Tag: music

I thought you might like to watch my first full scale music video, based on a song I wrote that was nominated for a Posi Award (the Grammy’s of positive music), off my album, Strut!. Please enjoy and share…

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Member BBB 2003 - 2015

I’ve written about signs before.

I’ve explained that there are “flags” in life that give you clues to move forward, pause, or stop.

Green signs or flags mean keep going, yellow signs mean slow down and reflect, and red flags mean stop.

I look for signs all the time, to confirm my direction, or to warn me to reconsider, or to come to a complete halt.

These signs can be anything, from a line in a book to a street sign with a double meaning to a dream to a statement by a friend or from a movie character, or anything else.

But what if the sign is you?

Yes, you.

Let me explain with a story…

Saxman Joe (Art by Mike Denning)

I’ve been practicing the saxophone this year and loving it.

So far I have three vintage saxes: an alto, tenor, and baritone.

I know that Selmer made some highly collectible horns for around twenty years. They are called Mark VI and the prized ones have serial numbers from 53201 to 236000. They are considered the Holy Grail of saxes.

While I have two Selmer vintage saxes, I don’t have a baritone sax (which is what I play) from that specific golden era.

But one showed up on eBay.

Collectible Selmer Mark VI Bari Sax

I stared at it, researched it, considered it, wrote the owner a few questions about it, and more.

I also double checked the serial number on the sax to be sure it was from that magical Selmer period.

It matched.

But I couldn’t bring myself to buy it.

That troubled me.

I kept meditating on the purchase, cleaning internally on any doubts or concerns or uncertainties, but I couldn’t get a resounding yes to actually buy it.

I constantly looked for signs to buy it.

Nothing.

And – believe it or not – I even tried to force a sign from the Universe by consulting an I Ching app, an angel app, and a Magic 8 Ball app.

All said no.

Those were silly apps, I thought, so I was willing to dismiss them.

But I couldn’t.

They were signs.

But the biggest and strongest sign I was getting was from me.

And that sign was also saying no.

I kept feeling — for some unexplained reason — that I shouldn’t get this saxophone.

But I wanted the sax.

I could afford the sax.

I knew the sax was pristine and collectible. Even at the seller’s opening asking price of $10,000 (and his appraised price of $15,000), I could rationalize investing in it. The horn would only go up in value.

But my whole body wouldn’t let me go there, to actually buying it.

First Sax Album Coming 2015

I even got to the point where I typed in my bid on eBay, trying to override all the signs, but as my finger hovered over the key to make the $10,000 bid a permanent contract to buy the sax, my body said “No.”

What!?

It was strange.

My mind said yes – at least part of my mind – but the rest of me said no.

I was confused.

But I knew to trust the signs.

When you don’t trust the early warning signs, you can end up regretting something.

Since the sign was me, and it/I was saying “red flag,” I passed on the sax.

I trusted that it wasn’t for me, for reasons I may never know.

The auction ended.

I watched someone buy it for $10,000.

Gone.

Sigh.

What happened?

I had attracted the sax into my life for a reason, but apparently the reason wasn’t to own it.

So what was the reason?

Over the next day, I reflected on why I wanted that sax.

My 1952 Selmer SBA Baritone

As I meditated on it, I knew that the case the sax came in was original and complete.

The case I have, for my vintage 1952 Super Balanced Action Selmer baritone, is missing the handle.

I want a handle.

So I wrote to Chadd Berry at Worldwide Sax and asked if he could get me one.

He said yes, and did.

Green light.

That was a great sign.

I also realized that the sax for sale came with a metal mouthpiece.

I’ve learned enough about the sax to know the sweet sound comes from the mouthpiece, the reed, and the player. The sax itself just amplifies the sound, which you manipulate mostly with the keys. Some sax players spend a fortune on collecting boxes of mouthpieces, desperately looking for the right one for them.

I wanted a metal mouthpiece.

I did some research, determined one that could work for me, and ordered a gold one.

Green light.

That felt great, too.

Getting the gold mouthpiece (as well as the case handle) was easy, effortless, and almost instantaneous.

That’s how this process is supposed to work when all the flags are green.

And guess what?

I now felt complete.

It’s almost as though I were drawn to the sax on eBay to more deeply connect to my inner compass, and to further my sax playing by getting a metal mouthpiece, not an entire sax, to improve my playing.

For the record, both pieces arrived and work perfectly.

