Play is a tool you can use to find and free yourself, see others more fully and enjoy this one precious life, especially during the most challenging of times. Today I’m sharing some of the ways play has impacted my life with the hope you might find some inspiration for your own forms of play. I came into the world the 5th child, 7th in my family and play, from the start, was a big part of life.  Competitive Monopoly (my brother Andrew was always the banker), chess, backgammon…ping pong in … [Read more...]

Kate

The clock reads 10:09 pm.  I’m drowning in assessments for the upcoming week.  In a haze, I find myself wandering to the living room where my piano awaits me.  With each chord I play, my stress is released.  My soul is renewed as I sing each song.   Music is therapy.  Whether you play the music yourself or you listen to your favorite album, music has a unique ability to completely turn your mood around. In these stressful times, I have found myself at my piano constantly.  It is important to … [Read more...]

Ira Asherman

My wife Sandy and I met in 1975. It did not take us long to realize that despite growing up in two very different parts of New York – Sandy in May Brook and I in Brooklyn - we shared a very similar taste in music. Both growing up and entering adulthood listening to The Platters, Peter Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel and Carole King among many others. Alzheimer’s entered our life in 2012. It took us a while to appreciate that the music of our youth could play a significant role in easing … [Read more...]