Category: The Reiki Rocker

How many of you out there think about things that have gone wrong in the past? Money issues, relationship issues, stuff like that? Did you know that we are the only creatures that don’t focus on what is happening right now? If you yell at your dog for peeing on the carpet, does that dog feel ashamed for what it did? I’m sure it does, for the moment, but then an hour later your dog is wagging its tail and looking at you to throw the damn ball. Babies are the same way… until they are trained to do otherwise.

So what is it about humans that make us this way? Why do we hyper-focus on things we can’t change? If we’ve made a mistake in the past, why do we beat ourselves up all the time? Do we repeat this pattern? If not, then why go into beat up mode? Even if you do repeat the pattern, learn from the mistake and move forward!

Think about War for a moment. Why are wars fought? Are they fought because of something that is happening right now? Not really. Most of the root causes for any war are because of something that happened in the past. The reason the Christians hate the Muslims is not because of anything that is happening right now. It’s all because of a seed that was planted long ago and the longer it goes on, the harder it is to forget. Ireland is also a great example of this. If people didn’t look into the past they wouldn’t have any reason to fight. War isn’t the only example. Like I stated above… we have a war going on inside of ourselves. We beat ourselves up every day for something we can’t do a damn thing about anymore.

I think society has trained us to believe that if we keep feeling guilty about something than nobody else will throw it in our faces. We remember everything. Hey, I grew up in a small town and went from Kindergarten to my Senior year in High School with most of the same people. Want to talk about people that will remind you of all of your past mistakes? I think what it comes down to is fear. So what is fear anyway? The acronym for fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. Meaning… it’s not really there. We just make it show up there. It’s like a reminder that we could mess up if we don’t mind ourselves. Eckhart Tolle wrote a great book called, The Power of NOW. When we concentrate on the NOW we no longer look into our past and see everything that we’ve ‘messed up’. Living in the NOW takes your surroundings right in this moment. Try it right now… focus on just the present. How do you feel right now? I mean, right now, not a couple of minutes ago, or this morning… I mean right this second. I’ll bet you feel just fine. There aren’t any conversations going on in your head reminding you of things in the past, nor of what you have to do for the future.

There is another powerful book that crosses with living in the now… It’s called The Law of Attraction.  Jerry and Esther Hicks started the Law of Attraction movement years ago, then a woman by the name of Rhonda Byrne made it more mainstream when she came out with the movie, The Secret. If you haven’t seen it I encourage you to watch it. It’s Free pretty much anywhere now a days. The Law of Attraction is the name given to the maxim “like attracts like” which in New Thought philosophy is used to sum up the idea that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts a person brings positive or negative experiences into their life. You can also try this out for yourself. It’s actually very practical. I’ve found in my life that whatever I focus on becomes my reality. Make a game out of it. Focus on finding a penny within the next few days. Wake up and say, Today I will find a penny. I guarantee you that if you focus on finding a penny, you will, in fact, find a penny. When that works, up the ante. Keep playing this game with yourself until it is no longer a ‘coincidence’. I personally don’t believe in coincidences. Everything happens for a reason.

If you would like to learn more about either The Power of NOW or the Law of Attraction feel free to reach out to me and we can go into further details on how it can change your life. Book a Reiki session or a coaching session with me. I can help you overcome some of these areas that have been debilitating you for so long. It’s your life. Live it NOW!

Peace,
David

P.S.
You can also read my blog every month in Sin City Presents Magazine.

This morning I woke up, grabbed some coffee and started working on my website and ran across this blog that I had written back in November of 2015. It’s an important time in my life right now where I think that it is worth reposting. And as the Universe works, it slapped me in the face with this and told me to follow my own advice. You see, I needed this reminder this morning because for the last week or two I’ve been stressed out. Stressed out because of the lack of money coming in, instead of looking at what I have right now in my life.

