Neil Gaimans 2001 novel American Gods has a fascinating premise: all that we believe in becomes real, and as we add to the pantheon of our self-created idols, the avatars of older beliefs fade into irrelevance until they decide to declare war against the new kids.

But left out of Gaimans tale is the God of the Bible and His Son.

The temptation to mess with that proved too great for the new TV version of the story.

On Sunday, April 30, Starz premieres an eight-episode adaptation of American Gods, from Michael Green (Kings, Heroes, Everwood) and Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me).

Ricky Whittle (The 100) stars as Shadow Moon, a prison inmate about to get out of jail and be reunited with his wife (Emily Browning). Tragedy intervenes, and hes released early.

He stumbles into the company of the enigmatic Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane), who hires him as a driver and bodyguard. They embark on a phantasmagoric road trip across America, meeting embodiments of ancient beliefs and modern obsessions, such as Technical Boy (Bruce Langley), Bilquis (Yetide Badaki), Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber), Mr. World (Crispin Glover), Media (Gillian Anderson), Easter (Kristin Chenoweth) and Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones).

Interspersed with this story are seemingly after four episodes, anyway random vignettes featuring new characters interacting with other avatars.

Much as with The Handmaids Tale, TV critics with politics on the brain are rushing to declare the series prescient and relevant and prophetic and whatnot, because of the notion that the old gods came over with immigrants to America. Well, yeah, but people taking old gods to new places has happenedall over the world, throughout human history.But, sure, this is a time like no other, in the age of Trump blah blah blah.

Jesus is indeed added in physical form intoGreen and Fullers take on Gaimans story. Now, there are a bunch of different Jesuses, of different ethnicities and races, and one of them is an illegal immigrant. I cant tell you if its incredibly offensive or not, since Jesus is mentioned, but not yet seen, in the four episodes Starz has made available for review.

Im pretty sure Im not going to find out, either, because thats four hours of my life Im not going to get back, and Im currently not in the mood to hand over any more precious time.

Among the biggest killers of good storytelling are self-indulgence, self-regard, wretched excess, an inability to get outside of ones own fixations, and the conscious or unconscious needto bend stories to make a political point.

Starzs American Gods could have been a satirical look at the self-inflicted and dangerous idolatry of our age, if only it could have gotten out of its own way.

Images: Courtesy Starz

Dont miss a thing: head over to my other home, as Social Media Manager atFamily Theater Productions; and check out FTPs Faith & Family Media Blog.

More here:

'American Gods': Messy, Meandering Meditation on Idolatry Misses the Mark - Patheos (blog)

Credit: Flickr/Darragh O Connor. Some rights reserved.

I like to say that India changed my life twice. The first time I was 24. An English major at the University of California, Berkeley, Id turned down a job offer from McKinsey Consulting in my senior yearI want to change the world, I said, and make music. But a few years of doggy-paddling at nonprofits and singing in cafes on weekends left me confused and disillusioned. Academically Id been an excessive over-achiever, sure that life was preparing me for big things. This couldnt be it, could itmy days governed by the geopolitics of cubicles and office gossip, with a brief respite for actual living? I was depressed, and needed something drastic to test my mettle. So I decided to travel around India alone. I couldnt say why, exactly. Only that the place drew me, and powerfully.

I crammed what I needed into a backpack and spent five happy months traveling and freelance writing my way across the subcontinent. Two months in, I found myself in muted overwhelm, desperate for reprieve. In the ancient city of Rishikesh, famous to westerners as the place where the Beatles met their Maharishi, I saw a flyer for a vipassana (or insight) meditation retreat. I took a taxi straight to the ashram, located on the Ganges four miles outside of the city and approximately 700 from Bodhgayawhere the Buddha attained enlightenment.

For ten days I sat in silence and stillness, ate vegetable mush for dinner, and focused on my breath. It wasnt long before strange and beautiful things began to happen. Insights alighted like doves, one after the other. I saw, for example, that I had never loved myself unconditionallyonly in reward for achievements. I saw that I was angry and scared, and that these things could, given loving attention, shift. I sat on the ashram roof and held debriefs with God. I found a quiet spot upriver and sang and danced. I was happy, and free.

