Category: The Reiki Rocker

Why do we do what we do in this world? Do we do things to make other people happy, do we do things to make ourselves happy, or is it a combination of both? I believe that we need a combination of both, a balance. You go too far one way, (making other people happy), and you end up losing your true self, becoming needy, always relying on others to make you happy… you go too far the other way and you’re a Narcissist, (the Me! Me! Me! show, which is kind of needy in itself). Both sides, because there isn’t a balance, rely on others to tell them how special they are. So what would a good balance look like then?

Here is an example of having a balance of the two;

Recently we went on vacation with some close friends to do some wine tasting in California. One of the evenings we started discussing all of the ‘no no’s’… Politics and Religion. Why do I consider these people close friends? Because we each had our own opinions about the political climate as well as religion, traditions, faith, etc. We were having a discussion, a debate. We all learned something that night about each other and why each one of us felt the way we did about each subject…. and we’re still friends! Yes, we are still friends because we each respected the others opinions. I’ll tell you something that we all learned as well…

We believe what we believe because of the conditions we’ve lived in. Because of our experiences. And not one of us have experienced the same thing. So why would we expect to have the same views? Diversity. Diversity leads to growth. Growth leads to change. And change is the only constant in this universe. Change can be good if we let it be.

I’ve often shared with people my philosophy… I don’t believe in right or wrong. I believe in what works or what doesn’t work. When we take on the philosophy of ‘what works’ or ‘what doesn’t work’ we say that no one person is right or wrong, because everybody has their own opinion. Opinions can be so varied from person to person. As I stated above… not one of us were raised the same, nor with the same beliefs or ideas. So when I see people rallying behind one candidate or another (I’m using the political candidates as a reference because of the climate right now. I’ve seen friends ‘de-friend’ others because they believe something different from themselves or because they’ve been attacked for having an opposing belief.) I don’t say that those people are ‘wrong’ or ‘right’. I look at each unique situation and see why each group would rally behind one or the other candidate. Now, do I agree with them? No, but that is my journey, not theirs.

If we had a balance within ourselves we wouldn’t be concerned one iota about what somebody else believes or not. There is a reason why we have the candidates that we have today. They are who we are. They are only mimicking what we all believe or have been brainwashed to believe. Yes, I said brainwashed. We’ve lost original thought. We are so caught up in our Facebook or Twitter feeds that we can’t think for ourselves anymore and all of this has become a popularity contest. Numerous times I’ve seen people re-post Dogma that they’ve been sent without doing their own research. There is a truth in the saying…

“Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” – Benjamin Franklin

So I guess what I’m asking you is this… “What do you believe?” Are you afraid to say what you really believe because of what people might say to you? Talk to me… you know that I will be the guy that talks politics and religion. Why? Because whatever you might share with me, I might learn something… or vise versa.

So what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of losing friends? My question to you would be… are those friends worth having in your life? If you can’t have people around you that are helping you grow as a human being then they aren’t worth having.

Peace out!
D

 “Hell happens when the evil of the world exceeds our belief
that we can conquer it.” – Divinci’s Demons

This might be the first time that I’ve taken a quote from a TV series, but it had such an impact on me when I heard it, I had to write it down.

I’m sure you know somebody that says, “I’m in Hell”. Are they saying it for sympathy or recognition or have they truly fallen so low that they can’t see any possible way to get out of their situation? When it is the latter, what can we do about it?

There will always be what people perceive as good and evil or hell in this world. It’s all just that, a perception. This is why I am such a huge proponent of The Law of Attraction. I will get to that momentarily, but first, before jumping directly into the fire (no pun intended), a little background on how I got to this point.

I’ve felt a time or two that there was no way in the world that I could ever change my life, that I was doomed to this existence. So I can speak from experience. It wasn’t until I started to retrain my brain to think differently, did this change.

It’s hard for people to hear that nothing is impossible
if they think that everything is indeed, impossible.

To those people they are just words, quotes out of Chicken Soup for the Soul or some other self help book. To hear those words and have them mean something in your life, you, at first, need to take baby steps. You need to reach out to someone who truly does believe these words. Someone who can help you, guide you to your feet. Eventually little things will start happening around you that prove to you that, in fact, nothing is impossible. It will take belief. And part of the reason it took me so long is because I needed physical proof.

I’ve never been much of a believer
mainly because I never had belief in myself.

