This blog is called lioravnidesginwriter because I wanted a career in graphic design. I have education in both TCM and graphic design. But right now I do music and writing and I don't make a whole lot of money, because I don't understand digital marketing and how to scale up my business.
Maybe I should return to my roots in nutrition, wholistic medicine, and combat sports. You don't change mid life and do something else. Change is bad. It takes twenty years to master a skill, and I have been doing music, grappling, and Chinese medicine for over twenty years each subject. Ultimately, music is the most fun and least profitable, and nutrition and health coaching is the most lucrative and high minded skill amongst the three. Very few grapplers get to teach grappling as a vocation. You have to be a world champion, black belt, have business skills, a team of loyal coworkers and followers, and a big clientele.
All in all, I love music the most. I will play guitar first thing and last thing every day until I die. But combat sports and nutrition is right up my alley, and I have the knowledge of life science to give people accurate advice about health, fitness, nutrition, self defense, and conditioning. It is mostly judo, low carb diet, walking, stretching, and bodyweight calisthenics. Easier said than done.
Judo is the ideal physical education. It is not for most Americans, they are not tough enough, but people in the civilized world like Europe and Asia can't get enough judo. It is the second most popular sport next to soccer worldwide. It is physical education, training for police and military forces, and leads to other things like MMA and Aikido.
My knowledge of nutrition is comprehensive. I am not bragging. I kept a nutrition blog on Wordpress for 3 years and posted almost daily on it. I blogged away volumes of knowledge and got little money and fame for it. It's time to work for money, not as a volunteer service.
The thing is, staying at home is a waste of life. Get out of your home in the morning, socialize, meet people, be kind, be fair, be honest, and do excellent service. I can teach yogic philosophy, meditation, Raja Yoga, and how it applies to health, nutrition, sexology, self defense, and life in general.
So what I need to do is form a business plan, put into action, use social media intelligently, and with the money, buy fancier guitars and music gear. Music is what I want, but I must work for it.
So what the TCM practitioner said over twenty years ago was right. He posed it in the form of a question. 'when you are done doing what you have to do, do you have the energy to do what you want to do?'. I have to teach nutrition and fitness to get the desired goal of playing music on the evenings and weekends. It is business before pleasure.
Look out for my new album on Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon. I've seen my videos on YouTube and the music is actually quite good. You can see me mature as a musician. If I really wanted to be commercially viable, I'd learn more covers. But I just want to create and play blues classics. The music is for me, and if you dig it too, that is good too.
So I have learned the lesson of the Gita. You must do the what you must do before you can have the joy and peace and pleasure. I want music, but I am willing to work for it. Just showing up to work is a fight, and I want to be an honorable warrior who does the right thing with enthusiasm. This is the teaching of karma yoga. The path of action. Do the right thing, and good results will come.
That's where the justice is.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Bring It On Home
Rhythm and Blues started as a secular gospel music. It is African American music, but instead of singing about God and Jesus, they started singing about Money and Women. What Robert Johnson sang about was not that much different from what the hip hop stars of today sing about. Sex, death, violence, alcohol, the devil, injustice, loneliness, adultery, etc...
Muddy Waters called this, 'the devil's music'. The blues is the music of real life, not fantasy or ideals. It is not about aspiring upwards, it is about life just the way it is.
But there were gospel blues singers who tried to harmonize an evil music with uplifting lyrics about religion, loneliness, social injustice, morality, and real love. One noted example I am aware of was Mississippi John Hurt. He was a great guitarist who had tremendous skill in his right hand (his picking hand) and could play more major sounding chord progressions that wasn't the hoogie boogie.
When I write songs, I try to express myself. All a song is, is chords and lyrics. Everything else is optional. I always start with the chord progression. The lyrics follow the chords. I write songs about loneliness, poverty, injustice, the hard times, unreciprocated love, and so on. You'd think my music would be popular in this current culture.
I haven't had an easy life. It shows through in my music. I like the combination of religion and music. Even in Judaism, there is Jewish art and Jewish music. Using creativity to express your faith. I think it is actually better than going to temple or church and praying. Because it is enthusiastic worship, not done by rote.
So I am bringing it on home by making blues music about religion and not about sin. There's too much sin in the world. Porno and MMA are big businesses now. The internet is saturated with that garbage. Morality is in decline, and the 1960s generation didn't turn out to be retards. People who where young in the 1960s are now in their late 70s or dead. And they turned out fine.
Rock n Roll is just a form of entertainment, it's not evil music. Music defined the generation that was born in the 1940s and was young in the 60s. Now porno and MMA defines the modern generation. Life is not getting better, it is getting worse. And rock n roll isn't the problem.
The problem is, the JudeoChristian worldview is right! Adam was the most perfect man, he sinned and fell, and each subsequent generation gets more morally crapulent and loose. So life is not evolving, it is de-evolving. We are coming to a head. The end of this system of things must come. But as one system ends, another will begin. That is what I have hope for.
Muddy Waters called this, 'the devil's music'. The blues is the music of real life, not fantasy or ideals. It is not about aspiring upwards, it is about life just the way it is.
But there were gospel blues singers who tried to harmonize an evil music with uplifting lyrics about religion, loneliness, social injustice, morality, and real love. One noted example I am aware of was Mississippi John Hurt. He was a great guitarist who had tremendous skill in his right hand (his picking hand) and could play more major sounding chord progressions that wasn't the hoogie boogie.
When I write songs, I try to express myself. All a song is, is chords and lyrics. Everything else is optional. I always start with the chord progression. The lyrics follow the chords. I write songs about loneliness, poverty, injustice, the hard times, unreciprocated love, and so on. You'd think my music would be popular in this current culture.
I haven't had an easy life. It shows through in my music. I like the combination of religion and music. Even in Judaism, there is Jewish art and Jewish music. Using creativity to express your faith. I think it is actually better than going to temple or church and praying. Because it is enthusiastic worship, not done by rote.
So I am bringing it on home by making blues music about religion and not about sin. There's too much sin in the world. Porno and MMA are big businesses now. The internet is saturated with that garbage. Morality is in decline, and the 1960s generation didn't turn out to be retards. People who where young in the 1960s are now in their late 70s or dead. And they turned out fine.
Rock n Roll is just a form of entertainment, it's not evil music. Music defined the generation that was born in the 1940s and was young in the 60s. Now porno and MMA defines the modern generation. Life is not getting better, it is getting worse. And rock n roll isn't the problem.
The problem is, the JudeoChristian worldview is right! Adam was the most perfect man, he sinned and fell, and each subsequent generation gets more morally crapulent and loose. So life is not evolving, it is de-evolving. We are coming to a head. The end of this system of things must come. But as one system ends, another will begin. That is what I have hope for.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Avalokita's Vow
In the East, there is a diety called Avalokita, or the Boddhisattva of Compassion. He is similar to the Angel of Mercy in the JudeoChristian tradition. The patron saint of medicine.
The reverence for Avalokita began in India, but spread to China and Japan. In China, they feminized him into Kuan Yin, the lady of mercy, and in Japan they call him Fugen Bosatsu, the boddhisattva. He is said to be the most wise and know the motive of every action.
Eastern culture and the culture of the native Americans is not that different. Native Americans are primitive Asians, so had their culture continued, they might just be like the Chinese or Japanese are today. Shamanic culture, where the doctor is also the priest and politician. No seperation between church, state, and medicine. What a wonderful world this would be.
In the USA today, a priest, a doctor, and a politician are three things. A priest is a gay loser who can't make it in the private sector, a doctor is someone who finished ten years of school and wants to rip you off, and a politician is an ungodly man who wields power over you. This is not the way it should be. This is not Christianity or lovingkindness.
The Mexicans had the high culture of the Aboriginal Americans. They cultivated corn, which allowed for their civilization to flourish and develop technology. They had some of the technology we have today thousands of years before the Europeans invented it.
So worshiping the medicine man or elevating healing to a spiritual vocation makes a lot of sense. The myth of Avalokita is that he is born from time to time in certain eras to bring a healing to the people, and to restore rectitude in the world. He is not a madman, he is an inspired man.
So Shamanic culture and Buddhist culture is not that far apart. Both understand we are all suffering and need medicine. This world is not fair, it hurts just to be alive. I play the blues because the blues is the music of real life.
So if I can't be a TCM practitioner, I can play blues music and bring a healing to the people. Rhythm and Blues World Service.
The western man doesn't see past the physical results, he is results driven. But the result of life is death, so he is hurtling towards his own death. This is pointless. I live for enjoying the present moment, whatever situation I'm in. I make love all day long, but not necessarily with my genitals.
My music if the best thing I have now, and it makes me happy. I have five albums on Spotify and Amazon, and 2 books on Amazon. If I was smart, I'd learn more about digital marketing and reaching a bigger, international audience. My music is about tragedy and my writing is about nutrition and how not to get used by an evil system. You'd think I am relevant.
So I find inspiration in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainsim, the religions of India, and continue creating. I am a 24 hour volunteer. Automatic, for the people. I will continue doing what I want to do and not worry about the money.
Life is not about money, it's about food and family. Working every day, coming home, eating dinner, and spending your evenings and weekends as you please. I want peace. But America doesn't want to give me peace. So I am prepared for war.
The reverence for Avalokita began in India, but spread to China and Japan. In China, they feminized him into Kuan Yin, the lady of mercy, and in Japan they call him Fugen Bosatsu, the boddhisattva. He is said to be the most wise and know the motive of every action.
Eastern culture and the culture of the native Americans is not that different. Native Americans are primitive Asians, so had their culture continued, they might just be like the Chinese or Japanese are today. Shamanic culture, where the doctor is also the priest and politician. No seperation between church, state, and medicine. What a wonderful world this would be.
In the USA today, a priest, a doctor, and a politician are three things. A priest is a gay loser who can't make it in the private sector, a doctor is someone who finished ten years of school and wants to rip you off, and a politician is an ungodly man who wields power over you. This is not the way it should be. This is not Christianity or lovingkindness.
The Mexicans had the high culture of the Aboriginal Americans. They cultivated corn, which allowed for their civilization to flourish and develop technology. They had some of the technology we have today thousands of years before the Europeans invented it.
So worshiping the medicine man or elevating healing to a spiritual vocation makes a lot of sense. The myth of Avalokita is that he is born from time to time in certain eras to bring a healing to the people, and to restore rectitude in the world. He is not a madman, he is an inspired man.
So Shamanic culture and Buddhist culture is not that far apart. Both understand we are all suffering and need medicine. This world is not fair, it hurts just to be alive. I play the blues because the blues is the music of real life.
So if I can't be a TCM practitioner, I can play blues music and bring a healing to the people. Rhythm and Blues World Service.
The western man doesn't see past the physical results, he is results driven. But the result of life is death, so he is hurtling towards his own death. This is pointless. I live for enjoying the present moment, whatever situation I'm in. I make love all day long, but not necessarily with my genitals.
My music if the best thing I have now, and it makes me happy. I have five albums on Spotify and Amazon, and 2 books on Amazon. If I was smart, I'd learn more about digital marketing and reaching a bigger, international audience. My music is about tragedy and my writing is about nutrition and how not to get used by an evil system. You'd think I am relevant.
So I find inspiration in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainsim, the religions of India, and continue creating. I am a 24 hour volunteer. Automatic, for the people. I will continue doing what I want to do and not worry about the money.
Life is not about money, it's about food and family. Working every day, coming home, eating dinner, and spending your evenings and weekends as you please. I want peace. But America doesn't want to give me peace. So I am prepared for war.
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Comparison and Contrast
Jeet Kune Do, the form of kung fu created by Bruce Lee, is not something new. MMA is not something new either. Jeet Kune Do is an attempt to modernize Wing Chun, and MMA is a modern version of an ancient combat sport called Pankration.
Jeet Kune Do at it's heart is sparring, trapping, and weapons. Hitting with the hands, the clinch, and weapons tactics. That is reality self defense. Bruce Lee saw boxing as superior to eastern martial arts like karate and judo and wanted to create a more realistic system that cuts through the crap.
MMA is all-in-wrestling. It is not a combination of Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. It is wrestling with strikes and submissions. Freestyle wrestling is the most dominant background in MMA. Not Karate, boxing, judo, or jujutsu. Modern MMA is more about striking in every range and with every weapon, so it truly is about Jeet Kune Do principles.
Bruce Lee was not just an actor, and the moves he used in the movies was crap. That's show business. He knew the difference between what sells movie tickets and what works in a real streetfight. Every Chinese man does something different in his personal life and his public life, and every Chinese man has a secret yet deep admiration for the pugilist.
You have a right to defend yourself, you don't have a right to start with anyone. Self defense is a certain inalienable right, combat (meaning stealth and weapons) is garbage for criminals. If someone physically confronts you, you can knock them out, knock them down, or just walk away. Verbal Judo is the best self defense there is. Israelis can protest themselves with their sense of humor.
So boxing is a great sport and a great beginning. It teaches you how to use the jab to establish range, to stay on your feet at all costs, to break out of clinches or get into clinches, and to use footwork to create distance. It is fight science. Boxing is better than wrestling or judo. But all combat sports have some validity to it, it is a fair contest to see who is better. Kids want to prove who is better, grown men want to rob you and steal your stuff.
The riddle is, life is not fair and there is no justice. Boxing is ultra competitive, ultra violent, and ultra physical. Wing Chun is a great martial art of Chinese origin that teaches you to punch, block, trap, and counter punch. Aikido is weapons grappling. It is soft power, a martial art that requires no speed or power, only timing and reflexes. A crippled or slow man can do Aikido and defend himself. So Aikido is the ultimate moral teaching, the soft overcome the hard.
Aikido is a moral lesson, a method of self defense, a physical exercise, and even part of Japan's irreverent yet spiritual culture. You have a right to defend yourself, but don't be an asshole.
So there is more to self defense than just punching people in the face, and MMA is just a TV show for angry young men. I've learned reality and now I am here to tell you about it. The real lesson of martial arts training is not self defense but morality. You have to be the better man to win a fair contest. Through stealth and guile, a loser can beat a wrestling champion. There is no justice in this world. Life is not fair.
So through comparison and contrast, I have learned the meaning of life and the meaning of the martial arts. It's rigged. Society is not fair, life is not fair. Only in martial arts can weak, good people beat strong, rugged, aggressive criminals. Martial arts is part of Tikkun, of fixing the world. There is morality in the martial arts, its not just about jumping right in with the right cross in all your anger.
So I have used my martial arts experience to become a better, wiser, more moral person. That means I am the champion and have learned all there is to learn. No matter what I do, we are all going to die. So the devil rules the world. But at least to die with contentment is victory.
Jeet Kune Do at it's heart is sparring, trapping, and weapons. Hitting with the hands, the clinch, and weapons tactics. That is reality self defense. Bruce Lee saw boxing as superior to eastern martial arts like karate and judo and wanted to create a more realistic system that cuts through the crap.
MMA is all-in-wrestling. It is not a combination of Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. It is wrestling with strikes and submissions. Freestyle wrestling is the most dominant background in MMA. Not Karate, boxing, judo, or jujutsu. Modern MMA is more about striking in every range and with every weapon, so it truly is about Jeet Kune Do principles.
Bruce Lee was not just an actor, and the moves he used in the movies was crap. That's show business. He knew the difference between what sells movie tickets and what works in a real streetfight. Every Chinese man does something different in his personal life and his public life, and every Chinese man has a secret yet deep admiration for the pugilist.
You have a right to defend yourself, you don't have a right to start with anyone. Self defense is a certain inalienable right, combat (meaning stealth and weapons) is garbage for criminals. If someone physically confronts you, you can knock them out, knock them down, or just walk away. Verbal Judo is the best self defense there is. Israelis can protest themselves with their sense of humor.
So boxing is a great sport and a great beginning. It teaches you how to use the jab to establish range, to stay on your feet at all costs, to break out of clinches or get into clinches, and to use footwork to create distance. It is fight science. Boxing is better than wrestling or judo. But all combat sports have some validity to it, it is a fair contest to see who is better. Kids want to prove who is better, grown men want to rob you and steal your stuff.
The riddle is, life is not fair and there is no justice. Boxing is ultra competitive, ultra violent, and ultra physical. Wing Chun is a great martial art of Chinese origin that teaches you to punch, block, trap, and counter punch. Aikido is weapons grappling. It is soft power, a martial art that requires no speed or power, only timing and reflexes. A crippled or slow man can do Aikido and defend himself. So Aikido is the ultimate moral teaching, the soft overcome the hard.
Aikido is a moral lesson, a method of self defense, a physical exercise, and even part of Japan's irreverent yet spiritual culture. You have a right to defend yourself, but don't be an asshole.
So there is more to self defense than just punching people in the face, and MMA is just a TV show for angry young men. I've learned reality and now I am here to tell you about it. The real lesson of martial arts training is not self defense but morality. You have to be the better man to win a fair contest. Through stealth and guile, a loser can beat a wrestling champion. There is no justice in this world. Life is not fair.
So through comparison and contrast, I have learned the meaning of life and the meaning of the martial arts. It's rigged. Society is not fair, life is not fair. Only in martial arts can weak, good people beat strong, rugged, aggressive criminals. Martial arts is part of Tikkun, of fixing the world. There is morality in the martial arts, its not just about jumping right in with the right cross in all your anger.
