My Gift to You

It is great to be able to share and post the songs from "Thought Vibration" to stream for free, or for the video to also be free on YouTube to stream, but I wanted to take that a step further. If you want a CD copy of "Thought Vibration" you can still get one through the CreateSpace link in the music section of the site or through my music site itself, but I'm now offering a version of this album through Bandcamp. You may now name your own price for this album. Which means you may also download it for free.

Why am I doing something like this?  I want those who are having issues with stress to be able to download some music to take with them on their walks or for meditation at home.  To be able to have the ability to get off the grid and do so, without having to pay the money for it.  Especially if they can't afford downloading albums and have limited budgets.  Believe me, I know how this goes, there are times when I want an album, but sometimes wait months to buy it.  When I have the ability to do so through Bandcamp, it allows me to go back later on and pay the artist for the album, for what it is worth to me.  You may still do so through this link I am providing. This is a "name your own price" deal, you can get it for free and you can pay something for it as well.  If you decide to download it for free, all that I ask in return, is that you use it and see if it helps you at all.

My main concern is that folks get something good out of it. Download it, listen to it and relax and enjoy it. I'm working on doing the same thing for the video and will keep you all posted.  But for now, enjoy the music and enjoy the video below. 

Peace be with you all,
Dave

Stress Reduction Technique Videos

I was researching a bit about Stress and Diabetes today, and finding some quick tip videos on how to relieve stress as well. This is just a quick little blog to share a few of the videos that I found today.

Enjoy, relax, kick back and take some deep breaths,
Dave

How to Reduce Your Stress

Stress Relief and Exercise

Diabetes and Stress: Here are the facts

Diabetes and Stress Management

Stress and Diabetes

Jim Butler - Musical Relief

Today I am going to focus on the master of musical stress relief, Jim Butler.  I first stumbled upon Jim, not through his widely popular podcast, but through an Amazon.com suggestion when I was purchasing an MP3 album from Thom Brennan.  "Deep Energy 1.0" was highly rated and well priced.  An hour long track of ambient music for 99 cents?  That's a bargain; so I had to give it a try.  I downloaded it, immediately listened and was blown away at how this relaxed me.  So I bought 7 more tracks immediately.  

As I was Zen-ing and Zoning out, I researched the man behind the music.  I found his website and saw that he had a podcast on iTunes.  I am not a big Apple or iTunes fan so I usually make my purchases through Amazon or better yet, through the artists actual site, so that they get the most money for their works.  I started to listen to Jim's podcasts through iTunes on a daily basis and also found him out on Stitcher (which I like better for podcast listening).  He talks through some of the music, but I don't mind that at all, its a podcast.  

I have purchased more from his collection of music on Amazon over the last year and through his Bandcamp site.  Bandcamp is great, because you can name your own price for the music you are purchasing.  This gives us a chance to appreciate the artist by paying more than the ten dollars they are asking for their release.  Jim's music is like gold to me, its worth more than the asking price.  I also donate to his podcast through his site, because I get so much out of it.  Being able to done and help out really does help to keep someone going.  When you give back for what you really enjoy, it keeps the circle going.  

Some of Jim's music is termed "dark ambient", which to me is what I would call "space music".  Music that creates a sense of space in the ambiance.  That's what a lot of his tracks do for me.  It's like a silence meditation with a soundtrack.  I am able to focus on my breathing, but have something beautiful in the background that keeps out my thought distractions.  Am I making sense here?  It's like having some white noise while you work to keep the kids yelling at their video games at bay from your conscious thought, thus keeping you from having to yell at them and raise your stress levels.   Maybe that makes a bit more sense.  It does in this household.  

I can't recommend Jim's music enough.  Anyone that I know who needs great stress relieving music or just an excellent soundtrack for Yoga and meditation, is always sent to Jim's site.  Right now, as I type this, I am listening to his latest release "Chakras for Balancing and Awakening and Chakras for Meditation and Sound Therapy" and the "Meditative" pieces are relaxing my entire being.  

