Category: Branding, Marketing & Communications

Your Soul Food for May Day 2024: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. End the Stigma. Make it OK.

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

This week:

Purpose in Life Can Lead to Less Stress, Better Mental Well-Being:

Psychiatry.org – Purpose in Life Can Lead to Less Stress, Better Mental Well-being

There Are 5 ‘Stress Languages.’ Here’s How To Figure Out Yours.
You’ve heard of love languages, but what about these? Experts break down each type and what they say about how you handle stress.

What Is Your Stress Language? | HuffPost Life

What is Your Language of Appreciation at Work?

In the spirit of the platinum rule v. the golden rule, where the Golden Rule says, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you”, the Platinum Rule suggests: “Do unto others, as others would have done unto themselves.

Use the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace | Great Place To Work®

Inspiration-

Homeless Man Rushes Into A Burning Animal Shelter And Saves Every Animal, Here’s The Story
After a kitchen fire started at the W-Underdogs Shelter in Atlanta, Georgia, Keith didn’t hesitate. He ran into the building with hopes of saving as many animals as he could. What he wound up doing makes him nothing short of a hero.

This Homeless Man Runs Into A Burning Shelter With A Single Mission: Save Every Animal – Buzznet

Meet California’s “Toy Man,” a humanitarian who’s brought joy to thousands of kids
His donations over the years have been funded entirely by his personal savings, including money he invested from his earnings in the stock market.

Meet California’s “Toy Man,” a humble humanitarian who’s brought joy to thousands of kids – CBS News

Please Pay it forward.

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“The meaning of your life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

– Pablo Picasso

Your Soul Food for Friday April 12, 2024: Making Every day the Best Day of the Year at Work, at Play, in Nature, with Animals, in Wonder!

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

If you are local-

Gig Alerts for the Rest of April: 3 Gigs, 2 Bands, 1 Double Header, All a Fun Time!

If you are in the mood, or the hood, here are some live music options at very respectable hours across the county:

Drivin the Bus at the Loma Club in Point Loma this Sunday April 14th from 1 to 4pm No Cover

Loma Club – Drivin’ The Bus (dtbband.com)

Drivin the Bus at Mission Fed ArtWalk in Little Italy in the Piazza della Famiglia on the Main Stage, on West Date Street- Saturday April 27th from 12:30 to 1:30 Free, + you can explore the amazing annual art scene either before or after!

Little Italy Mission Federal Artwalk – Drivin’ The Bus (dtbband.com)

Strange Crew Clapton Tribute Night Saturday April 27th from 6 to 10pm at Duck Foot Brewing in Miramar at 8920 Kenamar Drive. No Cover

Strange Crew – Clapton Tribute Night! | Duck Foot Brewing Co (duckfootbeer.com)

Stay Thirsty My Friends!

If you are virtual-

Join me for a free virtual conversation, on establishing and nurturing a thriving, inclusive workplace culture that enhances employee engagement and drives positive business outcomes:

 Triton Table Talk | Building and Measuring Cultural Impact.

5:00p (Pacific Time) on Tuesday, April 23.

Register here: https://web.cvent.com/event/b76cfb27-764a-45c1-b021-170991e80965/summary

You are also more than welcome to invite guests or other team mates to attend.

If you love animals-

Help address the current crisis of overcrowding in our local shelters:

Copy and paste one of the ads at the site below on your social media accounts to help get the word out and you will get a round of apaws!

Announcing Project Dog Foster! (campaign-view.com)

If Joy is non-negotiable-

The vorfreude secret: 30 zero-effort ways to fill your life with joy
How can you change your life for the better today? Learn not just to appreciate happiness – but to anticipate it

The vorfreude secret: 30 zero-effort ways to fill your life with joy | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian

If you missed the Solar Eclipse and still believe in Awe-

The Neuroscience of the Total Solar Eclipse Makes Us All Happier and More United
An eclipse is the ultimate awe-inspiring event, and a mountain of science shows awe makes us less stressed and more connected.