So I have used my martial arts experience to become a better, wiser, more moral person. That means I am the champion and have learned all there is to learn. No matter what I do, we are all going to die. So the devil rules the world. But at least to die with contentment is victory.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Rhythm and Blues World Service
This is going to be the name of my next album. I feel I am on a mission to heal the people, and the blues is a healer.
In the 1960s, black kids and white kids where listening to the same type of music. It wasn't just the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. That is pop music. There was real music going on, black people were getting civil rights finally, and many great bluesman who had been obscure in the 1930s were vindicated in old age in the 1960s. They include Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker.
Things these days are worse than ever, and I don't care if it makes me unpopular to say this. The USA is more polarized than ever, with black kids watching boxing and listening to hip hop and white kids watching MMA and listening to pop or heavy metal or goth. This is all wrong, and America is obviously a race war and a class struggle at the same time.
In Latin America, everyone is equally poor and intermarries freely. Latinas choose the better man not the richer man, there is no upward social mobility in Latin America. So be poor, make love, and enjoy the simple life.
If I had the money, I'd visit Mexico or the Dominican Republic. I want to be lively myself y'all. But I can't afford to travel, so I just subsist in New York.
Race and Gender are not taboo subjects in Taoist Medicine They are part of empirical science. The western man doesn't believe in an afterlife, so he feels race and gender can never change. But he is wrong. You can change your religious and political beliefs within your lifetime, and through reincarnation, even your race and gender can change! We are constantly in a state of flux. That is why we fight for integrity.
The future of the human race is one race and one religion. Preferably, all mixed race people who live in nature and practice strict monotheism. This is the best, and this is what Adam did.
My service to humanity is my music, it is all I have left to give.
So my next album will be called Rhythm and Blues World Service and feature electric guitar and singing. That means I need to dream up new songs, learn covers, and practice. I also need some new gear. Being a musician is not easy, but it is very rewarding and money is not the issue.
Just enjoying life is.
In the 1960s, black kids and white kids where listening to the same type of music. It wasn't just the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. That is pop music. There was real music going on, black people were getting civil rights finally, and many great bluesman who had been obscure in the 1930s were vindicated in old age in the 1960s. They include Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker.
Things these days are worse than ever, and I don't care if it makes me unpopular to say this. The USA is more polarized than ever, with black kids watching boxing and listening to hip hop and white kids watching MMA and listening to pop or heavy metal or goth. This is all wrong, and America is obviously a race war and a class struggle at the same time.
In Latin America, everyone is equally poor and intermarries freely. Latinas choose the better man not the richer man, there is no upward social mobility in Latin America. So be poor, make love, and enjoy the simple life.
If I had the money, I'd visit Mexico or the Dominican Republic. I want to be lively myself y'all. But I can't afford to travel, so I just subsist in New York.
Race and Gender are not taboo subjects in Taoist Medicine They are part of empirical science. The western man doesn't believe in an afterlife, so he feels race and gender can never change. But he is wrong. You can change your religious and political beliefs within your lifetime, and through reincarnation, even your race and gender can change! We are constantly in a state of flux. That is why we fight for integrity.
The future of the human race is one race and one religion. Preferably, all mixed race people who live in nature and practice strict monotheism. This is the best, and this is what Adam did.
My service to humanity is my music, it is all I have left to give.
So my next album will be called Rhythm and Blues World Service and feature electric guitar and singing. That means I need to dream up new songs, learn covers, and practice. I also need some new gear. Being a musician is not easy, but it is very rewarding and money is not the issue.
Just enjoying life is.
Monday, January 27, 2020
There's No Getting Anywhere
There's nothing to accomplish in life, and we are all equal in suffering. Before the fall from Grace, Adam and Eve lived in harmony with nature and were immortal. This was not a mythological story, Judaism is not based on mythology. It is the best faith, and there are different types of Judaism based on who is practicing.
We are not living perfect lives. Nobody is perfect. You start out fresh and young, and grow up and improve constantly until the age of 27 at which you peak, spend a few years at maximum performance, and then begin to wane. Most men die at the age of 75 or 80. The happiest time of your life is when you are in your early thirties and start to realize there is more to life than just physicality.
Since we are born to die, nobody can be a master or guru. Even a zen master means someone who has attained kensho, bears his last body, and will be free when his body dies. Physical immortality is not a blessing, and Yogic masters are a bit pretentious.
There is no master. God is greater than mortal man. But Buddhism completes the Law, and the Buddha was a type of inspired Indo-European prophet who invented a secular mysticism anyone can do and attain happiness in a world of suffering people.
So I am an Israelite, a Buddhist master, and I see the value of Christianity. It has validity. Christianity was a way to civilize the barbarians, to bring morality to non moral pagans. There is no religion greater than Judaism, and Anti Semitism is a kind of mental illness. There are different kinds of religious and secular Jews in the world.
So calling me Hispanic Jew is not that far off. But it is a reductionist way of delineating a half truth and not the complete picture. Nobody cares about you, they care about themselves. This selfishness is self-defeating but they do it anyway because they are ignorant. Altruism leads to the more joy than selfishness.
My greatest joy right now is the music, and I like giving it away both for free and at a price. In one way, Spotify and YouTube is great, because it is free to the consumer and I get paid a few cents from each hundred views or so. So it is beneficial to you and me. It is in theory a good work model, but in reality, they are making most of the money and I am getting ripped off. But I create music for my own expression not for the money. Making some money is just a side benefit.
The rhythm and blues music I create is the music of tragedy and hardship. I in my own way suffered immensely and didn't live the life I should have. So there is sorrow, joy, and hope all rolled into one in my music. The story of America is the story of slavery, and white overclass and black underclass. In Latin America, people intermarry freely and everyone is equally poor. In the USA, there is segregation, even to this day, but it is more subtle. If you are black, you can't hide it, it's evident. White people have white skin and black people have black skin. But if races intermingle, eventually everyone looks brown skin with Asiatic features. Latinos are rich in spirit, culture, and beauty.
There is more to America than just white and black. Latinos do a lot of low end labor because they are strong and energetic and are willing to do it. The Asians and the Jews come from a culture of education and raising the young to venerate the traditions of the elders. Native Americans are still there, but they are marginalized. And Arabs and Indo-Europeans are everywhere.
Life is not the way it should be, it's the opposite. Suffering is grace, and less is more. So I sing the blues because I've lived the blues, and I am not where I belong. You don't have to be African American to sing the blues.
As my music career goes on, I will find people who play my type of guitar music, who listen to my type of guitar music, and where I am celebrated not just tolerated. I would play at a Jewish synagogue or a Hispanic Church. Religion is not that important these days. You don't have to self identify as something. That is just a label.
My latest album, Trouble On My Way, explores original rhythm and blues songs, an instrumental, a blues cover, and a couple of flamenco songs. I am pushing the boundaries because I want to grow. Even if my music is not popular here, it is popular somewhere. I know I have a following in Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, Sweden, and other parts of Europe. Some people stick to the good music and see rhythm and blues as the best music America ever produced. I sound like I belong in the 60s.
So my life continues without money being an issue. I am a musician, Aikido expert, home cook, writer, and I am living a simple but enjoyable life. Both the good and the wise lead quiet lives. They don't go running around looking for a party. Bars and nightclubs isn't where the fun is.
If you were smart, you'd learn quick that the most important thing to work on is zen. Being enlightened, content with nothing, and happy in any situation is the ultimate wealth. When you realize that you are just mind, body, and spirit, and the food is on loan from the earth, you start to value non tangible things more than tangible things. And then life is a breeze.
The best thing in life is finding a fulfilling career, fulfilling partner, a few loyal friends, and not neglecting the spiritual aspect of your life. There's no getting anywhere, and even celebrities must grow old, lose their looks, and die. So nobody really is that special. God is greater than mortal man, and God is more real than we are, even though he is non physical.
So there's no getting anywhere and the point of life is to be happy and useful. So be happy, enjoy your work, your lover, your music, your food, and live out your days in peace. That's all.
We are not living perfect lives. Nobody is perfect. You start out fresh and young, and grow up and improve constantly until the age of 27 at which you peak, spend a few years at maximum performance, and then begin to wane. Most men die at the age of 75 or 80. The happiest time of your life is when you are in your early thirties and start to realize there is more to life than just physicality.
Since we are born to die, nobody can be a master or guru. Even a zen master means someone who has attained kensho, bears his last body, and will be free when his body dies. Physical immortality is not a blessing, and Yogic masters are a bit pretentious.
There is no master. God is greater than mortal man. But Buddhism completes the Law, and the Buddha was a type of inspired Indo-European prophet who invented a secular mysticism anyone can do and attain happiness in a world of suffering people.
So I am an Israelite, a Buddhist master, and I see the value of Christianity. It has validity. Christianity was a way to civilize the barbarians, to bring morality to non moral pagans. There is no religion greater than Judaism, and Anti Semitism is a kind of mental illness. There are different kinds of religious and secular Jews in the world.
So calling me Hispanic Jew is not that far off. But it is a reductionist way of delineating a half truth and not the complete picture. Nobody cares about you, they care about themselves. This selfishness is self-defeating but they do it anyway because they are ignorant. Altruism leads to the more joy than selfishness.
My greatest joy right now is the music, and I like giving it away both for free and at a price. In one way, Spotify and YouTube is great, because it is free to the consumer and I get paid a few cents from each hundred views or so. So it is beneficial to you and me. It is in theory a good work model, but in reality, they are making most of the money and I am getting ripped off. But I create music for my own expression not for the money. Making some money is just a side benefit.
The rhythm and blues music I create is the music of tragedy and hardship. I in my own way suffered immensely and didn't live the life I should have. So there is sorrow, joy, and hope all rolled into one in my music. The story of America is the story of slavery, and white overclass and black underclass. In Latin America, people intermarry freely and everyone is equally poor. In the USA, there is segregation, even to this day, but it is more subtle. If you are black, you can't hide it, it's evident. White people have white skin and black people have black skin. But if races intermingle, eventually everyone looks brown skin with Asiatic features. Latinos are rich in spirit, culture, and beauty.
There is more to America than just white and black. Latinos do a lot of low end labor because they are strong and energetic and are willing to do it. The Asians and the Jews come from a culture of education and raising the young to venerate the traditions of the elders. Native Americans are still there, but they are marginalized. And Arabs and Indo-Europeans are everywhere.
Life is not the way it should be, it's the opposite. Suffering is grace, and less is more. So I sing the blues because I've lived the blues, and I am not where I belong. You don't have to be African American to sing the blues.
As my music career goes on, I will find people who play my type of guitar music, who listen to my type of guitar music, and where I am celebrated not just tolerated. I would play at a Jewish synagogue or a Hispanic Church. Religion is not that important these days. You don't have to self identify as something. That is just a label.
My latest album, Trouble On My Way, explores original rhythm and blues songs, an instrumental, a blues cover, and a couple of flamenco songs. I am pushing the boundaries because I want to grow. Even if my music is not popular here, it is popular somewhere. I know I have a following in Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, Sweden, and other parts of Europe. Some people stick to the good music and see rhythm and blues as the best music America ever produced. I sound like I belong in the 60s.
So my life continues without money being an issue. I am a musician, Aikido expert, home cook, writer, and I am living a simple but enjoyable life. Both the good and the wise lead quiet lives. They don't go running around looking for a party. Bars and nightclubs isn't where the fun is.
If you were smart, you'd learn quick that the most important thing to work on is zen. Being enlightened, content with nothing, and happy in any situation is the ultimate wealth. When you realize that you are just mind, body, and spirit, and the food is on loan from the earth, you start to value non tangible things more than tangible things. And then life is a breeze.
The best thing in life is finding a fulfilling career, fulfilling partner, a few loyal friends, and not neglecting the spiritual aspect of your life. There's no getting anywhere, and even celebrities must grow old, lose their looks, and die. So nobody really is that special. God is greater than mortal man, and God is more real than we are, even though he is non physical.
So there's no getting anywhere and the point of life is to be happy and useful. So be happy, enjoy your work, your lover, your music, your food, and live out your days in peace. That's all.
The Ebullient Cheer of Mexico
If I had the money to travel, I'd travel to Mexico. It is still considered North America so it is not that far away, but it is really part of Latin America. And it is not all poverty and chaos like the US media makes it out to be.
Mexico is a growing economy. There is socialist medicine and education. Prostitution, Marijuana, and Gambling is legal. The women are sexy. The climate is tropical but there are mountains and forests and a breeze. The food is delightful.
We only see the riff-raff from Mexico because people who can't make it there drift upwards here to make more money. The USA has a robust economy, and strong, swarthy, physical men can get work here that they couldn't in Mexico. So we as Americans have a distorted picture of what a Latino is.
There are Latino scholars, doctors, musicians, actors, and poets. It is not just busboys, landscapers, and carwashers. That is the lower echelon of Mexican society.
The thing with life is, money is important. Without money, you don't get food, shelter, or clothing, and you die. But if you just obsess about money, you are miserable and waste your life. Let's get money out the way.
Money is worldly value, but love is spiritual value. The spirit is more important than the body. But you need both to be a human being. You need a mind, a body, and a spirit. So you are three things not just one or two.
Obviously, ordinary people can work and be of value to others not just themselves. If you can't work or be productive, you are a loser.
I am productive, and most of my labor is not repaid, because I have no business savvy. I am a 24 hour volunteer like Sadhguru mentions in one of his recent posts on Instagram. I am altruistic. Automatic, for the people.
Even if I never make a real buck in my life, I don't care. Some people have less stuff but feel more fulfilled with life. Just get the bare minimum of physical necessity and do something with your life. It's just money. It has no intrinsic value.
So I can live a humble life and dream of a better place I live on long island, New York, but I wish I lived somewhere else. The main thing in making a living is budgeting and living within your means. You should budget per day, per week, and per month. I briefly mention this in my new book, Taoist Nutrition which is available on Amazon. You just have to search for Lior Avni and you see my two books and five albums.
I have a lot of knowledge and creativity to share. If I could, I'd just play guitar and sing all day. And I wouldn't accomplish much that way. If I want more results I need to learn the game and learn how to win.
The main thing in work is socializing and sharing your gift with others. We are social creatures, we live in a society. So don't stay at home all the time. Get out there and do something.
Mexico is a growing economy. There is socialist medicine and education. Prostitution, Marijuana, and Gambling is legal. The women are sexy. The climate is tropical but there are mountains and forests and a breeze. The food is delightful.
We only see the riff-raff from Mexico because people who can't make it there drift upwards here to make more money. The USA has a robust economy, and strong, swarthy, physical men can get work here that they couldn't in Mexico. So we as Americans have a distorted picture of what a Latino is.
There are Latino scholars, doctors, musicians, actors, and poets. It is not just busboys, landscapers, and carwashers. That is the lower echelon of Mexican society.
The thing with life is, money is important. Without money, you don't get food, shelter, or clothing, and you die. But if you just obsess about money, you are miserable and waste your life. Let's get money out the way.
Money is worldly value, but love is spiritual value. The spirit is more important than the body. But you need both to be a human being. You need a mind, a body, and a spirit. So you are three things not just one or two.
Obviously, ordinary people can work and be of value to others not just themselves. If you can't work or be productive, you are a loser.
I am productive, and most of my labor is not repaid, because I have no business savvy. I am a 24 hour volunteer like Sadhguru mentions in one of his recent posts on Instagram. I am altruistic. Automatic, for the people.
Even if I never make a real buck in my life, I don't care. Some people have less stuff but feel more fulfilled with life. Just get the bare minimum of physical necessity and do something with your life. It's just money. It has no intrinsic value.
So I can live a humble life and dream of a better place I live on long island, New York, but I wish I lived somewhere else. The main thing in making a living is budgeting and living within your means. You should budget per day, per week, and per month. I briefly mention this in my new book, Taoist Nutrition which is available on Amazon. You just have to search for Lior Avni and you see my two books and five albums.
I have a lot of knowledge and creativity to share. If I could, I'd just play guitar and sing all day. And I wouldn't accomplish much that way. If I want more results I need to learn the game and learn how to win.
The main thing in work is socializing and sharing your gift with others. We are social creatures, we live in a society. So don't stay at home all the time. Get out there and do something.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Bring Me My Shotgun
Lightin Hopkins was my favorite musician. I sound most like him. Although I started with Chuck Berry and then John Lee Hooker, I ended up sounding like and listening to Lighnin the most.
Chuck Berry's music was largely based on Rosetta Tharpe. It was fast, upbeat, more major tonality, electric, with a band, and spoke of things American teenagers thought about.
John Lee Hooker was a simple, small black man who played the one chord boogie. The primitive African music on a European instrument. If it wasn't for John Lee Hooker, there'd be no funk, disco, hip hop, or dance music of the modern era. And most musicians don't know his name or his music now. He had a huge influence on black people's music and nobody today knows who he is. Thanks for nothing.
Lightnin Hopkins was a good man and a museum now stands in his honor in Houston Texas where he spent most of his life playing, performing, and living. He was a Texas bluesman. His music was so clever, so simple, and yet he reinvented the E blues every time he wrote a song. You can do more with less or less with more. Book learnin' doesn't work in a streetfight.
So today is Sunday and I am watching Lightnin Hopkins videos on YouTube. This is entertainment to me, a simple black man playing an acoustic guitar with skill and mastery. Some people are less ambitious but more happy and fulfilled. More money doesn't mean more happiness.
