Category: Exercise

A Newly Designed Workout Starts My Day!

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Ann Licator Invitation from Within part of a newly designrd workout

Originally Posted November 2019 Revised and Updated July 2026

2026 Update:

Looking back, this workout marked one of the many times I redesigned my exercise routine around music. While I no longer use this exact playlist, the idea of matching music to different parts of my workout has stayed with me.

These days my cardio playlist is built around artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, AC/DC, and The Doors, while my yoga routine is often accompanied by Steven Halpern’s Spirit of Bamboo, a wonderfully relaxing album filled with flute and gentle ambient sounds.

I’ve also expanded the meditation portion of my routine by adding a couple of pieces by Michael Brant DeMaria. I have to confess, though, that I haven’t been meditating as consistently as I should. Maybe it’s time to make that part of my daily routine again.

One thing hasn’t changed: music continues to be one of the things that motivates me to stay active. Whether I’m running, doing yoga, or simply trying to stay healthy in my seventies, the right soundtrack always makes the journey a little more enjoyable.

First An Excuse for Not Exercising

So I think over the last few months I think I’ve slipped a little as far as my diet and exercise regimes are concerned. I think part of the reason is I believe the pollen season has been a little longer than usual. I only noticed a drop in the pollen levels within the last week. As I am writing this I just checked the pollen levels for the week. Today is moderate but low for the rest of the week yeah!

Then…..A New Workout Design Starts With Dance-Cardio

Anyway, this morning I changed up my routine. Rather than do Dance-Cardio with weights and bands and other exercise equipment I decided start with 13 minutes of dance-cardio. (dance-cardio means old man moving in rhythm and moving arms

The music is from: Victor Wainwrght, Colin James and The Faces

Then Some Kundalini with Snatam Kaur

I followed with a routine that starts with three basic Kundalini spinal warm-ups. Then I did three or four exercises targeting abs and legs. The soundtrack for this routine is a song using the Sikh Mul Mantra. Sung by Snatam Kaur. The Mul Mantra

The Mul Mantra, the words first spoken by the spiritual master Guru Nanak after enlightenment, literally translates as the “Root Mantra,” or the mantra from which all other mantras in the Kundalini Yoga tradition are built. It contains the core, essential truth of creation, and its vibration is so powerful that it can change your fate and help you rewrite your destiny. Read More

Hatha Yoga and Native American Flute Follow Mul Mantra

Mul Mantra is just a hair over 7 minutes long. When it ended, I transitioned into a short yoga routine. The soundtrack was from Flutist Ann Licater. I used the song “Angels from Within” from the album Invitation From Within

Meditation with the World’s Most Relaxing Song Ends the Workout

The exercise set concluded with an 8 minute meditation. The music for the meditation was Weightless Part 1 from Marconi Union. It…. According to a marketing study conducted by Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson, the most relaxing song in the world is Weightless, by ambient band Marconi Union. The song was produced by the band in collaboration with the British Academy of Sound Therapy.Nov 15, 2016 Read More is considered by some to be the most relaxing song in the world

The Soundtrack

Is A Great Day a Harbinger of A Great Anti-aging Fall?

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For whatever reason yesterday  was one of those days that was pretty damn good anti-aging day. It may be because it started off well when I noted upon waking, that for the first time since I had pneumonia back in July, my resting heartbeat during the night,  hit 38 beats per minute. That made me feel good and quitem well may have set the tone for the whole day.

My Morning Workout

Today was a non-running day. Wednesdays are usually reserved for a full-body workout using just about every piece of exercise equipment I have at home. During today’s 47-minute workout, I did just that.

Every workout has its own soundtrack. I’ve been using the same playlist for quite a while now, and I still enjoy it. Each song is paired with a different exercise. For example, I use Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited” while working with the kettlebell, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Down on the Corner” during my jump rope session, and Strawberry Alarm Clock’s “Incense and Peppermints” while doing my light-weight exercises. It may be an old playlist, but it keeps me moving, and that’s what matters.

The Nerdy Details

Total Time: 47:12
Calories Burned: 462
Average Heart Rate: 122 bpm

Time in Heart Rate Zones:

  • Peak: 6 minutes
  • Cardio: 32 minutes
  • Fat Burn: 8 minutes

Overall, it was a great workout.

Next came breakfast, and today I made one of my favorite smoothies with a banana, an apple, strawberries, pineapple, cherries, yogurt, and almond milk.

