Tag: Health

The Coronavirus pandemic currently in full swing shut down most of the world. Entire countries are on lock down. We are told to go inside. I take “go inside” to mean “go within” and meditate. I take this quarantine as an opportunity to go on a spiritual retreat. We are told to practice social distancing, which means go off and be with yourself for a change. Use the time to create or reflect. I made a few videos along the way to give people something different to think about. Here’s a quick one minute video you may enjoy:

And here’s an upbeat song written and performed by me for you:

I love crowdfunding.

That’s where the fans fund the dream.

I’ve seen authors, musicians, inventors, and movie producers raise the money they needed for their projects by going straight to the people.

• I became friends with Grammy nominated saxophone sensation Mindi Abair when she crowdfunded her album.
• I studied songwriting with rock icon Melissa Etheridge when she used crowdfunding on her last album.
• I received a signed guitar when I helped Jim Peterik with his crowdfunding for his last album.
• I also supported local musicians I know by donating to their crowdfunding requests on Kickstarter.

But until today, I’ve never seen crowdfunding for spirituality.

As I write this, it’s 4 am here in Madrid, Spain.

I came here to give a presentation to 5,000 people.

Fifteen other speakers flew here as well, including Gregg Braden, Don Miguel Ruiz, Neale Donald Walsch, Mooji and more.

But the planned event – called BeingOne – didn’t occur.

It turned into a nightmare.

Five thousand people stood outside a bull fighting arena where the event was to be held.

But the organizers didn’t pay their bills.

Security would not let the people in. They hadn’t been paid.

Vendors left. There were no people inside to sell to.

People left.

They were upset.

The police came.

There were still thousands of people waiting for hours, confused, impatient and curious.

At least one author (I don’t know who) went to the standing crowd and spoke to them, comforting them, assuring them that all would be well.

The people appreciated him and the love he showed. But they paid good money for a three day event to see 16 speakers.

They weren’t happy.

Where was the event?

Where were the speakers?

Where was Dr. Joe Vitale?

I was in my room, reading social media posts about the missing event, and just as baffled as anyone.

After all, I flew to Spain from Texas solely for this event.

And I did it against the advice of my attorney.

Since I hadn’t been paid, the event organizers violated their contract. So my attorney said don’t go.

But I kept thinking about all the people who paid to see me. Many were flying from other countries. Many had to borrow to make the trip. Many had posted how they longed to meet me.

I knew I had to make the trip.

So I did.

But when I got to the hotel, I was told my room was not paid for.

I was stunned.

So here I am, sitting in Madrid, wondering why I and apparently 5,0000 other people attracted this experience.

I was looking for the lesson, not the loss.

But here’s where the story becomes miraculous.

Many thousands of people, after waiting half a day, left.

The thousands who stayed found out that the security detail needed paid before they would allow the crowds into the arena.

So these people raised the money among themselves.

They essentially crowdfunded the event.

But that’s not all.

When speakers needed translators, people volunteered.

When speakers needed audio for the event, people volunteered.

When the police needed people to move and sit, people volunteered to help the crowd comply.

It was amazing to see.

It was a miracle.

And it happened because good people decided to practice what they had been learning from the very speakers they came to see.

• They were not victims; they were victors.
• They were not giving in to circumstances; they were creating their own circumstances.
• They were not feeling bad or unhappy; they were finding the good and feeling the joy.

This brought me to tears.

By the time I took the stage, the crowd went wild.

They were almost delirious to see me.

I smiled liked the morning sun and opened my heart and repeated, “You are loved! You are loved! You are loved!”

“You are loved!”

I had two beautiful translators on stage with me. Both were volunteers.

They helped me and the crowd understand each other, though I suspect we were all just vibrating at a level of wordless love.

I spoke spontaneously. I answered questions. I did my best to deliver what these wonderful people had waited so long to see.

When my talk ended, the crowd roared like they were at a rock concert.

They stood.

They applauded.

They screamed in joy.

And this was the same crowd that had spent hours frustrated and confused, but stayed the course, raised the money needed, and got to see the speakers they love.