I don't like black people's music from today. I like their grandparents music. The music of the 1960s blues revival. If it wasn't for the Beatles, people would know the 1960s was about rhythm and blues and bringing white kids and black kids together through a song.
My new album, Trouble On My Way, is now out on Spotify. This is important. Spotify is important to me. I am sure my following is growing and I will get a few thousand plays this year on this album alone. Rhythm and blues will never die, and it shouldn't. It is the music of real life, not the way we fantasize it to be. Don't listen to pop music, hip hop, or heavy metal. Listen to the music of the hard times.
We are all equal in suffering, and suffering is grace. So the more problems you have, the more God loves you. Life is not the way it should be, it's the opposite. So listen to the blues and therapize yourself. It's good for you.
Chuck Berry's music was largely based on Rosetta Tharpe. It was fast, upbeat, more major tonality, electric, with a band, and spoke of things American teenagers thought about.
John Lee Hooker was a simple, small black man who played the one chord boogie. The primitive African music on a European instrument. If it wasn't for John Lee Hooker, there'd be no funk, disco, hip hop, or dance music of the modern era. And most musicians don't know his name or his music now. He had a huge influence on black people's music and nobody today knows who he is. Thanks for nothing.
Lightnin Hopkins was a good man and a museum now stands in his honor in Houston Texas where he spent most of his life playing, performing, and living. He was a Texas bluesman. His music was so clever, so simple, and yet he reinvented the E blues every time he wrote a song. You can do more with less or less with more. Book learnin' doesn't work in a streetfight.
So today is Sunday and I am watching Lightnin Hopkins videos on YouTube. This is entertainment to me, a simple black man playing an acoustic guitar with skill and mastery. Some people are less ambitious but more happy and fulfilled. More money doesn't mean more happiness.
I don't like black people's music from today. I like their grandparents music. The music of the 1960s blues revival. If it wasn't for the Beatles, people would know the 1960s was about rhythm and blues and bringing white kids and black kids together through a song.
My new album, Trouble On My Way, is now out on Spotify. This is important. Spotify is important to me. I am sure my following is growing and I will get a few thousand plays this year on this album alone. Rhythm and blues will never die, and it shouldn't. It is the music of real life, not the way we fantasize it to be. Don't listen to pop music, hip hop, or heavy metal. Listen to the music of the hard times.
We are all equal in suffering, and suffering is grace. So the more problems you have, the more God loves you. Life is not the way it should be, it's the opposite. So listen to the blues and therapize yourself. It's good for you.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
An Honest Man is Always a Child
Socrates said this one. It's true. A morally good, honest man has no place in this world. All warfare is based on deception, and business is warfare. Business and warfare is based on the same concept, deception, and Americans are the best at being sneaky and rich.
The most clever and evil military strategists are not in Russia, Israel, Japan, Korea, or China. They are American. Americans are bizarre hard men who delight in torture and war. On one hand, I am glad I am American because even the poor are rich and get everything they need for free. Also, Americans have a delightful sense of humor. But I know I will never be rich and will always be used by sleazy people to their advantage.
I have made a few bucks on CDBaby and Routenote selling my albums as streams and downloads. But I am sure for every penny I make, they make 99. So I've probably made somebody else thousands while I've gotten dollars. All warfare is based on deception.
The main thing a child in school should learn ASAP is talent is useless. Someone with intermediate talent and superior business savvy will be more rich than someone with superior talent and no guile or business savvy whatsoever. You're not rewarded for being strong, honest, talented, and straightforward. This reinforces the JudeoChristian worldview. It's rigged.
Even self defense is a myth. After high school or college age, nobody boxes and wrestles to see who is objectively better. Combat is stealth and weapons, self defense is a sport like boxing or muay thai. Self defense is for children, and Muhammed Ali did not serve in the military because he knew his skills were useless. He was not a fighter, he was a self defense athlete. He once said, 'In a streetfight I'd be in big trouble.' And he was Cassius.
So the world is not improving as we get richer and more comfortable. It is degenerating as more porno and MMA is spewed out. MMA came about largely because boxing was too civilized and people wanted a more realistic combat sport. But there is nothing better than boxing. It is a fight with gloves on, a civilized fight. Most fights don't go to the ground and you don't have to pounce on them and finish them. Just knock them down or knock them out. Word to the wise. In Ancient Greece, the Greeks knew boxing was better than wrestling or MMA. Boxing was the ideal Greek sport, but the Romans banned it because it deforms the human face and the human face is a mirror of God. I guess they had no defensive skills back then.
So self defense is a myth because no one fights fair, and an open market economy is a crime because naturally the few shrewd people will manipulate the many simple, humble, ordinary people. I know I have extraordinary talent and wisdom and it doesn't get me more, it gets me less. So this reinforces the Christian worldview.
So an honest man is always childlike and pure and gets nowhere. It doesn't mean you can't fight and don't deserve to live. It is the opposite. A morally good man doesn't get rich and famous, but becomes known to his descendents, leaves behind a legacy, and is kind to everyone. So he gets something better than money and women. He gets heaven. And there is something better than heaven, there is bliss or oneness with the Creator. An enlightened man goes to bliss, not gets reborn.
So I don't do music or grappling or cooking for the money, I will never be rich. I do music primarily because it is good for me and makes me happy, and creativity just oozes out of me. I would do it anyway. The money is just a side benefit. The support and notoriety is too. I do music because I am a musician, and that is what I do. So the money doesn't matter. More money wouldn't necessarily make my life better. I want more joy.
So as time goes on and 2020 rages on, I will not think about money. Making a living is about budgeting. I don't even like material goods. I can live within my budget and not worry about money. I live to be creative, and music is my biggest thing. So watch out on Spotify and YouTube for Lior Avni and more music and videos. I have now 5 albums out, many videos of me playing guitar or my art designs set to music, and I am constantly creating. I don't do it for the money. If I learn more about marketing and business principles, I can increase my income to something like a part time income from a typical job in an office. That would be ideal and I'd be satisfied.
So don't do things for money, watching the clock and faking interest. Do things because it is what you love, and do it with enthusiasm and service to others. You'll end up with more success than someone who fakes it. I am not a fake. I do things I want to do. My life is bliss and success in this world counts for nothing. The main thing is finding bliss. We are all in suffering and doubt and want happiness. So do what makes you happy. An Honest Man is Always a Child.
The most clever and evil military strategists are not in Russia, Israel, Japan, Korea, or China. They are American. Americans are bizarre hard men who delight in torture and war. On one hand, I am glad I am American because even the poor are rich and get everything they need for free. Also, Americans have a delightful sense of humor. But I know I will never be rich and will always be used by sleazy people to their advantage.
I have made a few bucks on CDBaby and Routenote selling my albums as streams and downloads. But I am sure for every penny I make, they make 99. So I've probably made somebody else thousands while I've gotten dollars. All warfare is based on deception.
The main thing a child in school should learn ASAP is talent is useless. Someone with intermediate talent and superior business savvy will be more rich than someone with superior talent and no guile or business savvy whatsoever. You're not rewarded for being strong, honest, talented, and straightforward. This reinforces the JudeoChristian worldview. It's rigged.
Even self defense is a myth. After high school or college age, nobody boxes and wrestles to see who is objectively better. Combat is stealth and weapons, self defense is a sport like boxing or muay thai. Self defense is for children, and Muhammed Ali did not serve in the military because he knew his skills were useless. He was not a fighter, he was a self defense athlete. He once said, 'In a streetfight I'd be in big trouble.' And he was Cassius.
So the world is not improving as we get richer and more comfortable. It is degenerating as more porno and MMA is spewed out. MMA came about largely because boxing was too civilized and people wanted a more realistic combat sport. But there is nothing better than boxing. It is a fight with gloves on, a civilized fight. Most fights don't go to the ground and you don't have to pounce on them and finish them. Just knock them down or knock them out. Word to the wise. In Ancient Greece, the Greeks knew boxing was better than wrestling or MMA. Boxing was the ideal Greek sport, but the Romans banned it because it deforms the human face and the human face is a mirror of God. I guess they had no defensive skills back then.
So self defense is a myth because no one fights fair, and an open market economy is a crime because naturally the few shrewd people will manipulate the many simple, humble, ordinary people. I know I have extraordinary talent and wisdom and it doesn't get me more, it gets me less. So this reinforces the Christian worldview.
So an honest man is always childlike and pure and gets nowhere. It doesn't mean you can't fight and don't deserve to live. It is the opposite. A morally good man doesn't get rich and famous, but becomes known to his descendents, leaves behind a legacy, and is kind to everyone. So he gets something better than money and women. He gets heaven. And there is something better than heaven, there is bliss or oneness with the Creator. An enlightened man goes to bliss, not gets reborn.
So I don't do music or grappling or cooking for the money, I will never be rich. I do music primarily because it is good for me and makes me happy, and creativity just oozes out of me. I would do it anyway. The money is just a side benefit. The support and notoriety is too. I do music because I am a musician, and that is what I do. So the money doesn't matter. More money wouldn't necessarily make my life better. I want more joy.
So as time goes on and 2020 rages on, I will not think about money. Making a living is about budgeting. I don't even like material goods. I can live within my budget and not worry about money. I live to be creative, and music is my biggest thing. So watch out on Spotify and YouTube for Lior Avni and more music and videos. I have now 5 albums out, many videos of me playing guitar or my art designs set to music, and I am constantly creating. I don't do it for the money. If I learn more about marketing and business principles, I can increase my income to something like a part time income from a typical job in an office. That would be ideal and I'd be satisfied.
So don't do things for money, watching the clock and faking interest. Do things because it is what you love, and do it with enthusiasm and service to others. You'll end up with more success than someone who fakes it. I am not a fake. I do things I want to do. My life is bliss and success in this world counts for nothing. The main thing is finding bliss. We are all in suffering and doubt and want happiness. So do what makes you happy. An Honest Man is Always a Child.
Plans for a Next Album
My new album, Trouble On My Way, is probably out now on most stores. It features six songs, three of which have vocals and three instrumentals. One of the vocal songs is Killing Floor by Howlin Wolf. It is my composition of a blues classic.
On the new album, I write two rhythm and blues originals, play a Howlin Wolf cover, two flamenco songs, and one blues instrumental. One flamenco song, Marisol, is an original composition in B minor that explores an interesting chord progression.
I am most proud of the Howlin Wolf cover, because it is the only song on the album that features electric lead guitar, and it sounds great. That is why, I plan for the next album to use all electric guitar and have every song feature vocals. I also want to learn more things about music before I record the next album.
So my career is going well. I am not popular on long island, but my music is growing in other places, like the south, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Japan, and other places. In 2019, I got over 5,000 plays on Spotify between 4 albums. Now a 5th album is joining them. And at some point soon, another electric album will be out. I am already in the planning phases of an electric album.
The great thing about being a musician, or Creative Professional, in general is, you are having fun for money. It is fun to be creative, and the money is just a side benefit. I am not a commodities broker, a banker, a lawyer, nor a doctor. I am not motivated by money or deceiving someone to get more pay. I am not fooling you. I am trying to teach morality through entertainment and joy. So I see music as part of my mission in life, to uplift humanity and bring them solace.
My new album will be popular, and I am moving in the direction of more electric guitar and more singing. I want to reach a bigger audience.
On the new album, I write two rhythm and blues originals, play a Howlin Wolf cover, two flamenco songs, and one blues instrumental. One flamenco song, Marisol, is an original composition in B minor that explores an interesting chord progression.
I am most proud of the Howlin Wolf cover, because it is the only song on the album that features electric lead guitar, and it sounds great. That is why, I plan for the next album to use all electric guitar and have every song feature vocals. I also want to learn more things about music before I record the next album.
So my career is going well. I am not popular on long island, but my music is growing in other places, like the south, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Japan, and other places. In 2019, I got over 5,000 plays on Spotify between 4 albums. Now a 5th album is joining them. And at some point soon, another electric album will be out. I am already in the planning phases of an electric album.
The great thing about being a musician, or Creative Professional, in general is, you are having fun for money. It is fun to be creative, and the money is just a side benefit. I am not a commodities broker, a banker, a lawyer, nor a doctor. I am not motivated by money or deceiving someone to get more pay. I am not fooling you. I am trying to teach morality through entertainment and joy. So I see music as part of my mission in life, to uplift humanity and bring them solace.
My new album will be popular, and I am moving in the direction of more electric guitar and more singing. I want to reach a bigger audience.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Mind Body Spirit
Obviously, you are more than just a physical body. This is where Medicine, Science, Psychology, and the Western Man goes astray. You are not just a collection of physical organs that are magically put together and function as a whole.
The mind is in the brain but the brain is not the mind. The mind directs the brain, and the brain coordinates the movements of the rest of the body. Your soul is seperate from your body.
That is what a human being is, mind, body, and spirit. The mind is how the spirit influences the body. A body without a mind or spirit is a zombie, and a soul without a body is a ghost. But I have not met ghosts or zombies in my life.
Integrity means togetherness. Death is disintegration of the three bodies. Things that promote togetherness promote your life and sin brings about your own destruction. So try to do as few bad things as possible and as many good things. Good actions prolong your life. This is morality in it's simplest teaching.
My music keeps improving and my new album, Trouble On My Way is being distributed to all the outlets online, including Spotify and Deezer and Amazon and Google Play. My previous two albums, Coffee Blues and Lonely Days were hits. I am not rich, but I enjoy being a local musician.
When I play music, I notice my soul has more power than my body does. In my soul, I can sing like John Lee Hooker and play like Jimi Hendrix. But my body is not there. It is from soul to mind to body that so much is lost. I am limited, but I try.
Rhythm and Blues is the music of hardship. There is morality in rhythm and blues. It is the music of the slaves. At this point, I feel like a slave to an outdated economic system. I think some people identify with me.
If I could, I would gig out more. Not just on Long Island, but in Houston, in Mexico, in Brazil, in Japan. Some people really dig my music, because they identify with it. It is mournful chords and simple, insightful lyrics. It takes some cleverness to write this music.
So I know medicine and science in the West is missing something, because western men don't believe in an immortal soul. They believe we are just tangible reality and nothing else. But I know they are wrong. These people don't know themselves let alone others. They are terrible doctors and terrible scientists.
A soul is by nature immortal, and somewhere in your soul, you have all the answers. You are just hidden by ignorance. A human being is mind, body, and spirit. When you die, you disintegrate, and then after a while, you are born again to a new body.
Use this precious opportunity.
The mind is in the brain but the brain is not the mind. The mind directs the brain, and the brain coordinates the movements of the rest of the body. Your soul is seperate from your body.
That is what a human being is, mind, body, and spirit. The mind is how the spirit influences the body. A body without a mind or spirit is a zombie, and a soul without a body is a ghost. But I have not met ghosts or zombies in my life.
Integrity means togetherness. Death is disintegration of the three bodies. Things that promote togetherness promote your life and sin brings about your own destruction. So try to do as few bad things as possible and as many good things. Good actions prolong your life. This is morality in it's simplest teaching.
My music keeps improving and my new album, Trouble On My Way is being distributed to all the outlets online, including Spotify and Deezer and Amazon and Google Play. My previous two albums, Coffee Blues and Lonely Days were hits. I am not rich, but I enjoy being a local musician.
When I play music, I notice my soul has more power than my body does. In my soul, I can sing like John Lee Hooker and play like Jimi Hendrix. But my body is not there. It is from soul to mind to body that so much is lost. I am limited, but I try.
Rhythm and Blues is the music of hardship. There is morality in rhythm and blues. It is the music of the slaves. At this point, I feel like a slave to an outdated economic system. I think some people identify with me.
If I could, I would gig out more. Not just on Long Island, but in Houston, in Mexico, in Brazil, in Japan. Some people really dig my music, because they identify with it. It is mournful chords and simple, insightful lyrics. It takes some cleverness to write this music.
So I know medicine and science in the West is missing something, because western men don't believe in an immortal soul. They believe we are just tangible reality and nothing else. But I know they are wrong. These people don't know themselves let alone others. They are terrible doctors and terrible scientists.
A soul is by nature immortal, and somewhere in your soul, you have all the answers. You are just hidden by ignorance. A human being is mind, body, and spirit. When you die, you disintegrate, and then after a while, you are born again to a new body.
Use this precious opportunity.
My Letter to America
I know this might not be the smartest thing for me to do at this juncture, but I am going to write a letter about how I feel about living in the USA.
I have lived in New York for over 35 years. I have only visited Texas, Florida, and California and most of these trips were when I was a teenager. In the past 5 years I visited Tel Aviv and Houston, Texas.
I am starting to think that maybe the Midwest and rural America has it right. Christianity is good. Being a Republican is good. Being conservative is good. Guitar music is better than electronic music like hip hop and pop. It doesn't matter if you like Hank Williams or Robert Johnson more or less. I never visited Oklahoma or Iowa or Kentucky or Missouri or Chicago or Detroit. I've only been in New York most of the time, a bit in California, and a couple of times in Texas. Lightnin Hopkins, my favorite musician, was a black man from Houston Texas and there is a museum there in his honor.
New York and California is all about the minority classes, segregation between high income and low income neighborhoods, liberality, sexual immorality, business, and technology. I do not want to live on long island, New York for the rest of my life. I am not a tree, I can move.
