“I’m doing a “me” blog, which is a testimony of sorts, but aimed at the artist and musician minded readers. Since this is related to both categories, I included it in the “me blog” category, as well as the apostleship category. After all, an artist is a disciple of their art. Any artist will benefit from this information, weather they are Christians or not. This is a spiritual information post, none the less”.
It’s funny, the things we think about sometimes. I was just thinking…..what fork in the path of life “led me to here”?
The particular ‘here’ I’m talking about now, is sharing philosophies with total strangers, who seem at times more like old friends from some past life that I have long forgotten. Hmmm, how far back do I want to go with this? I’m thinking maybe about six years old…
I was unusually hyper. This meant that other people thought I was doing things too fast, and completing them too fast, so as to change what I was doing too early, and therefore “Mom has a hard time keeping up”. Now the funny part.
In today’s world, children that are like that have a ‘disorder’. It’s called ADHD,….or some such lettered nonsense, which means they “can’t pay attention”. They should have asked me for the cure long ago, and I could have pointed them to video games. The children diagnosed with ADHD seem to have no trouble paying attention to those. The cure for ADHD?
PLAYSTATION.
Anyway, back in the day, the “experts” decided that I needed a hobby; one that would absorb some of my excessive energy. So they suggested playing an instrument, preferably drums. This was a “treatment” I could live with, and I sure am glad I was diagnosed before the brilliant discovery of “advanced” medicine. We have since “evolved” to the point of medicating children to the tune of…”I know, let’s give them some dope, knock them out, create some zombies, and they’ll be out of our hair. “Then we wont have to deal with them”.
Music was fun. As my ego developed through peer pressure (I think by design), I decided that since there were also other drummers in the school band, ( and the fact that girls were watching) , that I needed to be “the best drummer”. I was already the best at other things, why not everything. It’s a learned mentality. ( I should mention here that today, with modern medicine, I could be the best at staring at a wall ). Later in life ,I was on a roll of sorts. There’s an old saying…”one thing leads to another”, and oh yea,… that’s what I started to write about, before I started writing about…what was I writing about again? Oh yea, I remember; how not being able to pay attention got me to where I am now. If I were born forty years later than I was,…where would I be? Would I still be an artist? I very seriously doubt it.
Music started out as just something that was fun. It introduced me to ‘art’, which is in itself an art. ( see, one thing leads to another, even if they’re the same thing, but isn’t that a circle?). Art + ego + too much free time = where I am now. Any time you “do things”, you are (knowingly or not) being led somewhere. This is one of the reasons I never “believed” in predestination, in Biblical terms. Ironically, it’s also the reason that now it is obviously true.
The “avenues” that are possible to take are already known; their beginning determines their end, so we will, no matter what we do, “end up somewhere”. This somewhere is known by “somebody”, that keeps in mind all possible destinations, and their outcomes. If you’re skeptical, try thinking hypothetically, and you’ll come to the conclusion that life is by all practical purpose, a predestined set of path choices. We call them “goals in life we want to achieve”.
Now, getting back to the trip here… I thought I was in complete control of what I was doing. I also thought I was doing what I wanted to do. The things we do will always “lead us somewhere”. So, you are being “led” right now, by the choices you’ve made. Because the choices of paths we can take are limited, and the outcomes known, can we still say being predestined to a certain end is false?
Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but I should mention that some “Christians” may want to stop reading now. This is a philosophy, and when philosophical people share ideas and concepts, it is a form of teaching. You may not care to learn about the real Jesus. Sooner or later, I will “get to that point”.
You see, even reading something is a journey of sorts. Every thing we do, even writing, or reading things like this, will change the state our your being. You will not be the same when you’re finished reading anything, as you were when you started. This is a subtle change of direction unnoticed by most people. You could be surprised at just how much the things you read, or listen to effect your life.
