Tai Chi Beat Moderate Exercise at Lowering Blood Pressure in Study: A year after the study began, those who performed tai chi saw greater reduction in their blood pressure than those who followed an aerobic exercise program.
I completed a 7-day posture challenge and honestly. I’m shocked at what it’s taught me about my body: Plus, some tips on how to permanently improve your posture.
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
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.”
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.
From sleep hygiene to boosting energy naturally, here are the big 2024 health trend predictions: Nutritionist and author Clemence Cleave shares how to improve gut health through lifestyle and diet.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award winner A stunning image of a young polar bear drifting to sleep wins a wildlife-photographer competition
Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to try a digital detox, so I will catch you on the flip side.
Meanwhile do know you are enough, beware of compassion fatigue, enjoy the poem and humor, and consider unsubscribing from everything that doesn’t feed your soul.
Joy is non-negotiable!
Love,
Neville
“Enough” by Andrea Gibson:
Last night I painted a purple tree on my bedroom wall
I woke up this morning in a pile of leaves
The color of a million different faces
Thinking of that hand
That planted the seed
Of the family tree
That grew us all
And how each one of us
Will one day fall back to the ground
This morning
I was listening to my heart pound
Knowing with every single beat
That a thousand other hearts
Were falling asleep forever
On a day they never thought they would
And I know there are tribes of aborigines
That decide how and when they’ll die
After a hundred years or so
They walk into the desert alone
Offer up their breath
And within two minutes
Soar into a death
As beautiful as their life
And I was thinking I
Will probably never be enlightened enough
To decide how I want to die
So this morning
I decided how I want to live
What I want to give
What kind of song I want to sing
Now I’m no longer
Looking at my days like they’re a cup
Calling them half empty or half full
When they’ve always been enough
They’ll always be enough
To fill me up
If I stop thinking so much
And start drinking them up
Until I get so drunk and high on my days
I’ll be walking up to strangers and saying things like
“Hey, I know Jesus was born in a manger
But I woke at dawn today
To watch the earth’s horizon
Give birth to true rising sun of God
And I can’t stop singing hallelujah”
Can you believe we’re here?
Can you believe there are gods somewhere praying to us?
I want to be that nut on a bus
Who’s really a prophet
Telling everybody
“Smoking is bad
Stop it
You might be an opera singer some day
And how are you gonna hit the high notes?”
I wanna live like those high notes
That rise from the throats of old ladies
When they see little babies
Riding in shopping carts
I wanna start somebody’s heart like that
Taking ninety years back
So you’ll have sworn
You weren’t born
Until you saw me
Planting roses
In all the sidewalk cracks
So when you trip
You’ll fall in love
With someone you thought you hated
And now look at what that love has created
Look
There’s a sky
On her faded blue jeans
With a flock of birds
About to fly to my words
And my next line’s
Gonna rhyme with her eyes
And she’ll wink
And I’ll think I’m as beautiful as him
I wanna live my life
Like it’s a little league game
I don’t care if I win
Just wanna watch some little girl
Get her very first hit
Watch her father cheer so hard
He spills his beer
And decides to quit
I wanna split some woman’s
Tired eyes open
Wake her with her own sunrise
So she knows
There’s reason to be hoping
She’ll say
“There are stingers in my heart
But I’m sure that I’m a queen”
And that night
She’ll vow to swarm
Until every angry car horn
Is reborn a song
Of let there be light
Every angry war cry reborn
A song of let there be life
I wanna build the timid teenage boy
A microphone that will
Echo his rhymes
The same way
They echo in his shower
When he’s home alone
I wanna write poems
In the tone
Of your mother’s eyes
When she whispered your name
For the very first time
Poems that will make you go home
Pick up the phone
And call her
While I call mine to say
“You know those lines
On the kitchen wall
Where I grew
Taller and taller and taller
Put a couple more there won’t you?
Cause I’m growing up here”
No longer looking at my days
Like they’re a cup
Calling them enough
From now on
They’ll be overflowing
Since now I’m knowing
It’s up to me
To fill them up
The big idea: is compassion fatigue real? Can we really maintain our levels of empathy in the face of an increasingly brutal news cycle?
Unsubcribe from everything to start controlling the tech in your life:
Does the number of unread messages in your inbox leave you lightheaded? Do your thumbs ache from tiny-keyboard typing? Have you forgotten what your real-life friends look like without an Instagram filter? It’s time for an intervention:
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!
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.
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.
Great Advice for the New Year, Aristotle’s Rules for Happiness, Meditation Sure Worked for Michigan’s QB, plus How World Class Athletes Rest and Recharge
Teach thy tongue to say, ‘I do not know,’ and thou shalt progress” –Maimonides
The Best Advice we got in 2023: Expert-approved tips — both big and small — to take you into 2024 and beyond.
Happiness is not about maximizing the intensity of joy. It’s about increasing the frequency of joy. Chasing exhilaration is a roller coaster of regular disappointments and rare, ephemeral highs. Savoring daily delights is a steady, sustainable source of satisfaction. – Adam Grant
An Ancient Greek Recipe for Happiness by Arthur Brooks:
“Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.”
–Brian Tracy
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s pregame meditation routine helped lead the Wolverines to victory. Here’s how it works: The mental strength that led J.J. McCarthy to success: “I can react from a higher perspective.”
+ 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.
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.”
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.
Experience the Beauty and Diversity of Human Spirituality in Pictures
Commune Through the Power of Live Music
WINTER’S CLOAK by Joyce Rupp:
This year I do not want the dark to leave me. I need its wrap of silent stillness, its cloak of long-lasting embrace. Too much light has pulled me away from the chamber of gestation.
Let the dawns come late, let the sunsets arrive early, let the evenings extend themselves while I lean into the abyss of my being.
Let me lie in the cave of my soul, for too much light blinds me, steals the source of revelation.
Let me seek solace in the empty places of winter’s passage, those vast dark nights that never fail to shelter me.
Mission Joy!
If you want to appreciate real joy from two masters of the craft and haven’t seen it yet, I strongly recommend watching this movie of the final meeting of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
In pictures – human spirituality in all its remarkable beauty and diversity Love, commitment, dedication, and faith — the many forms of devotion as seen through the lens of one photographer.
Join me on Thursday January 4th at the Music Box for some Righteous Live Music to Kick Off the New Year with Strange Crew!
As we turn the bend on another cycle around the sun, reflect on our resolutions while tolerating disillusions, if more live music is on your Santa list, here is your opportunity to launch into the New Year with the verve and vivacity that is all you…
Strange Crew (and me too) will be playing at the Music Box in Little Italy on Thursday 1/04/24 along with 3 other bands including ZenZag (Reggae Fusion), The Joshua 3 (U2 tribute), and Headmaster (Smiths fans…not impersonators).
So, grab your friends, family (21 and up), neighbors, workmates, frenemies- and come let your hair down.
YOU are in!
I can get you as many complimentary tickets as you like for this killer venue, so don’t be bashful- now is the time to be indulgent and spoil your friends too. This works as a holiday gift that extends into the new year and everyone will appreciate your magnanimous nature.
Simply email me ASAP at nevilleb@missionfed.com re: the number of tickets you want + your mailing address and voila you are on the nice list!
Happy Soul Food Friday! 