The Neuroscience of Why Solar Eclipses Make Us Feel Happier and More United | Inc.com

Solar eclipse: The 20 best photos from 2024’s celestial spectacle
The most stunning images from the cosmic event of the century. April 09, 2024 Eclipse fever has gripped large parts of Mexico, USA and Canada. Millions of people flocked to areas in the path of totality to experience this rare total solar eclipse, and festivals have been held in many towns and cities to celebrate this amazing natural wonder. The excitement has been compounded by the fact that this total solar eclipse coincides with the Sun reaching its peak in activity during its 11-year cycle.

Solar eclipse: The 20 best photos from 2024’s celestial spectacle – BBC Science Focus Magazine

Thanks this week go to Ogy M, Paul T, Bob C, & Charles C.

Pay and Play it Forward!

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation,

we shall harness for God the energies of love.

And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world,

we shall have discovered fire!”

–Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Your Soul Food for Friday March 8, 2024: The Power of Music!

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Traveling, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

We finally know why live music makes us so emotional:
Hearing live music tugs at our heartstrings more than a recording, probably because it increases activity in an emotion-processing region in our brain

We finally know why live music makes us so emotional | New Scientist

This 1 Hobby Is Great for An Aging Brain, According to A New Study
And no one is too old to pick it up.

Playing Music Can Help Aging Brain Health, Study Says | HuffPost Life

Filmmaker Bao Nguyen on His Triumphant ‘The Greatest Night in Pop’
We asked, “The Greatest Night in Pop” director Bao Nguyen everything you would want to know about “We are the World.”

Bao Nguyen Interview: On Netflix’s The Greatest Night in Pop (uproxx.com)

Classical musicians got stuck in traffic with their instruments, and there was only one thing to do:
A blocked motorway becomes a concert hall, as a classical violinist and musician friends take out their instruments to help entertain stationary drivers.

Classical musicians got stuck in traffic with their instruments, and there was… – Classic FM

Please play it forward!

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“Do not move the way fear makes you move.

Move the way love makes you move.”- Osho

Your Soul Food for Friday February 2, 2024: Better Rest, Upskilling Leadership, Mastering a Growth Mindset and Fostering a Great Culture

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

  • Better Rest
  • Upskilling Leadership
  • Mastering a Growth Mindset
  • Fostering a Great Culture

The Seven Forms of Rest and Why You Need All of Them:

The Seven Forms of Rest and Why You Need All of Them | INTEGRIS Health (integrisok.com)

NCPC Mentorship 2.0: Fostering A Community of Practice:

If you are local and want to grow here is a 4-month program I have had the privilege of helping ideate as part of my service on the NCPC Board of Directors to ensure everyone has access and opportunity to upleveling their leadership skills to drive social impact.

The mentors are all amazing and the program is designed to be a value driver for all that participate.

Note: This is the last week to sign up so please help us spread the word!

Mentorship 2.0, Fostering a Community of Practice

The 3 daily tricks Jay Shetty says will help you master a growth mindset and achieve your goals
The 3 steps of growth to set you up for success.

Jay Shetty: 3 tricks for achieving your goals and mastering the growth mindset | Fortune Well

What is Culture with Jon Gordon:

Culture is not one person. It’s everyone.

Culture is not static. It’s dynamic. 

Every day, everyone in your organization creates your culture by what they value, believe, think, say, and do. 

Regardless of what your culture was like last year or even yesterday, what matters most is what you are doing today to build your culture and make it great. 

This past Thursday and Friday I had the honor and opportunity to speak to the Colorado Rockies entire organization. From the Owner, President, GM, Manager and Dominican coaches to athletic trainers, equipment managers, ticket sales, tech, etc. It’s rare for a professional sports team to bring everyone in the organization together, but the Rockies have a rare, special culture filled with amazing people. 

It occurred to me how important it was that everyone in the organization was learning the same principles and practices for enhanced mindset, leadership and teamwork at the same time.

Shared learning experiences like this create a common bond, a common understanding, a common language, and common practices, that reinforce and strengthen the culture and lead to collective growth.

While I’m a big believer of diversity of people, diversity of thought, diversity of ideas and diversity of innovative strategies in an organization, it’s essential to connect and unite around a set of common principles, practices and core values.

For a culture to be strong, everyone in an organization must know what they stand for and live these shared principles and core values.

When a diverse group of people know and show their values consistently together, they are well on their way to creating a culture of greatness and creating great results.

Culture is created and you and your team can create a great culture starting today by what you value, believe, think, say and ultimately do. 

