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You are here: Home / Archives for Guitar

Guitar

Wanted and Unwanted

By Adam Rafferty Leave a Comment

Over the last few days I was reminded of a very important principle having to do with the Law of Attraction. Yes, you can read about it everywhere – but you may find this interesting.

Very often when we want something, we think of not wanting it’s opposite. Ponder that just a sec. So, as Abraham, Esther and Jerry Hicks say – every subject is 2 subjects. The object of desire and the lack of it, or “wanted and unwanted”

The problem we encounter when we ponder the lack of something desired – is that the mind creates more of what we hold in it. I.E. “Think of a pink elephant” or “Don’t think of a pink elephant” give the mind the same instruction – “pink elephant”.

The example given on the CD’s of “Ask and it is Given” is that you launch a new rocket of desire for a new car. You feel elated. You go to the dealer, smell the interior, see a shiny new paint job, etc – and it’s exhilarating.

So, you then go home and ponder. You look at the old car and make a checklist of why the new car would be great – but you are looking at the old car’s dents, scrapes, wear and tear and your vibration and vision fall into seeing and thinking about what you don’t like about the old car.

So what do you get? More of the old car, because that’s what you are envisioning!

This is so deep, so important and so relevant. We can feel stuck. I get like this sometimes.

What does one do? Well, now that you are armed with the new knowledge – of what you hold in your mind is what you get, it’s simple. Change what you hold in your mind. Choose a thought deliberately rather than by default.

So “yes” to new car = new car will manifest in your life.
“no” to old car = old car will manifest in your life.

I’d like to share some examples from my life with you.

About a year ago I decided to embark on a new career path of solo acoustic guitar. My first reaction to it was pure inspiration and upon hearing Tommy Emmanuel, I felt inspired musically, professionally and saw the possibility for a great future ahead. I felt (and feel) elated.

I am inclined to talk a lot with my friends and family. Before long I found that I was saying things like:

“I want to do solo guitar because…”

I don’t want to play restaurant jazz background music
I don’t like the sound of electric guitar as much as acoustic (pretty much)
I don’t like scraping by (or feeling that I am)
I don’t like the idea of teaching forever
I don’t like that the general public doesn’t understand jazz I play
I am not meeting my potential because of the limiting factors involved

OOPS!!!! By thinking all of the above, I manifested:

Play restaurant jazz
Play electric guitar
Scraping by
Teaching Forever
Public doesn’t understand the jazz I play
Not meeting my potential

Let’s improve this by stating what we do want (what I want)

I allow myself to play concerts as a headlining act
I love the sound of an acoustic guitar
I love getting compensated generously for the music I create
I allow my schedule to get filled with touring and playing
I look forward to relating to more listeners
Solo acoustic guitar is a unique expression of my talents

I can feel even with the mere typing of this the difference in energy from these 2 approaches. You’ll note as well – your emotions are your guide. They tell you if your thoughts are holding you in vibrational alignment with your desires (good feelings) or not (bad feelings).

What happens seconds, minutes – even hours after just a few of the empowering, abundant thoughts is a good mood,and the energy to do what is needed.

The negative approach yields the opposite – a dis-empowered, lacking sad feeling.

So – is life “out there in the world” or “here in your head” or “both”? I say both – but the imagination preceded the manifestation. That’s why it is critical to envision something you want in spite of what’s in front of you.

==-=-=-=-==-=-=-

Another quick example: Look at all the lack of success people have with online dating!

Having been on match.com myself – I spent most of the time feeling that I lacked a mate, so what I got was more lacking a mate.

Quite different from the feeling that “she’s on the way pretty soon”. And shortly after leaving match, I met Jill on the LIRR. We’ve been together happily for a year and a half.

Our life is lived in our mind. Pretty amazing!

Hope you enjoyed this – and I encourage you to play around with this gently. Choose the thoughts of what you want!

Motivation vs. Inspiration

By Adam Rafferty 1 Comment

I went away with my girlfriend Jill this week to Shelter Island, and then to Atlantic City. She had vacation time and likes what many people like – sunbathing, shopping at the outlets and all that good stuff.

I watched the other vacationers – particularly at Atlantic City. God, the weirdest people in the world go there! Smoking and hanging out at a slot machine! Okay, I could see myself getting addicted to gambling but I don’t even get started and don’t want to know.

All week I found myself thinking that life was not much different on vacation than my real day to day life. What did trouble me was that I got to do less of what I wanted to do (play guitar) and had to do stuff on someone else’s radar and “be” a person on vacation.

I realized that my job – playing and practicing the guitar – is a joy. I love it. And I have had ups and downs, but I don’t need to motivate in order to practice these days. I am so inspired – to see my musical creations come into being.

“You are so motivated” people say. No, that implies resistance, like there is this rock to roll up the hill and I don’t want to do it, but I make myself. That is not it at all.

I can’t wait for my touch on the instrument to “sparkle” which comes about 2 hours into a practice session; I can’t wait for the bridge of the new tune I am writing to reveal itself; I can’t wait to run old repertoire and be an onlooker as the music plays itself.

