My Creative Visualizations CD says that one of the things I should do is find songs that reinforce the view of my self that I want to have, not the songs that reinforce the one I've already got. Shakti says that it's remarkable how much of our lives -- from how we see ourselves to how we treat others -- are defined by pop music.

It's the old High Fidelity conundrum -- Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable or am I miserable because I listen to pop music? I mean, why is it that "Eye of the Tiger" is just a fun song to listen to but "It's Not that Easy" by Liz Phair makes me tremble? Did I pick my Top 5 or did it pick me?

I'm a proponent of the theory that all you need to know about a person you can learn from his record collection. Or his favorite DVDs, or what books he keeps on his shelf. I don't know how good at decoding that information I am, but I feel certain it's there. But can you change what you want to watch/hear/read? Can you forcefeed yourself a new identity with a new media collection?

I cling to my sense of self pretty desperately. I wear blue even though maybe what I need to do is wear green. To what extend do my choices limit my possibilities? I suspect my possibilities are limitless.