Start by getting together and ask, “What do we stand for and what do we want to be known for?”

Then decide how you will live it and show it.

Thanks this week go to Larry H for the culture article.

Please pay it forward.

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

Your Soul Food for Friday January: Spoken Word, Great Things Happening Every day, your 4 Pillar Wellbeing Kit and Hold on to Your Heart!

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

Inspiration from the 20th Annual Nonprofit Governance Symposium at USD:

Last week I had the privilege and opportunity to help shape and participate in the 20th Annual Nonprofit Governance Symposium at USD.

The In the Spirit of Leadership session in the afternoon, included a 10-minute nonstop writing exercise, along with a mindfulness practice, and some affirmations.

While I love writing and word play, this was new territory for me, and the writing exercise unleashed another creative dimension of my inner self, that came out unedited, in one flow experience, with pen to paper for the duration, until we were told to stop and come back inside.

Thanks to Causmosis, Dr. G and Dr. Y for an amazing conference and unleashing a different aspect of my authentic self!

Here goes:

Causmosis Made Me Do It

Top of mind, this is an experiment in open cognitive/emotional expression,

Where I go, I do not know- just flow baby flow.

Towards the abyss, I cannot miss,

The arrow hits the target the eye cannot see,

The guru within comes out in me,

I am emerging, growing, nearly free,

Free to be fully me!

I stand in the hallowed halls of grace,

I cradle my young self by the face,

Mistakes are forgiven trace by trace,

The irony, the tyranny are dissolved in the synchrony…

Reaching out on bended knee,

Bruises do not tattoos be,

I am not blind, I surely see,

Into thee I see.

Into thee I see.

Is this my very first spoken word?

Birthed of creativity in the theater of the absurd,

Expressed from sorrow to be heard,

Why did I wait to flip the bird- to doubt, to fear, to lack of faith?

Affirmations simply cannot wait!

It’s time to walk, how straight the gait,

I’m living freely for heaven’s sake!

In symphony with those around,

I hear birds sing in the background,

I feel my feet right on the ground,

My spirit soars its heaven bound.

Causmosis sits to my left,

She wields her pen with deft and depth,

Inspiring artists want to know,

What performance plays in the “inside” show?

And so, I write and write and write,

My grip is failing- pressure tight,

Is this from gripping this little pen,

Or fear of failing littler men?

Who can say?

What do I know?

It’s time to end,

This delightful show.

WORD!

Great Things Are Happening EVERY Day, but you don’t Hear About Them:

These stories don’t bleed, and so they don’t lead but here is some positive news to offset all the bad stuff that saturates our media, day in and day out.

66 Good News Stories You Didn’t Hear About in 2023 (futurecrunch.com)

One Good Thing: why you need to create your own 4-pillar wellbeing kit for better mental health:

stylist.co.uk/health/mental-health/four-pillar-wellbeing-toolkit-one-good-thing/857606

Hold On to Your Heart!

Our closest living relatives can recognize family members and long-lost friends, even after decades of separation.

Chimps and bonobos recognize friends, relatives they haven’t seen in decades : NPR

Thanks this week go to Dr. G, Dr. Y, Lorreta T, Brenda S, Vivian M (aka Causmosis) and Charles S.

Stop monkeying around doggone it, and please pay it forward today!

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“An individual has not started living

until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns

to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Your First Soul Food for 2024: Health and Mental Health Resolutions, Micro Habits, Medical Breakthroughs and Mind-Bending Brain Science Revelations

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

  • 4 Health Resolutions
  • 6 Micro Habits
  • 7 Medical Breakthroughs
  • 9 Mental Health Resolutions
  • + 2023 Mind Bending Revelations in the Brain Sciences

4 simple daily health resolutions that require minimal time:
Here are four simple health resolutions that require limited daily effort while delivering far-reaching health benefits — and some immediate gratification.

4 simple daily health resolutions that require minimal time | CNN

6 micro-habits to try in the new year for a happier 2024:
Forget the massive resolutions and try these easier options instead.

6 micro-habits to try in the new year for a happier 2024 (stylist.co.uk)

7 medical breakthroughs in 2023 to be excited about:
There were major breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s and sickle cell treatment.