It’s the mirror that I’ve talked about in other blogs. We can’t see what we are not, inside. So it’s going to take reshaping ourselves inside for the outside to change. It took me going back to my childhood where I would sit in my room for hours alone building cities with my lego blocks. Racing my matchbox cars around the city. Making believe that anything that came to my head was possible. It took retracing my steps backwards to where it all began. It started when my father left us. I was only Seven. I had become a grown up at Seven, the man of the house. How overwhelming is that? It took me forgiving my father for what he had done to us (or what I perceived as him doing to us), and accepting that his reality is much different than mine.

He didn’t do this to me personally, I did this to myself.

It took all of this for me to start retraining my brain to know that I do matter. That I am, in fact, the person that I am today because of it. I needed to believe again.

Some people run to religion, some run to drugs or alcohol or sex. In moderation, any of these can be fun or helpful tools for us. (I’ve always wanted to take a trip on ayahuasca). But each one of these things become crutches, band-aids to the real problem, until you can actually believe in yourself. Again, they are all TEMPORARY until you believe in yourself. Baby steps, Baby!

So how do we do this? Where do we start?

Like I mentioned above… get someone who can help you, guide you. If you don’t have the means to get a coach, get a friend that you can lean on for a bit. Someone you can trust with all of your deep dark secrets. You need to go back to the root of the problem. Figure out where it all started by peeling back the layers of the onion.

There might be a lot of layers to peel back but if you don’t start now
there will be even more layers to peel back in the future.

For me it was delving into Summit Education when I lived in Florida. It was kind of like a Tony Robbins program. It had three phases. Basic, Advanced and the the Leadership course where I would have coaching calls every morning before I started my day. I equate it to Marine Corp Bootcamp, only for your soul. It took months of retraining to get the neural pathways to start new, healthier patterns. Kind of like grooves on a record. I dug so deep that I eventually became a coach.

You can go to a Tony Robbin’s seminar or some other self help seminar for a weekend and it will have an impact, but for 99% of you it will be very short lived. It won’t really stop the patterns. It will only put a band-aid on them. You need to really dig in and make yourself uncomfortable.

Facing your fears, your mistakes, and traumas
will scare the shit out of you.

But when you finally reach that layer of the onion that has kept you where you are today you will smile and you will gladly start going deeper down the rabbit hole.

For me, that rabbit hole led me to The Law of Attraction. It started with a movie called The Secret which was a great introduction into the Law of Attraction. I hold these believes dear to me because after traveling down this spiritual highway it rang true to my soul. It was so simple that it was funny. You see, the basics of the Law of Attraction are this…

What you focus on becomes your reality.

Silly right? I mean, what if we could start our lives out believing this?

Let’s break this down… What we focus on becomes our reality. Imagine this… You’re driving down the highway heading towards where you want to go, you’ve got your GPS dialed in and all of a sudden you see something on the side of the road and you just can’t get your eyes off of it, then your car crashes. You get out and say to yourself, “How did this happen? How did I end up here?” It happened because your focus was on something else. It wasn’t a temporary glance.

Life is this way for most of us. We get down in the dumps and we crash. We can’t take our focus off of what brought us to that point, instead of temporarily looking at it, recognizing it for what it is, and then focusing back our attention on our destination. This happens because we start believing it. We start believing it because we don’t have the tools to recognize it for what it is, a temporary distraction.

Now this is a very basic introduction to this only for the sake of time and space for this blog, but I encourage you to delve deep down into that rabbit hole. Start peeling back the layers of the onion and soon the evil of this world that everyone perceives, will only be a temporary distraction to where your destination lies.

And remember this…

It’s called a Spiritual Practice for a reason.
It must become a practice, every day, or it will fade away.

Peace,
David

This article can be read on Sin City Presents or the link below.

http://joom.ag/HZJQ/p44

I don’t watch the news… I haven’t for years. I know that news will travel to me via word of mouth. It always does. I listen to both sides of whatever the story is that travels to me and then base my own interpretation on what that story may be. The only saying is the truth… There’s your side of the story, my side of the story and then there is the truth. In my last blog I wrote about ‘truth’ and that ‘truth’ is a very individual interpretation. I don’t believe that we ever get anywhere when we say that something is ‘wrong’. We can only come to a conclusion when we acknowledge that something doesn’t work for everybody. Please feel free to read that blog if you want a deeper understanding. You can find it here. My only reason for even bringing this up is because of all of the news that has traveled to me about what happened in Dallas.

