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Music is a powerful medium on our psyche. Specifically, pop music is It is a space of 3 minutes (average). It is amazing and I don’t know why scientifically. It might be due to the fact that people allow their minds to open to ideas in a song while they might not through normal conversation. It can be like a whole movie message in the space of three minutes. Just like walking around on a lazy Saturdy in your Dansko shoes, so the right music can utterly relax and inspire you. I have had many favorites through the years, most of which you can find on my last.fm account. My name there is rileycentral. I have been changed in the space of three minutes. Music has been and will continue to be my primary source of inspiration. Make sure you turn on your radio if you are not regularly. You might be absolutely amazed at what can happen in your head and heart in the space of 3 minutes.
As you may have read, I have revived and re-launched my online diary, Damien at the Speed of Life. Tonight after seeing Mamma Mia with Sarah I was driven to write a review. I have been a huge ABBA fan since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. The acting and music in Mamma Mia is great and you just plain feel good the whole time. You’ll start to see less reviews here as I will be trying to be true to the psychology niche here as time marches on. I hope you get a chance to see Mamma Mia, Sarah is definitely going to buy the DVD when it comes out. (She’s seen it 3 times so far) You can read my review and see a cool YouTube video at this link: Damien’s Mama Mia Review. Thanks for reading. Tip: Get more use out of your home exercise equipment, play the Mamma Mia soundtrack repeatedly.
Was out at Huck Finn tonight. What a truly amazing event that is. I captured some amazing pictures of the river just after sunset. This was taken on my Walkman camera phone. I hope you find the scene as inspiring as I do:
Events are special because they come and go. I like special stuff. What’s more valuable, a plastic rose or a rose that fades? To be, things that are fleeting are the most beautiful. The live bluegrass music, the funnel cake, my daughter riding a pony, … all these things worked together to make an amazing event for me and mine tonight. I spent the day with my dad as well, because it’s father’s day. My kids got me a cute card and spent the day with me yesterday. I feel so blessed with the three kids I have. Back to the event … I think we all need to make time for events in our lives because the end is always catching up with us. We need those moments that take our breath away. Maybe your event involves a motorcycle, or a very well panned date. When was the last time you went to an inspiring event?
I have music around me as much as possible. It lifts my spirit and makes me more human, I think. Someone might say that I am in my own la la land because I have a playlist for before the kids get here called “Feelin’ Good Classroom Music.” To that voice I say: “No, it took effort to get those songs loaded and it takes effort to press play when I get to work.” I put music and meditation on a high pedestal when it comes to work. In a given day I am barraged with requests from the administration, parents, and of course the kids have many needs. As an educator, it is easy to get caught up in my “to do list” and stress over it. When I stress out, the first casualty is my creativity and that ironically is that can solve most these professional issues of stress.
In short: I need music at the beginning of the day.
I’ve read that every one of the 5 senses has a different component related to memory. Scent, for example, has hedonic component where if you smell something you haven’t smelled since you were a kid, you might recall volumes of memories … it can even be overwhelming causing people to pass out I have read. Music is like that as well.
I have on this songlist music that takes me away to a place where I feel free and open to create and innovate my work. I also have a big comfy desk chair that I bought years ago at a discount furniture. It helps the musical effect, let me tell you! I am a moody person, to put it simply. For me, music is just as important as a drug would be. Recognizing that and being responsible to have a boombox or computer playlist in my work area is a facet of responsibility, no la la land here ;)
There are meditation actions one can take such as TM, prayer, mantra repetition and others. These are also important. There are so man things I can do proactively to have a great day at work. Nothing, however, prepares me better for my job of creativity and patience than quality time hearing musical notes and melodies being played in the morning. Whether it’s Theme from a Summer Place or DEVO singing Girl You Want from the Tank Girl soundtrack, playlist rules and I know it makes me a better teacher in a good mood every day.