The biggest medical breakthroughs in 2023 – ABC News (go.com)

9 Mental-Health Resolutions for 2024, According to Therapists:
Whether you feel reborn—or even just a little bit reset—at the start of a new year, consider making your mental health a priority in 2024. Why? “Because that’s the gateway to everything else,” says Guy Winch, a clinical psychologist, author of Emotional First Aid, and co-host of the Dear Therapists podcast. “It’s the linchpin that allows you to succeed or to fail.”

Mental-Health Resolutions for 2024, According to Therapists | TIME

2023’s Mind-Bending Revelations in the Brain Sciences:
This year was full of roiling debate and speculation about the prospect of machines with superhuman capabilities that might, sooner than expected, leave the human brain in the dust. A growing public awareness of ChatGPT and other so-called large language models (LLMs) dramatically expanded public awareness of artificial intelligence. In tandem, it raised the question of whether the human brain can keep up with the relentless pace of AI advances.

2023’s Mind-Bending Revelations in the Brain Sciences | Scientific American

What will YOU do differently in 2024?

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

Your Soul Food for the Holidays 2023: The Greatest Gift We Can Give One Another

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

May you all find the time, and may time find you in authentic connection with those that matter most to you, as well as those to whom you may matter mightily in a moment…

Happy Holy Days!

Love,

Neville 

The Gift of Time in Aisle 9
“Look at all the sugar in these cereals,” the shrunken, old man pushing 90 said aloud in Aisle 9 at my local drugstore.
As he reached for the Cheerios off the shelf, our eyes met.

“I’m down to one teaspoon in my coffee, instead of three. Heck, during WWII I was happy if the coffee was even hot.”

The man, I’d soon come to know as Frank, immediately wiped away a tear with the brush of his jacket sleeve. “I never used to cry, but I seem to cry all the time now.”
“That’s healthy,” I replied with a big smile, “it means you’re human.”

Frank returned the smile as he launched into a story about his service buddies. Glancing at the cold milk in my cart and lengthy holiday list in hand, I began to rehearse a graceful exit strategy.  After all, I didn’t have a moment to spare. Ready to execute, I turned back towards Frank and got smacked with a feeling. One I didn’t see coming but knew I must honor. 

In that awakened moment, I put away my list and said, “Tell me more about WWII.” 

Time seemed to stop in Aisle 9 as Frank told me all about his war experience and being part of the largest land battle ever fought by our country – the Battle of the Bulge. “Do you know there were over 70,000 American casualties during that battle alone?” “Yes, I do.” I replied.  “My Dad was captured in that Battle and became a Prisoner of War in Stalag 11B.”

Frank’s eyes were alert when I shared the story of how Dad’s frozen feet, rather than being amputated, were saved thanks to the connection he made with a German cook’s young son during his brief hospital stay. The 10-year-old boy, who wanted to learn English, was drawn to my dad’s genuine smile, warmth, and kindness.

Following a day of lessons, he brought Dad a bottle of schnapps to show his appreciation. Dad drank the liquor, massaged his feet all night through the intense pain, and regained enough circulation to prevent the operation the following morning.

Frank chuckled when I shared how Dad ended up playing professional football for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles with those same feet!

When the conversation came to a natural close, Frank smiled, put out his hand, pulled me into a hug, and whispered “Thank you for taking time to talk with me.”
“It was my pleasure and honor,” I whispered back.  And I meant it.

As I held this sweet, dear man in my arms, I could feel his body gently shake as he can no longer hold back tears. My own eyes misted as I felt the power of Dad’s lesson of kindness and warmth play out in my life. 
This time it wasn’t a little boy and a bottle of schnapps in a war hospital, but an overwhelmed, working mom with a shrunken old man in Aisle 9.  But the lesson remained the same. The power of connection through a genuine smile.

The magic in an unexpected place. A moment I almost missed because I didn’t have time to waste.
This holiday season, remember the greatest gift you can give another is your presence and time. No wrapping required.    




A year into the aging beat, I have found my strength:
From a world in a sad state come stories of survival by STEVE LOPEZ

Almost a year ago, as I set out to explore the woes and wonders of aging, I wrote that I didn’t feel as old as the man I saw in the mirror.

That was the truth, and I still feel that way. But as I think back on what I’ve learned over the last 12 months, I need to make a confession. Although I feel younger than my reflection, I’m way older than the impostor whose likeness has been running at the top of this column.