Then I relaxed with a book for 15 minutes reading Why Cities Lose: The Deep Roots of the Urban-Rural Political Divide. By Jonathan A. Bodden.. The book has so far been very enlightening.

The Time is Now start parts of Dinner at Lunchtime!

For a while now I have been thinking about making a portion of my dinner at lunch time. So today after my wife went back to work after having lunch at home, I made mashed sweet potatoes using the instant pot. It’s really easy but takes time when I’m trying to do it at night. Here’s the recipe I used

Lunch was another positive meal. I had Trader Joe’s Palak Paneer. It’s an Indian meal of spinach and paneer cheese. It’s spicely good with lots of vitamin A!

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Babysitting Time

In the afternoon we babysat our two grandchildren Zoe and Logan. Zoe turned five yesterday and Logan is 21 months old. They are really, really easy children to babysit. We joked when Zoe was little that Peter and Missy won the good baby lottery because she was so easy! When Logan came along and was just as easy we joked it was fair that they won the lottery twice!!!

Anyway, we got home from babysitting around 6:30 but it didn’t take too long to put together my dinner because I had made the mashed sweet potatoes earlier! My dinner was Honey Chipotle Salmon, the sweet potatoes and a salad.

So yesterday was a great anti-aging day. It was composed of a great workout, three good meals and being with our two grandchildren. The only way it could have been better was if our third grandchild Oliver had been there too!

I ended the day doing my 24 minute night yoga routine! It was the end of a really good anti-aging day!!

And above all I hope today is a harbinger for a great fall

My Morning Workout Playlist.

Yes I know they’re all ancient songs,except for “Dance with Me ” which is from one of my favorite blues albums of 2019 Kenny Parker’s Hellfire! Anyway, the old songs have a good beat and they’re easy to move to!

A Strong Workout Plus the Altered Five Blues Band’s “Mint Condition”

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Altered Five Blues BAnd - Charmed & Dangeous

A Strong Workout Plus Altered Five Blues Band’s “Mint Condition”

So last week was nice. Morning temperatures were in the mid-60s and relative humidity was also fairly low. Yesterday and today overall temperatures were up. This morning it was 76 degrees at 8 o’clock with 95% relative humidity and the sun shining brightly! Not conditions that I like to run in! This  68 year-old body can take just so much!

Anyway I decided to do an indoor workout. Since it was supposed to be a running day, I wanted to make it a mostly cardio workout. One of the things that I decided to include in the workout was a set of exercises, some of which are  from Kundalini yoga, I do to Snatam Kaur’a Song of the Mul Mantra.

I used probably the first Cardio playlist that I created which contains a lot of songs from the Sixites and added a few different songs. I kept it mostly just dance cardio but did use light weights, a resistance band and a 5 lb medicine ball during the workout. Here are the results!

The  Nerdy Results

  • Total Time: 60 min  Calories Burned : 541
  • Avg HR 117 bpm  Max HR 168 bpm
  • Time in HR Zones
  • Peak: 7 min Cardio: 35 min Fat Burn: 10 min

The results show that I burned as more calories today than I did on my 3.1 mile run on Tuesday. (All be it in more time).I also achieved my goal of  having the workout be mostly cardio. I may try this schedule running 2 days a week instead of three for a few weeks to see if my knees are a little better for it. While my knees aren’t real bad, they don’t feel as good as they use it on the non-running days.

Morning Music Playlist

If anyone is interested here is the basic playlist I used for the workout. I did however skip a few songs and added one or two songs from another playlist.

Now, how about some other late morning music …..

The Altered Five Blues Band – Charmed & Dangerous – “Mint Condition”

A few weeks ago, I discovered the Altered Five Blues Band. Their new release Ten thousand Watts was on the Roots Music Blues Chart ( this week the album is number 8 on the chart) but hadn’t been released yet. So when I went to Spotify, I checked out their 2017 release Charmed &Dangerous. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was a band I was going to like .

On the first track “Charmed and Dangerous”  I heard some killer guitar, good vocals and organ!! Oh yeah !

The second track “Mint Condition” continued the love fest, as the organ became more prevalent. Then they won me over by adding some blues harp on then third track  “Three Forks”.  I was sold on the band!!

I’ll write more about the band after listening to Ten Thousand Watts a few more times. But for now let’s go into the afternoon  with some late morning music “Mint Condition”from the Altered Five Blues Band album Charmed & Dangerous. Check it Out!

