T'is Better To Give Than Receive: December 2007 Archives

It's impossible to provide a definitive top 10 reading list, but these are the books, in no particular order, that inspired The Daily Mantra's writers over the past year.

• A History of Last Night's Dream by Roger Kamenetz
  Everyone from the biblical Joseph to Sigmund Freud needs to chillax more and think less about their dreams. At least, that's what author Kamenetz learned from his work with dream shamans. (Click HERE for Daily Mantra review)
  
  
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
  This best seller inspired one of our writers to travel and another to get her meditation groove on. Who knows what it may inspire you to do.
  
  
• Dreaming True by Robert Moss
  It's not just science fiction; via dreams, Moss shows readers how to tap into the power of precognition. (Click HERE for Daily Mantra review.) We also loved The Three Only Things, by the same author, which turns readers on to the value of dreams, coincidence and imagination.
  
  
• Secrets of the Monarch by Allison DuBois
  The real life Medium who served as the inspiration behind Patricia Arquette's TV character uses life lessons culled from her extensive conversations with the dead to encourage her readers to live life to the max. (Click HERE for Daily Mantra review.)
  
  
• Big History by Cynthia Stokes Brown
  From the big bang and the formation of matter to the rise of agriculture and today's developed cultures in a mere 248 pages. After reading this book you'll come to the realization that Brown's holistic approach to humanity, politics, history and geography is the only way to tackle such big subjects.
  
  
• The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong
  How a former nun and all round brilliant Brit became one of the foremost secular writers on religion: a beautiful book. (Click HERE for Daily Mantra review.)
  
  
• UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
  Someone once said "the truth shall set you free." During the research for this book, Kinnamen held up a mirror to organized religion. The reflection was not flattering. By laying out the unfiltered facts, Kinnemen underscores the need for progressive change, and points us towards the core truths we should be living, embodying, and celebrating. (Click HERE for the Daily Mantra's interview with the author.)
  
  
• The Kundalini Experience by Lee Sanella
  A book with a spine: the seminal tome explaining the experience of awakened Kundalini to the West. (Click HERE for Daily Mantra review.)
  
  
• A Voluptuous God by Robert V. Thompson
  Don't let the whole crucifixion thing fool you; the Christian God offers a good time. Just ask the Baptist minister who authored this book. (Click HERE for Daily Mantra review.)
  
  
• The Elements Of Organic Gardening by HRH The Prince of Wales
  Price Charles, who was born the same year as fellow environmentalist Al Gore, and is greatly respected by him, talks dirty, organically speaking. Whether you're a royalist or a republican, whether you have an acre or a plant pot to play with, this holistic approach to gardening, and ultimately life, makes for an invigorating philosophical read. (Click HERE for Daily Mantra review.)
  
  And finally, with full disclosure that this is by one of our own.....
  
  
• Echoes Across Time by Daily Mantra contributor Malayna Dawn
  For reincarnation buffs, dreamy Pisces and loyal Daily Mantra readers, a "spiritual adventure" and "feminist fairytale" that's right up our alley and is likely to resonate deeply with readers attuned to past-lives, dreaming or cross-cultural experience.
  

Contributors: Lael, Marisa, Leigh and Nicole


You might also like to check out our Top 10 DVDs and Top 10 Essential Listening List.

Short on time but still want to give something worthwhile? Why not give an insta-charity gift card from Tisbest.org. The cute and colorful cards are delivered by email, and start at just $10. You can also include a personal message with your gift card. What's great about TisBest is that the recipient chooses the ultimate destination for your donation (which also makes this a great gift for those you don't know well). The organization works with a slew of charities, from Action Against Hunger and the African Wildlife Foundation to UNICEF and the Young Women's Leadership Foundation.

All proceeds go to charity minus a $3.95 transaction fee (hence this is more economical for larger donations) and a 3% credit card processing fee, and 100% of the purchase price is tax deductible (which is important with tax season approaching). The gift card must be "spent" within three years of purchase, but at TisBest unlike Best Buy, all unredeemed funds go to charity rather than cooperate coffers, which is an important consideration since it's estimated that more than 10% of gift cards go unspent.

Music to inspire, create and make love to, these albums have been in heavy rotation in the Daily Mantra's life this year.

• 1 Giant Leap / 1 Giant Leap
  After receiving numerous, and quite justified, complaints about missing the 1 Giant Leap documentary off our DVD list, we’re making sure the accompanying soundtrack album is at the top on this one. The multi-media, audio/visual travelogue project features Baaba Maal, Robbie Williams, Michael Stipe (click HERE for music video), Michael Franti and Neneh Cherry, to name but a few, and packs more of the world than you ever thought possible onto one, very beautiful album.
  
