"The Great Bell Chant" Meditation Video and My Fear of Satellite Maps

Omg. Omg. Omg.

I was getting really anxious this Sunday about not being able to finish a research paper for grad school on time because there was a nationwide blackout (power outage) the whole weekend and was about to go to National Bookstore to buy a new box of Mongol pencils so I can twist each of them in half and be calmed by the sound of cracking wood when I saw on Facebook (yes, I do my research on Facebook so don't ask another question) this video posted by my friend Eduard, who sometimes suffers from PMS despite being a boy. He posted that this video that he said calmed him down after being really worried and stressed out about something.

So I checked it out and found that several minutes into the video there are some Google Earth-looking shots of winding rivers and blue oceans and canyons and mountains. These scenes didn't exactly calm me down and instead scared the hell out of me because I have this really weird fear of satellite maps which went back to the era of 28-volume encyclopedias whose geography pages I would skip. This fear goes way back and although it's not really a problem for me, I looked it up and found out that there actually are a lot of people with the same affliction. It's just enlightening to learn that I'm not alone in what I fear.

So anyway, what I did was I didn't watch the video. I just listened to the sound of the Great Bell and the foreign language chanting/ music, and the *Dalai Lama's guiding voice that tells you to listen to the bell, which was really soothing if you were in the right mindset and if you're not slouching in your chair and checking your Facebook news feed.

I think the best way to listen to it is through headphones, with your eyes closed and your legs in the lotus position, and your back straightened, something like this:

(click image for an Omsome bigger version)

Actually I'm not sure if that is what you call a lotus position as I'm not a yoga freak and the nearest thing that I've ever done and will probably ever do for exercise is jogging once a week, and that's it. You can also try to stand and assume the Karate Kid poster position while listening to the audio.

If you're like me and a bunch of others who are deathly afraid of satellite maps and of images of vastness and nothingness, make sure you that you absolutely do NOT look at the video. Or maybe you can, with eyes squinted, ready to be shut tight when you see those shots of out-of-worldly stretches of desert or mountains or oceans. Just thinking about them makes me shudder. Seriously.

When you're done watching and/or listening to the video, do drop me a comment about your experience, okay? Please do not post any links of scary maps as I will unleash missiles of Mongol pencils into you if you do so. Thank you.

*Not really sure if it was the Dalai Lama. There's a 50-50 chance that it was Morgan Freeman with a Tibetan/Nepalese/Chinese mixed accent.

Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" - Words and Read-Along Video

Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" has been a classic gift for children and even adults who are entering a new phase in their lives, such as graduating, ever since it was published in 1990, but I've only just encountered the words recently. It has now become one of my go-to books for inspiration.

I found this video from Youtube and you can play it and listen to it as you read the words to Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" This version here isn't really of great quality, but the creator has a better quality version which you can download here. I already did, and I'm saving it for sharing with my students!

Here are the words:

"Oh, The Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!

Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course, 
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! 

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don' t
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself 
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek, 
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course, 
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!


So there you go. When my nieces graduate in elementary (one is in Grade 1 now, the other is already in Grade 5), I'll probably give them this book. But it's kinda cliche don't you think? What other gifts you think would be great?

*"Oh, the Places You'll Go!" is a book written and illustrated by children's author Dr. Seuss. It was first published by Random House on January 22, 1990, making it his last book published before his death. Wikipedia