I can’t even recall when that photo of me was taken and transformed into a sketch. Ten years ago, maybe? Most of the hair in that rendering is gone, and the years have carved more lines into my face. It’s false advertising, pure and simple. Here I am, standing firm against ageism in all its forms — in March, I extolled the virtues of actress Mimi Rogers’ vow to age naturally — and yet my miraculous, anti-aging portrait is the equivalent of radical cosmetic surgery. Is there anything that makes you look older than obvious attempts to hide your age?

Not that I was particularly sanguine about anything, including my own age, at the start of 2023. It was the year in which I would turn 70, which does knock you back a bit, especially if you glance now and again at the obituaries. And the world was in a sad state, bearing no resemblance to the picture I’d had in my head as an idealistic and somewhat naive younger man.

Vladimir Putin was attempting to crush Ukraine. The United States was at war with itself. Robots were writing essays. The planet was alternately flooding and burning. And all of that was before the Middle East exploded yet again.

You want to believe, as a parent, that your kids will inhabit a more evolved and less divided world than the one you were born into. So it’s a bit of a letdown to hit 70 and realize time is running out on the chance of sanity breaking out, let alone world peace.

The headline on my inaugural Golden State column asked whether our aging population was an opportunity or a ticking time bomb. We are, after all, approaching the first time in history in which more people in the world will be 65 and older than 18 and under.

The short answer is that while many people will age gracefully and comfortably, maintain access to the best healthcare available and continue finding purpose — in second careers and as volunteers, world travelers, hands-on grandparents and students of reinvention — millions will be swamped by healthcare and housing costs. Millions more will drift into permanent states of loneliness, isolation and the fog of forgotten histories. Countless middle-aged daughters and sons will be financially stressed and spiritually tested as they manage their own lives while caring for children and parents.

And so it goes, as the addled protagonist said over and over again in Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war novel “Slaughterhouse-Five.” Aging, of course, is nothing new. But the seismic demographic shift is, with 10,000 more people turning 65 each day in the United States, where savage inequities are the norm.

I’m reminded of David Mays, an unemployed Los Angeles caregiver approaching 70, his legs swollen from sleeping in his car for two years, and of the retired downtown L.A. resident who called Skid Row a massive retirement community, with older adults making up one of the fastest-growing segments of the homeless population. The cost of care crippled 102-year-old World War II vet Paul Hult, who told me in his Hollywood apartment that he’d burned through his life savings to pay for in- home help after taking a fall.

And I saw the flip side of that story in the San Fernando Valley, where 71-year-old caregiver Josephine Biclar showed me how she and other women from the Philippines — many of them making less than minimum wage — use dividers to carve apartments into sleeping barracks, because that’s all they can afford.

The challenges are monumental, and even though California is mapping strategies to meet them, questions about long-term funding and leadership abound. As I explore the many implications of an aging population, in California and beyond, it often seems as though I’m witnessing an evolving catastrophe akin to climate change. It’s here. We are not prepared. It’s going to get worse. And yet, as with climate change, there are stories of adaptation and survival, and I felt lucky to be in a position to tell them.

Go where life is and do what replenishes you, Father Gregory Boyle had advised when I was researching “Independence Day,” my book on retirement. My decision to keep working didn’t just replenish me; it helped save me. I lost my first son two years ago — a loss I’m still unable to fathom. Keep moving, I told myself. Find strength in those who honor the departed while moving forward, in those who meet terminal disease with courage and grace.

I recently visited Berkeley poet Charles Entrekin, who has lost his sight and his ability to walk, and he’s now losing his voice as he copes with Parkinson’s. But visits from his grandchildren are like bursts of sunshine, and as long as he can still write, he said, life is worth living. In his newest book, “Poems from the Threshold,” he wrote: I don’t know where I am going, but I am going, even though it is dark. I hold onto the ribbon that will lead me to the next room where I must let go and find my way on my own, alone.

For my 70th birthday, my wife and I went to Ireland. Time itself elasticized on that trip — maybe it stretches thin when you hit a big milestone. I found myself thinking about all the things my son will never experience. I wondered, too, how many more trips I’ll be lucky enough to take and whether, in the time I have left, I should revisit the places I love or take in more of what I’ve never seen. I don’t have the answers, but I know where to find inspiration, thanks to readers who keep sharing their stories with me.

