Saturday's Songs for the Soul: People, Nature & Music

Thought for the Day: As you know Saturday's posts look at how music helps us cope with life's challenges. I am not a religious person, but do feel that some traditions are important to our emotional /psychological health. This weekend is the 36th anniversary of my brother Bill's death (June 25) and the 3rd anniversary (June 29) of my brother Larry's passing. It is a Jewish tradition to say Kaddish at Friday night and Saturday morning services on the week of a loved one's death. Therefore, I went to services. Last night I went to a small service at which the Rabbi asked people to say the names of their loved ones. I had not expected to do this, but stated their names. Today, I was at a larger synagogue so that my participation was more anonymous. The music and the Kaddish at both services moved me and added to the experience. On Friday, the Rabbi spoke about Chana Senesh and the song Eli, Eli (My God, My God). It is a beautiful song that I decided to share today with a brief story about her life. The closing song, Adon Olam was sung to the melody of Billy Joel's hit, "For the Longest Time." It came right after the mourner's Kaddish and brought tears to my eyes, since Larry would have loved the creative rendition. He loved to find new covers of well known songs.

The sermon last night made me think about what 3 things would I choose if I had to choose just 3 things to have in life. I chose people, nature and music. Then I chose songs that speak to these 3 priceless elements of life...

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom: Dr. Seuss & Dr. Lavi

Photos from FlickrCC.com & Wikipedia Commons*

Thought of the Day: In Wednesday's Words of Wisdom I have brought quotes from great psychologists, psychiatrists & teachers. Today's quote comes from a great artist & author of 45 children's books who has inspired generations of children (& their parents) with humor, creativity & a genuine desire to make the world a more caring peaceful place. 

Born Theodor Seuss Geisel in 1904, very few people know his real name. Geisel is known around the world as Dr. Seuss. He adopted the name Dr. Seuss in his early career as an undergraduate student at Dartmouth University. Although he began a graduate degree at Oxford University, he dropped out & pursued cartooning full time.  His 1st book was rejected by 27 publishers before it was accepted; it was not long before he became an acclaimed children's author.  His list of best selling books, including The Cat in the Hat & Green Eggs and Ham, have been translated into more than twenty languages & over 200 million copies have been sold around the world.

It is an understatement to say that Dr. Seuss' books have made a lasting impression on many generations around the world. His unique, creative illustrations, whacky rhymes & simple words of wisdom are read & recited repeatedly not only in homes, but also on TV, ia Broadway musical & movie renditions of his work. From children books, quotes, to controversial adult books, such as The Butter Battle Book, his messages resonate loud & clear. 

Although I love this quote by Dr. Seuss, "Don’t cry because it’s over but smile because it happened,” I feel a need to change it a bit. Instead I would say: "Cry because its over until you can smile because it happened." Encouraging people to let themselves cry when they are grieving is important. By teaching our children & ourselves that crying is a healthy way to release our darker emotions, we all can make room eventually for the brighter feelings of joy & gratitude when we remember what we have lost.

Although Dr. Seuss passed away in 1991, his memory will live on with his treasure trove of books & illustrations which will bring smiles to all who read his work.

Photos:
Top Right: From Wikipedia Commons {{Information |Source=Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c16956 |Description= Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) half-length portrait, seated at  photo 2

Bottom Left : FlickrCC.com  'Green Eggs and Ham' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/92382806@N00/422005531
Bottom Middle: FlickrCC.com 'Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/8489692@N03/4400664151
Bottom Right: FlickrCC.com 'DSC_2174' http-/www.flickr.com/photos/51035747113@N01/10920509

#FF Friday's Fabulous Finds: Gifts for Mothers & Their Children

Thought for the Day: Here are my Friday's Fabulous Finds for the week. In keeping with Mother's Day, I chose articles that I see as gifts to mothers everywhere. If you are new to my blog, you may want to take a look at the 5 part series I posted last year as well. (Part I: How the World Would Change If My Mother Ruled the World, Part II- Mother's Day Series: If My Grandmother Ruled the World, Part III- Mother's Day Series: If My Grandmother, Mother and I Ruled the World. Mother's Day Part IV: If My Step-Mother Ruled the World, & Mother's Day Part V: If My Daughters Ruled the World. If you are looking for videos to send to your mothers, there are several good ones included in the Mother's Day series from last year. I hope you will have a wonderful Mother's Day. Tomorrow's Songs for the Soul will bring a special story about a song that helped save one songwriter's life, so tune in.


Here are this week's Fabulous Finds:

1) Child Abuse Hotline Ad Uses Photographic Trick That Makes It Visible Only To Children by Betsy Isaacson   An innovative sign that can help stop child abuse by using modern technology. It's message with a phone number to call if a child is being abused is visible only to children. (Sorry for the strange formatting, but I can't seem to fix it!)

Tracey Stewart with her daughter

2) Stand Up for Girls Big and Small by Tracey Stewart  addresses how to combat a strange tendency among some women to be hypercritical of other women.

 

 

 

3) Keep Your Flowers on Mother's Day, I Want My Rights by Shannon Watts. I had the honor of meeting Shannon Watts when I went to Washington DC to advocate for sensible gun control laws. Shannon is the Founder, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which has grown to 100,000 moms across the USA. In her article, this Mother's Day, Shannon suggests that we skip the flowers & fight for our rights to make the world safer for our children.

4) A Mother's Day Letter for a Special Needs Mom  by Suzanne Perryman Perryman is a blogger at SpecialNeedsMom.com. This letter is written to mothers who's children may not write them Mother's Day Cards or thank them for all that they do 24/7, 365 days a year.

Claire Bidwell Smith's Mother

5) On Being a Motherless Mother by Claire Bidwell Smith,  a Los Angeles-based grief therapist & author of the memoir 'The Rules of Inheritance,' writes about an experience with her impulsive mother & how she reconnects with her mother who passed away. For those of you whose mothers are no longer living, Mother's Day can be rough. This touching post may be helpful.

Saturday's Songs for the Soul: Psychology & Music: Mimi Farina, Tom Jans, Pete Seeger & The Mavericks

Thought for the Day: This was the 2nd post in my Saturday's Songs for the Soul Series. I'm reposting it today since many of you were not following me when I posted it on 3/2/2013. I love the songs & the stories about how I used these songs to help clients in therapy. I hope you find them inspiring, too.
Here's the original post: 

Thought for the Day: This week I thought about songs I have shared with clients or that have inspired me over the years. In the process of considering music to share in this segment which I dedicated to my brother, Larry Bogdanow, last week, I remembered an album he sent to me in the early 70's when I lived in Israel. The album, Take Heart, by Mimi Farina (Joan Baez's sister) & Tom Jans with the angelic voices & amazing guitar work, will touch any listener's heart.  I originally planned to post just one song a week, but chose 2 songs from that album: Great White Horse & Charlotte. While listening to them on YouTube, I also found an old recording of Pack Up Your Sorrows performed by Mimi Farina & her husband, Richard Farina accompanied by Pete Seeger. Perhaps playing & thinking about these songs made them come up in sessions with clients this week. Without giving away any confidential information about my clients, I will share how I used them to help overcome life's challenges. I hope you enjoy listening to these songs & that they will uplift your spirits as they have for me over the years. Finally, on a lighter note, this week I went to a CD release party for the Mavericks at City Winery in NYC. I believe their new CD, In Time, has Grammy nomination potential & want to share one song from the event, Back in Your Arms Again. Last night they were on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with a full band & the sound is even more amazing on the album. It has the uplifting, Tex-Mex feel that will make you feel like hearing it over & over again. Enjoy!