Listen to the links I've shared below and go purchase some tracks for your collection.  Check out his pocasts on iTunes and Stitcher.  Download his app, from the app store, if you are an iPhone or iPad user.  Remember your breathing techniques!  Try the one I suggested yesterday.  I'll write up in greater detail later.  

Peace be with you,

Dave

The first release I picked up from Jim:

What I am listening too right now from Jim.

A great video from Jim's YouTube channel:

Just the Littlest Things Can Trigger Stress

Just the littlest things can trigger our stress on a daily basis.  Today, for example, another snow storm, which is something out of my control.  A project coming to a head at the very last moment before sharing with an important client.   Everyone on edge who is working on the last minute project.  Not being able to relax from emails and texts flurrying in.  I try to think, "at least I didn't have to drive today, I got to work from home." but, the stress was still there.  It seems like the sweat level turns up, when you are locked into your chair and stress is flowing through your system and wanting to get out of your body.  So how do I relieve it while I'm working?  Music and breathing.  Sometimes I catch myself in time to let it go, other times I can feel it starting to effect me physically.  Its almost like I can feel that blood sugar rising now that my medication has me somewhat under control.  

Someone once asked me, how come I didn't know that I was at an extremely high blood glucose level, and my A1C was 11.2 (that is very bad folks) when I finally went to the doctor and I told them that there are varying levels of feeling like crap.  Once you get used to one level, you trudge on, and another and another and another come and go and you don't realize that you are on a downward spiral, until its too late and  you wake up one morning and you tingle and you don't have any feeling in your extremities and you come to the conclusion that there is something seriously wrong.  You check your blood glucose level, because you haven't checked it in over 6 months, because you thought you had your pre-diabetes under control, and your meter says you have a morning sugar of 326 (also very, very bad).  That's when you know there is something really wrong.

So, what music did I listen too today when the stress hit me?  I started with some of my own, that you hear in the videos on the site.  Especially the video and song called "Dark Night Distant Light".  I then moved into a lovely piano CD that just took me away last night when I first heard it.  "Rebirth" is the latest release from Josh Kramer.  Josh has become a friend through Facebook and a very talented musician.  I have picked up every one of his albums when they become available, but this new one is just so relaxing, beautiful, haunting, loving, romantic and heart wrenching, it's my favorite release of his so far.  Overall, the album soothes me and that is what's important to me.  I connect very well with his writing.  It relieved my stress very well.  When I sat at my computer today and became stressed a few times, I did some focus breathing techniques that I learned years ago, and Josh's music worked in balance with the breathing to help me relax and release the tensions.  I highly recommend the album for any collection. 

I want to share these artists with you when I find them and I also want to share a lot more artists with you that I have listened to for years.  These artists also have the same effect on me.  One by one, I will post the artist, their websites and a sample or two if I can find them online.  I ask that if you like them, please purchase their music.  It is so hard in this industry anymore to make a living, that we all have "real" jobs, and the music has become more of a hobby because it has become nearly impossible to pay the bills through what we love to do.  So much talent gets pinned under and washed away that it's hard for it to shine through the din of machine.  People need to hear this wonderful music and let it help heal them.  Let it help to relieve the stress and bring some joy back into your heart, so that you can feel vibrant again.  All this, helps to bring down that blood glucose level as well as your any high blood pressure issues you might have from stress.  

Take a listen to Josh and feel the connection he has to his music.  It's what Benjamin Zander called "the left check lean".  If you've never seen this video, watch it, its what I like to live by when I play my piano, and it's what I hear when I listen to Josh.  

Explore some stress relieving techniques with breathing exercises.  I'll share one of mine in the near future.  I need to focus on the steps and make sure I'm getting my thoughts down in the right order.  But for now, slow deep breaths in and out, focusing on each breath and doing a method called 2-4-6 or 2-4-8, is a great start.  2 second deep breath in through the nose, with the tongue at the roof of your mouth, hold for 4 seconds and exhale out the mouth for 6 to 8 seconds in length.  Do this 10 times and feel the stress melt away.  :)  and don't forget to smile. 

Peace be with you,

Dave

Take a listen to Josh's title track in full here:

Here is a sample of the entire album:
Here is one of my favorite tracks to listen too off of my CD when I need to let go of stuff.