I have a beautiful Fiance who is completely supportive of me, my Reiki Practice is growing and I’m getting new clients every day, I have the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute going strong and the new Stone Temple Pilots Tribute taking off like wildfire. And if that isn’t enough I’ve got a killer Metal Band with an ever growing fanbase. So, again… I’m being redundant… this was a very important reminder to myself and hopefully it is for you as well.
David

(Reposted from November 2015)

When I started studying the Law of Attraction one of the first things I learned was to look at everything in my life as a blessing. This was back in early 2000’s. I had to totally reconfigure my brain. Seriously. I mean, I’ve always been a positive guy, but there was much more too it. I was externally positive. I was kind to the people around me or anybody that I would meet, but inside I was constantly beating myself up for not doing this, or not doing that. My life sucks, etc. Well guess what? My life did suck. It did because I didn’t believe any different. Once I started changing my internal dialog, that is when my life started changing all around. On the outside I was still the same person. Nobody really saw a major difference in me, but I was much happier and had a much broader outlook on life.

So what did I do?

Like I mentioned… I had to change my internal dialog. I had to take baby steps at first. If it rained outside I wouldn’t say, “Oh no. It’s going to be muggy today.” I’d change it around and say, “Wow! Rain. This is awesome!” Sometimes I felt like I was completely bullshitting myself, but I would still continue being positive for everything that happened. Everything! You’ve got to fake it until you make it. Once you start getting into the routine of ‘faking it’ eventually it will start happening automatically. I would start the first thing in the morning before I got out of bed. My dialog to myself was, “Today is going to be an amazing day. What can I create today?” I found myself jumping out of bed, welcoming the new day and all it had to offer. When you start doing this you will be surprised at how many opportunities you have come to you. Positive, like-minded souls will start popping up everywhere. They were always there but when you have your blinders on you just don’t see them. You can’t be a vibrational match to something if you’re on a different vibration yourself. Think of it like a radio. If the station you want to listen to is 94.3 and you are on 92.8… you just aren’t going to be able to hear it. Seems silly, but this is how it works.

We are all vibrations. And whatever frequency we resonate at, that is what we will attract. Like attracts like. It’s just the way it is whether you believe in all the metaphysical mumbo jumbo or not. It’s still our reality.

Do you find yourself in a certain crowd that you don’t want to be a part of? Want to make them disappear? Change your vibration. One of two things will happen. A:) They won’t want to hang around you anymore or B:) You’ll start noticing patterns similar to who you are that you don’t like. It doesn’t mean that these people are bad. It just means that they are on a different vibration than you and they are living their life the way that they believe it to be. And…. This does not mean that you get to preach to them. I can’t stand people who preach. To me they are people who need to have more people on their side to confirm what they are doing. You don’t need any more validation that your own internal dialog. But this is a whole different topic. I don’t want to stray too far away from the subject.

So what can you do for support?

Like any professional, be it a Major League Baseball player or a Singer… you have a coach. No matter what level you are on you need to have somebody there to challenge you. I don’t recommend your partner, I would find somebody you are not in relationship with. Why? Because a good coach will challenge you. A good coach will piss you off at times because they are getting you to think outside of the box. I remember my first coach. I loathed the idea of talking to this person every day. It was exhausting because at the beginning of the day they would say, “So David. What are you going to create today?” It drove me mad. Not just because they would say that but because they would ask me for specific things that I created the day before. And I had to prove it! I had to be accountable for all of my actions. But that coach never took anything personally because they knew it had nothing to do with them.

I got my chance to coach people and some of those people still stay in touch with me today. It’s a very humbling position to be in. Again, it’s not about you… the Ego stays out of it. You are there to guide another person, to get them to think outside of their box. Some boxes are different sizes.

Remember that everybody is on their own journey and your journey is not theirs.

So… every day I want you to count your blessings. I want you to wake up and count all the positive things in your life. You will be surprised at how many positive things you can add up. If you want help… if you need a coach I can do this or I can get you somebody that you are comfortable with.

