Tag: guitar

“Do you believe in God?”

I would get that question after people read my book, The Attractor Factor, or read (or saw the movie) The Secret.

They somehow assumed that the Law of Attraction replaced God.

They somehow assumed that people who practice the Law of Attraction are playing God.

That confused me.

“God gave you the Law of Attraction,” I would explain. “Just as God — or the Divine, Universe, or Nature — gave you gravity. It’s a tool you can use, but it doesn’t replace the person who gave it to you.”

Not God but keep reading to discover Rudy Pensa and his heavenly store...

I’d go on to explain that I absolutely believe in God, but usually call that “ultimate force of life” the Divine, to neutralize any emotional buttons people have when they hear the word “God.”

But this unseen force is not only giving us life, It is nudging us in a certain direction, too.

In a way, the force is “pruning” us.

As you go about your life, you get bumped and rocked by events as a way for Life (God, Divine, etc) to direct you where IT wants you to go.

The more you follow the nudges, the easier life gets.

This blog post is an example.

I was sitting, eating dinner with Nerissa, when the idea for this post entered my mind.

I wasn’t looking for an idea.

I was enjoying my dinner.

But I’ve learned to obey the Divine’s inspirations.

So I turned to Nerissa and said, “You know how I get ideas at odd moments?”

She looked at me and said, “See you later.”

She understood.

Here’s another example:

I was in New York City on business and decided to visit Rudy’s Music Store in SoHo.

I knew it was famous, that Rudy Pensa is a renown collector of rare instruments, and I suspected it’d be worth the trip to see it.

Not God either but Gordon French at Rudy's showing me a Versoul electric guitar (made by Kari Nieminen in Finland)

It was.

The beautiful store is two stories of new and old guitars, acoustic and electric, some highly collectible, all stunning.

I was in awe of the place.

In a display case was a 1938 D’Angelico New Yorker archtop guitar.

If you know guitars, you just fainted.

The late John D’Angelico is considered the Michelangelo of guitar makers.

His instruments are sought after by collectors, musicians, museums, and fans.

Books have been written about his style and his guitars.

Even Rudy, the owner of the shop, created a mammoth coffee table book (Archtop Guitars) with some of D’Angelico’s guitars described inside, knew D’Angelico, and owns a few of his works.

Stunning book of archtop guitars made by D'Angelico, D'Aquisto, and Monteleone, compiled by Rudy Pensa

D’Angelico made 1,164 guitars in his life. (He died in 1964).

He didn’t hand carve all those guitars for fame or fortune.

He said, “Big money? Big title? For what? I want to build guitars under my own name, for my own customers, the way I do it! For me that’s a good life!”

And there I was, staring at one of them.

Gordon, the shop keeper, pulled the 1938 masterpiece out of the case and handed it to me.

“I can play it?” I asked.

“Yes, of course,” he said. “We want you to experience any guitar you see here.”

1938 D'Angelico New Yorker

I held the archtop as if it was out of a museum.

I strummed it and heard the sound of angels.

I looked it over and saw God’s handiwork in a guitar.

I could tell the guitar was well played, well loved, and still in flawless shape.

“Everything on it is original except the covering on the pick guard,” Gordon said. “We even have the original case.”

Later, Rudy showed me the ledger in his book revealing the serial number for the guitar, year made, and who it was made for, all in D’Angelico’s handwriting.

This is where I felt the inner tug at my heart that I think is the Divine calling me.

I’ve learned to follow those tugs.

After Rudy told me the price, and I gasped, I asked if there was a discount for a guitar lover who would probably buy other guitars from him.

He laughed, ran some numbers, and gave me a slight break.

I bought it.

What does this have to do with God?

Look behind the scenes…

"Acquired of the Angels" is another book about D'Angelico guitars

I only felt directed to go to one store in all of New York City.

Rudy’s.

I could have gone anywhere.

And while there, the D’Angelico seemed to call out my name.

I could have ignored it.

I believe all of this was Divinity aiming my direction.

Later, after I left the store and decided to walk two miles back to my hotel, I wondered what would come of my buying an investment grade work of playable art.

Then another inspiration hit me.

(Where do these inspirations come from?)

I realized that my forthcoming book, The Secret Prayer, could be enriched with the story of how I was led to the guitar.

You see, I had said a prayer before I left that morning, asking to be led to the right place and to experience a joyful event.