 

Kundalini Kriya “Master Your Domain” Rekindles Love of Kundalini

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My Go To Kundalini Yoga Book

 To Master Your Domain Kundalini Kriya leds to Starting Kundalini Again

This morning I just didn’t feel like doing a 20-30 minute dance-cardio workout. Instead I decided to do an old Kundalini Kriya. The Kriya that I chose was “To Master Your Domain”.

I haven’t done any Kundalini yoga for a long while. Many years ago Kundalini was the main form of yoga that I did. Kundalini is different from many other forms of yoga,at least in my opinion, in that the Kriya are more physically challenging.Additionally there is more recitation of  mantras and meditation. It was the recitation of the mantras that we’re in Punjabi that led me to the Sikh religion. Sikh’s believe that there is one God and that all religions are just pathways to that one God.

About Sihkism

From Wikipedia….

The fundamental beliefs of Sikhism, articulated in the sacred scripture Guru Granth Sahib, include faith and meditation on the name of the one creator, divine unity and equality of all humankind, engaging in selfless service, striving for justice for the benefit and prosperity of all, and honest conduct.  Read More

Sikhism and Me

Many of the tenets of Sikhism are  the way I live my life. And really that is what Kundalini Yoga and Sikhism are a way of life. When I was practicing Kundalini I became a vegetarian. I also did a lot more meditating and exercises that focused on my breathing. Overall it was a good experience and one that I should probably revisit. 

While I am not really a full vegetarian I haven’t been eating a lot of meat. I do eat pork chops and occasionally  dishes that include chicken. Lately I have been eating a lot of Indian vegetarian dishes for lunch and dinners more often than not are some type of fish, mashed cauliflower or sweet potatoes and a vegetable.

A Possible Schedule to Incorporate Kundalini into Workout Schedule 

I guess the question is where or when can I get Kundalini kriyas into my exercise routines. Maybe a schedule that looks something like this…..

  • Monday (Target) – Hatha Yoga in AM  Kundalini in afternoon Night Hatha Yoga
  • Tuesday: Morning: Dance-Cardio (20 Min) – Run – Night:Yoga
  • Wednesday: Dance Cardio (30-40 min) Early PM: Kundalini   Late PM: HathaYoga
  • Thursday: Morning: Dance-Cardio (20 Min) – Run – Night:Yoga
  • Friday : (Target) – Hatha Yoga in AM  Kundalini in afternoon Night Hatha Yoga
  • Saturday: Dance Cardio (30-40 min) Early PM: Kundalini   Late PM: HathaYoga
  • Sunday: Dance-Cardio (20 Min) – Run – Night:Yoga

Hmmm, that may work at least its a starting point . I’ll let you know how I make out!If you want to try  the Master Your Domain Kriya here is a video!

Update (July 2026)

Looking back at this schedule, I’ve realized it was a bit too ambitious! I’m still working on integrating Kundalini back into my routine, but I’m aiming for a much more sustainable once or twice a week. Even my Fitbit AI coach only has me down for five yoga sessions total, so I need to listen to the data! Lol.

Now that I’m only working two days a week, I have a lot more flexibility. Overall, I’ll be mixing in my yoga and cardio with an elliptical, an elliptical bike, and a rower. This gives me a great balance of variety and low-impact work. My plan is to use that extra time to find the perfect sweet spot for these Kriyas without burning myself out. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes

60s Rock for Cardio Workout, New Age for Yoga!

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Absolutely Live - The Doors -part of my cardio workout

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The Soundtrack for Cardio Workout – The Doors –New Age Nancy Shoop-Wu for Yoga

So last night the soundtrack for my evening workout came from two sources. The first part of my workout was a 15 minute plus dance-cardio workout. The soundtrack was a portion of a playlist of music from The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and The Who.

The workout only lasted through the first three songs. All three were from The Doors. The first two “Who Do You Love?” and “Break on Through” were from their  album Absolutely Live. Several years ago I wrote a post ranking my favorite live albums. You can read that post here


The second half of my workout was a yoga routine It was actually just a shortened version of the routine that I usually do. The soundtrack of that portion of my workout was Rainbow Road from Nancy Shoop-Wu. Back when I first listened to and enjoyed Rainbow Road I wrote a post about Nancy Shoop-Wu and the album.

Rainbow Road – Nancy Shoop – Wu 

Rainbow Road the second release from violinist Nancy Shoop-Wu has been one of the various albums that I have used as the soundtrack for my morning workouts and meditations over the last few months. And it has been one of my favorites!

