I'm proud to announce the release of the last of the New Zealand soundtracks on Moodstreams.com. You might say it's the end of an era, because this officially closes the New Zealand chapter for Moodstreams; all the photos have been published and now all the sounds have been as well. I guess the only way to get more material is to plan another trip! Well worth looking into, in my opinion. One could spend a lifetime there and not see and hear all of its glory. The newest sound recording, Morning on the West Coast, was actually the first one I recorded on my trip. Have I emphasized before how easy it is to record nature sounds in New Zealand? There are no planes flying overhead, no traffic noise once you leave the city, very few people, and the people that are there, mostly tourists actually, aren't up and about at the time that I make recordings, which was usually between 4:30 and 6 AM on this trip. A recordist's dream! Morning on the West Coast was recorded at a camp in a very small coastal community called Charleston. The camp has a small farm attached with some sheep and chickens. The West Coast in this case refers to the region of New Zealand's South Island that is actually quite popular with tourists and is known for its amazing beaches. But wake up at dawn, and all there is to experience in this particular camp is the cacophany of singing birds, and the crowing of roosters as they usher in the morning. As I may have mentioned before, the remarkable thing about the summer dawn sounds in New Zealand is how "structured" they seem to be. Certain species of birds start and end at certain times, like clockwork, and then by 6:15 or so, all activity seems to abruptly cease for the rest of the day. This recording captures a "slice" of that magical time period. The complete 25-minute downloadable MP3 is available on the Moodstreams site for just $5.99. Listen to a sample. And here's the complete product description: Morning on the West Coast (New Zealand) Wake up to the busy chirping of birds on a coastal farm in New Zealand's West Coast region. This recording offers the realistic experience of being immersed in the summer dawn, as sparrows sing to claim their territories, insects buzz across the soundscape, and roosters proclaim the arrival of the first rays of the sun, as distant surf provides a backdrop of white noise. The recording goes from busy in the beginning and middle to sparse at the end, just as it happens in real life as dawn becomes early morning. Perhaps at some point I will compile all three New Zealand sounds into a collection like I did with the Sounds of Spring, or Alaska Rivers.

The first of the soundtracks from the New Zealand recording adventures has been released on moodstreams.com. It's called Shores of Lake Te Anau, and is a simple recording captured down by the water line of New Zealand's famous lake. For folks who like the rhythmic sound of waves, but don't want something as grand as the ocean, this could be the ticket. The MP3 is available for $5.99 USD, and is downloadable directly from the Moodstreams site. Listen to a sample Here's the product description from the web page: On a windy day, waves lap up onto the shore of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake in the South Island of New Zealand. This recording, made right at the water level, contains only the rhythmic sounds of the waves in the foreground and the gentle wind in the background. If you enjoy listening to waves but find the ocean a bit too "big", this could be for you. Use this recording for sleep, relaxation, or meditation. The MP3 version of the soundtrack is about half an hour long, but you may special order a CD-R version of the soundtrack that would be one hour long.

Prepare for Meditation by Releasing Bodily Tension - This podcast, while not part of the Meditation Getaways series of guided meditations, can be seen as a companion to that, or to any exercise in calming the mind. Many people that I've worked with in my hypnosis practice have complained that they can't seem to meditate or do self-hypnosis effectively on certain days, because they're carrying so much tension in their bodies that it distracts them or prevents them from settling their minds. In this podcast, I teach you a technique called progressive neuromuscular relaxation that is designed to relieve that tightness in the body through a series of tension-relaxation movements performed on all the major muscle groups. Since, it does involve tensing of the muscles, I advise you to consult your physician to make sure that this exercise is safe for you. I will guide you from toe to head, as we tense each muscle group tightly and then relax it completely, being mindful of the sensation of relaxation. Each combination of tension and relaxation teaches you what relaxation should feel like in each muscle group, because complete relaxation can best be felt when it is contrasted with complete tension. By tensing a muscle as tightly as you can, you effectively get the tension out of it, so that afterwards, all you can feel is relaxation. As you pay attention to what relaxation really feels like in each movement, you could even "meditate" on this feeling. People notice sensations such as tingling, buzzing, warmth, heaviness, etc. After the entire exercise is complete, your body should be loose, limp, and restful, and you should be able to transition to meditation or self-hypnosis easily, having been completely relieved of your distracting tension. That being said, this exercise can also stand alone as a daily routine to remove the tightness that builds up in your body throughout the day. As you continue to do this exercise daily, your body effectively learns how to be relaxed all the time, so you'll find yourself being much more at ease in everything that you do.