Namaste,
David

Six years ago today my sister Darlene left this plane for yet another one. It seems like it was an eternity ago and also yesterday. It’s an odd feeling. Darlene was an amazing soul who was a Healer/Chiropractor. I admired what she did because it furthered me along on my spiritual path. It was Darlene that introduced me to things like Bach Remedies and the holistic world. It was her that I would call when in need of council. I remember vividly living in Boulder, Colorado getting my car worked on and spending an hour or so on the phone with her. It was the last long conversation we would have, you see she was in the final stages of her disease (Sjögren’s) and was at peace with it. She told me that she was not going to make it and that life was short. She told me that I needed to get off of my ass and use what God gave me and that if I let it go to waste then I was a fool.

I brushed off that conversation a few times. Out of fear. Out of fear of failure. Too many times I’ve done this in my life. What is fear anyway? There is a great acronym for it; False Evidence Appearing Real.

A month or so later I was in New York City recording an album with a group. I took a day off and headed up to Connecticut where Darlene was in the hospital. I met the family up there, us laughing and joking as we’ve always done, we didn’t want Darlene to see us sad, we were there to cheer her up when it fact it was the other way around. We were there for Darlene, our rock, to console us and let us know that everything was going to be ok. She was very frail but still had her sense of humor, her laugh… an unmistakable laugh that I still hear in my head. Everyone of us sat with her and when it was my time to sit with her she reiterated what she had told me on the phone no more than a month earlier…

“David… Live your life to its fullest and don’t look back. You have a gift, use it. Don’t waste it away.”

There is a song that reminds me of what she said and I’ve since adopted that song as a reminder of her words. It might just be a wake up call for you as well. Take a listen.
Tim McGraw – Live like you were Dying

That was the last time I saw her.

When she passed I packed everything into my pick-up truck and moved to Los Angeles to do what I am doing today. It hasn’t been easy, but I know now I’m living on my own terms and giving of myself to the world. It doesn’t seem like six years to me because I’ve done so much in the last six years, it seems like a whole other life, it has been a whole other life and I thank her for kicking me in the ass to do it. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to wake us up. I never want to be on my death bed saying, “I wish I woulda.”

When I went back to Connecticut for her memorial I could not believe the amount of people that were there. Literally hundreds of people that I didn’t know. People that she had healed, who loved her just as much as I loved her. It was humbling to listen to people tell me how my sister had changed their lives and made them who they are today. It was my sister that believed in them enough to get them to believe in themselves.

Most people in this world are afraid of Death. They are afraid of dying. What they should be more afraid of is… not living. Life & Death, Yin/Yang, Light/Dark… You can’t have one without the other, nor should you want one without the other. Without Death people would not truly live. So if there is a lesson in all of this, it is that Life is mean’t to be lived and that living our own lives is necessary if only as an example for others, but most importantly because it is our life. If you are just living your life going to work for some half assed job so you can buy stuff so you can be ‘happy’, you are fooling yourself. Once you do what you were mean’t to do here then, and only then, will you be happy. So do like my sister said, “Get off your ass and start living.”

Darlene left us here to carry on her work. My sisters Michelle, Nicole and Lezette and my brothers Fred, Derek and Erek. Seven siblings thrown together in this world, Darlene the Eighth. The symbol of Infinity, eternal life, never ending, as I believe we all are.

Darlene… Thank you for reminding me once again, who I am.
Peace,
David

P.S.
The picture that you see is of Darlene on her wedding day. She and her husband Barry were together until her passing. So I hold this day special in my heart for him as well and I admire him for doing like the song says, “Live like you were dying.”

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Believe in Yourself

Let me start off by saying this.. believing in yourself, and taking care of yourself first is not selfishness.

I remember years ago I was told that believing in yourself is not selfishness, it was hard to hear because the way I was raised was to put others before myself. As I’ve grown on my spiritual path I have adopted this philosophy of taking care of myself first… it was difficult at first but the more I practiced it the more I realized that by serving myself I was also serving others.

What do I mean by this?

