If you are considering gifts for this holiday season or anytime, here are a few recent picks in CD’s, Books, and Giving.

Top Five CD’s

1. Song Sourcing is a brilliant idea executed beautifully by singer-songwriter Michael Stillwater. In this just released 2 CD package, you’ll find 30 folk, jazz and rock tracks of Michael’s great guitar chords along with some percussion but without vocals. That’s where you or your gift recipient come in. Listening to the tracks, let yourself dive into the music and allow the music to become you.  Then explore what musical or lyrical ideas are inspired and let them out.  In this virtual duet (between you and the music, or together with a partner, family or friends), listeners can explore what’s awaiting release and expression, perhaps some of it for years. Think of Song Sourcing as a musical possibility catalyst. This beautifully packaged CD set is a unique gift to singers and non-singers alike. You can download a free sample here. To listen to more sample tracks and order, visit the Song Sourcing site now.

2. NOW HERE: Maesyn I first met Maesyn at The Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga, CA about a year ago. She gave me her CD for review and I placed it on my rather large listening pile. It was not until I began preparing for this blog that I had the opportunity to listen. I was delighted by Maesyn’s musicality, intelligent lyrics and great rhythms. Here in her own poetic words is a description of her music, “…an amalgamation of funky grooves, sultry passionate vocals, orchestral musicality, sophisticated lyricism and inspirational esotericism….best known for her improvisational spontaneity, lush resonant vocals, playfully passionate violin and exotic full body shakti”. Her musical influences are The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. My favorite tracks are Long Division, rap in a great odd time signature and Break Free’s empowering advice. Check out Maesyn’s exciting music at her My Space site.

3. Emergence 2012, Alex Theory and Daniel Pinchbeck In their musical collaboration, sound healing visionary Alex Theory and best selling author, Daniel Pinchbeck have woven a sound tapestry of mind-bending music that infuses psychoacoustic rhythms with the chants of ayahuasca shamans and natural harmonics found deep within the forests of South America. The result is a sacred journey through an aural landscape that is mysterious, haunting, and expansive. Definitely great background music for parties or lovemaking. You can also pick up a copy of Daniel’s book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, put on this music, and enjoy the perfect soundtrack

.

4. Sangria, Mariah Parker If you like the Indian, Latin/Flemenco and Jazz genres, you’ll enjoy drinking in the melodies and rhythms of Sangria. The musical flavors served up on this world fusion CD include tabla, santur, cello, bansuri, English horn, flute and timbales. Mariah’s compelling original music features some great musicians including Matthew Monfort on scalloped fretboard guitar, Kash Killion on bass, cello and sangri and Paul McCandless on soprano sax and English horn. A great addition to your world music collection.

5, Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar, Matthew Montfort In addition to playing on Mariah Parkers CD above, Matthew is the leader of one of my favorite bands, Ancient Future. Since 1978, he has studied and mastered his unique instrument that features a board with no wood between the frets. The result is that his fingers only touch the strings producing a very clean sound more like a sitar.  In this solo outing, he provides the listener with a wonderful selection of ragas that show off his mastery and most interesting compositions. If you enjoy solo guitar with a twist, Seven Serenades is definitely worth a listen. You can check out more of Matthew’s music as well as Ancient Future at Ancient-Future.com

Top Five Books

1. The Value of Values by Ed Gagnon. What if we lived in a values driven world where Integrity, Respect for Life, Courageousness, Purposefulness and Generosity were the norm? Is it possible? Ed believes it is and that that world will be brought on by the parents of today’s children if they read and apply his practical methods for empowering their kids to live values driven lives. Why has he chosen to write about values? “I have chosen to have a purpose. I have come to realize that the meaning of life is to create a life of meaning, to leave a legacy rich in values to which I have been true. I may not be able to control life, aging, and death. But I can control what I do while I am alive. This legacy I choose to leave behind will be something my children will also be able to leave behind. The values I choose to live by will be the sustenance for my family’s happiness for generations to come”. If you feel the same way, have a child and want to help them find their purpose and live from a set of  guiding values you and they can be proud of, this book may help you in that process. To learn more, click here.

