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Soothing Stimulants

Does "soothing stimulants" sound strange? It shouldn't--consider that ritalin and adderall (medications for attention deficit hyperactive disorder) are stimulants and that exercise can make you feel refreshed. And it works the other way, too: intense inactivity can be stressful. I've heard a few different people talk about breaking into tears on meditation retreats, along with many of their classmates.

I've had a stressful few weeks, and I've found for me, there's nothing like caffeine and heavy metal to make me feel better. And I've found a music player to replace iTunes (which won't let you put in metadata) and Amazon (slow and clunky) on my Mac: VLC. It imported all the files from both music players and lets you put in data like song titles, artists, genre and album titles. It's free, too. Now I can put in the metadata for all my Japanese heavy metal and rock that iTunes doesn't recognize and won't let me relabel.

Here's a bit of music from someone who probably loves Halloween:

 

Comments

tess said…
isn't it interesting, how "violent" sounds can be a salve for one's nerves.... happy halloween, Lori! :-)
Lori Miller said…
As one commenter here put it, a double shot of Alice is worth all the prozac in southern California.
So sorry but I disagree I do not find violent or loud music soothing.

I need to chill out and relax ....

But we do all re-act to music very differently and it all comes down to individual choice.

Lori, you've had a very stressful time in recent weeks and I just wish you a relaxing time in the weeks to come.

My good wishes and .....

All the best Jan
Lori Miller said…
Thanks, Jan. I went to yoga tonight and it really helped.

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