About Nancy Shoop-Wu

Nancy Shoop-Wu’s music is a wonderful blend ofi New Age , Hawaiian and classical music. Shoop-Wu started her musical journey at the age of nine in her home state of Connecticut. She came from a musical family. Her father played the trumpet and her mother the piano. She became determined to dedicate her life to music when her father passed away when she was nine years old. Read  More

The Video

HEre is the video for “Rainbow Road” Enjoy as for me I’m going to start thinking about what music I will be using as the soundtrack of any yoga or workout tonight!

 Voices from Heaven Vol. II -Halonen and Syversen -A Great Yoga & Meditation Album

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Voices from Heavern- Vool 2 - Trom Syversen

This morning’s soundtrack for my morning yoga and meditation was one of my favorite new New Age albums. Voices from Heaven Volume II from Norwegian keyboardist Tron Syversen and wordless vocalist Runar Halonen

Every time I have used this album for meditating it has been great. That’s to be expected since the album was designed to take listeners on a deep journey into their inner self.

From TronMusic….

The Voices II music heralds a channeled arrangement on both piano and keyboard combined with voices floating on the waves of music to achieve a powerful sound healing album that creates unique frequencies that will be received in to your body. These frequencies will release your energy when the sharp and high notes are heard, stimulating a needle-energy similar to the ancient of acupuncture without needle.

Most people within the Northern-European-relaxation-healing music community consider Tron a pioneer within their community.. In addition, his music and influence seems to spread farther and farther around the globe each year.  This is a result of the marketing of his recent albums internationally. Each album has quickly risen to the Top 10 on the international Top 100 Zone Music Reporter Chart..

About Voices From Heaven Vol. II

Voices from Heaven Vol. II is composed of three lengthy tunes, each composed by the Halonen – Syvensen team. The tracks are: “My Journey to True Love”, “Rainbow Bridge” and “Hymn to the Lost Souls”

Tron Syversen provides the spacey, ambient, and floating music via piano, keyboards and occasionally synthesized percussion or strings effects. Halonen adds soaring, sailing,drone-like, mood-setting, and uplifting wordless vocalizing. Special guest vocalist Helem Edler Lorentaen joins the duo on “”Rainbow Bridge”. “Rainbow Bridge” also includes Lorentzen playing a shaman drum and Per Elias Drablos on bass.

Bottom Line:  A Sixties Man Rating 4.5 out of 5.

“My goal has always been to make enjoyable music that people like to listen to.”says Tron Syverson “But I also want the music to be good for deep relaxation, meditation, sharp concentration or improved sleep. If my music helps people in their daily lives, I have accomplished more than entertainment. ..”

I say… that on Voices from Heaven Vol II Tron Syversen you have accomplished your goal!!I think the first time I used the album for a meditation soundtrack, I was going to meditate for 15 minutes. The meditation lasted 30 minutes!! The second and third times, I ended the meditation with savasana for five minutes or so…..at the end I checked my pulse it was 43 beats per minute – definitely DEEP RELAXATION!

So Check Out Voices from Heaven Vol. II! As for me I will be checking out Voices from Heaven along with Tron’s Piano Meditations! Along with previous Syversen and Halonen musical guided music collaborations. Such as, Activation of Your Inner Healing, Create the Life You Want and The Translucent Return Journey!

Artist Website : Tron Syversen – Runar Halonen
Facebook
Amazon

From Spotify: “My Journey to True Love” from Voces From Heaven

A Workout, A Meditation, and Nathan Speir

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Nathan Speir

June 2026 Relection

“At 65 I was wondering whether a 20-minute Tabata workout could replace my normal workout. At 74 I’m wondering whether I could still survive that Tabata workout! These days my exercise routine looks a little different. Running, walking, yoga, and staying active enough to chase grandchildren have replaced most of those high-intensity workouts. But one thing hasn’t changed. Music still plays an important role in both my exercise and relaxation routines.”

