Browsing Tags jamiehosmer
Technology and Creativity
I have been writing a new song for the last couple of hours, and as usual, I am now pondering whether or not technology is a creative hindrance, or a helpful partner. I guess for me, it’s a little bit of both. Let me explain.
It goes like this: I feel the inspiration of a song coming on. So I rush into the studio, turn the computer on, turn my keyboard on. While I am waiting for everything to boot up, I grab a pen and paper. Ooops, forgot to turn my audio interface on, luckily that can be turned on while the computer is up. Okay, in business now. Well, wait, I have to boot up Cubase, my recording program. Okay, no big deal, I am almost ready to start writing…. Ahhh!!!! Forgot to turn on my external audio drive, Cubase is looking for it. Crap. Okay, reboot computer (with audio drive on this time). Okay, computer and drive back up, Cubase running…new project file…..name it……do I need a drum loop going for this?……hmmm….how about this sound?……..Wait, what’s the correct tempo?……Hmmm…maybe I need to make some coffee first. Inpiration…..GONE.
Any of you go through this as well? All of our computer programs are amazing, we can do just about anything with them, but it can slow down the creative process significantly. So what is the answer? For me, it is actually using another technological device, my phone. I fired up my recorder app on my droid, and started playing and singing. Done. Writing has commenced. Honestly, any little handheld, simple recorder would do the trick.
Everyone has there way of doing things, I think this works best for my creative process. Now, of course, once I have something concrete written, I will then fire up Cubase, and the drives, and everything else, and start producing. But that is a different creative process altogether.
So, what is your creative writing process? How does it work for you? Please comment, chime in…
Here’s to creativity and technology coexisting,
-Jamie
Be Creative & Make Good Things Happen
Those of you who know me know that I have been a musician for many years. I also love to write songs. While I have not been quite as committed to songwriting over the years as I would have liked to be, I still have composed quite a number of songs. (some of them are pretty good, if I do say so myself! 
)…but I digress….
Recently I have been writing more, and I have made an astonishing revelation. This may be true only for me, but I am thinking that it is true for everyone. What is my groundbreaking revelation? It is this: When we are creative, good things happen. Creativity is the source of positive energy, so when we create something, use our brains, come up with something new, whether that means writing a song or coming up with a new, never before tried recipe for dinner, we are putting forth an intention. This intention says, “I like to do this, so I am going to do it”. Simple, right?
See, it doesn’t matter what happens to that song that I write, or the new recipe or the new idea, that is not the point. In fact, I would recommend not even being attached to the result while you are creating your new masterpieces.
Honestly, I don’t really know what goes on here behind the scenes, behind that strange metaphysical curtain that we can’t see. But for me, I do know that good things happen when I am creative. I feel that one of the things I am supposed to do while here on earth is play music. I really don’t know why this is, but I know it in my soul. By creating, and using this “purpose” of mine, things start to happen in a positive way. And I have to point out that I am not talking about good things necessarily involving the songs, or music. Sometimes, yes, but not always. Sometimes it is just good things in completely other areas of my life.
So, BE CREATIVE; use your purpose, passions, strengths.
-Jamie
Pass the Peace, Please
I have a question for you. Don’t worry, there won’t be a test, it’s a simple question. What is it that you want MOST out of life? Don’t think for more than a few seconds on this, or you will begin to edit your answer. Your answer is for you, not me, not anyone else. Maybe it’s more money, maybe it’s a nurturing relationship, a new house, or a job that will pay the bills.
I am going to go out on a limb and disagree with you on all of those. Not that I know who you are or anything, and you actually may think that you want these things, but they aren’t what you want the MOST. Not even close. How can I say that with such conviction? Easy. It’s Peace.
We all really want peace in our lives. Here’s the catch: We think that things like money, relationships, a better job (whatever that means), we think these things will bring us peace. And maybe, to a certain degree they will. But a sense of real, lasting, inner peace is what we all really are after. A kind of peace that nothing and no one can ever take away or destroy. A comforting existence for sure. Think about it, if you are really at peace, then you probably have the rest of your life in order, or at the least there is nothing that is really bothering you about it; in other words there isn’t anything getting in between you and your peace. I like that. I’ll take more peace, please.
Create peace in your life, in your world. Good things will follow.
