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Welcome to 'Reclaim Your Life' with Irina! In this episode, we dive deep into the journey of finding true happiness. Discover inspiring stories and practical steps to cultivate lasting joy. We'll debunk common misconceptions like the idea that happiness is constant or tied to money. Learn about the importance of gratitude, positive relationships, mindfulness, and engaging in meaningful activities. Join us as we explore how to reclaim your life and find true happiness from within. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more content on living your best life. Share your thoughts on happiness in the comments below! Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:07 Common misconceptions 03:18 Practical steps to true happiness 05:15 Fostering positive relationships 07:56 Engage in hobbies 11:52 Closing remarks Connect with Irina:

In this episode, I'm thrilled to welcome Sarah Bragg, a well-loved communicator, author, and host of the popular podcast Surviving Sarah. Sarah shares her journey of navigating mid-life fears and anxieties, from worrying about her teen daughters and career to comparing herself to others on social media and questioning her purpose. She also reveals what she's ultimately learned about happiness and offers compassionate guidance to help you embrace your current season, fostering contentment and connection through intentional relationships, curiosity, and creativity. Join us for an inspiring conversation that reassures you that you're not alone in your struggles and equips you to live boldly. FAITH AND GATHER INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/faithandgather/  FAITH AND GATHER FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/faithandgather  FAITH INSPIRED SHOW NOTES: https://faithinspiredpodcast.com/2024/06/11/how-to-find-true-contentment-and-happiness/  I'm so grateful you spent time today listening to this episode! If you loved this episode, share the love by rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leaving a review! Not an Apple gal? That's okay! You can leave a review on Spotify and Google Podcasts, too. Just think how many more Christian women could be blessed with faith-inspired encouragement!  Remember, faith is not just a belief - it's a lifestyle!

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Philippians 4:10-23 | Chong Shi Hao7 April 2024 (Grace Community)

Hello beautiful humans!And welcome back to the Open Up podcast.In this episode, we're talking all about transcending your ego.We're diving into:Why aligning with your true self is the key to finding lasting happiness, fulfillment and success in life, rather than seeking validation externallyHow ego, self-doubt and limiting beliefs can disconnect you from your purpose and your creative flow — and how to take inventory of misalignment to get back on trackDetaching from short-term results and outcomes so you can lead authentically from a place of empowerment and inner peaceHow to live fully in the present moment, regardless of circumstances, and how this naturally expand our manifestations and realitiesCurious about doing this work together in a 1:1 container?Shoot me a DM on IG @kristinalicare or email my team at hello@kristinalicare.com to inquire about options!Follow me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/kristinalicare/

Date : Fri, 23 Feb 2024 Speaker : Ash Sheikh Akram Abul Hasan (Madani) M.A (Hons) at Masjidun Noor Jumma Masjid, Nagalam Street, Colombo 14 Language : Tamil

Homily given February 3, 2024, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.

We're thrilled to welcome Arthur Brooks to the show, a remarkable author whose work has significantly influenced James' recent journey. We dive deep into his inspiring books, "From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life" and "Build the Life You Want," co-authored with the iconic Oprah Winfrey. Our conversation is not just about the pages of these books but the profound impact Arthur's works have had on reshaping the perspectives and lives of those who read them.Arthur's "From Strength to Strength" struck a personal chord with James last year, especially with  his quest to regain and surpass his Chessmaster ranking from 25 years ago. Drawing on social science, philosophy, biography, theology, and Eastern wisdom, Brooks explains how true success in life is well within our reach. By refocusing on certain priorities and habits that anyone can learn, such as deep wisdom, detachment from empty rewards, connection & service to others, and spiritual progress, we can set ourselves up for increased happiness.In this episode, Arthur and James explore the powerful concepts in Arthur's books, discussing how they can be applied to achieve personal and professional growth. Join us for this enlightening conversation that might change the way you think about your  strengths and the path to building the life you've always wanted. -----------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast.------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe  to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsStitcheriHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on Social Media:YouTubeTwitterFacebook