When I watched Benny Wasserman, 88 and in treatment for cancer, hit 90-mile-an-hour fastballs at a batting cage near Disneyland, I cheered his every home run. And I heard from a woman who sits on her porch each morning to watch the rising sun brighten the sea before her, as she studies three new languages and takes her treatment for cancer. I don’t know if I’d have such deep wells of strength in a similar situation, but I’ll know what it means to face fear with courage.

Television pioneer Norman Lear, who died this month at the age of 101, told me three years ago that he dwelt not on what he’d done but on what he wanted to do next. That’s had me thinking lately that if we’re curious about what we don’t know rather than convinced of what we do know, the truth of who we are is unfinished business.

In that regard, I’ve got a new role model, and his name is Pete Teti. On Thanksgiving Day, I accompanied Teti on his daily Griffith Park hike as he approached his 100th birthday. The world is indeed in a sad state, he conceded. But the survivor of the Great Depression and World War II reminded me that things go in cycles, and young people are born without prejudice. So, Teti maintains hope as he indulges his appetite for the new. He’s been studying fractal geometry while producing computer-driven art projects, Exhibit A of the idea that all of us must age, but none of us have to get old. I doubt that I’ll be tackling fractal geometry, although if I’m as lucky as Teti, I’ve got 30 years to change my mind.

I do, however, keep learning new songs on the guitar. And I just got another rescue after losing Dominic, who was named for children’s author William Steig’s story of a dog who feels like he’s stagnating, so he packs his bags and sets out on new adventures. Old dog, new tricks. Why not? Many years ago, when kids would misbehave, I occasionally dragged out an old cliche and told them to act their age.

One year into Golden State, my advice for contemporaries is the exact opposite. Don’t act your age. Don’t even think about it. My biggest regret is that I didn’t, as promised, join a garage band in 2023. Along with an updated photo, that’s on the list of resolutions in the new year.


Chevy’s New Christmas Ad – Will Leave You Crying it’s so beautiful!   https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/news-nation/chevy-s-new-christmas-ad-will-leave-you-crying-it-s-so-beautiful


  If You Can, Make it a Joy Ride!
Joy Ride | Amazon Holiday Ad – YouTube




The Winter Solstice with Billy S:  
Aloha Friends,  
The winter solstice was on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 7:27 pm PST.
This begins the winter season.  It is a pivot point from which the light will grow stronger and brighter.   
The longest night and shortest day of the year are followed by a renewal of the sun as days get longer.  
On this day the sun takes its lowest arc across the sky.  
On this day the sun sets farthest south on the horizon.  
Creating a meaningful winter solstice celebration can help us cultivate a deeper connection with nature, family, friends and community.

The winter solstice can be a beautiful reminder that our lives are part of a larger order that’s always changing and renewing.
A way to bring warmth, light and cheerfulness into the dark time of the year.  
For many millenniums humans have marked this sacred time in the yearly cycle of life.

The winter solstice can serve as a touchstone to help us cultivate an attitude of receptiveness and appreciation that will carry us through the holiday season.  
Reflect on the stillness of the day by cultivating stillness in yourself.  
Spend more time listening, watching and honoring the slower, quieter rhythm of the season.

Darkness and night are times of rest, dreaming, healing and growth.   
Seeds must be put into the dark earth in order to send out roots and push up new shoots.
Native plants bloom now so that their seeds will be formed and fall to the ground early enough in spring to take advantage of the rains.  
Plant a seed for a more intuitive, simpler and natural holiday season.

If you want to change something in your life or something about yourself the winter solstice is a good time to work on it.
This longest night can be a time of journeying deep into our inner dreamtime to bring forth a dream that can help us in the new year.
A new year with fresh possibilities reborn in us all.  

The Winter Solstice is:
A chance to clean house, both inner and outer. A time for reflection, rest and renewal. A time for feeding the spirit and nurturing the soul.  
Stay in tune with nature and wellness.


Thanks to Sanya D for The Gift of Time in Aisle 9, to Larry H for A Year into the Aging Beat, and Billy S for the Winter Solstice missive!