What I am not going to do here is get into what has already been said by the media. There are plenty of people that will give their opinions. What I will do is give my opinion on why I think it happened.

I can’t speak about being oppressed, or being a minority. I can’t speak of constantly looking over my shoulder ready to be blamed for something. I am a WASP. A white anglo-saxon Protestant. At least I was born that way. When they say that the world is your oyster… quite literally it is for me here in America. I don’t have money, fame or any of the things that I strive for… but I do have the potential to have all of that with no obstacles in my way except for what obstacles I create myself. It’s because I’m white. Now my Black, Hispanic and Native American brothers don’t have the freedom that I do. They are always getting looked at as a potential threat. I can never know how they truly feel, so I won’t even speculate, nor judge.

If we look back in history we had Martin Luther King, a peaceful protester and leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Despite all of the obstacles in his way he knew that Hate vs. Hate will only breed more Hate. The only way to balance it was with Love. Martin Luther King was killed for what he believed in. A very powerful man who influences me, this white man, to this very day. On the other side were the Black Panthers. The side that believed that they could only bring peace through other methods. Who was ‘right’ and who was ‘wrong’? Again, as I’ve stated, I don’t believe in ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, but what works and what doesn’t work. People do what they do because that is what ‘works’ for them at the time. That struggle is still going on today. I have white friends who will tell me that the black people should just get over it already. My blatant reply to them? Fuck You. Until you can walk in their shoes shut your fucking mouth.

So what do I believe? I believe that it’s all F.E.A.R.: False Evidence Appearing Real.

A percentage of people out there still don’t want equal rights. Hell, there is still a KKK out there. Baffles my mind really. But I know that it is out of F.E.A.R.. These people are afraid. Afraid of what? I don’t know… I’ve never talked to one. But I have talked to several people who are afraid. It’s inbred I believe. We learn our F.E.A.R.. We aren’t born with it, it is passed down from generation to generation. The only way to break the mold is to live our lives the way that we want to without letting F.E.A.R. stop us. If your parents are prejudice it is more than likely that you will be as well unless you step away… assess your own feelings and move forward.

A number of years back, when I lived in Colorado, I wrote a song with some friends in England. I called the song F.E.A.R.. Listen to it and read the words. F.E.A.R. is an individual response and the only way to conquer it is through love and doing what you were mean’t to do on this planet. I don’t believe that there is any other way… at least not in my reality.

Peace,
David Reed Watson

What’s the confusion? What’s the solution?
What’s the conclusion to a life un-lived?
Who do you turn to when your world becomes un-glued?
Follow your passion and align your dreams

Aggravation to adulation
You get what you ask for (Sometimes in extremes)

It’s just F.E.A.R. that keeps you here
You control your situation
Meditate, don’t hesitate
Clarity will wipe that F.E.A.R. away

Constant attention, and forward momentum
Keeps the addiction from coming to light
Look at your feelings, they are there for a reason
Give yourself meaning to a meaningless life

Aggravation to adulation
You get what you ask for in this world of dreams

It’s just F.E.A.R. that keeps you here
You control your situation
Meditate, don’t hesitate
Clarity will wipe that F.E.A.R. away

Meditation is my medication

I don’t watch the news… I haven’t for years. I know that news will travel to me via word of mouth. It always does. I listen to both sides of whatever the story is that travels to me and then base my own interpretation on what that story may be. The only saying is the truth… There’s your side of the story, my side of the story and then there is the truth. In my last blog I wrote about ‘truth’ and that ‘truth’ is a very individual interpretation. I don’t believe that we ever get anywhere when we say that something is ‘wrong’. We can only come to a conclusion when we acknowledge that something doesn’t work for everybody. Please feel free to read that blog if you want a deeper understanding. You can find it here. My only reason for even bringing this up is because of all of the news that has traveled to me about what happened in Dallas.

What I am not going to do here is get into what has already been said by the media. There are plenty of people that will give their opinions. What I will do is give my opinion on why I think it happened.

I can’t speak about being oppressed, or being a minority. I can’t speak of constantly looking over my shoulder ready to be blamed for something. I am a WASP. A white anglo-saxon Protestant. At least I was born that way. When they say that the world is your oyster… quite literally it is for me here in America. I don’t have money, fame or any of the things that I strive for… but I do have the potential to have all of that with no obstacles in my way except for what obstacles I create myself. It’s because I’m white. Now my Black, Hispanic and Native American brothers don’t have the freedom that I do. They are always getting looked at as a potential threat. I can never know how they truly feel, so I won’t even speculate, nor judge.