On leaving, I committed to meditating every day. When I returned from India, I had a sense of purpose. I spent the next seven years organizing, singing in, and writing about the global justice movement, with regular times-out to attend vipassana meditation retreats. I applied my intemperate drive to rigorously and exhaustingly striving to transform the world and myself. Meaning had returned to life.

The second time I visited the subcontinent I was 33. I had just completed my Masters in Fine Arts in Fiction at the Iowa Writers Workshop, and Id received a Fulbright Scholarship to work on a novel in Varanasi, where Id spent a week nine years earlier. Varanasi is also a holy city on the Ganges. According to the scriptures, death here puts an end to the harrowing cycle of samsara, or reincarnation, and brings about total liberation. But modernity, in the form of rampant urban growth, has not been kind to the place: the streets are filled with barely-moving traffic, the sidewalks with crowds of people.

After a couple of weeks, strange things again began to happen. This time, however, they were different. I found myself assailed by a rising tide of anxiety. There had been some strong prior hints, but in Varanasi I careened right off the cliff Id unwittingly been skirting. My stomachwhich had survived the on-the-cheap vagaries of five continentsfell apart, and two courses of antibiotics couldnt put it back together again. I found a lump in my breast. I couldnt find an apartment. The fear just kept growing. I stopped sleeping and fell into a hole the likes of which Id never suspected existed inside me.

I dont know whats happening, I said over the phone to the Fulbright director in Delhi. This is so weird. I meditate every day. And Ive done, like, a whole month on silent retreat. I know my mind. That month, spent at the Insight Meditation Society three years earlier, had not been easy. Id say a full three weeks of it had been hellbut it was, in hindsight, the second circle kind of hell. This was the more like the ninth. He made soothing noises and suggested I see a therapist.

Over the following weeks I began to see the deep fracture in my life: most of my days had been dominated by drive and adrenaline, while I tended to the spirit by slamming on the brakes for compensatory periods of silence and stillness. I have an Indian friend who views meditation retreats as a kind of penance. Here in the west, we rush about achieving and consuming, she says, and then we go meditate to expiate our sins. As an activist, I may have been offering a radical critique of consumer culture, but I certainly wasnt immune to its hyperactivity.

The inability to restthe constant running, pushing and achievingwere a culturally-applauded sublimation of the fear and rage I wrestled with on retreat, and they took their physiological toll in the form of adrenal exhaustion. The fracture in my life was no more than a mirror of the fracture in my psyche, which had its roots, as I began to see, in events that had happened many years earlier.

In the end, I cut my Fulbright short and returned from India to navigate my way through a breakdown. It wasnt pretty. It felt as if everything good inside me had been tossed on one of Varanasis funeral pyresmy creativity, confidence, and capacity for happiness. Who was this petrified, tortured woman, this ghost of my former self? For months, I was so exhausted that getting dressed felt onerous. I had to scrape together all of my courage to go to the grocery store. I attended a few week-long retreats that were more or less extended encounters with unabated terror and self-loathing. And the five years since my return have resembled a drunken waltz: fall down and get back up, again and again, the falls growing gradually less paralyzing as I learned how to fall and how to relax both my body and my expectations.

I dont blame meditation for any of this. Indeed, it was a huge support in numerous ways, not least of which was the ingrained mental refrain to focus on the oatmeal on the stove, the fluttering leaves, or the breath in my bellyon what was present and actual rather than the fireball in my chest. And meditating alongside the terror certainly gave me some significant, if unasked-for, experience of my own mettle. Nonetheless, ultimately it wasnt enough to watch the madness, to greet it with awareness or even metta (loving kindness).

There has been much discussion in the media lately about the limits, and even the dangers, of mindfulness. There are stories of meditation inducing confusion and panic attacks, and of retreat experiences leading to depression and psychotic episodes. While these stories of psychological incapacitation are rare they do raise important questions. Western culture has bought selectively into Eastern practicethere are currently 700 mindfulness apps available and counting. So what to make of this reputed dark side? Does meditation have ominous powers?