Episode 171 looks at "Hey Jude", the White Album, and the career of the Beatles from August 1967 through November 1968. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a fifty-seven-minute bonus episode available, on "I Love You" by People!. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Errata Not really an error, but at one point I refer to Ornette Coleman as a saxophonist. While he was, he plays trumpet on the track that is excerpted after that. Resources No Mixcloud this week due to the number of songs by the Beatles. I have read literally dozens of books on the Beatles, and used bits of information from many of them. All my Beatles episodes refer to: The Complete Beatles Chronicle by Mark Lewisohn, All The Songs: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Release by Jean-Michel Guesdon, And The Band Begins To Play: The Definitive Guide To The Songs of The Beatles by Steve Lambley, The Beatles By Ear by Kevin Moore, Revolution in the Head by Ian MacDonald, and The Beatles Anthology. For this episode, I also referred to Last Interview by David Sheff, a longform interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono from shortly before Lennon's death; Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, an authorised biography of Paul McCartney; and Here, There, and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles by Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey. This time I also used Steve Turner's The Beatles: The Stories Behind the Songs 1967-1970. I referred to Philip Norman's biographies of John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney, to Graeme Thomson's biography of George Harrison, Take a Sad Song by James Campion, Yoko Ono: An Artful Life by Donald Brackett, Those Were the Days 2.0 by Stephan Granados, and Sound Pictures by Kenneth Womack. Sadly the only way to get the single mix of “Hey Jude” is on this ludicrously-expensive out-of-print box set, but a remixed stereo mix is easily available on the new reissue of the 1967-70 compilation. The original mixes of the White Album are also, shockingly, out of print, but this 2018 remix is available for the moment. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before I start, a quick note -- this episode deals, among other topics, with child abandonment, spousal neglect, suicide attempts, miscarriage, rape accusations, and heroin addiction. If any of those topics are likely to upset you, you might want to check the transcript rather than listening to this episode. It also, for once, contains a short excerpt of an expletive, but given that that expletive in that context has been regularly played on daytime radio without complaint for over fifty years, I suspect it can be excused. The use of mantra meditation is something that exists across religions, and which appears to have been independently invented multiple times, in multiple cultures. In the Western culture to which most of my listeners belong, it is now best known as an aspect of what is known as "mindfulness", a secularised version of Buddhism which aims to provide adherents with the benefits of the teachings of the Buddha but without the cosmology to which they are attached. But it turns up in almost every religious tradition I know of in one form or another. The idea of mantra meditation is a very simple one, and one that even has some basis in science. There is a mathematical principle in neurology and information science called the free energy principle which says our brains are wired to try to minimise how surprised we are --  our brain is constantly making predictions about the world, and then looking at the results from our senses to see if they match. If they do, that's great, and the brain will happily move on to its next prediction. If they don't, the brain has to update its model of the world to match the new information, make new predictions, and see if those new predictions are a better match. Every person has a different mental model of the world, and none of them match reality, but every brain tries to get as close as possible. This updating of the model to match the new information is called "thinking", and it uses up energy, and our bodies and brains have evolved to conserve energy as much as possible. This means that for many people, most of the time, thinking is unpleasant, and indeed much of the time that people have spent thinking, they've been thinking about how to stop themselves having to do it at all, and when they have managed to stop thinking, however briefly, they've experienced great bliss. Many more or less effective technologies have been created to bring about a more minimal-energy state, including alcohol, heroin, and barbituates, but many of these have unwanted side-effects, such as death, which people also tend to want to avoid, and so people have often turned to another technology. It turns out that for many people, they can avoid thinking by simply thinking about something that is utterly predictable. If they minimise the amount of sensory input, and concentrate on something that they can predict exactly, eventually they can turn off their mind, relax, and float downstream, without dying. One easy way to do this is to close your eyes, so you can't see anything, make your breath as regular as possible, and then concentrate on a sound that repeats over and over.  If you repeat a single phrase or word a few hundred times, that regular repetition eventually causes your mind to stop having to keep track of the world, and experience a peace that is, by all accounts, unlike any other experience. What word or phrase that is can depend very much on the tradition. In Transcendental Meditation, each person has their own individual phrase. In the Catholicism in which George Harrison and Paul McCartney were raised, popular phrases for this are "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" or "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." In some branches of Buddhism, a popular mantra is "_NAMU MYŌHŌ RENGE KYŌ_". In the Hinduism to which George Harrison later converted, you can use "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare", "Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya" or "Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha". Those last two start with the syllable "Om", and indeed some people prefer to just use that syllable, repeating a single syllable over and over again until they reach a state of transcendence. [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hey Jude" ("na na na na na na na")] We don't know much about how the Beatles first discovered Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, except that it was thanks to Pattie Boyd, George Harrison's then-wife. Unfortunately, her memory of how she first became involved in the Maharishi's Spiritual Regeneration Movement, as described in her autobiography, doesn't fully line up with other known facts. She talks about reading about the Maharishi in the paper with her friend Marie-Lise while George was away on tour, but she also places the date that this happened in February 1967, several months after the Beatles had stopped touring forever. We'll be seeing a lot more of these timing discrepancies as this story progresses, and people's memories increasingly don't match the events that happened to them. Either way, it's clear that Pattie became involved in the Spiritual Regeneration Movement a good length of time before her husband did. She got him to go along with her to one of the Maharishi's lectures, after she had already been converted to the practice of Transcendental Meditation, and they brought along John, Paul, and their partners (Ringo's wife Maureen had just given birth, so they didn't come). As we heard back in episode one hundred and fifty, that lecture was impressive enough that the group, plus their wives and girlfriends (with the exception of Maureen Starkey) and Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull, all went on a meditation retreat with the Maharishi at a holiday camp in Bangor, and it was there that they learned that Brian Epstein had been found dead. The death of the man who had guided the group's career could not have come at a worse time for the band's stability.  The group had only recorded one song in the preceding two months -- Paul's "Your Mother Should Know" -- and had basically been running on fumes since completing recording of Sgt Pepper many months earlier. John's drug intake had increased to the point that he was barely functional -- although with the enthusiasm of the newly converted he had decided to swear off LSD at the Maharishi's urging -- and his marriage was falling apart. Similarly, Paul McCartney's relationship with Jane Asher was in a bad state, though both men were trying to repair their damaged relationships, while both George and Ringo were having doubts about the band that had made them famous. In George's case, he was feeling marginalised by John and Paul, his songs ignored or paid cursory attention, and there was less for him to do on the records as the group moved away from making guitar-based rock and roll music into the stranger areas of psychedelia. And Ringo, whose main memory of the recording of Sgt Pepper was of learning to play chess while the others went through the extensive overdubs that characterised that album, was starting to feel like his playing was deteriorating, and that as the only non-writer in the band he was on the outside to an extent. On top of that, the group were in the middle of a major plan to restructure their business. As part of their contract renegotiations with EMI at the beginning of 1967, it had been agreed that they would receive two million pounds -- roughly fifteen million pounds in today's money -- in unpaid royalties as a lump sum. If that had been paid to them as individuals, or through the company they owned, the Beatles Ltd, they would have had to pay the full top rate of tax on it, which as George had complained the previous year was over ninety-five percent. (In fact, he'd been slightly exaggerating the generosity of the UK tax system to the rich, as at that point the top rate of income tax was somewhere around ninety-seven and a half percent). But happily for them, a couple of years earlier the UK had restructured its tax laws and introduced a corporation tax, which meant that the profits of corporations were no longer taxed at the same high rate as income. So a new company had been set up, The Beatles & Co, and all the group's non-songwriting income was paid into the company. Each Beatle owned five percent of the company, and the other eighty percent was owned by a new partnership, a corporation that was soon renamed Apple Corps -- a name inspired by a painting that McCartney had liked by the artist Rene Magritte. In the early stages of Apple, it was very entangled with Nems, the company that was owned by Brian and Clive Epstein, and which was in the process of being sold to Robert Stigwood, though that sale fell through after Brian's death. The first part of Apple, Apple Publishing, had been set up in the summer of 1967, and was run by Terry Doran, a friend of Epstein's who ran a motor dealership -- most of the Apple divisions would be run by friends of the group rather than by people with experience in the industries in question. As Apple was set up during the point that Stigwood was getting involved with NEMS, Apple Publishing's initial offices were in the same building with, and shared staff with, two publishing companies that Stigwood owned, Dratleaf Music, who published Cream's songs, and Abigail Music, the Bee Gees' publishers. And indeed the first two songs published by Apple were copyrights that were gifted to the company by Stigwood -- "Listen to the Sky", a B-side by an obscure band called Sands: [Excerpt: Sands, "Listen to the Sky"] And "Outside Woman Blues", an arrangement by Eric Clapton of an old blues song by Blind Joe Reynolds, which Cream had copyrighted separately and released on Disraeli Gears: [Excerpt: Cream, "Outside Woman Blues"] But Apple soon started signing outside songwriters -- once Mike Berry, a member of Apple Publishing's staff, had sat McCartney down and explained to him what music publishing actually was, something he had never actually understood even though he'd been a songwriter for five years. Those songwriters, given that this was 1967, were often also performers, and as Apple Records had not yet been set up, Apple would try to arrange recording contracts for them with other labels. They started with a group called Focal Point, who got signed by badgering Paul McCartney to listen to their songs until he gave them Doran's phone number to shut them up: [Excerpt: Focal Point, "Sycamore Sid"] But the big early hope for Apple Publishing was a songwriter called George Alexander. Alexander's birth name had been Alexander Young, and he was the brother of George Young, who was a member of the Australian beat group The Easybeats, who'd had a hit with "Friday on My Mind": [Excerpt: The Easybeats, "Friday on My Mind"] His younger brothers Malcolm and Angus would go on to have a few hits themselves, but AC/DC wouldn't be formed for another five years. Terry Doran thought that Alexander should be a member of a band, because bands were more popular than solo artists at the time, and so he was placed with three former members of Tony Rivers and the Castaways, a Beach Boys soundalike group that had had some minor success. John Lennon suggested that the group be named Grapefruit, after a book he was reading by a conceptual artist of his acquaintance named Yoko Ono, and as Doran was making arrangements with Terry Melcher for a reciprocal publishing deal by which Melcher's American company would publish Apple songs in the US while Apple published songs from Melcher's company in the UK, it made sense for Melcher to also produce Grapefruit's first single, "Dear Delilah": [Excerpt: Grapefruit, "Dear Delilah"] That made number twenty-one in the UK when it came out in early 1968, on the back of publicity about Grapefruit's connection with the Beatles, but future singles by the band were much less successful, and like several other acts involved with Apple, they found that they were more hampered by the Beatles connection than helped. A few other people were signed to Apple Publishing early on, of whom the most notable was Jackie Lomax. Lomax had been a member of a minor Merseybeat group, the Undertakers, and after they had split up, he'd been signed by Brian Epstein with a new group, the Lomax Alliance, who had released one single, "Try as You May": [Excerpt: The Lomax Alliance, "Try As You May"] After Epstein's death, Lomax had plans to join another band, being formed by another Merseybeat musician, Chris Curtis, the former drummer of the Searchers. But after going to the Beatles to talk with them about them helping the new group financially, Lomax was persuaded by John Lennon to go solo instead. He may later have regretted that decision, as by early 1968 the people that Curtis had recruited for his new band had ditched him and were making a name for themselves as Deep Purple. Lomax recorded one solo single with funding from Stigwood, a cover version of a song by an obscure singer-songwriter, Jake Holmes, "Genuine Imitation Life": [Excerpt: Jackie Lomax, "Genuine Imitation Life"] But he was also signed to Apple Publishing as a songwriter. The Beatles had only just started laying out plans for Apple when Epstein died, and other than the publishing company one of the few things they'd agreed on was that they were going to have a film company, which was to be run by Denis O'Dell, who had been an associate producer on A Hard Day's Night and on How I Won The War, the Richard Lester film Lennon had recently starred in. A few days after Epstein's death, they had a meeting, in which they agreed that the band needed to move forward quickly if they were going to recover from Epstein's death. They had originally been planning on going to India with the Maharishi to study meditation, but they decided to put that off until the new year, and to press forward with a film project Paul had been talking about, to be titled Magical Mystery Tour. And so, on the fifth of September 1967, they went back into the recording studio and started work on a song of John's that was earmarked for the film, "I am the Walrus": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"] Magical Mystery Tour, the film, has a mixed reputation which we will talk about shortly, but one defence that Paul McCartney has always made of it is that it's the only place where you can see the Beatles performing "I am the Walrus". While the song was eventually relegated to a B-side, it's possibly the finest B-side of the Beatles' career, and one of the best tracks the group ever made. As with many of Lennon's songs from this period, the song was a collage of many different elements pulled from his environment and surroundings, and turned into something that was rather more than the sum of its parts. For its musical inspiration, Lennon pulled from, of all things, a police siren going past his house. (For those who are unfamiliar with what old British police sirens sounded like, as opposed to the ones in use for most of my lifetime or in other countries, here's a recording of one): [Excerpt: British police siren ca 1968] That inspired Lennon to write a snatch of lyric to go with the sound of the siren, starting "Mister city policeman sitting pretty". He had two other song fragments, one about sitting in the garden, and one about sitting on a cornflake, and he told Hunter Davies, who was doing interviews for his authorised biography of the group, “I don't know how it will all end up. Perhaps they'll turn out to be different parts of the same song.” But the final element that made these three disparate sections into a song was a letter that came from Stephen Bayley, a pupil at Lennon's old school Quarry Bank, who told him that the teachers at the school -- who Lennon always thought of as having suppressed his creativity -- were now analysing Beatles lyrics in their lessons. Lennon decided to come up with some nonsense that they couldn't analyse -- though as nonsensical as the finished song is, there's an underlying anger to a lot of it that possibly comes from Lennon thinking of his school experiences. And so Lennon asked his old schoolfriend Pete Shotton to remind him of a disgusting playground chant that kids used to sing in schools in the North West of England (and which they still sang with very minor variations at my own school decades later -- childhood folklore has a remarkably long life). That rhyme went: Yellow matter custard, green snot pie All mixed up with a dead dog's eye Slap it on a butty, nice and thick, And drink it down with a cup of cold sick Lennon combined some parts of this with half-remembered fragments of Lewis Carrol's The Walrus and the Carpenter, and with some punning references to things that were going on in his own life and those of his friends -- though it's difficult to know exactly which of the stories attached to some of the more incomprehensible bits of the lyrics are accurate. The story that the line "I am the eggman" is about a sexual proclivity of Eric Burdon of the Animals seems plausible, while the contention by some that the phrase "semolina pilchard" is a reference to Sgt Pilcher, the corrupt policeman who had arrested three of the Rolling Stones, and would later arrest Lennon, on drugs charges, seems less likely. The track is a masterpiece of production, but the release of the basic take on Anthology 2 in 1996 showed that the underlying performance, before George Martin worked his magic with the overdubs, is still a remarkable piece of work: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus (Anthology 2 version)"] But Martin's arrangement and production turned the track from a merely very good track into a masterpiece. The string arrangement, very much in the same mould as that for "Strawberry Fields Forever" but giving a very different effect with its harsh cello glissandi, is the kind of thing one expects from Martin, but there's also the chanting of the Mike Sammes Singers, who were more normally booked for sessions like Englebert Humperdinck's "The Last Waltz": [Excerpt: Engelbert Humperdinck, "The Last Waltz"] But here were instead asked to imitate the sound of the strings, make grunting noises, and generally go very far out of their normal comfort zone: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"] But the most fascinating piece of production in the entire track is an idea that seems to have been inspired by people like John Cage -- a live feed of a radio being tuned was played into the mono mix from about the halfway point, and whatever was on the radio at the time was captured: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"] This is also why for many decades it was impossible to have a true stereo mix of the track -- the radio part was mixed directly into the mono mix, and it wasn't until the 1990s that someone thought to track down a copy of the original radio broadcasts and recreate the process. In one of those bits of synchronicity that happen more often than you would think when you're creating aleatory art, and which are why that kind of process can be so appealing, one bit of dialogue from the broadcast of King Lear that was on the radio as the mixing was happening was *perfectly* timed: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I am the Walrus"] After completing work on the basic track for "I am the Walrus", the group worked on two more songs for the film, George's "Blue Jay Way" and a group-composed twelve-bar blues instrumental called "Flying", before starting production. Magical Mystery Tour, as an idea, was inspired in equal parts by Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, the collective of people we talked about in the episode on the Grateful Dead who travelled across the US extolling the virtues of psychedelic drugs, and by mystery tours, a British working-class tradition that has rather fallen out of fashion in the intervening decades. A mystery tour would generally be put on by a coach-hire company, and would be a day trip to an unannounced location -- though the location would in fact be very predictable, and would be a seaside town within a couple of hours' drive of its starting point. In the case of the ones the Beatles remembered from their own childhoods, this would be to a coastal town in Lancashire or Wales, like Blackpool, Rhyl, or Prestatyn. A coachload of people would pay to be driven to this random location, get very drunk and have a singsong on the bus, and spend a day wherever they were taken. McCartney's plan was simple -- they would gather a group of passengers and replicate this experience over the course of several days, and film whatever went on, but intersperse that with more planned out sketches and musical numbers. For this reason, along with the Beatles and their associates, the cast included some actors found through Spotlight and some of the group's favourite performers, like the comedian Nat Jackley (whose comedy sequence directed by John was cut from the final film) and the surrealist poet/singer/comedian Ivor Cutler: [Excerpt: Ivor Cutler, "I'm Going in a Field"] The film also featured an appearance by a new band who would go on to have great success over the next year, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. They had recorded their first single in Abbey Road at the same time as the Beatles were recording Revolver, but rather than being progressive psychedelic rock, it had been a remake of a 1920s novelty song: [Excerpt: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, "My Brother Makes the Noises For the Talkies"] Their performance in Magical Mystery Tour was very different though -- they played a fifties rock pastiche written by band leaders Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes while a stripper took off her clothes. While several other musical sequences were recorded for the film, including one by the band Traffic and one by Cutler, other than the Beatles tracks only the Bonzos' song made it into the finished film: [Excerpt: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, "Death Cab for Cutie"] That song, thirty years later, would give its name to a prominent American alternative rock band. Incidentally the same night that Magical Mystery Tour was first broadcast was also the night that the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band first appeared on a TV show, Do Not Adjust Your Set, which featured three future members of the Monty Python troupe -- Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones. Over the years the careers of the Bonzos, the Pythons, and the Beatles would become increasingly intertwined, with George Harrison in particular striking up strong friendships and working relationships with Bonzos Neil Innes and "Legs" Larry Smith. The filming of Magical Mystery Tour went about as well as one might expect from a film made by four directors, none of whom had any previous filmmaking experience, and none of whom had any business knowledge. The Beatles were used to just turning up and having things magically done for them by other people, and had no real idea of the infrastructure challenges that making a film, even a low-budget one, actually presents, and ended up causing a great deal of stress to almost everyone involved. The completed film was shown on TV on Boxing Day 1967 to general confusion and bemusement. It didn't help that it was originally broadcast in black and white, and so for example the scene showing shifting landscapes (outtake footage from Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, tinted various psychedelic colours) over the "Flying" music, just looked like grey fuzz. But also, it just wasn't what people were expecting from a Beatles film. This was a ramshackle, plotless, thing more inspired by Andy Warhol's underground films than by the kind of thing the group had previously appeared in, and it was being presented as Christmas entertainment for all the family. And to be honest, it's not even a particularly good example of underground filmmaking -- though it looks like a masterpiece when placed next to something like the Bee Gees' similar effort, Cucumber Castle. But there are enough interesting sequences in there for the project not to be a complete failure -- and the deleted scenes on the DVD release, including the performances by Cutler and Traffic, and the fact that the film was edited down from ten hours to fifty-two minutes, makes one wonder if there's a better film that could be constructed from the original footage. Either way, the reaction to the film was so bad that McCartney actually appeared on David Frost's TV show the next day to defend it and, essentially, apologise. While they were editing the film, the group were also continuing to work in the studio, including on two new McCartney songs, "The Fool on the Hill", which was included in Magical Mystery Tour, and "Hello Goodbye", which wasn't included on the film's soundtrack but was released as the next single, with "I Am the Walrus" as the B-side: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hello Goodbye"] Incidentally, in the UK the soundtrack to Magical Mystery Tour was released as a double-EP rather than as an album (in the US, the group's recent singles and B-sides were added to turn it into a full-length album, which is how it's now generally available). "I Am the Walrus" was on the double-EP as well as being on the single's B-side, and the double-EP got to number two on the singles charts, meaning "I am the Walrus" was on the records at number one and number two at the same time. Before it became obvious that the film, if not the soundtrack, was a disaster, the group held a launch party on the twenty-first of December, 1967. The band members went along in fancy dress, as did many of the cast and crew -- the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band performed at the party. Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys also turned up at the party, and apparently at one point jammed with the Bonzos, and according to some, but not all, reports, a couple of the Beatles joined in as well. Love and Johnston had both just met the Maharishi for the first time a couple of days earlier, and Love had been as impressed as the Beatles were, and it may have been at this party that the group mentioned to Love that they would soon be going on a retreat in India with the guru -- a retreat that was normally meant for training TM instructors, but this time seemed to be more about getting celebrities involved. Love would also end up going with them. That party was also the first time that Cynthia Lennon had an inkling that John might not be as faithful to her as she previously supposed. John had always "joked" about being attracted to George Harrison's wife, Patti, but this time he got a little more blatant about his attraction than he ever had previously, to the point that he made Cynthia cry, and Cynthia's friend, the pop star Lulu, decided to give Lennon a very public dressing-down for his cruelty to his wife, a dressing-down that must have been a sight to behold, as Lennon was dressed as a Teddy boy while Lulu was in a Shirley Temple costume. It's a sign of how bad the Lennons' marriage was at this point that this was the second time in a two-month period where Cynthia had ended up crying because of John at a film launch party and been comforted by a female pop star. In October, Cilla Black had held a party to celebrate the belated release of John's film How I Won the War, and during the party Georgie Fame had come up to Black and said, confused, "Cynthia Lennon is hiding in your wardrobe". Black went and had a look, and Cynthia explained to her “I'm waiting to see how long it is before John misses me and comes looking for me.” Black's response had been “You'd better face it, kid—he's never gonna come.” Also at the Magical Mystery Tour party was Lennon's father, now known as Freddie Lennon, and his new nineteen-year-old fiancee. While Hunter Davis had been researching the Beatles' biography, he'd come across some evidence that the version of Freddie's attitude towards John that his mother's side of the family had always told him -- that Freddie had been a cruel and uncaring husband who had not actually wanted to be around his son -- might not be the whole of the truth, and that the mother who he had thought of as saintly might also have had some part to play in their marriage breaking down and Freddie not seeing his son for twenty years. The two had made some tentative attempts at reconciliation, and indeed Freddie would even come and live with John for a while, though within a couple of years the younger Lennon's heart would fully harden against his father again. Of course, the things that John always resented his father for were pretty much exactly the kind of things that Lennon himself was about to do. It was around this time as well that Derek Taylor gave the Beatles copies of the debut album by a young singer/songwriter named Harry Nilsson. Nilsson will be getting his own episode down the line, but not for a couple of years at my current rates, so it's worth bringing that up here, because that album became a favourite of all the Beatles, and would have a huge influence on their songwriting for the next couple of years, and because one song on the album, "1941", must have resonated particularly deeply with Lennon right at this moment -- an autobiographical song by Nilsson about how his father had left him and his mother when he was a small boy, and about his own fear that, as his first marriage broke down, he was repeating the pattern with his stepson Scott: [Excerpt: Nilsson, "1941"] The other major event of December 1967, rather overshadowed by the Magical Mystery Tour disaster the next day, was that on Christmas Day Paul McCartney and Jane Asher announced their engagement. A few days later, George Harrison flew to India. After John and Paul had had their outside film projects -- John starring in How I Won The War and Paul doing the soundtrack for The Family Way -- the other two Beatles more or less simultaneously did their own side project films, and again one acted while the other did a soundtrack. Both of these projects were in the rather odd subgenre of psychedelic shambolic comedy film that sprang up in the mid sixties, a subgenre that produced a lot of fascinating films, though rather fewer good ones. Indeed, both of them were in the subsubgenre of shambolic psychedelic *sex* comedies. In Ringo's case, he had a small role in the film Candy, which was based on the novel we mentioned in the last episode, co-written by Terry Southern, which was in itself a loose modern rewriting of Voltaire's Candide. Unfortunately, like such other classics of this subgenre as Anthony Newley's Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?, Candy has dated *extremely* badly, and unless you find repeated scenes of sexual assault and rape, ethnic stereotypes, and jokes about deformity and disfigurement to be an absolute laugh riot, it's not a film that's worth seeking out, and Starr's part in it is not a major one. Harrison's film was of the same basic genre -- a film called Wonderwall about a mad scientist who discovers a way to see through the walls of his apartment, and gets to see a photographer taking sexy photographs of a young woman named Penny Lane, played by Jane Birkin: [Excerpt: Some Wonderwall film dialogue ripped from the Blu-Ray] Wonderwall would, of course, later inspire the title of a song by Oasis, and that's what the film is now best known for, but it's a less-unwatchable film than Candy, and while still problematic it's less so. Which is something. Harrison had been the Beatle with least involvement in Magical Mystery Tour -- McCartney had been the de facto director, Starr had been the lead character and the only one with much in the way of any acting to do, and Lennon had written the film's standout scene and its best song, and had done a little voiceover narration. Harrison, by contrast, barely has anything to do in the film apart from the one song he contributed, "Blue Jay Way", and he said of the project “I had no idea what was happening and maybe I didn't pay enough attention because my problem, basically, was that I was in another world, I didn't really belong; I was just an appendage.” He'd expressed his discomfort to his friend Joe Massot, who was about to make his first feature film. Massot had got to know Harrison during the making of his previous film, Reflections on Love, a mostly-silent short which had starred Harrison's sister-in-law Jenny Boyd, and which had been photographed by Robert Freeman, who had been the photographer for the Beatles' album covers from With the Beatles through Rubber Soul, and who had taken most of the photos that Klaus Voorman incorporated into the cover of Revolver (and whose professional association with the Beatles seemed to come to an end around the same time he discovered that Lennon had been having an affair with his wife). Massot asked Harrison to write the music for the film, and told Harrison he would have complete free rein to make whatever music he wanted, so long as it fit the timing of the film, and so Harrison decided to create a mixture of Western rock music and the Indian music he loved. Harrison started recording the music at the tail end of 1967, with sessions with several London-based Indian musicians and John Barham, an orchestrator who had worked with Ravi Shankar on Shankar's collaborations with Western musicians, including the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack we talked about in the "All You Need is Love" episode. For the Western music, he used the Remo Four, a Merseybeat group who had been on the scene even before the Beatles, and which contained a couple of classmates of Paul McCartney, but who had mostly acted as backing musicians for other artists. They'd backed Johnny Sandon, the former singer with the Searchers, on a couple of singles, before becoming the backing band for Tommy Quickly, a NEMS artist who was unsuccessful despite starting his career with a Lennon/McCartney song, "Tip of My Tongue": [Excerpt: Tommy Quickly, "Tip of My Tongue"] The Remo Four would later, after a lineup change, become Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, who would become one-hit wonders in the seventies, and during the Wonderwall sessions they recorded a song that went unreleased at the time, and which would later go on to be rerecorded by Ashton, Gardner, and Dyke. "In the First Place" also features Harrison on backing vocals and possibly guitar, and was not submitted for the film because Harrison didn't believe that Massot wanted any vocal tracks, but the recording was later discovered and used in a revised director's cut of the film in the nineties: [Excerpt: The Remo Four, "In the First Place"] But for the most part the Remo Four were performing instrumentals written by Harrison. They weren't the only Western musicians performing on the sessions though -- Peter Tork of the Monkees dropped by these sessions and recorded several short banjo solos, which were used in the film soundtrack but not in the soundtrack album (presumably because Tork was contracted to another label): [Excerpt: Peter Tork, "Wonderwall banjo solo"] Another musician who was under contract to another label was Eric Clapton, who at the time was playing with The Cream, and who vaguely knew Harrison and so joined in for the track "Ski-ing", playing lead guitar under the cunning, impenetrable, pseudonym "Eddie Clayton", with Harrison on sitar, Starr on drums, and session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan on bass: [Excerpt: George Harrison, "Ski-ing"] But the bulk of the album was recorded in EMI's studios in the city that is now known as Mumbai but at the time was called Bombay. The studio facilities in India had up to that point only had a mono tape recorder, and Bhaskar Menon, one of the top executives at EMI's Indian division and later the head of EMI music worldwide, personally brought the first stereo tape recorder to the studio to aid in Harrison's recording. The music was all composed by Harrison and performed by the Indian musicians, and while Harrison was composing in an Indian mode, the musicians were apparently fascinated by how Western it sounded to them: [Excerpt: George Harrison, "Microbes"] While he was there, Harrison also got the instrumentalists to record another instrumental track, which wasn't to be used for the film: [Excerpt: George Harrison, "The Inner Light (instrumental)"] That track would, instead, become part of what was to be Harrison's first composition to make a side of a Beatles single. After John and George had appeared on the David Frost show talking about the Maharishi, in September 1967, George had met a lecturer in Sanskrit named Juan Mascaró, who wrote to Harrison enclosing a book he'd compiled of translations of religious texts, telling him he'd admired "Within You Without You" and thought it would be interesting if Harrison set something from the Tao Te Ching to music. He suggested a text that, in his translation, read: "Without going out of my door I can know all things on Earth Without looking out of my window I can know the ways of heaven For the farther one travels, the less one knows The sage, therefore Arrives without travelling Sees all without looking Does all without doing" Harrison took that text almost verbatim, though he created a second verse by repeating the first few lines with "you" replacing "I" -- concerned that listeners might think he was just talking about himself, and wouldn't realise it was a more general statement -- and he removed the "the sage, therefore" and turned the last few lines into imperative commands rather than declarative statements: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "The Inner Light"] The song has come in for some criticism over the years as being a little Orientalist, because in critics' eyes it combines Chinese philosophy with Indian music, as if all these things are equally "Eastern" and so all the same really. On the other hand there's a good argument that an English songwriter taking a piece of writing written in Chinese and translated into English by a Spanish man and setting it to music inspired by Indian musical modes is a wonderful example of cultural cross-pollination. As someone who's neither Chinese nor Indian I wouldn't want to take a stance on it, but clearly the other Beatles were impressed by it -- they put it out as the B-side to their next single, even though the only Beatles on it are Harrison and McCartney, with the latter adding a small amount of harmony vocal: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "The Inner Light"] And it wasn't because the group were out of material. They were planning on going to Rishikesh to study with the Maharishi, and wanted to get a single out for release while they were away, and so in one week they completed the vocal overdubs on "The Inner Light" and recorded three other songs, two by John and one by Paul. All three of the group's songwriters brought in songs that were among their best. John's first contribution was a song whose lyrics he later described as possibly the best he ever wrote, "Across the Universe". He said the lyrics were “purely inspirational and were given to me as boom! I don't own it, you know; it came through like that … Such an extraordinary meter and I can never repeat it! It's not a matter of craftsmanship, it wrote itself. It drove me out of bed. I didn't want to write it … It's like being possessed, like a psychic or a medium.” But while Lennon liked the song, he was never happy with the recording of it. They tried all sorts of things to get the sound he heard in his head, including bringing in some fans who were hanging around outside to sing backing vocals. He said of the track "I was singing out of tune and instead of getting a decent choir, we got fans from outside, Apple Scruffs or whatever you call them. They came in and were singing all off-key. Nobody was interested in doing the tune originally.” [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Across the Universe"] The "jai guru deva" chorus there is the first reference to the teachings of the Maharishi in one of the Beatles' records -- Guru Dev was the Maharishi's teacher, and the phrase "Jai guru dev" is a Sanskrit one which I've seen variously translated as "victory to the great teacher", and "hail to the greatness within you". Lennon would say shortly before his death “The Beatles didn't make a good record out of it. I think subconsciously sometimes we – I say ‘we' though I think Paul did it more than the rest of us – Paul would sort of subconsciously try and destroy a great song … Usually we'd spend hours doing little detailed cleaning-ups of Paul's songs, when it came to mine, especially if it was a great song like ‘Strawberry Fields' or ‘Across The Universe', somehow this atmosphere of looseness and casualness and experimentation would creep in … It was a _lousy_ track of a great song and I was so disappointed by it …The guitars are out of tune and I'm singing out of tune because I'm psychologically destroyed and nobody's supporting me or helping me with it, and the song was never done properly.” Of course, this is only Lennon's perception, and it's one that the other participants would disagree with. George Martin, in particular, was always rather hurt by the implication that Lennon's songs had less attention paid to them, and he would always say that the problem was that Lennon in the studio would always say "yes, that's great", and only later complain that it hadn't been what he wanted. No doubt McCartney did put in more effort on his own songs than on Lennon's -- everyone has a bias towards their own work, and McCartney's only human -- but personally I suspect that a lot of the problem comes down to the two men having very different personalities. McCartney had very strong ideas about his own work and would drive the others insane with his nitpicky attention to detail. Lennon had similarly strong ideas, but didn't have the attention span to put the time and effort in to force his vision on others, and didn't have the technical knowledge to express his ideas in words they'd understand. He expected Martin and the other Beatles to work miracles, and they did -- but not the miracles he would have worked. That track was, rather than being chosen for the next single, given to Spike Milligan, who happened to be visiting the studio and was putting together an album for the environmental charity the World Wildlife Fund. The album was titled "No One's Gonna Change Our World": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Across the Universe"] That track is historic in another way -- it would be the last time that George Harrison would play sitar on a Beatles record, and it effectively marks the end of the period of psychedelia and Indian influence that had started with "Norwegian Wood" three years earlier, and which many fans consider their most creative period. Indeed, shortly after the recording, Harrison would give up the sitar altogether and stop playing it. He loved sitar music as much as he ever had, and he still thought that Indian classical music spoke to him in ways he couldn't express, and he continued to be friends with Ravi Shankar for the rest of his life, and would only become more interested in Indian religious thought. But as he spent time with Shankar he realised he would never be as good on the sitar as he hoped. He said later "I thought, 'Well, maybe I'm better off being a pop singer-guitar-player-songwriter – whatever-I'm-supposed-to-be' because I've seen a thousand sitar-players in India who are twice as better as I'll ever be. And only one of them Ravi thought was going to be a good player." We don't have a precise date for when it happened -- I suspect it was in June 1968, so a few months after the "Across the Universe" recording -- but Shankar told Harrison that rather than try to become a master of a music that he hadn't encountered until his twenties, perhaps he should be making the music that was his own background. And as Harrison put it "I realised that was riding my bike down a street in Liverpool and hearing 'Heartbreak Hotel' coming out of someone's house.": [Excerpt: Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel"] In early 1968 a lot of people seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as if Christmas 1967 had been the flick of a switch and instead of whimsy and ornamentation, the thing to do was to make music that was influenced by early rock and roll. In the US the Band and Bob Dylan were making music that was consciously shorn of all studio experimentation, while in the UK there was a revival of fifties rock and roll. In April 1968 both "Peggy Sue" and "Rock Around the Clock" reentered the top forty in the UK, and the Who were regularly including "Summertime Blues" in their sets. Fifties nostalgia, which would make occasional comebacks for at least the next forty years, was in its first height, and so it's not surprising that Paul McCartney's song, "Lady Madonna", which became the A-side of the next single, has more than a little of the fifties about it. Of course, the track isn't *completely* fifties in its origins -- one of the inspirations for the track seems to have been the Rolling Stones' then-recent hit "Let's Spend The Night Together": [Excerpt: The Rolling Stones, "Let's Spend the Night Together"] But the main source for the song's music -- and for the sound of the finished record -- seems to have been Johnny Parker's piano part on Humphrey Lyttleton's "Bad Penny Blues", a hit single engineered by Joe Meek in the fifties: [Excerpt: Humphrey Lyttleton, "Bad Penny Blues"] That song seems to have been on the group's mind for a while, as a working title for "With a Little Help From My Friends" had at one point been "Bad Finger Blues" -- a title that would later give the name to a band on Apple. McCartney took Parker's piano part as his inspiration, and as he later put it “‘Lady Madonna' was me sitting down at the piano trying to write a bluesy boogie-woogie thing. I got my left hand doing an arpeggio thing with the chord, an ascending boogie-woogie left hand, then a descending right hand. I always liked that, the  juxtaposition of a line going down meeting a line going up." [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Lady Madonna"] That idea, incidentally, is an interesting reversal of what McCartney had done on "Hello, Goodbye", where the bass line goes down while the guitar moves up -- the two lines moving away from each other: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hello Goodbye"] Though that isn't to say there's no descending bass in "Lady Madonna" -- the bridge has a wonderful sequence where the bass just *keeps* *descending*: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Lady Madonna"] Lyrically, McCartney was inspired by a photo in National Geographic of a woman in Malaysia, captioned “Mountain Madonna: with one child at her breast and another laughing into her face, sees her quality of life threatened.” But as he put it “The people I was brought up amongst were often Catholic; there are lots of Catholics in Liverpool because of the Irish connection and they are often religious. When they have a baby I think they see a big connection between themselves and the Virgin Mary with her baby. So the original concept was the Virgin Mary but it quickly became symbolic of every woman; the Madonna image but as applied to ordinary working class woman. It's really a tribute to the mother figure, it's a tribute to women.” Musically though, the song was more a tribute to the fifties -- while the inspiration had been a skiffle hit by Humphrey Lyttleton, as soon as McCartney started playing it he'd thought of Fats Domino, and the lyric reflects that to an extent -- just as Domino's "Blue Monday" details the days of the week for a weary working man who only gets to enjoy himself on Saturday night, "Lady Madonna"'s lyrics similarly look at the work a mother has to do every day -- though as McCartney later noted  "I was writing the words out to learn it for an American TV show and I realised I missed out Saturday ... So I figured it must have been a real night out." The vocal was very much McCartney doing a Domino impression -- something that wasn't lost on Fats, who cut his own version of the track later that year: [Excerpt: Fats Domino, "Lady Madonna"] The group were so productive at this point, right before the journey to India, that they actually cut another song *while they were making a video for "Lady Madonna"*. They were booked into Abbey Road to film themselves performing the song so it could be played on Top of the Pops while they were away, but instead they decided to use the time to cut a new song -- John had a partially-written song, "Hey Bullfrog", which was roughly the same tempo as "Lady Madonna", so they could finish that up and then re-edit the footage to match the record. The song was quickly finished and became "Hey Bulldog": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hey Bulldog"] One of Lennon's best songs from this period, "Hey Bulldog" was oddly chosen only to go on the soundtrack of Yellow Submarine. Either the band didn't think much of it because it had come so easily, or it was just assigned to the film because they were planning on being away for several months and didn't have any other projects they were working on. The extent of the group's contribution to the film was minimal – they were not very hands-on, and the film, which was mostly done as an attempt to provide a third feature film for their United Artists contract without them having to do any work, was made by the team that had done the Beatles cartoon on American TV. There's some evidence that they had a small amount of input in the early story stages, but in general they saw the cartoon as an irrelevance to them -- the only things they contributed were the four songs "All Together Now", "It's All Too Much", "Hey Bulldog" and "Only a Northern Song", and a brief filmed appearance for the very end of the film, recorded in January: [Excerpt: Yellow Submarine film end] McCartney also took part in yet another session in early February 1968, one produced by Peter Asher, his fiancee's brother, and former singer with Peter and Gordon. Asher had given up on being a pop star and was trying to get into the business side of music, and he was starting out as a producer, producing a single by Paul Jones, the former lead singer of Manfred Mann. The A-side of the single, "And the Sun Will Shine", was written by the Bee Gees, the band that Robert Stigwood was managing: [Excerpt: Paul Jones, "And the Sun Will Shine"] While the B-side was an original by Jones, "The Dog Presides": [Excerpt: Paul Jones, "The Dog Presides"] Those tracks featured two former members of the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck and Paul Samwell-Smith, on guitar and bass, and Nicky Hopkins on piano. Asher asked McCartney to play drums on both sides of the single, saying later "I always thought he was a great, underrated drummer." McCartney was impressed by Asher's production, and asked him to get involved with the new Apple Records label that would be set up when the group returned from India. Asher eventually became head of A&R for the label. And even before "Lady Madonna" was mixed, the Beatles were off to India. Mal Evans, their roadie, went ahead with all their luggage on the fourteenth of February, so he could sort out transport for them on the other end, and then John and George followed on the fifteenth, with their wives Pattie and Cynthia and Pattie's sister Jenny (John and Cynthia's son Julian had been left with his grandmother while they went -- normally Cynthia wouldn't abandon Julian for an extended period of time, but she saw the trip as a way to repair their strained marriage). Paul and Ringo followed four days later, with Ringo's wife Maureen and Paul's fiancee Jane Asher. The retreat in Rishikesh was to become something of a celebrity affair. Along with the Beatles came their friend the singer-songwriter Donovan, and Donovan's friend and songwriting partner, whose name I'm not going to say here because it's a slur for Romani people, but will be known to any Donovan fans. Donovan at this point was also going through changes. Like the Beatles, he was largely turning away from drug use and towards meditation, and had recently written his hit single "There is a Mountain" based around a saying from Zen Buddhism: [Excerpt: Donovan, "There is a Mountain"] That was from his double-album A Gift From a Flower to a Garden, which had come out in December 1967. But also like John and Paul he was in the middle of the breakdown of a long-term relationship, and while he would remain with his then-partner until 1970, and even have another child with her, he was secretly in love with another woman. In fact he was secretly in love with two other women. One of them, Brian Jones' ex-girlfriend Linda, had moved to LA, become the partner of the singer Gram Parsons, and had appeared in the documentary You Are What You Eat with the Band and Tiny Tim. She had fallen out of touch with Donovan, though she would later become his wife. Incidentally, she had a son to Brian Jones who had been abandoned by his rock-star father -- the son's name is Julian. The other woman with whom Donovan was in love was Jenny Boyd, the sister of George Harrison's wife Pattie.  Jenny at the time was in a relationship with Alexis Mardas, a TV repairman and huckster who presented himself as an electronics genius to the Beatles, who nicknamed him Magic Alex, and so she was unavailable, but Donovan had written a song about her, released as a single just before they all went to Rishikesh: [Excerpt: Donovan, "Jennifer Juniper"] Donovan considered himself and George Harrison to be on similar spiritual paths and called Harrison his "spirit-brother", though Donovan was more interested in Buddhism, which Harrison considered a corruption of the more ancient Hinduism, and Harrison encouraged Donovan to read Autobiography of a Yogi. It's perhaps worth noting that Donovan's father had a different take on the subject though, saying "You're not going to study meditation in India, son, you're following that wee lassie Jenny" Donovan and his friend weren't the only other celebrities to come to Rishikesh. The actor Mia Farrow, who had just been through a painful divorce from Frank Sinatra, and had just made Rosemary's Baby, a horror film directed by Roman Polanski with exteriors shot at the Dakota building in New York, arrived with her sister Prudence. Also on the trip was Paul Horn, a jazz saxophonist who had played with many of the greats of jazz, not least of them Duke Ellington, whose Sweet Thursday Horn had played alto sax on: [Excerpt: Duke Ellington, "Zweet Zursday"] Horn was another musician who had been inspired to investigate Indian spirituality and music simultaneously, and the previous year he had recorded an album, "In India," of adaptations of ragas, with Ravi Shankar and Alauddin Khan: [Excerpt: Paul Horn, "Raga Vibhas"] Horn would go on to become one of the pioneers of what would later be termed "New Age" music, combining jazz with music from various non-Western traditions. Horn had also worked as a session musician, and one of the tracks he'd played on was "I Know There's an Answer" from the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "I Know There's an Answer"] Mike Love, who co-wrote that track and is one of the lead singers on it, was also in Rishikesh. While as we'll see not all of the celebrities on the trip would remain practitioners of Transcendental Meditation, Love would be profoundly affected by the trip, and remains a vocal proponent of TM to this day. Indeed, his whole band at the time were heavily into TM. While Love was in India, the other Beach Boys were working on the Friends album without him -- Love only appears on four tracks on that album -- and one of the tracks they recorded in his absence was titled "Transcendental Meditation": [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "Transcendental Meditation"] But the trip would affect Love's songwriting, as it would affect all of the musicians there. One of the few songs on the Friends album on which Love appears is "Anna Lee, the Healer", a song which is lyrically inspired by the trip in the most literal sense, as it's about a masseuse Love met in Rishikesh: [Excerpt: The Beach Boys, "Anna Lee, the Healer"] The musicians in the group all influenced and inspired each other as is likely to happen in such circumstances. Sometimes, it would be a matter of trivial joking, as when the Beatles decided to perform an off-the-cuff song about Guru Dev, and did it in the Beach Boys style: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Spiritual Regeneration"] And that turned partway through into a celebration of Love for his birthday: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Spiritual Regeneration"] Decades later, Love would return the favour, writing a song about Harrison and their time together in Rishikesh. Like Donovan, Love seems to have considered Harrison his "spiritual brother", and he titled the song "Pisces Brothers": [Excerpt: Mike Love, "Pisces Brothers"] The musicians on the trip were also often making suggestions to each other about songs that would become famous for them. The musicians had all brought acoustic guitars, apart obviously from Ringo, who got a set of tabla drums when George ordered some Indian instruments to be delivered. George got a sitar, as at this point he hadn't quite given up on the instrument, and he gave Donovan a tamboura. Donovan started playing a melody on the tamboura, which is normally a drone instrument, inspired by the Scottish folk music he had grown up with, and that became his "Hurdy-Gurdy Man": [Excerpt: Donovan, "Hurdy Gurdy Man"] Harrison actually helped him with the song, writing a final verse inspired by the Maharishi's teachings, but in the studio Donovan's producer Mickie Most told him to cut the verse because the song was overlong, which apparently annoyed Harrison. Donovan includes that verse in his live performances of the song though -- usually while doing a fairly terrible impersonation of Harrison: [Excerpt: Donovan, "Hurdy Gurdy Man (live)"] And similarly, while McCartney was working on a song pastiching Chuck Berry and the Beach Boys, but singing about the USSR rather than the USA, Love suggested to him that for a middle-eight he might want to sing about the girls in the various Soviet regions: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Back in the USSR"] As all the guitarists on the retreat only had acoustic instruments, they were very keen to improve their acoustic playing, and they turned to Donovan, who unlike the rest of them was primarily an acoustic player, and one from a folk background. Donovan taught them the rudiments of Travis picking, the guitar style we talked about way back in the episodes on the Everly Brothers, as well as some of the tunings that had been introduced to British folk music by Davey Graham, giving them a basic grounding in the principles of English folk-baroque guitar, a style that had developed over the previous few years. Donovan has said in his autobiography that Lennon picked the technique up quickly (and that Harrison had already learned Travis picking from Chet Atkins records) but that McCartney didn't have the application to learn the style, though he picked up bits. That seems very unlike anything else I've read anywhere about Lennon and McCartney -- no-one has ever accused Lennon of having a surfeit of application -- and reading Donovan's book he seems to dislike McCartney and like Lennon and Harrison, so possibly that enters into it. But also, it may just be that Lennon was more receptive to Donovan's style at the time. According to McCartney, even before going to Rishikesh Lennon had been in a vaguely folk-music and country mode, and the small number of tapes he'd brought with him to Rishikesh included Buddy Holly, Dylan, and the progressive folk band The Incredible String Band, whose music would be a big influence on both Lennon and McCartney for the next year: [Excerpt: The Incredible String Band, "First Girl I Loved"] According to McCartney Lennon also brought "a tape the singer Jake Thackray had done for him... He was one of the people we bumped into at Abbey Road. John liked his stuff, which he'd heard on television. Lots of wordplay and very suggestive, so very much up John's alley. I was fascinated by his unusual guitar style. John did ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun' as a Jake Thackray thing at one point, as I recall.” Thackray was a British chansonnier, who sang sweetly poignant but also often filthy songs about Yorkshire life, and his humour in particular will have appealed to Lennon. There's a story of Lennon meeting Thackray in Abbey Road and singing the whole of Thackray's song "The Statues", about two drunk men fighting a male statue to defend the honour of a female statue, to him: [Excerpt: Jake Thackray, "The Statues"] Given this was the music that Lennon was listening to, it's unsurprising that he was more receptive to Donovan's lessons, and the new guitar style he learned allowed him to expand his songwriting, at precisely the same time he was largely clean of drugs for the first time in several years, and he started writing some of the best songs he would ever write, often using these new styles: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Julia"] That song is about Lennon's dead mother -- the first time he ever addressed her directly in a song, though  it would be far from the last -- but it's also about someone else. That phrase "Ocean child" is a direct translation of the Japanese name "Yoko". We've talked about Yoko Ono a bit in recent episodes, and even briefly in a previous Beatles episode, but it's here that she really enters the story of the Beatles. Unfortunately, exactly *how* her relationship with John Lennon, which was to become one of the great legendary love stories in rock and roll history, actually started is the subject of some debate. Both of them were married when they first got together, and there have also been suggestions that Ono was more interested in McCartney than in Lennon at first -- suggestions which everyone involved has denied, and those denials have the ring of truth about them, but if that was the case it would also explain some of Lennon's more perplexing behaviour over the next year. By all accounts there was a certain amount of finessing of the story th