A Tabata Workout Followed by the peaceful music of Nathan Speir

This morning I really did not feel like doing a full 60 minute workout. I seriously considered only doing a light yoga workout. But the\n I thought maybe a short 20 minute Tabata workout. So I created one on the workout app tha

t I use. It consisted of 8 – 20 second intervals followed by 10 second rest of the following

  • Jumping jacks
  • Squat thrusts
  • Sit ups
  • Mountain climbers
  • Push-ups/ squats 5 push outs 3 squats

Of course I counted how many of the exercises I did in each interval. If you had told me T the beginning of the exercise I would be doing

  • 200 jumping jacks
  • 64 sit-ups
  • 64 squat thrusts
  • 240 mountain climbers and
  • 40 push ups

I would have said you were nuts! But that’s what I did. And although the workout according to my Fitbit burned fewer calories then I thought! It was pretty damn good workout!

I followed the workout with a 10 minute meditation  and 5 minute savasana
( had to sneak in a little yoga!)

Today’s Meditation Soundtrack: Part of a Kindly Plan – Nathan Speir

Part of a Kindly Plan - Nathan Speir

The soundtrack for the meditation was a New Age album that’s been in my music rotation for a while now but I haven’t written about it yet. Big surprise I haven’t been doing a lot of writing about anything recently. So in an effort to break out of that rut,let me tell you about Nathan Speir and his album Part of a Kindly Plan.

Nathan Speir is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was born in southern California but was raised in Florida and Connecticut. Currently he calls Winston-Salem North Carolina home. Part of a Kindly Plan is Speir’s eight studio release. His music style is eclectic and varied. He cites among his influences the music of George Winston, Keith Jarrret, Pat Metheny, Steve Roach, Harold Budd, R Carlos Nakai, Chopin and Erik Satie. His is inspired by his family, poetry, fine art, space and astronomy, the study of religion and nature.

From his Website Biography…

“I have a perpetual need to create,” explains Speir, “and making music teaches me many lessons in life. I hope that my creations enhance the ambience in the listener’s life, and in doing so, the listener holistically benefits. This kind of music lends itself to solace, relaxing, thinking and reflecting on life. Studying your inner life and identifying your personal beliefs is serious business, but I believe that serious things can bring great joy. I want the music to feel like taking a pastoral retreat, or going to space and then returning to earth, but afterwards feeling more at one with things. I feel strongly that each person needs to contribute in some way to our world. With my music I try to do my small part.” Read More

About Part of a Kindly Plan

Part of a Kindly Plan contains mostly acoustic instruments – acoustic piano, steel and nylon string acoustic guitars, wooden flute, cello, harmonica, rain-stick and singing bowls. A couple of the tunes also include a little synthesizer (primarily replicating a string section.)

In addition Speir states: “…. silence has a big part in my music and I pay a lot of attention to the space between the notes”

Some of the inspiration for Part of a Kindly Plan comes from the Thomas Hardy poem. “On a Fine Spring Morning” . The poem was written in the early 1900s and Speir has included it on the back of the album cover. Speir explains…

“At the beginning the poem asks a question: What is solace? Hardy says it is not this or exactly that, but at the end he is happy and content because he says everything is part of a benign or kindly plan that is proof that earth was made for man. I liked the sentiments expressed so I paraphrased the various lines for the name of the album and several tune titles”

You can read more about the various tunes also in his biography at his website. Here is the  link.

 Thoughts About Part of a Kindly Plan……

I find Part of a Kindly Plan to be a nice quiet and relaxing album. It is a nice album to use for meditation, not a perfect meditation album but damn close. One of the tracks that I’ve heard the most and have really enjoyed is track two “As We Turn” The track features an acoustic-steel string guitar blended with piano, rainstick shaker some sampled tympani and synth strings. Speir says the following about the track:

“There are lots of turns in life, and as we grow older our perspective of life changes.”

As I was driving to Walmart this morning listening to the album, I thought about what Speir had written about the use of space between the notes in his compositions. I really noticed that in practice on the tune ‘Praxis”  The song mixes nylon-string guitar and Native American flute with a rhythmic drum-sound created by Speir hitting the cello fretbound with his open hand.

“The idea behind this piece”, relates Speir is that everyone should choose a discipline of some sort, seriously practice it, persevere, improve and also enjoy the journey.”

