The Christmas season and music go together.  To me, music creates a mood. It soothes, it excites, it inspires, and it is a very powerful force. Listening to music is also a simple way to enhance your life. I love that.

Studies show that the human brain responds to music in ways that are beyond our comprehension. I am amazed at the emotion that music can evoke. How is that? Why do certain melodies move me to tears and others make me laugh. A song that I haven’t heard in a while can trigger deep memories.

Music is even used medically in brain damaged patients to stimulate the certain areas of the brain to take over functions lost in others. To me that means that listening to music creates more neural pathways and in a way “exercises” our brain.

For all of the above reasons, Music Therapy is becoming more popular. Because music has so powerful of an effect on our brain it is used therapeutically to control pain, manage stress and combat depression. From Alzheimer’s patients to very small children, it is fascinating how music can help develop and repair a brain. For everyday life it can help you relax, manage stress and take control over your own mood.

Our world is so visually stimulating, especially today with technology. Music keeps our auditory sense smart and developed. And the choices are endless. I love the soft flowing music and powerful chants played at the end of yoga while we meditate and breathe deep. I love fixing dinner and drinking a glass of wine while singing along to Maroon 5 or The Weepies. Pianists like Jason Walker calm me and bands like Live excite me.

Knowing the potential positive effects of music and the simplicity of surrounding myself with it, I can’t help but integrate it into my life more and more.   It is wonderful way to enrich my life!

Learn more about music therapy

"Farm to Table" Yard

I recently had the opportunity to attend a very cool fundraiser in my neck of the woods called “Farm To Table”.  It  was a dinner that we purchased tickets for and all the proceeds went to support our local art center which offers many programs to kids and adults alike.  Itwas a great cause!  But the idea around the dinner was the best part.

"Farm to Table" invitation

The entire evening was a celebration of our local farmers and the food they provide.  Special attention was given to the fact that when you buy from local farmers markets directly, the money goes straight to family farms and the community.  And of course because the food we consumed that night was straight from the farm, it was some of the most fresh and flavorful food I’ve ever experienced.

Cocktail table under the tent

The evening started with a gathering in the expansive yard where there was a cocktail tent and plenty of opportunity to explore the gardens and mingle with the guests.  From there we moved into a large, rugged barn which had long rows of tables with quaint dinnerware and huge vases of pear tree limbs.

"Farm to Table" dinner

The menu consisted of garden fresh greens with heirloom tomatoes, roasted baby red potatoes, fresh sautéed green beans, quarter chickens and T-bone steaks for the meat eaters and homemade peach cobbler for dessert.  All local fare, it cannot be beat!

Friends

I am so impressed with this idea for a fundraiser.  People always want to eat great food, be in an amazing setting and support more than one cause while they are having fun.  I would encourage you to try or suggest this idea in your communities and create an unforgettable and
charitable experience!

61 % of Americans use prescription medications to treat ailments.  That doesn’t count the number of over the counter pain killers, sleep meds and cold remedies we also take.  Obviously some medications are essential but I ran across an article today that got me thinking about our pill popping habit as a nation.  It was entitled,

“Depression treatment tactics that are inexpensive, don’t involve drugs, and are scalable”

I actually tweeted it here http://twitter.com/ThePureBar because I thought it was so interesting.  Basically the article outlined how only 30-40% of depression patients are helped by medication and how implementing PAI  (positive activity interventions) that include meditation, thinking positive thoughts, counting one’s blessings, giving to others, and physical exercise actually helped a greater number of people alleviate their depression (sounds like things my grandma used to tell me to do when I started complaining).

I don’t want to downplay the seriousness of depression but it makes me think how overly dependent of medications we are in America.  We pop pills so readily, before evaluating our lifestyle and what may be contributing to our ailments because we have been socialized and media-ized into thinking medication will solve our problems.   Often medication is just a Band-Aid.

What if we first tried a natural solution to our ailments like the PAI treatment that was so successful for people suffering from depression?    I know so many people on anxiety medication and I can’t help but wonder if these “Positive Activity Interventions”would work for them as well.  What about cutting back on over the counter meds?   For example, if I get a headache I drink more water, I meditate, breathe deeply and eat fresh foods.  Most of the time it goes away without the Tylenol. If I wake up with a sore back I do a routine of stretches and sit ups.  This works better and faster for me than a Motrin.

My point is that whatever the ailment,  instead of jumping to medication so quickly we should examine our lifestyle, our eating habits, caffeine intake, alcohol use, sleeping habits, and stress levels first. Incorporating fun physical activity, volunteering, drinking tons of water and eating the right foods can change your life and your view on life.  Medication is a tool but it is a costly one both in dollars and potential bodily harm.  I feel like it just makes sense to be self-aware and examine your lifestyle before popping pills.

For more information check out this US News article http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/diabetes/articles/2010/10/07/overmedication-are-americans-taking-too-many-drugs

I was only three when our family moved to Addis Ababa Ethiopia.  My grandfather was a physician missionary and my grandmother worked along side him as a nurse to the impoverished population.  We moved there for a year so that my father who was a medical student could work with his father in surgery.  Although I was young, the experience shaped me and I have solid memories of the poverty and people.

I remember playing along side the children in the orphanage oblivious of race, or status.  I remember eating the Ethiopian food, the spongy injera bread and flavorful dishes.  I wanted to share it with all the hungry people.  I wished the bible story of loaves and fishes could happen again but realized quickly that it wasn’t enough.  I felt compassion for the hungry children.

My brother and I in Ethiopia with friends 1975

It’s amazing how life comes full circle.  How instances in your childhood both good and bad shape your adult mind.  When we were looking for a charity to partner with, The Lunchbox Fund struck my heart.  When I saw the images of the children and watched the videos on their website, memories of my time in Africa came flooding back.  I knew this was the right cause.

South Africa has been described as the perfect cocktail of devastation.  Between the prejudice, AIDS, poverty, and violence it is virtually impossible for the children to succeed and have a productive life.  The best hope for them is an education.  However, many do not have parental guidance and don’t go to school.   But if they know they will get fed then they will go.  And if they go, they have a chance.  A simple lunch of 2 peanut butter sandwiches and some fruit can break the cycle of desolation.  It can truly help change a nation.

Pure bar was inspired by the convictions of my child, because I know that good nutrition is essential for all children. To be a part of an organization that is so directly connected to positive change is a privilege.  It is a beautiful example of coming full circle.  The Lunchbox Fund stays true to the Pure bar mission while extending the mission that my grandfather started so many years ago.