Author Archive for Matt Welsh

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Communicators

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· July 19, 2017 
· No Comments

By Tim Ward, Author of The Master Communicator’s Handbook, and co-owner of Intermedia Communications.

This article was originally published on Huffington Post. You can read the original article on Huffington Post by clicking here.

(This post was written together with Teresa Erickson, my co-author and business partner).

In our work as communications experts and advisors, we often hear our clients ask for a short list of effective communications tips. We’ve boiled it down for them to “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Communicators.” To improve your own communications, choose one and focus on it for a week, then move on to another. You’ll find much more in our new book, The Master Communicator’s Handbook.

1. Always have a clear communications goal or a message in mind.
We are often surprised how many experts and leaders find it difficult to articulate their ideas clearly. Stick to the point you want to make and don’t go off on a tangent.

2. Speak in short sentences.
When we hear or read a sentence, we have to hold all the words in our head until the end in order to make meaning of the sentence. Short sentences make this easy on our brains. Longer sentences, especially those containing additional clauses (or parenthetical remarks) or insertions of ideas that seem only loosely related – for example if we were to throw in a cooking metaphor about too many ingredients spoiling the stew or something like that – tax the mind, diminish comprehension, and make it all too easy for the reader to check out before the sentence winds to its eventual close, a close that becomes downright aggravating should redundancies or secondary ideas be introduced near the end. So, don’t do that.

3. Project Authority with your Word Choice.
Choose words and phrases that are powerful and eliminate those that sound tentative. Tentative language is defined as “cautious” or “hedging” language. It’s favored in academic writing where you must be careful of making assertions without qualifiers. Phrases such as “appears to be,” or “perhaps might be attributed to,” or “might be seen in some cases as,” are all examples of tentative, softening terms seen in academic reports. Limiting words, such as “possibly,” “probably” or “likely,” also convey uncertainty. This kind of approach does not translate to contexts where you want to come across as clear, assertive and confident. When your goal is to inform and lead, employing a more directive approach with fewer words is more effective.

Some confident expressions:
I propose…
The facts on this issue are…
My/Our recommendation is…
I have 3 points to make. Number 1…
I’ll give you 2 reasons why this is so…

4. Avoid Negatives.
Speaking in the negative can confuse your audience. You are highlighting what is not the case or what you do not do. Strangely, listeners tend to believe the opposite of your denials. Remember Nixon’s famous line, “I am not a crook”? We listened to him on TV and said to ourselves, “Oh yes you are!”

So if you say “It’s not true to say that I am an argumentative person” – you will have implanted the idea that you are argumentative. Instead, assert what is true without repeating negative allegations. This keeps you from sounding defensive. So instead of denying you are argumentative, you could say: “Actually, I’m quite agreeable and open to new ideas.”

5. Avoid Value Judgments. Speak about facts.
The statement “Ireland’s economy did not do very well last year” can be construed as an opinion. You are in effect asking your listeners trust your judgment. Why should they? Your words will carry more weight if you can point to objective facts that can be independently verified. The statement “Ireland’s growth rate fell last year from 8% to 4%, according to the IMF’s recent report on the country” is a fact that can be verified.

Listening to politicians talk is a great way to reinforce this lesson. Ask yourself if a particular statement is a value judgment or a fact. And if it’s stated as a fact, is the speaker providing a reliable source you could substantiate on your own?

6. Voice Delivery.
Project your voice so everyone can hear you. Speak clearly and at the right pace. Not too fast, not too slow. Avoid “um’s” or “ah’s.” Put more emphasis on certain words to make your delivery more interesting to the ear. Pause before and after an important phrase or sentence to give it more power, and let your audience absorb it.

7. Body Language:
impressions of you are formed within the first thirty seconds of meeting you. Your body language has a big impact on how receptive they are likely to be of your words. An arrogant tilt to the chin or an uncertain fidgeting of the hands can make it difficult for listeners to hear what you have to say with an open mind.

First, Keep your body language open. Do not cross your arms or fold your hands in front of you. Second, sit up straight. Good posture makes you seem alert and energetic. Third, relax and occupy your space, rather than shrink to take up less space. That’s construed as a sign of timidity. Fourth, maintain eye contact. Fifth, gesture naturally. And finally, Smile. Smile with genuine warmth when you greet your audience and be sure to smile again when you thank them at the end.

***********************
Tim Ward and Teresa Erickson are co-owners of Intermedia Communications Training, Inc, a Washington D.C> based firm that specializes in communications for development, economics, science and the environment. They are the authors of The Master Communicator’s Handbook.

Follow Tim Ward on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Messagecraft

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Categories : Books, Guest Posts

Interview with Tom Lombardo, Ph.D., author of Future Consciousness: The Path to Purposeful Evolution

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· July 17, 2017 
· 1 Comment

1. What is Future Consciousness: The Path to Purposeful Evolution about and why did you write it?

Before answering your opening question, I want to thank you for the opportunity to explain my new book to you and your readers of the Spiritual Media Blog.

But to begin, one simple explanation I give of the book is:

I offer a big picture of our place in the universe and explain how this big picture has very definite implications regarding how we should live our lives. In my book, I connect the cosmic and theoretical with the personal and practical.

Another short explanation is: I propose that the central challenge of human life is creating a good future. My book explains what the good future is and how we can enhance our conscious minds to best realize this goal.

Building on my first answer, a third way to describe the book is: I explain that we live in an evolutionary universe—this is the big picture of things, the most fundamental and pervasive fact of our existence—and our conscious minds are a unique and advanced expression of this cosmic evolutionary reality—this is how we fit into the big picture.

We are, indeed, an evolution in evolution. Within the history of the universe there have been repeated evolutions in the very process of evolution and humans are, to the best of our knowledge, the most recent and advanced evolution in evolution. We introduce purpose and foresight into the process of cosmic evolution, and our most distinctive and empowering capacity is to facilitate (what I refer to as) purposeful evolution within ourselves and the world around us. We, in fact, are always engaged in this process— our self-identities and human civilization as a whole are creations of purposeful evolution—but there are a number of ways to heighten this capacity. Purposeful evolution is a self-conscious process that is open to reflective and thoughtful enhancement.

Although for some people evolution is a controversial idea, I propose that we can observe evolution at work within the individual flow of our own consciousness and across our lives. Evolution is staring us right in the face. Within our conscious minds, we purposefully and regularly attempt through anticipation, value identification, goal setting, and planning to guide and orchestrate the flow of our experiences and improve ourselves and our lives (however successful or not we may be in this life-long endeavor). Individual human consciousness—its flow and directionality—is an evolutionary phenomenon. Our conscious minds and distinctive personal selves are an advanced mode of evolution, and we exercise this advanced but natural capacity both within ourselves and in our interactions with the world. Recognizing this basic fact about humans provides a realistic framework for how to live.

Finally, building on my second answer above, I can simply state the central thesis of the book:

Flourishing in the flow of purposeful evolution is the good future and heightened future consciousness or wisdom is the means to realize it.

To explain a couple key ideas in this statement:

A viable ethics needs to be based on reality. Whatever the good future (or the good) is, it is something achieved in the context of our distinctive human reality, which is purposeful evolution within an evolutionary universe. Flourishing, as a dynamic, inspiring, and developmental process within our lives, best captures the good within our transformative evolutionary reality—indeed within the normal human process of purposeful evolution. There are a number of essential qualities of flourishing, including self-determination and self-growth, deep purpose and life meaning, creativity, beauty, and engagement with others and the world, which I explain at length within the book.

But if the good future is to flourish in purposeful evolution, how do we realize this? As I state above in my central thesis, we flourish through heightened future consciousness, and this answer takes me to the heart and main substance of the book: What is future consciousness and how do we heighten or enhance it?

Future consciousness is all those normal human abilities and modes of experience we engage when approaching and creating the future. We think about the future. We anticipate and imagine it. We make plans and set goals. We have desires and emotions about it. We use our memory, our learning, and creativity. We exhibit purpose in our lives. All of this is normal, indeed essential, to everyday human life and a functioning human mind.

We are able to purposefully evolve because of our capacity for future consciousness. We are able to intentionally and thoughtfully guide our actions, our personal development, the flow of our consciousness, and our life circumstances (including our environment) with an eye on the future. We are able to purposefully influence the evolutionary flow of our lives through identifying and pursuing preferable or desirable futures. With humans, evolution has become conscious of the possibilities of where it is heading in the future and acquired the power to thoughtfully guide the future flow of events.

