Someone asked me once how I’d lead a church, if given the opportunity. First, let me emphasize that it would have to be a choice of that or being pushed off a cliff in order for me to run a church! But then I’d get on board. I told him that weekly services at “my church” would contain three components: ice cream, dancing, and kindness.

He didn’t think I’d taken the question seriously, but I had. In fact, whenever I revisit the idea, I am even more sure that it would be ice cream, and dancing, and kindness.

Of course, nobody is forced into the ice cream, but that is understood already by the “kindness” element.

Imagine walking through the hallowed doors of this special church place, midday (there is not a morning service, that’s another rule since I’m in charge), into a community that is happy to share from personal goodness. There will be no directives as to what is right and wrong in your life, no threats about eternal difficulties if you don’t have your human self together yet, no needing to hide your truths as no one is telling you what those truths should or should not be. And for gadz-sake nobody is telling you about how “it” all works in the cosmos in a way that contradicts every other version of how “it” all works. The Grand Argument of rights and wrongs and viewpoints is set down at the stoop, and inside everyone practices the peace of being nice.

Note: you get to hang onto any beliefs and religions you have outside of this particular kind of service; nobody is taking that away from anyone, either, just to be clear.

During “service” you are expected to be kind to others, and to receive kindness back. Sounds simple but at first it might be hard to remember as you get into conversations and find yourself falling into a little gossip or a random complaint. We all do it! No harm intended! Then suddenly you hear the music, or a person approaches you with a smile and you remember that you are there to give and receive kindness, so you set aside that other thread for the time being. Dance if you want, have a cone, feel free!

Just imagine all of that. When it’s over and you leave, do you think you’d feel a bit more full than when you’d come? Maybe more connected, joyous, and energetic? The world’s problems had not been solved, but a whole lot of you just got added to the picture. If you had a weekly dose of this community and your own place within it, where might such goodness lead you the rest of the time?

The truth is we don’t know the answer because this is not how most people worship, or for that matter spend any concentrated time. We’re too busy being busy and stressed to pull ourselves away from being busy. And stressed. It’s all very distracting. Yet recently more people are in fact recognizing anxiety and stress rather than just letting it drone on throughout their life, and they are reaching for new ways to add some peace instead. We have begun to change the outward picture by starting inward, with ourselves. It’s a beautiful thing to witness, and every little bit counts. 

How does the n.o.w. Tone Therapy System fit my visions here? Very snuggly, as a matter of fact. When the System of two speakers is turned on, for the next (approximately) three minutes some very special Tones play out to the listener. The composition heard will be similar to the last time played, yet it will also be a completely unique arrangement of the Tones—this will be the case every time it’s played, forever. Thus it is impossible to anticipate what’s coming up or get stuck in memory of other listening sessions, which keeps your mind present and fresh to the experience. The Tones play into the environment, adding to the soundscape in which you sit. You might be listening alone or you might be in company, eyes open or closed. You participate by listening with intention through to the fade-out at the end when the system turns itself off.

Altogether it’s pretty easy-peasy! The short play time makes it a breeze to fit into your schedule, enabling you to welcome the experience on a regular basis. So get this:

A session of n.o.w. Tones is kindness itself, delivered right into your life as a break from the barrage of thoughts in your mind and a chance to connect more highly to everything else. During a session, when you get distracted by thoughts—which is really so much gossip and complaining—the Tones are there to pull you back without any judgment and anchor you to another moment of peace and pleasantness.

When it’s over and you go about your day, you might be aware that while all the problems are not solved, there is a little more of you that has been connected to a lot of something nicer. And it came to you just by you showing up!

The n.o.w. Tone Therapy System is designed to add peace, to fill you, to bring you into a place where you can access what lies just beyond all the incessant thinking. It is you being kind to you. And the result? Anyone who is nicer to themselves and more at peace, no matter how infinitesimally, is that much nicer to, and more peaceful for, every person and situation they encounter. You can be sure that eventually it will come back to you through others, too.

Remember Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who? The tiny persons living in their world inside a speck of dust needed to be heard to change their fate, and it took all the voices to finally make enough noise. Please know that your own contribution to the noise of kindness is not only a good idea for you, it’s beneficial to everyone. Let’s start with our own selves and see where it goes.

Then, when we start to turn the corner from stress to connection, from isolation in thoughts to natural kindness in deed, I’ll be there waiting to serve the ice cream and start the dancing. I’ll have a lot to celebrate, having been saved from both a cliff and a job running a pretend church. So I thank both you all, and n.o.w., for that.