Meditation Getaways - Down the River - This guided meditation is the 8th in the series, and concludes the first series of Meditation Getaways. In the near future, the first series will be re-released as a retail download available from moodstreams.com. The retail download will include a couple of new meditations that have never been released, along with newly re-recorded versions of the other 8 meditations in this series without the news, announcements or promotion of the Moodstreams products or website before and after each meditation. In other words, just the meditations, and no idle chatter from Paul! Much more concise. And the audio quality of the retail download will be higher than the podcasts. Like all Moodstreams digital downloads, they will be encoded in the highest bitrate MP3 format for superior audio quality. But enough news... In this meditation, we imagine taking a canoe trip down a river in the cool, crisp, and pristine Northern wilderness. Our boat starts at the foot of a majestic waterfall, and floats downstream, wandering through a system of connected ponds and lakes, and finally emerging in a sheltered bay. As we journey down, we go deeper into our own minds, creating unprecedented levels of detail and achieving profound relaxation. We create images of wildlife and incredible landscapes, and find peace and healing in the uncorrupted wilderness. This guided meditation features segments from the "Alaska Rivers" album of nature sounds from Moodstreams.

Meditation Getaways - Island Voyage - We start by relaxing on a tropical beach created entirely in the imagination, paying attention to the various sights, sounds, and textures around us. We spot a giant piece of driftwood from an ancient tree further down the beach, and we walk over to investigate. We climb on the driftwood log to sit a while, but then the tide comes in and soon the log begins to drift away. Our sense of adventure kicks in, as we decide to hang on for the ride! The driftwood log becomes our raft, as it takes us out to sea and to an offshore island. Not a meditation for those who get seasick! This guided meditation features the Moodstreams soundtrack "SoCal Beach" as background sound.

Meditation Getaways - Summer Twilight - Our subconscious mind takes us on a trip to a grassy meadow on a Summer afternoon, with crickets chirping and other insects buzzing about. In the gentle breeze, the tall grass sways back and forth rhythmically like waves on an ocean. As afternoon turns to twilight, and then to evening, the sights and sounds change, and we arrive at a pond surrounded by a glade of trees. In the dark, we are greeted by firefly-like particles of light that behave with incredible purpose and intelligence beyond our own, and they bestow us with the incredible gift of healing. This guided meditation features two soundtracks as background sounds: "Summer Meadow" and "Evening by the Pond".

Meditation Getaways - Rejuvenating Rain - We take a walk on a rainy day, from an open hillside down to a dense forest of majestic trees. The rain cleanses us of all stress and anxiety, and fills us with positivity. The rain becomes stronger as the meditation progresses, but just before it gets too strong, we escape into the sanctity of the forest, shielded from the elements by the dense canopy. The storm eventually clears, and the sun pokes through the spaces in the canopy, treating us to a spectacular light show. This guided meditation features the soundtrack "Spring Rainstorm" as a background sound.

Meditation Getaways - Climbing the Mountain - We journey into the less visited parts of our subconscious minds. There, we find a solitary mountain rising up from a plain that stretches to infinity in all directions. Water trickles down the mountain in tiny streams, creating a mesmerizing sound that draws us even deeper, into the very core of our subconscious awareness. As we climb the mountain, we experience healing and renewal. This guided meditation features the soundtrack "Murmuring Creek" as a background sound.

Hello relaxers and meditators! I have unveiled the first of my series of guided meditation free podcasts, which I have called "Meditation Getaways". They are designed to be a fun exercise in using imagination, incorporating visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and even olfactory imagination. Each meditation uses one or more of the available Moodstreams soundtracks as a background sound and to facilitate the imagery. The first episode --Stream and Birds-- uses the "Water Flows Beneath Us" soundtrack as a background, as I guide you on a virtual experience in the wilderness of the Northeastern U.S. We will exercise our mental and spiritual "muscles" to exchange energy with the Earth, and practice utilizing our Sphere of Consciousness. It is a relaxing, immersive, enlightening experience. Thanks for listening, and of course, feedback is always appreciated. Listen