The vintage case is easier to look at and carry with a new handle, and my sax playing is smoother and easier with the gold metal mouthpiece.

And rather than spending $10,000 (or more), I spent less than $1,000 and got everything I needed.

The lesson here, as I see it, is that you have to pay attention to your entire energy system.

If your mind says yes but most of the rest of you says no, that’s a sign.

Explore it.

What is it here for?

Question it.

What could it mean?

Trust it.

You are the sign.

Trust you.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — A great way to fine tune your inner compass is with a trained objective person. Maybe see Miracles Coaching.

PPS — My favorite modern sax player is Mindi Abair. I’m going to have a private sax lesson with her tomorrow, which I am very excited about. She plays the alto sax rather than the baritone, but boy can she play! Her new album, Wild Heart, is a jazz-rock-sax masterpiece. Here’s a taste of her sound from a live performance a while back:

Member BBB 2003 - 2015

Jimbo Berkey bought one copy of my new album, Reflection, and then went back and grabbed 5 more copies.

Five more?

I asked him why.

What do you see in the mirror?

He said —

“After putting Dr. Joe’s ‘Reflection’ disk
into the car player my search for music that
would lift me up and put a smile on my face
was over. With world class instrumental music
in the background playing toe-tapping tunes,
I can hear words that will make me a better
person as they seep from my conscious mind
into my unconscious mind and help me to keep
my thoughts on the ‘right’ side of the
universe all day long.

“I quickly ordered five more copies . . .
why five? Well, my original copy is the one
I will wear out in my car cd player, and
three of the five copies I will gift to
friends that I think have an enlightened
spirit and will recognize them for the
treasure that they are . . . and the
other two? I will keep them in their
original wrapping in a special place
with my rare coins and original
Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall movie
poster because I am convinced that one
day these copies of Dr. Joe’s ‘Reflection’
will be valuable far beyond their cost.”

Apparently this new album is connecting with people of all ages.

Arames Castro is an 18 year old who listened to it and said —

“I’m sure you can imagine the excitement and
anticipation I began to feel as I realized
this is exactly what I’d been searching for.
I like to think of listening to it as “comfort
food for the soul.” My current favorite track
is ‘Reflection.’ The lyrics especially are
freakin’ awesome!”

And Rabbi Neil Schuman said —

“I find your music an uplifting review of
your teachings.”

Click image

And publisher Victoria Belue Schaefer said —

“What an amazing new CD you’ve created!

“It has shades of David Byrne and Brian Eno,
to me, which I’m wondering if was intentional
because Eno was quoted in the beautifully
produced CD booklet.

“The powerful lyrics and modern jazzy-inspired
melodies blew me away.

“The songs Love, Believe and Merlin are great,
but the song Remember was phenomenal! I’ve never
heard positive affirmations to music like that.
Wow! Wow! Wow!

“And what about the song Do? Good grief. Rock monster
with nothing but empowering lyrics. We all need to
play this on a loop when we want to get – and stay
motivated.

“I do believe you have created a new genre of music.”

I love all this positive feedback, of course.

But you need to decide for yourself how much you love the music and which songs are your favorite.

You can hear samples of all the tracks and grab the CD (which comes with a collectible, limited edition booklet, and with a surprise gift) over at http://www.ReflectionCD.com

Go see (and listen).

Enjoy!

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — Previous healing music albums —

http://www.HealingMojoMusic.com
http://www.GetUpandStrut.com
http://www.AtZeroMusic.com
http://www.AligningtoZero.info
http://www.HealingRockMusic.com
http://www.ReflectionCD.com
http://www.TheHealingSong.com

Coming – http://www.432toZero.com

Member BBB 2003 - 2015

ZZ Ward is one of my favorite singers. I met her last year and gave her a  copy of my book, Life’s Missing Instruction Manual. She read it and sent this to me (used with her permission):

ZZ Ward

“Hello Joe! I just wanted to let you know that I love “Life’s Missing Instruction Manual” the book you gave me at my concert! I read it every day, and I’m buying copies for all of those close to me!! It’s an amazing book and probably beats out the art of happiness for me which is also a very inspiring book. Any ways I just wanted to let you know!! Thanks again. – ZZ”

Thank YOU, ZZ!

Secrets Revealed Inside

I met a man on a plane once who told me he buys copies of Life’s Missing Instruction Manual, hides a one hundred dollar bill inside each, and gives them out to people who graduate or have some other milestone.

