Video From July 10th, 2011 @ Tybee Church

As always, I had a very wonderful time at the Tybee Church! Sam Adams is a great man, and serves as inspiration to me every day! Please see the "Video" page for last weeks musical performance and talk!

A Picture from the Savannah Yoga Center

This is a photograph of me at The Savannah Yoga Center, getting ready to play healing meditation music during a Yin Yoga class led by Lauren Lapointe! Thanks to Lauren and all the participants for such a moving experience!

Religious Tolerance

Please tread carefully through this world. The ego is alive and well, and has been for century's. People in general have a strong need to be "right". People who are "right" get together, and decide that other people are "wrong". People, or ego's I should say, like to fight, condemn, and kill people who are "wrong".

THE GOLDEN RULE is called that, because of it's huge value. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
Perhaps what is in question here is: What do we do when people treat us badly, or not how we would like to be treated? How do we cohabitate with people who are different? Most importantly, "How do we treat ourselves?"

These are a few good questions:
1) Do I feel a strong need to be "right"?
2) Do I feel like I know "the way", while most people do not?
3) Do I see my ego or do I feel like I don't have one?
4) Do I hold people's differences against them?
5) How do I look at people who are different from me?

We all have common threads of life, breath, and the I AM inside of us. There are African Americans, White people, Chinese, short haird Polo shirt college guy, long haired hippy guy, surfer guy, gangsta, redneck, another long list of "clicks". The most important thing that each of us has, is the same thing, the ONENESS. Please do not condemn another person. Chances are, it is someone you see on the news that you don't even know. Chances are very good that the person you are condemning is not doing anything that will affect you at all. So why do you care? To feel "better than". There is no escaping subdivisions and classes of people, no matter where you are. It isn't just in the material countries, but everywhere. Work towards catching yourself, and correcting yourself. Remind yourself of our common thread.
SPIRIT

A Creation of the CREATOR

affirmation
"I AM okay just the way I AM. Right where I live, right where I am working, with what I possess. I AM whole and complete right here and right now! I am a creation of the Creator!"


The idea that I want to share with you today is this: If what you have isn't enough, hiding in a very subtle way behind those feelings is the little voice that says "I am not enough". It's a simple enough equation to work out, and here is an example:
1) I want a nice new car!
2) Why don't I have one?
3) Because I can't afford it
4) Because I am just a musician(excuse) and didn't go to school and I haven't been as successful as I would have liked and things haven't gone my way.(victim)
5) But I am going to keep trying to work towards it, I am going to try harder(I haven't tried hard enough), work harder(I haven't worked hard enough), do this instead of that(I was doing it wrong), and one day I will get there.(Because here is not okay)

It is a very subtle voice that I don't even hear because it is hidden. It makes excuses, it says I am a victim, it quietly suggests that maybe I haven't tried or worked as hard as I should have or could have. It masks "Here is not okay" with "I would be okay if I could be there".

Ehkhart Tolle says that "If enlightenment is something you are going to do, are going to achieve, if it is something that you are working towards, you have already missed it, because enlightenment is right here in the present moment."

Use your awareness to watch for these kinds of thoughts. The idea is to be on alert for them, catch them, and correct them. Understand that it is all untrue. It is normal for people to really feel like they need an excuse, to feel victimized, to feel as if they should have worked harder or tried harder, or put more into it. I AM here to tell you that these feelings are just untrue. You have always done your best! You have always done what anyone who was you would do. We all do the best we can with what we have. The idea is to acknowledge this fact of Truth, and to spend some time being okay in the here and now with what you have and with things the way they are. Cultivate gratitude every day, and watch it grow into happiness! Stop making excuses, being a victim, telling yourself you should have done better, and start affirming "The Creator created me, and I am a creation of the Creator!" Know that this is the real Truth. You are a creation of the Creator. Treat yourself that way, see yourself that way, BE that way, right now!
For those of you who might think "This guy is blowing a lot of smoke", I respond in this fashion:
- Person #1 Does not make excuses, and does not see himself as a victim. He knows he always does his best, and that his best is good enough. He is happy with his life and with what he has, and knows that he is the creation of the Creator. He is happy, grateful, and satisfied.

-Person #2 Makes excuses about everything, and is a victim of the world. Things just don't go his way. His mind is filled with "You should have tried harder", "You should have worked harder", "You didn't do it right" and "You didn't do as good as you could have". He is unhappy, ungrateful, and unsatisfied.

Which person is set to succeed in life? Who is more likely to get a new car? It's a simple enough equation to work out!
SPIRIT

SPIRIT group on Facebook

SPIRIT is now on Facebook!
This is an open group, so if you would like to join, all you have to do is come on and join!