As I’ve written before, “Prayer is a way to activate the Law of Attraction by requesting an intention and inviting inspiration.”

I said my prayer in a state of gratitude, made a request for an exciting day, and took action by following my hunch to go to Rudy’s.

From there, I simply allowed the miracle.

And it happened.

In other words, God is directing me (and you, too, of course), and we can attract (or allow) miracles when we act on the signs and opportunities we are given.

But we have to participate.

I could have said “I”ll skip Rudy’s and go to Starbucks.”

I could have said, “Nah, that D’Angelico is too expensive.”

I could have said, “No, I’d rather finish dinner than write this post.”

But when you say YES to the inspirations, and take action, you are following Divinity’s plan for you.

When you follow inspiration – whether to build a guitar of the caliber of a D’Angelico, or to buy one – you are following the Divine’s path for you.

But you may need a razor sharp sensitivity to hear the whisper, and total faith to take action on the prompting.

Werner Erhard (founder of est) used to say, “If you knew what God wanted you to do, you’d do it and be happy. Well, what you are doing right now is what God wants you to do.”

So the next time you feel stuck or stopped, ask if Divinity is trying to redirect your path or your process.

Or the next time you receive a nudge to leave dinner early, or buy a guitar, ask if you are ready to step out in faith.

Where is God?

Right here.

Ao Akua,

joe

PS – Rudy’s Music Store in New York City is right here.

PPS – Yes, I was also practicing “prosperous purchasing” by getting the 1938 D’Angelico New Yorker, a concept I explain in my free book, Attract Money Now.

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I’m in the recording studio with Grammy nominated legend Ruthie Foster and award-winning singer and producer Daniel Barrett. We have joined forces to create an album together.

I’m flattered beyond belief that these two superstars want me on an album. After all, I’m relatively new to being a musician. And I’ve been a long time fan of both of them. To be in the studio with them is mind boggling.

I was so excited to record with them that I showed up for our first session thirty days early. (!)

But what’s really interesting is how we are all stretching ourselves.

For example —

Daniel Barrett, Ruthie Foster, and me

Ruthie is famous for her singing but not her lead guitar.

On our album, she is playing lead electric guitar.

Daniel does everything, from engineering to singing and more, but he doesn’t play the drums. Or at least didn’t.

On this album, he does.

I’m a newbie to music and don’t have all that much experience doing anything (even though I’ve released eight albums in over three years). I certainly am brand new and uncomfortable on the saxophone.

On this album, I am playing a baritone saxophone.

What’s going on here?

Ruthie Foster stretching

Each of us is stretching out of our comfort zones.

Why?

How?

When you stretch your comfort zone, you reach a new level of comfort and confidence.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?” – Robert Browning

When Daniel, Ruthie and I go into the studio, we talk, share, joke, and play. Out of our openness, we come up with songs. Out of our willingness to take risks, and exceed our comfort zones by pursing our desires, we create new possibilities.

The result is magic.

And some pretty cool music.

This is an important lesson for each of us.

You have “comfort zone limits,” too.

When you find them and nudge them a bit, you extend your power and attract new results.

We aren’t doing daredevil stuff in the studio.

When you look in the mirror, what do you hear?

We are taking what we haven’t done before but want to do, and focusing on making something happen by doing it.

We are simply following our inspiration and taking action to create something new.

Yes, there is often fear involved, but we feel the fear and do it, anyway.

We turn the fear into fuel.

Here’s an example —

One day, while Ruthie was playing lead electric guitar (and truly wowing me at it), I received an idea for a song.

I jotted it down.

As she kept playing, I started singing the song in my head.

The lyrics and her melody seemed to work together.

When she was done playing, I did something daring.

I said, “I want to sing!”

This was a huge move on my part.

Singing at all, any time, any place, has been a challenge for me.

I’m new at it.

I’ve been insecure about it.

And to sing for Ruthie Foster — one of the best singers I’ve ever heard in my entire life — was a courageous even outrageous thing to suggest.

Even though Ruthie had mentioned just the day before, “I like your singing, Joe. You can sing with me if you want,” I didn’t feel ready to leave my comfy mindset and step into her arena.

But.

But I wanted to push out of my comfort zone.

My heart was racing but I knew I had to do this.

Daniel and Ruthie are loving and supportive, and urged me on.

After all, each of us was doing something new.