And now, closer to 5 am here in Madrid as I write this, I am still processing the power of people.

When you are clear about what you want, you can move heaven and earth – and raise funds if you need it – to make it happen.

Madrid proved today that miracles are real.

Crowdfunding helped.

But the people did it.

Anything is possible.

Expect Miracles.

Ao Akua

Joe

PS – I have to mention that during the chaos of today, three people who were at the event and lost in the confusion, discovered the hotel I was in and called me. I met them, went on a walking tour of Madrid with them, and had a great time. When I got the call that the event was still on due to crowdfunding, I went and presented. All in all, a great day – just not one that went as planned. Maybe that’s the point: miracles occur when you quit insisting life be a certain way and you instead work with what you are given in the moment. But what do I know? It’s 5 am in Madrid and I’m processing a miracle.

Note: Here are my new friends…and their account of the BeingOne event is here… https://www.facebook.com/maria.cognifusion/posts/545621902493048

The two most popular books I’ve written are hands down Zero Limits and AT Zero, both about ho’oponopono.

Both led to an awakening for readers worldwide.

Both went beyond the Law of Attraction and the movie The Secret.

Both told the incredible but true story of Dr. Hew Len, an unusual therapist who helped heal an entire ward of mentally ill criminals in a Hawaii state hospital.

The sequel to Zero Limits

His method of healing is called ho’oponopono.

The basic four phrases of this Hawaiian healing method – I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you – are easy and practical.

Just say them inside yourself while addressing your connection to the Divine, or what I sometimes call The Great Something.

That alone works miracles, as my books report.

But there’s more to it.

I’ve been studying and practicing this method for more than ten years.

I’ve taught it, written about it in two books, shared it on numerous shows and in movies, used it publicly and privately, held three seminars with Dr. Hew Len teaching it, recorded healing music and songs with it, created a basic certification course in it, and much more.

I’ve also gone beyond it.

As I’ve explained in such books as The Awakening Course, ho’oponopono is actually a third stage tool.

There’s still the fourth stage of awakening, which is beyond basic ho’oponopono.

There are more methods, phrases, tools, and techniques to help you relax into the moment and be at peace.

There are deeper ways to attract miracles.

There are more ways to clean and clear.

There are other ways to awaken.

What are they?

I’ll be sharing them at a private event March 10-12, 2017 outside of Austin, Texas. Details are at http://advancedhooponoponolive.com/

I won’t be doing it alone.

I’ll have Austin All Natural magazine editor Michael Abedin (above left) speak about Reiki, Bach flower remedies and forgiveness. Michael is a terrific storyteller and riveting speaker. His insights will startle and soothe. He also tells good jokes. He’ll tie all of this to advanced ho’oponopono.

Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon

Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon will be discussing the use of Ho’oponopono infused music and its ability to align spiritual vibration, clean data/memory/beliefs, and clear your ethereal passages for Divine inspiration.

He and I have made several inspired albums of divine music. We will share how music heals and helps. We will also show you how to apply inspiration in any area of your life. You will learn to clean memory so you can receive inspiration.

With Dr. Steve G. Jones

Dr. Steve G. Jones, Clinical Hypnotherapist, will teach you about hypnosis and how to re-program yourself, enabling you to better practice Ho’oponopono. Dr. Steve will even be sharing an empowering hypnosis session. Together he and I will explain that you are in a trance right now, and how to awaken from it.

Dr. Steve is a board certified Clinical Hypnotherapist who has been practicing hypnotherapy since the 1980s. He is the author of 25 books on such topics as hypnosis, the law of attraction and weight loss. Steve has also created over 9,000 hypnosis audio recordings and 22 different online certification programs, which are sold in over 140 countries.

Chuck Pennington will show you how to harmonize with the Universal Mind and take that energy home with you. He will teach you how to create a Ho’oponopono Mastermind so you can help others as they help you.

Have you ever gone to a seminar, gotten home, and a week or two later that “seminar buzz” wears off and you’re right back where you were?