That – is so much fun, so delectable, so sweet – I can’t believe other people don’t get to feel that.

Motivation implies inner resistance whereas inspiration comes from the spirit moving within (in-spirat-ion).

Everyone must have the potential of finding something that yummy, that perfect, the thing that lights them up – the thing they have talent for. And as I saw people just eating, smoking, and gambling – I felt this spiritual deadness from some of them (Shelter Island was a little better than A.C.) and I realized these people don’t know how sweet life can be.

Then it occurred to me – whoa, I might be more tuned in then them, but there are those more tuned in than me. I bet I can just keep spiraling upwards. How high is up?

To find out and inquire what allows the inspiration to flow is a vast topic, and I’ll write about it forever because it has everything to do with outlook. And yes of course there is the old axiom “Art is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” but to stay the course and do the 99% is still inspiration- because you know, or have a sense of, the payoff.

My wish, my prayer for YOU is that you find and follow your inspiration – be it a hobby, job, whatever. It could be a walk in nature that only you experience, but what happens in your inner world is what counts.

When we are inspired and we love something, that’s saying “more please” to the universe, and the Law of Attraction then kicks in – we get more of the thing we want and love.

Pretty Cool! Hence, the expressions….

“Follow your bliss”

“Do what you love, the money follows”

Enjoy everyone, and may YOU follow your bliss.

Technically Correct vs. Spiritually Correct (Music)

By Adam Rafferty Leave a Comment

Yesterday I spent the greater part of the day tackling making my first Youtube videos. As soon as I post them, I will of course embed or link them here.

It took longer than suspected. I’m sure any video buff could have told me that, but I am a musician so I thought – “Hey, I’ll just play guitar and that’s that”.

Oh yeah? The sound on the camera sucked so I tried using a mini disc mic into the camera directly. Better, but not great.

“But wait”, I thought. “I can record like I am making a real record right?” So that’s what I did – I used a good condenser mic, Digital Performer and the cam was separate.

So I got a great mono sound (wasn’t sure if the file would get too big using stereo) and synced it up using Imovie (which is cool, but it is a dog and slow).

I recorded / videotaped 2 of my new acoustic tunes – “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder, and “Machine Gun”, a bluegrassy fast flatpicking original that could be on “The Dukes of Hazzard”. Or, be a perfect soundtrack to Don Knotts getting a chicken bone stuck in his throat at a barbecue!! 🙂

So I went on Youtube a few minutes ago, never having looked at uploading, and I was drawn to other guitarists playing Tuck Andress’ version of “I Wish”.

I had no idea that he did this tune when I decided to learn it. Great Wwarped minds think alike, I suppose.

Tuck is the ultimate “squeeze it onto a guitar” kind of player. His arrangement is actually truer to Stevie’s version.

(Tuck’s live version had not-so-great sound so as far as I am concerned I still have yet to hear him play it. I am sure it is awesome)

What I noticed was that several people played little arrangements that were “technically correct”. I have had great mentor / teachers – Mike Longo, Alvin Queen, Lonnie Smith, Bennie Wallace – and they have across the board told me “f— being technical. Give me dirt, give me feel, play with some balls! I wantt to be entertained. Music is NOT something you get a grade in.”

I can remember playing at a classical guitar lesson 20 years ago so correct and ice cold that my classical guitar teacher, Pat O’Brien grabbed the guitar and threatened to hit me, and throw me out of his studio if I didn’t start playing music. He told me “I have had enough of your New York melodrama. Play the f—-n guitar or get out!”

Whoa! More than one would bargain for at a guitar lesson. But did I learn? Yes. Was it pleasant? No!

Same thing studying counterpoint with Mike Longo, but he was gentler. There’s always a technically correct answer to a musical problem, but there is also always a solution that will make you smile, tickle you and surprise you – the spiritually correct, or intuitive answer. He’d correct my counerpoint and show me!

That’s the genius of a great composer!

So in my little world I have poured everything I’ve got into telling the best story I can with these two guitar pieces, and I know in time they’ll get technically better. There is dirt, there are mistakes.

But what does perfection really mean? That we pass a test? That we get the approval of someone “higher up” than us? That we don’t screw up? That we get a degree or pass a jury? That we make money?

Or that we give some soul, some great feeling to the listener. our fellow man, and those in our life?

I like the last choice best, and I am eager to find truly correct solutions everywhere, not just music. Music is the ultimate life microcosm – and lessons learned here apply everywhere else.

Farewell until tomorrow!

The Better it Gets, The Better it Gets

By Adam Rafferty 1 Comment

Hi everyone, hope you are having a fabulous day!

I am always amazed at the resiliency of the human spirit. The possibility that every moment one can start new, start fresh. Today is the start of a new dedication for me – to take on a day by day task of blogging, you-tubing, myspacing, podcasting, and all the “current” web stuff. I am an old HTML dog and must learn new tricks.

I am inspired!

But why? For the money? To be cool or hip? To be loved by others? To feel in control?

None of the above – right answer!

I hit a point a year ago where desire in one realm of life, well – took a shift. And the reason I am writing about it is because we all have our own personal “versions” of this story: toiling, hitting “the wall”, and finding a fresh outlook and a new beginning.

