Guitar Slingers of Today

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Guitar Slingers of Today are like Peak Oil

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Very few True “Guitar Slingers” exist today. At the same time, there has never been more Wal-Mart guitarists on the planet.  Most fall into the “not bad”  category.  Many fall into the proficient/extraordinary category.  But both the not bad and proficient to exceptional lack what it takes to be a guitar slinger.  Impressing yourself with a five minute solo is the easy part.

 

What makes a True “Guitar Slinger”?

 

 

Today’s Guitar Slinger’s include but are not limited to:

  1. Dave Edmunds
  2. Brian Setzer
  3. Todd Rundgren
  4. Ace Andres
  5. Trevor Rabin

There exist 3 types of guitarists:
1. The Guitar Slinger: He sings lead; However, plays guitar better than most.

2. The Singer who plays guitar.  His guitar skills are negligible.  (Think John Fogerty)

3. The Guitar Alien. (See Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani) their guitar performance is spoiled by the mere presence of vocals.

Your guitar playing should set you apart from those who have done their homework and play “rehearsed” solos. When the Guitar Slinger plays, He takes the audience to the far side of the galaxy in which the Slinger never imagined he could go.  To quote Pete Townsend; “The guitar is at its’ best when it is slightly out of control.”   The term, “Astral Traveling” comes to mind.  If you’ve rehearsed your basic scales for hours, you can get to that point of the:

“Out of body experience”

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Once you get to that point; remember this, it’s not you. Perhaps the highest accolades I’ve ever received, and theses weren’t one off comments; but many owners of establishments commented that when I solo, I seem to be in another dimension. “He looks like he’s left his body”.   The question: “How does he just throw his head back and solo? “ Is not uncommon.  Personally, (and stick with me) I think the music has a soul of its own and if you’re good enough and you allow it to; you become (As Eric Clapton said about SRV) a conduit for the sound of the music.  It’s like giving birth to the music.  Playing “Eruption” or “Cliffs of Dover” is an accomplishment, yet so is working on an assembly line, that’s not what the Guitar Slinger does.  The truth is, the Slinger never knows what he’s going to do.  My solos have become random pieces of subconscious recall.

 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying don’t practice or rehearse.  I’m saying practice to command your guitar until it becomes a living part of your body.  It gets mad when you refer to it as an instrument or even an extension of your body; rather an equal part of your body.  Your guitar wants to go out of its body with you on your out of body experience.  Respect your guitar like a Major league Pitcher holds a baseball.  He holds it like an egg. When you’re done with your guitar, put it back in its case or its womb.  How dare you let a drunk knock it over.

 

The Alpha Musician

 

It’s not an issue of control. It’s an issue of leadership.  In the big band days and even today orchestras need conductors.  That’s the Guitar Slinger.  A good Alpha Musician will give the other musicians the respect and acknowledgment they need.  You never want to hear: “Who the fuck does he think he is”?  Instead; if you come together like a synergistic organism, your bass and drummer are going to anticipate the unanticipated.  I have video where I can see myself looking back at the drummer and giving him a wink because we both knew the song would sound better with an accent at a certain spot.  A tight band with a strong leader will communicate telepathically after a while.

Lastly ~ Singing
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Let me quote Jimi Hendrix: “I liked the Idea that guys like Bob Dylan could be successful and not have to be the best singers”.  Jimi’s biggest hit, (believe it or not) was not Purple Haze, rather “All along the watchtower”.

Let me quote the musician that penned the song “Old Time Rock and Roll: “Yeah I took six years of my life trying to play guitar. No!  I wasted six years of my life trying to play guitar. ~ Bob Segar

Let me quote Joe Satriani when asked by Guitar Player Magazine why his album “Surfing with the Alien” was an instrumental album.  Joe replied: “Oh I can sing, but just listen to this”.  He then played a beautiful instrumental part of his new album. (Sans vocals).

 

There you have it. A response from one of the GREATEST Guitar Slingers ever ~ Jimi Hendrix.  A regret from the singer and writer of the Iconic song “Old Fashion Rock and Roll confessing he wasted time trying to be a “Guitar Slinger” ~ Bob Segar.   Finally, a response from a Guitar Virtuoso who thought his music would be ruined by adding vocals ~ Joe Satriani.  As you can see, the Guitar Slinger today, more than ever, has become an anomaly.

If you were a blues guitarist, you weren’t if you couldn’t sing and play (Throw down).  Just die, go to music heaven and ask BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Healy, Gary Moore, Robert Johnson and Johnny Winter. If you really want to know if you’re worthy of the “Guitar Slinger” moniker; try and entertain an audience while playing “Scat”.

 

The Guitar Slinger part 1 History

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The Guitar Slinger part 1 History

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(Definition, vernacular, Guitar Monster who sings lead vocals and astonishes audiences with guitarmanship)

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Examples include: “Chuck Berry”, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ace Andres

We’re a dying breed.  (So I’ve been told)

The story starts with a trumpet player named Louis Armstrong.  Armstrong is in the Smithsonian Institute for creating the format which would be followed by the “Guitar Slinger” for decades to follow.  What was his invention?