If we look back in history we had Martin Luther King, a peaceful protester and leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Despite all of the obstacles in his way he knew that Hate vs. Hate will only breed more Hate. The only way to balance it was with Love. Martin Luther King was killed for what he believed in. A very powerful man who influences me, this white man, to this very day. On the other side were the Black Panthers. The side that believed that they could only bring peace through other methods. Who was ‘right’ and who was ‘wrong’? Again, as I’ve stated, I don’t believe in ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, but what works and what doesn’t work. People do what they do because that is what ‘works’ for them at the time. That struggle is still going on today. I have white friends who will tell me that the black people should just get over it already. My blatant reply to them? Fuck You. Until you can walk in their shoes shut your fucking mouth.

So what do I believe? I believe that it’s all F.E.A.R.: False Evidence Appearing Real.

A percentage of people out there still don’t want equal rights. Hell, there is still a KKK out there. Baffles my mind really. But I know that it is out of F.E.A.R.. These people are afraid. Afraid of what? I don’t know… I’ve never talked to one. But I have talked to several people who are afraid. It’s inbred I believe. We learn our F.E.A.R.. We aren’t born with it, it is passed down from generation to generation. The only way to break the mold is to live our lives the way that we want to without letting F.E.A.R. stop us. If your parents are prejudice it is more than likely that you will be as well unless you step away… assess your own feelings and move forward.

A number of years back, when I lived in Colorado, I wrote a song with some friends in England. I called the song F.E.A.R.. Listen to it and read the words. F.E.A.R. is an individual response and the only way to conquer it is through love and doing what you were mean’t to do on this planet. I don’t believe that there is any other way… at least not in my reality.

Peace,
David Reed Watson

What’s the confusion? What’s the solution?
What’s the conclusion to a life un-lived?
Who do you turn to when your world becomes un-glued?
Follow your passion and align your dreams

Aggravation to adulation
You get what you ask for (Sometimes in extremes)

It’s just F.E.A.R. that keeps you here
You control your situation
Meditate, don’t hesitate
Clarity will wipe that F.E.A.R. away

Constant attention, and forward momentum
Keeps the addiction from coming to light
Look at your feelings, they are there for a reason
Give yourself meaning to a meaningless life

Aggravation to adulation
You get what you ask for in this world of dreams

It’s just F.E.A.R. that keeps you here
You control your situation
Meditate, don’t hesitate
Clarity will wipe that F.E.A.R. away

Meditation is my medication

What is your Truth?

“We both have truths… Are mine the same as Yours?”

Pilot sings this to Jesus in the song, ‘Trial before Pilot‘ in the smash Broadway show from the early 70’s,  Jesus Christ Superstar (I’ve linked the Original London cast from 1970. I consider this to be the best version. Especially because Ian Gillian from Deep Purple is Jesus). I remember hearing those words many years ago and it has always been a statement that I’ve gravitated towards. I’ve heard it in many forms since, but all in all it means the same thing… we all have beliefs and whatever those beliefs are, and if they work for us, then we stick with them. I posted this on my facebook page the other day, “Here’s a rule of thumb that will help you: If you believe that something is good, and you do it, it benefits you. If you believe that something is bad, and you do it, it is a very detrimental experience.” That was written by Abraham, and I don’t think it went over too well, that is if you measure a post upon ‘like’s. I personally don’t but I know many that do. Again… my truth is not the same as yours, nor should it be… unless it is. (Now that’s Deep!)

Why is this concept so difficult to accept? Because we think that there is a general right or wrong and once somebody states that ‘this is right’ or ‘this is wrong’ it should follow suit for everybody. But what if I believe what the Buddhist’s believe? Would I be wrong? Or take some of my gay friends… are they wrong? The problem with ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ is that they are too grey an area to define. That’s why Pilot said to Jesus when he said that his truth was different. What he believed was different. Right now in our country I see a divide, a deep divide. People fighting over ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. So do we eliminate ‘right’ and ‘wrong’? It’s kind of a Pollyanna concept in this stage of our human development. I mean, it’s a great ‘concept’ and like all great concepts we strive to move towards it. Maybe someday we will let people live their lives the way they want to. But for now we need it to keep from creating societal chaos. That being said, on an individual level we can move forward with this concept of ‘right and ‘wrong’ and understand that by eliminating it, or at least trying to eliminate it from within ourselves we can be more tolerant of others. You see, everybody is living their own dream here. We are born, we live, then we die. Each and every one of us. So what is it that we want to leave behind when we go? Do we want to live the way we want to live or the way everybody thinks we should live?