Depression is a common and often debilitating mental health condition that can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or background. It can cause a range of symptoms, including persistent sadness, low energy, difficulty concentrating, changes in appetite and sleep patterns, and a loss of interest in once enjoyable activities. Sound familiar? In today's episode, we'll talk with Dannie De Novo. She is a mental health advocate and survivor of depression, and she will share their journey of overcoming depression and the tools and strategies she uses to find happiness and build a fulfilling life…so you can do the same In this episode, we discuss: Seeking help and support is crucial for managing depression and finding happiness. This could mean talking to a trusted friend or family member, seeking support from a mental health professional, or joining a support group. Practicing self-care is essential for managing depression. This includes getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and finding ways to relax and de-stress. Focusing on small, positive things can bring joy and happiness into your life, even when you're feeling down. Setting goals and working towards them can give you a sense of purpose and meaning, which can help boost your mood. If your depression is severe or persistent, it may be necessary to seek professional treatment. This could include therapy, medication, or a combination of both. Remember, overcoming depression is not easy, and it may take time and effort. But with the right support and strategies, it is possible to find happiness and build a fulfilling life. Don't be afraid to reach out for help – it's a sign of strength, not weakness. (Note: This episode was originally published on Dec 26, 2022) ---- GUEST WEBSITE: https://www.danniedenovo.com/  ---- MORE FROM THE FIT MESS: Connect with us on Threads, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok Subscribe to The Fit Mess on Youtube Join our community in the Fit Mess Facebook group ---- LINKS TO OUR PARTNERS: Take control of how you'd like to feel with Apollo Neuro Explore the many benefits of cold therapy for your body with Nurecover Muse's Brain Sensing Headbands Improve Your Meditation Practice. Get started as a Certified Professional Life Coach! Get a Free One Year Supply of AG1 Vitamin D3+K2, 5 Travel Packs Revamp your life with Bulletproof Coffee You Need a Budget helps you quickly get out of debt, and save money faster! Use Vibrant Blue Oils to improve the flow of energy through your body.  Start your own podcast!    

