Well, the people at Raynor Contract seem to think so; which is why their new chair created in partner with Karim Rashid is designed to focus on your body’s pressure points. Yep, a Chakra Chair. The Chakra Chair is broken down into seven sections, which aligns with the bodies major pressure points, and although it is only in prototype mode people expect it to eventually see a production line. After all, we bought into a blanket with sleeves, so why not a Chakra Chair?

The thing that’s interesting about this is it takes the rare leap we seldom see in Inner Balance™, into design. Inner Balance is one of those Waves where everything is very person-centric, and it almost always involves the human element. But when we see a pure design piece meant to balance out the body, it’s an interesting treat.

As we’ve evolved our cultural opinions on Yoga and holistic health, we’ve seen the adoption of holistic habits, eastern rituals and beliefs make their way into the office. Yoga during lunch, meditation in the morning, it’s all slowly being adapted to keep the frustration down, and now there’s a chair to help align your being as well. Take that idea and sit on it.

You’ve probably heard the term “Spiritual but not Religious”.  Yep- that’s pretty much it… and it’s seems many Americans are identifying with what this WSJ article has termed Religious Independents:

“According to the most recent American Religious Identification Survey, only 76% of Americans identify as Christians, down from 86% in 1990. But interestingly, while non-Christians are not choosing Islam or Judaism, neither are they choosing atheism. A poll done by Gallup in 2008 found that 15% of Americans – up from 8% in 1999– say they don’t believe in God, but they do believe in a “Higher Power” or “Universal Spirit.” More and more, Americans believe that the world was created by a spiritual being, but they reject the Torah, the Koran and the New Testament as the explanation for it.

These universal-spirit worshipers, or what we call Religious Independents, are defining a secular Third Way in religion. They are like political independents who vote but refuse to affiliate with a party. Consequently, attendance at Christmas mass may be declining, but celebration of Christmas and the holidays remains as high as ever. Paradoxically, overall belief in a God is rising, while participation in organized religion is declining.”

The article goes on to discuss the “substantial implications for American culture.” I have blogged about and captured many Thoughts about the rise of yoga and meditation in western culture and this year saw many “new age-y” principles continue to grow from the hippy fringe into the mainstream.

So as our soccer moms talk about “The Universe providing” over their Starbucks and jocks make jokes about a team’s “bad karma”… I will bid you a very heartfelt blessing for this Holiday Season and you can receive it in the spirit of whatever it is you believe (or don’t believe).

The Inner Balance^™ Wave says: “Without meaning what’s the point” so whether it’s Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Kwanza, Namaste or <insert anything here>… I wish: All the best to you and your family!!

“Many of us keep our most precious memories on a shelf, in a shoebox or in the pages of a diary. We cannot be sure that these items will stand the test of time or that our memories will live on after we are gone. Creating a Heartwill removes this uncertainty. A Heartwill is a secure, online safe box, where you can store letters, photographs, recordings and copies of memorabilia. MyHeartwill is a place where you can create dedicated messages for friends and family which can be scheduled for delivery well into the future, enabling you to speak to the people you love even when your voice is still. It is a way to pass on elements of your emotional life – the beliefs, values and experiences that shaped you as a person – in a place where they can always be found.”

If you think you don’t already have an “online footprint”… ahem… you’re probably wrong.  Anyone who has googled their name knows that there is all sorts of random, potentially, embarrassing info floating out there on our beloved yet fickle web.  For instance, my ex had a fairly unique name and was quite bothered that there was a convicted murderer with the same name all over his results page.

So HeartWill is a way to control exactly what message, pics, video etc. that you want your loved ones to see when they want to know more about you…whether you are far away or ahhhh… dead.

We are all leaving such haphazard splatterings of our personalities through our social media habits.  I know that, I for one, would like to be remembered for a lot more than my last tweet:

“So glad the Hipster Hammer Pants thing didn’t go “Walmart Mainstream”

To be brutally honest, I don’t believe little aliens living inside of me would be essential to better “know myself”, or certainly not helpful to those on some spiritual journey. But who are we to judge right? Scientology, like other religions, seeks to help others find the meaning of life, because Without meaning, what’s the point? Personal direction is at the heart of every self-improvement product out there from motivational books to yoga classes to religion in general. And call it a religion or a cult, Scientology and its latest release of slick new commercials falls under our Inner Balance™ wave with a loud splash.