He was the first to establish the songwriting style which began with two verses, a chorus, a solo, a third verse, a chorus then an end.

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Perhaps the first true “Guitar Slinger” was Chuck Berry.  His hit song Johnny B. Goode was one of his 27 hits in which the Father of Rock and Roll would open with a signature guitar solo then sing two verses, a chorus, then perform a guitar solo, then a final verse and end on a finishing solo (often called the outro).

The original Guitar Slinger who may or may not be the creator of the discipline was a young blues singer named Robert Johnson.  His 29 songs became material for Early Rock bands who had not yet become comfortable in recording original music.  Many of these songs still exist today.  Songs that have no known writer such as the Blues standard “Boot Hill”.  (Last made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughn)

In the early days of Rock and Roll, before Classic Rock, before the Beatles, before progressive rock, punk rock, new wave and pop rock, (etc.…) There existed only one sound in the genre of Rock and Roll.  It was “Roots Rock” which we often refer to today as “Rockabilly”.   Rock music at the time was personified by artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley (AKA: The King of Rock and Roll) and more importantly Buddy Holley known as Buddy Holly.  The spelling of his last name was a clerical error that was never corrected. Although Buddy Holly’s importance is not derived from his guitar prowess; he is historically important as being the first musician to create a major paradigm shift in pop music.  Holly composed, recorded, produced and performed his own music.  Elvis sang songs that were written by songwriters, produced by men like Sam Phillips and the King was often accompanied by studio musicians with various backgrounds.  Although The King was always seen with a guitar around his neck, he does not meet the prerequisites as a “Guitar Slinger”.

The guitar slinger is known more for his prowess as a guitarist first then as a lead singer.  Even though one of the greatest singers of our time played a Fender Telecaster on “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, Freddy Mercury also does not meet the prerequisites as a “Guitar slinger”.  Early guitar Slingers like Chuck Berry were known for their guitar solos as well as the songs they wrote and sang.

The Day the Music Died

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1959 – 1960 was a bad year for the Guitar Slinger.  Rock music lost both Buddy Holly (That’ll be the day) and the young up and coming, Ritchie Valens (“La Bamba”, “Come on Let’s go”) in a plane that crashed shortly after takeoff in a cornfield in Clearwater IA.  Then in 1960 a young rocker from Minnesota named Eddie Cochrane (Summertime blues) would die in an automobile accident in England.
Between 1959 and 1963 the only Guitar Slinger still making music was Chuck Berry.  Sadly, “Race” Music had not been fully accepted as main stream entertainment by the world.  Players like Chuck Berry and Little Richard would be confined to the “Chitterling” circuit.  Their music was being covered by socially acceptable Caucasian entertainers like “Pat Boone”.

Various Elvis manifestations would be force fed to the youth of America when Elvis enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1958.  Hollywood saw this new genre of Rock and Roll as “musical sex”.  The default formula for Hollywood when a drought of Rock talent would arise would be to find a harmless pretty boy and put a guitar in his hands.  (Playing was optional).  Among these pretty boys that arose after the loss of Buddy and Ritchie was Ricky Nelson.  Ricky Nelson was the product of an early 60’s television show called Ozzie and Harriet.  The band Queen would go on to perform “Mary Lou” up until Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991.

It wasn’t until the British Invasion during the mid-sixties that we saw the Guitar Slinger make young kids want to do more than strum chords on their guitars.  As fate would have it; Elvis Presley’s manager Tom Parker had a fear of flying.  This phobia gave a huge advantage to Buddy Holly and his band the Crickets.  Holly, Cochrane and Gene Vincent did tour the U.K. transforming British pub bands that were playing a “blue grass” style of music called “Skiffle” to American rock music.

The British Invasion

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Eric Clapton

The “Crickets” spawned English bands with similar names such as the “Beatles”.   The absence of Elvis in England can explain why England produced the most “Bands” while the U.S. produced the most “Solo Artists”.  The Guitar Slingers that would blossom from an English band, would often relocate to the U.S. and enjoy a career as a “Solo Artist”. Guitarists that could sing, like Eric Clapton and Peter Frampton would eventually leave their bands and come to the States to enhance their careers as “Guitar Slingers”. However; the true Guitar Slinger has been mainly an American character due to the origin of Blues or Rhythm and Blues music.  Again, it all goes back to Robert Johnson.

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One U.K. band did back an amazing Guitar Slinger by the name of Alvin Lee.  Alvin Lee was the front man for the U.K. band “Ten Years After”.  Alvin Lee was Chuck Berry on steroids in a Ferrari.  Many will remember Ten Years After as the band that stole the show at Woodstock.  Lee would share the stage at Woodstock with one of the greatest Guitar Slingers to touch 6 strings.  A young up and coming guitarist who got his start with Little Richard named Jimi Hendrix closed out Woodstock but it was two years earlier in Monterey California that Jimi Hendrix would be re-introduced to America.