  
• An Ancient Muse / Loreena McKennitt
  After the unexpected death of her fiancé in 1998, Canadian singer and harpist Loreena McKennitt withdrew from the limelight. A reflection on the Celtic singer’s extensive travels in the intervening years, Ancient Muse marked a highly anticipated return from her self-imposed exile and a venture into more wordly sounds.
  
  
• Colour The Small One / Sia
  The Daily Mantra has a preview of copy of Sia's excellent new album, Some People Have Real Problems, which is set for release on Jan 8th 2008, but for now fans of the bluesy, sometimes Zero 7 songstress will have to make do with Color The Small One, which rose to prominence after the breathtaking track "Breathe" was chosen as the soundtrack to Six Feet Under's long drive into the sunset.
  
  
• Conjure One / Conjure One
  Woefully ignored when it was released, the self-titled debut from Conjure One (aka B.C. born ex-Frontline Assembly member Rhys Fulber) features one of the most stunning vocal performance ever from Sinéad O' Connor on the impassioned “Tears From The Moon.” The follow up album, Extraordinary Ways, is also well worth a spin.
  
  
• Ultimate Kylie / Kylie Minogue
  Since Kylie Minogue's post-cancer comeback album X has yet to be released here in the U.S., check out this double CD hits collection which boasts everything from the highly infectious worldwide smash "Cant' Get You Out Of My Head" to the lesser known, but equally worthy, "Where The Wild Roses Grow," an unexpected, yet delightful, collaboration with Nick Cave. The soundtrack of a survivor.
  
  
• The Mating Game / Bitter Sweet
  You may not have heard of the band, but you'll have heard their super-sexy, laid-back, lush grooves promoting everything from ABC's Samantha Who to Victoria Secret's undies and Korbel's bubbles. Sex sells, and this is nothing short of aural Viagra.
  
  
• Alright Still / Lilly Allen
  Like the song says, "it makes me smile, makes me smile." Let's just hope she avoids the tabloid attention-grabbing pitfalls of her position and gets back to the music in 2008. The U.S. has Britney and the U.K. has Amy as their uncrowned drama queens, and neither country needs another. Allen should just stick to making us "Smile" with her bittersweet, and very funny songs.
  
  
• Rock Paper Scissors / Michael Brook
  The third Canadian to make our list, producer and musician Michael Brook is not only famous for inventing the infinite guitar used by U2's The Edge, but also for composing the score for the Al Gore documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Rock Paper Scissors, Brook's most recent solo album, is a cerebral ambient soundtrack for life.
  
  
• Live At Grand Performances / Dakah Hip-Hop Orchestra
  LA's Dakah Hip-Hop Orchestra have picked up the baton and brushed off Parliament's Funkadelic classic Vietnam-era peace anthem "Come In Out Of The Rain," making it more relevant than ever. "When will the people start getting together, learning to live, and love one another..."
  
  
• Sounds Eclectic: The Covers Project / Various
  Radio-freedom fighters KCRW raid their audio vaults, bringing together a collection of classic covers recorded live in their Santa Monica basement Morning Becomes Eclectic studios. Sia makes The Pretender's "I Go To Sleep" her own, K.D. Lang comes over all spiritual with "Hallelujah," and The Magic Numbers do something completely 'out there' with their cover of Beyonce's hit song "Crazy In Love."
  

Take the weight off a stressed friend or loved ones shoulders by providing them with access to a personal assistant whenever they need it. You'll be amazed at how economical it can be. Web based concierge company Ask Sunday has a team of personal assistants that are accessible online and by phone 24 /7. The rules are simple: each request can take no longer than 30 minutes, and must be something that can be accomplished by phone or online. They can make appointments, reservations and travel arrangements, book theater tickets, send gifts and flowers, give directions and do all kinds of research. They'll even wait on hold for tech support or a customer service representative, and patch you in when they've reached a human being. Membership, either for yourself or as a gift, starts at just $29 a month and provides 30 requests a month, with additional requests costing just $2 each. Gift Memberships can be activated at any time within 12 months of the date of receipt.