What makes a philosopher, a philosopher? Is it that they want to study the reasons and meanings of life only? Or are they smart enough, or hard headed enough, to know (not just believe) that a reason and meaning for life can be learned; and also understood? Any professional artist or musician can tell you that if you study art to learn it, and to master the art as much as possible, you will “end up” learning things untrained people think have nothing at all to do with music, or art. Any true artist will tell you that everything is art…..Where was I again?…Oh yea, the “trip here”.
Music is the study of sound, or noise art; and the blending together of different types of sounds to paint a picture with air pressure. The reason I like rock-n-roll is that it’s loud, and, if any of you have been in front of a large group of people with thousands of watts of sound power at your disposal “for your picture”, you’ll know it not unlike a group “air pressure massage”. This technology is also dangerous, in that you can seriously hurt people with sound. In order to learn the ‘proper’, and ‘safe’ way to operate this equipment, I had to study such technical things as air pressure, and frequencies. Frequencies are far more dangerous than sound pressure, in that you can do the same damage ‘to’ people with it, but they’ll never ‘hear’ it coming. I won’t get into that here, but let’s just say that those songs that get stuck in your head are no accident. Frequency can and is used to make people think things. If this were not so, you would never buy an album.
The study of these frequencies ‘led me’ to the study of quantum theory of physics, which is the study of frequency. Non artist may wonder where the art is in that. Art is taking all you have learned…realizing where you ‘ended up’, and (if you’re lucky) remembering why you started down this ‘road’ in the first place.
We each have a different way to “blend” this common knowledge to make it our own, and therefore it’s ‘different than what’s already out there. Since it is a ‘blend’, it’s part of the ‘pull’ that leads us musicians to music, and there’s a seemingly “spiritual” connection. The same thing makes people want to look at, or listen to art.
“The spiritual connection”?
Is the ability to connect people real, or imagined? Are we born with it, or is it something that can be learned, and taught? This has to be studied as well, if indeed you want to ‘move’ anybody with your art. You have to find out “how it is done”. This in turn “leads you” once again down a different, but related path. Once anyone starts studying anything, which, if you think about it, will be your earliest memories of ‘study’…life itself…you will be “led by this” to a first of many signpost, and crossroads.
“My spiritual quest “went down a certain road”; seeing as how it was “sex, drugs and rock-n-roll” (what can I say, it’s where I was “led”). I was led to the study of occult material, because, hey, it was cool…and in turn…I was cool. This is what I wanted.”
Or was it?
What was I talking about again? Oh yea, Jesus. In order to master any art, or any field of study, you will sooner or later have to be taught by a master of that art. Jesus’ knowledge is not “handed down” knowledge, and only He will be able to give you this knowledge. Jesus is a perfect example of this, because like most things we think we know, we usually have it backwards. The devil can indeed appear as an angel of light. By the same token, Jesus ‘appears’ as the devil to some. ( Matt, 12:24 ) Although the devils can appear as “angels” of light, (after all, they are in fact fallen angels), they can not appear as Jesus, no matter what you think.
“Now get this, none of this has anything to do with Jesus, or the Devil, it has to do with you. The only thing that matters is how we think things are, not how they actually are.”
While I thought I was studying the Devil, I had it backwards. I should have been smart enough to realize that the Devil is never a maker, or a teacher. He punishes, and is an accuser. Jesus is where I “ended up” , after trying to master the art of spirituality, in what “I thought” was the occult. It’s simple, really. If you really want to learn a dark art, and master it, you will have to learn it’s opposite as well. It didn’t take long at all to see that Jesus has the stronger magic.
“He is the way”. We’ve all heard that. “He is the only way”. We’ve heard that too. He is not the only way. If He were, we would all be Christians. However, if you study under any Master, you have to adopt this mindset...that the Master that is teaching you has to be the ‘only way’, or else He will not be able to teach you anything. Satan has ‘a way’ as well ( Proverbs 16:25 ). Jesus’ way seems harder to most people as a way to find a spiritual, or artistic path. ( Matt 7:14 ) For some reason His way was easier for me. You could say I was a teachers pet. I still am, and knowingly or not, so are you. Until next time, Peace all.
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” -Matt.7:14