Have a blessed holiday season and please pay it forward…
Love, Neville  

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria 

Your Soul Food Friday for Dec 15, 2023: Aging Well- Why Healthspan May Be More Important Than Lifespan

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

“7%” Written by a 90 year old…

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written.”


My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7 Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don’t worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21 Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41 Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come…

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Its estimated 93% won’t forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title ‘7%’.

I’m in the 7%. Friends are the family that we choose.

Why ‘Healthspan’ May Be More Important Than Lifespan
And how some experts are trying to extend it.

Why Healthspan May Be More Important Than Lifespan | TIME

Steep physical decline isn’t inevitable. This type of exercise can change the trajectory of aging, one expert says
Prioritizing physical fitness and health as you age can help you go through your normal day-to-day routine without feeling physically exhausted at the end of the day.

How strength training can hedge against steep physical decline with aging | Fortune Well

These Personality Traits Can Lower Your Risk of Dementia
New research has found that people who have the Big Five personality traits of conscientiousness and positive affect are less likely to be diagnosed with dementia. People with traits like neuroticism and negative affect may be more likely to have a higher risk of dementia. Experts recommend adopting the positive behaviors of conscientious people, like eating nutritiously, exercising, and taking care of your health, to help reduce your long-term risk of dementia.

These Personality Traits Linked to a Lower Risk of Dementia (health.com)

Plus, here are a couple of articles/thought starters that should bolster your creativity and productivity.

Thanks for all you do and do take care of yourself!

Trying to boost your creativity:

Neuroscience Says 1 Rather Brainless Activity Can Lower Your Stress and Make You More Productive | Inc.com

Intentional recovery or strategic recovery time:

Another excellent micro habit to add to the tool kit.

Intentional recovery time makes workers more productive (fastcompany.com)

Have a good Friday and a great weekend!

Please pay it forward…

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria 

“To live is the rarest thing in the world.
Most people exist, that is all.”—Oscar Wilde

Your Soul Food for the Week of World Kindness Day 2023: Antidotes for Stress, the State of the World, Loneliness, Lack of Belonging and the Perils of Technology

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

The Challenges-

Stress

These Are The Top-Ranked Stressors Of 2023. Here’s How To Manage Them: (HuffPost)
“The first thing is try to recognize what are the sources of stress in your life and are there ways that you can limit those sources of stress?”

Here’s What Americans Are Most Stressed Out About This Year | HuffPost Life

A World in Turmoil

Is the State of the World Sending You into a Panic? Read This: (Katie Couric Media)

How Do You Deal With News Anxiety? An Author Offers Solutions (katiecouric.com)

Loneliness

WHO makes loneliness a global health priority with new Committee on Social Connection: (CNN)
The World Health Organization is making loneliness a global health priority, it said Wednesday, launching a new Commission on Social Connection.

WHO makes loneliness a global health priority with new Committee on Social Connection | CNN

Belonging

I gave up wanting to belong and embraced being a maverick. I have never felt more free: (The Guardian)
After years of changing myself to fit in at school, university and work, I’ve accepted that I don’t fit the mould – and that it’s OK, says writer and podcast host Dhruti Shah

I gave up wanting to belong and embraced being a maverick. I have never felt more free | Dhruti Shah | The Guardian

Technology

A Compelling Interview with Ari Shapiro interviewing author Naomi Alderman on whether the giants of tech are more likely to save humankind or accelerate its end: (NPR)

‘The Future’ asks if technology will save humanity or accelerate its end : NPR

The Opportunities-

Kindness

These quick, simple acts of kindness can boost your health, happiness, and wellbeing: (BBC Science)
On World Kindness Day, we dive into surprising psychology of compassion.

These quick, simple acts of kindness can boost your health, happiness and wellbeing | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Wellbeing

Can little actions bring big joy? Researchers find ‘micro-acts’ can boost well-being: (NPR)
A new citizen-scientist research project aims to test whether daily moments of awe, kindness and gratitude can make a real impact. Early results are promising. And it’s not too late to join the study.

How daily moments of joy can help long-term well-being : Shots – Health News : NPR

Joy

7 Things A Happiness Scientist Taught Me About Finding More Joy: (British Vogue)
Writer and joy seeker Emma Firth explores the wholly worthwhile pursuit of happiness

7 Things A Happiness Scientist Taught Me About Finding More Joy | British Vogue

Chilling

Forget going for a run — sitting in a hot tub can bring the same health benefits, study says: (NY Post)
“The healing effects of water stretch back centuries,” said Dr. Tom Cullen, assistant professor of research at Coventry University.