And this brings me to what I’m actually writing this blog about today.

I’ve been approached by several people this past month who want to change their lives; be it, their career, their weight, their lifestyle, or their geographical location. I’ve told each of these people the same thing…

Go for it!

I’ve told each of them to go for it because their energy is already focused in that direction… so why stop the flow? What do I mean by ‘our energy is already focused in that direction’? If you are thinking about changing your life, you are already focused on it. Your mind has already decided that it is time for a change and once you are focused on that it is very difficult to stop the focus of what you want. But unfortunately, most do. They squash their dreams. They do this because the are afraid of the change. You’ve heard me mention several times that fear is; False Evidence Appearing Real. It’s all made up. Our fear is made up in our heads because of past failures or failures of someone that we know. Society frowns upon change, but change is the only constant.

I’ll use myself as an example. When I decided that I would label myself as a ‘singer’ and not a ‘graphic designer’, it was difficult. It was difficult because I was afraid of what everyone would think. That they would laugh at me, that they would ridicule me and tell me to stick with my day job. When I shrouded myself with the label of ‘graphic designer’ it was comforting because that is what society expected of me. I was being ‘responsible’. But was I? No… I was lying to the true nature of who I am, trying to convince myself that labeling myself as a ‘singer’ was just a silly dream. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to support myself and I would end up on the street. I was afraid of what my family would think. Blah, Blah, Blah.

We’ve all been conditioned to conform to the old paradigm; Grow up, get a good job, save your pennies for a rainy day, retire and live out the rest of your days in bliss. But we know deep down inside that this is bullshit. You want proof that it’s bullshit? Talk to an 80 year old. Ask them what is important. Nine times out of ten they will tell you if they had a chance to start all over they would have become that dancer, or that guitarist, painter, etc. They would have lived their lives to the fullest. They would tell you that family is the most important thing. Their grandchildren, and that they hope their grandchildren are happy doing what they love. I want a life of no regrets and I want to go out with a bang. I want my last breath to say, “Wow! What a ride!”

So… what is your dream? What makes you happy? Why aren’t you doing it? What is stopping you?

What is your truth?

Here are a list of a few books that have helped me along my path, and by no means is this it… the list could go on for days, but these are a good starting point to help you along in your dream. Yes, I said ‘in your dream’ and not ‘towards your dream’ because you are already living it. You just haven’t accepted that yet.

“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” – Morpheus in The Matrix

The Law of Attraction – Jerry and Esther Hicks

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz

Conversations with God – Neale Donald Walsch

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

The Power of NOW by Eckhart Tolle

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, M.D.

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson

Crooked Cucumber – The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki

Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl

Peace, Love and Light
David Reed Watson

This article can be read on Sin City Presents or the link below.

https://www.joomag.com/mag/0070656001465185858?page=38

What is your Truth?

“We both have truths… Are mine the same as Yours?”

Pilot sings this to Jesus in the song, ‘Trial before Pilot‘ in the smash Broadway show from the early 70’s,  Jesus Christ Superstar (I’ve linked the Original London cast from 1970. I consider this to be the best version. Especially because Ian Gillian from Deep Purple is Jesus). I remember hearing those words many years ago and it has always been a statement that I’ve gravitated towards. I’ve heard it in many forms since, but all in all it means the same thing… we all have beliefs and whatever those beliefs are, and if they work for us, then we stick with them. I posted this on my facebook page the other day, “Here’s a rule of thumb that will help you: If you believe that something is good, and you do it, it benefits you. If you believe that something is bad, and you do it, it is a very detrimental experience.” That was written by Abraham, and I don’t think it went over too well, that is if you measure a post upon ‘like’s. I personally don’t but I know many that do. Again… my truth is not the same as yours, nor should it be… unless it is. (Now that’s Deep!)