This is such a hectic time of year that we could all use a voucher for some pampering and relaxation. SpaFinder.com makes the gift of such indulgence easy, offering gift certificates starting at $50 that are accepted at over 4,000 locations worldwide. What's more, they can be bundled with goodies such as an elegant "Reflect" melanoma awareness bracelet (for an additional $4.95), a cosmetic purse ($10), a box of Harry & David chocolates ($15), or a super-Zen Japanese candle and rock garden ($17) to make your present extra-special. As a bonus for late shoppers, Spafinder will also send an elegant e-card so you can let the recipient know your gift is on its way. Spafinder gift cards can be ordered online or by calling 866-546-0610.

Landfills were made for these three choice gift ideas (well someone's got to keep them in business).

Freudian Slippers (24.95)

Courtesy of The Unemployed Philosophers' Guild, these make the perfect Christmas gift for f#%k-ups everywhere. Why settle for a few minutes in a psychiatrist's couch when you can spend the rest of your life walking in Sigmund Freud's shoes for a fraction of the price!

Customer review: "It's easier to put on slippers than carpet the world."

Mankini ($18.99)

This exercise apparel will give the man in your life a unique sense of freedom while swimming or doing yoga. Made from 100% lime-green spandex, that'll be around on this earth long after he's gone (no matter how much yoga he does), these official Borat mankini thongs make a big statement, and come in an easy-to-buy 'one size fits all.'

Customer review: "Excellent fit and it sure is eye-catching. I wore this while teaching a lifeguard pool safety course at the park district and had a blast. Be careful with tan lines on this one."

Big Ox Canned Oxygen ($9.99 for a 3.5 gram can)

Help a friend stockpile some of the world's natural resources, while wasting yet more, with Big Ox's canned oxygen. It comes in flavors such a Citrus Blast, Mountain Mint, Polar Rush, and Tropical Breeze, so you can smell the great outdoors without bothering to get out in it.

Customer review: "Hey I tried this stuff from a convention in St.Louis and was skeptic... Was I wrong! It actually works, I can't explain it. It doesn't seem that oxygen in a can would be much better than what we breathe, but I could breathe unbelievable in my race and my recovery time was much quicker.

The good intentions of our previous gift suggestions may make the soul feel warm and fuzzy, but the body might need something a little more material to keep the winter chills out. Send the gift of comfort and joy with PajamaGram’s delightful gift sets. They have a large range of cute sleepware for under $50, such as the 100% cotton ‘Christmas Chaos’ PJs pictured here, which cost just $39.95.

All womens' pajamas come packaged in a stylish periwinkle organza hatbox, and come with a “Do Not Disturb” sign, a lavender-scented sachet, and a personalized gift card. PajamaGram, a sister company to the popular Vermont Teddy Bear Company, also deliver a satisfaction promise with their products, so gifts can easily be returned or exchanged. Order online by 2 p.m. EST on Saturday, December 22nd for guaranteed delivery by Christmas.

Buy them for a friend or rent them for yourself, either way these DVDs are guaranteed to entertain, inform and enlighten.

• An Inconvenient Truth
  You can't argue with the Nobel committee's good taste.
  
  
• Who Killed the Electric Car?
  More joyously ironic to watch now Toyota has sold it's millionth hybrid, and GM has been forced to rejoin the green wagon.
  
  
• The Secret
  If Oprah's powers of attraction do the same for Obama as they did for this film, we'll see our first black president come 2008 (as long as all the votes are counted this time around). Opinion polls say they're not working so well. Perhaps she should dust up by watching this movie again.
  
  
• The Fog of War
  The point of history is that you learn from the mistakes of the past. The problem is you need leaders who paid attention during their history lessons.
  
  
• Sicko
  Skip the first 10 minutes, which are too grim for words, and enjoy the pleasure and pain of the remainder of Moore's ode to national healthcare.
  
  
• Idiocracy
  A smart, frightening, funny, and frighteningly funny look at our coke-swilling, burger-munching, Fox "news" watching, dumbass leader-following future.
  
  
• The Blue Planet - Seas of Life
  When the BBC showed the first episode of this beautifully shot documentary series in the U.K. a nation was converted to the cause of ocean conservation overnight.
  
  
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  Don't Panic. Those looking for the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything, need look no further.
  
  
• Rome - The Complete First Season
  All the intrigue of Dynasty but with togas instead of shoulder pads, and more sex (the Romans knew a thing or two about how to do decent sex scenes). A BBC/HBO gem that reminds us that great empires come and go.
  
  
• Gattaca
  The right to privacy is something worth fighting for. Watch it and you'll get the terrifying implications of what's happening now.
  