So maybe Donald Trump is not all bad. I see him as a clever man who feels nobody deserves free stuff from the government. I believe socialist medicine and education is basic human dignity. But I admire certain qualities he has, like confidence, charm, pride, and persuasiveness. I guess I am a Socialist Republican, not a liberal Democrat and not a Hardcore right-wing Republican.
I believe everyone should have a fair chance at medicine and education, and if they still can't make money, be given a basic income from the government and get the basics for free. That is fair. It is hard but glorious to be poor and honest.
I don't like New York City and I probably wouldn't like Los Angeles either. I might like a place like Austin, Texas or Miami, Florida. Places where Anglo Americans and Latinos freely intermingle.
The days of the Anglo American frontiermen and the Mexican bandits confronting each other are over. America in general is not a melting pot, is a nation of warring factions. This is not right. We are ten times richer than any other country, and yet, we are not ten times better off. Most people I see are overweight, have wrinkly faces, and generally look frustrated and mentally ill.
You would think my skills as a nutritional copywriter and blues musician would make me a million dollars by now. But it hasn't. Because you are not rewarded for talent, you are rewarded for guile and stealth and deception.
So I might want to relocate soon. I don't want to live in New York, Tel Aviv, or with my other family members in Houston right now. I want to move somewhere where music and art is patronized, rent is reasonable, the weather is semi-tropical, the women are health conscious, and the food is cheap. This does not describe New York or California well. It describes the Midwest. Maybe there is something good about America, and I have been deluded by the media for too long.
My problem is, I don't socialize well, and if someone is ugly and stupid and dishonest, I tell them to their face, I don't keep quiet. This is a bad quality for success in business. Lack of guile. In a fair world, I'd be a musician and actor by now. I have the look and the talent for it.
So my Letter to America is such. The Midwest is better off than New York and California where liberality prevail, and the Irish and the Mexicans are some of the best people in the USA. They do all the work. High end labor, low end labor, it doesn't matter. The Chinese and the Jews know they are wrong but they keep quiet. They like the high salary, high end labor they do. I just want a fair chance to apply my talent and see where it gets me. I will continue doing what I love, and I am productive as a musician and author. I should also get a workout in.
So my life is not that bad. I have the bare minimum. But a man as talented as me deserves more than the bare minimum. An above average man should lead an above average lifestyle. And Donald Trump didn't do this to me. So I will not complain about my situation, I will get more independent and only rely on myself. I have to be strong.
The great sport of pugilism is all about racial pride and justice. It is not about stealth and deception, knowledge or technique. It is about speed, power, timing, and reflexes. Blacks, Latinos, the Irish, and the Italian are great pugilistic races. There are not many pugilists from Northern or Eastern Europe. And Asian people do karate or kung fu. In boxing is a fair contest to see who is better. I find it less irritating to watch than MMA. Boxing can be interesting, and it is not a streetfight, it is a civilized fight. You have to be extremely conditioned and trained to get into the ring. It is not for the faint of heart.
So there are some great things about America, and some terrible things. My goal and plan should not be to leave America or hate America, it should be to relocate to a different part of America on my own, and be more independent. Sometimes, a friend is better than a relative. Different parts of the same country might be totally different in lifestyle. So I need to find a place to call home and not bash Donald Trump, the white man, or America. We are the richest country in the world, and it is that way for a reason.
I have lived in New York for over 35 years. I have only visited Texas, Florida, and California and most of these trips were when I was a teenager. In the past 5 years I visited Tel Aviv and Houston, Texas.
I am starting to think that maybe the Midwest and rural America has it right. Christianity is good. Being a Republican is good. Being conservative is good. Guitar music is better than electronic music like hip hop and pop. It doesn't matter if you like Hank Williams or Robert Johnson more or less. I never visited Oklahoma or Iowa or Kentucky or Missouri or Chicago or Detroit. I've only been in New York most of the time, a bit in California, and a couple of times in Texas. Lightnin Hopkins, my favorite musician, was a black man from Houston Texas and there is a museum there in his honor.
New York and California is all about the minority classes, segregation between high income and low income neighborhoods, liberality, sexual immorality, business, and technology. I do not want to live on long island, New York for the rest of my life. I am not a tree, I can move.
So maybe Donald Trump is not all bad. I see him as a clever man who feels nobody deserves free stuff from the government. I believe socialist medicine and education is basic human dignity. But I admire certain qualities he has, like confidence, charm, pride, and persuasiveness. I guess I am a Socialist Republican, not a liberal Democrat and not a Hardcore right-wing Republican.
I believe everyone should have a fair chance at medicine and education, and if they still can't make money, be given a basic income from the government and get the basics for free. That is fair. It is hard but glorious to be poor and honest.
I don't like New York City and I probably wouldn't like Los Angeles either. I might like a place like Austin, Texas or Miami, Florida. Places where Anglo Americans and Latinos freely intermingle.
The days of the Anglo American frontiermen and the Mexican bandits confronting each other are over. America in general is not a melting pot, is a nation of warring factions. This is not right. We are ten times richer than any other country, and yet, we are not ten times better off. Most people I see are overweight, have wrinkly faces, and generally look frustrated and mentally ill.
You would think my skills as a nutritional copywriter and blues musician would make me a million dollars by now. But it hasn't. Because you are not rewarded for talent, you are rewarded for guile and stealth and deception.
So I might want to relocate soon. I don't want to live in New York, Tel Aviv, or with my other family members in Houston right now. I want to move somewhere where music and art is patronized, rent is reasonable, the weather is semi-tropical, the women are health conscious, and the food is cheap. This does not describe New York or California well. It describes the Midwest. Maybe there is something good about America, and I have been deluded by the media for too long.
My problem is, I don't socialize well, and if someone is ugly and stupid and dishonest, I tell them to their face, I don't keep quiet. This is a bad quality for success in business. Lack of guile. In a fair world, I'd be a musician and actor by now. I have the look and the talent for it.
So my Letter to America is such. The Midwest is better off than New York and California where liberality prevail, and the Irish and the Mexicans are some of the best people in the USA. They do all the work. High end labor, low end labor, it doesn't matter. The Chinese and the Jews know they are wrong but they keep quiet. They like the high salary, high end labor they do. I just want a fair chance to apply my talent and see where it gets me. I will continue doing what I love, and I am productive as a musician and author. I should also get a workout in.
So my life is not that bad. I have the bare minimum. But a man as talented as me deserves more than the bare minimum. An above average man should lead an above average lifestyle. And Donald Trump didn't do this to me. So I will not complain about my situation, I will get more independent and only rely on myself. I have to be strong.
The great sport of pugilism is all about racial pride and justice. It is not about stealth and deception, knowledge or technique. It is about speed, power, timing, and reflexes. Blacks, Latinos, the Irish, and the Italian are great pugilistic races. There are not many pugilists from Northern or Eastern Europe. And Asian people do karate or kung fu. In boxing is a fair contest to see who is better. I find it less irritating to watch than MMA. Boxing can be interesting, and it is not a streetfight, it is a civilized fight. You have to be extremely conditioned and trained to get into the ring. It is not for the faint of heart.
So there are some great things about America, and some terrible things. My goal and plan should not be to leave America or hate America, it should be to relocate to a different part of America on my own, and be more independent. Sometimes, a friend is better than a relative. Different parts of the same country might be totally different in lifestyle. So I need to find a place to call home and not bash Donald Trump, the white man, or America. We are the richest country in the world, and it is that way for a reason.
The Lute
The guitar, which used to be called, 'the lute' in 15th century Italy where it was invented, has tremendous versatility and is probably the best instrument. It usually has 6 strings, at least 12 frets, and has a standard tuning that all musicians know. There are altered tunings and most guitars have more than 12 frets, with the octave repeating at the 12th fret. So the creativity and potential of the instrument is endless.
One thing about a guitar is, it is portable. You can play standing up or sitting down. It kind of resembles a giant phallus, so it is a sexual inuendo. The blues is all about a man alone against the world. The guitar imitates the woman's voice. That is what I like about the blues, it is the music of hardship and loneliness.
But the blues is not the only music you can do with a guitar. You can do flamenco, classical, reggae, rock n roll, country, bluegrass, etc... There is so much variety to the sounds it produces.
Most of the great guitar designs were made during the 1950s. People to this day get stratocasters, telecasters, gibsons of all kinds, archtops, semi-hollows, etc... It is an old instrument.
The most important musician of the twentieth century was an Irish American named Jelly Roll Morton. He invented a chord progression called, 'the 12 bar blues'. It influenced all the great blues players of the 1930s and 1940s, and this in turn influenced the innovators of rock n roll in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a simple chord progression with three chords that repeats and repeats and never ends. So he invented something of huge importance to society.
The best acoustic guitar player that influenced all delta blues, rhythm and blues, and rock n roll was Robert Johnson. He had a brief career in Mississippi in the 1930s and then was murdered at the age of 27. His short, but explosive life spawned a whole century of music.
Rosetta Tharpe was also a major innovator. She was an overweight, homely black woman who played gospel music originally for a black audience but then crossed over to a white mainstream audience in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. She didn't enjoy great longevity.
Chuck Berry the man who invented rock n roll, said late in his life about his musical career, 'it was all one big, long, Rosetta Tharpe impersonation.' That is an ominous statement. Rock n Roll is secular gospel music. Music not about God or Jesus but about Money and Women. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Music can be used in a good or bad way. You can use it to have a party, have lots of sex, do lots of drugs, and get into fistfights. Or you can revert it back to it's gospel origins and sing of hardship, loneliness, injustice, poverty, and tragedy. It's music, you can use it any way you like.
There were later innovators after Chuck Berry, like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Van Halen, etc... But it all started with Chuck Berry, a smooth RnB criminal from St. Louis who didn't start performing music until he was 35 years old. He ended up living 90 years, so he had a long, fun, successful life. He invented something of lasting benefit to society, so you should judge him on his merits, not on what kind of life he lived. Everyone dies, both saints and sinners.
The Lute, or guitar, is a great instrument and I hope it doesn't wane in popularity. I visit the guitar shop regularly. The thing is, most music today is made with machines not actual instruments. It is essentially angry lyrics set over an electronic beat. It has gone far from Rosetta Tharpe and Chuck Berry. I think it is kind of sad. The 1960s was about rock n roll, this generation is about porno and MMA. I don't think society is improving.
But I know I will keep playing guitar, singing, watching old videos on YouTube, streaming my own music on Spotify, and keep the tradition alive. The guitar should never become antiquated. By nature, rhythm and blues is music about real life and rock n roll is music about youth culture. So how can it become antiquated? This music is alive and there is still hope for it.
Look for my new album, 'Trouble On My Way' out on most stores now. That includes YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, Deezer, TenCent, and so on. It is a good album with 3 vocal songs and 3 instrumentals. Two of the instrumentals are flamenco songs. It is quite interesting.
One thing about a guitar is, it is portable. You can play standing up or sitting down. It kind of resembles a giant phallus, so it is a sexual inuendo. The blues is all about a man alone against the world. The guitar imitates the woman's voice. That is what I like about the blues, it is the music of hardship and loneliness.
But the blues is not the only music you can do with a guitar. You can do flamenco, classical, reggae, rock n roll, country, bluegrass, etc... There is so much variety to the sounds it produces.
Most of the great guitar designs were made during the 1950s. People to this day get stratocasters, telecasters, gibsons of all kinds, archtops, semi-hollows, etc... It is an old instrument.
The most important musician of the twentieth century was an Irish American named Jelly Roll Morton. He invented a chord progression called, 'the 12 bar blues'. It influenced all the great blues players of the 1930s and 1940s, and this in turn influenced the innovators of rock n roll in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a simple chord progression with three chords that repeats and repeats and never ends. So he invented something of huge importance to society.
The best acoustic guitar player that influenced all delta blues, rhythm and blues, and rock n roll was Robert Johnson. He had a brief career in Mississippi in the 1930s and then was murdered at the age of 27. His short, but explosive life spawned a whole century of music.
Rosetta Tharpe was also a major innovator. She was an overweight, homely black woman who played gospel music originally for a black audience but then crossed over to a white mainstream audience in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. She didn't enjoy great longevity.
Chuck Berry the man who invented rock n roll, said late in his life about his musical career, 'it was all one big, long, Rosetta Tharpe impersonation.' That is an ominous statement. Rock n Roll is secular gospel music. Music not about God or Jesus but about Money and Women. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Music can be used in a good or bad way. You can use it to have a party, have lots of sex, do lots of drugs, and get into fistfights. Or you can revert it back to it's gospel origins and sing of hardship, loneliness, injustice, poverty, and tragedy. It's music, you can use it any way you like.
There were later innovators after Chuck Berry, like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Van Halen, etc... But it all started with Chuck Berry, a smooth RnB criminal from St. Louis who didn't start performing music until he was 35 years old. He ended up living 90 years, so he had a long, fun, successful life. He invented something of lasting benefit to society, so you should judge him on his merits, not on what kind of life he lived. Everyone dies, both saints and sinners.
The Lute, or guitar, is a great instrument and I hope it doesn't wane in popularity. I visit the guitar shop regularly. The thing is, most music today is made with machines not actual instruments. It is essentially angry lyrics set over an electronic beat. It has gone far from Rosetta Tharpe and Chuck Berry. I think it is kind of sad. The 1960s was about rock n roll, this generation is about porno and MMA. I don't think society is improving.
But I know I will keep playing guitar, singing, watching old videos on YouTube, streaming my own music on Spotify, and keep the tradition alive. The guitar should never become antiquated. By nature, rhythm and blues is music about real life and rock n roll is music about youth culture. So how can it become antiquated? This music is alive and there is still hope for it.
Look for my new album, 'Trouble On My Way' out on most stores now. That includes YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, Deezer, TenCent, and so on. It is a good album with 3 vocal songs and 3 instrumentals. Two of the instrumentals are flamenco songs. It is quite interesting.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
The Vanity of Earthly Life
Most people waste their lives. They seek things they don't need, and squander their time. The main thing in life is to be happy and useful. You don't need extra wealth or lovers, because anything more than the bare minimum is excess. You need food, shelter, clothing, the bare essentials, etc.. and that's it. More money won't make you more happy. Money can't buy happiness.
In love, you should try many women until you find the right one to settle down with. Most people will not marry their childhood sweetheart and have one lover per life. Most people are not that smart. Dating has a purpose, to try people out for marriage. It is not just to acquire lovers or to have lots of sex acts. You can masturbate, or you can go to a massage therapist or stripper if you need a sex act so badly.
The most important thing to work on is zen. If you meditate constantly, the moment of realization will come, and you will attain insight into the meaning of life. Once you are enlightened, you are almost always happy, and this higher level of consciousness stays with you at all times. You remain awake.
Americans are ten times richer than any other nation of people, yet, they are not ten times better off. We have a higher standard of living here, we make more money, spend more money, and live in safe neighborhoods. But we work more hours, have to pay for school and medicine, live paycheck to paycheck, and eat lower quality food. Food in Europe and Israel is much higher quality.
So most people are obsessed with lust, money, power, fame, and popularity, when they should be working on humility, gratitude, contentment, productivity, finding a passion, getting good at something, forming real connections with a handful of people, etc.. Their desires lead them astray in ultimately unfulfilling pursuits.
If you are over 30 and have a handful of friends, you are lucky. I am over 40 now and I have more than 5 friends. So I am lucky. Accumulate people not possessions. Relationships are worth more. Material goods have no value, and money only has symbolic value not intrinsic value.
It seems that the human race is not improving, it is degenerating. Life is easier because of technology like the internet, but it is not improving. We are more isolated, less connected, have less talent of our own, less skill, and rely on machines to do everything for us. So technology ruins everything. It is good to not be an optimist nor a pessimist but a realist, and see the good and bad in any situation. Life is not improving, it is just getting easier. Learning how to do things for yourself is a blessing in disguise. You learn by doing.
So the vanity of earthly life is that we waste so much time doing things that won't get us any real happiness. We work at least 8 hours per day, we pursue sex, we use social media, we're on our computers and smartphones too much, we can't do anything ourselves because machines do it for us, etc... The past 150 years in Europe and the USA, ever since the Industrial Revolution, has been a mistake. It is better to be a humble man on a farm working from sun up to sun down and playing guitar by the moonlight than a guy who works in an office 12 hours per day so he can afford a place of his own to eat and sleep in. We are overworked and underpaid. Most men will have a 40 year career, and ultimately, what will they leave to posterity? Everything that is born dies. Only a human being can live such an extraordinary life that he is remembered by people far and wide after his body is gone. Don't squander your life. Work on health and spirituality, and between those two things, take 20 years to master a skill and leave a body of work behind.
I know in my life I mastered music and martial arts, and this makes me happy. I am a master, and before I picked up a guitar or started shootfighting lessons, I attained zen, and this is ultimately what saved me. So I am an enlightened musician and an enlightened budo master. I am a meritorious man and I will be known as a legend when I move on. I have done enough, and money is not the important part. Satisfaction is.
In love, you should try many women until you find the right one to settle down with. Most people will not marry their childhood sweetheart and have one lover per life. Most people are not that smart. Dating has a purpose, to try people out for marriage. It is not just to acquire lovers or to have lots of sex acts. You can masturbate, or you can go to a massage therapist or stripper if you need a sex act so badly.