Anyway the album is, like Speir says a beautiful and varied collection of acoustic music and is well worth checking out. I think that it will be in my New Age rotation for quiet a while!! And it’s not just me who likes this album. The album was number 8 on the MusicZoneReporter.com Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart for April

Artist’s Website

Nathan’s Blog

Amazon

The Playlist

2026 Post Update

Nathan Speir Discography Since Part of a Kindly Plan

  • Searching for Nepsis (2019)
  • Finding a Way to Be (2020)
  • Polyhedric Hearts (2020)
  • Ambient Piano Improvs (2021)
  • Pilgrim (2022)
  • Over Earth Under Stars (2023)
  • Tapestries for Seasons (2023)
  • Ethereal Moments (EP, 2025)
  • Interstate X O (Single, 2025)
  • A Night of Poetry (2025)
  • Beside a Sanctuary for the Brave (Single, 2026

Looking at this list, I have to ask myself a question. Why haven’t I listened to more of Nathan Speir’s music? Since writing this original review he has released a considerable amount of music, and judging by how much I still enjoy Part of a Kindly Plan, I think I have some listening to do. Perhaps one of these albums will become the soundtrack for my next yoga session, meditation, or early morning reflection.

Peaceful Being by Richard Noll leads to Being a Peaceful Being

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Peaceful Being - Richard Noll

2026 Reflections on Peaceful Being

When I first wrote this post, I was searching for ways to slow down, relax, and perhaps rediscover a meditation practice that had slipped away. Two years later, Richard Noll’s Peaceful Being still finds its way into my morning routine.

Much has changed since then. I’ve returned to running, become more consistent with yoga, experimented with CPAP therapy, and spent countless hours babysitting grandchildren, working at Target, and rebuilding my websites. Yet one thing I have learned is that peacefulness is not something you achieve once and keep forever. It is something you practice.

Looking back, I find it interesting that the album’s title can be interpreted in two ways: feeling peaceful or being a peaceful person. At this stage of life, I think the second meaning speaks to me more than the first.

There are still busy days, stressful days, and days when my mind jumps from one project to another. But there are also mornings when a few minutes of yoga, a little quiet reflection, and music like Peaceful Being remind me that slowing down is sometimes just as important as getting things done.

With that in mind, here’s the original post I wrote about an album that continues to accompany many of those quiet moments.

Over the last month Peaceful Being the debut album from Richard Noll has been he soundtrack for many of my morning yoga routines and meditations. Overall, it has become one of my favorite albums. And listening to it has led to some of the most relaxing and calming meditations I have ever had.

Richard Noll -a Peaceful Being

About Richard Noll’s Music

Richard Noll is one of the few recording artists who plays primarily recorder and he is amazing! On Peaceful Being he plays both tenor and alto recorders. He also plays an electronic wind instrument, the EWI 4000s. But he doesn’t stop there. He also plays electronic keyboards. He uses the keyboards to create piano, percussion gamelan-like tones and other instrumental sounds.

Noll explains “Even though I play transverse flutes from time to time. I concentrated on using the recorder on this album since many of the pieces were composed on that instrument. Of course recorders are a type of flute, an internal duct flute, and I generally play them in the style of a native or indigenous wooden flute”

Nature is a primary inspiration for Noll’s music. He relates” Most of my early music came to me as I sat with my wooden recorder in the mountains or along rivers and streams of Northern New Mexico”

About Peaceful Being

He explains “ I collected eight of my songs for Peaceful Being that I felt were soothing meditative songs that could inspire, uplift and nourish a listener.” “ I believe these songs can be supportive during times of reflection and inner process, as background for yoga, meditation or other daily practice, during massage or other bodywork sessions, to create meditative energy for groups, or offered wherever calm and spacious music would be appropriate”

I have experienced Noll’s music as both background for yoga and meditation. So,I can attest to the fact, it is perfect for both!!

The title of the album Peaceful Being can be understood in two ways: feeling peaceful, or as a peaceful person.  Noll explains, “ The meaning that emerges depends on whether “being” is understood as a noun or a verb. ”Either way peacefulness is the end result of listening to Noll’s relaxing yet invigorating music

Final Thoughts and an Experiment

Peaceful Being is a pleasure to listen to. One of the most calming and relaxing to which I have ever listened.. I know it’s going to be in my music rotation for a long time. So check it out!

Finally let’s try a little experiment. Noll relates the following, “ I was sitting by a waterfall along a small stream in the mountains in New Mexico  when I wrote “Peaceful Being”. It evokes for me the lush, specious and nurturing presence of the pristine earth and the quality of being alive, nourished and supported by nature.”

The song “Nightfall” celebrates twilight, the transition from the light of day to the dark of night when the diminished light softens the edges of all things as the shadows take over, and I feel a sense of mystery and wonder. I composed this as dusk fell while camping at a river in the Gila Wilderness in Southern New Mexico.”

Ok so now I want you to re-read the above. Then listen to the appropriate track below and see where the music takes you!