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One of the first major outdoor festivals that made Rock Music main stream entertainment was at the Monterey fairgrounds in 1967. (The summer of Love).  Not only is the recording of Jimi Hendrix live at the Monterey Pop Festival still a classic, but many guitarists still have the poster of Jimi burning his guitar on stage.  Jimi was the 2nd great Guitar Slinger to be celebrated.  At the time, there was nobody playing like Jimi.

In the late 60s, many solo artists would make attempts at playing guitar solos during their songs, but most of these artists were known more for the song and their vocals.  Johnny Rivers (Secret Agent man) comes to mind. They had guitar skills but were not known as guitarists.  Speaking of Johnny’s; in the late 60s and early 70s a phenomenal Guitar Slinger from Waco Texas would surface as one of America’s best Guitarists.  Johnny Winter had a Rock and Roll voice and was a Guitarist’s Guitarist.

johnny-winter

Although Johnny wrote little original music, he made a living off of recycling Rolling Stone hits. (A band that made a living off of Robert Johnson songs.) Whenever there would be a “Night of the Guitars”.  Johnny Winter would always end up making others turn their volume knobs down.  Nobody played like Johnny Winter.  There is a session recording of Johnny and Jimi before Jimi died out there in bootleg land.

In the late 70s, bands like Led Zepplin , Pink Floyd, and Aerosmyth would feature lead singers and carry a phenomenal guitarist as a side attraction.  (Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Joe Perry) Then, many great guitaraists that couldn’t sing, would tour under their name, but would hire a lead singer to sing for them. Examples include Robin Trower, Ronnie Montrose and Van Halen.

Blues Guitar Slingers

The concept of the Guitar Slinger was carved out of Blues Music.  Gary Moore who spent a great deal of his career playing “Hard Rock” became a blues solo Guitar Slinger. B.B. King spent his whole career singing and playing blues.  His prowess appears to be divided along racial lines. I’ve found that his black audience loves his guitar playing while his white audience enjoys that deep blues voice.  I like them both.  Jeff Healy, a Canadian made a name for himself as one of the best “Shredding” Guitar Slingers.  He played better blind than most guitarist with the help of YouTube videos.

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Finally the last great Guitar Slinger of worldwide fame was Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Stevie was just a kid from Texas playing along with Jimi Hendrix records.  Like so many talented Texas Guitar Slingers, the Stars aligned just right for Stevie, who decided to do the singing himself, and he was noticed by an English Artist named David Bowie who asked him to perform on his hit Album “Let’s Dance”.  Stevie died tragically in a helicopter accident after playing a blues concert in Wisconsin that featured several other Blues artists that included Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Vaughan and BB King.

Knowing Jesus, Understanding God & Trusting the Holy Spirit

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Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

A recent article by Erin Pavlina, (a self-proclaimed Psychic) wrote this article about

“Praying to God.

Since I know my audience has an 8 second attention span; The link above in red is to Erin’s article and I’ll give you my thoughts on her point of view on the Great Almighty.  In short, she refers to God (The monotheistic one and only true God) as source Energy.  I don’t want to add words to her article as I want to be fair and accurate.

Source energy is a new age and perhaps semi-Buddhist view of the Creator of all things physical.  I walked away from her article thinking: “Yes God gave us a brain to figure out and deal with our own decisions”.

It’s like the parable of the flood (It’s not in the bible) and how the evangelical sits on his rooftop and turns away a raft, a boat and a helicopter because he’s convinced that God will save him.  When he drowns, the evangelical said: “But God I waited for you on my rooftop! Where were you”?  God then replies, I sent you a raft, a boat and a helicopter. What were you waiting for the Queen Mary”? (I improvised at the end)

You get the point.  And this was the point of Erin’s article.  God is not our own personal genie.  Then she starts talking about vibrational matches and the law of attraction.

But if you truly know God, the prayers that get answered are the ones that will make you a better person and often after you have exhausted all of your options.  If your prayer is not answered delivering the result you wanted, do not be disappointed.  There’s an old saying that when God shuts a door, He usually leaves a window open.

More importantly:

God tends to come through when you are facing a situation that is out of your hands.  In this case, we are talking about faith.  If you’ve done all you can, and even gone so far as to be proactive and made the reminder phone calls, God will often wait until the 11th hour to see if your belief system is firm.  Again; If you don’t get the desired result, don’t be disappointed.  Ask yourself what you did or didn’t do that put you into this situation.  Or think outside of the box.  Ask yourself if God is trying to get you to look in a different direction.

When things don’t go your way, don’t blame God; rather question yourself.  NASA missions have been scrubbed for the “want of a nail”. (A scrubbed launch is better than 10 dead astronauts)  When you are in your 11th hour, all you can do is be humble and believe.  In the back of your mind (not the front) have a plan B.  If that raft doesn’t show up as the water is rising; think about the closest roof top you think you can swim too.  There may be someone there God wants you to meet.  Yeah, God works in wonderous ways (Job 37:5).  Here is a deep bit of advice.

