One of the lessons I am learning as an adult student of both composition and voice is humility. This humility is necessary in order to set aside any excess pride or superiority that can interfere with my learning. That isn’t always comfortable. Some definitions of humility include. While I believe all of these definitions are … [Read more…]
Things are rarely one and done. Sometimes we have to repeat the work. I don’t know about you, but I find that fact really annoying. This is true for me whether we are talking about reps at the gym or playing the piano. It is also true about cleaning the house, doing the dishes, or … [Read more…]
Overwhelm is a word I hear a lot. In fact, I hear it often enough that I decided to explore it more in depth. If you look up overwhelm in the dictionary you will find 1) to affect (someone) very strongly, 2) to cause (someone) to have too many things to deal with, and 3) … [Read more…]
There is something about the word exercise that causes an emotional reaction for many people. I find it interesting that the word movement rarely elicits the same emotional response. Go ahead, say the words exercise and movement aloud and then notice what you feel. Try “I’m going to exercise” vs “I’m going to move.” Although … [Read more…]
Did you know that there are more than 10,000 ant species? I didn’t. I knew that there were red ones, brown ones, black ones, ants that bite, and ants that don’t. Ants are social insects and usually live in communities that have a queen ant. The worker ants are female. They have no wings, don’t … [Read more…]
For most people the day of purposeful gluttony is over. Thanksgiving is over. We had our feast, family gathered, and hopefully cleanup is over. Now what? There may be Black Friday shopping to look forward to (or dread). Some people will be working as usual. Many airports will be crowded with people heading home from … [Read more…]
Simply put – Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a reaction to the changing season that causes problems with mood and behavior. These mood and behavior changes tend to start around September and may last until April. According to S.A. Saeed in the March 1998 issue of American Family Physician, 4-6% of the general population experiences … [Read more…]
Do you look forward to your birthday like you used to? I don’t. Does a number like 40, 50, 60, or even 70 fill you with dread? It does me. As I approach one of those “significant” birthdays, tapping became very necessary.
While the message Don’t Try – Do! may be more recently associated with my little green guru Yoda, it is also a lesson from the Tao Te Ching. It is also a lesson I have struggled with, although intellectually whole-heartedly support. Setup (while tapping on the karate chop point): I have a tendency to say … [Read more…]
The words uptight, anxious, and overwhelmed describe me all too often. Life can be going well most of the time, but when something happens that is unexpected (good or bad) it can throw me off my game. Tapping helps me to recover. Say that statement out loud, “I am uptight, anxious, and overwhelmed.” Rate the … [Read more…]