Feeling good

First-ever silent hike at Dallas Arboretum is a musical trip for the mind

The experience is described as meditative or "trancelike."

Photo courtesy of MindTravel

Somewhere between a leisurely garden stroll and a restorative yoga flow comes the silent hike. For the first time, a company called MindTravel is bringing its “meditation in motion” experience, called SilentHike, to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.

From 3-5 pm on Sunday, August 11, Dallasites will press pause in their day, slip on headphones, and take "a musical journey into mindfulness" as they walk through the grounds of the garden, the company says in a release.

SilentHikes are a concept created by composer and concert pianist Murray Hidary. During the session, hikers wearing wireless headphones hear music, guidance, and thoughtful commentary from Hidary.

"All the components — music, words, silence, visual cues — work synergistically to help participants connect with themselves and the world around them," the release says. "The evocative, improvisational piano music engenders a feeling of freedom and expansiveness that amplifies the healing and inspirational power of being in nature."

After a quick introduction and intention-setting, the group will take a guided meditative walk down the trails and paths of the Arboretum. The music piped into their headphones — the core of a MindTravel experience — are original compositions written by Hidary.

"MindTravel is an experience like no other," says Jason Wachob, founder of mindbodygreen, in the release. "Imagine a concert pianist improvising beautiful, peaceful music with imagery in the background that matches the beauty of the music — combined, it is almost meditative or trancelike."

In a recent Los Angeles Times story, the writer said that on a silent hike around a museum, she traveled "through the weed-filled gardens of [her] emotions, re-experiencing feelings that just maybe [she] buried on purpose but that resurfaced to embolden [her] to do more than turn on Netflix that night." She added that she slept 11 hours afterwards.

Hidary, a Brooklyn-born composer, pianist, visual artist, tech pioneer, entrepreneur, and physics lover, created MindTravel in 2014 after finding that music helped him heal after the tragic death of his sister in a motorcycle accident. "Now, he is on a mission to share music’s healing power with others and make it the centerpiece of a multi-sensory meditative journey," the company says.

The Dallas experience is part of a 20-city MindTravel summer tour, beginning in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in New York on July 30. MindTravel heads to Austin for a silent hike and live-to-headphone experience on August 12 and a "silent paddle" on Ladybird Lake on August 13.

Since 2014, more than 100,000 people across the globe have experienced MindTravel at one of their 500-plus events, they say. MindTravel also has a foundation that provides free access to its experiences for underserved and at-risk populations. In 2019, the MindTravel Foundation is supporting individuals suffering from grief and trauma.

The Dallas event is free, but registration is required here. Since the event takes place during the Arboretum's normal business hours, attendees will be expected to pay admission and parking, a spokeswoman for the garden complex says.

Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes, bring water, and take appropriate precautions for the afternoon sun and hot weather. MindTravel will provide the headphones.

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Movie Review

Michelle Pfeiffer is an unappreciated mom in Oh. What. Fun.

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Michelle Pfeiffer in Oh. What. Fun.

Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.

That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.

Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.

Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.

The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.

The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.

Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.

Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.

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Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

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