Comfort Zone Challenges

We all have our own comfort zones, which vary throughout our lives, and even by how we are feeling on a particular day. I know that my comfort zone is much smaller when I don't feel well. It is enough challenge to just get myself through the day when I am hurting bad,or very fatiguey, without challenging myself in other ways. Lately, I have been doing relatively well, and have finally gotten a long-awaited reprieve from work. (I work PRN, which means as needed as an Occupational Therapist in the psych units at a hospital- for almost two years they have been understaffed most of the time. I have been working three days a week for what seems like forever.)
I am ready for a new challenge, so I have recently gotten involved in our temple, in an area new to me, and I am loving it.. I have written here before about how music and singing helps me feel better. I sing for myself, I don't have a great singing voice. Our temple is doing a 'Gospel Shabbat' (Sabbath) service, with the choirs from another Jewish congregation, and from one of the churches, known for its choir. They were looking for more people, and I signed on. The rehearsals are alot of fun, and I am not the only one with no choir experience. I have not been in a performing singing group since elementary school (does that even count?) I am enjoying it so much, I am considering joining the regular temple choir, which performs once a month.
Sometimes going outside of your comfort zone can be scary and uncomfortable. Some people need to do it slowly, like getting your feet wet, then wading in up to your knees, and little by little getting deeper, always able to back out if need be. Others prefer to jump in all at once, then see if they sink or swim. I prefer the little by little method generally. I already know many of the others in the choir, I already sing regularly as part of the congregation at the temple, and I am not the only newbie there, so I don't feel too far away from my comfort zone.
Stepping out of your comfort zone has many health benefits. Recent research has shown that exercising your brain can help to protect it from dementia. One of the suggestions for exercising your brain is to learn and to try new things. Trying new things can add spice to your life, and cure boredom. It expands your horizons, provides you with new opportunities. Many activities involve other people, so it is a good way to meet new people and maybe make some new friends.
The options are endless, limited only by your imagination (and perhaps your energy level). Like to sing? Join a choir. Like to read? Read to others at a school or nursing home. Like to see plays? Volunteer to usher at a theater. Keep your eyes and ears open, and when something catches your interest, go for it. You (probably) won't regret it, and if you do, you still learned something, right?      

Sing to the Heart

Yesterday was a rough day for me. Work was a bear (too much work, not enough staff, same old story...). My plantar fasciitis continues to bother me, despite 2 injections into my heel on Monday. My knee and hip, apparently jealous of my foot, continue to clamor for attention. For about a month now, until around 10:30 am every morning, my skin has sort of an irritable hypersensitive feeling, like a fresh scrape: a gift of my Fibromyalgia, I believe. On top of that, my stomach was in turmoil from a Cipro I was given to ward off infection after some medical testing. (Thank you for allowing me to complain. I'm done now.) I have been easily discouraged lately, with all this going on at once. Last night, I was given a gift that lifted my spirits, and sang directly to my heart. I am involved with a Jewish women's group that meets each month to celebrate Rosh Hodesh, the beginning of the Hebrew month. Last night was our final session of the year. As a special treat, we had a Jewish women's a cappella group from Pittsburgh, PA, Kol Shira. When I am down, one thing I know I can count on to bring me up is music, especially music I can sing along with, my first choice being Jewish music. This group was perfect, with both English and Hebrew, and the majority of songs familiar to me, along with some new ones to delight me. I sat on the floor, at times singing along, other times, I closed my eyes and allowed the music to wash over me, to flow around me and through me. One of the singers told us that she is a music therapist. I was in need of healing, and this music was my healer, my therapy.  I bought their CD, Speak to the Heart, because their music spoke to mine. Two songs they sang last night especially spoke to me, and both are on their CD. (Note: the links are for other groups singing these songs.) The first is called Hine Ba Hashalom, which means Here Comes the Peace. It was a popular Israeli pop song a few years back, is upbeat, with catchy lyrics and is fun to sing. The other song that hooked me was a song called Dig Down Deep. Here are part of the lyrics: 'I'm digging way down down to the bottom of my soul; I'm digging way down way down deep. I'm digging way down down to the bottom of my soul; There's clear water running through me....' My Sjogren's Syndrome body forgot about that water running through me. It sure was refreshing to find it again. Every time I have an experience like tonight, it hits me again just how powerful music can be. Music has been used for millennia for worship, communication and healing. Whether it is fast or slow, loud or soft, smooth or choppy, reverent or irreverent, vocal, instrumental, all or none of the above, there are few people who have never been touched by music. People with chronic pain and illness know all too well what discourages us. What re-courages you? What gets to the bottom of your soul and brings you peace? 