We exercise though the multi-faceted capacity of future consciousness with varying degrees of competence and success and I outline in the book a psychologically holistic approach (including thought, learning, imagination, emotion, motivation, value, action, and personal identity) to strengthen or heighten future consciousness. Through the heightening of future consciousness we maximize flourishing in the flow of purposeful evolution and best realize the good future. When we do this well—at a high level of excellence—we manifest wisdom.

In the book I describe a set of fundamental character virtues of heightened future consciousness, such as self-responsibility, hope and optimism, discipline and tenacity, and the love and skill of learning and thinking, and provide numerous strategies and principles for how to enhance these virtues within us, and consequently heighten our future consciousness. (This is part of the practical and applied dimension of the book.) These character virtues, which are standards of excellence for heightened future consciousness, also define as a synthetic whole the essence of wisdom. As one unique point I make in the book, what we have identified as wisdom across various cultures down through the ages is essentially what I describe as heightened future consciousness. Wisdom is the expression of our most distinctive and empowering human ability, namely, the capacity of heightened consciousness to enhance purposeful evolution. In everyday language, wisdom is excellence in the capacity to achieve what is good both for ourselves and with respect to others. (You can see a much fuller definition and expanded discussion of wisdom in the book.)

Turning to the second part of your first question, I wrote this book for a number of different reasons:

I have been teaching and writing on future consciousness and wisdom for decades and I wanted to synthesize all my thoughts into one comprehensive and integrate statement providing an organized big picture of my ideas, both practical and theoretical.

As a roadmap and set of directions, the book is an instrument of education to help individuals flourish in the flow of purposeful evolution. The book, indeed, is a instrument of purposeful evolution. I wrote the book to contribute to the very process of purposeful human evolution I describe in the book.

Also, it seems to me that there are many different answers in popular culture regarding what is wrong with the world (or ourselves) and what we need to do to fix these problems and create a good future. Although there is a great deal of value and validity in many of these solutions, I also see limitations and flaws in these diverse approaches. (The reader is referred to my book Contemporary Futurist Thought.) I believe Future Consciousness provides a unique and yet comprehensive and holistically balanced assessment of world challenges and a realistic and positive pathway forward. The book is a vehicle for bringing increased public attention to my ideas and influencing the ongoing dialogue and collective efforts to create a good future for humanity.

Finally, I wrote this book because I am intrinsically motivated—in fact, compelled—to think and to write, especially about philosophy, psychology, reality, and the future. I had to write this book; it was essential to my mental health, to my own flourishing.

2. You write a lot about future thinking, but how can we think about the future if we are so stressed out about our current or present circumstances and just trying to survive?

Trying to survive is a primitive mode of existence and focusing on our present circumstances, to whatever degree it can actually be realized, is a primordial mode of consciousness. Stress frequently occurs when we feel out of control of our future.

Pulling these points together, the solution is not to focus on survival in the present, but to re-orient our mind and aspire toward flourishing in the future. Flourishing is a transformational future-focused activity (an evolving trajectory toward the future) that envelops and yet transcends the present. When we have sense of purpose, direction, and growth into the future we no longer feel as stressed, distracted, or out of control (in the relative present); we no longer feel so dragged down by the (relative) present. The relative present no longer feels so stressful or absolutely urgent. In essence, our mindset of trying to survive in the (relative) present is what gets us into trouble psychologically; it is not a necessary or desirable condition of human life.

There is a great deal of truth in the statement “Grow or die;” we live in an evolving dynamic universe and there is no standing still. Trying to survive is an expression of stability motivation—of trying to maintain and hold on—a protective mindset often associated with fear and anxiety. But the universe flows (into a transformed and transforming future). Instead we should pursue growth (inclusive of psychological, social, and ethical growth), a key dimension of flourishing. We will not achieve a good future by simply trying to survive (in the present); we may not achieve any future at all. In fact, the most practical approach to surviving (another popular expression used is “sustainability”) is to pursue purposeful evolution and flourishing—which involves the pursuit of directional change—with an eye on the future.

There is a choice in modes of consciousness with the preferable choice requiring cultivation and practice. Pursuing a flourishing future within purposeful evolution involves courage, hope, optimism, self-fulfillment, and the realization of deep meaning in life, all positive and elevating qualities of our conscious existence. Surviving in the (relative) present, as a dominant mode of consciousness, is not a desirable, elevated, or necessary mode of existence for humans.

3. Similarly, doesn’t thinking about the future distract us from our ability to “be in the now” or enjoy the present moment?

My simple answer is no; in fact, the opposite is the case. This particular question probably best brings to the forefront the substance and unique message of my book.

First, there is no pure present; given the nature of the human mind (and brain), the conscious present is always contextualized in terms of memory and anticipation. There is only a “relative present.”

Second, approximating to a pure present is a primordial state of consciousness, reflective of what human infants and primitive animals experience. Temporally expansive consciousness (bringing in the extended past and the future) is a more advanced mode of consciousness; the present becomes enveloped and interpreted in a big picture of time; it allows us to engage in purposeful evolution.

Third, the most deep and discriminating experiences we have of the “ relative present” (which is always flowing into the future) involve thoughtful and informed (through learning and memory) contemplation of the present.

Fourth, it is through the purposeful and thoughtful orchestration of our lives with an eye on the future that we best maximize the quantity and quality of pleasure and happiness in the relative present and across the lifespan.

In essence, what makes us special and what empowers us is our expansive temporal consciousness and to simply attempt to enjoy the present, disconnected from memory, anticipation, and planning, is an evolutionary regression. Psychologically, it borders on the impossible. Indeed, to whatever degree we focus purely on the present—without considering what we have learned and remembered and what potential anticipated consequences may occur—is what frequently gets us in the most amount of trouble in life and generates the most significant amount of unethical behavior. All of our major global problems (let alone personal ones) are a result of narrowly focusing on (becoming immersed within) the relative present, without sufficient consideration to the lessons of the past or the possibilities of the future. The contemporary popularity of the philosophy of presentism is psychologically regressive, highly misleading, and counter- productive to the experience of quality of life. Indeed, as psychological research seems to demonstrate the greatest degree of short-term and long-term happiness derives not from a “hedonism of the present” but from a future-directional, disciplined, and growth- oriented constructive mind.

4. Can you talk a little bit about the concept of reciprocity and the role that plays in Future Consciousness?

Besides evolution, reciprocity is the second key idea I employ in understanding the nature of human reality.

The concept of reciprocity, which I developed from both Western and Eastern sources, entails that the universe consists of distinct and yet interdependent realities. such as modeled in the Taoist Yin Yang vision of complementarities. All of us are open systems in which we realize and advance our distinctiveness and our identity through interaction and exchange with our surroundings. Reciprocity though does not mean that everything is One; it means that the cosmos is both a relative unity and a relative plurality, each pole requiring the other. Unity (oneness, connectedness) and plurality (diversity, individuality) are a Yin Yang. We are both part of something bigger and yet distinct individuals; both ends of the reciprocity need to be acknowledged. We get into trouble— ethically, psychologically, and socially—when we ignore or minimize either end of the relationship.

Of special importance, the conscious self exists in a reciprocal relationship with the surrounding physical environment. There is a great deal to say on this point, especially as it pertains to the age-old puzzle of the relationship of consciousness and physical matter, which can be read about in the book.

But to focus on the issue of the future: When we imagine our future we can not realistically imagine it independent of our environment; our environment is essential to our very conscious existence. Reciprocally, our environment is not something totally independent of us; we impact it in numerous ways and our understanding of it is structured by our conscious minds. Consequently, there is no absolute objective environment that humanity exists within; the environment is something open to the interpretations and actions of humans. (On a related note, there is no “natural environment” independent of humans.) We are participatory in the creation (and meaning) of the environment in which we find ourselves, and we always have some level of potential power and influence upon it. We are not victims of the world, either now or regarding our potential future.