Why is this concept so difficult to accept? Because we think that there is a general right or wrong and once somebody states that ‘this is right’ or ‘this is wrong’ it should follow suit for everybody. But what if I believe what the Buddhist’s believe? Would I be wrong? Or take some of my gay friends… are they wrong? The problem with ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ is that they are too grey an area to define. That’s why Pilot said to Jesus when he said that his truth was different. What he believed was different. Right now in our country I see a divide, a deep divide. People fighting over ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. So do we eliminate ‘right’ and ‘wrong’? It’s kind of a Pollyanna concept in this stage of our human development. I mean, it’s a great ‘concept’ and like all great concepts we strive to move towards it. Maybe someday we will let people live their lives the way they want to. But for now we need it to keep from creating societal chaos. That being said, on an individual level we can move forward with this concept of ‘right and ‘wrong’ and understand that by eliminating it, or at least trying to eliminate it from within ourselves we can be more tolerant of others. You see, everybody is living their own dream here. We are born, we live, then we die. Each and every one of us. So what is it that we want to leave behind when we go? Do we want to live the way we want to live or the way everybody thinks we should live?

And this brings me to what I’m actually writing this blog about today.

I’ve been approached by several people this past month who want to change their lives; be it, their career, their weight, their lifestyle, or their geographical location. I’ve told each of these people the same thing…

Go for it!

I’ve told each of them to go for it because their energy is already focused in that direction… so why stop the flow? What do I mean by ‘our energy is already focused in that direction’? If you are thinking about changing your life, you are already focused on it. Your mind has already decided that it is time for a change and once you are focused on that it is very difficult to stop the focus of what you want. But unfortunately, most do. They squash their dreams. They do this because the are afraid of the change. You’ve heard me mention several times that fear is; False Evidence Appearing Real. It’s all made up. Our fear is made up in our heads because of past failures or failures of someone that we know. Society frowns upon change, but change is the only constant.

I’ll use myself as an example. When I decided that I would label myself as a ‘singer’ and not a ‘graphic designer’, it was difficult. It was difficult because I was afraid of what everyone would think. That they would laugh at me, that they would ridicule me and tell me to stick with my day job. When I shrouded myself with the label of ‘graphic designer’ it was comforting because that is what society expected of me. I was being ‘responsible’. But was I? No… I was lying to the true nature of who I am, trying to convince myself that labeling myself as a ‘singer’ was just a silly dream. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to support myself and I would end up on the street. I was afraid of what my family would think. Blah, Blah, Blah.

We’ve all been conditioned to conform to the old paradigm; Grow up, get a good job, save your pennies for a rainy day, retire and live out the rest of your days in bliss. But we know deep down inside that this is bullshit. You want proof that it’s bullshit? Talk to an 80 year old. Ask them what is important. Nine times out of ten they will tell you if they had a chance to start all over they would have become that dancer, or that guitarist, painter, etc. They would have lived their lives to the fullest. They would tell you that family is the most important thing. Their grandchildren, and that they hope their grandchildren are happy doing what they love. I want a life of no regrets and I want to go out with a bang. I want my last breath to say, “Wow! What a ride!”

So… what is your dream? What makes you happy? Why aren’t you doing it? What is stopping you?

What is your truth?

Here are a list of a few books that have helped me along my path, and by no means is this it… the list could go on for days, but these are a good starting point to help you along in your dream. Yes, I said ‘in your dream’ and not ‘towards your dream’ because you are already living it. You just haven’t accepted that yet.

“You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” – Morpheus in The Matrix

The Law of Attraction – Jerry and Esther Hicks

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz

Conversations with God – Neale Donald Walsch

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

The Power of NOW by Eckhart Tolle

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, M.D.

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson

Crooked Cucumber – The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki

Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl

Peace, Love and Light
David Reed Watson

This article can be read on Sin City Presents or the link below.

https://www.joomag.com/mag/0070656001465185858?page=38

I started out this blog by writing the title and then leaving the room. Gotta make coffee… oh, look… a spot on the floor… how is the compost doing? You get the point.

What is it about procrastination? The definition of Procrastination is; the avoidance of doing a task which needs to be accomplished. It is the practice of doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, or carrying out less urgent tasks instead of more urgent ones, thus putting off impending tasks to a later time. We, as a society, seem to get tasks done when someone is making us do it. We seem to lack the motivation to get it done ourselves. I mean, it’s proven that we will do it, it does get done… but why do we have to be pushed to get it done? When I was in the Marines it was drilled into my head, D.I.S.C.I.P.L.I.N.E., hyper-focusing on the task at hand. Of course, in the Marines I had somebody drilling this into me… today it’s just me doing it. When I quit my day J.O.B. (Just Over Broke) to do music full-time I had to acquire that old Marine discipline again… something that I haven’t trained myself to do for a very long time. I had gotten so used to being told what to do. I would work endless hours at the Ad Agency to get the task done, but found that on my own I could easily get distracted.

