Bob Lefsetz, a former music industry insider, has a well known blog entitled, The Lefsetz Letter. Bob posts frequently about his thoughts and experiences with music, among other topics. He's got a huge readership, as I would find out when he reposted a letter I sent to him back in June to his email list. I received hundreds of hits on my website, and about a dozen emails from people in the music industry who said they were interested in the concept of my book. I was blown away. 

Here's the letter I penned to Bob in response to a post where he mentioned Amazon's Kindle, a hand-held wireless reading device which allows you to download books electronically from Amazon.

Hey Bob,

Your comment about Amazon's Kindle kindled a response from me. I’ve been a radio research director, and did a stint at McGraw-Hill ages ago, long before I ever heard of an e-book. It’s interesting to see how the record biz and publishing industries are both witnessing major changes due to the Internet.

Today, I'm a first time non-fiction author, and before my book is published in October, my head is spinning with all of the stuff I need to do to promote my opus about my spiritual awakening through rock music. You’ve got to have a bitchin’ book trailer on YouTube, (like a music video or movie trailer for your precious tome), network your ass off on MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, and all of those sites which seem to spawn new networking siblings daily, write to Amazon top reviewers to query if they want to read and write about your pretty words because their praise is even more important than kudos from the New York Times, and though I haven't touched my fingers on Amazon's Kindle yet, my publisher will also offer my magnum opus as an e-book through Amazon.

I’ll plug it all on my website, which I now have to figure out how to create an on-line glossary for, because the glossary in my book was 50 pages long, and that didn’t make my small, independent publisher happy. She whacked me in the head with a large iron skillet: “DRIVE READERS TO YOUR SITE,” she said. Alrighty then, I’ll get right on it.

There are tons of other shifts transforming the face of publishing, like the prolific increase of POD (digital Print-On-Demand) and self-publishing, all thanks to technology, Amazon.com, and the World Wide Web. I actually like the idea that my book, as an e-book, will be priced much lower than the physical book, and that a few trees will be saved. If a reader wants to download it, they’ll get it immediately with no additional shipping costs either. Wow. How wonderful. But as you said, Mr. Lefsetz, it’s about the STORY, not the delivery method.

I’ve spent six years trying to perfect my words and insights, so that someone, somewhere, someday might actually want to read about my journey. It’s my sincerest hope that people begin to see different ways that music impacts our lives far beyond anything we’ve imagined. I hope my book can change the world, but right now, all I can say is “Stop the World, I want to get OFF!” because I’m exhausted trying to keep up with all of the new avenues to promote my prose. Ultimately, word of mouth is what sells most books, and I pray that I’m doing enough to get a t least a few mouths to yak about mine.

Kindle and e-books aren't going to replace physical books any time soon. But, like downloading music, e-books are a definite trend that is here to stay. We're a mobile society, addicted to technology. It's probably only a matter of time before devices like Kindle and iPhone merge, (maybe they have, and I missed the email) and all of our media and communication needs are on one portable device. God help us all.

Cheers,
Laura Faeth
www.soundofyoursoul.com where no glossary exists…yet.

After receiveing so many repsonses, I sent an email to Bob asking if he'd like a copy of my book in the old fashion,ed gotta hold-it-in-my-hand format, or a new-fangled ebook? He preferred the old-fashioned version.

I've been sending out my advance reader copies to lots of folks, and hope that some enjoy my wild, wacky journey enough to write an endorsement. Incredible things are happening. I'll share some of my other emails to Bob which he did not share with his email list, shortly.

This essay was published in The Mom Egg, the official literary publication of the Mamapalooza Festival. Mamapalooza is the lifetstyle and entertainment spot for creative Moms who ROCK (and roll!). The only cultural event of its kind, Mamapalooza FESTIVALS, MEDIA and MERCHANDISE encourage all Mothers to become women of unlimited self-esteem through creative expression and cooperative opportunity.

I couldn't make it to NYC in May to read my essay at a local bar where some of the Mamapalooza festivities were taking place, so I'll just share it here with you!

Manic Writing Mama

Five years ago, while my youngest princess contentedly slurped her bottle, a voice within shattered my consciousness with a profound message: I would write a book. Not just any book, but a manuscript that could have a major impact on the people of my generation.
"Uh oh little princess, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

Kansas? More like Neptune or Pluto. I was catapulted out of my ordinary suburban world, for the intuitive flash was accompanied by a drastic change in my cognitive processes. Information, ideas, and insights rampaged through my mind 24/7, and all I wanted to do was write, write, write. Things I previously enjoyed: reading to my daughters, strolling in the park, and play dates now infringed upon my writing obsession. At first, early bedtimes provided several hours to reflect, and write the oodles of observations that oozed out of my cerebellum, but as the two princesses grew, that precious quiet time dwindled. Night owl became my middle name.