2. The Farmacist Desk Reference by Don Tolman is an indispensable 1600 page two volume encyclopedia of diseases and the vegetables, fruits and herbs that have proven effective against them. An essential part of the New Paradigm is Self Care and no set of books I know of will supply you with this collection’s level of valuable and potentially life-saving information. To learn more, visit author Don Tolman’s site and enjoy his video. He is offering a free gift of his 2 hour presentation on his basic elements of optimal health with the purchase of each set.

3.  There’s No Business Like Soul Business by Derek Rydall As we approach 2012, the end of the Mayan Calendar, it is not as some Hollywood films portray, the end of the world or doomsday. Much more, it is the end of an outdated paradigm promoting greed and fear. It is the small beginnings of a spiritual approach to life and work. And it is long overdue. There’s No Business Like Soul Business, applies this shift to the entertainment industry. It is an approach to merge life and work with helpful exercises to build the way. As a writer of consciousness-raising films in Hollywood, I applaud this manual and hope for more that are intent on writing and selling their scripts without selling their souls. To learn more, visit Derek’s great site.

1. The DO Unbuntu Bracelet is crafted by women living with AIDS in South Africa’s Eastern Cape — one of the country’s poorest regions with an unemployment rate of 70%. The Unbuntu Bracelet campaign has given this community an opportunity to generate a sustainable income. The income will help these women care for themselves and their children, preventing more orphans. This campaign was started by Louise Hogarth whose documentary, Angels in the Dust, tells the story of these mothers and children in need and a well to do white couple who gave up their comfortable lifestyle to create an orphanage and school for the children. You can order one or more bracelets and learn more about the documentary at www.doactnow.org

2. Fasting.com is the home of the best designed fasting program I’ve found and as a gift, this could be one of the more unusual, but also one of the best since it directly contributes to health. At one point in my life I inhaled some toxic fumes from a cleaning fluid that produced some growths in my bladder. My doctor who was the head of Urology at UCLA told me I would need to have a series of operations to remove these growths and that they would probably return again and again. I had two of the painful procedures and decided there had to be a better solution. I fasted for 70 days with Fastmaster, Dennis Paulson, and then waited two years to return for a test and sure enough, no growths. So I am a believer. You can check out his proven program which has helped thousands around the world with no hunger or loss of energy.

3. Kiva.com is an extraordinary online nexus of entrepreneurs with ideas that support their local communities and families and compassionate lenders who want to use a small portion of their charitable giving funds to support others. A lender simply reviews the listings of worthy individuals and decides to lend one or more people a fixed amount. That loan is repaid and the money can then be lent again. As of November, Kiva has facilitated over $100 million in micro loans. You can give to the individuals or give a gift certificate to others so that they can give compliments of you. How cool is that!

4. The Power of Giving: How Giving Back Enriches Us All by Azim Jamal & Harvey McKinnon could have been listed in the book section but I feel its an valuable catalyst that promotes giving and thought it best to place it in this section. The Power of Giving is a practical and visionary guide in which you’ll discover the more you give, the more you have. Simple and easy to use, The Power of Giving provides a wealth of down-to-earth ideas, exercises, and real-life stories that reveal to each reader the unique gifts he or she has to give-including kindness, ideas, advice, attention, hope, and more-and the many ways you can benefit from giving them, from better health to better job prospects.

5. The Gift of Giving is a one-stop website featuring hundreds of organizations you can give to across many categories including animals, arts, celebrity charities, children, disabled, education, the environment, hunger, service and women’s causes.

Ventura, California is a rising star in solving community issues like low cost housing and homelessness.