Three new commercials have been fired off and I must say, I was impressed. While the first commercial does start off with a $500,000 car , we got to hand it to their marketing team –they’ve managed to make quite a connection between all the things that make up….life. Using the tagline “Know yourself. Know life”… these commercials actually relay Lennon’s famous quote: Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” (If you’d like to see an older commercial –caution –click here.)

Here’s an example from FML:

“Today, I was cleaning my father’s study room and wondering why I did not receive my acceptance/rejection letter from a college I really wanted. I found the acceptance letter, on his desk, also approving of a full scholarship. The deadline to confirm was a month ago. FML”

Some would say the more depressing and unfortunate… the funnier.  Well the site went viral and was hugely popular, especially with Gen Y, and the anagram “FML” has been absorbed into many a text message, email or tweet.

WELL.  What’s next? Kudos to these two kid’s barely in their 20’s who decided to play the opposites game. They have launched GivesMeHope:

“We love FML, but FML can be a downer. And we’re completely exhausted by the negativity of the mainstream media. We’re tired of hearing about what’s wrong in this world. That’s why we created GivesMeHope.com. GMH is where people share with the world their most hopeful, uplifting moments and allow others to draw strength from their experiences. It’s like Chicken Soup for the Soul – the 21st Century, Twitter-style version. Because with all of the hurt and suffering in the world, who couldn’t use a few more reasons to hope each day?”

I couldn’t agree more and I could kick myself for not thinking of it first … FML.

For those that aren’t familiar with the term, Kirtan is a musical call and response form of group singing designed to uplift, calm and focus the mind, relieving it from its usual chatter — grocery lists, money worries, petty arguments.

As westerners open up to the fact that yoga is much more than an “exercise class” the yogic lifestyle is finally shedding some of it’s preconceptions as “cult like” or just for hippie freaks.  Meditation- all though growing in popularity too, is still a hard ask for a lot of us ADD types living in a sensory over load world.  So I’m not surprised that “losing yourself in the music” is on the rise.

The proof is in the pudding so to speak -anyone that has experienced the joy of a Kirtan will attest to the fact that it’s good vibes…plain and simple.  You soon realize that you don’t have to convert your religion or be a Hare Krishna…the universality of people coming together in song to “spread some love” is very attractive in these fearful times.

The duality of walls is not lost on these residents. They know very well that the wall that protects you is the same wall that confines you. Blast walls segregate neighborhoods that were once connected, stop the free flow of traffic and constricting residents.  Not only are these walls ugly, they have come to symbolize the war torn reality that Baghdad’s citizens must endure.

Blast walls and product development may seem like a strange juxtaposition, but there is important lesson to be learned here. This is especially true when Americans face our own set of bleak barriers, namely the economy. There has been a huge cut in aspirational luxury in the last few months, but like the Iraqi’s, we cannot live in a world that does not have aspirations.

Starting in 2007, a program that was initiated by the Iraqi government enlisted Baghdad University’s College of Fine Arts to decorate these walls. Murals created by students and professors have begun to transform the bleak urban landscape into a rich mosaic of Iraqi history and culture.

“We want to create a sense of beauty amid this violence. Every wall creates an internal feeling, the feeling of agony. So you have to create harmony over that agony with something you love….We’re painting these walls not for ourselves, but for the Iraqi people,”
-  Asad Sagheer, an art teacher at the university tells the LA Times.

One of the foundations CultureWaves is built upon is Abraham Maslow’s Famous hierarchy of needs. The Five need states that Maslow identified are; Physiological, Safety, Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. For the people of Iraq, these murals attempt to help fulfill the needs for belonging, esteem, and lead the way towards self –actualization. It is easy to forget the power  of aesthetic beauty until it is gone and  it is important to remember that the simple meeting of our most basic needs does not equate to a fulfilling existence.