If you know God, you know that there are no such things as coincidences.  If you know God’s principles, you know that He helps the humble and admonishes the haughty (conceited).  Finally, everything you have is from God.

Nothing on this spinning blue ball is worth losing your faith for.  Remember, Christ said: “He who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven will enter”.  He finishes off the warning by saying, in spite of all the good things you’ve done: “I will say depart from me you who practice lawlessness for I never knew you”.

If you’re right with God then you’ve got “No worries mahn”.

SIN CITY & 2 Legends

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Rick Wakeman, Ace Andres, Trevor Rabin and Jon Anderson

 

I don’t know how to keep this epic Odyssey short because it really consists of various people and getting to meet 2 Heroes and 2 cents worth of advice on American Airlines.

I’ve flown 200,000 + miles on United Airlines.(In one year) I’m no stranger to air travel.  I’ve flown from LAX to Atlanta and back on American Airlines and wanted to kiss the ground each time I got off the plane.  For some reason, on my recent trip to Las Vegas (Sin City), I couldn’t just fly from Reno NV to Las Vegas NV.  (Like SF to LA or Seattle to Portland) NO!  I had to fly from Reno to Phoenix (2 hour layover) then to Sin City.  The return trip was in reverse. I have a new least favorite airport. (Atlanta being the first) But avoid McCarran International if at all possible.

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Viva Las Vegas

There are 3 things I’m annoyed by in airports. (not counting TSA)

Trains/shuttles.  If you need a tram or subway to get you to ground transportation or your gate, the airport is too damn big.
People movers aka flat escalators. If you need a moving track to stand on the airport is too damn big. (Only exception is O’Hare because of the PRETTY LIGHTS)

Last are gates that are a mile apart. In Phoenix, they have two long people Movers to get you from Terminal A to Terminal B.  (Note* don’t touch the handrail unless you’ve brought hand sanitizer with you (3.5 oz. of less)

This works for all destinations. If you have to use a Taxi (Über not withstanding) call the concierge at the hotel and ask what the meter reads from the airport to your hotel.  This way you don’t get “literally” taken for a ride. If the round trip Taxi fee is more than the price of a car rental for the whole time you’re there, rent the car. (Check to see if Hotel parking is free first)

 

Viva ARW

When you get older, you realize time is more valuable than money. (If you have enough money) yes, I know the word “enough” is ambiguous. Some say you can never have enough money. If you can pay your bills and not have to borrow money to do something, then I recommend reading King Solomon’s book, Ecclesiastes.  For you pagan hippies, it’s the book in the Bible the Byrds’ song Turn, Turn, Turn came from . *Hint; It’s in the old testament.

I Posted This on Facebook’s Todd Rundgren Radio on September 10th 2016. There are only three living Musicians that I would pay to see perform. Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman and Todd Rundgren. In a recent interview shortly after David Bowie’s death, Rick Wakeman talks about recording “Life on Mars”. He said he was really impressed by David’s key modulations.

I had just performed “A dream goes on forever” written by Todd Rundgren (18 chords?) live for the first time. So I asked Rick what his thoughts on “Todd’s” songwriting were.

Expecting to hear tremendous accolades, Rick replied: “Sorry, I do not have any Todd CDs”. Oh well. Most of my songwriting mentors put Todd at the top of their list of best song writers and producers.

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As you can see I not only met Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin but we posed like the Beatles from the “Meet the Beatles” album (back cover) All of us had fun pretending to be the Fab four.  John made the funniest comment of the night.  When I moved Jon Anderson from the middle of the group to the far right, I said: “OK, Jon you’re Ringo.  Trevor I need you to put your left outstretched hand on Jon’s right shoulder”.  As I moved Rick Wakeman (Who appears to be 10 feet tall and bullet proof) he gave me that look of “How dare you touch me”.  I must confess, I think a few drops of urine came out when he gave me the look.  Rick, however; was cordial when I said: “Rick, you’re Maca and I need you to hold your chin with your hand”.  Jon Anderson then said: “Well who do you get to be”? (Like little kids playing make believe)
I responded: “I’m going to be John Lennon. Wouldn’t you want to be John?”  Jon said: “Well of course”.  I think we all had fun and “Played” like little kids for just a few moments.

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Todd Rundgren

Now it’s time to meet Todd. Then who knows?

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Michio Kaku

Michio Kaku? The Theoretical Physicist?  He’s a modern day Einstein that believes in the possibility that we are not alone and the “Truth is Out There”.

