Tag: The Reiki Rocker

“Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.” ― Joseph Campbell

When it comes down to it, bliss is what you feel when the ego is gone. When you are stripped of the worldly things around you that you are ‘supposed’ to do or feel. Babies feel bliss. Dogs are blissful. When you scold a dog it doesn’t go back in its mind to when you last scolded it. No. It is over right after it happens. Humans repeat it over and over in their heads, constantly beating themselves up for something that they did once. Not very fair is it? Or someone will tell us that we should feel a certain way about something when we don’t and that we should feel this way because everybody else feels that way. No. True Bliss is when you feel what you feel, not because somebody says you should, and not because your ego thinks that you should. When you feel love…. feel it. Don’t run scenarios through your head of what might happen if you act a certain way, or what the best strategic move should be. I’ll give you an example.

I’m not working right now. I don’t have a dime to my name. I go into beat-up mode on a consistent basis even though my partner, who makes all of the money, doesn’t. Why is that? It starts happening because the ego tells me I should be contributing monitarily. Even though I clean the house, yard work, drive her places or do chores that she doesn’t have time to do, it still comes back to money in my head. Frustrating. I’ve tried to change this in my head for quite a long time. Funny how the Universe gives you what you think about all the time, doesn’t it? What I mean by that is, The Law of Attraction will always put what you are thinking about, good or bad, right in your face because that is where your focus is. I’m slowly learning. I’m also slowly learning that money is an idea. It’s a means of paying for something in a certain way. How my partner put it to me was like this… If she paid me to do the housework, the yardwork, run errands, would I feel better? I said, No. I feel like I am obligated to earn my keep. She says, well, if I have to pay somebody else to do the cleaning or the yardwork, what is the difference? And when you put it that way you start to change your whole attitude about it.

Contributing is contributing. <- Period. Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't like to be working. Don't get me wrong. Would we love to be banking a whole bunch of cash so we could go on a trip somewhere? Hell yeah! Of course we would. But getting down about not pulling in a paycheck is counter productive. Being more productive would be; instead of focusing on the job that I don't have, to focus on what I'm good at at how I can make that work. I don't want to get too far off track. I'm not here to talk about me not having a job. I'm here to talk about bliss. If I wasn't so worried about what other people think, following my bliss would be a breeze. Joseph Campbell wrote, "Follow your Bliss." As I quoted him above. What did he mean by this? Let me start by saying, he didn't mean it as a form of self indulgence, like the seven deadly sins; Lust, Glutony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. That is NOT following your bliss. Following your bliss is following your passion. Who do you serve when you follow your true passion? You are serving not only yourself, but the world. What would have happened if Thomas Edison didn't follow his bliss and just did what was the proper thing to do... We wouldn't have electricity. We'd still be using oil lamps and squinting in the dark. There are a thousand examples I could give you. You get the idea though. You're not stupid so I won't elaborate on that. Just follow your bliss and do what you love to do. You will make yourself happy and the people around you happy. And if those people around you can't be happy then that is their problem, not yours. P.S. I am following my bliss. There are times, like I mentioned above, but I regroup and remember who I am and why I am here and what I contribute to this world. And when I am there, in that state, I am creative and the world is a much better place. Try it.

I started hiking again. My left knee is a little sore from my motorcycle accident back in January, but none the less, it’s worth it. Getting the endorphins going again has been challenging, to say the least. I’ve made some failed attempts at cycling, my heart just isn’t into it like it used to be. Years of cycling, racing, commuting… something has shifted. I don’t know if its sheer laziness or just the fact that its time for something new. Hiking helps. Getting away from the hustle and bustle of cars, people, and just the noise in general.

I grew up in Western Massachusetts in a small town called Granby just outside of Amherst. We were surrounded by a field of mountains known as the Holyoke Range but more commonly known to the locals as ‘The Seven Sisters’. When I was young it was routine for us to see Mr. Kent taking the dogs for a walk up the mountain. My friends and I would follow in his footsteps and do the same as we got older. Where a lot of kids these days sit around playing XBox or watching TV, we didn’t have such luxury. I think we were fortunate that we didn’t. We were young, we craved adventure. When we weren’t in school we were hiking up the Notch, over the mountains to Lithia Springs and then down behind Gagne’s Package Store to the river where we would sit in the cool water of summer. My brother Derek and I would take a different route when we weren’t with our friends. We would go to Grandma’s house. You see, Grandma lived at the foot of Skinner Mountain on the other side of us in Hadley (Over the River and through the woods to Grandmothers house we’d go). My Uncle Ted and Aunt Merle lived right next door and Aunt Merle’s sister next door to them. The TV show, The Waltons, was more personal to us than you could imagine.

Climbing those ridges was like being with God to me. I wrote in the song, With the Beating of Your Heart, “I’d sit beneath a lonely tree to keep it company”. Solace. My time to sit alone. To think about the world. To wonder why we were here. And although I was an avid reader I struggled with my ADD so most of my learning came from silence, under that tree. That tree that we had all carved our names into. This is where I communed with God. Outside of a church. The woods, the mountains, the streams, the silence… that was church to me. Hiking in the fall. Hearing the leaves crunch under your feet. You could hike for hours and never run across another soul. I would regularly climb across the ridgeline to Skinner Mountain above my Grandmothers house. It is said that George Washington slept there. My Uncle Ted was part of the restoration of the building. He volunteered his time there. We grew up there. It was, in our minds… family. I’ve taken people back there with me. I don’t think it was the same for them as it was for me. The shale rock, the moss, hearing the squirrels scampering around. Heaven.