Chuck will show you how to maintain that buzz and to make sure that not only your thoughts, but your actions stay in harmony with the clearing and cleaning energy of the sacred spiritual advanced ho’oponopono weekend.

Harry B-Happy Bartholomew is a former Buddhist Monk, music producer and energy healer practicing and teaching Reiki, Adhisthana healing, Medicine Buddha healing, 42 eyes and hands of the Great Compassion Sutra, who first started practicing Ho’oponopono in 2008.

One of his main practices is his work doing empowerments using Gongs, Singing Bowls, and Ho’oponopono. During this spiritual retreat, he will not only perform these empowerments for all in attendance, but will also talk about his journey, how he uses his gongs and bowls as cleaning and empowerment tools, and how you can develop your own tools.

Everyone attending will be given a crystal, which will be infused with energy for clearing and healing. Many things in ho’oponopono are talismans, and this crystal will be set aflame with the clearing energy of the group. You will be able to carry it and use it as a touchstone for clearing.

I will of course review the basic ho’oponopono process, and teach everyone advanced methods of clearing and healing, including how to use EFT and ho’oponopono, and the new phrases for cleaning. I will share stories and processes that have never been revealed before, many of my own discovery.

There will be other speakers besides those listed above, too. Check the main site for up-to-date information.

Everyone attending will be certified as Ho’oponopono Advanced Practicioners.

If you have suspected that there is more to spirituality, healing and ho’oponopono, then this weekend spiritual retreat will be your cup of tea.

Details are at http://advancedhooponoponolive.com/

Expect Miracles.

Ao Akua,

Joe

• Note: You must already be certified as a basic Ho’oponopono practicioner in order to attend this advanced certification retreat. Please see http://hypwealth.jvcert.hop.clickbank.net

A secret message for you

Back on September 1st I wrote about how I used the Law of Attraction and the Law of Right Action to attract legendary singer-songwriter-guitarist Melissa Etheridge.

At that time I hadn’t met her yet or had my songwriting lesson with her.

Well, now I have.

With Melissa Etheridge (!)

As I write this in Los Angeles, I had my session with her yesterday, at her home.

She met me outside her door, hugged me, gave me that Melissa million dollar smile, and said, “I didn’t know you were a fan.”

A “fan” is an understatement.

I’m a fan-atic.

I’ve been in awe of her performing and her music since around 1995.

To be standing with her was surreal.

As it turns out, Melissa is a fan of my work, as well as the work of the rest of the teachers from the movie The Secret. She’s personal friends with Tony Robbins. (Tony introduced ho’oponopono to her and her sweet spouse.)

She reads all the deep-end metaphysical books. She says she began around 2003 by picking up Ken Wilber’s The Theory of Everything, which is like learning how to swim by being dropped in the Atlantic ocean.

Her spirituality and understanding of manifestation has helped her awaken and achieve even greater levels of success in more recent years.

She told me that laying on her back, with cancer, and watching the movie The Secret, forced her to think about what she wanted in her life.

“If I am this powerful being who gave myself cancer and can create whatever I want, then I want healed, I want to make more music, and I want to win an Oscar.”

Of course, she went on and did all of that.

My time with Melissa was about songwriting, but she began it by asking about my life in music, my books, and then showing me her guitar collection.

Her favorite guitars are in the trailer that goes on the road with her. But she has a guitar room with them lining the walls like playable art.

And she has a studio with old and new and prototype guitars. (Ovation is releasing a ME electric in January). She also has more guitars in storage.

In Melissa’s guitar room in her home

Of course, I related, understood, and told her of my own collection, which she says she wants to see one day.

We went in her home studio to focus on my actual lesson.

We each had a guitar. I had my songbook, where I jot ideas and snippets and songs. She said the songbook is sacred. (Later, I had her sign mine, making it even more priceless to me.)

Melissa wrote this in my sacred songwriting notebook

From there she had me pick a song idea. She wanted to know the why for writing a song.

“What’s important to say in the song? Why do you want to write it? What’s the intention for it?”