Also, pulling together reciprocity and evolution, the future should be seen as an expression of reciprocal evolution, of all the active systems of nature in mutual influence regarding their respective future evolutionary directions. Yet although the earth may be an interactive evolution of diverse systems, humans have a special role to play in this process, for we bring learning, thought, foresight, imagination, and purpose into the evolution of nature. Whether we like it or not, the future of the earth and of us within it will involve purposeful evolution and our essential role in this process. The earth is going to change—to evolve—in the future and it is our very distinctive nature that, as in the past, we are going to influence this transformation in the future. Hence we need exercise this role with skill, ethics, and wisdom. The hands off approach isnʼt realistic— indeed it is hypocritical—but wisdom does entail the study, understanding, and appreciation of the reality we are attempting to guide.

In this regard, it is also important to mention that we exist in a reciprocal relationship with our machines/technology; we are evolving with our machines evolving with us. We are, indeed, functional cyborgs (and have been for millions of years), an interactive synthesis of the biological and the technological. (We could also legitimately say that the earth is (becoming) a cyborg system.) Yet, it behooves us to wisely guide this reciprocal evolution of humans and machines (and nature), something we have not done very well in the past. (Among other things we have been too short-sighted, too immersed in the relative present.) We need to purposefully evolve ourselves as “wise cyborgs,” using wisdom and our evolving concept of the good future to guide the creation and implementation of technologies and their inevitable impact upon ourselves and the world. But we can not abandon technology, lest we abandon our own humanity.

In all these various reciprocal relationships, we need to embrace self-responsibility—a key character virtue of heightened future consciousness—for both our ongoing evolution and the evolution of the environment and our machines. We should not be passive in our role regarding the future of ourselves and the world; in fact, we can not avoid impacting the future flow of the totality of things. What makes us human is our capacity to use our evolved minds to purposefully realize this end. It is our ethical responsibility— our primary moral imperative—to do this well: With wisdom to guide the purposeful evolution of ourselves, technology, and the world.

5. How did you get interested in Future Consciousness and what sort of impact has that had on your life?

I became interested in “Future Consciousness” through teaching. I created my first course on the future in the early 1990s because I needed to find an integrative topic that pulled together social, psychological, scientific, environmental, and philosophical themes. I realized the study of the future facilitated integrative, interdisciplinary, and big picture learning and thinking. I also soon realized that the study of the future had a great number of psychological benefits, at emotional, personal, and cognitive levels. Then it hit me, thinking as a psychologist, that there were a number of ways to enhance a personʼs mental capacities for approaching the future and make the experience of the future more positive and constructive. At some point, soon thereafter, I created the expression “future consciousness” to refer to the total set of mental abilities and experiences involved in our consciousness of the future and coined the expression “heightened future consciousness” to describe the enhancement of this total set of psychological abilities and modes of experience. For years I taught the general course on the future, but I eventually starting teaching workshops and courses focused on heightening future consciousness. But also from the get-go, my pump was primed due to my life-long interest in science fiction visions of the future, and in particular, in what ways (many offered through science fiction) we could imagine the human mind evolving in the future; that is, what is the future of consciousness? When I arrive at the end of my book on Future Consciousness I flow right into the topic of the future of consciousness. The two topics are connected.

The impact that “Future Consciousness” has had on my life is multi-faceted:

Increasingly over the last twenty-five years, since I taught my first course on the future, “Future Consciousness” has become the center of gravity and unique focus of my teaching and published writings. I have created a professional niche and achieved significant global professional recognition for my writings on “Future Consciousness.” (The bulk of top listings on “Future Consciousness” on Google pertain to my books, articles, presentations, and website.) Recently, I was given a “Fellow Award” from the World Futures Studies Federation for my work, an award only fifty futurists have been given in the entire world over the last fifty years.

“Future Consciousness” has also affected me personally. Although I have researched countless books, articles, and research reports in futures studies, psychology, science, and philosophy as I developed my ideas on “Future Consciousness,” one significant source of inspiration and confirmation (or invalidation) for my ideas has been the ongoing introspective analysis of my own consciousness. In fact, a reciprocal loop has emerged over the years: I take ideas from other sources and contemplate how well these ideas align with my own consciousness, but I also draw ideas from introspection and see how they fit (or donʼt fit) with the writings and research of others. Moreover, as the theory of heightened future consciousness developed over time—as a normative theory of how we should exercise our future consciousness and how we should live—I have taken its principles and tested them and attempted to follow them within my own life. (I strive to live a “Wisdom Narrative” as my ideal future personal narrative; I repeatedly question how well I am doing it.) As for many psychologists and philosophers of life, we become our own experimental subjects. All in all, “Future Consciousness” has become an interpretive framework and set of guiding principles within my own life and the flow of my consciousness.

The concept of “Future Consciousness” has also provided a way to connect my varied interests in: The future; psychology and philosophy; evolution, science, and cosmology; wisdom and the purpose of education; and science fiction.

For example, my latest writing project is the creation of a multi-volume history of science fiction titled Science Fiction: The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future (first volume due out next year). The concept of “Future Consciousness” provides a framework to interpret the evolution of science fiction: To a great degree, science fiction is the purposeful evolution of future consciousness realized in a literary and mythic form. Indeed, in looking at the nature of mythic consciousness within human history (as part of my research for this book series), I was able to enrich and broaden my understanding of “holistic future consciousness”—of total person immersion in the experience of the future. The concluding section of my Future Consciousness book examines the great philosopher and science fiction writer Olaf Stapledon—who wrote cosmic “wisdom narratives” of the future—providing a link between that book and my science fiction series to come.

Thus as an integrative theme, “Future Consciousness” reaches outward drawing in new and fascinating connections.

6. What are you hoping people will learn or take away from Future Consciousness: The Path to Purposeful Evolution?

The book should enlighten the reader on a new way to view themselves and how they fit within the universe (but also within society and the earth); it should provoke cosmic consciousness (another of the key virtues of heightened future consciousness). The book should also provide a host of individual strategies and practical principles for evolving the readerʼs conscious mind and way of life, and more broadly provide a general strategic framework for re-directing the totality of their life and personal consciousness. The book should both transform them and empower them for ongoing transformation throughout their future life.

Yet I can not imagine in first reading the book that the full benefit and impact of it will be realized. So as I wrote the book I simultaneously created and piloted with students an online program of study that aligns with the book. In the online course—which will be accessible on the Web when the book is published in October—the reader can more methodically move through the content in the book, guided by instructional questions and learning activities, and have the opportunity to study and practice and receive feedback from a teacher over an extended period of time. The book may light the fuse, but the course should get the fire burning with sufficient tenacity. There will also be a weekend in-person workshop that can be taken in conjunction with or independent of the online course.

If all goes well—that is ideally—the reader and student takes away a new sense of self- identity and way of life.

7. Anything else you would like to say about the book?

An important component of heightened future consciousness is cultivating an uplifting and empowering vision of the future of humanity. Our individual lives and personal aspirations find deeper meaning and purpose when connected with a hopeful vision for humanity and the earth as a whole. We realize transcendence by connecting our “ideal future personal narrative” with an “ideal future grand narrative” (this is a key learning activity for heightening future consciousness described in the book and the course).

In the concluding chapter of my book I outline how my ideas can be applied to a preferable future for education (the central goal of education should be wisdom); the future of human society (we need to create “An Age of Wisdom”); our ecological future within an evolving environment; and the future evolution of the human mind. That is, I provide some key illustrations of how my ideas apply to the big picture and ideal grand narrative of the future. In the final analysis, we are all contributing to the purposeful evolution of humanity and the world—the effects of our thoughts and actions ripple out into the cosmos—so we need to set our sights on a wise and ethical direction for our collective future and actively and thoughtfully participate in its creation. We should see our future selves with the future whole. This is a key part of our personal future consciousness.

Again, Matt, thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you and your readers.

******
For more information about Tom Lombardo, Ph.D., please visit http://www.centerforfutureconsciousness.com/. Images of artwork in this post were created by Tom Lombardo, Ph.D. For further information about the artwork please visit http://www.centerforfutureconsciousness.com/futurist_art1.htm

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Categories : Books, Exclusive Interviews

Meditation techniques used to relieve foot pain

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· July 14, 2017 
· No Comments

Our feet can literally bring us to places. It’s one of the most important parts of our body yet sometimes we abuse it or take it for granted.

As a result, some of us are experiencing foot pain. Though sometimes the pain is neither severe nor life-threatening, it can still bring discomfort and complications.

Foot pain is caused by several factors but the most common one is plantar fasciitis. Treatment is usually by taking over the counter medicine for pain and inflammation while others opt for more natural home remedy alternative.

But did you know that meditation can also help relieve foot pain?