You see, I never bought religion. My mother sent us to Bible camp when we were kids. Not as punishment… she believed she was doing the right thing and to give her a much needed rest from us. She was a single Mom putting herself through college and doing the best she knew how to. I still remember the name of the bible camp to this day. ‘Word of Life’. At ‘Word of Life’ we became ‘born again’. Not knowing what it even mean’t, but not wanting to be an outsider, we declared our love for Jesus. I’ve always known, or felt, that Jesus was just a man. A great man. Someone like Mr. Kent, who inspired us, got us to think for ourselves. That’s all. I’ve also been the guy that will never put down others beliefs. They are personal (until they start knocking on doors). It’s one thing to have someone ask you about their beliefs as apposed to shoving it down their throats. That is the difference between spirituality and religion to me. Spirituality is your belief where Religion tells you what to believe. And believe me, I’ve struggled with the meaning of it all. Mother Teresa was a great woman who believed in God. She was Catholic yet I consider her a Spiritual being… because she truly believed in something. She believed in people. She didn’t believe because she thought she was going to go to hell if she didn’t. She just believed because she believed in humanity. Martin Luther King was a Christian, but again, he believed in something outside of the religious structure. These were leaders, not followers, or Sheeple as I like to call them. Don’t get me wrong… I’ve done my share of following. It was never for an extended period of time though. It was never a longing to be part of something. It’s never been that. It’s been the longing to experience something.

I joined the Marines to get away from my own demons. It didn’t work. There were still there. At the same time I longed for the experience that the Marines gave me. It was never about getting the bad guys, or ‘Killing a Commie for Mommy’ as we used to say. It was about traveling the world. An opportunity to experience something I never would have been able to experience coming from my humble upbringings. Traveling around the world, I got to see different cultures. I got to see different religions and belief systems. I could no more say they were wrong in their beliefs as I could state that mine were right. Years later I would hear a phrase that would have the most meaning to me, the phrase that would tie together all that I’ve experienced and seen.

“There is no such thing as wrong or right but what works and what doesn’t work.” Sigh. Hearing that phrase spoke real truth to me.

Wrong and Right are so subjective and with varying degrees and most of those degrees vary out of guilt and/or fear. Fear that you might take something from me or that you might crumble my belief. My whole stance on this. Right and Wrong are black and white and there is no black and white in this world. Black and white is what creates wars, prejudice, etc. I leave you with this quote by Marcus Aurelius…

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.” Peace, D

There is a general consensus that Rock ‘n’ Roll is dirty, ugly, full of sex and drugs. To a certain extent it’s true. Neil Young wrote in his song, ‘Hey, Hey, My, My’, that “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” More than a few musicians have taken this approach. But you would be surprised at how many have taken a different approach.

Rock ‘n’ Roll is not an easy life… I’m not complaining though. I’m just saying… it’s long nights of recording your music, marketing yourself on the internet, photo shoots, playing out, getting feedback (good and bad) and sometimes you’re playing in front of the bartenders and the kitchen help. It can be demeaning. But on the same note its the best high you could ever experience, standing on a stage, pouring your heart out and connecting with others. Nothing beats it in my opinion. What most fans don’t see is the guy sitting on the tour bus at the end of a show, or in most cases… a van, by himself trying to unwind after such an explosive experience. And most of us have day jobs that we go back to where you aren’t on stage anymore. You’re sitting in a cubicle where nobody that you work with has a clue what you were doing the night before and you are sleep deprived and still trying to unwind. It gets depressing for a lot of us. How do we cope? Again, a lot cope with sex, drugs or alcohol, or all of the above. For me it’s Reiki and Cycling. When I’m not doing either of those I’m a bear to be around. I have to force myself to do them. Get away from the computer for a a bit and get the endorphins going.

Being a Reiki Practitioner has helped me immensely. I consider myself a spiritualist, a seeker of higher knowledge… but when I was first approached with the idea of Reiki I thought it was bullshit quite honestly. When I got my first attunement (Level I) I would practice with my partner at the time. I didn’t buy it… yeah, my hands were tingling a bit, but was I just making that up in my head? Well… as time passed I got my second attunement (Level II) and started experimenting on others. Now my hands are on fire even at the mention of Reiki, like now as I’m typing this to you. I’ve done distance healings where I wouldn’t ask them what was wrong. I didn’t want to know. But when I would get the callback from them and they told me what they felt I knew there was something to this energy work. Reiki works. And knowing that Reiki works helps me to believe that there is more out there than we can see. It has helped me feel better about myself, and its another ‘tool’ for me to use other than cycling alone. I meditate more now and I am calmer.

This gave me an idea!

I’ve decided to start a collective of Rock Musicians and fans that are Reiki Practitioners, Massage Therapist, Yoga Instructors, healers, etc. out there to have their own community where they can share their experiences, share their craft, market themselves to a specific community and help grow it. It’s in the beginning phases as the moment. It’s just an ‘idea’ right now really. But I’ve put together a webpage and a facebook page. If you’d like to get involved with it, hit me up.

The Reiki Rocker

The Reiki Rocker Facebook Page

Peace,
D