Eventually, the late nights and early morns took their toll on my health. Manic writing mom crashed big time. This total burn-out forced a break from composing, but offered the opportunity to ponder what compelled me to write, write, write. What strategies could be employed to avoid wiping out my adrenals and frying my nervous system again?

Nearly a year passed before my soul felt the yearning to write once more. This time, I learned to exploit opportune moments throughout the day. I’d jot down key phrases that popped into my cranium while the girls ate organic fruit loops or put on their cleats and tiaras before heading to soccer practice. No more late nights.

While driving, a digital tape recorder came in handy for those "Amazing concepts my book can't live without" moments. A separate file allowed the girls to record themselves talking as if they were “the snooty princess sisters,” without the worry that they’d accidentally erase my brilliant "AHAs!"

Being a mom with a writing obsession/addiction… problem, turned out to be no problem at all, for my passion has forged two creative, self-sufficient young ladies. The baby, now six years old, loves to cook. That's no surprise since mom is the reigning "Costco Prepared Dinner Queen." Not to be outdone by the "Queen,” the girls, wearing pants on their heads to emulate long hair, pretend they are Cinderellas while doing household chores. This new independence leaves more spare time for the wicked pretend step-mother to write, write, write.

Most of all, the princesses ground the Queen in "reality." Writing is such a creative, cerebral process, that I easily become lost in some other cosmic dimension. They bring me back to earth with a yelled chorus of "Mom, we're hungry!" Before hurrying towards the kitchen, I hit the save key and bark back, "So, what are you cooking up? I'm hungry too!"

Only time will tell what impact my book will have on society, but writing it has certainly had an enormous impact on my royal family.

At the end of November 2007, I was invited to a Poetry and Prose reading in Ft. Collins to read an essay I wrote which won an honorable mention in the Spiritual/Inspirational category of the 76th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. I also read the first chapter of my book, and a woman in attendance told her friend about my journey. Well, winds up the friend also had a spiritual awakening with the music of a well-known classic rock musician. We recently got together to discuss our experiences, and the similarities of our journeys are amazing.

This woman, who I’ll call P., went away on vacation four years ago, and wound up attending three concerts of this classic rocker. She wasn’t familiar with his music beforehand, but during the first concert, she was blown away by what she heard. Drawn back for more music, something amazing took place during the third concert. P. stood in the audience, and suddenly left her body. She said she remembers being towards the top of the ceiling, looking down at everyone. A radiant feeling of joy, bliss, and cosmic oneness enveloped her. As she was leaving the concert, her husband remarked that P. looked different, and she was. She had a spiritual awakening which shook her to her core.

P.’s life drastically changed after this night, and like me, she felt compelled to write about her experience. P. wrote a book, which is in the process of being edited, and she hopes to publish it in the near future.
I’ve written about spiritual awakenings before, but this was the first encounter with someone else who has had a profound life-altering experience with rock music. We were both kinda freaked out by the parallels of our journey. How does such a phenomena take place? I don’t know. Something appears to get triggered in the brain, almost like an alarm clock going off, and suddenly, we’re catapulted into a life path we never dreamed possible.

For me, it is such a relief to know another person has a mission to help people understand the spiritual impact of rock music. I’ve felt like a freakazoid for quite some time. But now, there are at least two of us freakazoids out there. Yahoo! Maybe we should start a club.

P. felt we were a part of something very big, and I’ve sensed it too. We hope one day, everyone can taste the supernova of bliss and enlightenment that we spontaneously experienced with rock music. Perhaps our books will help spark a spiritual awareness in more people. I certainly hope so. Then there will be lots more freakazoids in the world, touting the healing power of rock music. And membership in our club will explode.

My essay, The Healing Power of Rock 'n' Roll, won Honorable Mention in the Inspirational Writing category of the 76th Annual Writer's Digest  Writing Competition. This years contest attracted over 19,000 entries. Here it is!