Here’s how you can get relief with the use of meditation.

  1. Meditation teaches patients how to react to the pain

When in pain, most of us are automatically reaching for over-the-counter painkillers. Though this can offer relief, the pain comes back when the effect of medicine wades off. There are also negative side effects associated with these medicines.

Meditation, on the other hand, is an all-natural treatment for any type of pain relief. Its approach is holistic as it does not just offer a temporary solution to the pain.

Meditation soothes brain pattern underlying pain which in the long run, has a long-term effect on how our brain analyzes pain. A person who meditates will not feel the same intensity of pain as compared to a person who doesn’t.

  1. Calm breathing

 Calm or deep breathing provides relief from foot pain. It stimulates the flow of blood and brings more oxygen to your joints and muscles.

To give rhythm to your breathing, you can try to count in your head as you inhale and exhale.

Breathing slowly has the same effect as taking pain killers when it comes to providing pain relief. Deep and calm breathing does not only offer short-term relief from foot pain but it also helps people who are suffering from chronic muscle and joint pain.

Calm and slow breathing has a direct effect on the sympathetic nervous system which reduces pain as a result.

  1. Body scan

 When we are experiencing any kind of pain, our natural reaction is fear, anger or even sadness. Unconsciously, we tighten our muscles or clench which could further aggravate the pain.

The body scan is a type of meditation exercise where you perceive your body and recognizes everything that it feels – whether positive or negative feelings. It helps you embrace your body and appreciates its importance.

How to do a body scan?

Focus your attention on one part of your body, and then move it to the next part. As you transfer your focus to the new area, concentrate on that part and imagine that you’re breathing in and out of it. After a few minutes, move to the next area.

  1. Passive awareness

 Meditation has been proven effective not just in lowering stress and anxiety but also in reducing any form of pain, such as foot pain. Another meditation technique to reduce pain is the passive awareness method.

In this method, you take awareness at everything by using your senses. You can do this exercise either sitting or lying down. Simply activate all of your senses and notice your surroundings. Make sure that you pay attention to one object at a time. Pay attention to every detail of your surroundings, including every part of your body. Lastly, pay attention to your pain.

  1. Noticing and accepting

 Pain, just like with any other feelings, needs to be recognized and accepted. You won’t be able to deal with pain well if you never embraced it in the first place.

Meditation helps you in recognizing every part of your body, along with every feeling that you experience.

As you silence your mind and focus on every part of the body, how do you perceive each part? As you feel every breath, every heartbeat, every pain, recognize the different sensation they bring and embrace them fully. Accept that pain is a part of you. When you learn how to embrace your pain, you are able to manage it effectively.

  1. Brief stretch
  • Soothe the pain on your feet with some brief stretching exercises.
  • Stand up, with about an arm’s length away from the wall.
  • Place your left foot behind your right
  • Slowly bend your right leg forward
  • Your left knee should be kept straight while your left heel on the ground.
  • Hold the stretch for about 15 to 30 seconds then release. Repeat three times.
  • Reverse on the other leg and repeat.

Suffer from foot pain no more. Practice these meditation techniques for fast relief from foot pain.

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Categories : New Media

Interview with Troy Bruner, author of Modern Machiavelli: 13 Laws of Power, Persuasion and Integrity

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· July 10, 2017 
· 1 Comment

1. What is Modern Machiavelli: 13 Laws of Power, Persuasion, and Integrity about and why did you write it?

Our book was inspired by a paradox. In our psychotherapy and consulting work, we noticed that in certain situations many highly desirable qualities – often associated with relational success – were disadvantageous! Prosocial qualities like honesty, loyalty, reliability and generosity were not effective when dealing with people who outwardly played by the rules, but had selfish, manipulative or exploitative motivations. One marketing coordinator told us about a trusted colleague who betrayed her by cancelling a meeting with a client and then making it her own. In another case, a skilled salesman for a water purification technology company was fired during budget cuts, but the salesman who used dishonest tactics (contaminating water tests) had higher numbers and got to keep his job. These individuals did the common-sense things to rectify their situations, but without success. We learned not to underestimate clever, ambitious, selfish individuals able to make themselves look good to others while ruthlessly targeting whoever gets in the way of their objectives. Some of our clients felt demoralized because the “selfish” people they knew seemed to get promoted, make more money, and have more friends than them.

As we studied this social paradox we identified several social errors that made “good people” vulnerable to deception and aggression. We tested new strategies for interpersonal success in real-life situations. We boiled everything down to 13 principles that can help people become more effective and strategic in social interactions; not only to protect themselves from being taken advantage of by others, but to thrive and succeed without sacrificing their integrity. The purpose of our book is to help others become more strategic and worldly-wise, without asking anyone to compromise their core values.

2. The book explains how to successfully manage conflict, influence others, and understand the overt and covert dynamics of interpersonal power. What are some of the overt and covert dynamics of interpersonal power that you write about?

Examples of overt and covert dynamics include unwritten versus written rules. Within organizations there are all kinds of written rules and policies, but there are also unwritten rules – expectations for behavior that no one talks about. For example, who gets to speak first at meetings or who is more valued within an organization. People who don’t recognize these unwritten rules are at a huge disadvantage.

On an individual level, unwritten rules take the form of hidden agendas. People do not always say what they mean because they conceal their motivations. For example, an unwritten rule from one co-worker to another might be, “I will oppose you because you are competition.” No one ever says it out loud, but it drives behavior. An unwritten rule in a personal relationship could be, “I will ignore you until I get my way.” We are at a huge disadvantage when we just pay attention to what someone says without identifying the unwritten rule. It is not always obvious or easy to decode unwritten rules. Our book helps the reader figure it out.

3. What are effective ways to influence others in a way that has integrity without manipulating them into doing something they don’t want to do?

The best way to influence others is to appeal to their self-interests. Everyone has self-interests and there is nothing wrong with this fact. Selfishness is different. As an example, it was in my self-interest to have coffee this morning, but if I stole your coffee, then I acted selfishly. Appealing to someone’s self-interest is much more likely to result in success than any other method. This is not as simple as it sounds. People admit prosocial motives, like, “I want to run for city council to help the city,” but they do not admit less virtuous motives like, “I want to run for city council to promote my business.” But if we can identify the hidden motive, we can sometimes appeal to it for our own success.

There is a time and a place for ethical manipulation. When you use someone else’s greed, deception, or selfishness against them for a positive outcome, you are using your knowledge of someone else’s psychology to for a higher purpose. For example, selfishness is often kept in check by fear of punishment. Many people would steal from their employers if they thought they could get away with it; when they are reminded they could lose their jobs or go to jail for stealing, their fear is manipulated to ensure good behavior. It is no different when you use a selfish person’s own weaknesses to get them to act in a certain way.

4. What are some examples of conflict you have successfully managed or helped your clients successfully manage and how did you effectively manage the conflict?

One woman I will never forget was “Jane,” a chef and manager of a fine dining establishment in a large casino chain who had conflict with one of the corporate directors. He asked her to put his niece on the swing shift, but she refused because of the seniority system. Following that conversation, Jane noticed that the Director began acting coldly toward her and closely scrutinized her work for mistakes. Shortly afterward, and for the first time, she was written up over a technicality. She began to worry about her job security.

Jane considered complaining to human resources or “having it out” with the Director. But this was too risky. It was obvious that the Director was pushing for favoritism on behalf of his niece. I asked her to describe his self-interests. Jane knew that he really looked forward to his bonuses. On the negative side, he hated dealing with personnel problems. In fact, he had always liked how Jane seemed to shield him from the problems of regular employees. We then developed a plan based on these observations.

When Jane returned to work Jane she began her conversation with the Director with a specific, sincere compliment. She thanked him for ensuring the success of the restaurant by taking care of things behind the scenes so she was available to freely run things without worrying about any administrative matters. She said that she wanted to do the right thing and make sure that his niece got a chance to prove herself. However, she expressed concern that the customers would be served better with a more experienced waiter during the busiest shift. She pointed out that the single busiest shift generates thousands of dollars per table. She explained that the typical customer has high expectations and that their satisfaction means better feedback to management. She noted that both of their annual bonuses were based upon restaurant income and customer satisfaction. She added that if the senior waiter was passed over he would likely repeatedly complain and it would rise to a level where it would become the Director’s problem.