Pandora Internet Radio

I have recently discovered Pandora internet radio.  I will try to describe it.  You can bring it up on any internet connected device. The opening screen asks for the name of a musical artist/group or a song.  Then it creates a 'radio station' with that artist/song, and others that it thinks are similar. For instance, I just put in 'Den', and clicked on 'John Denver' in the suggestion list.  (With each letter you put in, it gives a list of suggestions, as you add more letters of the name, the suggestions get closer and closer until the name you are looking for appears.)  Right now I am listening to Jim Croce's 'I Got a Name', one of the songs Pandora picked as similar to John Denver.  I agree with almost all the songs Pandora has chosen for me.  I am rediscovering songs I had forgotten, and also discovering new songs and artists that I like that I never knew about.  
With each song that Pandora chooses for you, you can pause, skip, bookmark, or designate if you liked it or didn't like it.  That way, if it chooses something you especially like, it will use that song to find others, and if you didn't like a song or artist, it will steer away from them. We just listen to the free version of Pandora, which interrupts the music every 10 songs or so with a commercial for upgrading to the paid interruption free version for $36/year.  Pandora saves each 'radio station' you create, so when you return, you can either have it create a new station, or you can listen to the same one.
A couple of days ago, I had alot of Fibro skin pain, and I wanted to meditate to calm it down.  I wanted classical guitar to listen to, but did not know any artists or songs to start the process.  I went to Pandora, and put in 'guitar'.  I tried out a couple of their suggestions, and found 'Dueling Guitars", which was the kind of music I wanted.  At their website, I just found a page that allows you to designate a genre.

I went to Pandora.com, and found some info about it:

Since we started back in 2000, we have been hard at work on the Music Genome Project. It's the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken.

Together our team of musician-analysts has been listening to music, one song at a time, studying and collecting literally hundreds of musical details on every track - melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals, lyrics ... and more! We continue this work every day to keep up with the incredible flow of great new music coming from studios, stadiums and garages around the country.

Music has been shown to be very therapeutic.  It can change your mood, and make you feel better emotionally and physically.  Check out Pandora.  Find music that will both suit you and soothe you.  Just one recommendation:  If you need to get any work done, either listen to instrumental music, or don't listen to Pandora.  This was not going to be my topic today, but I kept getting drawn into the songs, and could not focus to write coherently on my other topic.   

Escape Into Music

One of my earliest posts was about singing, and how when I am down or in pain I like to put on music that I know all the words to, and I sing.  I can escape into the music, and I feel better, not only while I am singing, but after as well.

Today I discovered a new way I can escape into music.  I have been reading about mindfulness, and trying to meditate several days each week.  Mostly, I have been trying to focus on my breath, and when thoughts come to mind, just notice them, and let them go.  Some days I am more successful than others at focusing, but I am trying, and that is a good thing.

Today, the radio was tuned to my favorite radio station, WILE, 97.7 in Guernsey County, Ohio, where our cabin is located.  This radio station plays oldies, but not the usual kind.  The music ranges from Frank Sinatra, to Barbara Streisand, to the Beatles.  My husband was doing some work downstairs in the cabin, the furniture was pushed together, blocking the stairs, and I was upstairs.  I could have asked him to turn off the music, but I decided to try meditating with the music.

I got myself comfortable in my chair, and closed my eyes. The song that was on was Annie’s Song, by John Denver.  I know all the words to that song, so initially I was singing along in my mind.  I decided that would not give my much of a meditative state, so I switched my focus to the rhythm.  I can’t read music, and I can’t recognize notes, so I was not distracted by them.  I simply visualized the ups and downs of the music, sort of like watching a children’s roller coaster (except it always stayed in front of me, I didn’t have to follow it around).  I did this for about six songs, focusing on my breath in between when the DJ was talking.  I don’t remember all the songs; one was a Ragtime by Scott Joplin.  Some I knew better than others, but they all seemed to work as a focal point for my meditation.

When I opened my eyes, I was very relaxed but alert, and I had not fallen asleep as I sometimes do when trying to meditate.  I looked at my watch and it was almost exactly 30 minutes, which was my aim.  This type of meditation worked well for me, I will definitely do it again.  I don’t know of a radio station I would like to use at home, maybe I will use a CD, and maybe at some point even make my own CD of music that works best.

Different music would work for different people.  I know that when I am stressed, I like either music I can sing to, or quiet music.  Some people, especially younger people, like loud music, to drown out everything else.  That would make me feel bombarded and more stressed.   Give this a try.  Experiment with different types of music, and see what works for you.