Joseph Drolshagen, also known as Joey, is more than just a business development coach – he's a transformation maestro! Through his extensive experience, he's uncovered a profound truth: the path to genuine happiness extends beyond merely doing what you love; it's about ensuring that your actions benefit others.    Joey takes his clients on a powerful journey of transformation, enabling them to break free from their fears and embrace a life in perfect alignment with their deepest desires. Central to this transformative process is the remarkable SMT Method (Subconscious Mindset Training), a culmination of three decades of Joey's study, development, and implementation.    With Joey's guidance, you become an unstoppable force, blazing a trail toward the life that sets your soul on fire! Learn more about Joey here:   https://www.josephadrolshagen.com Guest Bio: Featured in FOX, CBS, and NBC along with being named one of the top business Coaches in America for two consecutive years, in The NYC Journal and Disruptors Magazine, Joey is known for helping realtors and small business owners to unlock their pathway to success through creating accelerating systems of habits and total mindset alignment!    Aside from a very successful 28-year career, up to VP of Sales, Joey has spent over 3 decades studying, implementing, and developing what's now known as the SMT Method (Subconscious Mindset Training), which has repeatedly allowed hundreds of people to create the life they desire, through retraining their subconscious mind... To become UNSTOPPABLE.   ___________________ Subscribe to this podcast and download your favorite episodes to listen to later:       ___________________   ⚕️ Are you a woman healthcare professional who is struggling to juggle everything in your personal and professional life?  