Then listen to and enjoy the whole album here.

Mystical Morning – Leads to New Directions for My Blog and Mystical Morning Commute

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Mystical Morning -bUwe Gronau

The other morning while meditating my mind turned toward my blog and I thought of my blog in relationship to my body mind and spirit.

Mind, Body and Spirit Lead the Way

Much of what I try to do during the day is directed at one of those three aspects of life. Whether it’s trying to enrich and keep my mind sharp by reading, exercising and eating right to help my body and meditating and listening to New Age music to lift my spirit, the actions I take revolve around these aspects of life.

Anyway what I am going to try for a while is to keep this blog oriented toward the rejuvenation, and revitalization of my mind, body and spirit,

As part of this shift, the music discussions on this site will be mostly about New Age music and maybe some jazz. But knowing that my musical explorations of other genres including Americana, blues and progressive rock won’t stop, I will be discussing those explorations at FreeWheelin’ Music Safari!

Getting Directions from KeyWebsites

Now with the above thoughts swirling around in my head I visited some new sites like MindBodyGreen and BodyMindSpirit Guide both of which I believe I will be visiting more often in the future. I also visited a site that I have visited often in the past Tiny Buddha. While I was at Tiny Buddha the following post caught my eye……..

30 Simple Mindfulness Practices to Help You Focus and Be Present

I thought the article presented some  good practices to help become more mindful. As a result of reading this post I decided that this morning I would do two things.

Putting Thoughts into Action

First, I was going to listen to some New Age music on my way to work and secondly, I was going to try to be more aware of my surroundings. S

So as I was driving, I was attempting to view things as if it was the first time I saw them, rather than the six hundredth million time!! I must say that it made for a pretty interesting trip and I don’t think it’s too bad around here!!

Accompanied by Uwe Gronau – Mystical Morning

The music that I listened to was the album, Mystical Morning by German composer and keyboardist Uwe Gronau. I have had this album in my music rotation since its release back in October of 2015 and I like it more and more every time I listen to it!

About Uwe from his biography at his website…….

Gronau was born and raised in the Rhineland in northwest Germany, and grew up in Dusseldorf and Bocholt (where he currently resides) which is only a couple of miles from the Dutch border. “In the ‘70s and ‘80s the Netherlands were more involved in the evolution of jazz, pop, rock and soul than Germany, so I profited from this situation and heard much great music.” Uwe began playing piano at age six and grew up immersed in music as the son of a choir-leader, orchestra-conductor, music-school teacher and piano instructor.

In his early years Uwe studied classical music, but soon became passionate about jazz and rock artists such as Brian Auger, Keith Emerson, Patrick Moraz and Refugee, and Joe Zawinul and Weather Report.

As Gronau got older, his musical tastes expanded to include Supertramp, Jethro Tull, Gilbert ‘O Sullivan, Keith Jarrett, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Dream Theater. When Uwe was 14 he began to play in a series of bands and built a reputation in the area for his musicianship and professionalism.

One thing that always set Gronau apart from many other musicians is that from the beginning and continuing to today, Gronau has always played original material and has never covered compositions by others. In college, Gronau majored in music, German and theater-science. Read More

Thoughts on Mystical Morning

The music on Mystical Morning is varied and always interesting. A review of the album at CDBaby says it better than I can…..

This German keyboardist explores all that and more on his Mystical Morning album which he says is “positive, celebratory music that is like sunshine pouring onto a new day.” He specially has a ball playing his Hammond B-3 organ, most noteworthy on his tribute to Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (“Letter to Emerson”), a fast-paced piece bubbling with energy.

That organ shows up several other places including the most prog-rock tune, “Over the Bridge,” which has a full-bodied arrangement featuring lots of varied sounds including synth, acoustic guitar and horns.

These pieces are balanced with some softer piano-dominated numbers including two versions of the piano and acoustic-guitar “Shy” (one with drums and one without). In fact about half of the 15 tunes are rocking (with drums or forceful percussion) and the other half are fairly soft which keeps it interesting. Gronau has always been known for making music that keeps the listener guessing and fascinated as to where he will head next. He somehow captures the spirit of the great rock albums of the Seventies and Eighties, but with modern sound exploration that is fresh and invigorating.  Read Full Review

My favorite track is the aforementioned “Letter to Emerson”, but this morning ” A Day in Sri Lanka” and the title track “Mystical Morning” fit the mood of the morning!