-Jamie
Sydney’s Miracle Story
A very good friend of mine sent me a facebook message yesterday. It was the story of his dog Sydney, and….well, I don’t want to spoil the story right up front, it’s a MUST read. But those of you who read my posts will know right away why this touched my heart. I want to thank my good friend Craig Martini and his fiance Kim, for sharing this amazing experience with me, and allowing me to share it with you. Below is the unedited message I received from Craig. Grab some tissues, you may need them.
I have to tell you a story about a miracle with our beloved dog Sydney.
About a month and a half ago, Sydney started having a hard time getting up from laying down. I took her to the vet right away. I thought she must have hurt herself somehow. The vet did x-rays and came out with a horrible prognosis. Crippling arthritis, she is 13 years old. She gave me three different medications to give her twice a day. She said, we just have to make her comfortable for now. You will have to have to put her down soon, she is in horrible pain, it’s not fair to her and on and on.. Kim and I were devastated. We took her home and sat with her for hours on end. Every time she went to the bathroom she fell in it, she couldn’t hold herself up to go anymore. It was so hard to watch. Kim and I started planning on how to come to terms with all of this and let her go.
Now for the miracle
Kim went to work and was breaking down all day. One of her co-workers noticed and asked what was wrong. Kim told her and the girl said “try this lady, she helped my dog she is holistic”.
Kim came home and told me about it so we called and made an appointment for the next day. I carried her in and sat with her on my lap. She was in so much pain she didn’t even bother to try to get up. Finally it was our turn to see the Dr.
I put Sydney on the table. The Dr said ” I looked at her x-rays and she does have some bad arthritis, but I know I can help”. She held Sydney’s face right against hers and said “you are gonna be OK Sydney”
The Dr asked me to hold Sydney in a loose head lock, so I did. She grabbed her paw and started cracking her knuckles. She cracked every single one. Sydney was not liking it to much haha. Next she had me stand her up and hold her the same way. She went down every vertebrae with her thumbs pushing sharply and quickly. Next she told me to hold her tightly. I was pouring sweat by this time. She held her tail and gave it a quick yank. Sydney’s tail immediately started wagging like crazy. (It hadn’t wagged at all in weeks before that).
I set her on the ground and she started walking around!! The Dr just smiled. She gave us a proper diet plan for her and told us to bring her back in the morning for acupuncture. We did. The Dr told us that in 48 hours she would be feeling much better.
24 hours later I took her out to go potty and she STAYED ON HER FEET!! A day later she was running around playing with her toys again. She is so happy, she has tons of energy and feels a thousand times better. She can get up from laying about 50% of the time and getting stronger everyday!
I am still pinching myself, it is so amazing!
Her name is Joanne Stefanatos
Here is her website:
www.holistic-veterinarian.com
Lets, have some coffee this week! I have to leave next week.
Have a great night,
Craig
Good, Bad, Guilt, Fear….oh my.
I used to have a strong fear of success. Oh sure, I said I wanted this and wanted that, had this goal or that goal, but at the end of the day, it frightened be subconsciously. Fear that I would lose some of my friends, that they would think I was different, fear of having to “live up” to whatever lifestyle one was supposed to have when one is “successful”. (sounds so ridiculous now to read that).
And then there was the guilt. Feeling guilty of maybe having the things that some others don’t, and feeling unworthy of it. Why should I have something if that person doesn’t have it? Those types of thoughts.
These thoughts and beliefs can truly paralyze us. They can stop us in our tracks. It is self-sabotage at its finest. We can actually create situations for ourselves that put roadblocks in front of us without realizing we are doing it, because it is below the surface, it’s in our subconscious mind.
My belief is that we are on this earth to live abundantly. That word, “abundantly” is not going to mean the same thing to everyone. In fact, it will mean something different for each and every person. So, what your abundance is is up to you. It could be lots of money. It could be lots of joy. It could mean having a lot or friends, loved ones, or just feeling loved. It could be that you are doing what you love to do every single day, raising a family, etc. You get to decide. But make sure you actually decide.
And once you decide, don’t let fear of actually getting there stop you. And don’t let the feeling of guilt for having a good life stop you either. In fact, take those words out of your subconscious mind, as well as your conscious mind forever. They aren’t doing you any good anyways.