As the author, you know I like hearing this. 🙂

You can get the book (printed, Kindle, or audio version) at Amazon or wherever  books are sold.

http://www.amazon.com/Lifes-Missing-Instruction-Manual-Guidebook/dp/111865966X/

Just sharing. 🙂

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Be sure to check out ZZ Ward’s music at –  http://www.zzward.com

Member BBB 2003 - 2015

Look closely at this photo…

Bill Phillips presenting medal to me

I am smiling as bright as sunshine itself.

You can’t imagine how joyful I felt when Body-for-Life fitness legend Bill Phillips presented me with a medal and a certificate for completing his 12-week transformation challenge.

It was my third time to complete his challenge in the last twelve months, and my third medal, but the first one presented to me in public by Bill himself.

I was as giddy as a star struck teenager meeting a super hero.

And I have met super heroes, like the Hulk Lou Ferrigno…

Meeting Lou Ferrigno in my gym one year ago (and me 50 pounds heavier)

And Superman Dean Cain…

Meeting Dean Cain (and I was 50 pounds heavier)

But look at me now…

I'm a champion!

If you’ve been following this blog, you know I have been on a physical transformation journey for one year now. It started when I attended Bill’s Transformation Camp in February 2013.

I have stayed true to Bill’s teachings. I eat right, workout intensely five days a week, follow his principles for self awareness, spirituality, generosity, forgiveness, supporting others in their quest, and more.

The results speak for themselves. I’ve released at least 50 pounds of extra weight, added at least 15 pounds of muscle, and feel like a young Hercules.

A lot of people are supporting me, too, as you can see from this art that was given to me:

Hercules Joe

Bill’s latest weekend camp is called LIFE. It stands for Learning + Inspiration + Fitness + Energy. I just returned from the very first one at his center in Denver.

I loved it.

It’s a refined and more on target version of his Transformation Camp. The eating advice is the same, the workouts are changed a little, the new stories are moving and inspiring, and the daily worksheets (now in full color) are more specific; more like a game you can play to win every day.

I'm very proud of this accomplishment

One big change is Bill wants us to begin with a life vision.

From there, create a year goal, a six month goal, and then a 12 week goal.

That assignment alone helped me feel inspired and fired up to keep moving forward.

It’s no longer about twelve weeks; it’s about life.

I strongly recommend Bill’s work. It isn’t about weight loss per se as it is about living with integrity and wellness.

I regard Bill as a hero in my life; a source of transformation and inspiration from way back in 2004 when I entered and completed five back-to-back Body-For-Life challenges (and received an honorable mention for one of them).

Bill is a genius at sorting through all the conflicting data about health and fitness, and boiling it down to what actually works across the board for all of us.

He’s not a jock so much as a spiritual teacher in the gym.

He’s the Socrates of fitness.

The Buddha of health.

The Aurelius of spiritual-physical balance.

I love the man and his work.

His latest book, Transformation, should be read by all of us. (He’s working on a new book, which I am excited to read.)

Comparing biceps with the legend (Bill, not me)

The people who attend his weekend events are from all ages and all walks of life. Each has a story and a struggle, and each is ready to transform under Bill’s guidance.

Every time I attend one of his events — and I’ve been to four now — I am always moved by the people, their life paths, and their commitment to positive change.

Previous posts about Bill Philips and my Transformation progress:

March 1 2013 http://blog.mrfire.com/transformation-on-demand/

May 16 2013 http://blog.mrfire.com/transformation-update/

October 22, 2013 http://blog.mrfire.com/transformation-part-three/

I fully endorse Bill Phillips. I am not an affiliate for anything he offers (he doesn’t know I’m writing this) but I fully recommend all of it.

I’m told his May event is sold out. He just announced a June camp for June 6, 7, 8. If I were you, I’d go. For more details, see  http://www.transformation.com/ or send an email to [email protected]

Meanwhile, follow your dreams with passion, commitment, and the fire of inspiration.

This post isn’t about me (okay, yes it is) so much as it is a reminder that you can achieve your dreams, too.

Anything is possible.

Expect Miracles.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Lucky you. You can watch me workout with Bill Phillips in this quick video filmed by his wife Maria. I’m on my last set of reps, lifting 100 pounds (two 50 pound dumbbells) like a gorilla ready for his feeding. Enjoy!

PPS –  I wrote the song “Believe” on my latest album in part due to Bill and his beautiful wife Maria (who released 60 pounds) believing in me. Hear a sample by clicking right here.

My new album is everywhere!