Meeting Rick was like kissing the King’s Ring. Meeting Trevor was like meeting a long lost Twin. We had so much in common.  It was wonderful to see him on stage using the Slide I gave him that “I” used on my recording of “Sleepwalk”.  To me, they were just performers like myself only much more experienced and polished.

coveyDr. Stephen R. Covey

Meeting Trevor and Rick wasn’t the spiritual moment I talked about when I wrote the article “Meeting Stephen Covey”. Perhaps it’s because Stephen changed my life and I owe my adult core values and character to the late Dr.Covey. Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin are fellow musicians that I greatly admire. They didn’t change me. It was an honor to meet them. Dr. Covey was a blessing.

If I ever have to go to Sin City again, it will be too soon and I will have to think about it twice.

 

 

 

Believing in God Part 5

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THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

1.“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.

This part sounds easy but since it is the first if must be the most important.  Believe me when I say it is the most important and the hardest to adhere to.  The line “You shall have no other gods before me”.  What does that mean?  If you believe in only one true god how can I have other gods before the Creator?

Whatever consumes your focus in life can be your god.  Money is a huge god.  Facebook status (How many friends I have) can be your god.  ANGER can be your god.  Sex can be your god. ~ cut it out!

2.“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

To make sure we understand the first, we are not to build a “Carved Image”. Huh?  We are not supposed to create a Temple or a Sculpture that we worship.  Has anyone ever seen this before?

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3.“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Reverend (yuk) Wright?  GD America?  Naw, this man is what is referred to in the Bible as a false prophet. He’s more of a profit.  But taking God’s name, Taking Christ’s name, AND taking the name of the Holy Spirit in vain. (Using them uselessly) is wrong. Don’t do it.  It’s number 3 on the Top 10 list.  It is that important to our Creator.  It’s so important, you capitalize the pronoun when referring to Him.  So cut out your OMGs.  Don’t shout Oh god.  NO Jesus H ……., are you getting it?  Personally I think it triggers an Omnipresent God that sees all, hears all, and knows all.  When you take God’s name in vain, you cry wolf.  So when you pray for God’s help, after a day full of OMGs on-line, perhaps you should wonder why your prayer isn’t answered on YOUR time frame. Show some respect for the God that keeps you alive.

4.“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

I have trouble understanding this one.  Dogmatic organized religion got in and changed our calendar.  You can lay this one on the Catholics.  Constantine (the supposed first Christian emperor of Rome) Changed the Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday.  Here we see politics at its lowest.  At the time Constantine converted, a popular competitive religion, (since Christians were being murdered) was “Sun worshipping”, thus the first day of the week was called “Sunday”.

In Mark 2:27  Jesus gave the Catholics a reason to change the Sabbath day. In Mark 2:27 Jesus says: “The Sabbath was made for man.  Man was not made for the Sabbath”.  I hate to say it, but the Catholics are known for manipulating the word of God.
In Romans 14:5 Paul wrote: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind”.

There is NO scripture that changes the Sabbath from the 7th day to the 1st.   In the new Testament or new “Covenant”  The first day of the week, many reference the practices that were done on the 1st day of the week.  If you’ve read Genesis, God rested on the 7th day.  Today that is Saturday.  Ultimately, I say worship God everyday.  This is one of those Commandments that God says that he will know those who are keeping His covenant.

5.“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

This appears self explanatory.  As an adult who lost his mother at the age of 11 due to Alcoholism, and my father at the age of 20, I can only wonder life would have been like had I had the gift of parents who would have wanted the best for me as an adult.

6.“You shall not murder.

What you need to know about this commandment is that the translation is a word that specifically means “murder”  It is often read: “Thou shall not kill”.  This is the “Anti-war/Anti-death penalty” that is sold to try and give their agendas legitimacy.  It’s not.  It says: “Thou shall not MURDER”.

7.“You shall not commit adultery.

Adultery is defined as a married person having sex with a person they are NOT married to.  Although it is not a commandment, fornication is condemned in Revelation along with homosexuality and a number of other sex acts.  Premarital sex is not part of the definition (sex between two unmarried singles). It is considered fornication. (by definition.) However, Adultery is considered fornication.  Homosexuality is also considered fornication.

8.“You shall not steal.

This is self-explanatory. To take (another person’s property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it.

9.“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Originally this literally means, you don’t perjure yourself against your neighbor or tell your neighbor you saw his wife with another guy, etc…   I’m looking at the last 3 words that say “Against your neighbor”.

On the other hand, remember, our God is a God of truth.  Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the light”.  Does this mean telling your kids that “Santa Clause brought their Christmas presents”.  Or that the tooth fairy left the money and took their tooth is a sin?  In short, yes.  If you practice white lies, then white, in time becomes grey.  Harmless white lies causes you to grow with the habit of believing some lying is OK.

10.  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

This again in its own context is like the 7th & 9th Commandments.  If you study the parable of the good Samaritan, the question is asked: “Who then is my neighbor”?  The answer is whoever shows care or Agape love for you is your neighbor.  I will say that “Covet” and “Lust” is not the same as having a healthy appreciation for whatever it is you admire that your neighbor owns.