After voicing these concerns, Jane proposed that the Director’s daughter be given the preferred shift two days a week on a trial basis in addition to filling in on that shift as needed. If this worked out well, she could be considered for future opportunities. The Director stated that if that was the best that could be done he might as well approve it and that she should carry it out at her convenience.

For a while Jane lived under the illusion that she had a reciprocal relationship with this executive; that is, she assumed that if she treated him with respect that he would treat her with respect. Unfortunately, while expecting reciprocity sometimes proves effective, in many cases it puts you at a great disadvantage. The truth is that other people think their needs matter much more than your own and you must expect them to act accordingly. Jane learned that it is best to appeal to someone’s self-interest to get something done.

Most people dislike conflict, so they try to avoid it. But this is a big mistake. Conflict happens sooner or later, whether we like it or not. Think of it this way: nothing good in life really happens without including other people. But including other people means different ideas and opinions. So simply avoiding conflict is a bad strategy. Chapter 7 of our book begins with the thesis knowing how to deal with it is more important than knowing how to avoid it. This is true for people in organizations and within personal relationships. Usually the higher the goal, the more there is a potential for conflict.

5. Your current research focuses upon identifying cognitive biases that interfere with interpersonal and career success. Would you mind sharing some of those cognitive biases that interfere with interpersonal and career success?

Just as we are hard-wired to be aversive to physical pain, our psyche reacts to protect us from mental pain. Some examples include minimizing, denial, and blaming. There is something called the self-serving bias that involves taking credit for our successes, but externalizing blame for our failures, e.g. “My ex-boyfriend liked me because I’m a catch, but he left me because she is he can’t commit.” This kind of sentiment protects our ego, but it is not correct every time. Another example is the halo effect. This occurs when we like a trait in one person, for example intelligence, and extrapolate other positive qualities. It’s a form a favoritism. But just because someone is attractive or intelligent does not mean they are “nice” or moral. Intellectually we know these things, but on an experiential level they are hard to catch because they happen automatically.

Biases interfere with interpersonal success because they make it more difficult to view things objectively and rationally. If I am a supervisor, I might promote someone based on the belief that if they excel in one area, like sales, they should succeed in another, like marketing. But this could be a mistake. Biases are rarely conscious experiences. No one wakes up one morning and thinks, “Today I will believe something wrong.” But success in life – especially on a social level – requires us to acknowledge harsh realities, admit our biases, and work hard to think as objectively as possible

6. How did you get interested in all these topics and what has it been like for you to help other people navigate these interpersonal dynamics?

When I was in private practice I developed a reputation for working with business professionals. I was amazed to learn that regardless of personal achievements, many struggled within interpersonal relationships. They did everything I asked them to do in terms of communication, thinking rationally, and managing emotions. At one point, I had to throw out the psychobabble handbook and dig deeper. I discovered that most of them had gone through life experiencing reciprocal relationships. Sure, most encountered a bully or narcissist here and there, but overall, if they worked hard, they got rewarded and acknowledged. They were generally treated well by others. But these experiences had a downside; when their expectations were repeatedly unmet, they didn’t know what to do. They were totally thrown off course by deceptive, manipulative and antagonistic individuals. They kept trying what had worked in the past – forms of reciprocity, like direct communication or compromising – only to get stepped on over and over. But they didn’t know what else to do. What do you do when someone else doesn’t play by the rules, but gets away with it? That interested me. Neither me nor any of my colleagues had really been taught in graduate school what to do when conventional interpersonal and psychological methods do not work.

7. Anything else?

I’m hoping to be part of a much bigger paradigm shift. Now is the time for people of integrity to start winning. Our success is critical to changing the world. It is not good enough to avoid conflict, compromise, or react situationally. When people of integrity abandon a challenge, the strong and selfish fill the void and the world becomes a worse place. But when people of integrity succeed, the ripple effects are substantial. We can only maximize our success by learning and using effective interpersonal strategy.

Unfortunately, success in life does not necessarily depend upon whether someone is selfish or not. Many individuals with selfish or even toxic personalities are successful. This happens because our culture is very outcome focused. For example, if a highly competitive person uses shady tactics to sell something, he or she might be rewarded and promoted over the honest person with lower numbers, as long the people in charge to do notice too many problems. This presents a dilemma: The advantageous thing to do is not always the right thing to do. Merit, by itself, is not always enough to produce success. Real success requires effective interpersonal strategy and the use of specific methods to confidently engage others. This can be very difficult because other people do not always play fair. Our book, Modern Machiavelli, teaches you how to do it.

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Categories : Books, Exclusive Interviews

Q&A with singer-songwriter Erik Rabasca from Light Warriors

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· July 6, 2017 
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1. You liberated yourself from the corporate grind in favor of mindful, spiritual, music making. What was that process like? For example, what type of corporate work were you doing and for how long.

With the exception of my first job as a stockbroker, I’ve been in media and marketing on and off for 25 years, working in media research initially before moving into strategy and planning as a social media expert at media agencies. My last job was SVP, Digital Media at an IPG agency.

I didn’t begin creating original music until my mid-20s. The music I love the most always channels a feeling of deep connection to the world around you. It’s healing and empowering. When I felt this consistently from seeing live music and meeting like-minded people who were passionate about music in the same way, I began to pursue it more seriously.

The process to self-actualization, musical or otherwise, has been and continues to be life-long. I’m getting better at finding the balance in becoming who I am meant to be while sharing and surviving life. Music is beyond challenging as an independent, self-funded artist. Professionally, in music or corporate, every advancement has fueled the next stage of growth spiritually. There are key lessons that occur after a professional or musical plateau. I’m still making mistakes and learning. The mistakes are less devastating and more easily correctable. This paves the path for more joy, love and fulfillment.

With every advancement, selflessness has been the guiding realization. Giving selflessly, whether it’s time, attention or effort, brings greater joy and fulfillment to all relationships. When I fail at this, it’s because I’m so invested in belief that what I’m doing will result in something positive and for the benefit of others, that I sometimes lose sight of those closest to me. It’s not intentional, but I am sometimes blinded by ideals. My altruistic need to create is not the most important thing in the world. Love is.

In regards to “liberation”, the corporate grind wasn’t necessarily oppressive all of the time. While it’s an extremely challenging environment spiritually, my daily choices made the experience positive or negative. On the positive, I worked with amazing, talented, extremely smart and forward-thinking people who were also fun, funny, kind, and caring. We did great work for the benefit of the clients, the team and the company. On the negative, there are also egos, politics and stressful emotions to navigate that are often amplified by sometimes-impossible deadlines. Over the last 10-12 years, corporate life challenged me to work harder, be a better person, and give more, especially as I grew into management. I learned about fortitude, compromise, collaboration and perseverance in ways that my previous creative pursuits never could have taught me.

But, it is exhausting when you’re simply feeding quarterly profit for profit’s sake. That’s always the end result and there’s ultimately not room for creativity. In the 2000s, I had trained and became attuned as a Reiki practitioner but had never gotten good at guarding against absorbing other’s energy. This contributed to any exhaustion I felt. It was amplified after the 2008 crash, when work forces were cut and the fear of losing your job and not being able to find another one dominated everyone’s mindset. Corporate practices weren’t at their best. Suddenly, you had to do the job of two, sometimes three people. So 40-50 hour weeks become 60-70+ hour weeks. And collective stress mounts.

At this same time, social media marketing was on the rise, which I got involved in, early in 2006. It was an energetic lift because I was advocating for online community building and teaching the benefits of listening to what people were saying to inform insights that should better engage audiences and fans. As the demand for best practice solutions increased, monetization quickly became the focus. At a time when marketing budgets for innovation should have increased with the rapid evolution of technology, brand marketers were constrained by the larger market forces at work by having to demonstrating ROI for the quarterly financial reports in a marketing discipline that was in its infancy. We couldn’t immediately prove profit because the human side of social media was about building customer relationships, which takes time. Today, “influencers” are buying engagement. It’s not about personal connection like it was in the beginning. Budgets were cut because CMOs have to explain costs to CFOs and the cycles and institutional gears of profit continued…

The stock market pressures were felt in the day-to-day. It made work all-consuming and, despite my best efforts and intentions, I got sucked into the exact opposite of mindful and creative living. As a result, I went through several phases of burnout over the last decade.

I’m hopefully getting closer to balance now. Maybe one day I will master it.

And, then how did you manage the financial, practical, and psychological challenges of switching careers?