Playing small bars and coffee houses has been a hobby of mine with my guitar since I was a teenager. I love it and even though it can be a lot of torturous work getting up there (mostly the process before the show) it is worth it every time.
Last night I played Angels Roadhouse in Apple Valley. My time was for 9:30p so my wife and I went out and got Italian at Mama Carpinos. We actually met up with her parents to eat which was cool because with them talking and stuff I forget about any nerves that might try to creep in. Anyway, we ate and I was feeling that “after Italian” buzz you get when you eat raviolis from a great restaurant. We got our hands stamped at the door and walked in to get a table.
The first band were under 21. We knew this because of the large magic marker “X” on all their hands. If you haven’t been to a club before, it means they can’t buy drinks. They all had Pink Floyd shirts on which was cool. I thought they might sound like Pink Floyd but I was wrong. They were kind of a hybrid of Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails. Another thing I noticed were their MOPS of hair. I’ve gone bald and what I have left I shave every month. But when I was that age, I had the same mop thiing happening. They had a lot of passion. Unfortunately the lead singer’s guitar was way out of tune. I kept fighting the urge to hop onstage and tune it for him. I could even tell what strings were out. If you know these sorts of things and are watching, it is just awful to go through. Eventually, they did finish and I was asked to take the stage.
It was a great set. I felt good singing. I played a few REM songs which I haven’t done for a while. When I said they were my favorite band, a few people gave out a rave. What shocked me was when I successively announced band names that no one had heard of:
The Goo Goo Dolls
The JayHawks
Toad the Wet Sprocket
I thought these were common bands/household names. Guess I am a bit obtuse there. If it had been a band name game show, I’d have taken the grand prize.
Songs by all those bands brought huge applause. In a way then I suppose I had some influence. Keeping the good stuff alive is part of what I see myself as doing out there.
I like paying out because it gives me a chance to share the goodness i have found in music and spread it around the desert … and beyond.
I discovered a great tool for starting my 3 year old learning guitar. It’s called “open tuning.” You tune the guitar to a chord rather than the normal tuning. Then as she strums it it sounds good to the rest of the house. For those who can’t tune? They do sell 5-10 dollar tuners. Here’s a video of my daughter trying it out.
In this hectic world of ours I am drawn to people who smile and have a peaceful spirit about them. Being around these people is like an oasis. Since I know this to be true, I myself try to BE one of those people. Having a custom CD of songs I like in my car and in my classroom is one way there.
Music has both a hedonic component and an ethereal effect on the body and mind. When you hear your favorite song come on you body relaxes almost effortlessly. Having a full CD of these can be better than any medicine for fatigue or other mental ailments you might come up against. People in your sphere will be glad you are near them because your heart will be full of song and your posture will reveal someone who is truly involved in life and sensing all that’s around.
My music CDs also help me ward off what I call “bad energy.” Those people who are always negative don’t affect me as much when I am still humming my tunes.
Sometimes when I get to work I don’t know where to begin there are so many projects begging for my attention. Putting on the CD’s first tune, currently Del Amitri’s “Roll to Me,” gets me in that zone where I can laugh and think straight. Get yourself a CD made before you leave the house tomorrow, the whole world will thank you and you will thank me for suggesting it. Make your own peace and well-being a priority.
Lorelle has a blog challenge this week to blog about a time when you felt “big.” I thought it was a perfect opportunity to write a memoir here on when I met two of my all-time life heroes.
The first one was Dave Sharp, ex-guitarist of the eighties neo-punk arena band: “The Alarm.” If you’re age 30 and above, you might recall some of their radio hits: “Sold Me Down the River,” “Rain in the Summertime,” “68 Guns,” “The Stand,” and a few others.
Here is one of their amazing videos from 1984, it still blows me away (check out the hosts’ mullets!)