She told me how she wrote some of her own songs, first thinking about why she wanted to write them.

She explained that for her song, Pulse, she wanted people to know that the person who went into a nightclub and shot dozens of people did so because he was in pain.

She also explained that for the Al Gore slide show about global warning, she wanted people to know that “I have to change,” not anyone else.

I found her to be a deep thinker, cutting to the core with her messages.

I told her about wanting to tell people how they could be happy now, and manifest their lives using the Law of Attraction, and more.

She nodded, accepting my reasons.

From there, for Melissa, it all begins with what I call a brain dump.

“Just write words,” she said. “Let it be okay whatever comes.”

She also advised to “fall in love with words.”

She uses a paperback thesaurus to look up other words, so she isn’t using too common or too cliche of words.

While I had been using Masterwriter, a popular software for songwriters, I found using a printed thesaurus slower but more enlightening.

The time spent looking up a word gave my mind time to think, and the alternate words were often surprising and triggered other thoughts.

We began with me wanting to write a song about Miracles, since my new book is titled The Miracle.

Melissa and some of her guitars

But within minutes the song became about The Great Something, a concept I write about in my book The Secret Prayer.

Instead of saying God, or Divine, or Universe, I refer to the super power behind all of life as “The Great Something.”

Melissa loved “The Great Something”‘ because it made you want to know more.

In a song, it would make you want to listen.

I got excited watching the song unfold with Melissa’s help.

Melissa often writes pages of words and phrases, knowing that later she will edit them.

“Editing is the fun part,” she told me.

She pointed to the back cover of my album, One More Day, to the line, “Self-help messages in 3 minutes or so.”

“That’s the challenge,” she said, smiling bright. “To condense pages of ideas into a three minute song.”

“That’s why I’m here,” I said. 🙂

Her songwriting template, more often than not, is to write a verse, then go right to the chorus, then to a versus, chorus, bridge, and chorus again.

“It’s stating the problem in the verse, and often a solution in the chorus,” she explained. “The next verse might spell out the problem more, and the chorus will again offer the upbeat solution.”

One of the biggest insights for me was the idea of writing in the first person.

Melissa says that first person songs are more personal and hit home with people.

Second person, or ‘you’ oriented songs, are one step removed from the listener and have less impact.

More often than not, she writes in the first person.

Melissa showing me her all-time favorite guitar, a Fender Telecaster. “If there’s a fire and I can only grab one guitar, it’s this one.”

I started to play with the idea of writing The Great Something song in the first person. I instantly felt more connected to the song, and felt more power in the message.

I also saw myself get more excited and inspired.

“Always write from inspiration,” she had told me earlier.

“Get to that place where you have tingles of excitement for whatever you are about to write,”she added. “Never write without the tingles.”

She doesn’t meditate but often walks in nature, looks at trees and flowers, reads some poetry, reviews songs from people she admires, from Bruce Springsteen to Neil Diamond, all to ignite her inspiration.

I told her I smoke cigars.

She didn’t seem to relate to that.

Of course, she lives in a state where cannabis is legal.

Later she asked me to sing for her.

Now try to imagine that.

I’m a star-struck beginner at singing, sitting in the home studio of a rock and roll legend who has the most soaring voice of all time, and she says, “Sing for me.”

That’s like having Elvis ask you to sing.

Well, I did.

Melissa showing me her rare Rickenbacker “Cadillac”, an electric 12-string that can be turned into a 6-string with an awkward device

I played a snippet of my song One More Day, off my One More Day album, and a snippet of my song Today’s the Day, off my Strut album.

I also played a little instrumental, to give her a sense of what Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon and I create.

I was off key, out of step, and out of tune, but I did it anyway.

Melissa smiled big and said she bets the recorded versions with the band are stellar.

I then asked about singing advice.

Melissa took a breath and gave me a long, wise, hypnotic answer about watching the Ed Sullivan Show on TV and being influenced by Tom Jones, Janis Joplin, Robert Plant and others.

She noticed their joy in singing was what was so captivating.