There were two prior attempts at music that weren’t well planned out. My mentality was more “let’s just go for this!” with the belief that the hard work will pay off.
None of what I’ve done musically could have happened without the love and support of my wife, Moira. We started talking about this current phase seven years ago. We worked hard to save money. We found a much more affordable place to live. And I did some consulting in the first year after leaving my last job. Moira’s encouragement gave me a sense of “yes, even in my 40s, I can try and do this one more time.” So, having a strong support system is the necessary foundation to any creative effort.

For the most part, we are making that work. Music is still not profitable but it is manageable. This time around, the vision is solely mine. I’m responsible for every aspect of what my project, Light Warriors, is about. There has been a positive response from the music industry press and I’m slowly building an engaged fan base. My songwriting was even compared to Bob Dylan in how he has tackled the power elite, corruption and social issues. I’m still processing that comparison (laughs). With this type of validation, I’m now seeking opportunities to take Light Warriors to the next level both financially and creatively. I’d like it to become self-sustaining for the next album.

For good karma, before I left my last job, I wanted to make sure I hired someone who could handle the day-to-day client and team needs and also grow into the SVP role I had. After that hire, my intention was to mentor my hire and continue to grow my team for another year or two but I was spent. I lasted another six months. I gave six weeks notice to ensure a smooth transition. Then my calendar, which had been full from 8a-6p, Monday through Friday, for the last decade, started to empty.

This actually gave me some anxiety for a short bit because I was conditioned for over a decade to have a full calendar. With time to breathe and think, I questioned every choice, my relevancy and explored all of my fears. But after a couple of months of decompression with yard work, exercise and rest, I felt connected, energized and human again. After several months, I did a couple of short-term consulting gigs while I worked on and finished the Light Warriors debut album, Survival of Joy. Those jobs helped to fund the creative period until now.

2. When you were working a corporate job, how did you balance doing that and still finding time to work on your music?

It’s was extremely challenging to be great at both a full time job and strive to make the highest level of music. Playing music was mostly relegated to vacation time and family gatherings. I’d pick up the guitar a lot after work but was just relieving stress instead of creating and growing. In the 2000s, I didn’t have the right balance. I tend to put everything into what I’m pursuing. When I was touring from 03-05, it was tough on my relationship. I had racked up some debt, which resulted in pressure.

When I went back to work, I worked hard to rise through the job ranks to make more money to pay off the debt and then to pay all of the bills, cover the cost of seeing family and having a vacation here or there. I tried to work on my mindfulness practice by listening to Thich Nhat Hanh books and guided meditations. That worked for a bit. I’d lose the practice and come back to it again. I’m always working on the daily discipline that mindfulness requires.

I did manage to record one album while I was working, but it took over a year to make and I didn’t have the energy to promote it. Music by itself requires all you have to play, write and record. Then to promote, you need to do everything brand marketers do with the creative, PR and media buying teams they hire. My work experience has certainly helped in managing this latest transition. I’m as busy as ever but more in control of they cycles.

3. Are you working full time now as a musician? If so, what is that like for you now? Or, are you balancing your work as a musician with other streams of income?

It’s challenging to make money the first few years of a new project while you’re building your audience. So, it’s definitely the latter still. I have done some management coaching, operations consulting for a small agency and some strategy work at a larger agency in the last year. I’ve only focused on the making and promotion of the new Light Warriors album, Raise The Frequency, since October 2016. After the last nine months of only music, I do need to spend some time replenishing the bank account. Over the summer and into the fall, I’ll be looking for some short-term consulting projects and also do some crowdfunding in the fall to cover expenses for the next album cycle.

4. What advice would you have for aspiring musicians who are not making enough money right now to become a full time musician?

Don’t do it. (Laughing) Seriously though, be clear about your intentions and know why you are creating music. Do you love writing, recording, creating? Do you want to be a pop star? Do you have the fortitude to push forward through lean years? Why do you create? What does music mean to you? When you figure that out, then you need to determine if you can create a sustainable living. For me, music is art and spirit. It’s about channeling what the world feeds us and translating that into something positive to be felt, heard and understood. Perhaps that will translate into a sustainable living at some point. But, if not, I will still create.

What kind of artist do you want to be? There is always a struggle between creating art or communicating a vision and art as commerce. When art becomes a product, it creates challenges. For example, with my Light Warriors project, I’m tackling social issues, human rights issue, and politics translated by and delivered from channeling spiritual energy. Ideally, this will motivate some type of positive reaction and even action, whether that be investigating a topic of a song deeper, like gun violence from Rise Above or sharing a positive thought with the Universe after listening to Raise The Frequency. My choice to be independent gives me freedom to pursue my creative vision. That wouldn’t necessarily fly at a major label trying to sell a crafted persona and image to tweens and teens. It might work at a small label that allows for artistic freedom. Understand your motivations.

Be realistic. At the end of the day it’s still music, a form of entertainment. If I can reach 1/10th of Bob Dylan’s audience or build an audience like Michael Franti’s, I’ll be able to create that self-sustaining living for my family, my band and my team. Given today’s media consumption and ease of distraction, artists have to be brutally honest that attaining that kind of audience is challenging. There’s help needed in getting to the next level. So, if the independent route is preferable, you have to also learn the business.

Define what success means to you and put a plan in place to achieve it. Last year, for me, it was being able to create the best music possible without compromise and rediscover the joy of music. This year it’s been about making an even better album and getting noticed. I was unrealistic in thinking I could build an audience that will support this music while paying the bills from solely music. In the next year we’ll continue to work toward that goal with a combination of seeking a manager, continuing to build out my team, exploring sync licensing, crowdfunding and sponsorship and possibly doing some tours.

Ultimately, while I’m already successful in having made and produced five albums, an EP, a few remixes, singles and soundtracks in the last two years, the next level success is to have music cover the expenses. Because music is life, I’m thankful for the personal growth experienced from its pursuit.

5. You create mindful and spiritual music. Who are some other musicians who make that music who have inspired you and/or how did you get interested in that type of music?

In the 80s when I was coming of age, pop metal was ruling the charts. But, I thankfully had friends who explored underground music and shared our discoveries. We analyzed every aspect of every album. Fishbone’s Truth And Soul album and Living Colour were on constant rotation. They were singing about social issues. I was introduced to the Allman brothers whose group energy is undeniable. Of course, Pink Floyd’s political and social commentary was undeniable. George Harrison’s Within You Without You is monumental. When I first heard John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, it was otherworldly. I stepped into another dimension. The same thing happened to me when I first heard the Allmans do the 33-minute Mountain Jam on “Eat A Peach.” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” album also has that transcendent emotion. This was the foundation.

In the mid-90s, I would go see shows almost every night in NYC. This was where I discovered the motivation to create. There were so many great scenes for live music… what hit me spiritually was free jazz. There were artists like Other Dimensions In Music, Matthew Shipp and all John Zorn’s projects that just went for it with every note. These artists are all deep listeners. There were so many performances I saw where I felt elevated and connected to everyone. People feel this at arena or stadium shows sometimes when everyone is singing the same note. That feeling is the same feeling of a powerful meditation that connects you to the humanity and the earth. After many of these experiences, I started to write, and then perform.

Today, I know when I’m onto something creative when I feel warmth in my heart and a tingling sensation in my crown. It’s when I know a song is written, a mix is done, an album is complete and a performance is complete.

6. Can you tell us a little bit about your most recent positive-vibes-only album “Raise the Frequency“. What type of music do you have on that album and what are the songs about?

Musically, I blend a lot of styles. Lyrically, I tend to tackle issues from an observational perspective and choose to find something to be positive about. The lead single, Rise Above, talks about gun violence over a funk-rock groove. New Breed has a hip-hop beat over a rock progression with a reggae bridge. It’s about speaking truth and connecting on a collective, energetic level. The lead album track, No More Division, is soca-rock and call for unity. There’s some groovy yacht rock vibes in Love In The Swing, about capturing the moment, and Everything which is about mindful living. There’s ambient and space music in the title track which talks about environmental destruction and communal anxiety and there’s classic rock and soul with free improvisation in The Sounding Of The Trumpets, about awakening.