The Healing Power of Rock 'n' Roll

“This is surreal for me. I haven’t seen them since 1974,” she said, squinting in the garishly lit restaurant’s powder room mirror to analyze the effect of her newly applied blush. Sparkles literally emanated from her face, as the pre-concert glitter reflected off the gaudy lighting. “If only my friend could be here to see them too….” Her voice trailed off as all pretense disappeared as she spoke of her best friend who recently died.

The two women worked at a club in Lake Geneva, WI, where the band frequently played before they became superstars. As waitresses, the teenage girls were delighted to fetch the guys sandwiches and coffee during their rehearsals. It was apparent going to this concert was very meaningful for her as she proudly displayed a 1974 black and white photo of the band that she hoped they’d autograph.

“I really want to get close enough to the stage for them to read this. Do you think I will?” She pulled out a small sign from her oversized purse which mentioned Lake Geneva and 1974. Over the years, many a fascinating conversation has been sparked in the ladies room before a rock concert, but this was one of the most touching encounters I’d had in a long time.

More than a quarter of a century has passed since this rock band’s music wove its way into my own soul, and even today, their sound still resonates deep within. My annual Southern California concert pilgrimage had me on a plane to San Diego to hook up with another fan nicknamed Sundante. Until we became buddies, my connection to fans never went beyond chatting at concerts (frequently in the powder room).Yet thanks to the internet, over the past four years we’ve been electronic pen-pals and shared our deepest secrets, hopes and dreams with one another. After all these years, I could finally revel in a friendship with someone who shared my passion for the band and their music.

We wanted to arrive at the venue early, because getting a spot up close to the stage at a general admission show is a major coup for most long time fans. Many have personally met the band over the years and it’s fun to get a shout-out from the lead guitarist because he recognizes you in the audience, or have him throw a guitar pick at your cranium and nail ya’ in the forehead. Way back in the rafters, a fan misses out on lots of the action up front, so many get to the venue “stupid early” to ensure a primo spot in front of their favorite band member. People sometimes ask, “You’ve seen these guys about 50 times, why do you still go to their concerts? What’s the point?”

I go because each concert is an opportunity to discover something incredible about myself and other fans. Even if the band plays the same set list, when looking past the superficial and delving into the true essence of a concert, something is always different and unique. Like snowflakes, no two groups of fans are the same. No two songs are ever played exactly the same way. There’s always some element of surprise, some kind of magic in the air. Sometimes it surprises me how fans are brought together, and I frequently ponder, “Why? What makes us so drawn to this band and their music?”

After years of observation, numerous theories have sprouted out of my brain, but I sense the primary reason we come together is to heal. Heal? Yes, heal. That’s because music is the most potent healing force in the Universe! Music, whether it’s rock, classical or Gregorian monks chanting, can get us in touch with a deeper sense of ourselves. Though unseen, it’s a visceral vibration we feel in our body. Music is an aural medicine; an elixir that tickles our hearts and makes us beam with joy, or awakens long forgotten emotions buried in the recess of our psyche which we need to heal. Music is the supreme Doctor, and we don’t need an insurance company to get access to our magic potion. At the San Diego concert, I’d witness magic, even though Houdini wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Not long after leaving the restaurant, we stood on line outside the venue, but I had no idea how Sundante was going to make it through the concert. Despite some heavy duty meds, she was in excruciating pain. Her back started to act up over a week earlier, and standing or sitting made her want to scream in agony. It’s difficult to watch another person suffer; to feel helpless and not be able to do anything to ease their pain. But there was nothing I could do except make sure she got a spot at the railing next to the stage to lean on.

“I’ll be okay” said Sundante. “As soon as the band starts playing, the pain will disappear.” This statement doesn’t surprise me, for once upon a time, Beatles producer George Martin said, "They're a healing force in music." He wasn’t talking about the Fab Four; he was referring to our band. Sundante knew the healing musical vibrations would help soften the torturous spasms that consumed her body.

We snagged a spot next to the stage and the Lake Geneva woman wound up next to me. She was so incredibly excited to be right up front, and not long after the band took the stage, shyly raised her arms a bit so that the lead guitarist could read her sign. He spotted it and read part of the message out loud to the audience. With that, the singer and bassist came over and checked out the sign, enthusiastically pointing at her and commenting on Lake Geneva.

Though adjacent to the woman, I couldn’t look at the singer and bass player while they connected with her. Despite being in a room full of hundreds of people, it felt like an invasion of her privacy. This was her moment with the band, her moment to connect with her past and get acknowledgement for having known them in the beginning of their careers. Her moment to honor the loss of a dear friend, and find a place of solace in her wounded heart by saying hi to some familiar rock stars and bathe in that healing force of the band’s music.