Sitting in a hot tub is as healthy as going for a jog: study (nypost.com)

Play

How Do the Health Benefits of Pickleball Compare to Tennis? (Well and Good)
Researchers found three main differences.

Pickleball vs. Tennis: How the Health Benefits Compare (wellandgood.com)

Thanks to Ken D for his love and wisdom.

Practice Kindness, invest in your Wellbeing, seek Joy, Chill the f’ out and Play!

Please pay it forward…

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria 

Your Soul Food for Friday Oct 20, 2023: Social Fitness, The Soul of Business, Heart in Sync & Rebirth

by Soul Food Friday, posted in Branding, Marketing & Communications, Community Outreach, Education, Leadership Development, Wellness/Energy Work

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

Social Fitness-

Happiness expert: Make this small change to be happier today:
If there was just one little shift you made today for more happiness, here’s what the director of a decades-long Harvard happiness study suggests.

Harvard happiness expert: Make this small change to be happier today (cnbc.com)

The Soul of Business-

What does it mean to be a conscious and purposeful leader?

The Soul of Business with Neville Billimoria – Jailbreak Leadership

Our Hearts Beat In Sync-

New study finds audience heartbeats and breath rates synchronize during a classical concert:
Classical music concerts make audience members’ hearts beat in sync – particularly if they have ‘agreeable’ personalities.

New study finds audience heartbeats and breath rates synchronise during a… – Classic FM

Rebirth-

This video captures a rarely seen sperm whale birth. It’s beautiful.
The last scientific record of a sperm whale birth was 1986, without audio or video. New recordings of the whales’ behavior during the birth will give researchers new insight.

Extremely rare sperm whale birth caught on camera (nationalgeographic.com)

The Power of Live Music-

Aloha Friends and Music Lovers,

If you are local and, in the mood, here are a couple of opportunities to get out and find a respite from some of the madness, in the company of kindred spirits, and through the healing power of music.

Can’t make it?
No worries.

Stay in the power of the heliotropic effect- The Heliotropic Effect is the tendency for all living systems to move towards light and away from darkness, towards that which is life-giving and away from that which endangers life.

Friday Oct 20th 8:30 to 11:30pm at The Roxy in Encinitas with Drivin the Bus:

Get Ready for a Jammin’ Night with Drivin’ the Bus! 🎶
On October 20th, Roxy Encinitas is hosting an epic jam band performance that you won’t want to miss. It’s the first time they’re taking the stage here, and we’re making sure there’s plenty of room for all the music lovers out there. Get ready for a night of incredible jams and good vibes. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or just looking for a memorable night out, this is one show that’s sure to get you groovin’. 🎵✨ Stay tuned for more details and mark your calendar for a night of musical magic at Roxy Encinitas! 🚌🎸

Saturday Oct 21st at Bogey’s on Miramar Road from 7-9pm with Strange Crew:

Bogey’s Pub & Grill – Strange Crew — Bardic Management and Marketing LLC

About Strange Crew

Strange Crew is an Eric Clapton tribute band with a twist. As long as Clapton played a song at least once the 8-piece Strange Crew might cover it. This opens up a huge catalog of classic rock, blues, and jam options. Strange Crew is a very dynamic band having 4 different lead singers and 5 lead soloists! Band member Cobby Brzeski’s solo album was nominated this year at the San Diego Music Awards for the best jazz album of the year. This will be a very special night.

Strange Crew is: Bahar Shahidi – Guitar & Vocals, Bobbi The Bass Player, Jeff Parker – Guitar & Vocals, Cobby Brzeski – Flute & Vocals, Jeremy Mercer – Drums, Chris Cahoon – Keys, Neville Billimoria – Percussion, Phil Tish – Guitar & Vocals

Stay in tune and thanks this week go to Jeff B, and all my band mates in Drivin the Bus and Strange Crew for making my heart sing and making audiences happy!

Please play it forward…

Love,

Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108 
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria 

“Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other,

because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul,

on which they mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly educated graceful”

– Socrates