Melissa showing a “Mustang” guitar given to her by the Ford Institute

She went on to say she wanted her music to be ballsy, not girlie.

She didn’t want to sing head voice, though she could.

She wanted something deeper and harder.

I related and told her I often felt more comfortable singing with a baritone guitar, which lowered my voice into my chest.

“That’s a good place for your voice,” she said. “It’s at home there.”

She also gave advice on performing.

“Never perform sitting down,” she said. “It cuts off your breathing.”

“And always eat, be hydrated, and get plenty of rest, so you can deliver your performance with full power.”

I’ll be processing my time with Melissa Etheridge for the rest of my life.

I found her open, loving, generous, spiritual, fearless, talented, present, friendly and wise.

Thanks to Melissa, my new album has a new title

She even invited me to speak on her next cruise ship concert. (!)

I was a fan (fanatic) before meeting her in person.

Today I’m in love.

Hey Melissa, I want to come over – again!

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Please note that whenever you have an expert coach you, your experience and expertise leap in incalculable measures. Melissa Etheridge heard a limiting belief come out of my mouth that I didn’t hear and I was the one who said it. We all need a coach. Consider Miracles Coaching.

Three times.

That’s how many times I’ve watched the Netflix documentary, Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru, which was released on July 15, only days ago.

I’m in the movie The Secret and I haven’t watched that film three times in ten years.

Watch spellbinding Tony Robbins Film

So why am I so captivated with this film about Tony?

It’s raw but real.

Hard-hitting but healing.

Profane but profound.

I found myself crying throughout it.

I found myself having internal breakthroughs just watching it.

I found myself relating to Tony’s inspired approach to change.

The film captures Tony’s closed-door week-long event called Date with Destiny.

In some ways the event reminded me of the old Werner Erhard est program, and to today’s Landmark Forum.

This film puts you in Tony’s secret space, much like Luke Rhinehart’s The Book of est puts you in an est event.

In both cases, you can safely observe the sometimes rollicking emotions people experience.

And in both cases, you can experience transformation just by going for the ride.

All you have to do is pay attention and feel.

Oh, there are holes in the movie.

Tony says change happens in a moment.

Yet later in the film, when he’s asked how he changed, he says there was no one moment.

Tony comes across as the trigger for change and not any method or principle.

Yet if Tony is needed for change, then methods don’t exist; there is no method. It’s him.

But I’m not a critic of the film; I’m a fan.

That’s why I’ve seen it three times – so far.

I let any holes or inconsistencies slide by as I focus on the good in the movie, the breakthroughs, the insights, the energy, the sharing – all of which act as a catalyst to awaken viewers who aren’t even physically in the seminar room with the giant king gorilla.

This makes the film itself a tool for transformation.

Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore told Joe Berlinger (the director of this film on Tony), “I believe it will actually save lives.”

I believe it, too.

A few more reasons why I love the film –

Tony goes past the little problems people offer and goes deeper, to the operating system under what they present.

When a 19 year old says her problem is her diet, Tony digs deeper to discover her issue is with her father, not her diet.

The movie helps prove why we all need coaching; without a trained person’s objective feedback, we will continue to blame our problems on others or on little things and entirely miss the big hidden operating system below our conscious awareness.

And I love statements such as, “You know what your biggest problem is? Thinking you shouldn’t have any.”

Tony goes on to explain that problems are gifts.

I don’t know Tony personally — we spoke at the same event in Chicago years ago, but hours apart, so we have yet to meet* — and I get nothing for endorsing this film from him or the director or anyone else.

But I urge you to watch it and let it stir your soul.

See https://www.netflix.com/title/80102204

Expect Miracles.

Ao Akua,

joe

PS – My own television show, all fourteen episodes, is edited and in the hands of Amazon. Stay tuned for details. Meanwhile, go watch the film about Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru. It’s stirring, soulful and spellbinding.

* You can read about the event where I spoke on the same stage as Tony, Trump, and others at http://blog.mrfire.com/a-tony-robbins-first/

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