At one point, the lead guitarist launched into his typical shtick about how the lead singer is his favorite singer in the whole wide world. But tonight, he added a twist. He said that the lead singer never forgets the lyrics, and never forgets the meaning behind the words in a song. He’s right. The vibration of a word carries an inherent message. When those lyrics are coupled with a singer who croons with intent behind those words, the impact on a fan can be phenomenal, as is the case with Sundante.

As soon as the distinctive vibration of the opening notes to the song “The Flame” graced my ears, I knew what was coming: tears. Not mine, but Sundante’s. The singer belts out the lyrics with such intention, such powerful emotion, Sundante can’t help but turn into Pavlov’s dog. Instead of salivating when she hears a bell, she weeps whenever “The Flame” touches her eardrums. You’d think the tears might be caused by the extreme physical pain in her body, but no, these are tears of emotional turmoil.

Sundante has told me numerous times how embarrassing it is to have this happen at a concert. The lyrics just rip open her heart, for they remind her of the love she feels for someone so emotionally close, yet often he’s physically far away. Without even a tissue to offer, all I could give Sundante was her space during this song, and watch her eyes well up, because that’s the purpose of rock music. It helps bring healing by prompting us to feel emotions we bury deep inside during our ordinary lives. For a little over an hour at a concert, we are transported into another world by the band’s music. It’s a world where we can feel joy, sorrow, yearning, passion, or whatever else arises from the depths of our being, and not judge ourselves as inappropriate or strange. The music encourages us be who we are, and who we are is an amazing group of fans.

Amazing doesn’t have to be stupendous, huge, and hung with a neon sign. Sometimes, amazing is gentle and understated. As I leaned back a bit from the railing during “The Flame,” the Lake Geneva woman saw Sundante crying and instinctively leaned over me and gave her a hug. Virtually perfect strangers, and having no idea why Sundante was weeping, she reached out to console another fan. Perhaps the lyrics to the song touched her heart as well, and brought to mind the best friend she recently lost. After the song ended, the lead singer walked towards Sundante, leaned over and handed her a tissue from the stage. It was a touching moment, for his action epitomized the shared sense of connection fans felt during the song.

A rock concert is a collective union of souls drawn together to reconnect with ourselves, our past, our joy and sometimes heal our pain. Sundante’s pain was so intense she could barely walk, so after the concert I retrieved the car, and headed back inside the venue to tell another friend where we were parked. The Lake Geneva woman was outside the venue talking with some fans she’d just met, and greeted me with a huge smile that stretched all the way to Toledo.

“Look, look, look!!! They signed my picture! I can’t believe it. They were hanging out in their limo in back of the theater, and were so incredibly nice to me. I’m soooo happy!”

She proudly displayed her newly autographed photo of the band. On the surface, it may look like pain can transform into joy with a pen and a rock star, but it was the emotional connection she felt with them that made her jubilant.

It’s moments like these that make being a fan amazing, because though the band probably had no idea that she’d recently lost a dear friend, by signing her photograph, it seemed to bring a sense of closure to this woman’s life. She set out with a mission: to have the band notice her sign and get the photo autographed, and now her mission was accomplished. She appeared complete and content to go back to her ordinary life, but the concert was magical, and a night I’m sure she’ll never forget.

Magic always seems to happen around the concerts. Not every fan walks away with something special signed by the band, but when we focus our attention on the little things, the special moments of interaction between fans and the band, the beauty is there if we’re willing to look for it.

The next night the band performed at a club north of Los Angeles, and more subtle, magical moments arose. Like the moment when a fan who didn’t know me very well placed a very cool dog tag necklace with the band’s logo in my hand. It was a wonderful gesture of inclusion.

Or the relief I felt the moment a woman offered me a pair of earplugs without my asking. I thought I’d have to resort to using a tiny wad of toilet tissue from the ladies room which I’d rolled into a ball to attempt to keep my inner ear from exploding. Now I’d live to hear another day.

Or when another fan shared that after years of drinking, he’d been sober for several months. I responded with words of encouragement to continue on the difficult path of allowing his body and mind to heal. By opening up and showing one another who we are, that none of us are perfect and we all have our addictions, he showed me the importance of being part of a community of people that feel comfortable enough to expose their weaknesses without the fear of being judged.

