I am writing to you right now on a delightfully quiet, damp Sunday morning at 6:15 am EST. Life is good. I’m huggin coffee and aside from the occasional car alarm or Bollywood Hip Hop drive-by-car-stereo-blast, it’s quiet here in NYC 🙂
Last week I finally shot the video to my Stevie Wonder Instructional Guitar DVD and I edit tomorrow…but this post is not about beating my chest, alpha male style, and getting you to cheer me on. I have an inquiry about the whole nature of achieving goals.
It’s gratifying to knock out goals and see one’s visions take shape in the world. But why? The more one does “winner” type things, the more one (I) become addicted to the elation of achievement.
Is it an addiction? What’s happening here? What’s the point of goals, accomplishments and so on? Will it ever end? Can’t I just relax into the moment and simply “be”?
Don’t get me wrong – accomplishing things is the coolest thing ever. To place an image of an achieved goal in the drop box of my mind – and watch it spring up like a flower is unbelievable. It’s like playing with the mechanics of the universe!
Maybe I’ll never be able to answer the “why”. However – one of my heroes, Lester Levenson explained the following. (You can find audios of him on youtube).
In the achievement of goals our inner resistance comes up. The “can I do it?”, the doubts, the anger, the impatience, the feeling that something is too big, too small – or even that “this is easy”, “I’m the best / the worst” (ego), “I’ll show them”, “I’ll never be able to”…the point being – our deep emotions get unearthed.
The overcoming, releasing and understanding of these emotions ultimately are the lessons we need to learn. We come up against our own resistance and ego. Goals help us shine the light on our inner junk and see it for what it is worth.
Since the original 2009 post is outdated, I have made 2 NEW walkthrough videos showing how I do my process. Check these newer videos out, and be sure to get the current “7 recording tools” cheat sheet.
Hey friends! After several requests, I figured I’d write this once so that it is easily accessible, and hopefully will save at least one of you some hours of frustration.
Since the original 2009 post is outdated, I have made 2 NEW walkthrough videos showing how I do my process. Check these newer videos out, and be sure to get the current “7 recording tools” cheat sheet.
Hey friends! After several requests, I figured I’d write this once so that it is easily accessible, and hopefully will save at least one of you some hours of frustration.
Since the original 2009 post is outdated, I have made 2 NEW walkthrough videos showing how I do my process. Check these newer videos out, and be sure to get the current “7 recording tools” cheat sheet.
Hey friends! After several requests, I figured I’d write this once so that it is easily accessible, and hopefully will save at least one of you some hours of frustration.
Since the original 2009 post is outdated, I have made 2 NEW walkthrough videos showing how I do my process. Check these newer videos out, and be sure to get the current “7 recording tools” cheat sheet.
Hey friends! After several requests, I figured I’d write this once so that it is easily accessible, and hopefully will save at least one of you some hours of frustration.
I am writing you from my little home in Jackson Heights, New York. I have been home for about a month and in case you didn’t know – it is always quite a whirldwind of “settling down” after touring for 6 weeks. It’s so exciting to travel, meet new people and play so much music that well….coming home – at least at first – kinda sucks.
However, there is hope. 🙂
It’s funny, the barometer the world and language puts on things. Since I got to play with Tommy Emmanuel on the tour, I got many compliments, many supportive happy emails from friends and fans happy for my successes and ever evolving career and adventures in music. And, I can beat my chest and tell em all that I sold a bunch of CD’s too 🙂
Here’s the part that is funny: no single event makes me happy, really. I found the video below and realized when I heard it, that yes – happiness inside me springs up without a cause.
I know, it is counter intuitive. But – the gigs, the success, is not where real happiness comes from. In fact, it can lead to suffering if I don’t deal with it properly.
In retrospect, quite often I have found myself walking down the street. Or on a set break on a gig, I am just simply, happy. Clinging to “events” like articles, tours, performances, money – can actually lead to unhappiness if one develops a “clingyness” to them.
It’s easy and typically human to think that “when I have this great stuff happen, I am happy – which must mean that when I don’t have it I’m not”. I.e. – we tend to think the causes of happiness are outside ourselves, rather than inside.
