Month: March 2017 (page 1 of 1)

March 24, 2017

Books Feed My Soul – Edition 4

Sounds of inspiration from around the world

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.

– Ludwig van Beethoven

This weeks’s inspiration is music from around the world. I have very eclectic taste in music and I always find music to be a fantastic way to relax and to inspire the creative mind.

Welcome to the fourth edition of Books Feed My Soul, where we celebrate our imagination and everything that feeds it. This week, I had my first editorial review from one of the few book bloggers that agreed to review The Prophecy. Esther Dauvillier of BitIntoBooks was kind enough to fit me into her tight schedule and was a pleasure to work with. You can read her review of The Prophecy here.

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.

– Lao Tzu

The above quote aptly describes Yunupingu’s voice to me. It is powerful and haunting. I could listen to his Bapa every day. That most of us cannot understand the lyrics of his songs seems irrelevant. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is an indigenous Australian musician who sings mostly in the Yolŋu languages and occasionally in English. Born blind in a small island off the coast of northern Australia, his music took Australia by storm with his album Gurrumul. I discovered him while listening to another fantastic indigenous Australian band, Yothu Yindi, which means mother and child. Two songs from his debut solo album Gurrumul are featured below.

Bapa : I don’t know how to describe this song. I have no words. I believe when you hear it, you’ll know what I mean.

Wiyathul : This is the song that brought Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu mainstream attention.

In the Mood for Love

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.

– Victor Hugo

In the Mood for Love is a a Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. It premiered on 20 May 2000 at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme dd’Or with Tony Leung being awarded Best Actor. The film’s original Chinese title, meaning “the age of blossoms” or “the flowery years” is a Chinese metaphor for the fleeting time of youth, beauty and love. The soundtrack features absolutely haunting music and if you see it with the stunning visuals, it will evoke feelings hard to articulate.

Yumeji’s Theme by Shigeru Umebayashi is spectacular. There are multiple variations of it in the film. This particular theme is also called the Angkor Theme which seems particularly fortuitous since Books Feed My Soul just featured the majestic temple.

Director Wong Kar-wai convinced Nat King Cole to sing for the film since his mother was a huge fan. Here’s Nat King Cole singing in Spanish for In the Mood for Love.

Pink mArtini

If music be the food of love, play on.

– William Shakespeare

Portland, Oregon based Pink Martini is one of my favorite bands in the world. I have been a fan since I first heard them in college at a local music festival and was blown away by their music. They call themselves the ‘little orchestra’ that sings songs from around the world.

Amado Mio : The first song I heard from Pink Martini from their album Sympathique. Then, it was lead singer China singing it. This version has Storm Large who is equally fantastic.

Pink Martini singing a traditional Romanian folk song.

I love so much of their music that it is hard to choose but here’s Pink Martini with Donde Estas Yolanda, sung by original lead singer, China Forbes.

Souad Massi

Music is the universal language of mankind.

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This fantastic French-Algerian singer of Berber descent has an amazing voice and sings in six languages. Her debut album Deb (Heartbroken) has some fantastic songs.

Ghir Enta (I love you) : My favorite song from her album Deb.

Paris : Singing in French with Marc Lavoine

Ya Qalbi from her album Deb.

Loreena Mckenitt

Where words fail, music speaks.

– Hans Christian Anderson

She’s a Canadian singer who sings Celtic music. My favorite by far is her version of the haunting Tang to Evora.

Netflix has a recording of a live concert by Loreena McKenitt at the majestic Alhambra in Granada, Spain. It is worth it just to see the visuals of Alhambra at night. The images evoked memories of my own visit to Andalusia and the breath-taking Alhambra.

You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.

– John Mason

As John Mason reminds us so eloquently, follow your dreams. That is what we are all meant to do. So remember, try and make the time to do the things that fire your imagination and make you happy. Go out there and read, write, create, draw, listen, sing, dance, talk, do and be.

MINDFULNESS TIP

A few easy ways to incorporate mindfulness into your day. All it needs is five minutes.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

– Lao Tzu

Slow down and smell the Roses

In our hectic daily lives, we are always on the move. When we catch our breath, it is between finishing up something and heading somewhere. Make a conscious decision to stop for just five minutes in your day – slow down and look around you. Is a flower blooming somewhere, do you feel good about something, can you hear someone’s laughter around you? Just a reminder to stop and savor the moment. My yoga teacher calls it ‘being present on the mat‘ but it applies to every day life too.

Take a few slow breaths

Find a quiet corner somewhere, close your eyes, and breath in and out slowly. It will calm your body and mind. Breathing deeply helps your physical well-being and helps center you. Do not worry if at first it seems like you have to work at it. If you practice this regularly, eventually this will come naturally and help calm your mind. This is especially useful on particularly stressful days.

Take a few minutes for yourself

Find the time to savor something in your life, to think about something you enjoyed (a book or music or a funny article you read that morning), or just to enjoy some chocolate or a cup of coffee. Make the time to do something that brings you joy. And slow down while you do it to savor the moment.

Stretch your body

Take a short break to stretch your body. If your job involves a desk, take a break to stretch your legs, go for a short walk or just find a quiet corner to stretch whatever parts of your body feel stiff that day. For me, I find it helpful to close my eyes for a few seconds to simply check in. Usually, that is a great opportunity for your body to let you know if something feels tight. Make sure to gently stretch your legs, neck, shoulders or whatever feels tight.

———-

Until the next installment of Books Feed My Soul, happy reading!
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March 14, 2017

Books Feed My Soul – Edition 3

Santorini

Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.

– Unknown

What a very lovely quote that calls to me. How better to celebrate your imagination than to pursue fearlessly what sets your soul on fire. Feed your imagination and it will reward you.