Welcome back to another episode of Inside Personal Growth. Joining us today to share about his new book entitled The Buddha Who Drove a Bentley: Live Your Most Authentic Life, Find True Happiness, and Have It All, is Alessandro Tronco.

Hema Persad is the Founder of Sagrada Studio, a full service interior design studio that designs and decorates residential and commercial spaces around the country. Before taking over the world of interior design, Hema was a practicing attorney for several years before following her heart and pursuing a career in fashion. In 2014, she decided to take the leap and move across the country to Los Angeles with her family to chase her dreams. She spent the following 7 years dressing A-list celebrities, styling ad campaigns and editorials, and working with some of the top fashion talent in the world.Despite the sacrifices made to establish her career in fashion, Hema felt unfulfilled and uncertain about her next steps. Embracing opportunities as they came her way, Hema ventured into interior design in 2021 when one of her styling clients sought her help in decorating their home. Because of her eye for design and ability to execute her creative vision, that first project snowballed into several more and propelled her interior design career. Today, Hema designs spaces for both residential and commercial clients across the country, even becoming the lead designer on the popular TV show, Property Brothers.In this episode, we delve into Hema's remarkable journey. She left a secure legal career to chase her passions and succeed in unfamiliar fields like fashion and interior design. We explore her daring career pivot and the profound impact of having no "Plan B" in her journey, offering insights on how we can all make bold moves and how to overcome self-doubt and fear. We also discuss the pivotal role of networking and cultivating authentic relationships in her career, and so much more. In this episode, we'll talk to Hema about:* Lawyer to fashion stylist transition. [05:00]* Marriage, divorce, and money's impact on her career. [09:01]* The power of a strong support system. [11:57]* Finding a missing piece after a successful legal career. [14:52]* Late-life career change and self-confidence building. [20:28]* Why everyone needs to: stop planning and start acting. [22:22]* Venturing into the fashion industry and discovering it's not her true calling. [26:57]* Don't let money be your number one motivation in your career. [32:52] * Defining purpose and happiness. [34:58]* Stylist to interior designer during the pandemic. [37:18]* Overcoming hustle culture for real success. [40:42]* A big ego can hold you back in entrepreneurship. [47:36]* Hema's major fear to overcome. [50:57]* Aspiring to mend the relationship with money. [52:58]This episode is brought to you by beeya: * Learn more about beeya's seed cycling bundle at https://beeyawellness.com/free to find out how to tackle hormonal imbalances. * Get $10 off your order by using promo code BEHINDHEREMPIREFollow Yasmin:* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/Follow Hema:* Website: https://www.sagradastudio.com/* Sagrada Studio's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sagradastudio/* Hema's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hemaapersad/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Society Lies To You! How To Find True Happiness & Purpose. In this episode, Danny reveals the simple daily habit that has completely transformed his life. He also reflects on why people are so unhappy in today's world and explores the balance between inward reflection and the pursuit of external success. Timestamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:26 Danny Miranda's podcast is prolific and impressive. 00:09:25 The concept of beginnings is fascinating. 00:14:27 Find peace within, help others do the same. 00:18:02 Rediscovering childhood passion, started a blog. 00:26:09 Meditation for self-control and finding balance. 00:30:09 External success often leads to unhappiness. 00:36:51 Transformative meditation led to podcast creation. 00:42:30 External accountability and ease for success. Commit 90 days minimum. 00:52:27 Choose love over bitterness in extreme circumstances. 00:55:38 Move body, mind, and soul; find purpose. 01:00:02 Madison Square Garden: Validation in craft, macro vs. micro achievements. Sponsor Check out our sponsor, Free Agency (https://www.freeagency.com/) Socials Host: https://twitter.com/calum_johnson9 Guest: https://twitter.com/heydannymiranda

Josh Peck rose to fame when he was a teenager starring in the Nickelodeon hit show Drake & Josh. Despite living his dream of being an actor, Josh struggled with low confidence that took over his life, which ultimately manifested in struggles with body image and substance use. What Josh learned about himself in his darkest moments led him to launch a flourishing career as an actor in TV and movies and garner an incredible following on social media. In this episode, Hala and Josh chat about Josh's love for acting and humor, how Josh launched his career as an actor and his experience on Drake & Josh, how getting typecast affected his career, pivoting from TV to movies to social media, Josh's struggle with body issues and sobriety, and what his career journey taught him about achieving happiness.     Josh Peck is an American actor, comedian, and YouTuber. He began his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and had an early role on The Amanda Show. Josh became famous for his role in the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh from 2004 to 2007, and in its two television films in 2006 and 2008. In 2017, he started a comedic lifestyle YouTube channel, Shua Vlogs. Josh is the author of Happy People Are Annoying.   In this episode, Hala and Josh will discuss:  - The title of his book, Happy People Are Annoying - How he overcame the doubters  - Josh's experience on Drake & Josh  - The relationship between humor and insecurity - How getting typecast affected his career - Josh's experience with drugs and when he realized he needed to get sober  - What his career journey taught him about achieving happiness  - Dealing with the letdowns and criticism  - Starting his social media journey and how he gained millions of followers  - And other topics… Josh Peck is an American actor, comedian, and YouTuber. He began his career as a child actor in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and had an early role on The Amanda Show. Josh became famous for his role in the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh from 2004 to 2007, and in its two television films in 2006 and 2008.  Josh also acted in films including Mean Creek (2004), Drillbit Taylor (2008), The Wackness (2008), ATM (2012), Red Dawn (2012), Battle of the Year (2013), Danny Collins (2015), and more. He played the main role in the Disney+ original series Turner & Hooch, and Hulu Original How I Met Your Father (2022). In 2017, he started a comedic lifestyle YouTube channel, Shua Vlogs. Josh is the author of Happy People Are Annoying.   LinkedIn Secrets Masterclass, Have Job Security For Life: Use code ‘podcast' for 30% off at yapmedia.io/course. Resources Mentioned:  Josh's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-People-Annoying-Josh-Peck/dp/0063073617  Josh's Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/male-models/id1595769029  Josh's IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0669681/ Josh's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shuapeck/ Josh's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ItsJoshPeck Josh's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTr-klXfdXmrU9FEP987ueg Josh's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshpeckofficial Sponsored By:  Millionaire University - Find The Millionaire University on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts Constant Contact - Go to youngandprofiting.co/constantcontact_yap for your free trial today! More About Young and Profiting Download Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com   Get Sponsorship Deals - youngandprofiting.com/sponsorships Leave a Review - ratethispodcast.com/yap Watch Videos - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting Follow Hala Taha LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ TikTok - tiktok.com/@yapwithhala Twitter - twitter.com/yapwithhala Learn more about YAP Media Agency Services - yapmedia.io/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, Nathalie opens up about her journey to rediscover true happiness and shares valuable insights on finding joy in everyday life.As a highly influential figure, Nathalie admits to feeling the pressure of perfection and the need to constantly excel. But she realized that she had lost sight of the most important thing: having fun.Authenticity is another crucial aspect of finding happiness, and Nathalie emphasizes the significance of being real with oneself. She shares her own experiences of reevaluating her relationship with social media and how it has allowed her to regain control and excitement. By embracing gratitude, authenticity, intentionality, and making intentional changes, you can unlock the happiness that has always been within your reach.