Approximately 18 months ago (I can’t believe I am about to plug this stuff) a friend recommended “The Secret”, and prior to that another friend recommended “The Release Technique”. Uh-oh, here we go with “religion and inner” stuff.

Regardless of what you have read, heard, said – these materials started a chain of events for me. Since then I have discovered more fabulous self-help / personal development materials which I’ll discuss later.

I had been playing jazz guitar seriously now for 20 years and had been plugging away at a career the way a ggod little jazz student of the 90’s should: Produce CD’s, tour some, take a jillion gigs, and join the army of musicians toiling away. I enjoyed the great gigs with jazz luminaries too.

Just from re-reading the paragraph above, I can see, there was a sense of duty, a sense of “I should hang in” and all that.

And then I learned that “I can be, do or have anything”. Holy s–t!! What?

I realized that these hardships, tests, dues paying, plugging, struggling – were my experience only and I was creating it. I could simply let go. And this was a scary proposition because my identity, career, personal relationships – were all built around my beliefs like a house of cards.

While teaching a workshop, my good friend Frank popped in a DVD of a guitarist named Tommy Emmanuel, and when I saw Tommy grooving and so in love with his playing – it was a cosmic reminder – that’s what I am too. Understand me, I did not say “who I am” and Tommy followers would crucify me – because I am not as good, yet. I love him, he is my new favorite guitar player, but my experience was “I am that too – now do the work to manifest that greatness”.

Whoa!!!

So there I was looking at what I’d built, and I see somewhere radically different I’d like to go. This is the crux of why I am writing this for you to read. We all have different stories, but isn’t it really all the same?

“The Law of Attraction” was now at work. I saw something, and would now materialize it. The thoughts snowballed, and old memories of guitar lessons as a child came back. I felt the joy, the enthusiasm, the urge to play the guitar again. I watched youtube for a week – always finding what I was attracted to.

The jazz guitar’s achilles heel for me had always been the sound. You can play any string of notes you can think of, however. That’s the trade off. Great notes or great sound. So it gets down to a matter of vibration, and where you are at in life.

I went to the music store and asked to play a Taylor acoustic…and I strummed just a G chord. Upon hearing and feeling a great acoustic guitar, heaven opened up, my heart sang. Done!

The ”vibration” of the guitar – the brassy bronze strings, the squeaks, the open strings – evoked images of sunsets and stirred me. Maybe Giant Steps won’t be in my repertoire for a while, but I need to go where the soul stirring tells me to go.

And as of this writing I have just finished recording a new solo project which I think I will be calling “Gratitude”. It’s 14 tunes of solo acoustic guitar – 7 originals and 7 covers. It is a pop recording practically – very little improvisation.

There was no rush or sense of duty in doing this. I have waited for years now to record, sensing the right project would come to me. In the past, recording had been a compulsion, fueled by caffeine, fear of a disappearing presence, and wanting approval from my mentor. Sounds fun, huh?

Esther and Gerry Hicks, with Abraham (https://www.abraham-hicks.com) have an axiom in their Law of Attraction teachings, and they are becoming my favorites. The axiom is that the most important thing to manifest one’s desires is to feel good. we offer less resistance in a feeling good state and allow all the good things we want to come on in to our experience.

The idea is this – when you are anticipating eagerly the delicious arrival of new desires, with no worry that it is not yet here, and a certainty that it is coming, you are planning something you want. When you worry about something you are planning what you don’t want.

Delicious anticipation is planning; worrying, dread and stress is planning; looking at what is currently in our life is simply planning more of the same, which is why “the better it gets, the better it gets” and “the worse it gets, the worse it gets” and “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”;

The first process they give in their 22 processes for attracting the things we want is called “The Rampage of Appreciation”. That’s right – when we appreciate and love and feel truly grateful, we offer little or no resistance, and allow in all we have asked for.

So, by appreciating Tommy, by appreciating the glorious G chord on the Taylor, by appreciating my teachers, and all that has led up to this moment – a whole new angle on life, music and spirituality has opened up for me. This stuff works.

This is why I am calling this music project “Gratitude”. To get the word out that Gratitude is the key!

And, to get it “out there” I am embracing these new (for me) technologies (blogging, youtube, myspace, podcasting) so if you know of any great [places to read up, please let me know.

Welcome

By Adam Rafferty 3 Comments

Hi there, and welcome to the Adam Rafferty blog! This is brand new, but I have wanted to do it for some time. I want to share intimate thoughts, realizations, and communicate with you, so here goes. I started one at blogspot, but I love the feel of wordpress!!

Since I am known mainly as a jazz guitar player, many of you coming here will be musicians. Please feel free to ask questions and we can mayybe get a guitar Q/A board going.

However – right behind the guitar and hands is the human mind and spirit, soul…whatever you and we should call it. Things that happen in the soul realm of things are connnected to the music, to the life you live- becasue YOU are the common denominator!!!

I sincerely hope that any posts on this blog raise someone’s realizations or happiness!

– Adam

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