The entire album is a about the current state of humanity, asking us to lift up out of our collective adolescence and literally “Raise The Frequency” to attain, as the lyric says, “Higher spirit” by “bringing love into action.” In these ridiculous and embarrassing times, we cannot sit on the sidelines any longer and be involved solely in self-healing and personal growth. We have to engage in uncomfortable truths to overcome systemic racism, the strangle-hold of military industrial complex on the national budget, the global war profiteers who feel that power is demonstrated through military might, the neglect of the education system, and so on. This is a spiritual war that can only be overcome with energetic intention. We know music is a vibration that can be used for good. Coltrane said he wanted “to be a force for good.” That’s what Light Warriors is about and this album is a small contribution to the larger effort of light workers, spiritual activists and musical activists.

7. Anything else

How about “please buy the music and come to the shows?” Is that too shamelessly self-promotional? (laughter)

More seriously, there are books of lessons I’ve learned in this musically spiritual pursuit. What remains consistent is that growth is continual to the end of this life. The deeper I listen, the more grateful I am to be alive, the more love I feel for my wife, family and friends and the more determination I have to never give up in choosing to be positive, even in the face of extreme negativity. I’m also painfully aware that my life is not a struggle at all when compared with people around the world living in extreme and oppressed situations. I just hope that the music I create and the topics and issues I sing about have some kind positive impact. I’m just doing the best I can.

Thank you for theses wonderful questions and providing a platform to share my experience. I hope we can talk again.

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Categories : Exclusive Interviews, Music

The Distinction between Following your Passion and Following your Calling

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· July 5, 2017 
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There are a lot of self-help authors who will tell you to follow your passion. I’m a believer in this philosophy and think it can be helpful. However, I believe that following your *calling* is different than following your passion. And, I would argue that following your calling is more important than following your passion.

Essentially, following your passion is doing the activities that bring enthusiasm and joy into your life and you are passionate about. Alternatively, following a calling is doing the activities or making decisions that bring you an inner knowing that this activity or decision is the right thing to do. Or, a calling may be following your heart. Sometimes following your passion and following your calling overlap, but other times they do not overlap. For example, if someone loves to write and they also know in their heart or have an inner knowing that writing is the right activity for them to do, then their passion and calling overlap.

However, sometimes following your calling does not overlap with following your passion. A good example of this is the fictitious character George Baily (played by James Stewart), in the timeless movie It’s a Wonderful Life. In this movie, George’s calling does not overlap with his passion. George’s passion is to travel the world. The movie starts with George graduating from high school with dreams of traveling the world. However, three months later the board of directors at the Building and Loan (George’s father’s company) tell George that the Building and Loan company will only stay open if George agrees to work for them and carry on his father’s work. George decides then not to take a trip to Europe in order to work for them. He also uses the funds that he had saved to go to college to give to his brother so his brother could go to college. George continues to work for this company because he believed it was the right thing to do for his family and likely an inner calling or knowing he had. Four years later, George uses money he had initially saved in order to take his wife on honeymoon to New York and Bermuda to instead keep the Building and Loan company solvent and prevent investors from taking all of their money out the bank.

In this case, George was following his calling because he was doing in his heart what he believed was the right thing to do by working for the Building and Loan company even though his passion was to travel. I must admit this is a hard scene for me to watch in the movie and I found myself even questioning George’s decision. He was foregoing his personal passion in order to follow a deeper calling inside of him to do what was for the best and highest good. This is another distinction of a calling. Usually a calling comes with a knowing that our decision is working on behalf of the best and highest good. This is not always easy to recognize, but usually we have an inner knowing or a peace that passes understanding of what decision is for the best and highest good. Following our calling in life does not always result in following a passion, having more ease or joy or enthusiasm in life.

However, the benefits of following a calling are that we know we are doing the right thing; and even if it is not easy, following an inner calling usually comes with experiencing an inner peace that passes understanding or internal satisfaction. If we listen closely, then we will know what our callings or inner knowings or heart is telling us to do and the benefits wiil be an internal satisfaction that we are doing the right thing with our life, working towards the best and highest good, and an internal an ineffable experience of contentment. This feeling of internal satisfaction is always available to us when we are following our calling if we can choose to trust in our self or Spirit that we will not be led astray.

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Categories : Movies, New Media
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Hare Krishna! The film

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· June 26, 2017 
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Hare Krishna! The film is now screening. According to the film’s synopsis:

1965: America is in turmoil. Unprecedented introspection and questioning of societal norms roil the country. Prabhupada, an unassuming 70-year-old Swami from India, arrives in New York City alone and without support or money. He carries only the ancient scriptures he has translated, and the firm faith in his teacher’s request: “offer spiritual wisdom to the people of the world!”

Suddenly thrust into the raging counterculture movement, Prabhupada speaks of the world’s real need, which is not necessarily satisfied by political or social revolutions, but by a revolution of consciousness. This divergence from the status quo successfully captures the attention of a generation of youth seeking answers to life’s existential questions. From a tiny storefront on 26th 2nd Avenue, Prabhupada shares with them the idea that the way to find real happiness, love and freedom is to search within and connect to your true self. All this, the Swami says, begins by simply chanting a rhythmic, meditative 16-word mantra – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

This universal message resonates with more and more people, including musician George Harrison whose hit song ‘My Sweet Lord’, features the Hare Krishna chant. From there, Prabhupada’s movement explodes, and his followers – now known as the Hare Krishnas – become infamous for chanting and dancing in the streets.

Not everyone is enamored by the enthusiastic, and at times overzealous, fervor of Prabhupada’s young followers. As more people join the movement, parents and community leaders begin to view it as a dangerous cult. Devotees are charged with brainwashing and are taken to court in a controversial case that threatens to undermine everything that Prabhupada has worked for…

Hare Krishna! is the true story of an unexpected, prolific, and controversial revolutionary. Using never-before-seen archival verite, Prabhupada’s own recorded words, and interviews with his early followers, the film takes the audience behind-the-scenes of a cultural movement born in the artistic and intellectual scene of New York’s Bowery, the hippie mecca of Haight Ashbury, and the Beatle mania of London, to meet the Swami who started it all.

For more information about the film and to find screenings, you can visit http://harekrishnathefilm.com/

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Categories : Movies
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Mesothelioma and Natural Chakra Healing

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· June 24, 2017 
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Although there are numerous traditional medications and treatment plans available for people with mesothelioma, many have turned to alternative forms of treatment, and with great success. Natural chakra healing is a complementary form of energy therapy that is generally used in combination with other treatments.

What is Energy Therapy?

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), energy therapy is a palliative form of treatment that enhances peace of mind and relaxation. Stress can bring about added fatigue and increase pain associated with mesothelioma, but energy therapy helps to balance the body and reduce stress.

What is Natural Chakra Healing?

Natural chakra healing takes on various forms of treatment, and each type of treatment is intended to heal and cleanse the body’s chakras, which in turn can promote physical, mental, and emotional health. There are seven main chakras within the body. Chakras are our body’s “energy centers” and different types of natural chakra healing that can potentially help patients with mesothelioma battle the debilitating illness. The seven main chakras in the body include:

The Root Chakra: The base of the spine, near the pelvic floor
The Sacral Chakra: Pelvic area
The Solar Plexus: Between the belly button and solar plexus
The Heart Chakra: Chest area at heart level
The Throat Chakra: Neck and shoulders region
The Third-Eye Chakra: Between the eyebrows and behind the forehead
The Crown Chakra: Crown of the head

Massage

One of the most basic yet beneficial forms of chakra healing is massage. Massages can release stress in all areas of the body, including the back, neck, limbs, abdomen, jaw, and more. Different massage techniques can be used to focus on specific areas. For example, applying oils to the stomach area and massaging in a clockwise motion can be beneficial for people with peritoneal mesothelioma.

Chakra Stones, Healing Crystals

Chakra stones, also known as healing crystals, contain unique colors and vibrations that can help promote wellness in the damaged body part. For instance, people with pleural mesothelioma have cancer along the lining of their lungs. Chakra stones such as Rose Quartz are used to help promote energy in the chest and lung area, while Smoky Quartz is used to promote healing and detoxify the body after cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

To help release stress and reduce depression, Amethyst is said to have strong mental and emotional healing properties, while Citrine and Sunstone can help boost energy levels.

Sounds and Healing

Music is a powerful way to help the body relax, while at the same time, de-stress and boost cleansing in the chakras. Trained music therapists are professionals who can tailor sound based on the patient’s diagnosis, musical preference, and needs.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), music/sound therapy can reduce nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients. It can also help reduce breathing rate, high blood pressure, and ease depression.