“Painting them is the only solution we have… We are like those imprisoned in a big cage. Whatever the jailer gives him, he accepts. So we must accept the walls, but by painting them, I’m trying to beautify a small part of something for those living among them.”
- Wisam Rahdi, blast wall muralist…LA Times

We too must paint our walls, metaphorically speaking, and make small luxuries accessible to budget pinched consumers. Small luxuries, a small piece of chocolate, a designer scarf, a good meal, serve as a reminder that things have been better and will be better again.

It is a sadly exceptional moment that we hear any good news from Iraq, or anywhere else for that matter. However, there have been several recent reports that paint a glimmer of hope around the gloomy issue of the Iraqi occupation.

If you have had your head buried somewhere deep, deep in the sand , until recently the Sunni and Shiite in Iraq have had about as much brotherly love for one another as the Bloods and Crips of early 1990’s Los Angeles. They are now expressing a new tolerance of each other.

This new found tolerance came as a revelation to one reporter stationed in an area of Iraq that is known for brutal treatment of Shiites at the hands of Sunni militiamen,

“I was startled to see Iranians – Persian Shiites – walking around the Sunni Triangle of Death, the area south of Baghdad which was once under the control of Sunni killers, kidnappers and bandits. I looked around for their bodyguards, but there was no one.”

In another Iraqi town, even a brittle peace is enough to see the beginnings of an urban mercantile renaissance.

“We didn’t go far – just down one of Ramadi’s main shopping streets, strewn with litter but lively. The side streets have rivulets of waste water, but new signs hang over storefronts that were shuttered by fear only months ago…The general wandered back out to the street, snatching handfuls of popcorn from a street vendor. “We have good people here,” the general said. “People feel safe.”

In addition, the recent Iraqi elections transpired peacefully, and with votes still being tallied, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seems to have won in a landslide victory.

It would be a mistake to assume that our challenges in Iraq are over, but there is at least a hope that they will end soon. The Inner Balance Wave asks the question, “without meaning what’s the point?” You could just as easily say, without hope what is the point? The American market could use some light at the end of the tunnel and this could be the first beam.

Blast walls, prefabricated concrete barriers used by occupational forces to protect civilians and soldiers from car bombs, explosions and insurgent attacks, have literally carved Baghdad into a grim maze.

The duality of walls is not lost on these residents. They know very well that the wall that protects you is the same wall that confines you. Blast walls segregate neighborhoods that were once connected, stop the free flow of traffic and constricting residents.  Not only are these walls ugly, they have come to symbolize the war torn reality that Baghdad’s citizens must endure.

Blast walls and product development may seem like a strange juxtaposition, but there is important lesson to be learned here . This is especially true when Americans face our own set of bleak barriers, namely the economy. There has been a huge cut in aspirational luxury in the last few months, but like the Iraqi’s, we cannot live in a world that does not have aspirations.

Starting in 2007, a program that was initiated by the Iraqi government enlisted Baghdad University’s College of Fine Arts to decorate these walls. Murals created by students and professors have begun to transform the bleak urban landscape into a rich mosaic of Iraqi history and culture.

“We want to create a sense of beauty amid this violence. Every wall creates an internal feeling, the feeling of agony. So you have to create harmony over that agony with something you love….We’re painting these walls not for ourselves, but for the Iraqi people,”

-  Asad Sagheer, an art teacher at the university tells the LA Times.

One of the foundations Culturewaves is built upon is Abraham Maslow’s Famous hierarchy of needs. The Five need states that Maslow identified are; Physiological, Safety, Belonging, Esteem, and Self Actualization. For the people of Iraq, these murals attempt to help fulfill the needs for belonging, esteem, and lead the way towards self –actualization. It is easy to forget the  power  of aesthetic beauty until it is gone and  it is important to remember that the simple meeting of our most basic needs does not equate to a fulfilling existence.

“Painting them is the only solution we have… We are like those imprisoned in a big cage. Whatever the jailer gives him, he accepts. So we must accept the walls, but by painting them, I’m trying to beautify a small part of something for those living among them.”

- Wisam Rahdi, blast wall muralist…LA Times

We too must paint our walls, metaphorically speaking, and make small luxuries accessible to budget pinched consumers. Small luxuries, a small piece of chocolate, a designer scarf, a good meal, serve as a reminder that things have been better and will be better again.