The most important thing to work on is zen. If you meditate constantly, the moment of realization will come, and you will attain insight into the meaning of life. Once you are enlightened, you are almost always happy, and this higher level of consciousness stays with you at all times. You remain awake.
Americans are ten times richer than any other nation of people, yet, they are not ten times better off. We have a higher standard of living here, we make more money, spend more money, and live in safe neighborhoods. But we work more hours, have to pay for school and medicine, live paycheck to paycheck, and eat lower quality food. Food in Europe and Israel is much higher quality.
So most people are obsessed with lust, money, power, fame, and popularity, when they should be working on humility, gratitude, contentment, productivity, finding a passion, getting good at something, forming real connections with a handful of people, etc.. Their desires lead them astray in ultimately unfulfilling pursuits.
If you are over 30 and have a handful of friends, you are lucky. I am over 40 now and I have more than 5 friends. So I am lucky. Accumulate people not possessions. Relationships are worth more. Material goods have no value, and money only has symbolic value not intrinsic value.
It seems that the human race is not improving, it is degenerating. Life is easier because of technology like the internet, but it is not improving. We are more isolated, less connected, have less talent of our own, less skill, and rely on machines to do everything for us. So technology ruins everything. It is good to not be an optimist nor a pessimist but a realist, and see the good and bad in any situation. Life is not improving, it is just getting easier. Learning how to do things for yourself is a blessing in disguise. You learn by doing.
So the vanity of earthly life is that we waste so much time doing things that won't get us any real happiness. We work at least 8 hours per day, we pursue sex, we use social media, we're on our computers and smartphones too much, we can't do anything ourselves because machines do it for us, etc... The past 150 years in Europe and the USA, ever since the Industrial Revolution, has been a mistake. It is better to be a humble man on a farm working from sun up to sun down and playing guitar by the moonlight than a guy who works in an office 12 hours per day so he can afford a place of his own to eat and sleep in. We are overworked and underpaid. Most men will have a 40 year career, and ultimately, what will they leave to posterity? Everything that is born dies. Only a human being can live such an extraordinary life that he is remembered by people far and wide after his body is gone. Don't squander your life. Work on health and spirituality, and between those two things, take 20 years to master a skill and leave a body of work behind.
I know in my life I mastered music and martial arts, and this makes me happy. I am a master, and before I picked up a guitar or started shootfighting lessons, I attained zen, and this is ultimately what saved me. So I am an enlightened musician and an enlightened budo master. I am a meritorious man and I will be known as a legend when I move on. I have done enough, and money is not the important part. Satisfaction is.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
The Gendai Budo
This term means, 'The Modern Japanese Martial Arts'. It is more than just self defense. Anyone can get good at self defense, you don't need to go to a karate school to learn self defense. It should be thought of as 'Zen and the Martial Arts'. It is self defense, but has a spiritual connotation to it. You have a right to defend yourself, but you don't have a right to start with anyone or be an asshole.
Karate, Judo, and Jujutsu is Budo. Aikido means with weapons, and Ninjitsu means stealth and deception. So the Japanese have a martial art for each aspect of self defense. Karate is just punching and kicking, Judo is throwing and pinning, Jujutsu specializes in the submission holds, Aikido deals with weapons situations, Ninjitsu teaches you how to be sneaky and deceptive. Other Asian countries have one style that teaches a mish-mosh of all ranges and aspects, but the Japanese are so obsessed with Budo that they have a different martial art for every aspect of Budo.
The main thing in self defense is awareness. Most people will not fight fair. They will sucker punch you, blindside you, shank you, bite you, gouge you, etc... But the main thing in a fair fight is punching, pinning, and weapons tactics. A pin is a type of submission. So is a choke or armlock, but pinning is better than choking and armlocks hardly ever work in streetfights.
Before 1993 and the UFC, people thought just training Karate was enough. Karate is mostly punching and kicking. But now we know what Jujutsu really means. It means being a wholistic practitioner with an answer for everything. Real Jujutsu is more like Combat Sambo, a sport that allows punch, kick, throw, and submission. Then there is weapons and stealth. To be a budo master, you must be complete, so eastern martial arts and wholistic medicine is based on the same concept, wholism. Not seeing one thing and one thing only, but seeing a rich tapestry of factors. A good martial artist can punch, kick, throw, do submissions, disarm someone with a weapon, and is aware of stealth and deception. If you can do all those 6 things, you are a Jujutsu master.
I don't particularly like MMA because it is vicious and commercial and not in the spirit of Budo. But I like Combat Sambo, because of several factors. First of all, there are uniforms, which allows for more grips to throw from. There is no cage, so if you want to take someone down, you have to throw them in the center of the mat. A knockout, a throw, or a submission ends the bout. There is a point system where you are rewarded for throws and pins. And they wear protective gear so it is less harmful to the practitioners. The Russians know what Jujutsu is about. It is about fight science, and the Russians are crazy about all combat sports, even boxing and Tae Kwon Do.
So the meaning of the martial arts is not learning how to win an ego beef and be Cassius. It is about mastering the self, living in peace, and attaining clarity into the human condition. Budo can be a type of religion just like Judaism or Christianity can be a religion. It is a moral principle, physical training, and insight into the human condition.
The ultimate teaching is violence always backfires. The best fighter is never angry, and knows he can use his strength to be benevolent not harmful. That is why we can use Judo as physical education, because it makes you a better member of society. Self Defense is for children and all warfare is based on deception. Nobody cares if you are objectively better than them, business is not based on talent or merit, it is based on stealth and guile. You don't have to be extremely talented to be rich and successful. Oftentimes, the richest people are worthless punks and the poorest, humblest people have the most talent and merit. Life is not fair. But through Judo and self defense, you can learn to be a better man, and this gives you an inner contentment that can't be bought or sold.
There is a big Judo tournament going on in Tel Aviv right now, and I am happy. I wish I was there. I am a citizen of Israel. But I hardly ever visit because I can't afford the plane ticket. But Judo is important to all modern people, especially to the modern state of Israel. In Israel, the Jews there are different from other types of Jews. They are more tough, more fit, more secular, and more confident. Judo is the ideal sport for them. The Jews of the diaspora such as American Jews seem soft in comparison. Judo is sport, and sport teaches you to win or lose and not complain. I wish I could be a Judo teacher in Israel, I speak both Hebrew and English. But life didn't turn out the way I thought it would.
So the message of the martial arts is to get tough, get fit, get a job, and do exceptional service. Business is warfare, and there are samurais and there are ninjas. I'd rather be a samurai than a ninja. I work with enthusiasm in an honorable way to do the right thing. I hope you join me.
Karate, Judo, and Jujutsu is Budo. Aikido means with weapons, and Ninjitsu means stealth and deception. So the Japanese have a martial art for each aspect of self defense. Karate is just punching and kicking, Judo is throwing and pinning, Jujutsu specializes in the submission holds, Aikido deals with weapons situations, Ninjitsu teaches you how to be sneaky and deceptive. Other Asian countries have one style that teaches a mish-mosh of all ranges and aspects, but the Japanese are so obsessed with Budo that they have a different martial art for every aspect of Budo.
The main thing in self defense is awareness. Most people will not fight fair. They will sucker punch you, blindside you, shank you, bite you, gouge you, etc... But the main thing in a fair fight is punching, pinning, and weapons tactics. A pin is a type of submission. So is a choke or armlock, but pinning is better than choking and armlocks hardly ever work in streetfights.
Before 1993 and the UFC, people thought just training Karate was enough. Karate is mostly punching and kicking. But now we know what Jujutsu really means. It means being a wholistic practitioner with an answer for everything. Real Jujutsu is more like Combat Sambo, a sport that allows punch, kick, throw, and submission. Then there is weapons and stealth. To be a budo master, you must be complete, so eastern martial arts and wholistic medicine is based on the same concept, wholism. Not seeing one thing and one thing only, but seeing a rich tapestry of factors. A good martial artist can punch, kick, throw, do submissions, disarm someone with a weapon, and is aware of stealth and deception. If you can do all those 6 things, you are a Jujutsu master.
I don't particularly like MMA because it is vicious and commercial and not in the spirit of Budo. But I like Combat Sambo, because of several factors. First of all, there are uniforms, which allows for more grips to throw from. There is no cage, so if you want to take someone down, you have to throw them in the center of the mat. A knockout, a throw, or a submission ends the bout. There is a point system where you are rewarded for throws and pins. And they wear protective gear so it is less harmful to the practitioners. The Russians know what Jujutsu is about. It is about fight science, and the Russians are crazy about all combat sports, even boxing and Tae Kwon Do.
So the meaning of the martial arts is not learning how to win an ego beef and be Cassius. It is about mastering the self, living in peace, and attaining clarity into the human condition. Budo can be a type of religion just like Judaism or Christianity can be a religion. It is a moral principle, physical training, and insight into the human condition.
The ultimate teaching is violence always backfires. The best fighter is never angry, and knows he can use his strength to be benevolent not harmful. That is why we can use Judo as physical education, because it makes you a better member of society. Self Defense is for children and all warfare is based on deception. Nobody cares if you are objectively better than them, business is not based on talent or merit, it is based on stealth and guile. You don't have to be extremely talented to be rich and successful. Oftentimes, the richest people are worthless punks and the poorest, humblest people have the most talent and merit. Life is not fair. But through Judo and self defense, you can learn to be a better man, and this gives you an inner contentment that can't be bought or sold.
There is a big Judo tournament going on in Tel Aviv right now, and I am happy. I wish I was there. I am a citizen of Israel. But I hardly ever visit because I can't afford the plane ticket. But Judo is important to all modern people, especially to the modern state of Israel. In Israel, the Jews there are different from other types of Jews. They are more tough, more fit, more secular, and more confident. Judo is the ideal sport for them. The Jews of the diaspora such as American Jews seem soft in comparison. Judo is sport, and sport teaches you to win or lose and not complain. I wish I could be a Judo teacher in Israel, I speak both Hebrew and English. But life didn't turn out the way I thought it would.
So the message of the martial arts is to get tough, get fit, get a job, and do exceptional service. Business is warfare, and there are samurais and there are ninjas. I'd rather be a samurai than a ninja. I work with enthusiasm in an honorable way to do the right thing. I hope you join me.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Back with a Vengeance
I am using this site a lot lately. My FASO artist site will not renew in December, so I stopped posting there. I will just leave it the way it is. Over the span of a year, I did 150 blog posts and gave a way a book's level of knowledge. I didn't make a dime from that.
In addition, I have a musician page on the internet which I pay to keep up. It is located at www.lioravni.org and is very interesting and useful. From the site, you can see what I look like, sample or purchase my music, learn my story, and have access to all my social media outlets and places to purchase my music. There is even a button to visit my YouTube page.
I have decided music is the best thing for me. I could theoretically work as a health copywriter, a designer, or even teach Aikido and fitness. And at some point in the future, these things will help me. But music is the most important thing in my life, and it generates a small income every month to supplement my main income.
So I am back to blogging here on this site with a vengeance. Blogger is free for me to use and free for you to read it. So it is mutually beneficial to both parties. This is good business. I can create a bigger following, express myself, and attract attention to what I am doing elsewhere on the internet. It is a win-win situation.
Ultimately, I want to create a decent side income with music. This blog can only help me. I know music has little to do with design or writing, but lioravnidesignwriter is the name I chose for my business. I am just changing directions in business.
So in the future, I will try to be less provocative and more polite. This music, rhythm and blues, has been around a long time by now and is no longer risque. 50 years ago it was risque, but times have changed. Today's music is more simple, more rhythmic, more about sex, drugs, violence, ego, and sin. My music almost seems like gospel music in comparison.
I think my music is more like the 1960s rhythm and blues than anything else. You start to sound like your influences, and I like John Lee Hooker, Lightnin Hopkins, and Chuck Berry. John Lee invented all the one chord boogie dance music that black kids listen to today. Chuck Berry single handedly invented rock guitar. And Lightnin Hopkins was the classic blues player. So put them all together, and you have the history of rock n roll music in the past 50 years. And most people today don't know who they are, but they are familiar with modern pop and rock music. Kids today are missing out on so much.
I know I will find people both locally and internationally who like my music. People in the rural south, in Mexico, Brazil, Europe, and the Philippines like this type of music. And the Japanese idolize a man who can play authentic American folk music. That is what rhythm and blues is, the folk music of negro slaves in the south of the USA.
So I am both a musician, a writer, a teacher, a healer, and a preacher. I wouldn't want to be anything else.
In addition, I have a musician page on the internet which I pay to keep up. It is located at www.lioravni.org and is very interesting and useful. From the site, you can see what I look like, sample or purchase my music, learn my story, and have access to all my social media outlets and places to purchase my music. There is even a button to visit my YouTube page.
I have decided music is the best thing for me. I could theoretically work as a health copywriter, a designer, or even teach Aikido and fitness. And at some point in the future, these things will help me. But music is the most important thing in my life, and it generates a small income every month to supplement my main income.
So I am back to blogging here on this site with a vengeance. Blogger is free for me to use and free for you to read it. So it is mutually beneficial to both parties. This is good business. I can create a bigger following, express myself, and attract attention to what I am doing elsewhere on the internet. It is a win-win situation.
Ultimately, I want to create a decent side income with music. This blog can only help me. I know music has little to do with design or writing, but lioravnidesignwriter is the name I chose for my business. I am just changing directions in business.
So in the future, I will try to be less provocative and more polite. This music, rhythm and blues, has been around a long time by now and is no longer risque. 50 years ago it was risque, but times have changed. Today's music is more simple, more rhythmic, more about sex, drugs, violence, ego, and sin. My music almost seems like gospel music in comparison.
I think my music is more like the 1960s rhythm and blues than anything else. You start to sound like your influences, and I like John Lee Hooker, Lightnin Hopkins, and Chuck Berry. John Lee invented all the one chord boogie dance music that black kids listen to today. Chuck Berry single handedly invented rock guitar. And Lightnin Hopkins was the classic blues player. So put them all together, and you have the history of rock n roll music in the past 50 years. And most people today don't know who they are, but they are familiar with modern pop and rock music. Kids today are missing out on so much.
I know I will find people both locally and internationally who like my music. People in the rural south, in Mexico, Brazil, Europe, and the Philippines like this type of music. And the Japanese idolize a man who can play authentic American folk music. That is what rhythm and blues is, the folk music of negro slaves in the south of the USA.
So I am both a musician, a writer, a teacher, a healer, and a preacher. I wouldn't want to be anything else.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
The Birth of Tragedy
In my life, I can do both music and art and not concentrate on money or fame or women. I don't need results, I need happiness, contentment, productivity, and a sense of accomplishment.
I know I have been doing music for 25 years and art for 4 years or so. I graduated Art school in mid 2015 and started using Photoshop in 2017 to digitally color my drawings.
I don't need to choose between art and music. I can do both. Ultimately, I enjoy music more. Rhythm and blues is the music of the slaves, and is in touch with the tragedy of life. Art is more like a hobby to me that supplements what I do as a musician. But art is a vital hobby, and neglecting it is a big mistake.
I also did shootfighting and judo most of my adult life, and judo leads to the Gendai Budo, which leads to Aikido. The word 'Aikido' literally means 'the way to harmonize the spirit'. It is not just wrestling with weapons or pinning people face down. It is a system of training your mind, body, and spirit in the mastery of the self. The good Aikido man can win without a fight, and if forced into a physical confrontation, wins without harming anyone. Fighting against multiple opponents is a myth. Aikido is weapons grappling the way Judo is the original sport grappling. In Japan, there is a form of Aikido that uses randori or free-fighting. It is called Tomiki Aikido.
Tomiki was a Japanese man who trained with Jigoro Kano and had a black belt in judo. He incorporated some of Kano's training methods into his Aikido teaching and formed a unique variant of Aikido. Sparring and competition is not real fighting, it is a training method for building timing and reflexes in a martial artist. Jigoro Kano was a huge innovator when he invented Judo. It is an eastern combat sport with a live method of winning and losing. In that way, it is more similar to boxing and wrestling and less similar to kung fu or tai chi.
Aikido is not just self defense, it is a method of training the spirit. A real human being wants to avoid violence at all costs, and if forced to defend himself, do as little damage to both parties as possible.
So Music, Aikido, and Art are important activities to me. And I use the word activity because hobby is a word that implies it is just for fun.
Nietzsche wrote a book called, 'The Birth of Tragedy' in which he compares Art and Music. He equated art with Apollo and music with Dionysus. Art is about beauty, light, splendor, youth, and innocence, Music is dark, moody, intangible, erotic, emotional, and has to be experienced. So it is fair to equate art with Apollo the God of Light and music with Dionysus, the dying God of Ritual Madness and Ecstasy.
I like all manners of creative expression, and now that I am older, physical performance is declining. So I am getting more creative. I like playing guitar, singing, watching music videos, using Spotify, and even looking at photos of famous musicians. There is a visual element to music, because human beings are primarily visual. The musician has to be attractive, photography is a big part of music, albums need cover art, and even music can be learned visually by memorizing chords and scales and then later developing your ear.
So I prefer music over art. But most of all, I like the lifestyle of a Zen yogi. You start in health and you end in spirituality. Nutrition should be the first thing you teach a child, attaining kensho and being free from rebirth is the ultimate goal of life. Between health and spirituality, you should master something. A skill is a vocation, and if you take 20 years to master a skill, you can be very successful and famous. I've done music for over 25 years and grappling for over 22 years. So my education did not help me, but my hobbies did.