Gifts From Causes offer the perfect presents for avid Facebookers with too much worldly stuff. The program allows you to buy a virtual gift icon, which the recipient can proudly display on their Facebook profile, and make a charitable donation to a cool cause. All proceeds (minus a credit card transaction fee) will go to your chosen non-profit.

A $10 soccer ball icon sends funds to love.futbol, a non-profit that makes soccer fields for children in impoverished communities worldwide, and is the perfect gift for a soccer-mad Facebooker. A $15 super-cute teddy bear icon provides a real life cuddly companion to comfort a sick child at the Children's National Medical Center. $20 buys a flock of chicks to help a family in the developing world via the Heifer Project. A $50 virtual puppy will pay for the Humane Society to rescue a dog, and $200 will buy an OLPC laptop computer to educate a child in the developing world.

The Daily Mantra has caught the Facebook bug, so buddy up to us by clicking HERE.

Carbon offsetting is the environmental equivalent of going to confessional. Obviously it's much better not to have sinned in the first place, but, if you do, a few Hail Mary's can certainly help atone for your misdeeds, taking the weight of the sin off your soul.

Terra Pass offsets the damage of your CO2-squandering misdemeanors, by funding planet-positive projects (such as wind farms) on your behalf. Their eco credentials are regularly audited by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions, so you know your green guilt money is in goods hands.

You can give the gift of a guilt-free 2008 with Terra Pass' themed gift certificates. Their annual Road TerraPass promises a year of carbon balanced driving. Prices start from $29.95 to offset low mileage hybrid drivers, to $79.95 for high mileage drivers of large cars or trucks. Other options include the Flight Offset pass (ranging from $9.95 for a "puddle jumper" to $1,749.95 for the serious "aviator") and the Home Energy pass (ranging from $29.94 for a small home to $139.72 for a mansion dweller).

Take advantage of the season to encourage your friends and loved ones to get fit or take up that hobby they've always talked about. You'll find many local gyms, and dance or yoga studios have special holiday gift membership programs, but if you're stumped as to where to start looking, The Daily Mantra has a few suggestions:

Yogaworks, which have studios in Los Angeles, New York and Orange County, offer gift cards that can be exchanged for classes or goodies from their store, or a combination of the two. Members of the super hip Equinox gyms can buy one-month gift memberships starting at $135.00 to get non-members into the gym thing. More utilitarian than the luxury Equinox clubs, Gold's Gym are offering three-month gift memberships for just $99, and have locations in 40 states.

Venturing further out of the box, Great American Days offer a wide range of activities at locations nationwide. Their experience voucher scheme is an excellent way to introduce someone to a new hobby or sport. You can preselect an activity from an extensive list which includes: paint balling (from $21), mountain biking (from $29), horseback riding (from $60), scuba diving, whitewater rafting (from $58), kayaking (from $85), rock climbing (from $69), golfing (from $67), surfing (from $55), and stock car racing (from $60), to name but a few. Or give a voucher for a preset value and let your giftee decide what they'd like to try out. For those that are less active, they also offer vouchers for more sedate activities such as bowling (form $34), sushi making lessons (from $80) and perfume workshops (from $40).

Whether the recipient is 6 or 60, a chance to get out of a rut, get fit, and/or learn a new sport or skill is truly a priceless gift.

Running after the most popular toy on your child's behalf is one way of demonstrating your love. To teach about a less consumerist approach to the holidays, you might in addition or instead make the toys and other goodies that you give to your kids. A hand made gift can make a deep impression on a young, impressionable mind. It sends a message of engagement, creativity, self-reliance, freedom and the pleasure of trying something new.

If this sort of option appeals to you but you feel your skills or ideas may be deficient, several websites offer suggestions and instructions. Knitting-and.com gives directions on how to make knit and stuffed teddy bears, Sewing.org offers free patterns and instructions on how to sew adorable washcloth puppets, and SouthernMomsOnline.com teaches you how to transform a cardboard box into a dollhouse. These are just a few of many, many options. Chances are, if you want to make it, you will find instructions for doing so online.

A fantastic holiday activity for families is to deputize children as junior elves themselves. They and you can work together making the gifts your family will give. An excellent book, Gifts Kids Can Make, can help you find gift-making projects for kids.