Welcome to the third edition of Books Feed My Soul, my weekly rambles on everything that inspires me and encourages me to be creative. The week has been a mixed bag as it relates to my book, The Prophecy. I had two new reviews show up on Amazon; by readers taking the time to leave a candid and thoughtful opinion of the book. I have to admit that it left me floating on air. But even more importantly, it felt like a little jolt right when I needed a sign from the universe that I wasn’t merely meandering slowly but ever so steadily down a rabbit hole. As I’m learning, getting a book, especially a self-published one, in front of readers likely to give it a chance, can be a Herculean task. On the flip side, I have been privileged to meet many kind and thoughtful people who take the time to freely offer their hard-earned wisdom as well as words of encouragement to first-time authors like me.

The opportunities of people are limited only by their imagination. But so few have imagination that there are ten thousand fiddlers to one composer.
– Charles F. Kettering

I had read this a while ago and it seemed like the right time to remind myself to reach for the sky (i.e, my own composition). After all, fiddling will always come naturally without expending much effort.

Since this week has been so much of a roller-coaster for me, I picked this week’s inspiration to be a magical place that I shall forever count as one of my favorite places in the world – Santorini. Santorini – the island of romance, volcanoes, dreams, cities perched dangerously on the caldera’s edge, windmills, white-washed buildings topped with blue domes and ubiquitous Greek island poster cards. Oh, and Vin Santo, a fantastic dessert wine made only on Santorini. During my week long stay on Santorini, I will admit that many glasses of Vin Santo were sampled.

Ancient Thera

Volcanic island with the spectacular views of the caldera

The Island

Santorini has a lot to offer even if you’re not enthused about spending all your time gazing at the caldera – it looks different from the same view point every minute of the day as the sun shifts its way from east to west. I remember the beautiful windmill structures on the northern end of the island. There has been a revival of ancient grape strains on the island and many wineries now offer very unique wines from ancient Greek grapes grown on Santorini. Since the island is incredibly dry with little in the way of rain, the grapes grow in little basket-looking vines where the leaves protect them from the worst of the heat and sustain them with moisture they draw from the ground. You can find these grape vines all over the island – every little bit of space has a couple of vines growing on it. Sigalas, the only winery in Oia, offers some fantastic wines. You can sample their wines at amazing prices amidst a spectacular vista of pomegranate trees, vineyard and riots of bright flowers climbing on a shaded pergola. Boutari is another winery whose wines we loved. Their Vin Santo is hands down the best I had on Santorini. Santo Wines has the distinction of having a large terrace that has some of the most spectacular views of the caldera from the south end. My other memories of the island in summer are the riots of bougainvillea everywhere and the sight of a traditionally dressed man on a brightly decorated donkey crossing the road amidst the chaotic traffic. Donkeys are ubiquitous on the island, especially on Oia, where they work hard to take goods up and down into the ports at the base of the caldera, colorfully clothed and tinkling with bells as they follow their leader amiably. One, seemingly curious donkey, stopped to give a terrified me the gimlet eye and had to be coaxed away to look for other prey. 🙂

OIA

Once an artist’s colony, it is one of the most visited parts of beautiful Santorini with accommodations for every range of traveller. It tends to get crazy crowded during high season in the afternoon, when tourists come pouring in to check out the spectacular caldera views by clambering over the roof tops of the cave houses that cling to the edge of the caldera in an unbelievable medley. The food is fantastic, although I will admit that I’m biased when it comes to Greek food in general. One of my favorite restaurants in Oia, recommended by our host, serves Cyprian food and I still remember the food, the spectacular view from the terrace and one memorable evening when island music was sung live by a trio of locals.

Red Beach

A little strip of beach hewn into rocky cliffs of red rock that can only be approached after a short hike through a path strewn with loose stones and marked by signs that warn the hiker of frequent rock slides. The water of the crystal clear Aegean sea is warm and clean, unlike anything I have ever felt before. A boat comes straight into the beach to take all comers to the White Beach, a white sand beach that can only be accessed by boat from Red Beach. This beach is at the tip of the island called Akrotiri which a lot of people believe once held a settlement we call ‘The Lost World of Atlantis’. The beaches on the Aegean Sea and the ones on the Atlantic Ocean are different but each very nice in their own way.

Akrotiri – The Lost World of Atlantis

Many believe that the Minoan settlement of Akrotiri to be the Lost World of Atlantis.

Sunset over the Caldera

We lived in Oia in a cave house with spectacular views of the caldera from the open air terrace, the living room and even the tiny window of our kitchenette. I have very fond memories of having coffee while watching the sun rise, lazing on the couch with a book in my hand while I waited for the glare of the sun to die down, cooking in the tiny kitchenette with fresh vegetables from the local market, enjoying a glass of wine on our private terrace during siesta while the crowds surged into the main square of tiny Oia ( with the cruise ship passengers being ferried in from the ferry terminal of Fira) and wandering the streets of Oia late at night to shop for souvenirs after a late dinner at one of many excellent restaurants on Oia. I also remember early morning walks to gorge on the sumptuous semolina cakes form the local bakery. We did venture to catch the sunset over the western most tip of Oia one evening but that was a sad crush with everyone (mostly tourists like us) squeezed rather uncomfortably into a tiny square attempting to catch the last rays of spectacular sunsets over Santorini.

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

– Albert Einstein

As Einstein aptly reminds us, imagination can sometimes be more of an asset than knowledge. Remember, try and find the time to do the things that fire your imagination. And always celebrate it. Your imagination makes you unique. So, go out there and read, write, create, draw, listen, sing, dance, talk, do and be.