With great happiness that YOU exist! –Alene

AND, if you’d like to experience 3 minutes of the n.o.w. Tones for yourself, click right here.

One day in kindergarten, the teacher made popcorn in the room as she settled us down for a nap. We were all on our mats on the floor and she dimmed the lights, promising that if we relaxed we’d have popcorn when it was time to get up. This was really too exciting, and I still recall the sound of the popping and the smell of popcorn and butter filling the darkened room. We were all whispering pretty damn frantically, actually, instead of relaxing. The teacher reminded us to be quiet and rest, and then she said: “You cannot talk and smell at the same time. If you are talking, you won’t be able to smell the popcorn.”

This was a pure revelation!!! I remember immediately trying to sniff and talk, and she was absolutely right—it could not be done. A hush fell over the room as we all sniffed and sniffed with our noses. I don’t remember the popcorn, I’m sure it was delicious and I am a lifelong fan, but I never forgot this amazing new piece of information: just fall silent in order to breathe in and enjoy the lovely smell.

Many years passed. When the n.o.w. Tone Therapy System came into being, we knew that it would seem—and be—easy to use; you turn it on, it plays its special Tones in its special way, it is designed to do the heavy lifting of a trip into mindfulness. But there is something very, very important that the listener must do. The listener must listen.

“Just Listen.”

What might appear to be a quaint tagline to our product is actually a main part of the System’s functionality. If you think about it, the Tone Therapy System requires the attention and intention of its user to complete the circuit of what it is doing. The System requires you.

Let’s take a look inside an average mind, for just a moment. There is probably some music playing on repeat from a song heard on a radio. There is worry about a project that needs to be finished, an errand that should be run, a bill that is past due, a sick child needing to be picked up at school, and a test to be studied for, weight to be lost, an old argument comes up and takes over, anxiety and judgements, and a whole million billion other thoughts are in line waiting to step up and be the brain’s noise that keeps the peace at bay.

Ahh, life inside of a head. It’s a whole lot of yackity yack yack. How in the heck can playing nice sounds compete against that raging river?? This is where you come in. Just listen.

With the System, you play the two speakers at the same time so that they can create their new, unique 3-minute sequence. Turn them on and they compose a full session for you, beginning, middle, and fade out at the end. There are no headphones, no apps, no computer. Maybe the sounds of the environment factor in and can be welcomed.

Just listen.

For three minutes the Tones will play. Do your best to be comfortable, holding the speakers or setting them nearby. Your mind will probably wander to thoughts and distractions and that is perfectly normal. As soon as you notice, when you hit awareness, then: just listen. Over time and with practice your attention will be held for longer, but a few seconds is all you need for mental freedoms that allow true calm to enter. Let’s try it right now, even without the Tones:

PERSONAL EXPERIMENT: Take this moment, wherever you are, and visit with your busy brain—what is going on in there? Can you hear the thoughts, the perpetual chatter? Okay. Now, take a good 10 or more seconds and listen to the room, or the outdoors, the purr of the fridge or the sound of traffic, distant voices, the wind, whatever is within reach of your ears. Really listen, for these few seconds. If your eyes are open, maybe notice the lighting around you, or the feel of the colors nearby.

When you are through, give yourself a high-five for that break! You effectively quieted your mind as your listened. That is just like smelling the popcorn instead of talking!! Just as you cannot talk if you absorb yourself in truly sniffing a scent, you cannot be victim to unconscious thought-noise if you are in the act of truly listening.  

Add to this the tether of n.o.w.’s Tones, created with real instruments and for this purpose only, to exist in the n.o.w. Tone Therapy System. When you listen, the Tones help you experience brainwave entrainment and deep meditation effects in a few short moments, connectivity to calm and inspiration, and a list of good things that is too long for this blog and is growing all the time.

We do not ask you to “just play” the System, we ask you to “just listen.” By doing so, the Tones and you usher a little peace into where there was only a cacophony of invasive, incessant thoughts. It doesn’t have to be more than that! A little peace is the beginning of something new, and it has a way of expanding and reaching beyond the point where it started. It is my belief that n.o.w. helps each of us be one of those starting points.

Thanks for coming along and just reading! Let us now all take a breath, hear it enter our lungs, hear as we exhale. And smile. Thanks for being you and letting me share with you today. XO! –Alene

Click here to try a 3-minute n.o.w. Tone Therapy Session for yourself.