To your own “abundance”,
Jamie
Thinking Outside The Box
It’s probably an understatement to say that we are living in, well, let’s say “strange” economic times. Certainly we would all agree that things are different now then, say, 5 years ago. I currently live in Las Vegas, and 5 years ago in Vegas things were booming like crazy. Housing prices were through the roof, there were plenty of jobs to be had, whether you were in construction, entertainment, the service industry, whatever. Things were good. Life was good. Hmmm….a bit different story today.
I am not going to rehash the unemployment numbers, or the percentages that housing prices have gone down. My purpose here is not to depress anyone, or state the obvious. So let’s get to my point for writing this:
When everything was all hunky-dory and we were all just grooving along on auto-pilot like life will be just like this forever, what were you doing? And the bigger question is this: What are you doing NOW? Are you doing the same thing? And what are your results? If you are one of the lucky ones that has a career that is still flourishing since the downturn, and all is well with your life, then I say awesome and congratulations. But if, like the world, things have changed for you and things are not so great, think about what you are doing to change with the times. Are you changing at all?
Remember Einstein’s definition on insanity: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Folks, now is the time to think “outside the box.” In fact, I say this is just about a necessity. The old days are over. One job for life, one career, retirement provided by your employer that will be there when you retire. These are things that for most will not be a reality. It’s a new day, it’s a whole new world. But it’s also a time for renewal, for reinvigorating ourselves, rethinking our lives in general. It’s a time when our creativity and zest for life will be brought to its fullest potential. It’s a time to really focus on what we truly are passionate about, what our talents are (are you using your given talents?), what our strengths are.
Speaking of strengths, check out www.strengthsfinder.com for an analysis of what you truly excel at. It can be a real eye opener. But I digress….
The only thing that will hold you back from achieving everything you want, all of your goals, your hopes, dreams (yes, even now in this economy) is…..YOU. Figure out what you want, which for most is the hardest part. Focus on that like there is nothing else, pinpoint, laser attention to that vision. Finally, take the action required, think outside the box, there is NO obstacle that you cannot overcome. Go and get it.
Let’s shred those boxes,
Jamie
Too Much Trouble To Have A Little Fun?
I recently have started doing something that I haven’t done in 25 years: play baseball. There is an over 35 league (I’m plenty over that), that a friend of mine has been in, and I happened to see him one day at a park, playing a game. My very first reaction was excitement. “Wow, that looks like a lot of fun, I really miss playing ball!”
So we got to talking, and he invited me on to the team to play when they started up again. Sounded awesome. But then, as can often happen within our strange little human brains, we start THINKING. “Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this, I should be doing things more important, I don’t have time for this, what if I totally embarrass myself, get hurt, hurt someone else, get sunstroke, put out an eye….” AAAHHHH!!!!
I immediately tried to talk myself out of this. Something that was going to bring me joy, it was going to be sheer fun, not really take up much of my time (once a week for a couple hours), and here I was giving myself every excuse why I COULDN’T and SHOULDN’T do it. Sounds kind of insane, right? Yup. Totally insane.
So, once I took a hold of my sanity, I realized that I needed to do this. I needed to do something just for the sheer fun of it. After all, like attracts like, according to the Law of Attraction, so if I had some fun, then I would naturally attract more fun and joy into my life. And who doesn’t need some more of that? There was really no good reason why I shouldn’t do this.
So I am doing it. We had a practice the other day, and the only collateral damage was a few balls thrown into the fence, and a few sore muscles. (okay, a LOT of sore muscles). But it was a BLAST. Our first game is this Sunday. Wish me luck! Oh, and go have some fun yourself. No excuses!
Here’s to your joy and excitement,
-Jamie
What Do You REALLY Want?
I know I write quite a bit here about things like focusing on what you want, personal development, proper nutrition, among other things. I do truly believe that we are capable of bringing into our lives whatever it is that is truly in line with our passions, our strengths, our desires.
But, here is the thing. What is it that we REALLY want? And I don’t mean something like a new TV, as nice as all of these amazing looking flat panels are these days! What I mean is, how do you want to FEEL? Or course, all of us want to be happy, healthy, fulfilled, right? And what is at the center of all of that? What, at the end of the day, will keep us happy, healthy, fulfilled? It is inner peace. Think about that for a second. What if, you actually had complete, inner peace in your life right now. An inner peace so strong that there wasn’t anything that could upset you. There wasn’t any circumstance to break that perfect sense of bliss within. Nice.