Drawing from my own experience, I say no. Meditation does not wield dark esoteric powers, but rather draws away the veils covering existing darkness in our own psyches. These veils usually exist for good reason: they are the psyches brilliantly inventive answer to violation. Depending on ones history, meditation may be an insufficient response. Or it may be the wrong medicine entirely.

Theres an oft-repeated story of the Dalai Lamas first visit to the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts in 1979. In a meeting with western Buddhist teachers, he was asked about the phenomenon of self-hatred. Despite his translators efforts, he was baffled by the term. Buddhism has adapted to numerous cultures over 2,600 years, but in the west its only in its second generationbarely pubescent. It is still molding itself to the western mind. Western teachers are currently negotiating how to teach an integrative practice, one that incorporates communication and diversity, social justice and relationships.

And western Buddhists are just beginning to grapple with contemporary understandings of traumanot only the shock of individual experiences of war and abuse, but also the injuries of collective oppressions such as racism and homophobia. Suffice it to say that for any individual with a traumatized nervous system, sitting in silence and focusing attention on the body is not always the right response. In eliminating or minimizing external inputs, unconscious material rises to the fore. This is precisely why meditation is such a powerfully healing practiceand also why it can trigger a traumatic reaction. If meditation is a response to trauma, then it requires a very skillful teacher.

As for me, while I am grateful for meditation, it wasnt enough. I feel fortunate to have found other tools to help pry aside the darkness and expose what lay even deeper than the fear and pain: an original sense of joy, a spontaneous creativity, an integrated presence. I didnt want my dark night of the soul, and the truth is I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy. But on stumbling my vertiginous way out I discovered myself happier than Id ever been. The breaking, Ive come to see, was a crucial part of the healingthe psyches radical stab in the direction of wholeness; a death in service of rebirth.

A friend recently suggested that I may have been better off never meditating or journeying to India. I disagree. Yes, I may have stayed stablebut I would still have been driven by what lay buried in my unconscious. Breakdown forced me to face it. I had no choice: I had to relinquish control. And perhaps thats where the greatest transformation is born.

More:

When meditation isn't enough - Open Democracy

Comments(0)

Hundreds braved the rain to see the crew of the HMS Enterprise exercise the freedom of Tiverton this weekend.

The Royal Navy vessel returned home to Plymouth after three years at sea on Tuesday, April 18, and her crew of more than 50 were joined by the Royal Marine Corps of Drums and members of Tiverton Sea Cadets in a parade through the town centre on Sunday, April 30.

Starting at Tiverton Pannier Market, the crew paraded with the Queen's Colour in full ceremonial uniform with swords and rifles fitted with bayonets. The Mayor of Tiverton, Councillor Steve Flaws also gave an inspection of the crew.

HMS Enterprise has been affiliated with Tiverton for her whole life in service, beginning when she was commissioned in October 2003. A part of this affiliation was the granting of the freedom of the city by the town council.

Cllr Flaws said: "What a great honour it is for me as mayor of Tiverton to welcome to our town the members of our adopted ship and the Royal Marine Band.

"A couple of weeks ago, I actually had the pleasure of visiting the ship in Plymouth and sailing down to Falmouth. It was a fabulous day out and one that I will always remember. During this trip I learnt about the important work the Royal Navy does to protect our shores and its humanitarian work across the globe. Specifically, I discovered that over the last few years, HMS Enterprise has rescued many thousands of refugees and has probably saved many of those people from drowning.

"I believe that we should all be proud of the work done by HMS Enterprise and I trust we will all continue to develop stronger links between the town and the ship. These wonderful events do not happen very often so I feel highly privileged that this has happened during my year as mayor."

Commanding Officer of the HMS Enterprise Philip Harper, who joined HMS Enterprise in November 2016 and has spent more than 25 years in the Royal Navy added: "I am humbled and honoured by the reception we have been given in Tiverton. My ship's company have homes all over the UK and indeed as far afield as New Zealand and the US, but for the ship herself, Tiverton represents home a home more fondly remembered for being visited so rarely.