But what really helped me most was what I did first. I attained kensho, and I attained freedom from rebirth and immortality of the spirit. You don't have to believe me when you read this, you don't even need to understand this. Just don't assume I am wrong or crazy.
When I die, I will attain bliss. That is something better than going to heaven. But regardless of whether I am alive or dead, I am happy, and this is the most important thing. In a world of suffering people, I am happy, and this is a huge accomplishment. So I don't need more money or more women.
Nietzsche was a brilliant mind, and from his work, Psychology was born. I also draw inspiration from Nietzsche, but look at him as someone who was extremely gifted but also extremely flawed. He didn't believe in God, angels, morality, reincarnation, enlightenment, or a purpose to life. That is what Psychology, Medicine, Science, and the West is lacking. This is a big flaw, so Psychology has a big flaw. You can't acquire faith. It can't be bought either. You are either empowered with faith or you are not.
So say what thou will, Nietzsche had a lot of insight and both art and music is part of a healthy, sane, and fulfilled life.
I know I have been doing music for 25 years and art for 4 years or so. I graduated Art school in mid 2015 and started using Photoshop in 2017 to digitally color my drawings.
I don't need to choose between art and music. I can do both. Ultimately, I enjoy music more. Rhythm and blues is the music of the slaves, and is in touch with the tragedy of life. Art is more like a hobby to me that supplements what I do as a musician. But art is a vital hobby, and neglecting it is a big mistake.
I also did shootfighting and judo most of my adult life, and judo leads to the Gendai Budo, which leads to Aikido. The word 'Aikido' literally means 'the way to harmonize the spirit'. It is not just wrestling with weapons or pinning people face down. It is a system of training your mind, body, and spirit in the mastery of the self. The good Aikido man can win without a fight, and if forced into a physical confrontation, wins without harming anyone. Fighting against multiple opponents is a myth. Aikido is weapons grappling the way Judo is the original sport grappling. In Japan, there is a form of Aikido that uses randori or free-fighting. It is called Tomiki Aikido.
Tomiki was a Japanese man who trained with Jigoro Kano and had a black belt in judo. He incorporated some of Kano's training methods into his Aikido teaching and formed a unique variant of Aikido. Sparring and competition is not real fighting, it is a training method for building timing and reflexes in a martial artist. Jigoro Kano was a huge innovator when he invented Judo. It is an eastern combat sport with a live method of winning and losing. In that way, it is more similar to boxing and wrestling and less similar to kung fu or tai chi.
Aikido is not just self defense, it is a method of training the spirit. A real human being wants to avoid violence at all costs, and if forced to defend himself, do as little damage to both parties as possible.
So Music, Aikido, and Art are important activities to me. And I use the word activity because hobby is a word that implies it is just for fun.
Nietzsche wrote a book called, 'The Birth of Tragedy' in which he compares Art and Music. He equated art with Apollo and music with Dionysus. Art is about beauty, light, splendor, youth, and innocence, Music is dark, moody, intangible, erotic, emotional, and has to be experienced. So it is fair to equate art with Apollo the God of Light and music with Dionysus, the dying God of Ritual Madness and Ecstasy.
I like all manners of creative expression, and now that I am older, physical performance is declining. So I am getting more creative. I like playing guitar, singing, watching music videos, using Spotify, and even looking at photos of famous musicians. There is a visual element to music, because human beings are primarily visual. The musician has to be attractive, photography is a big part of music, albums need cover art, and even music can be learned visually by memorizing chords and scales and then later developing your ear.
So I prefer music over art. But most of all, I like the lifestyle of a Zen yogi. You start in health and you end in spirituality. Nutrition should be the first thing you teach a child, attaining kensho and being free from rebirth is the ultimate goal of life. Between health and spirituality, you should master something. A skill is a vocation, and if you take 20 years to master a skill, you can be very successful and famous. I've done music for over 25 years and grappling for over 22 years. So my education did not help me, but my hobbies did.
But what really helped me most was what I did first. I attained kensho, and I attained freedom from rebirth and immortality of the spirit. You don't have to believe me when you read this, you don't even need to understand this. Just don't assume I am wrong or crazy.
When I die, I will attain bliss. That is something better than going to heaven. But regardless of whether I am alive or dead, I am happy, and this is the most important thing. In a world of suffering people, I am happy, and this is a huge accomplishment. So I don't need more money or more women.
Nietzsche was a brilliant mind, and from his work, Psychology was born. I also draw inspiration from Nietzsche, but look at him as someone who was extremely gifted but also extremely flawed. He didn't believe in God, angels, morality, reincarnation, enlightenment, or a purpose to life. That is what Psychology, Medicine, Science, and the West is lacking. This is a big flaw, so Psychology has a big flaw. You can't acquire faith. It can't be bought either. You are either empowered with faith or you are not.
So say what thou will, Nietzsche had a lot of insight and both art and music is part of a healthy, sane, and fulfilled life.
Back in the Saddle with Art Again
I am both an artist and musician. I've also mastered some other things in my life. But between art and music, I think my art has more potential. In music, you have to be able to play fast, uptempo songs, perform infront of large audiences, spend time in bars and nightclubs, and generally do a lot of drugs.
Maybe the life of an artist is more up my alley. I can always play acoustic guitar as a hobby.
Today is Sunday and as I write this, it is still early morning. I did an artwork today, quickly from pencil drawing to line art to scan to digitally colored design. It is a simple nature scene of a mountain by a stream.
The reason it came out well is because I used a thick Sharpie marker to ink it, the way I did between July 2018 and December 2018 when my best and original artworks were done. This was a time of rapid mental health recovery and spiritual awakening. Art can be a mental health therapy and a form of spiritual discovery. I especially like Voodoo in art, and exploration of the Black Israelite faith.
So here is today's design. I will show it below:
Maybe the life of an artist is more up my alley. I can always play acoustic guitar as a hobby.
Today is Sunday and as I write this, it is still early morning. I did an artwork today, quickly from pencil drawing to line art to scan to digitally colored design. It is a simple nature scene of a mountain by a stream.
The reason it came out well is because I used a thick Sharpie marker to ink it, the way I did between July 2018 and December 2018 when my best and original artworks were done. This was a time of rapid mental health recovery and spiritual awakening. Art can be a mental health therapy and a form of spiritual discovery. I especially like Voodoo in art, and exploration of the Black Israelite faith.
So here is today's design. I will show it below:
Mountain by Water
This is a simple nature scene with a mountain by a body of water. The mountain shouldn't really be there, by itself infront of some bushes and trees with rolling dunes behind it. But this is art, and in art you can create things that don't really exist.
It has a certain style to it, and the thicker lines adds rustic nicety to it. I hope to get back into art with a passion and leave behind music recordings and controversial writings behind for a while. I have five albums and two books online right now and none of them are selling. If I develop my art, it may lead to something real.
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Cortez the Killer
The story of the New World is the story of slavery. Before Colombus, there were not many Europeans in the New World. And what I mean by New World was North, Central, and South America. Some say the Vikings explored parts of Greenland, and there are theories that the Romans were in the New World long before Columbus, but it was Cristobal Colombo, an Italian sailing for Spain that founded Hispanola and began the conquest of the New World.
The Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British were the most Imperialistic forces. It ended up in the long run that Canada and the USA speaks English, and Mexico, Central America and most of South America speaks Spanish. In Brazil they speak Portuguese, which is similar to Spanish.
The real reason the New World was colonized was because of the spice trade. A diet of meat, potatoes, onion, garlic, and black pepper did not excite Europeans for very long. It is tiresome to live in a temperate environment, have a long dreary winter, work on a farm from sunrise to sunset, and live your whole life without leaving a 50 mile radius of your hometown. This was life in Europe for most of recorded history.
Colombus knew he was not in India when he discovered Hispanola, which is now Dominican Republic and Haiti. He called the aboriginal people 'Indios' which is Spanish for 'In God' because they were so pure, natural, pristine, and in harmony with nature. They were simple natural people who hunted and fished all day and made love all night long. They turned out to be easy prey for the European man.
In North America, people are more virulently racist towards blacks and Indians than in Latin America. In Canada and the USA, white people look down on blacks, latinos, and native Americans. This may be reflective of Britain. But in Central and South America and the Caribbean, interracial marriage is more common, and Latinos are by nature mixed race people. Latinos are not a pure race, an old world race, and they have only existed in the past 500 years. Latino means white mixed in with native American or black mixed in with native American. There are white Hispanics, generally called mestizos, and black Hispanics, generally called Creoles. They are not white and not black.
I tie this in with my music and writing such. Rhythm and Blues is not a European music. They use European instruments like the guitar, piano, and bass, but this music is more based on African chords, melodies, and vocal lines. My music is similar to the rhythm and blues of the 1960s. In the 50s, blues met gospel and country and rock and roll was born. Rock n Roll began in the 1950s, by the 1960s, it was mainstream. The Beatles whole shtick was white Anglosaxon boys with long hair singing black women's Motown songs. Back then it was risque, wild, and new. Today we don't pay it much mind. The early Beatles seem so tame by today's standards.
Obviously as the 1960s moved on, the Beatles innovated on their sound and learned new things. They were influenced by Bob Dylan and later went back to their rhythm and blues roots with greater confidence and songwriting ability. The Beatles were the most famous rock band ever, but not necessarily the best. Just the most popular.
I am a mixed race person who plays black people's music. Calling me a Hispanic Jew is kind of stretching it but sounds true. My name is Lior Avni. I don't like the British Invasion music anymore, nor do I like the grunge rock I grew up with in the 1990s, although it was very intricate and sophisticated. And the delta blues is evil music. I like the rhythm and blues of the 1950s and 1960s, and the early pioneers like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard. This is the roots of rock n roll. Today, my music seems old fashioned. I play an acoustic guitar, most of my songs are between 3 and 5 chords total, and I play in a rhythmic, bass heavy way.
So one way to fight back against racism and classism so prevalent in American society today is through music. In Latin America, they are more open and free and intermingle. But in America, it is white overclass and black underclass. Not much has changed since the 1960s. It is not as liberal as you think. You're still judged by how you appear. If you are white, brown, or black, you are different. And it's hard to tell Whites from Jews.
My music is better than my art. I am letting art go for now. I want to concentrate on music. I love the rhythm and blues, and I wish I had the voice of a black man like John Lee Hooker. But I don't. I can still play the blues in my own way, with more intellect and rhythm and straightforwardness. I have my own blues sound.
The New World should have been left alone and there should be no Canada, Mexico, USA, or Brazil. But we can't undo history. We can do the opposite. We can shape a better future by encouraging intermarriage, being less superficial, granting medicine and education and basic income for all, and learning from different cultures and experiences. The way an Irishman and a black man and a Spanish man and a Native American man plays a guitar is totally different. It is an instrument originally from Italy but made famous by the Spaniards. Spain still produces high quality instruments.
So the message of this post is, White and Latino is not the same thing, and in being mixed race, you become more beautiful, more lusty, more simple, and more straightforward. I prefer Latin women and black people's music. So I am not a racist. I am open to what is. Even Europe and Asia has a lot to offer as far as culture is concerned.
But as far as pop music is concerned, I dig the rhythm and blues.
The Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British were the most Imperialistic forces. It ended up in the long run that Canada and the USA speaks English, and Mexico, Central America and most of South America speaks Spanish. In Brazil they speak Portuguese, which is similar to Spanish.
The real reason the New World was colonized was because of the spice trade. A diet of meat, potatoes, onion, garlic, and black pepper did not excite Europeans for very long. It is tiresome to live in a temperate environment, have a long dreary winter, work on a farm from sunrise to sunset, and live your whole life without leaving a 50 mile radius of your hometown. This was life in Europe for most of recorded history.
Colombus knew he was not in India when he discovered Hispanola, which is now Dominican Republic and Haiti. He called the aboriginal people 'Indios' which is Spanish for 'In God' because they were so pure, natural, pristine, and in harmony with nature. They were simple natural people who hunted and fished all day and made love all night long. They turned out to be easy prey for the European man.
In North America, people are more virulently racist towards blacks and Indians than in Latin America. In Canada and the USA, white people look down on blacks, latinos, and native Americans. This may be reflective of Britain. But in Central and South America and the Caribbean, interracial marriage is more common, and Latinos are by nature mixed race people. Latinos are not a pure race, an old world race, and they have only existed in the past 500 years. Latino means white mixed in with native American or black mixed in with native American. There are white Hispanics, generally called mestizos, and black Hispanics, generally called Creoles. They are not white and not black.
I tie this in with my music and writing such. Rhythm and Blues is not a European music. They use European instruments like the guitar, piano, and bass, but this music is more based on African chords, melodies, and vocal lines. My music is similar to the rhythm and blues of the 1960s. In the 50s, blues met gospel and country and rock and roll was born. Rock n Roll began in the 1950s, by the 1960s, it was mainstream. The Beatles whole shtick was white Anglosaxon boys with long hair singing black women's Motown songs. Back then it was risque, wild, and new. Today we don't pay it much mind. The early Beatles seem so tame by today's standards.
Obviously as the 1960s moved on, the Beatles innovated on their sound and learned new things. They were influenced by Bob Dylan and later went back to their rhythm and blues roots with greater confidence and songwriting ability. The Beatles were the most famous rock band ever, but not necessarily the best. Just the most popular.
I am a mixed race person who plays black people's music. Calling me a Hispanic Jew is kind of stretching it but sounds true. My name is Lior Avni. I don't like the British Invasion music anymore, nor do I like the grunge rock I grew up with in the 1990s, although it was very intricate and sophisticated. And the delta blues is evil music. I like the rhythm and blues of the 1950s and 1960s, and the early pioneers like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard. This is the roots of rock n roll. Today, my music seems old fashioned. I play an acoustic guitar, most of my songs are between 3 and 5 chords total, and I play in a rhythmic, bass heavy way.
So one way to fight back against racism and classism so prevalent in American society today is through music. In Latin America, they are more open and free and intermingle. But in America, it is white overclass and black underclass. Not much has changed since the 1960s. It is not as liberal as you think. You're still judged by how you appear. If you are white, brown, or black, you are different. And it's hard to tell Whites from Jews.
My music is better than my art. I am letting art go for now. I want to concentrate on music. I love the rhythm and blues, and I wish I had the voice of a black man like John Lee Hooker. But I don't. I can still play the blues in my own way, with more intellect and rhythm and straightforwardness. I have my own blues sound.
The New World should have been left alone and there should be no Canada, Mexico, USA, or Brazil. But we can't undo history. We can do the opposite. We can shape a better future by encouraging intermarriage, being less superficial, granting medicine and education and basic income for all, and learning from different cultures and experiences. The way an Irishman and a black man and a Spanish man and a Native American man plays a guitar is totally different. It is an instrument originally from Italy but made famous by the Spaniards. Spain still produces high quality instruments.
So the message of this post is, White and Latino is not the same thing, and in being mixed race, you become more beautiful, more lusty, more simple, and more straightforward. I prefer Latin women and black people's music. So I am not a racist. I am open to what is. Even Europe and Asia has a lot to offer as far as culture is concerned.
But as far as pop music is concerned, I dig the rhythm and blues.
A Jubilee
Today in the morning, I watched an hour long documentary on rock n roll in the 1950s in the USA. It was an entertaining and fun video. In the video, it tracked the origins of rock n roll, its rise and fall over the course of the 1950s, and ended on a joyous note with hope for the future.
In the video, they mention Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many others. This was the time when the USA was growing exponentially, things were about to improve for the black community, and the economy was booming. Post War USA was rich and upwardly mobile.
Ultimately, it was Chuck Berry who had the longest career and the most influence in music and pop culture. And Johnny B. Goode was not his best song, just his most famous song. He invented the thoughtful songwriting, clever guitar play, and the upbeat dance music that would define the pop music of the past half century. He was an influential man.
My music is doing well and in 2019 I got over 5,000 plays on Spotify between 4 albums. That is not a lot, but it is the beginning of a music career. I want to expand my music in 2020 and do one thing and do it well. I can't be a musician and an artist and a writer all at the same time. In modern society, you specialize. So I will choose music over art and writing because it is more fun and more lucrative.
The main thing in work is socializing. Autists can't succeed in business, that is why we consider autism a disability. If you have no guile, you won't be a great businessman, soldier, or ladies man. Warfare, business, and dating is based on deception not on being honest and straightforward. But I know I am talented and deserve my share of the pie.
Even if art makes me more money in the end, music is my love and I will play guitar every day for the rest of my life. Jubal the descendant of Cain invented music, that is where the term Jubilee comes from. A jubilee is a joyous celebration of life and love and is done by offering a song to the Lord. The Psalms of King David were not just poems, they were songs meant to be accompanied by music. King David was Asian and was both a fierce warrior and sensitive poet who played the harp. He was fierce, honest, brave, and loyal to the Creator. He had a personal relationship with God.
The Beatles were the biggest pop band ever, the first boy band, a commercial hit, and ultimately, they were not that talented. But they had spunk, enthusiasm, were good looking, charismatic, and irreverant. Listening to their music or watching their videos made you feel like they were having a party and you were invited. But it is just marketing. They don't know who you are and they just want your money. Real music is closely tied to religion, and Rock n Roll comes from gospel music.