Essential Oils

Many people believe that essential oils are an “essential” part of chakra healing. Although essential oils are typically used in conjunction with massages, some oils can be used as a dietary supplement, as well as a form of aromatherapy.

Common oils used to heal the chakras include:

Clove
Juniper
Lemon
Rosemary
Peppermint
Blue Chamomile
Lemongrass
Sage
Gotu Kola
Sandalwood
Lavender
Spruce
Yarrow
Rose
Note: If you use these oils for aromatherapy seek advice from a licensed practitioner and do not use without understanding the effects and dangers first.

Important Things to Remember

Although numerous studies and years of research have shown the positive benefits that cancer patients can potentially have with alternative medicine and natural chakra healing, it still is not considered a replacement for traditional medicine. It’s important to speak with your physician if you have any questions, especially before ingesting essential oils.

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This article was reprinted with permission from https://mesothelioma.net/mesothelioma-natural-chakra-healing/

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Categories : Guest Posts

6 Ways To Stay Consistent With Your Practice Sessions

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· June 24, 2017 
· No Comments

Many times it happens that you fail to focus on your work as soon as you enter your practice session. However, what you need to remember during those times is that you are not alone who is facing such problems, all the high-profile musicians go through similar situations once in a while in their lives, but they don’t allow such situations to prevent them from improvising their skills.

As an aspiring musician, it’s your responsibility to improvise your music skills on a daily basis. There is no denying the fact that learning is a never-ending process, so you should always try to find new ways of dealing with your frustration so that you can practice effectively when you enter your practice room.

It’s extremely crucial that you maintain a continuity when it comes to improving your music skills by practicing your instrument regularly.

If you are falling short of ideas, and you do not know what to do during your practice sessions, here are some tips that will keep you motivated and will improvise your music making skills.

1. Listen To A Song Carefully

If in case, you are lacking that much-needed motivation and don’t know what to do next, just relax and listen to a song that’s close to your heart. Listening to a song is one of the most important steps in understanding the technicalities involved in music making. So even if you are lacking inspiration, you can always keep yourself busy in listening to a beautiful song.
Cultivating the habit of learning by ear helps you tremendously, so you can easily take your music skills to a next level.

2. Imitate A Song

When you really don’t know what to do, you can simply sit in your practice room and start imitating a song. Once you begin humming the song, you automatically start judging your performance in a variety of ways, such as whether you are singing it in a right way or not, and where to pause and where to increase your voice etc. All these things collectively play a great role in enhancing your music skills. Once you realize where to stop and where to increase your pitch, you can easily implement this knowledge when it comes to playing your instrument.

3. Try To Play A Song That You Already Know

Sometimes it happens that you lack inspiration, during such times all you can do is grab your instrument and try to play music for a song that you truly enjoy. In this case, if you are stuck into something you can even play the original song in the background for which you are trying to produce the music. Make sure that, if you are unable to play your instrument in the same way as it is played in the original song, then try to listen to all the minute details first. It means you have to keep your instrument aside for a couple of minutes and pay attention to the original song so that you can understand its music and then play it in your instrument accordingly.

4. Work on Your Intervals

One of the most crucial ways of improving your music making skills is to work on your intervals. You should have a comprehensive knowledge of the intervals and must have the potential to recognize them while listening to a piece of music. Yes, until and unless you are capable of recognizing the intervals simply by listening to a composition, you should keep on practicing them. You must have the ability to recognize which is perfect 4th, minor 7th or major 3rd etc.

In short, should be able to identify the sound produced by these intervals. In this case, you need to take ear training for achieving your goal.

5. Try to Transcribe A Solo

In music education, transcribing is considered as one of the most important ways of improving your skills, and you should also focus on this. When it comes to making the process of transcribing easy, you need to choose a simple song. Always remember that setting realistic goals makes your learning extremely simple and improves your skills like anything.

6. Play Piano

If you have a piano at home, make sure that you keep on practicing it on a regular basis, because it is one of the most important instruments which is extremely simple to learn. Music experts believe that if you know how to play piano, you can easily learn other instruments such a guitar.

7. Enroll Yourself In A Music Academy

If you are lacking inspiration, you can even enroll yourself into music lessons in a good music school like New York Jazz Academy, which offers different types of music courses.

Even if you do not have any intentions of becoming a great musician, you can still enroll yourself in music lessons, because it plays a great role in your overall development. If you have a mental problem, music remains a great weapon to deal with it. No matter how sick you are, if you listen to a good piece of music, it helps to relax you in a great way. Since music helps in soothing your soul, it’s better that you try to learn any form of music and practice it consistently at home.

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Categories : Music

Codependency & Love

Posted by Matt Welsh 
· June 16, 2017 
· No Comments

There is a series on Netflix now called Love, that is a Judd Apatow romantic comedy about a socially awkward man in his 30s trying to date a smart, successful, and beautiful woman in her 30s. She also happens to be a recovering sex and alcohol addict. I’ll admit that some parts of this show are a bit offensive, crude, raunchy and do show explicit sexual and drug activity. So, I am not sure I would recommend this show to everyone. However, beneath the sex jokes and drug activity is a true love story about two incredibly flawed but decent human beings trying to stay open to the possibility of a loving and have a healthy relationship…even though one is a recovering sex and drug addict and her boyfriend has problems with codependency.

One of the reasons I like this show is that is highlights what codependency looks like in a romantic relationship. Essentially, codependency is when you are putting the needs of someone else above your own needs to the point where it is harming you physically, emotionally, or psychologically. One scene in Love that depicts this perfectly is when the woman, who is recently sober, is about to take some hallucinogenic mushrooms. Right as she is putting the mushrooms up to her mouth, her boyfriend grabs all of them from her and ingests them himself to prevent her from taking them. This is an extreme example of codependency because he is putting his girlfriend’s need to stay sober above his own need to stay sober and healthy by ingesting the drugs himself (and getting high) so she will not take the drugs. Throughout the show, we watch the struggle that ensues between the two of them as he tries to rescue her at his own expense, and how that causes strain, distance, and resentment between the two of them.

This show and above scene highlights just how complex and damaging codependent relationships can be. On the surface it may appear that one partner may be always trying to do something nice or helpful for the other partner. This has traditionally appeared in relationships with addicts where one partner who is sober will enable the other partner who is an addict by providing them money to support their drug addiction or a place to stay when they are using drugs or hung over. However, codependent relationships don’t have to involve a partner with a drug addiction.

Codependent relationships can occur in any relationship when one partner is constantly sacrificing their wants and needs to support some sort of unhealthy behavior in another partner and that is causing harm to the partner who is sacrificing their needs. This can begin with seemingly ‘nice’ gestures such as constantly staying up later than you want to watch TV or talk to your partner, only to wake up the next day feeling extra tired and not getting a good night’s sleep. Another example may be when a partner stops engaging in their own interests, self-care activities, career opportunities, or hanging out with their other friends, in order to spend excessive time with their romantic partner who demands unreasonable amounts of time from their partner. Thus, any time we are constantly and consistently giving more of ourself than we have to give for another person, we may be engaging in codependent behavior.

This can have potentially harmful physical, emotional, and psychological impacts on the person who is engaging in codependent behavior. What started out as ‘being nice’ can actually lead to increased resentment and a person neglecting their own needs, or not being willing to take a look at their own problems. This often may start off as denying smaller needs such as sleeping less, avoiding time doing activities that are enjoyable, or spending less time with friends and family for the sake of the romantic relationship. However, over time this can build up into more extreme codependent behaviors that have much greater harmful effects such as lending more money to a partner than you can not afford, giving up your own career ambitions for your partner, having clinical depression and anxiety because of the strain of the relationship, and also losing your sense of self or identity.

One of the most important preventative measures to avoid codependent relationships are to take the following measures…

1. When you are in a relationship identify your own needs (e.g., sleep, time alone, time with other friends and family, self-care) and determine whether you can meet your needs if you are in a relationship with that person.

2. Practice setting boundaries early on in a relationship and see if your partner will respect your boundaries. For example, tell your partner you need to go to sleep early and see if they understand and allow you to go to sleep early.

3. Know that you are worthy and deserve to be loved and accepted for exactly who you are without having to change yourself for your partner or for the sake of the relationship.

Love and Light,
Matthew Welsh
Founder of Spiritual Media Blog

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Categories : Television
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