"We owe a great debt of gratitude to the citizens of our great country, who keep the home fires burning and allow us to protect the nation's interests abroad, at range. And this beautiful county of Devon does more than its fair share it is home to half of the Royal Navy and most of the Royal Marines.For hundreds of years, Devon has supplied the best sailors in the world including Drake and Raleigh, and good a good many serving today in Enterprise.

"For today we thank the Mayor and the Town Council, and all those who have worked so hard to prepare. Most particularly we thank the people of Tiverton for their warm welcome and ongoing support. I'd also like to pay tribute to the Sea cadet Corps, led by Chief Petty Officer Mikki Chubb for all their good work with the young people of the town.

"Thank you Tiverton, and please go on making this town, county and country a place well worth coming home to."

Those attending the HMS Enterprise parade through Tiverton this weekend will be able to park for free.Mid Devon District Council announced that members of the...

HMS Enterprise's crew will be providing a spectacle in Tiverton next week when they exercise the freedom of the town.The Royal Navy vessel returned home to...

Budding NASA scientists fired dozens of rockets into the sky last week, thanks to the Heathcoat Challenge.Heathcoat Fabrics organised the event to celebrate...

Royal Marine Alexander Blackman, who shot dead a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan, has praised his "wife in a million" as he spoke for the first...

See original here:

VIDEO: Royal Navy's HMS Enterprise crew excercise freedom of Tiverton with parade through town - Devon Live

bengaluru, Apr 29 Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies including ITC and Britannia, today evinced interest in foraying into the business of organic food products and millets.

"Organic products are the future for package food products because more consumers are seeking better ingredients..

On behalf of MTR-foods/75179" target=_blank>MTR Foods, the company has committed to use more millets in their products and support this initiative," MTR CEO Sanjay Sharma said at the National Organic and Millets Trade Fair 2017 here.

National Head of Buying and Merchandising, Big Basket, Sheshukumar said, Big Basket is propagating use of organic products among consumers because it is difficult to find all organic products under one roof with the help of state government which is linking them with farmers directly.

"It is a daring step by government.. No directory was available, but this is a very good thing which will help us link with the farmers directly.. Big Basket is propagating the organic products to consumers," he said.

Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, in the august company of retailers and FMCG companies, launched "Brand Siri Karnataka," which will ensure millets become rich man's saviour nationally and internationally.

The brand was selected keeping in mind the richness of millets to human health and wellness, he said.

Gowda also launched "Shresta Karnataka," a name selected keeping in mind the importance of organic farming practices to nature, environment and ecology.

"Siri Karnataka and Shreshta Karnataka will facilitate the organised marketing of these high quality food items," Gowda said.

"We will train farmer groups on grading, packing and quality aspects.. This is a big step towards 'From farmers to consumers' direct linkages," he added.

The brand name can be used only by those farmers who are certified or under the certification process, the Minister said.

"Only after three years (IC 1, IC 2, IC 3) are they certified fully organic.

Karnataka has the most stringent certification norms of all states," he added.

The farming federations of Karnataka, who engage in organic farming practices and the cultivation of millets, will be offered the usage of these brands to market their products and also earn better incomes through value added products that could be marketed under these brand names, Gowda said.

Next-Gen Food Startups, Big Organised and Progressive retailers can get in touch with the Organic cell running the programme, the minister added.

bengaluru, Apr 29 Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies including ITC and Britannia, today evinced interest in foraying into the business of organic food products and millets.

"Organic products are the future for package food products because more consumers are seeking better ingredients..

On behalf of MTR-foods/75179" target=_blank>MTR Foods, the company has committed to use more millets in their products and support this initiative," MTR CEO Sanjay Sharma said at the National Organic and Millets Trade Fair 2017 here.

National Head of Buying and Merchandising, Big Basket, Sheshukumar said, Big Basket is propagating use of organic products among consumers because it is difficult to find all organic products under one roof with the help of state government which is linking them with farmers directly.