Without Rosetta Tharpe, there'd be no Chuck Berry, Elvis, or the Beatles.
So I try to counter the trend and make my music about spirituality, loneliness, injustice, the hard times, being an outcast, and suffering. Suffering is grace. It is by using creativity to transform suffering into joy that you become happy. That is why Nietzsche called his book, 'The Birth of Tragedy.'and contrasts art and music as methods of expression. Ultimately, music better than art, because you spend more time growing down than growing up. The first 27 years of your life you are growing up, but until 75, you are only slowly dying. Music makes dying easy.
So I will look to expand my music business in 2020. I will not just sell streams and downloads. I will teach guitar, gig out, play at churches and synagogues for free, and create band art. I might even monetize my YouTube channel and try to find syncing and licensing opportunities. There is an possibility of being a full time musician and making 30,000 or 40,000 per year. But you need to be a marketing guru and be active on social media. The great thing about the internet is it allows the whole world to be connected, and people in Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, and Sweden love my music. In certain parts of the world, rhythm and blues is still popular, and people think of pop, hip hop, and goth music as crap.
The USA is no longer leader of the free world. This is not the 1950s anymore. Europe, Asia, and even Israel is doing better. I know life in Israel is problematic, people are stressed out, live in fear of terrorism and war, work more hours for less pay, and are fiercely competitive. But at least they get socialist medicine and education, better food, better climate, and thinner women. Israeli military strategists are extremely clever and Israeli politicians are strong leaders. If they weren't, World War 3 would erupt and the world be destroyed. I admire Israel.
So as an unpopular musician on long island, New York, all I can do is apply myself within my means. My gift is my song, and my song is for God. I never made it in Acupuncture or graphic design, because book learning doesn't work in a streetfight. You learn by doing. I mastered music, judo, cooking, and writing, and ultimately people will pay for entertainment not education.
So I will offer a Jubilee to the Lord and feel alright.
In the video, they mention Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many others. This was the time when the USA was growing exponentially, things were about to improve for the black community, and the economy was booming. Post War USA was rich and upwardly mobile.
Ultimately, it was Chuck Berry who had the longest career and the most influence in music and pop culture. And Johnny B. Goode was not his best song, just his most famous song. He invented the thoughtful songwriting, clever guitar play, and the upbeat dance music that would define the pop music of the past half century. He was an influential man.
My music is doing well and in 2019 I got over 5,000 plays on Spotify between 4 albums. That is not a lot, but it is the beginning of a music career. I want to expand my music in 2020 and do one thing and do it well. I can't be a musician and an artist and a writer all at the same time. In modern society, you specialize. So I will choose music over art and writing because it is more fun and more lucrative.
The main thing in work is socializing. Autists can't succeed in business, that is why we consider autism a disability. If you have no guile, you won't be a great businessman, soldier, or ladies man. Warfare, business, and dating is based on deception not on being honest and straightforward. But I know I am talented and deserve my share of the pie.
Even if art makes me more money in the end, music is my love and I will play guitar every day for the rest of my life. Jubal the descendant of Cain invented music, that is where the term Jubilee comes from. A jubilee is a joyous celebration of life and love and is done by offering a song to the Lord. The Psalms of King David were not just poems, they were songs meant to be accompanied by music. King David was Asian and was both a fierce warrior and sensitive poet who played the harp. He was fierce, honest, brave, and loyal to the Creator. He had a personal relationship with God.
The Beatles were the biggest pop band ever, the first boy band, a commercial hit, and ultimately, they were not that talented. But they had spunk, enthusiasm, were good looking, charismatic, and irreverant. Listening to their music or watching their videos made you feel like they were having a party and you were invited. But it is just marketing. They don't know who you are and they just want your money. Real music is closely tied to religion, and Rock n Roll comes from gospel music.
Without Rosetta Tharpe, there'd be no Chuck Berry, Elvis, or the Beatles.
So I try to counter the trend and make my music about spirituality, loneliness, injustice, the hard times, being an outcast, and suffering. Suffering is grace. It is by using creativity to transform suffering into joy that you become happy. That is why Nietzsche called his book, 'The Birth of Tragedy.'and contrasts art and music as methods of expression. Ultimately, music better than art, because you spend more time growing down than growing up. The first 27 years of your life you are growing up, but until 75, you are only slowly dying. Music makes dying easy.
So I will look to expand my music business in 2020. I will not just sell streams and downloads. I will teach guitar, gig out, play at churches and synagogues for free, and create band art. I might even monetize my YouTube channel and try to find syncing and licensing opportunities. There is an possibility of being a full time musician and making 30,000 or 40,000 per year. But you need to be a marketing guru and be active on social media. The great thing about the internet is it allows the whole world to be connected, and people in Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, and Sweden love my music. In certain parts of the world, rhythm and blues is still popular, and people think of pop, hip hop, and goth music as crap.
The USA is no longer leader of the free world. This is not the 1950s anymore. Europe, Asia, and even Israel is doing better. I know life in Israel is problematic, people are stressed out, live in fear of terrorism and war, work more hours for less pay, and are fiercely competitive. But at least they get socialist medicine and education, better food, better climate, and thinner women. Israeli military strategists are extremely clever and Israeli politicians are strong leaders. If they weren't, World War 3 would erupt and the world be destroyed. I admire Israel.
So as an unpopular musician on long island, New York, all I can do is apply myself within my means. My gift is my song, and my song is for God. I never made it in Acupuncture or graphic design, because book learning doesn't work in a streetfight. You learn by doing. I mastered music, judo, cooking, and writing, and ultimately people will pay for entertainment not education.
So I will offer a Jubilee to the Lord and feel alright.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Legitimate in Rhythm and Blues
Mr. Chuck Berry. All rock n roll music of the past 50 or 60 years comes from Chuck Berry, and his music was largely an interpretation of Rosetta Tharpe's music. Tharpe was a famous black woman who sung gospel music originally to a black audience but then crossed over to the white mainstream audience. She was most famous during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. She didn't live much longer than that.
What made Rosetta Tharpe's music unique was not the Judeochristian themes or lyrics. It was her soulful voice, shouting, more major tonality, more upbeat songs, electric guitar, and advanced rhythm section. This was gospel music of the negro south at it's finest, and Chuck Berry took the sound and made it about secular subjects the mainstream white audience in America could identify with. Elvis Presley too was influenced by Rosetta Tharpe, but he was more a singer than a guitarist and songwriter. Elvis was loved for his face and voice, Chuck Berry was loved for his innovative guitar play and clever songwriting. Both Elvis and Chuck Berry pioneered the music of the past 50 years.
I like rhythm and blues music, and think the 1960s was the climax of western civilization. If it wasn't for the Beatles, the 1960s would have been known as the time when white kids and black kids listened to the same type of music. Motown and Stax Soul was ultimately better music than the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Now that I am older, combat sports and nutrition don't matter to me so much. I always liked judo and low carb diet. I am an expert at both. But being a physical education teacher is different from being a creative professional. In physical education, you have to be looked up to to teach, in creativity, you are judged by what you create. It doesn't matter who you are and how you are living.
So the beat goes on and I am trying to be independent and get my share before I die. Music and home cooking is a lot of fun, but to get somewhere in life, you have to leave the house and do things for other people not just yourself. The main thing in work is socializing, and convincing the customer that your product or service is worth the money they are spending. In fact, business is warfare and is based on deception not mutual welfare and benefit. So all of America is a crime against it's own people. Business, warfare, and dating is all based on guile and not being straightforward and genuine. So I may never be rich and famous, even though I have tremendous merit.
I think I should just be less ambitious and save money. Live simply, play guitar, cook my own food, and visit the local Yogic meditation center for clarity. Less is more, and good people won't get anywhere. The fundamental view of both Yoga and Christianity is, the world is not ruled by God, it's ruled by the devil, and when you die, then you are free from the constraints of physicality. To die with contentment is victory, and when I die, I will be victorious and known posthumously as a great musician and great grappler.
That is enough.
What made Rosetta Tharpe's music unique was not the Judeochristian themes or lyrics. It was her soulful voice, shouting, more major tonality, more upbeat songs, electric guitar, and advanced rhythm section. This was gospel music of the negro south at it's finest, and Chuck Berry took the sound and made it about secular subjects the mainstream white audience in America could identify with. Elvis Presley too was influenced by Rosetta Tharpe, but he was more a singer than a guitarist and songwriter. Elvis was loved for his face and voice, Chuck Berry was loved for his innovative guitar play and clever songwriting. Both Elvis and Chuck Berry pioneered the music of the past 50 years.
I like rhythm and blues music, and think the 1960s was the climax of western civilization. If it wasn't for the Beatles, the 1960s would have been known as the time when white kids and black kids listened to the same type of music. Motown and Stax Soul was ultimately better music than the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Now that I am older, combat sports and nutrition don't matter to me so much. I always liked judo and low carb diet. I am an expert at both. But being a physical education teacher is different from being a creative professional. In physical education, you have to be looked up to to teach, in creativity, you are judged by what you create. It doesn't matter who you are and how you are living.
So the beat goes on and I am trying to be independent and get my share before I die. Music and home cooking is a lot of fun, but to get somewhere in life, you have to leave the house and do things for other people not just yourself. The main thing in work is socializing, and convincing the customer that your product or service is worth the money they are spending. In fact, business is warfare and is based on deception not mutual welfare and benefit. So all of America is a crime against it's own people. Business, warfare, and dating is all based on guile and not being straightforward and genuine. So I may never be rich and famous, even though I have tremendous merit.
I think I should just be less ambitious and save money. Live simply, play guitar, cook my own food, and visit the local Yogic meditation center for clarity. Less is more, and good people won't get anywhere. The fundamental view of both Yoga and Christianity is, the world is not ruled by God, it's ruled by the devil, and when you die, then you are free from the constraints of physicality. To die with contentment is victory, and when I die, I will be victorious and known posthumously as a great musician and great grappler.
That is enough.
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Being Realistic
I will never be a professional artist. I don't even think my art is that good. I got a degree in graphic design, and finished it, a total of 35 credits. I was thoroughly educated in design principles. But I am not an artist, and it is not something I practice on a daily basis. You are what you do, not what you know theoretically. Book learning doesn't help you.
What I really do every day is play guitar, cook, and write, and these are skills that can be monetized. In my youth, I learned acupuncture and judo. I mastered both. I am both a doctor of wholistic medicine and a world class grappler. But being past 40, I am too old for high level judo competition, and I don't want to practice wholistic medicine in a clinic. I don't like the role of a health practitioner.
Music is the most joyous thing in my life, but it is hard to make money from this skill. Spotify, YouTube, and the advent of the MP3 ruined the profitability of music in the modern era. Only people with huge followings can make money from online streams and downloads. You need millions of followers not hundreds or thousands of followers to make a living in music. And your music has to be edgy, modern, and hip. Life is not improving, things are degrading with time as we approach the end times. At least the women are easier than ever.
Cooking is a useful skill because it is fun, natural, you get to eat better, save money, and ultimately, you save your health and you save on medical bills in the future. But to cook professionally you need to stand in a hot kitchen for at least 4 or 5 hours per day, repeat dishes over and over again, be exposed to heat and sharp things, and deal with uneducated people. It is low brow work for strong, crude men.
Copywriting is something that may help me in the future. The first thing is to get experience working in any type of office job. I already did an internship in copywriting. I got a taste of what office work is like. It is mostly about socializing and sitting infront of a computer and typing. It is not difficult. Work is like high school or college. You sit down and you do what they tell you to do. Creativity and individuality is not encouraged. Conformity is.
If I start at a basic entry level office job, I can use my copywriting, blogging, and social media skills to quickly advance my position. When you are a fast learner, talented, and industrious, you get results for your good actions. This is karma. Good actions get good results, bad actions get bad results, and neutral actions do not change your position. If you do neutral actions like eat, sleep, defecate, or masturbate all your life, you will accomplish nothing.
So if I get an entry level job in an office, I can save the money for something worthwhile, learn to socialize, network, and gain confidence. This might lead to other things. My ultimate work goal is to write books and blog posts and articles about mental health recovery. Part of recovery is nutrition and self care and pyschology. I know what it's like to be sick and cure yourself, and I can teach others. This is a form of medicine and teaching and is way more advanced work than being a peer councilor. I've been mentally ill and recovered on my own merits. I cured myself, nobody really helped me because I never got a private doctor or lawyer. I had to learn to recover for myself. If I can cure myself, I can cure others or at least give them the information to help themselves.
So I am a copywriter, musician, and chef, in descending order. Judo and Acupuncture are not feasible, because in eastern master type things you need to be looked up to to teach and I am not looked up to. I must be humble and approach things as a recovered mental patient. So even in my position I should not despair. There is hope for me to live out my years in peace, acquire some resources, be healthy and able bodied, and get a wife. The main thing now is learning how to work and save money and be monogamous.
The real secret to success is monogamy. Celibacy is wrong and polygamy is wrong. A man without a woman is nothing, and a man who has too many women is ruining himself. Abraham and Sarah were the first Jewish couple and their line will inherit the earth. Abraham was the first Jew and Adam was the first aborigine. Both had a wife and had children, because in biblical times, people were more virtuous and more monogamous. That is why their exploits are known to posterity.
So in being realistic, copywriting is more lucrative than music, and acupuncture and graphic design did not help me. Book learning doesn't work, college is a scam. These days, work is about socializing, knowing technology, expanding your skills, and doing more social media work than the bare minimum. I have learned what it takes to survive and be self reliant. It just took me longer than others.
What I really do every day is play guitar, cook, and write, and these are skills that can be monetized. In my youth, I learned acupuncture and judo. I mastered both. I am both a doctor of wholistic medicine and a world class grappler. But being past 40, I am too old for high level judo competition, and I don't want to practice wholistic medicine in a clinic. I don't like the role of a health practitioner.
Music is the most joyous thing in my life, but it is hard to make money from this skill. Spotify, YouTube, and the advent of the MP3 ruined the profitability of music in the modern era. Only people with huge followings can make money from online streams and downloads. You need millions of followers not hundreds or thousands of followers to make a living in music. And your music has to be edgy, modern, and hip. Life is not improving, things are degrading with time as we approach the end times. At least the women are easier than ever.
Cooking is a useful skill because it is fun, natural, you get to eat better, save money, and ultimately, you save your health and you save on medical bills in the future. But to cook professionally you need to stand in a hot kitchen for at least 4 or 5 hours per day, repeat dishes over and over again, be exposed to heat and sharp things, and deal with uneducated people. It is low brow work for strong, crude men.
Copywriting is something that may help me in the future. The first thing is to get experience working in any type of office job. I already did an internship in copywriting. I got a taste of what office work is like. It is mostly about socializing and sitting infront of a computer and typing. It is not difficult. Work is like high school or college. You sit down and you do what they tell you to do. Creativity and individuality is not encouraged. Conformity is.
If I start at a basic entry level office job, I can use my copywriting, blogging, and social media skills to quickly advance my position. When you are a fast learner, talented, and industrious, you get results for your good actions. This is karma. Good actions get good results, bad actions get bad results, and neutral actions do not change your position. If you do neutral actions like eat, sleep, defecate, or masturbate all your life, you will accomplish nothing.
So if I get an entry level job in an office, I can save the money for something worthwhile, learn to socialize, network, and gain confidence. This might lead to other things. My ultimate work goal is to write books and blog posts and articles about mental health recovery. Part of recovery is nutrition and self care and pyschology. I know what it's like to be sick and cure yourself, and I can teach others. This is a form of medicine and teaching and is way more advanced work than being a peer councilor. I've been mentally ill and recovered on my own merits. I cured myself, nobody really helped me because I never got a private doctor or lawyer. I had to learn to recover for myself. If I can cure myself, I can cure others or at least give them the information to help themselves.
So I am a copywriter, musician, and chef, in descending order. Judo and Acupuncture are not feasible, because in eastern master type things you need to be looked up to to teach and I am not looked up to. I must be humble and approach things as a recovered mental patient. So even in my position I should not despair. There is hope for me to live out my years in peace, acquire some resources, be healthy and able bodied, and get a wife. The main thing now is learning how to work and save money and be monogamous.
The real secret to success is monogamy. Celibacy is wrong and polygamy is wrong. A man without a woman is nothing, and a man who has too many women is ruining himself. Abraham and Sarah were the first Jewish couple and their line will inherit the earth. Abraham was the first Jew and Adam was the first aborigine. Both had a wife and had children, because in biblical times, people were more virtuous and more monogamous. That is why their exploits are known to posterity.
So in being realistic, copywriting is more lucrative than music, and acupuncture and graphic design did not help me. Book learning doesn't work, college is a scam. These days, work is about socializing, knowing technology, expanding your skills, and doing more social media work than the bare minimum. I have learned what it takes to survive and be self reliant. It just took me longer than others.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
The Problems With This World
It keeps getting worse. On one hand, life is easier than ever. With the advent of computers, the internet, and technology, the standard of living is higher and more people reach the average lifespan of 75 years or more. It is easier to get educated, find work, work from home, and find a girlfriend through a dating site. Life is physically easier.