The subtlety of this ego trip can be much like a child after opening the last present on Christmas morning; the gifts didn’t really make the kid (you) happy if he feels disappointed that there are no more gifts! It can actually be very disappointing on Christmas morning to hear “that’s all there is” when you want more.
On tours as people shower me with praise after a gig I must ask myself in that moment, and often do – “what about this is making me so happy? Is this an addiction?” – not to blow it off, but just to watch myself, my reactions and my compulsions.
It might looks like my “gig” is guitar playing but the real “gig” in life is to see reality clearly without an ego distortion.
Adyashanti on Causless Happiness:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpHBgWqchxM]
I find that my true joy, the true pleasure , happiness, and upliftment comes from simply listening, watching, breathing – whether I am on a gig or not. It sneaks up on me when I least expect it. It is not really based on outer things. Bliss can happen in the checkout aisle at the grocery store for cryin’ out loud!
Confused? Don’t be. Go for a walk in nature and just let happiness sneak up on you!
Friday was a real highlight and milestone for me, musically, career wise and personally. I got to perform with maybe the most beloved and incredible guitarist alive, Tommy Emmanuel. But performing with him was but one final moment in a day where we got to know each other and become friends. I got to absolutely re-live the thrill of being a kid and taking guitar lessons! A true friendship and mentor/protege relationship was set into motion. Most guitarists would give anything for this rare wonderful opportunity that I have had.
At 9:30 am, Tommy jumped into the hotel lobby and just embraced me with a big bear hug. “How ya doin’ brotha!!!” he said with his Aussie twang. We had a few laughs and I was cautious to let him unwind, but no…he asked me immediately up to his room. In a matter of seconds he showed me his guitar and played for me. It was like youtube came to life 12 inches away from my face. My jaw hung open. And, it was interesting to see what he packed, how he packed…after all he is THE road dog.
We went downstairs and had lunch and talked about more…relationships, road strain, but most importantly – communicating to an audience through music. He’s so passionate about this stuff! I bounced ideas off of him, and over lunch he gave me lots of great advice, especially this – “what other people think of you is none of your business!”. He’s describing the strength to forge ahead with one’s mission and not even think about others approval.
He took me back to the hotel room after lunch for rehearsal. I suggested “Tenderly” which we played together on the concert. Tommy was very specific about how I should accompany him, and showed me ways to get the melody to sing more. As he got the melody to sing he says “brother, that’s the difference between 80 or 800 in your audience!” We fooled around playing “On Broadway” and then, I just had to ask him about his tunes. We played “The Hunt” together and he was cracking up as we did it! Then we played “Tall Fiddler” and on both tunes he showed me spots I did not quite have 100% right.
We left for soundcheck and here is where I got to see his sheer mastery. He brought me over to his stage setup, which was so much simpler than one could imagine, and plugged in. I stood 2 feet away in the empty theater. From the first note, BOOM it sounded stellar and he just looked at me and said “no time to screw around, I want a sound and I want it NOW!” and cackled with laughter. I got a mini concert right there, just him playing for me and it was ridiculously…well, Tommy, right there 2 feet away, kickin ass, just like in concert.
Backstage, he said I’d come up after “Mombasa” his guitar percussion feature. Here’s where it turns into the guitarists hilarious LSD nightmare. You are backstage listening to Tommy play in front of 1400 people, just the most incredible stuff you’ve heard in your life….and then you realize that you have to follow up and play after him. I sat backstage and laughed at the sheer madness of it. Thank God for all the gigs in my life where I actually was nervous, because this was so ridiculous, all I could think was “well you wanted it, now you got it. Time to make music!”
As he called me out, there was nothing short of love, support and a grand introduction. Once I got on stage, all was cool…I performed “Superstition” and “Chameleon” and rocked out as hard as I could. I think the people really dug it.
Tommy then joined me for “Tenderly” which I heard the playback of about an hour ago – and it was MAGIC.
It could not have gone better! To have the opportunity, visibility and recognition of playing for and with Tommy is a real “name booster” in the guitar scene, but add to the mix that I got yet another music master to take me under his wing….that makes it a double whammy! Thank you God, Universe, Source!!! And thank you Tommy!
Pictures, videos and audio clips will be posted as soon as they are processed by the concert promoter, but thankfully it was all captured in HD and great digital audio as well.