Mystical Morning is Uwe Gronau’s sixth full album and while I have not explored his full back catalog I have listened to and written about hos release Thoughts of Tomorrow and you can read what I wrote about that album here.

So with the help of the music of Uwe Gronau and a little mindfulness it was a Mystical Morning!!!

Here is the title track from Mystical Morning

Michael Brant DeMaria – The Maiden of Stonehenge – New Age Healing Music

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The Maiden of Stonehenge - Michael Brant DeMaria

2026 Reflections

Looking back, I never did complete the grand experiment of comparing the psychologist and the shamans. That’s not unusual. Over the years I’ve started plenty of projects that wandered off into the weeds. But what struck me when I reread this post was that twelve years later I finally did embrace yoga as part of my daily routine. These days a work morning often starts with twenty minutes of yoga before heading off to Target at 5 a.m. So perhaps Michael Brant DeMaria had more influence on me than either of us realized

Discovering Michael Brant DeMaria

So the other day I was browsing through the Zone Music Reporter’s New Age Top 100 Radio Air Play chart and I spotted down at #87 an interesting looking album titled The Maiden of Stonehenge by Michael Brant DeMaria. Not knowing anything more about the album, than that it had both an interesting title and a cool cover (there I go again dating myself). I downloaded it on to the iPhone and gave it a listen. As soon as I heard the flute on the first track “Lost Village” I knew that I was going to like the album and I was very, very correct!!

So then I started to research the album and Michael Brant DeMaria and what did I find. Another one of those people who REALLY have it all together!! (Unlike me who has little pieces scattered all over the place!)

From his biography at his website:

Dr. Michael Brant DeMaria is a psychologist with over 25 years of experience in helping guide others on their life journeys. He has published and presented numerous papers on the role creativity and spirituality play in the healing process nationally and internationally.

Michael DeMaria is also an author. His writings include: of Horns and Halos (1992), Ever Flowing On (2001) and the book of poetry,Moments (2008).

His passion for philosophy and psychology started at a young age having graduated with degrees in both as he turned 20. ,He also received the outstanding student award the same year in the department of philosophy, art and religious studies.

Dr. DeMaria then became the youngest recipient of a Ph.D. in the clinical psychology program at Duquesne University, where he studied in the graduate programs in psychology, philosophy and The Institute of Formative Spirituality

Comparing Edward to Michael HaHaHa He Wins!

Sooo.. I graduated with a two degrees too – one in Political Science and one in Education – and then went to work for a civil engineering company??? Right – top that!!

Hey Michael I think I need some help figuring out my journey and you better hurry, cause the remaining part of the journey keeps shrinking faster and faster!! But back to Michael, so he’s a psychologist does that make you a good musician – maybe not but I guess he may be an okay musician – then I read……..

Michael Brant DeMaria has been something of a phenomenon in the healing/new age music realm with four consecutive #1 albums on the Zone Music Reporter charts, three Grammy Nominations for Best New Age Album, and several Album of the Year awards in the Native American, Ambient, Relaxation/Meditation, and World Music categories!

Whoa- yes Mr. DeMaria you can do it all!!

About The Maiden of Stonehenge from Mainly Piano

….The Maiden of Stonehenge, takes his music in yet another direction. The music is the soundtrack to a play by the same name written by DeMaria and Stephen Lott, (who also co-wrote the play Siyotanka several years ago). This time the play takes place in ancient Britain and tells the story of the coming of age of Teagan, a young, disfigured orphan girl abandoned and left to fend for herself. Her journey takes her across the mythic land where she meets wild and wondrous creatures while discovering the healing powers of nature, water, and her own voice.

Thoughts on Exploring New Age Meditation Music.and a Challenge

The music on the album and the overall vibe of the album is great and is meant for healing and yoga meditation, etc.. Now this is the third album that  I have listened to over the last several weeks of this type.

The other two were Get Tribal’s Gods of Drum and an album from Ahilah called Warrior that was recommended to me by  reader, Kevin Thiessen, from AsZension, who was involved in the production of the album.

Now my mission should I choose to accept it…..(this post will self-destruct in ten seconds – damn you ADD!) is to do meditations over the next week or so using tracks from each of the albums and record my observations from each to see who does it better the Shamans or the psychologist!!

Now let’s see if I can do it! The one thing, I know I will do, is listen to more of the albums from Michael Brant DeMaria!!!

The Video

A medley of the music from The Maiden of Stonehenge!