As I watched other fans smile and sing, their hearts filled with love and devotion, a deep sense of appreciation infused my heart. Where else can a group of people exude this kind of passion? It’s hard to conjure a place or event that brings together beings from all walks of life and allows their souls to become unified in emotional bliss. Who would think that a rock concert could be a magical place of healing? But for many fans it is.

My life has been so profoundly impacted by the sounds of this rock band, that I can’t fathom how other people go through their lives without a favorite musical artist or group to help them navigate the challenges of our insane world. So when people look at me as if I’m the crazy one for being a long-time fan, I just shake my head because they don’t know what they’re missing. They have no idea the breadth of insights I’ve gleaned from this rock group all these years, and why I’m honored to call myself a fan of the band known as Cheap Trick.

Laurie Lindeen, former singer and guitarist for an all female punk-garage-esque rock band named Zuzu's Petals in the 1990's, has written a wonderful memoir entitled Petal Pusher.  As a former female rocker wannabe, I found Laurie Lindeen's journey through rock music sobering and enlightening, and completely compelling to read.

Since I played a wee-bit of electric guitar as a teenager, I had lots of silly fantasies about being the lead singer/guitarist in an "oh my god can't you see how amazingly talented I am" famous rock band of my own. Since I had the musical aptitude of a large sea slug, that wasn't going to happen. But after going along for a ride through Laurie's exploits, I'm glad I chose a different career path. Life for a struggling female rock band is anything but glamorous. Hilarious at moments, yes, but the dark, gritty side of playing night after night in sleazy clubs is anything but alluring. Laurie’s band had moments that seemed to indicate they were on the verge of hitting it big, but despite an intense level of commitment and hard work for many years, their dream was never realized.

I’m glad to vicariously live the rock lifestyle through Ms. Lindeen’s words. You can tell she’s a musician, for her writing has a wonderful rhythm. Her openness and honesty about herself made many of her personal successes and failures extremely universal. I could totally relate to her lack of self-confidence, and self-deprecating humor, and encourage anyone who loved rock music during the 80's and 90's to get her book. Her cultural references for that time period will make you laugh so hard your sides will ache, your heart will go pitter-pat. (Any Felix the Cat fans out there?)

She ultimately married rock musician Paul Westerberg, formerly of the Replacements. There was one paragraph in the book where Laurie mentions that when she saw Paul up-close and made eye contact with him, she had "that make-you-want-to-puke jolt of recognition, that rare unexplained sense of familiarity with a stranger, that "don't I know you from another life? freakout." "

When I read that sentence, I said to myself, "Yes Laurie, you probably were remembering Paul from another lifetime." It reminded me of how in my book I mention that Sundante, a fan of the band I followed,  had an unbelievably strong reaction the first time she saw the photo of another fan of the band. The recognition struck her like a bolt of lightning, and nearly launched her off her chair onto the floor. In spiritual or metaphysical terms, this is referred to as a "soul recognition." I felt that deep recognition with one of the guys in the band when I first laid my eyes on him at age 15 as well.  When we experience these deep memory recalls of another person, they generally are part of our soul group. Often, there is something we karmically need to work through with one another, and ultimately heal so that energetic balance can be restored. Sometimes, they'll be a key influence  to steer us towards our life's path, and embark on a journey of self-discovery.

Sundante, myself, and Laurie Lindeen all seem to have a soul recognition with someone involved in rock music. If you've had a powerful moment of connection with a musician, or anyone else, feel free to share your experience in the comments section. I'd love to hear about it!

This is a continuation of my previous blog. What is karma, and how does it relate to a Rock ‘n’ Roll? I’ll get to the music part shortly, but first let’s dip our toes into the meaning of karma.

The word karma means “action” or “to do.” According the Oxford University Press, in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, karma is the universal law of cause and effect, as applied to the deeds of people. To me, karma is much more than simply balancing the energy of our actions. There’s lots of buzz around the “Law of Attraction,” (see my previous blog) which states that our thoughts are like magnets, and draw situations and people to us. Like attracts like. This seems closely related to karma, since karma is kinda like a boomerang…what you put out comes back to you, though it might not necessarily be in this current lifetime.

Since like attracts like, and I’m attracted to rock music, let’s use my spiritual journey with the band Cheap Trick as an example. Since the band recently sang the Beatle’s Sgt. Pepper’s album at the Hollywood Bowl, and John Lennon wrote “Instant Karma,” I’ll briefly describe why I believe many rock musicians and fans are karmically drawn together.