Cardi B Is Bored With Having EVERYTHING, Misses Her STRUGGLE YEARS - Can Women Find True Happiness? Coach Greg Adams YouTube Channel Free Agent Lifestyle YouTube Channel

http://www.lewishowes.com/mindset2023 - Order a copy of my new book The Greatness Mindset today!   Sarah Jakes Roberts discusses how to shed negative self talk holding you back from true happiness, and how to overcome negative beliefs.   Check out the full episode: http://www.lewishowes.com/1104-pod    Sign up for the Greatness newsletter: http://www.greatness.com/newsletter 

We all know that competing may not be everyone's cup of tea and getting approval and support from your loved ones can be hard. But what if one thing that you thought might push you further apart actually brings you closer together?   The athlete I'm bringing on today has been competing since 2012. She came from a very strict childhood but was able to create a life that served herself and her family equally. You are going to love listening to her journey and may even shed a tear as she shares her story of adopting.   So go ahead and grab a handkerchief and a good pillow for a tight squeeze and get ready for a great episode. Without further ado, I am so excited and delighted to introduce to you IFBB Bikini Professional Eng Jarriel!   What you'll hear in this episode: [4:00] Bikini hack [14:30] What was the hardest limitation to break free from? [19:55] Do you feel like you've ever had any regrets? [26:05] Why does she compete every year? [28:55] When is the best time to compete, which organizations should I be a part of, and how on earth do I find a coach? [36:35] What's going on with their improvement season. [41:00] The process of adopting her daughter. [46:35] You can't live your life and be happy by pleasing everyone. Find what really makes you happy and do it. [51:50] What's next for you?   * Connect with Eng on IG @etan0823   * Head https://vibe-athletics.mykajabi.com/links for your FREEBIES, coupon codes, and other links! https://vibe-athletics.mykajabi.com/links

Shelley Johnson and Kathy Tuccaro explore the path to true happiness on Women Road Warriors with an Oh Shift! facilitator from Canada. Sheila Sutherland is a certified emotional intelligence coach, author, and speaker who teaches people how to dodge life's curve balls to be happy and successful. She also teaches triumph over trauma and how people can parent themselves and get rid of negative self-talk. She teaches the Seven Pillars of True Self-Care. She is the host of Reignite Your Purpose podcast. Sheila is a contributing author to 365 Days of Grace and 365 Life Shifts which are Amazon International Best Sellers. Tune into this episode to learn more and be sure to subscribe to our podcast. It's free!https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilahsutherland/?originalSubdomain=cahttp://www.reigniteyourpurpose.com/podcasthttps://tncradio.live/#Happiness #SelfCare #EmotionalIQ #LifeCoach #Women #ShelleyMJohnson #KathyTuccaro #WomenRoadWarriors #TNCRadioLive #EmotionalCare #Triumph #Trauma #TraumaSurvivors #SelfParenting #SelfNurturing #OhShift!

The wonderful thing about happiness is it's contagious.  Share it with others.

Are you looking to build resilience and increase your capacity to handle stress? Do you ever wonder what it means to be enlightened and how it can impact your life? Are you ever stressed out by the constant chase to live a more enlightened, high vibration life?Welcome back to the We Are Already Free podcast, where we inspire down-to-earth seekers and free people to live their truth and be the change by focusing on what they CAN control.In this episode, I share a deep, vulnerable, inspiring conversation Scott Carney, author of "The Enlightenment Trap" and "What Doesn't Kill Us," to explore the above questions and more.Scott is a new york times bestselling author and anthropologist. He was the first journalist to write about Wim Hof, and one of the first people to learn the Wim Hof Method. His books ‘What Doesn't Kill Us' and ‘The Wedge' make the case for how Environmental training and exposure are as fundamental to human health as diet and exercise.In this episode, Scott shares profound reflections on:The concept of resilience and how it can help you create space between your natural reactions to stress and how you actually want to respondThe interplay between consciousness and the body, and how mindfulness practices like breath work and ice baths can help you change your physiologyNear the end of the episode, Scott shares his thoughts on the dangers of gurus and the importance of being able to receive feedback from others. Listen all the way to the end to hear his unique perspective and insights on this topic.The Buddha's shocking mistake: The dark and murderous side of meditative practices.As always, this is only scratching the surface, we also cover the hero's journey, the middle way, Wim Hof, the big mistake the Buddha made…and much more.If you're looking to expand your perspectives on these topics and learn how they can impact your own life, this episode is for you.As I said in the beginning, this is a VERY vulnerable episode. Scott talks openly about death, and a traumatic experience which shaped his life. I honour the life of Emily O'Connor, and thank Scott for being willing to share so openly. I believe this is one of the most important episodes I've ever recorded. If you are feeling the resonance, then listen on.Please do reach out if this brings up challenging emotions for you! You are not alone.Connect more with Scott Carney:His book The Enlightenment Trap (affiliate link) - https://geni.us/0VEIHis website, where you can find his other books, and sign up to his newsletter: https://scottcarney.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgcarneyLinks and Things:affiliate links where possibleThe Red Market by Scott CarneyCharming Cadavers by Liz WilsonThe Hero's Journey by Joseph CampbellPeople: Wim HofThe Iceman cometh - article first written in Playboy by Scott CarneyThe Wedge by Scott Carney"Consciousness is the thing that makes the indefinite, definite" - Scott CarneyBecome a member on Patreon for bonuses, shoutouts, and more:This is a community-supported creation. Plus, patrons get goodies :).

Hey, it's Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I'm going to share a couple of stories about positive thinking from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness. This book is the synthesis of what I've learned in 14 years of editing and reading tens of thousands of Chicken Soup for the Soul stories—stories that talk about what worked and what didn't work in people's lives. Some of the stories share such simple easy-to-implement life-changing advice. And today I'm going to tell you two of those stories, ones about how pursuing your passion, even if unconventional, can lead to a much happier life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever noticed how many times it is the little things in life that get you down? You can drive your car off a cliff, someone kidnaps your mother-in-law, or your mortgage is foreclosed on, and these things do not bother you quite as much as the little things such as running out of razor blades, your phone battery dying, or not being able to get your computer to work properly. I think we would all agree that the little things in life often irritate us far more than the major disasters. Solomon revealed a great truth when he said it is the little foxes that spoil the vines.

Suzanne Shams joins us today to share her wisdom about how we as attorneys can find true happiness as attorneys. We chat about these important topics: -How to overcome physical and mental health challenges -The importance of accepting ourselves and managing the temptation to always doubt ourselves -Stopping the energy leaks so we can be more productive -Finding fulfillment through service -Remembering we are not alone -The gift of self-compassion -Finding our true place in our profession that is in alignment with our values Suzanne has been an attorney, a professor and now is The Counsel's Coach. She helps stressed and exhausted attorneys become more productive happy and fulfilled. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or at suzanne.shams@gmail.com.

How should you measure success? When you have so many successful people, entrepreneurs, celebrities, actors, politicians who are miserable - what is success really? I have achieved more success than I ever thought would be possible for someone like me. And I still find myself discontent, frustrated, irritated, disappointed, and at worst, miserable. What is wrong with people like me and other ”successful people” that we look up to? Maybe you felt this yourself. Maybe you reached a goal that you thought would satisfy you and it didn't, and you wonder why.Maybe you haven't struggled with this and you're at the very beginning of your journey and you cannot wait to reach some goal of success because you know it's gonna fulfill you. And you're wondering, wait, am I missing something? Is there something I should be looking out for, before I chase my dreams? Today's episode's gonna help you out as we break down why successful people are so miserable so often, and how you can avoid that trap. Let's dive into a real practical way to look at your success and make sure that you are measuring your success in the right way so that you'll be satisfied, you'll be happy, and you'll be able to continue to do great things in the world. In this episode you'll learn: What the best definition of success actually is How I've struggled with being satisfied with success, and what became the turning point for me Why it is critical to measure your success if you hope to build a business that thrives and survives Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Not only is she Europe's number one self mastering mentor and mindset trainer, she's also an international best selling author, speaker, and creator of The Mahima Mindset. The one and only Mahima is here today to discuss her journey from unfulfilled to living as her most authentic self. After a traumatic childhood in Zimbabwe, Mahima found herself married and living in Switzerland. She had a lifestyle many only dreamed of, but she still wasn't happy. After a short lived marriage, Mahima found herself in India experiencing a transformation.   It all became clear to Mahima that we're all just running programs we were taught in childhood, usually not even conscious of it. If we can wade through the noise and uncover our true self, we'll reap great rewards. When we're truly connected to our soul, we feel unconditional love, safety, and focus. Mahima was blown away by this basic essence of happiness and knew she needed to share it with others. She hasn't looked back since.    What You'll Learn: What the first step to discovering your true self is. How to tap into your true potential. Why a tribe is just as important as a teacher. How to develop an attitude of gratitude.   Favorite Quote: “I began to understand there is more to me than my conditioned mind.” -Mahima   How to Get Connected: Mahima Mindset Facebook _____________________________________________________________ Find Nikki on her Website here, or Email her at nikki@prissynikki.com You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, & LinkedIn.  The Life Amplified Podcast is not your rainbows and butterflies show. These are REAL life accounts, no-nonsense advice, and politically incorrect talk that will make you laugh and maybe even pull at your heartstrings at times. Enjoyed the episode? Hop over to Apple Podcasts for more! Like and share to help spread the word. We appreciate your support—and we hope to return the favor: Leave a review to let us know what you want to hear from Nikki next. 