If my neighbor is married to a beautiful blond, and I go out and find a beautiful blond, that is not coveting.  If my neighbor has a Ferrari 328gt and I start a savings account for my Ferrari, that’s not coveting his Ferrari.  If I want HIS Ferrari, then YES it is coveting his property.  If I am lusting after his wife and can only have HIS wife (Like David and Bathsheba). Yes it is coveting.

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If I see Kate Upton on the cover of Sports Illustrated and am aroused, am I lusting for her?  I don’t think so.  I am appreciative of her appearance.  If Kate Upton is my neighbor and I see her sunbathing in her backyard and I go over to borrow a cup of sugar with a condom in my back pocket am I lusting?  Oh yes. Probably.  Only God knows your heart.

Intention becomes the definition.

Believing in God pt. IV

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moses

 

WHAT IS GOD?

Elihu in Job 37:5 says it perfectly: “God thunders with His voice wondrously,
Doing great things which we cannot comprehend.”

Soloman writes in Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.”

Later in the “Post-Gospel” books, the disciples are stressing the importance of being humble. They spoke to God through Jesus.  I would take their words with the utmost respect.

I don’t think there is a superlative in the dictionary that could begin to describe God.  It’s odd because deep inside, I feel that our spirits know who/what God is.  Why? Because I believe we’ve met before.  This was probably long before I was born on this planet.  Which makes me wonder if there’s another reason why the older you get, the wiser you get?  Was I given ethereal advice before I was born?  Was this advice tucked away in my “Junk DNA”?

I don’t know.

Webster describes God as:

1. (in Christianity and other monotheistic religions) the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.

2. (in certain other religions) a superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity.

CAUTION *

In New Age thought, God is often referred to as Source, Source Energy, Love, it gets vague and goes downhill from there.  Do not listen to any one who makes either or both of these two statements.

1. We are all God.  (No. We were created in his likeness. If we were created we can’t be the creator)  My mother may have given birth to me but that doesn’t make me my mother or my father. (OTOH, I do have her mitochondrial DNA)

2. “You don’t die”. (Surely you shall not die ~ Satan) Yes you will die.  You will leave this realm. this Paradise or this Battlefield. Your spirit will depart your decomposing body and be “recalled” where you and our maker will go over your life experience.  Should you fear that day? (Judgment day) I say no.  I openly preach that you fear today.

Let me keep this short.  Humans are too smart to believe that our world, bodies and eco system are a coincidence. If you knew 1/10th of the anatomy and Physiology a Joe stethoscope doctor knows, you would realize how amazing this body was created.  I’ll go so far as to say it’s smarter than Porsche Technology. (And less expensive). The design of the human body is that of a deity.

Let’s just say that your body is truly built like a fine temple.  It has a central heating/cooling system called your hypothalamus.  It comes with its own pest control system called “White blood cells”.  It has it’s own Brita filters for your blood, lungs and eyes.  The point I’m making is: “The designer had to be a deity”.  As much as I like the Ancient Alien Theory, (I believe  it serves one purpose.)  It debunks Darwinian rubbish.  If man evolved from hominids, why did apes lose their body hair only to require clothing to stay warm to survive?  The theory debunks its self.  Unless the evolution of man was to make an Armani suit fit better.

What is God?

God is The creative entity that is so powerful Moses himself was not allowed to see God.  God Himself said to Moses that to view him would kill Moses.  So God did a biblical “Fly by” so Moses could feel God’s “essence” in Exodus chapter 34.  In the Charlton Heston Movie “The 10 Commandments” Heston comes down from Mt. Sinai looking as if he had aged 100 years. In Exodus 34:29 It describes Moses’ face as “shining”.  Who knows? Exposure to Radiation?  I’ll call it a righteous glow.

God would later manifest himself in the Human form of Jesus. “The Christ”.  Jesus would work miracles effortlessly.  I think Jesus was playing with us at times as on occasion he would touch someone or wave his hand and they would be instantly healed.  Other times Jesus would spit in the dirt, mix it into mud, rub it in the blind man’s eyes and sent him to the pool to wash it out.  As the blind man did as ordered, his site was restored.  I wonder if Jesus, with a sense of humor looked at his disciples, smiled and said: “Hey guys; watch this”?

Love God (“For even the Demons Believe and tremble” ~ James 2:19)

Live Spiritually,

Ace

Believing in God Pt III

by in Personal Development, Spiritual Relilgion | Leave a comment

infinity

Faith

What do we really know about our material Life?  We see stuff, hear stuff, feel stuff, smell stuff and we can taste stuff.  We develop our belief in reality based on experience through these 5 physical senses.  Those are physical senses.  We also have the sense of memory and many of us are blessed with the ability of future awareness.  In the old days there were those called prophets.

But Dogs can hear things we can’t hear so how reliable are your ears?

Digital cameras and binoculars that detect infra-red heat can see things we cannot see.  Objects do exist outside of the visual spectrum.  So how reliable are your eyes?