In January 2002, when asking Universe why so many rock music fans were still diggin’ their favorite classic rock bands after 25+ years, the words “Group Soul Reincarnation” blasted through my consciousness. Reincarnation and rock music? Yes, it sounds crazy, but reincarnation, karma and rock music go together like peanut butter and jelly on white bread.

Our souls often return lifetime after lifetime to work out our karma. And who do we do this with? Other souls who’ve been with us before. That’s why group reincarnation is an important concept, because your parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, children, etc…have probably been with you in other lifetimes and certain  karmic relationships need healing. But, I believe the group reincarnation theme may extend into larger groups, such as a rock band and their fans.

Souls that attain fame or leadership roles in other lifetimes often return into similar areas of influence in subsequent lifetimes. The people that followed the leader(s) will frequently incarnate with them again, even if the leader holds a different societal position. For example, one of the many books I came across about reincarnation was entitled Past Lives of Famous People, by David Bengston. Bengston accesses the Akashic Records and sees the soul of John Lennon previously incarnating as Vladimir Lenin, (the Russian Revolutionary) John Wilkes Booth (the dude who shot Abe Lincoln), John Wilkes, (an English radical, journalist and politician) Niccolo Machiavelli, (political philosopher, musician and poet) and Jonathan the Maccabee (Jewish political leader).

I don’t know if he’s accurate, yet each lifetime (and these may not be all incarnations, only the ones where he saw Lennon’s soul having a life of notoriety), centered around being a revolutionary. Could Lennon’s appeal in this lifetime be in part due to group magnetism, whereby we subconsciously remember his soul and are drawn to his music in an effort to recall our own spiritual nature?

The lead guitarist of Cheap Trick was highly influenced by the Beatles and John Lennon’s music. There are definite similarities, even on some tracks of their most recent album Rockford. Based upon the synchronicities I experienced while writing my book, I sense some members of Cheap Trick, and possibly even many of their fans, may have been connected with John Lennon in a South Dakota lifetime during the 1800’s. Unfortunately, I can’t go into the details here, but  this is explored more fully in my book.

So, why should anyone care about group reincarnation and rock music? Because a parallel theme that emerges between the two subjects is healing. Music is a powerful healing force, and I believe from our souls’ perspective that the band’s music was intended in part to bring us together so that many of the fans could heal from their childhood and past life wounding.

Until we become conscious of the source of our trauma, and then find ways to heal it, we frequently recreate similar scenarios and situations with our soul group through the Law of Attraction. That’s what happened to me. By recalling what appears to be past life soul associations with some of the members of Cheap Trick, and healing the repressed emotions that arose from listening to their music and seeing them in concert, I was able to move past the fears from this lifetime which kept me from making headway with my soul purpose: To write and publish a book about the importance of group reincarnation and illustrate how our souls use music to heal.

Are many rock musicians and their fans karmically drawn together to create a brotherhood in an attempt to raise our consciousness and heal? I feel like Sting when he sings that he’ll send an s.o.s. to the world in the hopes that someone gets his message in a… blog. It often feels as if no one resonates with my unusual insights, but after hearing Daniel Pinchbeck, author of Breaking Open the Head, and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, speak last night at the Boulder Book Store, I know I’m onto something. Something big. Really big. Just wait and see.

On August 10th and 11th, nearly 35,000 people filled the Hollywood Bowl to witness what was billed as “Sgt. Pepper’s at 40 … A Beatles Celebration.”

Since the Beatles never perfomed the Sgt. Pepper' s Lonely Hearts Club Band live, the idea was to present the album in its entirety. The evening featured veteran rockers Cheap Trick, as well as solo acts by Aimee Mann, Joan Osborne, Rob Laufer, Ian Ball and Al Jourgensen from Ministry. All were backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra with Edwin Outwater conducting and longtime Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick handling the in-house sound.

The first half of the show highlighted various well-known songs from albums such as Rubber Soul, The White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, Let It Be and Abbey Road, while all the songs on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band were performed by Cheap Trick after the intermission.

Though I didn't attend the concerts, the feedback was extremely favorable. Many in attendance were very impressed with not only the sound of the orchestra and guest artists, but with Cheap Trick. Trick fans gushed all over the band's message boards about how proud they were of the guys, and many reviews from the LA Times and other news outlets were blown-away by lead singer Robin Zander's voice. It was a great night to be a Cheap Trick fan.