3:04:51 – Frank in NJ, plus the Other Side. Topics include: Card table spaceship, reality show, the machine, see into that other city, higher dimensional geometry, 1985 video, mystery 124, psychic phenomena, hoodie deliveries, Casa de Montecristo, Acid Nasty cigar, Reagan dream, Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969), Anthony Newly […]

3:04:51 – Frank in NJ, plus the Other Side. Topics include: Card table spaceship, reality show, the machine, see into that other city, higher dimensional geometry, 1985 video, mystery 124, psychic phenomena, hoodie deliveries, Casa de Montecristo, Acid Nasty cigar, Reagan dream, Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969), Anthony Newly […]

There is one truth I believe holds true for all entrepreneurs, the reality of achieving your goal, no matter how much effort it takes to reach it, will not make you happy. Michael Jordan said, “Winning isn't always championships.” Attaching emotional success to achievement or believing that achieving your goals is the path to happiness is what leads to unhappiness. Unfortunately, we tend to attach our happiness as business leaders to the results we achieve. We tell ourselves things phrases like: “Once I get the funding, I'll be happy.” “After I land that client, I'll be happy.” “Once I make my first million dollars, I'll be happy.” Guess what never comes, even if you achieve those goals? Your happiness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've all seen those quotes that say: “Happiness Is…” They've been around for decades, from the old Peanuts cartoons to quotes on social media. Happiness is holding a warm puppy. Happiness is a long walk with a friend. Happiness is smelling fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. No doubt you could fill in your own with many things. They are all wonderful, but they are circumstantial. They don't get to the root of finding true happiness.  In this episode, we wanted to know what that might look like, so we invited someone who could offer some simple techniques that will not only help us explore finding it but allow us to dive into what may be holding us back from grasping contentment. Kerry Rasenberger (Kerry Life Coach) is one of our favorite people! Along with her clients, she deals out wisdom to over ninety-thousand followers on Instagram.  We've also had her on the podcast previously in an enlightening episode called “Great Relationships Start With the One You Have With Yourself”.  A certified life coach who reinvented herself and started her own business in her 50's, Kerry has learned a thing or two about discovering happiness for herself and for those she coaches. In this episode, she focuses on things like self-care, relationships that have healthy boundaries, and creating an environment in which we can thrive. “Self-care is health care,” she says. We need to be careful not to confuse prioritizing taking care of ourselves and our happiness with selfishness. When we show up as our best selves we are better equipped to be there for others as well. Truth: this is not a magic cure-all for contentment.  Many times, things need to be dealt with on a much deeper level. It is, however, a very eye-opening look at what may be holding you back from finding your joy. Grab your headphones, hit play and take some time to reflect. The more honest you can be with yourself as you listen, the better.   For more info on IMAGINE YOURSELF and Lanee Blaise and Sandy Kovach or to contact us,  visit imagineyourselfpodcast.comJoin the conversation  on our  FACEBOOK, TWITTER or INSTAGRAM pagesKerry InstagramKerry WebsiteTake Kerry's Happy Life Assessment

When you ask anyone what they really want from life, most will say they just want to be happy. But the truth is the majority of people are actually on a path that's leading them away from happiness and they have no idea. In this episode I had the honour of interviewing the incredible Mo Gawdat, and it was such a powerful experience.After a 30 year career in tech and serving as Chief Business Officer at Google [X], Google's 'moonshot factory' of innovation, Mo has made happiness his primary topic of research, diving deeply into literature and conversing on the topic with some of the wisest people in the world. In 2014, motivated by the tragic loss of his son, Ali, Mo began pouring his findings into his international bestselling book, Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy. His mission to help one billion people become happier, #OneBillionHappy, is his moonshot attempt to honor Ali by spreading the message that happiness can be learned and shared to one billion people.Mo has very kindly offered the first 100 hundred of my listeners the opportunity to have 2 months access to his membership for free. It's an incredible space and I know you will love it. You can claim your free membership here:https://www.unstressable.com/Use Promo Code: MADEFORMOREFollow Mo:Website: https://www.mogawdat.com/IG: https://www.instagram.com/mo_gawdat/?hl=enJoin The Sisterhood https://carly-meyers-c643.mykajabi.com/sisterhoodTRY KAJABI  FREE FOR 30 DAYShttps://www.carlymeyers.com/kajabiJoin 'The Ambitious Female Entrepreneur Club' FB Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/powerfulwomeninbusiness/Follow me on Instagram: @girlsbuildingempires @carlymeyerslifeAnd, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating and a review. Thank you so much! Love alwaysCarly xx

Pastor Amer Olson teaches at Olive Tree Congregation in Prospect Heights, IL.

Pastor Amer Olson teaches at Olive Tree Congregation in Prospect Heights, IL.

My guest, Fernando Velez, shares how painful being in the closet and unable to be himself was for him.  He describes how hard he tried to get the love and validation, that he needed, from others... friends and partners.  It never worked out that way.  He experienced constant rejection until he realized that he couldn't expect acceptance or love from others, unless he was willing to give it to himself first.  Fernando is obviously an old soul, who shares much wisdom.  If you struggle with accepting and loving yourself, this episode is for you.Fernando's ProfileBe a GuestFollow Us on FacebookPower Moments With MaddoxAll Maddox's Links

wE MP3 October 2022 - 02

So excited that Brittany Leonard joins The Free Lawyer today. Brittany is a dynamite young attorney who has created a life in the legal profession that is fulfilling and satisfying. She is passionate about lifting the legal profession and helping other lawyers find a life they truly love. We discuss: -How she found true joy and satisfaction in her legal career -The biggest problems lawyers are facing today -The importance of reflection and evaluation in choosing what you really want in your life. -Her top 5 tips for young lawyers today -The importance of wellness and self-care in a stressful profession Brittany is General Counsel at Civix where she manages a multinational company and its subsidiaries. Her passion is seeing businesses thrive and helping facilitate those successes. She provides legal advice and strategic leadership on all things related to the company from tech deployment, employment relations to data privacy and M&A transactions and everything in between. You can follow her journey on LinkedIn where she was recently nominated a top 35 Legal Influencer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-leonard-b3a7b2a4/ Are any of you suffering from burnout and a difficulty in setting boundaries? If so, obtain my free tips on how to set boundaries and avoid burnout here: https://www.garymiles.net/burnout

Dr. John Bruchalski shares his pro-life conversion and J. Budziszewski has tips on how to find true happiness. What did a recent religious conference say about God's will for religious pluralism? Matthew Bunson fills us in and Archbishop Samuel Aquila shares his correspdondence with the German synod.

Ok folks, once more into that vast wasteland that is ONLINE DATING for Senior Citizens. It kinda reminds me of an old movie entitled: Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?" The outlook is bleak! (yeah, don't look it up...you don't want to see it.But listen to this episode, it's kinda funny!Enjoy!Support the show

Hey, it's Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I'm going to share a couple of stories about positive thinking from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness. This book is the synthesis of what I've learned in 14 years of editing and reading tens of thousands of Chicken Soup for the Soul stories—stories that talk about what worked and what didn't work in people's lives. Some of the stories share such simple easy-to-implement life-changing advice. And today I'm going to tell you two of those stories, ones about how pursuing your passion, even if unconventional, can lead to a much happier life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jay Chodagam is a corporate trainer, TEDx speaker, producer of SPIRIT Summit conference and host for the Wise Leader retreats.After training as a monk for 18 years and working as an engineer in Silicon Valley for 12 years, he is being called to integrate ancient wisdom with modern science for resilient, sustainable and creative workplaces.To learn more about Jay, visit https://www.findwith.inAs next steps, come attend our next Sunday morning Breathwork journey! Use promo code (HEAL2022) to get your first class complete free of cost, visit https://mysevenchakras.com/dropinDo me a small favor and share this episode with a friend. Only if you enjoyed listening ofcourse :)To inquire about 1:1 Breathwork activations to release trauma, connect with your vision or let go of the past, send me an email with 1:1 Breathwork in the subject line. For feedback, inquiries or just connecting, send me a direct email to aj@mysevenchakras.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/my-seven-chakras-with-aj/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

What do the world's happiest people do? You're about to find out, thanks to these throwback interviews with Dan Buettner and Chris Guillebeau. You'll learn how to add more happiness to your life no matter where you live or what you do.

Alara is a Quantum Healer, Connector to Spirit, Ascension Assistant, Transformation Consultant, Catalyst for Change and Soul Plan Accelerator. She is a speaker, author, intuitive healer, coach, host of The Alara Canfield Show – “Awaken To Happiness Now” Free Gift: Two audio tracks, Trust, and Boost Your Light – Ignite Your Life Click here to learn about Embodied Ascension Training and Conscious Life Creation with Waxela Sananda  https://waxelasananda.com/ascension-training/ Join Waxela's email list for Ascension conversations, event invites, and more: https://waxelasananda.com/join/  https://www.instagram.com/pinealactivationlight/  

You are NOT going to want to miss out on this incredible episode today!Stacy Fayling is a wife, mom, nurse, and coach. She has used her past experiences, both amazing and dark, to create a business to help women in their 30's & 40's dig deeper within themselves to help them get unstuck in their life by awakening the past, letting go of all the self-doubt, and rising up to find true happiness and fulfillment for THEM! Through her podcast and coaching biz “She Wakes Up”, Stacy confronts the uncomfortable pieces of her past like teen pregnancy, escaping an abusive relationship, struggling as a single mom, and provides a judgment-free space for others to do the same. Through this work, women are able to find the freedom and clarity they need to FINALLY wake up in a brighter place! Buckle up and prepare your heart for this one… WAYS TO CONNECT WITH  STACY ~- INSTAGRAM: ​​@stacyfayling  - Email: stacy@shewakesup.com - She Wakes Up podcast

What would you do if you found God in the garbage? Is our ignorance around how happiness work, causing us to be unhealthy? Stay tuned, as a Harvard educated author, Bracha Goetz makes the complex topics of heaven, gratitude, and health as simple as reading a Children's book. If you are struggling with food addiction, appreciating what you have, or just need a spiritual boost. You don't want to miss this!All links mentioned in the podcast are below:Subscribe and Follow This Podcast on your favorite platform: pod.link/1546970147Subscribe to our FREE Finance Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hnxGcDBracha Goetz is the Harvard-educated author of 40 books that help children's souls shine and a candid memoir for adults. Her books can be found here:https://www.goetzbookshop.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/brachagoetzhttps://www.facebook.com/BrachaGoetzBookshttps://www.instagram.com/brachagoetzbookshttps://twitter.com/BrachaGoetz

What would you do if you found God in the garbage? Is our ignorance around how happiness work, causing us to be unhealthy? Stay tuned, as a Harvard educated author, Bracha Goetz makes the complex topics of heaven, gratitude, and health as simple as reading a Children's book. If you are struggling with food addiction, appreciating what you have, or just need a spiritual boost. You don't want to miss this!All links mentioned in the podcast are below:Subscribe and Follow This Podcast on your favorite platform: pod.link/1546970147Subscribe to our FREE Finance Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hnxGcDBracha Goetz is the Harvard-educated author of 40 books that help children's souls shine and a candid memoir for adults. Her books can be found here:https://www.goetzbookshop.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/brachagoetzhttps://www.facebook.com/BrachaGoetzBookshttps://www.instagram.com/brachagoetzbookshttps://twitter.com/BrachaGoetz