Not so sure your kids will welcome your handicrafts? Prime them for your hand made presents by reading aloud to them from the Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, beginning with Little House in the Big Woods. This justly popular series depicts Wilder's now famous frontier family in which carpentry and sewing, for instance, weren't hobbies but necessary skills and handmade gifts a way of life. Along with a cup of hot cocoa, a nightly chapter read together will create a warm holiday feeling and may well make a warm pair of mittens knitted by Ma or Pa more appealing to even the most digitally savvy 21st century tot.

Gift cards are often a great option, they're cheap to mail and mean your giftee ultimately gets exactly what they want. But have you ever wondered how many go unused? According to research conducted by the TowerGroup, more than 10% of gift cards are never used.

That's a lot of lost purchase power when you consider that according to the Incentive Gift Card Council 87.7% of shoppers will purchase two or more gift cards this season, with the average consumer being expected to spend $122.59 on cards versus $116.51 in 2006. With sales expected to exceed a total of $26 billion in the run up to Christmas alone, that's $2.6 billion worth of cards that are likely to go unredeemed – just from this holiday season!

The smart folks at GiftCardGiver.com have come up with a great idea to release the potential of these unused cards. They match donated cards with appropriate charities. A Home Depot card for example might go to Habitat for Humanity. Other charities that benefit include The American Red Cross, Children's Health Care Hospitals, Big Brother Big Sister and the Salvation Army.

If you have an unwanted or half-used card you'd like to donate, simply write how much is left on your card using a permanent marker and mail to:

GiftCardGiver.com,
554 West Main Street, Bldg A, Suite 200,
Buford, GA 30518

Guerilla cuddler Juan Mann took his Free Hugs campaign from the streets of Australia via YouTube to Oprah Winfrey's TV studios. Along the way a lot of authority types got very worried about liability, bi-laws and red-tape, as like-minded cells of renegade huggers surfaced across the world. (We got our free hugs in Victoria, B.C. - see photo below.) At one point Mann got banned from doing his street corner hug deals in his hometown by city officials who couldn't get their heads around his hugs-not-slugs brand of subversion (see previous There's No Such Thing As A Free Hug story). So on October 22, 2007, Mann decided to move his Free Hugs campaign indoors for a while, offering an open house to anyone who fancied stopping by his humble abode at 30 Bucknell Street in Newtown, New South Wales - and that's when his troubles really began.

In the first 36 days of Mann's planned year-long open house, around 80 guests dropped in for a little hospitality. Some offered knowledge in return, others offered bribes (a TV producer offered cash if Mann would pull out of a scheduled interview with a rival station), and one rather-too-enthusiastic young lady even pinched Mann's bum after cooking him dinner. But on the whole, all seemed to be going well. Many of the conversations with those who stopped by were recorded and put up on the newly launched JuanMann.tv website, as well as on YouTube, where Mann has a burgeoning viewership.

Unfortunately one of Mann's new viewers turned out to be his landlord, who subsequently evicted him, complaining that his activities posed "a security risk to the building" and a potential "nuisance to the neighbors." Consequently, with just 21 days left in his current abode and a mere $9.16 in his pocket, the hapless hugger is on the hunt for a new place he can call hug-central.

Those who are sympathetic to Mann's plight can order a Free Hugs T-shirt from RemoGeneralStore.com/FreeHugs. Between now and Christmas you'll get one shirt free with every shirt ordered. And since 25% of the purchase price will go directly towards a new home that Mann says "you are more than welcome" to visit him in, it really is a great gift. Let's recap: buy one shirt, get one free, and get an open invitation to hang out with Mann at is new pad in NSW - plus all the hugs you can handle – a bargain at just $31.22 (plus shipping).

Energy-saving light bulbs are the perfect gift for the person who has everything, since the kind of person who has everything is probably too busy watching their flat screen TV or playing with their Playstation 3 to take care of such eco-details. This is truly a gift that keeps giving, especially if you offer to fit them too (thus ensuring they don't go straight from the bottom of a Christmas tree to the back of a cupboard).

Buy an energy-saving E26 bulb from Ikea for a mere $3.99 and you'll likely save its recipient $30 in energy costs over its lifetime. Think about it, if you give four bulbs as a gift, which would cost you less than $16, it's really like giving away a whopping $120.

Ikea's energy efficient bulbs use up to 80% less energy than traditional bulbs, and last up to 10 time longer. What's more the company's so cool it gave all of its 9,600 British employees six of the bulbs to take home in an effort to save the planet, and promises to replace them for free when they eventually expire (see Guardian story). According to Energy Star, if every household in America replaced just one bulb with an approved low-energy replacement the emissions saved would be equivalent to more than 800,000 cars - now that is reason to celebrate!