"It is a daring step by government.. No directory was available, but this is a very good thing which will help us link with the farmers directly.. Big Basket is propagating the organic products to consumers," he said.

Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, in the august company of retailers and FMCG companies, launched "Brand Siri Karnataka," which will ensure millets become rich man's saviour nationally and internationally.

The brand was selected keeping in mind the richness of millets to human health and wellness, he said.

Gowda also launched "Shresta Karnataka," a name selected keeping in mind the importance of organic farming practices to nature, environment and ecology.

"Siri Karnataka and Shreshta Karnataka will facilitate the organised marketing of these high quality food items," Gowda said.

"We will train farmer groups on grading, packing and quality aspects.. This is a big step towards 'From farmers to consumers' direct linkages," he added.

The brand name can be used only by those farmers who are certified or under the certification process, the Minister said.

"Only after three years (IC 1, IC 2, IC 3) are they certified fully organic.

Karnataka has the most stringent certification norms of all states," he added.

The farming federations of Karnataka, who engage in organic farming practices and the cultivation of millets, will be offered the usage of these brands to market their products and also earn better incomes through value added products that could be marketed under these brand names, Gowda said.

Next-Gen Food Startups, Big Organised and Progressive retailers can get in touch with the Organic cell running the programme, the minister added.

Go here to see the original:

FMCGs eye organic food products, millets biz - Outlook India

BENGALURU: Even as the world laps up organic produce, India leads the way with highest acreage of land under organic production. Such is the demand, with a buoyant export market, that the central government body, Agricultural and Processed food products Export Development Authority (APEDA), has been assigned to regulate the sale of organic produce by ensuring each item is certified by a reputed agency.

However, 28 certification bodies approved by APEDA, each with different manuals, has made it a messy affair. While APEDA has laid out broad guidelines for certification of organic produce which have to be adhered for export of produce, there is no regulation for the domestic market.

According to the international Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (CCOA), Karnataka has 93,963 hectares of land either certified or in the process of certification as being organic in nature. Karnataka is third in production, with 2.82 lakh tonnes of food being considered organic.

Farmer producer organisations said certification is provided for Rs 35,000 per organisation. "We pay Rs 35,000 for certification from the Karnataka State Organic Certification Agency (KSOCA) for getting our produce authenticated as organic. The certification is for three years," Krupa T, president, Chitradurga and Davanagere Organic Farmers Federation, said.

The federation has 40 organisations with 3,800 farmers as members. When asked o whether the certification agency gives its seal of approval to every farmer's produce, Krupa said it is for the organisation. "The certification is meant for organisation which take the responsibility of the organic produce," Krupa said.

Here is the original post:

Authentication of organic products a mess - Times of India

Alexander C.N., et al. Treating and preventing alcohol, nicotine, and drug abuse through Transcendental Meditation: A review and statistical meta-analysis. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 13-87, 1994.

Aron E.N. and Aron A. The patterns of reduction of drug and alcohol use among Transcendental Meditation participants. Bulletin of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors 2: 28-33, 1983.

Clements G., et al. The use of the Transcendental Meditation programme in the prevention of drug abuse and in the treatment of drug-addicted persons. Bulletin on Narcotics 40(1): 5156, 1988.

Gelderloos P., et al. Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation program in preventing and treating substance misuse: A review. International Journal of the Addictions 26: 293325, 1991.

Gelderloos P., et al. Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation program in preventing and treating substance misuse: A review. International Journal of the Addictions 26: 293325, 1991.

Orme-Johnson D. W. Transcendental Meditation as an epidemiological approach to drug and alcohol abuse: Theory, research, and financial impact evaluation. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 11, 119-165, 1994.

Royer A. The role of the Transcendental Meditation technique in promoting smoking cessation: A longitudinal study. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 219-236, 1994.

Shafii M. et al. Meditation and marijuana. American Journal of Psychiatry 131: 60-63, 1974.

Shafii M. et al. Meditation and the prevention of alcohol abuse. American Journal of Psychiatry 132: 942-945, 1975.