When you start taking care of your own needs first, and you are honest about what you feel and who you truly are, you are going to weed out a lot of people in your life. That is ok. You can’t make everyone happy, nor should you want to. Eventually though you will find someone that is on the same vibration that you are, someone that believes in themselves as much as you believe in you. You’ve heard me talk before about ‘mirror’s’. When I talk about mirrors what I am talking about is this… when you look in the mirror you see yourself, if you look in the mirror and you see someone that is miserable, unhappy, insecure, etc., do you really think that you’re going to get back something else? Let me elaborate. You can’t have what you are not. It’s impossible. It might happen, yes, but it will be brief because the other person will eventually see your true colors. So, no matter what you want in this world you have to be honest with yourself and honest with the other person.

It’s a hard lesson, but a worthwhile one. I wouldn’t have who I have in my life now did I not look in the mirror and become who I truly am. I have who I have in my life now because I am reflecting who I am. I wrote a song called The Mirror of your Soul with D.N.A.. I wrote this song after dating a narcissist. I believe though that everything happens for a reason. Had I not have had this experience I never would have taken a look at who I really am. Everything happens for a reason… Everything.

What did I learn from this and how can it help you?

Take it from a guy that has taken the backseat in many relationships. I’m not blaming them, quite the contrary, I was to blame for all of them. Why? Because I wasn’t in the relationships for me, at first I was, but after a period of time I was in them for somebody else. It was either to please a family member or to prove to the other in the relationship that I could become what they needed me to be in order to make them happy. It’s a lose/lose situation because you can never make somebody else happy, that is their responsibility. Now, that doesn’t mean that you cannot add to another persons happiness, but you can not, and let me say this again… you can’t be responsible for somebody else’s happiness or unhappiness. It’s impossible. But I tried, and I failed many times. It was a pattern of mine to do everything in my power to make someone happy, to prove to them that I could do it. The pattern would last for about 3-5 years before I internally blew up. I would run away, I would start resenting them or I would go find somebody else, and the person I was with at the time would be left standing there dumbfounded not understanding what the hell was going on. They never knew because I would beat myself up inside, convincing myself that I could change for that person.

It wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles that all of this changed. I was forced to be alone. I forced myself for the most part. I recognized the patterns by learning more about myself. It took me being alone, with myself, to really look deep into who I really was and what I really wanted. Yes, I dated here and there, and sometimes I would fall back into the pattern, but this time it was different. I recognized the pattern. That was the key. Sometimes it would only take one date, sometimes a month, but I looked at what I wanted first. Was this person serving who I really wanted to be to the world? Were we both in alignment of what we both needed? How could I serve that person while also serving myself? Millions of questions would come up, and each time I would meditate on it to see if I was falling back into an old pattern or not.

Who are you seeing in the mirror? Who do you want to see in the mirror?

Start taking care of yourself and that reflection will change. Trust me.

Namaste,
David

P.S.
This blog can also be read in the Sin City Presents Magazine.

‘Be’ing Pooh

Years ago I read a book called ‘The Tao of Pooh‘ by Benjamin Hoff. It had a companion book called, ‘The Te of Piglet‘ which I highly recommend as well, and which I will touch on in another blog. They were both great introductions into Taoism. If you are unfamiliar with Taoism and you are interested in Eastern Philosophy, like Buddhism, then this is for you. The word ‘Tao’ means ‘way‘, ‘path‘ or ‘principle‘. What I love about Eastern Philosophy is that it is not a religion. It is a way of ‘be’ing, and it is a ‘practice‘. I emphasize ‘practice‘. Anything we do it life, we have to practice if we want it to become second nature, like singing or playing guitar.

Winnie the Pooh is the uncarved block. Simplicity. Taoism is just that. The principle of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed. Pooh walks around unfazed by anything… A simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun. Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work out, which appears strange to most people today.

“Pooh hasn’t much Brain, but he never comes to any harm. He does silly things and they turn out right.” – Piglet

The characters in Winnie the Pooh each have their own disorders; Eeyore (Major depression), Piglet (Paranoia and Major Anxiety), Pooh (Eating disorder, Tourettes syndrome and OCD), Kanga and Roo (Co-dependancy), Rabbit (OCD), Christopher Robin (Schizophrenia), Owl (Narcissism), and of course, Tigger (ADHD).