Working Artists Ventura (WAV)
Construction is expected to be completed on the Working Artists Ventura project, a $57 million housing and studio development designed for artists and creative businesses in downtown Ventura by the end of the year.

Some city leaders consider the artists project to be the most important local economic catalyst in a decade. “This is the birth of a national landmark,” said Ventura Mayor Christy Weir

The four-story project will offer housing options seldom created, in a combination some would consider unthinkable: 54 affordable housing units for artists and their families, 15 “supportive” apartments for people facing severe poverty and trying to end their homelessness, and 13 ocean-facing, market-rate condominiums likely to fetch upwards of $850,000.

A gallery-theater, park and arts-related commercial space also will be tucked into the eco-friendly structure. Roof-top solar panels will harness enough energy to add electricity to the regional grid

The $57 million price tag for the artists project is being covered by an array of funding, including millions in government tax credits and loans. “They call it lasagna financing,’ because of all the layers,” said Mike Merewether, a supporter and local developer. ‘Our needs are eccentric’

Artists already are lining up to get in, said Chris Velasco, president of the nonprofit organization People Linking Arts, Culture & Environment Inc., the project’s applicant. Rents will adjust on a sliding scale, likely from $390 to $1,000 a month.

The project also will provide housing and social services for low-income residents seeking an end to homelessness, said Rick Pearson, director of Project Understanding, a Ventura-based nonprofit group that will coordinate the services.

Besides a theater-gallery, there will be street-level commercial space for coffee houses, cafes and jazz clubs to draw foot traffic to the neighborhood.

The project’s diversity lured the John Stewart Co., one of the state’s largest housing management firms, to put its weight and reputation behind the proposal, said company President Jack Gardner. “The vision swept me away,” he said.

River Haven Ventura is also working to see its homeless move toward self-sufficiency through its partnership with the Turning Point Foundation. Together, they provide housing on a piece of land just off the Santa Clara River for this purpose and have been using tents for housing. However a new program will be providing new U-Domes-geodesic polypropylene structures designed by World Shelters, a California based non-profit manufacturer and volunteer organization.

The program has achieved a 40% success rate in returning its homeless residents to productive lives-a major accomplishment for any city in the world.

The Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation was founded by 83 year young Olga Murray. The foundation’s work helps free girlsas young as six from from being sold into slavery and teaches mothers nutritional education that turns their emaciated children into healthy kids.

It costs only $340 to restore a malnourished child to health and educate the mother so that the condition will not recur, and only $100 to liberate a little girl from bonded servitude, bring her home to live with her family, educate her for one year, and provide the family with a piglet or a goat to compensate for her lost wages. To learn more about this wonderful work or to join me in making a real difference in a young girls life, visit nyof.org.

Fear is the driver of forced vaccinations. Jenny McCarthy’s appearance on Oprah informing the world about her son’s autism caused by a vaccine galvanized more people that ever before to the risks of vaccines. Vaccines place profits ahead of people which, as readers know, is part of old paradigm thinking. You owe it to yourself and your children to understand the risks before agreeing to inject yourself or your children. Fortunately that is now a possibility.

If you or anyone you know is concerned about vaccines, you can learn more by attending a three day conference from October 2-4 in Reston, Virginia bringing together the world’s leading experts on vaccine research, policy, law and ethics.

To learn more, watch the following video and visit Dr Mercola’s site to sign up to attend the conference.

The video’s intro is a bit hard to watch but stay with it and you will learn about Barbara Loe Fisher’s loving effort through the National Vaccine Information Center and a related organization, Holistic Mom’s Network to get the truth out about forced vaccines.

Finally, here is a recent video from Barbara on Swine Flu.

Mind Pirates is a German non-profit dedicated to the promotion of international understanding, art and culture. One of their projects, dropping knowledge, invites participants to ask and answer questions covering social themes of social significance  When you ask in order to understand, when you answer in order to share, this is dropping knowledge”. The dropping knowledge site is rich with provocative questions and answers. Check it out here.