Is it a pipe dream? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing I do know is this. If we have inner peace, then that means that nothing “out there” is going to be a problem for us. There is nothing “outside” of ourselves to disrupt the inner balance and calm state of being. Hmmm….so maybe if we focus on creating inner peace, then the outer world will take care of itself. The world “out there” has a tendency to “fold in” around what we think, feel, and focus on. So if what we think, feel and focus on is inner peace, then the outer has no choice but to conform to that.
So don’t give it a choice. Focus on the inner, focus on inner peace, and see what happens. Hey, maybe someone will bring you a new TV! (just watch a peaceful station )
To your inner peace,
Jamie
5 Tips To Make 2010 Better Than 2009
2009 was a tough year for many folks. Here is a quick list of 5 things you can do to ensure that 2010 is much better. And if 2009 was a great year for you, these will take 2010 to new heights!
So let’s get to it…. here goes:
1. Write down your goals. This one thing, if you don’t already do it, can dramatically change your future. Why? Well, first of all it forces you to think about what you want. The problem for most people is they don’t know what it is they want. Most people just kind of wander through life aimlessly without any real direction, just reacting to what they feel is life acting upon them. By taking the time to figure out where you want to go, you put the wheels of creativity and imagination in motion. And your goals are not limited to financial goals. You could have a goal to visit another country, or learn another language, or even invent some groundbreaking device. Don’t limit yourself. Just make a list, then define which ones are most important to you.
2. Take action regarding your most important goals. If not defining goals is the number one stumbling block for people, I think not taking action to make their goals a reality is a close second. It’s one thing to say you want to get somewhere, or you want to be at a certain place, or you want to make a certain income; it’s a complete other thing to back it up with a plan of attack. This is why it is important to choose something that you can really go after with gusto, something that you are enthusiastic about getting up every day and working on. But you MUST have a plan, and you must actually take action and work towards making that goal/vision a reality.
3. Laugh more. Yeah, yeah, I know, not much to laugh about these days right? Actually, I disagree. You see, laughter, as they say, is the best medicine. If you are feeling down, what can be better than popping in your favorite comedy and laughing your butt off. Or getting together with your best friends and just goofing off. Laughter is contagious, and when done in a spirit of fun and happiness, you will bring in more fun and joy into your life.
4. Learn something new. If you feel “stuck in a rut”, maybe it’s time you give your brain a workout or two. Give yourself some mental stimulation, maybe learn a new language, or study quantum mechanics, or something that you have always wanted to learn. This doesn’t have to have anything to do with your current job, or income, it’s just something to stimulate your braincells, stimulate your creativity.
5. Find and stick to a good nutrition and exercise routine. Okay, yeah, I know you say you are going to do this every year, right? If you are someone who gets stuck at our number 2 tip (the taking action one) -maybe you get started, then don’t follow through, it’s probably the same reason why you don’t take action regarding where you would like to be in your life that you don’t stick to a nutrition and exercise plan. Maybe if you DO stick to this one, it will send a message to your subconscious self that “hey maybe I really can get that promotion, or maybe I really can start my own business.” Most times it is just fear that stops us; fear of failure, or fear of success.
But I cannot overstate the importance of good nutrition and exercise. You are what you eat, period. Don’t forget that. Put good fuel into your body, your body will reward you. Put bad food in, your body will punish you.
That’s it! I say bring on 2010! See ya later 2009. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
-Jamie
This can’t be correct…..1/2 a pound of sugar?
I read a statistic that said that the average American now consumes about 1/2 a pound of sugar every single day. Every single day, a half of a pound of sugar! I didn’t believe it. No way, that is impossible. Then I started checking into it. Turns out, that if you drink just 2 or 3 cans of soda a day, that would equal about 30 teaspoons of sugar, which is already over 1/4 of a pound.
I am just talking about the small 12 oz. cans of soda, not the 7-Eleven “Big Gulp” or a restaurant that keeps refilling in perpetuity. Now, add to that any other snacks you may eat during the day, a few cookies here, a candy bar there, even most “protein” bars are loaded with sugar. Add that all up and it’s pretty easy to reach that 1/2 pound of sugar a day. Wow!
So, what’s the big deal? Like, is sugar really that bad for us? I mean, yes, it rots our teeth, but that’s about it, right? Wrong. Here is what Dr. Joe Mercola has to say about the Dangers Of Sugar. It’s nasty stuff to be sure.
Sorry if I completely ruined your cookie break!
To your health and wellness,
Jamie