I’ve been doing my best to be ‘Pooh-like’ (not the disorders listed above, but the Zen aspect). I’ve had to remind myself these last few months that I’m only human 🙂 It’s been a very stressful time for the band, trying to get this tour under way. Getting the band situated, hotels, clubs, fans, promoters, management, booking agents, photographers, press… it’s a lot of work and some days I found myself running around the house pulling my hair out, not sure if any of it was going to happen, and sometimes not trusting that it would happen unless I was stressing out and controlling the whole thing. (I’m writing this on the road on the way to our first gig in Ashland, Oregon, so whatever we’ve done has worked.) That’s when I had to remind myself, or be reminded (Thank you Taylor.), that everything happens for a reason and everything is perfect. Like Pooh… no worries, everything will work out if you just relax and let it flow. It’s hard to remind yourself of something like that when you’re freaking out… believe me. Nobody’s perfect. Reminds me of an old saying that one of my spiritual teachers used to say to me… “You want to see how Buddha you are? Go visit your parents.”

I know people who believe that if they don’t stress out then that means they really don’t care and it will never get done, or better yet, if they stress MORE than anybody else people will feel sorry for them. Where did this start in our society? Where did ‘not stressing out’ become ‘not caring’?

Did you know that its scientifically proven if you have a problem to solve, just go to sleep and when you wake up you’ll have the answer? Take a look at this article from LiveScience that was published in 2010… Deirdre Barrett, a psychologist from Harvard University states that in one experiment, she had college students pick a homework problem to try to solve in a dream. The problems weren’t rocket science; they were fairly easy questions that the student simply hadn’t gotten around to solving yet. Students focused on the problem each night before they went to bed. At the end of a week, about half the students had dreamed about the problem and about a quarter had a dream that contained the answer. What this tells me is that their are things that we can’t explain nor physically see that work around us. So there is something about being ‘Pooh-like’ from a metaphysical standpoint. We really don’t have to control everything. We really don’t have to know it all for things to actually work out.

The moral of this story? Chill out. Relax. Know that everything will work out the way that it is supposed to, even if you don’t believe it. Trust it. Have Fun!!!

Peace,
David

P.S.
Kill Ritual is out on tour right now. As I post this we are on our way to Portland, Oregon after playing in Ashland, Oregon last night. Join us for our second to last show in Las Vegas on March 24th at Vamp’d. I hope to see you there.

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Being Held Accountable

I was having a conversation here at the house with a friend about this subject just the other day, and that inspired me to write a little bit about it. I’ve mentioned to you before that I believe everything happens for a reason and that I don’t believe in ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ but what works and what doesn’t work. A scientist would say, cause=effect. I agree for the most part. For every action there is a reaction. The Yin and the Yang. You can’t have one without the other, at least in the Universe we live in right at this moment. So how does this equate when something happens to you which causes an effect? Let’s say, you were abused as a child and therefore the rest of your life you don’t trust anybody. How can you be held accountable for that? It’s a touchy subject, I know, but we, as human beings, once we hit a certain age, have a choice. We can choose to be the victim or we can choose to let go of the past. When we don’t let go of the past, it becomes a crutch. And that crutch we use to make an excuse for why we are the way we are. It’s an easier road to follow because then we don’t have to be held accountable. People can say, “Oh poor so-and-so, he’s that way because of ‘blank’.” It’s a free pass that a lot of people take. Some of these people don’t even know that they are playing the victim, because whatever happened to them in their childhood is buried deep in their subconscious.

So how do we recognize this?

Follow the patterns. Is there a default, go to, when something goes wrong? Do you get to a certain plateau and then sabotage yourself? Start looking for these signs, and once you recognize these patterns you can start putting together the puzzle. Because once you recognize these patterns you can start to change them. Don’t give up on yourself and just say that this is who you are… because it is not. We were all born perfect but we were not all born with the perfect circumstances. Some have had more challenging lives than others, I agree. But that doesn’t give you an excuse to play the Victim. I’m a firm believer that we are all here for a reason. Each one of us touches each others lives.