Wallace R.K. et al. Decreased drug abuse with Transcendental Meditation: A study of 1,862 subjects. In Drug Abuse: Proceedings of the International Conference, ed. Chris J.D. Zarafonetis (Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger): 369-376, 1972.

Walton K. G., and Levitsky, D.A. A neuroendocrine mechanism for the reduction of drug use and addictions by Transcendental Meditation. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 11: 89-117, 1994.

Excerpt from:

Transcendental Meditation (TM) Technique - Central ...

Audio boffins have come up with an altogether more positive way to influencing train passengers emotions than delays or cancellations do.

Sony and Eurostar have teamed up to create the Sound Menu which provides commuters with the perfect selection of music to get them into the right mood for their journeys end.

The innovative system has been devised with senior lecturer in psychology of music at Keele University, Dr Alexandra Lamont, drawing on a studies into music and mood regulation to recommend five playlists that help travellers prepare, relax and focus on route to their destination.

MORE:Top 10 bizarre but real reasons why your trains have been delayed

These playlists include varying styles and tempos of music to evoke different emotions, and are more about musical types rather than specific songs.

They include dance tracks to psych you up as well as relaxing music to celebrate a job well done.

The Sound Menu is optimised for use with Sonys 1000X wireless noise-cancelling headphones.

Matt Coupe, head of sound, UK & Ireland at Sony, said the music helps commuters to cut out the chaos around them.

He said: We know that music, if listened to in the right way, can be a form of escapism or can help focus the mind.

We saw from research many are unable to relax or fully immerse themselves in music.

MORE:See Erasure singalong at Tube station - what surprise moments have made you smile?

Dr Lamont added: Creating an auditory bubble while travelling, such as through the use of noise cancellation technology, can allow passengers to get more from their journey, helps people block out environmental noise and allows them to focus on the moment or the task at hand.

We know that different music creates different moods, and the traveller can immerse themselves in music that suits or changes their mood to make the journey pass more pleasantly.

Being able to eliminate these noises and replacing them entirely with the sound of your choice leads to an all-round more relaxed experience.

MORE: Commuters get a musical surprise at the train station

Neil Roberts, head of digital at Eurostar, said: Were always looking for ways to improve our passengers journeys, and the new Sound Menu created by Sony offers our travellers a way to get more out of their time on board, whether its focusing on work, or relaxing after a busy day.

The Sound Menu follows a study of 2,000 commuters which found more than a quarter can never fully relax on a journey and 23 per cent complain about being unable to switch off ahead of important meetings.

Nearly 40 per cent of travellers blame noise made by other people for causing them stress, while two thirds say music helps them relax.

The playlist are currently only being trialled on Eurostar trains during April but would you want to see, or rather hear, something similar introduced on Southeastern and Southern trains to help improve your mood? What other things would make train journeys more pleasant? Add your comments below.

Here is the original post:

Sony and Eurostar launch Sound Menu so passengers can play ... - Your Local Guardian

It started with a tense, stressed-out dog. The owner of that dog, Daisy, is singer-songwritergnash, best known for the hit, i hate you, i love you. After using medication and consulting with an animal behaviorist, gnash decided to a compose musicto sooth his stressed canine.

Gnashs initial research pointed to reggae as the most calming music for dogs. Digging deeper, he found that certain musical elements, including simpler arrangements and repetitions, provoked soothing responses in dogs.

That sparked a creative project that resulted in a really effective track. Seriously, try this with your anxious, hyper, or unhappy dog.

Crazy, right? Indeed, the effects on actual dogs is pretty remarkable.

Interestingly, gnash was setting out to solve a personal problem with his own dog. But what resulted is a solution that may end up working for millions of dogs. Even the happy ones.

Actually, heres a video that shows the creative process and journey by gnash.

Of course, Gnashs song for daisy has been doing the trick for Daisy. But its also being heavily used for byNo-Kill Los Angeles, a non-kill shelter.

The connection with No-Kill comes from Daisy herself, who is also a rescue. And like many rescues, Daisy exhibits signs of previous stress. We want to ensure that dogs, when they are awaiting adoption, have as good an experience as they can, said Professor Neil Evans, Professor of Integrative Physiology at Glasgows Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine.