Living here in Las Vegas makes it even harder. This is the first place in my life that I’ve lived that something is ALWAYS going on. Every day, every night. It never ends. And I’m the type of person (Leo) that wants to be out doing everything all the time. When I lived in Marina del Rey I had a routine. Get up, exercise, go to work, come home, meditate, record… I know what you are probably thinking,”Poor David! You have such a full life. I’m so sorry!” Don’t get me wrong, I am blessed. Beyond blessed. I’m just saying that with so much going on it’s hard to keep a routine going. And I believe we all need a routine to keep that balance in our lives. We need to get the task at hand done first, then we can play. And sometimes that just plain sucks!

So how do we do both? How do we maintain a routine AND have a full life AND get the proper amount of rest?

Exercise: I’ve found that I have unlimited amounts of energy if I get up and exercise before I even have time to think. For years I would get up before sunrise, get on my bicycle and ride 20 miles. I did this every morning. Eventually it became a game. I would try to work up a sweat before I saw the sun peeking over the ocean. Don’t make excuses saying that you’ve got too much to do. Believe me, it will get done and it will get done more efficiently when you exercise first. Don’t blow it off. Start small. Walk for 10 minutes a day. Get into the routine of putting on your running shoes, or cycling shoes, even if it’s for a few minutes, at least you’ve done it. Eventually you’ll be doing it longer and the routine will set in. I have a friend who runs every morning. I’m talking a touring musician. Someone who flies to another state to do a gig, going to bed at 2am sometimes. It doesn’t matter, he has made it a mandatory routine. So if he can do you, so can you. No excuses. If you can, get a work out partner. Somebody that will call you up and keep you accountable, and vise-versa.

Eating: I would eat a light breakfast, go to work, have a snack at work to keep up my energy, all in all just grazing all day long. Not eating more than a fist full of food. Most nutritionists will tell you that eating 5 or more times a day is much healthier than eating 3 big meals a day. Think of your body as a locomotive, and food, coal. With a train you are always feeding that fire to keep the train running fast and strong. When you eat 3 big meals a day you’re body goes into overtime trying to digest the food. That’s why we get sleepy after a meal.

Meditation: Meditation is not just sitting in the lotus position and saying ‘Om’. Yes, that is one form, but there are many forms of meditation. Meditation is just focusing on one task. I use my cycling as a form of meditation. For me I concentrate on my breathing while I’m riding. Maintaining a rhythm. This is a good way to look at meditation… When you clear your mind you are allowing a flow of energy, source, God, whatever you want to label it, into your body. When that energy flows through you it hits each of the Chakra’s to create an even balance. A harmony if you will. When your head is all cluttered, energy has a hard time flowing. Think of it as a Dam. When you put up a dam it blocks the water from flowing down the river.

Community: We are always getting together with friends, either here at the house, or out to dinner. Conversation is very important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Being with people who you can actually talk to. Be vulnerable with. It makes you feel good and you actually get more accomplished when you share it with others. I’m not saying blabbing it all over Facebook. This isn’t to brag on what you are doing… it’s just being real with people who you are comfortable being real with. You’ll find that you can bounce ideas off of friends and they can do the same. Sometimes you have that ‘ah ha’ moment that will motivate you to try something different that you never thought of yourself.

Journaling: Before you go to bed at night take a pen and paper and write three pages. Three pages of anything, it doesn’t matter. It’s more the routine of just free-form writing to get your juices flowing.

Make a list. Start your list with Exercise, and then the tasks that you need to get done, and by when. Go through the list one by one, only checking them off when they are done. Do your best not to bounce around the list. And most importantly, reward yourself when the tasks are done. Allow yourself to go to that concert, or dinner and drinks, when the tasks are done. I’ve found it easier to accomplish if I’ve got a pay off.

If you have a hard time with this, share it will your partner or friend and have them do the same. It will help keep you accountable.

And last but not least… don’t beat yourself up if you are having a hard time doing it. It’s human nature. I was told years ago that even Tiger Woods had a golf coach. You can do the same, it helps having someone who will hold you accountable. I do life coaching and have been coached myself. It works. Contact me and we can set up a plan for you that works.

Namaste,
David

P.S.
You can also read my blog every month in Sin City Presents Magazine.
https://www.joomag.com/mag/0120469001463355793?page=32