November 2008

Do you let your girlfriend pick up the tab each time you go out? Are you one who dresses to impress? Does going out with only one woman at a time strike you as a terrible waste of your talents and charms? Do you mooch off girlfriends, friends, co-workers, and strangers alike? If so, you are everyone’s definition of a scum. Change this impression by transforming yourself from despised lowlife to debonair freeloader. Remember, one man’s trash is another’s jewel. If this century, they call men like you white trash, six centuries ago they called you with a more glamorous name - rake.

Rake was derived from the old English term ‘rakehell’ and was coined because of the belief that one could only find such a horrible person after scouring through hell with a rake. In time, however, a rake came to be known as a high-born sophisticate who drinks liberally. Gentlemen wanted to become known as rakes because it gives them a slightly dangerous aura, a bit of a reputation that makes all the ladies curious and even sends some swooning.

The typical English rake, however, has many advantages that you lack. He has a noble title, you don’t. He has an Oxford education, you barely finished high school. He has a small fortune, you used to live with your mom; now you live with your girlfriend. Clearly, you do not have the privileges the regular English rake is born with. What’s a scoundrel like you to do? If you don’t have it, fake it. Fake a look that says you are to the manor born and bred. Rakes are dandy dressers. What better way to look like the stylish gentleman than to sport engravable cufflinks? A cigarette case engraved with initials and a monogrammed lighter are good accessories, too. They will mark you as a man who can afford to have his things personalized according to his liking. Finish this stylish get-up with engravable flasks - just be sure to choose the most expensive-looking hip flask from all those engravable flasks you got as personalized groomsmen gifts.

Now that you look the part, are you good to go? Not just yet. There is one other thing you need to do - cultivate an accent. If you can’t pull off an English accent, then settle for one that sounds exotic. This will increase your assumed IQ a bit because everyone will think you are born elsewhere, are well-traveled, and speak English because it’s one of the six other languages your aristocratic father insisted you learn. Now you are ready. Go, leave your poor girlfriend’s paycheck alone, and live off the rich instead. Yes, you are a rotter. Yes, you are a scumbag. Go and rake on!

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In ancient Greece, Apollo was the god of both music and medicine . In the Old Testament, poetry attributed to King David is considered some of the most provocative literary and lyrical works in history . Music Healing Therapy - It is undeniable that music and healing have been considered mutually inclusive over the centuries . Lani Star, internationally known for her music performance, maintains a personal philosophy on the healing power of music within every individual. She uses Hawaiian musical wisdom, Eastern yogic sound patterns, and angelic chants to enhance the self – the mind, body, and spirit – and inspire success . For Lani Star, who offers voice lessons while participating in a music retreat, music is an expression of the soul, and the way to tap into vocal or musical beauty is to tend to the soul. In turn, tending to the voice can improve the soul . Lani Star spreads her musical healing philosophy through her specialties in New Age and mystic jazz music.

Lani Star states, “A singer must reach within, connecting heart and voice, to produce a powerful resonance that can move their audience to tears. This same power can be used in all areas of life – and not just by professional musicians.” With the power that comes from music, an individual who uses music for healing can manifest the internal self-development in the rest of their life – in their work, their relationships, their hobbies, their friendships . You don’t have to be a musician at a professional level . You don’t even have to have prior skill. Music doesn’t have to have an audience beyond oneself . Even so, any audience will appreciate the emotional intensity and sincerity as much as or more than the musicality . It is said that an audience will forgive a missed note – they will not forgive an inauthentic performance.

The author of The Mozart Effect, Don Campbell, said that music has its own power and vibrating energy, even when it seems quiet and peaceful. When singing, that energy and power spreads through your body and affects your physical as well as your mental state, and comes out all the more intensified.

Lani Star’s advice for those who wish to achieve self-healing with music is to attend to your health as you’re learning your craft . Your body needs to be nourished in order to protect your voice , and your mind needs to be nourished for the emotional purity of performance . A good diet and lots of water has been shown to immeasurably improve one’s health and thus affects your voice. Lani Star also believes that things you sing or say uplift your mood and your spirit , so it is good for you to listen and sing positive and reinforcing music . Not only does it help you, but it improves the mood of your audience . Songwriting can also be a vehicle for expressing your emotions, getting the poison out of you and transforming it into a piece of art . Singing can be a method of meditation, and it has a calming and peaceful effect, just as meditation helps maintain your mental and spiritual balance .

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