Attention= Love

After years of searching and reading and experiencing, I have come to the conclusion that "Attention=Love". It surprises me that this is all there is to it, but I think I'm right.
Like most, I was first introduced to the idea of "love" by television, movies, and of course music. Romance, heartbreak, soul mate, the one that got away, etc... We cannot forget nature here, as most of us probably had a childhood crush or two, a favorite movie star or singer, and we all have to go through puberty, and what is more romantic than puberty? How we find our way through physical attraction, chemical reactions, all that we are exposed to in the world, is beyond me. The divorce rate has been and still is over 50% in America, so we probably aren't known for our healthy, strong, emotional relationships. One would have to say that a country who has a divorce rate that high doesn't know much about "love". (at least half of us anyway)

First off, people really do have crush's and physical attractions, and chemical reactions to other people, and people really do go through puberty. This is all very real for us, and these experiences are all very natural too, but what we don't realize, is that we start thinking "I need something or someone OUTSIDE of myself to make me okay". If someone we are attracted to isn't attracted to us, we may think "What is wrong with me?" Maybe you aren't pretty or handsome enough? Maybe you don't have the right car or job? In many cases, this slide of consciousness happens without us realizing it. After all, a favorite song may be about just this kind of heartbreak! We become WANTING beings, and LOVE is not WANTING is it? The simple fact is that in our society, we are not introduced to ourselves. We are not together inside. We need somebody or something else to make us okay. The trouble with this is that when we get what we want, we don't want it anymore, because(drum roll please) IT DOESN'T WORK!!!
We go through relationship after relationship, perhaps job after job, maybe we move to a different city, take on a different style of dress or a different activity, on and on the search never ends as long as we are searching for something outside of ourselves.

Also in America, many of us suffer from ADD.(Attention Deficit Disorder) Let's face it, you gotta be fast to be American because we are in a hurry! We can't pay attention. We can't read something and then tell you what we just read. We don't have time for those details, we just do what we gotta do to get what we want. The details don't matter.

So what I can ask you to do, is as always, what I have done. Begin to pay attention to how well you can pay attention. Do you look people in the eye and listen when you are having a conversation, or can you not wait to interrupt them and tell them your more important information? Can you read and retain information? Pay attention to how well you pay attention, and work towards getting better! I guarantee you that as you begin to pay more attention to people, you will see just what I have been speaking of. Some people are really caught off guard and are really uncomfortable when you give them your full attention, and they don't know how to react. Notice who pays attention to you, and notice who interrupts you when you are speaking. Gaining this awareness and watching is good and will help you increase your attention skills. In many cases, ADD can be overcome just by awareness and working toward correcting the problem.

When I first began to watch myself, I was really out of sorts to learn how little communication skills I had. Not only did I have a hard time listening to other people, but I began to notice that I did not convey information very well either. I would talk all over the place and many times just get confused by how confused I was. However as I worked hard at it, I finally got to where I could give people my attention more and more, and then I could respond to what they were saying, instead of just reacting. When I give my attention, I am giving ME and MY attention to them, and I feel what LOVE really is. Love and attention is nice to get and we all want it, but the simple fact of the matter is that if you don't know how to give it, you don't know how to receive it.

Better learn to start paying attention!
SPIRIT

My Favorite Joke! (Is This You?)

There are two things that most people don't like: 1) The way things are, and 2) CHANGE!

Of course I found this joke in one of the many publications that I read, and HAD to adopt it for my own! I have used it everywhere and it always works, because everyone can relate to it. The simplicity of it is what really makes it useful to me, and probably why it means so much to me. I cannot tell you how often it comes up in my mind, and how much it has helped me to lose fear and anxiety, but also I get to laugh at myself!

The great paradox is that those of us on a Spiritual path work towards living in the "now" or the "present moment", and being okay and satisfied with ourselves and our lives, while at the very same time are working to change and better ourselves towards our Spiritual ideals. So the question "How am I supposed to be in total acceptance of everything right now, but be striving to change?" is a very reasonable one. The answer to the question, for me anyway, is to HAVE A CHARTED COURSE.

Having a charted course means having a list of priority's, a list of goals or ideals or intentions, and a plan for achieving. I have a friend that helps me with mine, and find this to be of great importance. A friend or therapist can look from a different perspective, can spot ideas that don't make sense or that aren't realistic towards my intended goal. I am always surprised at how I can be so unrealistic, and that is why I need help from the outside. On my charted course, I can each day see where I am. I know what actions I am supposed to be taking, and I can feel good during and at the end of the day, knowing I am doing what I am supposed to be doing in order to get to my goals. A charted course can erase confusion, leaving serenity!

Today I ask myself and you these questions: What are your priority's? What are some things that you would like to change? Do you have a clear ideal of how you would like your life to be? Are the actions you are taking today realistic towards creating the life you want? Do you know how to handle it when the unexpected occurs, or when there is a seemingly sudden big change? Last but not least, do you have any other great jokes for me?