Pu6eDdY-e_0yhNrPQTNxhIMCI2Rj0VE1iFVyzdp9NXAxqvEkQvTdjtJONkhsog4NokD0hNR1-QZC8wOh4NhRwQKWbsng== target=_blank>Read More ------------------------------------------------------- February 2 2010
Greetings!

Its a real privilege this month to introduce you to Lois Kahn-Feuer, PhD. Lois has studied traumatic brain injury (TBI), which, as the name implies, can be quite serious. Strokes, battlefield injuries and car wrecks are common causes of TBI, so Lois work is very relevant and necessary today. Her specialty is helping folks recovery from the effects of TBI using rhythm and music, and she has graciously provided an article for this months newsletter. Her website will give you more information about her program and she is quite happy to discuss her own recovery from TBI and how she came to integrate music and rhythm in her healing process, so I hope youll take a few moments to browse her website and contact her if you are interested in learning more.

Lois article this month answers a couple of questions Im often asked: why do I just hear noise when other folks hear music? And, why am I tone deaf? Interested? Read on!

Music and Healing

Music and the Brain

by Lois Kahn-Feuer, PhD

For many children and adults in most cultures, learning language and learning music is an easy, ongoing part of life. Music and language become a means of learning and participating in the cultural, emotional and social stages of life.

However, for some with an inherited gene and others with brain injuries, learning music is more difficult. Those with this difficulty, known as amusia,have an ongoing struggle in recognizing and processing pitch, producing musical sounds, learning musical memory and in recognizing differences between rhythm and melody. Learning important cultural tunes is not possible nor is singing along at events.

Those with amusia report hearing music as unpleasant, as noise or as annoying. This failure to appreciate and understand music, amusia, is also known as musical deafness. These symptoms include the inability to recognize familiar melodies or lyrics, impairments include difficult singing or writing music or playing an instrument or whistling or humming.

Two types of amusia are noted. Acquired amusiaoccurs as the result of a brain injury, and is the more common type of amusia. Congenital amusia,which is inherited, occurs at birth in four percent of the population and is a deficit in fine pitch discrimination. Congenital amusia can be referred to as tone deafness.

Studies show that the brain has separate lobes -- sections of the brain -- and neural networks to process speech and to process music. Each lobe has specific functions and neural networks process the incoming and outgoing information to and from the brain. The temporal lobe functions include acquiring memory, perception, object recognition, and understanding music.

Current information indicates that musical deafness or amusia is a disruption in the temporal lobe and in both hemispheres or sides of the brain. Memory also plays an important role in music and the brain. Memory is required to integrate and process music. Those with amusia while experiencing failures in appreciating music do not have related disruptions in the ability to speak.

Famous amusia sufferersinclude Theodore Roosevelt, Che Guevara, Milton Friedman, Sigmund Freud, and others.

There is no known treatment for amusia. However, there is evidence that those with brain injuries can gain from listening to music. Among the benefits are memory improvement and new learning.

That is the premise for the CD Rhythm For The Brain. Click http://www.RhythmForTheBrain.com target=_blank >here for more information.

http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001dsGnuBrFqEG4Ozz5EU6_r0SrqCU4N4OuNEP0-QqW2HoeSkE3t2PBo4X7WG3kCKP4nXs3HwRIh9080jmXe8ycQDt_XoyYAlX-HCaF7lCwes0UVN9nC4pBEQ== target=_blank>Read more

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Art, Emotion and Romantic Love - Helen Fisher


Music and the Mind from UCSD TV


A scientist addresses science education.


Symphony of Science