If you hold your nose, your taste buds will not receive the stimulation that comes from a piece of bacon.  What good are your taste buds?

Ever try smelling something with a cold?  Dogs can smell scents we cannot.

I touched a very cold Ice cube.  It was sticky.  I came back an hour later and the same cube had turned to warm water.  My hand felt wet and warm.  A cute furry animal climbed up on my leg I reached down to pet it as it felt like a kitten.  It bit me as it was a squirrel.  Even if I touched it and saw it, my senses were wrong.

The use of our 5 senses are tools of Science.  As you can see, our senses can deceive us. Science is guilty of practicing the paradigm that “If we cannot prove the existence of something using our 5 senses; it does not exist”.  Translated: “If science cannot prove it, it only conveys our ignorance”.  Yet linear equations cannot explain the concept of infinity.  Science has a symbol for it but not an explanation.  We are in a sense; running a race with no track or finish line.

“Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” ~Macbeth act 5.5

Stay with me.

The entire concept of infinity makes what our conscious minds call matter or reality seem like pure fiction.  Until you can explain the concept of infinity we’re no more real than characters in a dream or a movie that possess free will.  Matter becomes as legitimate as time. Time is a tool invented by man to measure progress.  This world, this galaxy this universe is all relative. It appears spacious and to describe infinity; endless.  We’ve created rules or “Mores” to try to make sense of our existence.  We feel the need to bring meaning to our lives.  Does everything have meaning or a purpose?  Yet in the scope of the universe we are less than an Atom (not Adam)However; to an insect, we are giants, maybe even gods their eyes cannot see either. We certainly have the power of life or death over the entity.

There have been two profound moments in the history/memory of this plane of existence.  The first being the 10 commandments given to Moses by the Architect of our existence.  The 2nd being the physical manifestation of the Architect saying the two most important commandments were to love your neighbor as you would yourself and to love the Architect, Creator and Master (who is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient) with your heart, mind and soul.  Our God!

But HOW?

How can I love something I can’t begin to imagine with my heart, mind and soul? What is this “soul” you speak of?  What is the verb “to love”?  The key is to use your imagination supported by trust.  If we are living in a truly grand illusion that exists in a location surrounded by an abstract concept called infinity then perhaps reaching out with our inner feelings and making an appeal with our outward actions we are using a mystical noun called “faith”.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” ~Hebrews 11:1.

Maybe, just maybe, we are living in a spiritual world that is cloaked by a material camouflage.  Yet we’re earthbound until we are called out of this existence?

Until next time

Live spiritually

Ace

 

Believing in God Part II

by in Spiritual Relilgion | Leave a comment

light

The Bubble theory

In sports there is a term referred to as “being on the bubble”.  This is different from the bubble in economics.  Let’s use Baseball as an example.  On the first day of spring trainging, anyone with potential or an invitation can show up for try outs.  Soon the players are cut down to what is called a 40 man roster.

As time goes by; the players that can’t “make the cut” get red tags in their lockers.  They’ve been cut from the team.  The object of spring training in baseball is to cut the squad down to the best 25 players on the field.  The problem is there is often 28 – 29 that are really good.  So the extra 3 – 4 are called “Bubble players” or “They’re on the Bubble”.  Actually you could have 6 – 7 players that are on the bubble and the manager has to decide who stays and who gets cut.

If you agree that your spirit does not die when your physical body dies, then one must ask the question, where does it go?   It’s not unreasonable to think that your spirit can mainfest as an orb of energy that gets drawn back to the light.  But all energy has its own wave length.  (Hz)

High vibrational creatures are seen as good or “Light Workers”. (Mother Thersea, Stephen Covey etc…) While low vibrational creatures are considered “dark workers”.  (Joseph Stalin, Charles Manson etc…).  So do both orbs enter the same realm of existence?  My guess is that we have what is referred to as a life review.  You get to the lobby of the ethereal world and you get to play “This is Your Life”.

I think it’s at this point that the high frequency souls. are seperated from the low ones.  However, what about the bubble creatures?  Where do they go?  Is there a re-education camp for spiritual orbs? Or does the judge of your life review make executive decisions.  I believe this is where re-incarnation comes into play.

If you’re a Christian and you’ve done the “Stuff” Jesus said to do, I guess you would be entering door #1 to pardise.  If you had heard the word and struggled with it, as most of us will, I think you fall onto the “bubble” category.  Think about it, the Thief on the cross got to go to heaven for saying: “He’s(Jesus) done nothing wrong.  He doesn’t deserve to be crucified with us”. (Or something of that nature).

Quote from the New American Standard Bible

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”  And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”  ~ Luke 23:39

So there was room in “Paradise” for the felon that felt bad about Jesus having to die an unjust death.

I ask: “How many of these will there be on judgement day?”  How many of those who were baptized, repented, confessed their sins, and asked for forgiveness, yet went on to live sinful lives will Christ remember?  On the other hand, how many really bad guys in prison that came to know Jesus through the Bible yet didn’t go through the Christian rituals of Baptism, repentance, etc… will Christ have pity on.