We were all stretching.

So I took a deep breath, got in front of the mike, and belted out my tune.

After I sang, Daniel said, “That was some of the best singing I’ve ever heard out of you.”

Really?

Adding Bari Sax

I looked over at Ruthie and she was beaming a sunny smile and nodding her head in agreement.

It was amazing.

Daniel’s drumming, Ruthie’s lead guitar, my vocals — it was a stretch for each of us but it all came together into a powerful new song that will be on our forthcoming first album.

And that song will probably be titled, “Stretch Yourself!”

All I’m reminding you here is do what you fear.

If you have a dream but feel nervous about it, that’s good.

It means you care.

The next step is to get up and do something about it.

Your comfort zones are invisible lines in your mind.

You can melt them with a little stepping forth.

I’m packing up my baritone saxophone and heading back to the studio right now.

It’s time for Saxman Joe to do his thing.

What are you going to do today to stretch yourself?

Ao Akua,

Saxman Joe

PS — Ruthie Foster told me she got an “Aha!” from listening to my song, ‘Reflection,’ off my latest singer-songwriter album of the same name. You can hear samples of all the tracks on that album and grab the CD (which comes with a collectible, limited edition booklet, and with a surprise gift) over at http://www.ReflectionCD.com

BONUS: If you’ve never heard Ruthie Foster sing, watch this…

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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…

Click to read book for free

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Who says you need money?

Last weekend I received a mega gift in Las Vegas – a late 60th birthday present – that was so unexpected, overwhelming, rare, loving, priceless and magnificent, that I’m still nearly speechless.

Over 50 people were involved — none were paid, all gave out of love and generosity — and the result was a gift of such magnitude and historic importance that I’m not sure how to describe it.

But here goes…

I love everyone in my Miracles Coaching program.

The coaches and staff are upbeat, positive, loving and loveable people.

Keep reading for a-maz-ing story...

Once a year the top coaches and sales people meet me in Las Vegas for a dinner, awards ceremony, sharing, meeting and more. I always look forward to the trips and the catching up.

Over dinner, they hinted early on that they had a surprise for me. I figured it’d be a cigar or a book. I didn’t think too much of it. I wasn’t there for me. I was there for them.

Little did I know that their little surprise would change my life forever.

Steve Gardner, one of the team leaders, began.

He handed me a little key.

I joked that it must be for a little car.

Back of guitar just as glorious as front (says Mathew Dixon holding it)

Wrong.

Turns out it was to a guitar case.

Not to any guitar, though.

What these people had done was build the world’s first Clearing Guitar.

It was hand crafted out of Kauri wood estimated to be over 50,000 years old (!), and included gems and mantras and other healing mojo to make it a truly one of a kind healing guitar.

The Miracle Guitar

It was crafted of other wood that I love, such as koa, flame maple, and purple heart.

It contains unique additions, such as a mammoth tooth estimated to be over 12,000 years old (!).

It also has chakra stones for fret markers, and more.

It’s tuned to the 424 Hz frequency, said to be more harmonious to our bodies than the standard 440 Hz.

And it is a baritone electric guitar.

The Clearing Guitar

I’m in awe of this incredible guitar, made with such precision, and care, and so personalized, and with such healing qualities.

I’ve never seen anything like it.

More than that, they built it for me.

They talked to Guitar Monk Mathew Dixon, my guitar teacher and partner on several musical albums, to determine what kind of guitar would be best for me. He told them of my love for baritones.

With the inside info from Mathew, and further insights about clearing and ho’oponopono from Suzanne Burns, my right (and left) hand partner in business, they went to work.

Guitar maker Mark Seddon

The whole idea was the brain child of Abi White. She went to her friend, luthier Mark Seddon of Oxbow Guitars in the U.K., and they began the process.

In the end, six months later, over 50 people gave product or service, to help create this Miracle Guitar, what they call The Clearing Guitar.

Mark named it Morrnah, after Morrnah Simeona, who gave us all ho’oponopono (as described in my books, At Zero and Zero Limits).

They presented the guitar to me in Las Vegas.

After I heard the story of its creation, I was almost speechless.

When I held the guitar, I felt the love.

When I played it, I felt the magic.

But the story gets even better.

Abi, who came up with the idea, and Mark, the luthier who crafted the guitar, flew to Vegas from London to meet me the next morning.