Most people adopting from a shelter want a dog that is relaxed and interacts positively. Music can help dogs become less stressed and show their true personality.

Evans also pointed to reggae as a relaxing favorite for dogs. But thats not all. The biggest effects come from soft rock and reggae, Evans noted. Motown, pop and classical music produce lesser effects.

Gnashs release could broaden awareness forthe field of psycho-acoustic therapy for animals. Indeed, music therapy is a powerful and calming force, for dogs and humans alike. It was a powerful experience to watch an entire room full of dogs, and my own rescue dog Daisy, react to this song, said gnash. It was incredible to be able to create music that transcends human emotion and has the ability to connect with these animals on a deeper level.

Accordingly, the next move is to spread this to other rescue shelters. I hope this video and song helps other rescue pet owners comfort their furry friends the same way it did mine.

Calming music for dogs

Continued here:

The Most Calming Music for Dogs Ever Created - Digital Music News

SUNDAY night in the suburbs, I groan, as I walk up the stairs, round the corner and into a restaurant thats completely and utterly not-even-any-tumbleweed-in-there empty. Darn, and I booked, too.

Theres something cringey about booking when theres absolutely no need. As though the staff do that Simpsons laugh ha,ha when they put the phone down.

At the Indian On Skirving Street tonight Im shown to a table, any table, of course, and then because of a schoolboy reviewer error Im immediately abandoned.

I booked for four, you see, but I arrive alone. Genius. Never do that. Ever.

Restaurants havent a clue what to do with people who are waiting for other people so they ignore them. No food order is taken, no drink order even. Meanwhile, the family are dopily trundling around out there. Avoiding texts. Blanking calls. As usual. And Im in restaurant limbo-land listening to Enya or Clannad or trance yoga music on bloody infinite loop, gazing at brick walls, and wooden floors, wondering what this place was before.

A Mexican? Wasnt it once called Eddie Spaghetti? And there are even actual blobs of curry on the menu too. What? Can it get any worse? Yes, it can.

You wont believe this one. A table of seven people have just walked in, all bright and bubbly and enthusiastic. To be fussed over and pampered and no doubt to immediately wake the chef and fill that kitchen through there with their long and complex food orders meaning that even when my lot bother to turn up well still have to wait. And wait. Enough.

Fast forward. Ten minutes into the future. I just panic ordered the whole right hand side of the menu. Its statistically better food. To get ahead of the seven-seater in the kitchen queue, obviously.

The family have finally turned up. Walking in and sitting down, at exactly, precisely, you couldnt make this up, the same moment as the food arrives.

Ooh, this is nice my wife says, gazing around, I love that relaxing music, too. Freshly made poppadoms, where do you ever see that? And this paratha is fabulous, its just been buttered too, and what have they put into the rice, it's so rich?

I kid you not, this is the way the chat goes. No, they say, of course our phones werent off. We were chatting. I could, of course, sit in a fug of middle-aged man huff here.

But actually? Check out this grated cauliflower and peppers, pan fried with Punjabi spices. The shredded salmon, wafts of coriander, cumin and fenugreek, tiny nuggets of salmon, cool soothing peas. Armritsari fish, crisply battered with punchy spices. Aubergine and potato, yet another Punjabi dish where the waft of the just toasted spices sets the appetite racing.

OK, there are points in this meal where we have not got a scooby what we are eating.

Are those the malai kofta or spiced vegetable dumplings in a spiced tomato sauce with cream and yoghurt? More of a texture than a taste, I think.

Is that khoree pakora a must for the table a rare dish made with fenugreek and sharp, tangy yoghurt based sauce? Bit too saucey for me.

If you are not careful, like I wasnt, you can end up with quite a lot of creamy dishes.

Occasionally I think some things could do with a touch of salt, but this is a small plate meal, lots and lots of little dishes filling the table, keeping things interesting.

Many dishes like the aubergine and potato, the cauliflower, are just 4, the fish dishes slide in at 5, you have to flip the menu over to find anything approaching 6 and those are full curries.