So what can you do to change it?

As I stated above… recognize the patterns and when you start to follow that pattern stop yourself. Don’t beat yourself up if you follow through, just recognize it and make a mental note. As time goes on it will become easier and easier to curb the pattern. Look at our brains like grooves in a record. The needle will always follow that groove unless you skip the record, keep skipping the record in the same spot and you will cut a new groove. Get with a hypnotist and maybe you can get to the heart of the matter more effectively. It might trigger some memory and you’ll have an ‘Ah Ha’ moment. Get a Reiki session with me… energy work does wonders.

In summary…

Being held accountable for our actions on a global scale can stop wars. There are too many people pointing fingers and blaming others instead of looking in the mirror and recognizing that they are a part of the problem. On a smaller scale, in your own community, crime wouldn’t exist because none of us could do that to another. Moses said it best, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” If we all followed that one sentence it would change this world completely.

Namaste,

David

P.S.

A copy of this blog can be found in new issue of the Sin City Presents Magazine.

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As Within, So Without.
Your outside world is really an exact reflection of your inner world. This is how your lessons on Earth are presented to you.

I’ve been in Colorado for the last several days visiting family and friends, it’s been really nice and I’ve had some time to stare at the mountains and center myself. I used to do this every day when I lived here. I would take even just one moment to sit on the porch and bask in their awe. I also did this when I lived in Marina Del Rey, only then it was the beach. I’ve found it difficult to do in Las Vegas to be quite honest. Nothing against anybody in Vegas, I think it’s just the fact that I’m so busy now that I don’t take advantage of those moments like I used to. Well… that will be my New Years Resolution. I’m going to make those moments happen where ever I am.

So… why do we need this time to center ourselves? Have you heard the expression, As Within, So Without? How we feel inside reflects how we see the world around us, and what we see in ourselves is what we see in the world. A very simple theory, but there are a lot of people out there today that are trying to find something outside of themselves to make them happy. Take it from somebody that has tried that route… it ain’t happenin’. You see… if we’re not happy there is absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing outside of ourselves that will make us happy. Yes, you might get a temporary ‘fix’ but you’ll go back to the same feeling once that ‘fix’ has come and gone. There are a dozen quotes I could throw at you about this that will mean absolutely nothing to you if you feel like crap. You’ll look at me and say, ‘You have no idea how I feel and all of this hippy dippy shit means nothing to me.’ I get it. Believe me, I get it. There are so many self help people out there that say similar things and it seems so Pollyanna at times and can be a huge turnoff to someone who is on the border of depression. On a good note… you’re going to find one of those self help people that you can relate to eventually. Someone with the same circumstances, that isn’t perfect and has been in your shoes. It will happen if you look. It might be a book you stumble upon, or someone you start talking to in a coffee shop, or it might even be me. Who knows unless you take that baby step and give it a shot. What can it hurt?

I mentioned that my New Years Resolution was to take those moments to center myself wherever I may be. What will your New Years Resolution be? Isn’t it finally time to stand up for yourself? Take that stand because you are special. You might not believe it right at this moment, but start giving of yourself, taking time for yourself, meditating alone and eventually someone will come up to you and let you know what a difference you’ve made to their life. I have been in your shoes and once I started giving of myself miracles started happening. I stopped looking outside of myself for the answers. I stopped looking to others to make myself happy. No longer did I need anybody to tell me how special I was just to pacify my ego. I feel it myself and you will too. There are days where I feel needy, everybody does. But those moments are very few and far between now.

As I write this two great men have passed away. Two men who lived by their own rules and who believed in themselves. They didn’t care what people thought of them nor did they beg for attention. These two men would have passed away in obscurity had they not the fortitude to center themselves and know their own power. You wouldn’t know the names Meadowlark Lemon nor Lemmy Kilmister had they not lived their own lives.

What will your legacy be?

Namaste,
David

P.S.

A copy of this blog can be found in new issue of the Sin City Presents Magazine.

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