I had every album memorized. I started listening to his music when I was 13 or 14 and learned all his guitar work by ear. When I joined my own band at age 16, I was throwing out chords and riffs I’d either stolen from him or adapted to my own style. But he was more than a guitar model to me, I identified with what he said in interviews and I tried to model much of my life after things he said either in the media or live in concert (I saw them live about 10-15 times).At age 23, I saw in the paper Dave was coming to town to do an acoustic show. I wanted to meet him personally. Not only because he was so cool, but because I wanted to hire him to play guitar on a single we were recording.
After the show I waited outside a while and soon, Dave emerged with a security guy. He had come out to talk to a few fans and sign some autographs. I met him then, gave him a tape of my music with the proposal inside and within a few weeks, his agent called me accepting my offer.Well, you can imagine the blissful events that followed. I worked with him several days in the studio that year and a couple years later we did another song together. Nothing much became of my music in the mainstream, but the experiences forever changed me. Rock n Roll means more to me than it ever did before. You can hear Dave on guitar on these two songs I wrote and recorded him below:
The second connection I had with a hero was just a few months ago. I am a public elementary school teacher and as a result, I work to increase my students’ scores on the California Standards Test every year. Countless times since I started teaching I have gone to the CDE.ca.gov website and seen the Superintendent of Instruction, Jack OConnell, on the front page. Here’s picture of Jack in my classroom. To the right is Herb Fischer, Superintendent of San Bernardino County.
Jack is the top. Not too long ago, my Principal told me he was coming to visit due to our school’s incredible growth in scores. She told me he wanted to see “EDI” which is a style of teaching we have started doing and that I am a certified coach for. He came in and watched a lesson along with the local paper and all the Principals in the district. I got to meet him and we discovered we both went to the same college, California State University, Fullerton. Wow. It was truly a “big” moment for me and I will never forget the power of working hard for something and then getting recognized in that way.
Apart from the births of my children, those are 2 of my most biggest moments: “XXL.”
There are many more ways, but I was thinking this morning that a process always helps. Perhaps you can add your own to this list:
Wake up on time (alarm clock with a mellow station).
Make some good coffee.
Have your outfit all picked out the night before (not always possible I know).
Train your school-age son(daughter) to make the lunches (LOL).
Have a CD picked out with music that inspires you, make sure it is in your car.
As you are getting your coffee made and last minute stuff, start your car and turn the heat on full-blast (winter only).
As you drive to work, think about the possibilities of the day. Look at struggles and worries as merely “opportunities” to see life a new way and improve yourself.
Think about positive things as you listen to your music on the way. Admire the beauty of the desert all around you.
Consciously remember to smile at people today, you affect others more than you know.
Be ready, for anything … and when anything comes your way, accept it as either a positive or an opportunity.
Commit yourself to be 100% in the moment. This means not worrying about the future or the past. I have found they both take care of themselves.
Create a relevant greeting to use so you don’t get tongue tied in those stressful moments. When you see someone at work, say: ___________. (examples: Hi, 3 day weekend. Happy Thursday. Hang in there, etc.)
Have pictures of your kids on your desk and focus on the reasons you work.
Make another CD of your favorite songs and play it in your office area or MP3 player if this is possible in your workspace. For me, its in my classroom before the kids come in.
If you have friends at work that won’t mind, send them a short email letting them know you are thinking of them and that you hope they have a great day. The replies throughout the day are great to remind you of the same thing.
Take time to breathe and do nothing for a few mintes before work. Meditate, pray, think, be still … etc.
If a bunch of stuff has been cluttering somewhere for a while, its probably not crucial. Put it all out of sight temporarily (a cabinet, a bin, a box etc.). This will create a clear place in your work area that can help you see possibilities.
Structure your day with an agenda by hour and check it off as you go.
Say this statement three times out loud when you are alone: “I am fortunate.”
Accept that there is something larger than yourself and surrender that you are small in the big scheme of things. Even if you wanted to be in control of everything, it wouldn’t be possible so be faithful in the small things on your agenda and make it an excellent day.
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I'm Damien Riley, author and teacher. Here you'll find "think outside the box" posts on psychology and inspiration. 