It was the idea of Abi White

Mark answered my questions about the guitar, and set it up for me to play for everyone at our private meeting in Vegas. It was a joyful experience to strum such a one-of-a-kind baritone electric guitar, with the unusual but soothing 424 Hz frequency tuning, and all the esoteric specifics that went into it.

I teach that you need to “get clear” of unconscious limitations so you can attract what you want. Along the way, certain tools can help you.

This Clearing Guitar is designed to clear me as I play it, and clear you as you hear it.

So you can expect music created with it down the road. 🙂

Abi White summed up the creation of this guitar this way…

“For me this guitar inspired by Joe and manifest through myself, The team at Prosper, Mat Dixon, Mark Seddon and so so so many others whom I love and am very gratefull for is far more than just a guitar. It a a stunning beautiful completely balanced highly powerful clearing tool that I hope will assist and support Joe in the work he is doing in the world to bring healing and clearing through music or as Mat Dixon The Guitar monk puts it far more eloquently: ‘To simply call this a guitar would be an understatement, it is a Masterpiece! A one-of-a-kind piece of art, created with love by all those involved’.”

And for me…

It’s difficult to describe the love and gratitude I feel.

When I realize that 50 some people were feeling such love and gratitude to me, that they wanted to create this for me, the feeling of love is almost incomprehensible.

There is no way I can list everyone involved and thank all involved, but a good place to start is looking at the website they created for this amazing gift.

It’s right here: http://www.theclearingguitar.com

And of course, this was a gift from everyone in Miracles Coaching.

I thank you, one and all.

I am beyond grateful.

Ao Akua

joe

PS – If you are interested in a Clearing Guitar of your own, contact Oxbow Guitars at www.oxbowguitars.co.uk

What do you hear?

I have a question for you…

I would like to send you my latest album, titled Reflection, which is a breakthrough in self-help healing music.

It’s music to soothe, heal, stir and awaken.

Click image to pre-order new album

Every track is original, and every track conveys a powerful message about life, love, miracles, faith, and more.

It’s all designed to raise your vibration so you can better attract higher levels of consciousness and manifestations.

It works beautifully with the Law of Attraction because it helps program your mind to attract what you want and prefer.

For example –

The song “Love” could be the anthem for a whole generation. It is unforgettable. It will help you love and attract love. When you feel love, you merge with the higher attraction law of the Universe.

The song “Fidem” lets you know the truth about worry. The message is freeing. (“Fidem” means faith.)

The song “Lakshmi” is a powerful song of homage to the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity. It can help you attract more abundance. (She is a secret in my own success.)

The title track song, “Reflection,” reminds you that the whole world is a mirror — of you. (This song has the potential to trigger an awakening in you.)

The song “Remember” is a beautiful, yet haunting message of how to change your life with a brand new process. (It is way cool.) It was inspired by “The Remembering Process” book (coming in April).

The song “Do” is a pep talk to get you moving. It could help you overcome procrastination and fire you up for the day or a work out. The word ‘action’ is in the phrase ‘law of attraction.’

The song “Believe” lets you know what to do when no one seems to believe in you or your dreams. We live in a belief driven universe, so this song is timely and powerful.

I could go on and list every track and the story behind each, but you get the idea.

This new album is a-maz-ing.

My band behind "Reflection"

I got my band back together — Daniel Barrett, Glenn Fukunaga, and Rock and Rock Hall of Fame drummer Joe Vitale (yes, he has the same name as me) — and we created this new album of ten tracks just for you.

It’s self-help healing music at its best.

It’s music that transforms.

And I want to send it to you.

The album on CD – complete with a beautiful printed book revealing all of the lyrics and including photos of me and the band – is at the printer right now.

It will be a limited edition collectible, because I am only printing a small quantity of 1,000 to offer to my readers and friends (like you).

It will sell to others for $21.95 but when you go and pre-order it right now, you can have it for only $9.95 (plus shipping, of course).

That’s well over half off.

That’s only a dollar a song.

For less than ten bucks, you can change your life through sound *and* get a collectible new album and booklet, too.

Plus I will include a surprise gift when we ship the new album to you in April.

(You will love it.)

May I send it to you?

Just go see http://www.reflectioncd.com

Expect Miracles.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – This offer will last until May 1st, 2014. Please go order one or more albums (think of your family and friends) right now while it’s on your mind at — http://www.ReflectionCD.com

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