But in reality, people are less happy, less fulfilled, less morally good, and suffer from some form of mental illness. Technology ruins everything. The internet makes you less apt to go out, form connections with locals, and to meet people in your area who like the same things you like. To find a girlfriend, people use dating sites or go to local bars. You can work a full time job and not need to socialize face to face with someone. Computers do most of the work for us, so most people don't move their bodies enough and get weak and crapulent before age 50. Life is getting physically easier and spiritually less gratifying, because people are less connected to others. The main thing in happiness in life is connection to others. So it is counter-intuitive. Technology is ruining everything.
Even our diets are changing. Before the 1950s, Americans ate beans, corn, potatoes, peas, carrots, pork, fish, eggs, cheese, butter, and rarely ate beef, chicken, milk, white bread, white sugar and white pasta. Now it is reverse. We are doing what we should not be doing and not doing what we should be doing. This is not right. Something as basic as nutrition is not common knowledge, because there are so many conflicting theories.
Ketogenic diet is not right. Neither is Veganism. Both are extremes of normal diet. People 150 years ago did not need a nutrition lesson, because obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke was not common. Nobody ate refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils, or meat from tortured animals back then. Technology ruins everything.
My theory is, people should educate themselves about nutrition if they want to avoid the medical establishment. Studying nutrition is better than investing in more cancer treatment facilities. At age 50, your health problems start. It is good to teach the youth nutrition first, so they will suffer less in old age. This is common knowledge in India and China but not here in the West. Everything is a business in the West, including food. You'd think my skills are more relevant than ever.
The main thing in Taoist Medicine is aging with integrity, disability free lifespan, and dying without pain. This is the epitome of human merit. Longevity is merit. I don't know why, but it is. When you look good for your age, you are sexy. When you are able bodied, you are not a burden on others. If you die peacefully in your sleep, death does not need to be a torturous, painful experience. Traditional Chinese Medicine, also called Taoist Medicine, is knowledge that can empower you to live a good life. I am glad I was educated starting at age 19.
So beyond music, judo, and cooking, learning TCM in my college years proved to be the best thing I've done. Maybe in the future I can use my knowledge in some way to benefit others. My main thing now is music, because in music, you are judged by what you create not what you're esteemed as. But if I had my way, I'd be a copywriter teaching people recovery through the written word. It is a lucrative field, and copywriting is about communications and knowledge. Teaching people and educating them at the same time.
I know I could educate the world about health and wellbeing and prove that I was the doctor all along and not the sick man. It is using my education in a different way.
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
But in reality, people are less happy, less fulfilled, less morally good, and suffer from some form of mental illness. Technology ruins everything. The internet makes you less apt to go out, form connections with locals, and to meet people in your area who like the same things you like. To find a girlfriend, people use dating sites or go to local bars. You can work a full time job and not need to socialize face to face with someone. Computers do most of the work for us, so most people don't move their bodies enough and get weak and crapulent before age 50. Life is getting physically easier and spiritually less gratifying, because people are less connected to others. The main thing in happiness in life is connection to others. So it is counter-intuitive. Technology is ruining everything.
Even our diets are changing. Before the 1950s, Americans ate beans, corn, potatoes, peas, carrots, pork, fish, eggs, cheese, butter, and rarely ate beef, chicken, milk, white bread, white sugar and white pasta. Now it is reverse. We are doing what we should not be doing and not doing what we should be doing. This is not right. Something as basic as nutrition is not common knowledge, because there are so many conflicting theories.
Ketogenic diet is not right. Neither is Veganism. Both are extremes of normal diet. People 150 years ago did not need a nutrition lesson, because obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke was not common. Nobody ate refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils, or meat from tortured animals back then. Technology ruins everything.
My theory is, people should educate themselves about nutrition if they want to avoid the medical establishment. Studying nutrition is better than investing in more cancer treatment facilities. At age 50, your health problems start. It is good to teach the youth nutrition first, so they will suffer less in old age. This is common knowledge in India and China but not here in the West. Everything is a business in the West, including food. You'd think my skills are more relevant than ever.
The main thing in Taoist Medicine is aging with integrity, disability free lifespan, and dying without pain. This is the epitome of human merit. Longevity is merit. I don't know why, but it is. When you look good for your age, you are sexy. When you are able bodied, you are not a burden on others. If you die peacefully in your sleep, death does not need to be a torturous, painful experience. Traditional Chinese Medicine, also called Taoist Medicine, is knowledge that can empower you to live a good life. I am glad I was educated starting at age 19.
So beyond music, judo, and cooking, learning TCM in my college years proved to be the best thing I've done. Maybe in the future I can use my knowledge in some way to benefit others. My main thing now is music, because in music, you are judged by what you create not what you're esteemed as. But if I had my way, I'd be a copywriter teaching people recovery through the written word. It is a lucrative field, and copywriting is about communications and knowledge. Teaching people and educating them at the same time.
I know I could educate the world about health and wellbeing and prove that I was the doctor all along and not the sick man. It is using my education in a different way.
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Plug
I don't just blog away my ideas. I am both a musician and author. In my youth, I did acupuncture and Judo, and this was a stepping stone to other things.
Now that I am middle aged, I don't do acupuncture or practice Judo. But I play my guitar, write original songs, and release albums online. I've done 6 total so far, the first one was taken off the internet because it was costing money just to keep it up. The last one has not yet reached the market. It will be available January 27. It will be called Trouble On My Way and be available on Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Deezer, and Google Play.
In addition to the albums online, I have two books online on Amazon. They are both about wholistic medicine and Taoist Nutrition. They are brief ebooks that condense a lot of information into a few pages. I write with brevity. I try to be as straightforward as possible because I don't want anyone to be used the same way I was used. With a bit of education, it is possible to live well in this part of the world with little money. If you are educated, live simply and quietly, and budget your money, you can survive unharmed.
So even if I am not doing Judo right now, I still use my education in a different way. The knowledge I acquired at TCM school helped me write my books, and the graphics diploma helps me design cover art for my books and albums. Ultimately, you learn by doing. You are the sum of your experiences, not things you've learned didacticly. Theoretical knowledge doesn't work.
So as time goes on, I might get back into judo training, but I might also write more books on nutrition and publish more rhythm and blues albums. The point of life is to be happy and useful. It is not to acquire anything or win anything. If you are content, self sufficient, and productive towards others besides yourself, you are doing well. Some people are less ambitious but more fulfilled. It is better than a life of conquest.
Now that I am middle aged, I don't do acupuncture or practice Judo. But I play my guitar, write original songs, and release albums online. I've done 6 total so far, the first one was taken off the internet because it was costing money just to keep it up. The last one has not yet reached the market. It will be available January 27. It will be called Trouble On My Way and be available on Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Deezer, and Google Play.
In addition to the albums online, I have two books online on Amazon. They are both about wholistic medicine and Taoist Nutrition. They are brief ebooks that condense a lot of information into a few pages. I write with brevity. I try to be as straightforward as possible because I don't want anyone to be used the same way I was used. With a bit of education, it is possible to live well in this part of the world with little money. If you are educated, live simply and quietly, and budget your money, you can survive unharmed.
So even if I am not doing Judo right now, I still use my education in a different way. The knowledge I acquired at TCM school helped me write my books, and the graphics diploma helps me design cover art for my books and albums. Ultimately, you learn by doing. You are the sum of your experiences, not things you've learned didacticly. Theoretical knowledge doesn't work.
So as time goes on, I might get back into judo training, but I might also write more books on nutrition and publish more rhythm and blues albums. The point of life is to be happy and useful. It is not to acquire anything or win anything. If you are content, self sufficient, and productive towards others besides yourself, you are doing well. Some people are less ambitious but more fulfilled. It is better than a life of conquest.
Monday, January 13, 2020
Self Defense without Weapons
The main thing in self defense is punching and pinning. Wrestling and Judo as done in America is good self defense training. Collegiate wrestling is a more civilized version of catch wrestling and Kodokan Judo is a more civilized version of jujutsu.
Collegiate wrestling began at the beginning of the twentieth century when American scholastic educators saw the value of self defense for children. Fair fighting as a sport has value to young men who are fit, aggressive, and competitive. Self defense is for children.
Kodokan Judo is more than physical education. It is more than an eastern combat sport or jacket wrestling. And there is more to it than high amplitude throws. There is also ground wrestling, or matwork, which is comprised of pin, choke, and armlock. Collegiate wrestling and matwork is what Americans excel at. Americans are the best grapplers.
There are other factors in self defense, like punching, kicking, leg submissions, and weapons tactics. In reality, boxers are better athletes than wrestlers and grapplers. BJJ is an attempt to hybridize wrestling and judo. Sambo is also a twentieth century system that attempts to hydridize wrestling and judo.
What I am trying to say is, sport is reality. A sportive match is not a streetfight, but if you are too dangerous to spar, you are delusional and just talking out of ego and pride. Athletes are fighters, and you have to be a champion of something to teach self defense. Boxing, wrestling, judo, sambo, BJJ, are all great sports that teach you self defense, confidence, mental toughness, fitness, a lifestyle of being a winner, and how to recover from loss. In real sport, there are no undefeated champions.
I know I spent way too much time training Judo and Sambo and not enough training boxing. There is economic renumeration if you win in boxing, the best judo and sambo players are amateur athletes who become coaches and teachers. We live in a results driven society not a high minded idealistic society. The average pro boxer is a millionare, the best judoka or sambist is a poor athletics coach.
So I didn't live right. I wasted my athletic potential, because I listened to parents who wanted to protect me, had different culutral values because they are a different race than me, and see boxing as low brow entertainment.
There is nothing wrong with boxing. It is a civilized fight, a fight with gloves on. Obviously, in self defense, you need to know how to punch in every range not just from a distance. But boxing is a lifestyle of toughness, pride, fitness, and survival. Boxing is great. I wish more people were into the sport where I am from. It seems boxing is less popular and Muay Thai and MMA is more popular here, because that is what they see on TV.
But ultimately, self defense is for children. Grown men don't spar and wrestle and grapple to see who is objectively better. Grown men do combat, which means stealth and weapons. They fight dirty, they surprise you, they shank you, they shoot you down, etc... Being better doesn't matter to an evil man. You could be a world champion wrestler and not know real combat, and you could be a terrible athlete and still know how to kill people without them knowing it. This is where morality comes in.
What is really better, being a tough, fit, handsome athletics champion, or a dirty criminal who is ugly and stupid and despises knowledge? America is a society of thieves and everyone knows self defense and combat from an early age. They live to fight, everything in America is based on competition. If they can't beat you in a fair fight, they will beat you in an unfair fight. They just want to beat you.
In reality, there is more than enough food and technology and water for everyone on the planet and then some. But the resources are not distributed fairly. This is because of politics, economics, and racism. We don't live in a perfect world. God does not rule the world, the devil does. The system of things is ruled by the devil and there is nothing fair in this world.
In a perfect world based on merit, I would be a millionaire musician teaching Combat SAMBO and Aikido to eager students who see me as a Budo master. Student has become the master. I started guitar lessons in 1995 and I started shootfighting lessons in 1998. That is over twenty years each of music and martial arts. Shootfighting is the original MMA, and combines elements of karate, Muay Thai, Catch Wrestling, and Aikido. Shootfighting is not well known like SAMBO and BJJ because there is no big marketing push for it, and no one really wants to fight. Fighting is for children.
So I know where I'm at and know the world is not the way it should be. Theoretically, I am a handsome entertainer and a budo master. But now that I am past 40, physically slower and older and injured, I will probably not be a martial arts instructor. And music is not a high percentage way to make money these days. There are more musicians and fewer people making money from it. But I am talented and I enjoy writing my own songs.
So all I can say in my life is I mastered creative expression and physical performance. Money, power, and popularity are results, and God is not results driven. American society is results driven and doesn't judge you on how morally good you are. So America is an abomination to God.
As time moves on and I approach old age and death, I know I did what I could. I developed myself, reached my full potential, and mastered more than one or two things in life. Most people are average and master nothing in their life. When I die, people will mourn for a great musician and a great grappler. I am a meritorious man.
So in conclusion, self defense is about sport, and the best sport is boxing. Obviously, a boxing match is not a streetfight. It is a civilized punching bout. A boxer needs to crosstrain grappling and weapons techniques to be a complete master of self defense. But now that I am older, past my prime, I don't like fighting and combat. I want peace. I want wine, woman, and song, and the best thing in my life is the music. Art serves as a fun hobby and an adjunct to my music career. So as I age, physical performance diminishes in value and creativity rises in value to me. In my life, I learned my lessons. Monogamy is the discipline for success, and the meaning of life is to be happy and useful. If you want to be happy and die with contentment, be content with things, be productive and useful to others, and take a wife and be faithful. That is all.
Collegiate wrestling began at the beginning of the twentieth century when American scholastic educators saw the value of self defense for children. Fair fighting as a sport has value to young men who are fit, aggressive, and competitive. Self defense is for children.
Kodokan Judo is more than physical education. It is more than an eastern combat sport or jacket wrestling. And there is more to it than high amplitude throws. There is also ground wrestling, or matwork, which is comprised of pin, choke, and armlock. Collegiate wrestling and matwork is what Americans excel at. Americans are the best grapplers.
There are other factors in self defense, like punching, kicking, leg submissions, and weapons tactics. In reality, boxers are better athletes than wrestlers and grapplers. BJJ is an attempt to hybridize wrestling and judo. Sambo is also a twentieth century system that attempts to hydridize wrestling and judo.
What I am trying to say is, sport is reality. A sportive match is not a streetfight, but if you are too dangerous to spar, you are delusional and just talking out of ego and pride. Athletes are fighters, and you have to be a champion of something to teach self defense. Boxing, wrestling, judo, sambo, BJJ, are all great sports that teach you self defense, confidence, mental toughness, fitness, a lifestyle of being a winner, and how to recover from loss. In real sport, there are no undefeated champions.
I know I spent way too much time training Judo and Sambo and not enough training boxing. There is economic renumeration if you win in boxing, the best judo and sambo players are amateur athletes who become coaches and teachers. We live in a results driven society not a high minded idealistic society. The average pro boxer is a millionare, the best judoka or sambist is a poor athletics coach.
So I didn't live right. I wasted my athletic potential, because I listened to parents who wanted to protect me, had different culutral values because they are a different race than me, and see boxing as low brow entertainment.
There is nothing wrong with boxing. It is a civilized fight, a fight with gloves on. Obviously, in self defense, you need to know how to punch in every range not just from a distance. But boxing is a lifestyle of toughness, pride, fitness, and survival. Boxing is great. I wish more people were into the sport where I am from. It seems boxing is less popular and Muay Thai and MMA is more popular here, because that is what they see on TV.
But ultimately, self defense is for children. Grown men don't spar and wrestle and grapple to see who is objectively better. Grown men do combat, which means stealth and weapons. They fight dirty, they surprise you, they shank you, they shoot you down, etc... Being better doesn't matter to an evil man. You could be a world champion wrestler and not know real combat, and you could be a terrible athlete and still know how to kill people without them knowing it. This is where morality comes in.
What is really better, being a tough, fit, handsome athletics champion, or a dirty criminal who is ugly and stupid and despises knowledge? America is a society of thieves and everyone knows self defense and combat from an early age. They live to fight, everything in America is based on competition. If they can't beat you in a fair fight, they will beat you in an unfair fight. They just want to beat you.
In reality, there is more than enough food and technology and water for everyone on the planet and then some. But the resources are not distributed fairly. This is because of politics, economics, and racism. We don't live in a perfect world. God does not rule the world, the devil does. The system of things is ruled by the devil and there is nothing fair in this world.
In a perfect world based on merit, I would be a millionaire musician teaching Combat SAMBO and Aikido to eager students who see me as a Budo master. Student has become the master. I started guitar lessons in 1995 and I started shootfighting lessons in 1998. That is over twenty years each of music and martial arts. Shootfighting is the original MMA, and combines elements of karate, Muay Thai, Catch Wrestling, and Aikido. Shootfighting is not well known like SAMBO and BJJ because there is no big marketing push for it, and no one really wants to fight. Fighting is for children.
So I know where I'm at and know the world is not the way it should be. Theoretically, I am a handsome entertainer and a budo master. But now that I am past 40, physically slower and older and injured, I will probably not be a martial arts instructor. And music is not a high percentage way to make money these days. There are more musicians and fewer people making money from it. But I am talented and I enjoy writing my own songs.
So all I can say in my life is I mastered creative expression and physical performance. Money, power, and popularity are results, and God is not results driven. American society is results driven and doesn't judge you on how morally good you are. So America is an abomination to God.
As time moves on and I approach old age and death, I know I did what I could. I developed myself, reached my full potential, and mastered more than one or two things in life. Most people are average and master nothing in their life. When I die, people will mourn for a great musician and a great grappler. I am a meritorious man.
So in conclusion, self defense is about sport, and the best sport is boxing. Obviously, a boxing match is not a streetfight. It is a civilized punching bout. A boxer needs to crosstrain grappling and weapons techniques to be a complete master of self defense. But now that I am older, past my prime, I don't like fighting and combat. I want peace. I want wine, woman, and song, and the best thing in my life is the music. Art serves as a fun hobby and an adjunct to my music career. So as I age, physical performance diminishes in value and creativity rises in value to me. In my life, I learned my lessons. Monogamy is the discipline for success, and the meaning of life is to be happy and useful. If you want to be happy and die with contentment, be content with things, be productive and useful to others, and take a wife and be faithful. That is all.
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