DNAture is the debut recording from 39-year-old New Zealand musician and multimedia artist, Simon Ashaan. It’s six tracks offer a cinematic journey of transcendent healing.

Inspired by Nature, with track titles including Oasis, As If a Leaf, and Sunrise—Ashaan has created a melodic, lush, and subtly layered soundtrack to accompany your everyday life or meditation practice.

The recording utilizes organic, electronic, and hybrid musical instruments to create its kaleidoscope of sound. This is electronica borne of a melancholic soul emerging into the light of an optimistic and hopeful future. Ashaan achieves a balance of quiet yearning and joyful exuberance.

You can hear the entire album on his website Simon Ashaan and it is available for purchase on iTunes. (Note: track 3, The Canyon on the website is titled Rapids, on the iTunes download.)

Highly recommended. DNAture will be on high rotation in my playlist for some time.

Reminiscent of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack; William Orbit’s Strange Cargo series; and Ulrich Schnauss’ Far Away Trains Passing By

Cover of "A Whole New Mind"

I don’t know if Daniel Pink has ever heard of the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP.) But I do know he’s created a guide for non-HSPs that can help them develop more HSP-like awareness. A Whole New Mind is a long-running New York Times and BusinessWeek bestseller that has been translated into 18 languages.

Written for the business world, A Whole New Mind argues the future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: designers, inventors, teachers, and storytellers-creative and emphatic “right-brain” thinkers. Sound familiar?

A Whole New Mind is a light-hearted approach to a very serious change that is taking place in the world. Drawing on a variety of research, Pink outlines six fundamentally human abilities he believes are essential to professional success and personal fulfillment in what he calls the “Conceptual Age.” Gone is the age of “left-brain” dominance. As the title suggest, the future requires a “whole” new mind where “right-brain” qualities will be needed to flourish.

As an HSP you’ll be encouraged by the books premise. Perhaps Pink’s Conceptual Age will be a time when it will be easier to be an HSP. An age where we’ll not only gain a little understanding but enjoy a higher value both professionally and personally.

After outlining his idea and making a case for the forces that are driving the change, Pink defines the six essential abilities needed to succeed in the Conceptual Age: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning. Each of these “Six Senses” are given their own chapter, then at the end of each chapter is a portfolio-a collection of tools, exercises, and further reading to help sharpen the particular sense.

To me it’s these portfolio sections that are most interesting. They take A Whole New Mind beyond the traditional business book and make it ” The Non-HSPs Guide to Thinking Like an HSP.”

If you’re an HSP read it to be encouraged. Then share it with the non-HSPs in your life to give them some insight into what it’s like to be you.

Pink has authored a trio of bestselling books on the changing world of work including Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself and his latest, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need.

It started more than a year ago.

The idea for Tribe is born.

A magazine takes shape.

The working cover for Tribe's first issue.

An online community develops.