The service is fine, too, helpful when we are stuck over what exactly everything is.

Its surprising that the The Indian is so quiet tonight because it is different, interesting and very good value.

I suspect it wont be quiet for long.

Menu: Different, interesting. Lots of Punjabi dishes including kharee pakora, grated cauliflower with peppers 5/5

Service: Thrown by the lone diner waiting for others to arrive on a quiet night, but then relaxed and pleasant. 3/5

Atmosphere: Pleasant bare brick, wooden floors loft feel with lots of that relaxing yoga music. 4/5

Price: Small plates start at around 4 and rarely top 5 overall pretty good value. 4/5

Food: An Indian with a different and authentic twist, packed with Punjabi favourites. 7/10

Total 23/30

The Indian On Skirving Street

5 Skirving St

Glasgow

0141 649 7779

Read the original here:

Ron Mackenna reviews The Indian On Skirving Street, Glasgow - Herald Scotland

When your circadian rhythm is out of whack, your work life can get off kilter as well. It is almost impossible to have a high-performance work day, every day, when you are sleep deprived and your 24-hour cycle is chaotic. One of the best things you can do for your clarity of thought, creativity in problem-solving and calm in the face of business storms, is to sleep adequately and regulate your daily patterns.

Here are four steps to creating regularity and ensuring a high-performance work day:

First, you need about 7.5 hours of sleep every night. Research is clear that people are healthiest and perform at their best both physically and mentally when they get 5 complete sleep cycles in each night. Sleep cycles take about 90 minutes hence the need for 7.5 hours.

If youre trying to hit a deadline or you have a big project that demands extra hours for a short period of time try to get 3 complete sleep cycles or 4.5 hours. That is theamount of sleep you need for your brain to recover, regenerate and consolidate learning from the day.

After you commit to getting adequate sleep, set up a great daily rhythm that both delivers energy and protects that precious sleep time. Capitalize on the fact that we are naturally designed to repeat daily patterns. Setting up great patterns at the beginning and end of the day helps you feel better and work smarter during all the parts in between.

Your body loves consistency. Going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day is good for your brain and body. Consistent times allow your hormones and other chemicals that your organs release to get into a rhythm. If you change that pattern, it takes time for your body to adapt. That is what happens when you fly across time zones and get jet-lagged. Changing your sleep-and-wake pattern changes your bodys circadian rhythms and gives you micro jet lags every day. You feel groggy, your performance drops and your health suffers.

Some of the best performers in business consistently wake up early. Waking up early lets you get a head-start on the day. You wont be bothered by emails or messages. The world is quiet. There is less traffic if youre going to the gym. You can run on empty roads. You can read a book in peace. You can meditate or do yoga. Just get out of bed. Win the battle of the bed!

That is one way to boost your daily performance is to get up a bit earlier than usual. You can then get the important things done for yourself that make you better. And nothing will get in your way. Build your morning routine so that you get up early and do the most important things for you first thing. I recommend that you dont work during this period. This is a time to refill your personal bucket. When you feel full of lifes satisfactions, you have more to give to the business you need to sustain.

So, set up your mornings to do good things for yourself and start the day with the energy you get from honoring your passions.

Once your morning pattern is established, defend the last hour of your day so that you can fall asleep quickly and deeply. Having a routine that allows you to decompress and relax can make a huge difference in your sleep quality. Many of my clients who have trouble sleeping have had stressful days and are also working late into the evenings, right up until they collapse into bed.

Find a calming activity that you love and do it before bed. Ideally, stay away from screens (TV, computer, smart phone the brightness stimulates your brain to stay awake) and from any to-do items that require a lot of mental energy. Read a novel, take a bath, listen to relaxing music. whatever peaceful activities help you wind down.

Protect your time. You will enjoy that hour immensely and benefit from a regular circadian rhythm.

Greg Wells is a scientist, professor and author. He is an expert on human performance in extreme conditions.

See original here:

How to Wake Up Early Without Sacrificing Your Sleep - Entrepreneur