July 24, 2011 – Even though most people seem to believe that Amy Winehouse died of an overdose Scotland Yard is saying, so far, her death is “unexplained.” 
July 23, 2011 – It’s sad to say that many saw this coming. According to reports Amy Winehouse was found dead in her home today. Sky News and BBC reported police sources as confirming the 27-year-old singer's death. 
- While in deep hypnosis I lifted her arm and with suggestion told her to go back to her most current past life. When her arm plopped down she found herself in a tent. 
As Raymond Charles Barker wrote in his classic book Treat Yourself To Life: (paraphrased) I have discovered that the rules laid down for the good of humanity and its progress work only when they are interpreted in terms of the inner person, not the outer person. 
- For many years now I’ve consciously, actively been on my spiritual journey. It’s been a twisty, curvy kind of off road track, meandering here and there, sloughing it up hills, careening out of control down hills. 
- Myth 1 - "Tarot cards can predict the future." Predicting the future is not difficult we can all do it. If for example you know someone who is consistently spending more than they earn and paying for it by building up a credit card debt then it's not hard to predict where that one is heading. 
- I’ve heard it said that holding on to unforgiveness is like taking poison while hoping the other person will die. The truth is, unforgiveness punishes you far worse than the person who did you harm. Chances are they have gone on about their life, clueless to the fact that you are still suffering and full of anger. 
- Grammy Award-winning vocalist Sade has announced her highly anticipated return to the live stage, and fans in North America will see her first. Her tour begins on June 16, 2011, in Baltimore, MD, at the 1st Mariner Arena. 
- As a teacher of how to use one's mind to manifest the things a person wants, I very often get the objection, "But what if what I want isn't what the Universe, my Higher Self, wants for me?" 
- The Sanskrit for Horoscope is “Kundali”. The birth chart or natal chart in Sanskrit is then called “Janma Kundali”. By definition a horoscope depicts the position of all the planets in heaven for given date, time and sun sign. This date and time is critical because planets are in constant motion and their positions are continuously changing. 
|
||||||||||||
|
A Disappointing Return for Sade Not to be taken lightly, Sade, the lady and band, has only released 6 albums of original music but stand as one of the most successful musical outlets of the last 25 years. Staying power is rare but Sade certainly has it and her voice, even on this album, is the stuff of angels. Still haunting, peaceful and distinctive, it's a quality that's truly rare in music and it's as captivating as the sirens song. The album kicks off with “The Moon and the Sky” which, without comparisons to the past, sounds like a garden-variety album track from a generic Smooth Jazz vocalist but it’s still drop-dead boring and gloomy at that. More
REVIEW - Mindi Abair – In Hi-Fi Stereo Review - Ann Sweeten - Just This Side of Spring
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
Review – Bill Wren - One day in a Life – by John P. Olsen
Bill Wren is often referred to as the Rare Texas Songbird, in a declaration I thought appropriate having the surname Wren, yet it uniquely describes his musical aspirations and return flight to perfection. First playing bass in a Rock band, Bill realized after one stellar show in front of a crowd gone wild audience, music was his final destination. One day in a Life is his release already gathering attention, having many songs winding up #1 or in the Top 10 at SoundClick.com & Broadjam.com, with songwriting awards in Indie & International Song Writing Contests. Reading everything I could on Bill Wren, I also learned that lifelong friends played a major role leading to an early formation of his musical biography that endures even to this day. One day in a Life is like a beautiful bird of paradise and where Bill Wren excels the most, in heartfelt compositions that exhibit the very essence for each characteristic style given by every performing musician on the album he calls a friend. More REVIEW - Ken Navarro – Dreaming of Trains
March 13, 2010 - The new CD “Dreaming of Trains” by Ken Navarro (releasing nationally on March 16th 2010) is a dazzling display of multiple talents by the versatile guitarist. Navarro’s 19th release in a prolific and acclaimed career sparkles with innovation and delight at every turn. What struck me almost immediately, and kept on striking me throughout the disc, is a fearless sense of movement. Navarro leaps from tone center to tone center with joyous abandon, changes meter with deft ebullience, changes tempo midstream, shuffles mode at will. What might seem to the casual listener to be an overly cerebral, self-absorbed tactic, it is really nothing of the sort; to me, it is a gleeful statement of personal ideas that invites you to follow along; and rewards your tenacity with dimension, harmonic complexity, and textured nuance. More
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
BOOK REVIEW - Why I Am a Buddhist - No-Nonsense Buddhism With Red Meat and Whiskey by Stephen T Asma
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
BOOK REVIEW - Riding the Ox Home by John Daido Loori
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
June 16, 2010 – There’s always been an understated value to everything that Sade does and sameness to her entire repertoire. That quality of old wine has served the singer/band well… until now. Unlike Norah Jones who has, at least, tried to mix-up-the-pot, Sade really needs to stop wearing the same dress to every party.
May 26, 2010 – Well, one things for sure, Mindi Abair is not shopping on Main Street anymore. As they say, “run away from the past and eventually it will run into you.” 
March 24, 2010 - Were I allowed to use only one word to describe pianist Ann Sweeten’s new album, Just This Side of Spring, it would be, plain and simple, “lovely.” But, since I’m not restricted to using this lone word, I’ll elaborate.
March 24, 2010 - It’s pretty easy to get sidetracked from doing what we really want to do everyday, and a 25 year departure from songwriting was longer than what this musician had in mind, but his migration back to composing have many people moving to new heights.
Reviewed by Phil Traynor
March 11, 2010 - Why I Am a Buddhist: No-Nonsense Buddhism with Red Meat and Whiskey" by Stephen T. Asma is an entertaining and interesting look at the author's journey into the practice of Buddhism that sheds light on much of what the practice can offer. It's definitely not like most Buddhism books you'll find on the shelf. At times, those more familiar with traditional texts will scratch their heads and ponder, "Did he really just say that?" And that's one of the things I really liked about this book. It offers a realistic approach, because it is the approach taken by Asma. It's worked for him, and you may just find that it is okay to practice as you seem fit, not as others tell you, and it can work for you.
March 11, 2010 - I first learned of the Ox Herding Pictures while living in Korea. A Korean friend, who had once lived in a monastery when contemplating becoming a monk, shared the pictures and their meaning to me as we visited a Buddhist temple near where we lived. The pictures represent a spiritual path of self-study. They are good reminders of the journey. When I saw this book, I looked forward to learning more about the pictures, the journey they represent, and other's interpretations of their meaning.