This is something that most churches will never tell you. “Jesus can save whomever He wants to”.

Perhaps, if you’re on the bubble, you get thrown back like a fish too small?  Perhaps a loving God will give you a chance to make it or brake it.  In the first century Re-incarnation was a commonly accepted idea.  Why else would Jesus ask Peter: “Who do they say I am”? Why did Jesus say: “Elijah did come but they didn’t recognize him.”

As a human who has preached the word of God in a “Church of Christ” it is my duty to tell you that no matter how much you gave to the church or how many services you attended, God knows your heart. The Bible says that you need to be Baptized in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. You need to repent of your ways. You need to beg forgiveness AND forgive those who have sinned against you. Above all you must believe that Jesus died for your sins.  If your head isn’t there, He has the power to say “Welcome home” or “Back you go”. (This is my opinion, but I don’t think it’s up to you)

Until tomorrow,

Live Spiritually

Ace

WHY I BELIEVE IN GOD PART 1

by in Paranormal, Personal Development, Spiritual Relilgion | Leave a comment

rays

The introduction.

OK, if you don’t have a really open mind.  You’re not going to find this post very amusing so go watch the Food Network NOW.  GO GET OUT. I think you’re missing Bobby Flay.

Anyway, reason #1

I was brainwashed  and something

happened to me at the age of 4. 

Let me tell you a story of what happened to me and you have my word, it’s all true.

At the age of 4 I had an out of body experience.  To be honest it was an “entering body experience”.  A physical awareness of my body from the spiritual point of view.  But seriously how profound could an experience by a 4 year old be?  That’s a fair question.

I remember it as if it were yesterday.  My mom, probably as a chance to nurse a bad hangover, would send us kids to church every Sunday. I learned later (When I was 6) that the girl liked to party all the time (As in the Eddie Murphy song).  This explains my mom’s death when I was 11.  Hey my baseball glove is almost twice that age.

But I remember those 1950’s folding chairs.  We sat in the back on the left side (facing the pulpit) This young kid (me) remembers looking down at my little four year old hands and fingers and becoming aware that I could make them open and close at will. I felt separated from my extremities.  After years of trying to figure this out; I believe it was my spirit connecting with my frontal cortex.

I believe in the silver cord theory that we are connected to God/Source energy by a silver spiritual umbilical cord that is invisible to the human range of the light spectrum.  For that matter, there could be an entire universe or multiple universes that are invisible to our eye’s light spectrum.

I told you at the beginning that you needed an open mind.

Does this explain ghosts?  I don’t know.  I think ghosts are real, but they’re probably spirits in a glitch.   Am I saying God is imperfect?  Not at all. God has given us free will.  We can be as stupid as we want.  God allowed Cain to kill his brother Able out of jealousy.  Does that make God an evil God, or does it make death less important?

It’s my belief that God showed me the spiritual aspect of my life, (It just happened to be in a church I can vividly remember when I was 4) Plus that experience was followed up by 13 years of threats of Hell, Fire and brimstone/damnation.

That’s all for today.  Let me know if you’ve had an out of body experience or if you have reason to believe God exists.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  God willing.

Ace

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPHEN R. COVEY

by in Culture, Personal Development, Spiritual Relilgion | Leave a comment

stephen-covey

Today we celebrate the Birthday of one the masters of personal development. Stephen R. Covey.  Covey authored several great books but none of them came close to the life changing book: “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. Many people have “rock bottom” experiences.  I was in that position once.  I was thrown from a “cushy” 6 figure income into having my own business and having to work at something I wasn’t really trained well to do.  The cushy job was “marketing” surgical cameras.  The hard job was selling them for a profit.

the_7_habits

One day in “Office Depot” I was picking up a ream of paper for my printer. I had just suffered a bad month.  So I browsed through the book/audio book row.  I was looking for some business books or tapes, (preferably tapes so I could learn while I drove) and I left with the Simon & Shuster tape “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  When I was in Marketing, the Salesmen were averaging $250,000.00 a year.  I think I qualified for welfare.  As was the case when I tried to satisfy my ex-wife and ventured into Sales (with the use of my degree in business administration) I always got in at the end of the curve. I must mention that I majored in business because a Music degree was useless and I figured having a business background would help me once I made it in music.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective people is a common sense way of saying: “There are no shortcuts in life”. Or better yet: “Short cuts never work in the long run”.  It was a game changer for me.  I listened to the tape constantly.

I met Dr. Covey once. It went like this. I was standing in a long line.  I finally got to the front and said: “Thank you for changing my life” after we finished shaking hands.  Dr. Covey stood up and grabbed my hand again before I could leave and said: “No. Thank you son”.  It’s a memory I’ll take to the grave.

If you don’t have it. Buy the book and read every page.  Better yet; buy the CD and listen to it as many times as you can.

Happy Birthday Stephen.