These four men are incredible musicians, and although their career has had its share of highs and lows over the past 30 years, for decades they suffered from a terrible negative image. If I told someone I was a Trick fan in the mid 1980’s, the incredulous looks and comments I received such as, “Ewww….You like Cheap Trick???” made me keep my fandom a secret. At the time, radio station program directors shunned Trick, and the press totally ignored them. It seemed as if the guys would never experience a comeback, and I was pretty much resigned to being an outcast among rock fans.

So, why are Cheap Trick and Rodney Dangerfield cousins in that “they don’t get no respect?” Even a Rolling Stone online reader poll recently voted them as the third most underrated rock musical group or artist of all time. Why, why, why has this amazingly talented band had such difficulty gaining respect during their career? My take on the situation? Karma.

Karma is a significant theme throughout my book, and it is what propelled me to embark upon my spiritual journey with the band. What’s your understanding of karma? Is karma limited to an individual, or can there be something such as “group karma?” Could there possibly be a karmic tie between the guys in Cheap Trick and the Beatles, particularly John Lennon?

Think about it. Trick and their music has always been described as “Beatle”esque,” and Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos worked with John Lennon briefly not long before he was assassinated. There’s lots more to discuss, but as per Mr. John Lennon, Instant Karma’s Gonna Get Ya. However, exploring your karma with a rock band takes more than an instant. So, I’ll continue this shortly. Until next time…

In February 2006, I attended a concert at the House of Blues in Los Angeles entitled "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp." Ordinary, everday people paid big $$ to attend rock music camp and get pointers from well known rock musicians. Not only that, but at the beginning of the five day camp, each attendee had to go through a "try-out" and perform in front of other campers and the famous rock stars to be placed in one of a dozen "bands" that would perform for a live audience at the House of Blues.

Katherine Lanpher of More magazine was one of the campers and recently wrote an article about her experience. It brought back memories of that night, as I stood in the audience only several feet away from Roger Daltry and other rock legends, about the powerful impact music has on our lives. Katherine commented about the transformative process making music can bring about. She felt a strong bond with all of the guys in her band at the end of their camp rehearsals, and was accepted as part of the gang despite not believing in her singing ability at the beginning of the program. By the time the concert took place, she belted out her tune and had a blast doing it in front of several hundred people.

I went to the concert because Cheap Trick was a special guest, and the lead singer and guitarist performed with several of the camp bands that night. I walked away with a respect for the campers who put on a terrific show. Most of us wouldn't have the guts to get out there and do what they did, especially if we believe we sing like a dying wildebeest. This is just another example of how music can transform our soul, and help us realize our dreams. Is going to Fantasy Camp one of your fantasies? Being a rock star used to be a fantasy for me, but now I'm content to blabber away with a computer keyboard instead of perform. How about you?

Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior, recently wrote a blog about being short, which was spurred on from a book entitled: SIZE MATTERS: How Height Affects the Health, Happiness and Success of Boys - and the Men They Become. I simply had to comment on his blog, because as a tall woman, size mattered to me too, but not because it brought me greatness at a young age.

Being nearly 6ft. tall in 7th grade sucked since the other kids taunted, teased and mocked me on a daily basis. However, this experience would ultimately be the foundation for the spiritual journey I’d embark upon with a rock band nearly 30 years later. The year from hell was a major catalyst for healing, and turned out to be one of the greatest blessings in my life.

Many people now come up to me and say how wonderful it must be to be so tall and stand out in a crowd, but if they only knew the pain it brought me earlier in my life, they'd understand that the grass isn't always greener on the other side or "up here."

Over the years I’ve tried to find statistics on the percentage of women in the United States who are over 6 ft. tall, but haven’t come across anything specific. According to the National Bureau of Standards, one website quoted that 5% of the female population is over 5’9”. So, what about 6 ft.+ women? We must be less than 1% of the population.

Why do our souls choose certain extreme physical characteristics such as tallness or shortness? I think we all incarnate with the perfect body that will grow to the height we need to be to fulfill our life's mission/path. For me, it was imperative I stand out at a rock concert like a Sequoia in a grove of Bonsai tress so that my fears about being seen would be triggered. Not only that, but I also needed to heal the unconscious belief that despite my tallness, I would be invisible to the band.

I’ve gained compassion for people of all shapes and sizes and have come to see that our body is just the physical "clothing" that covers our true essence, our soul. And all our souls are huge and brilliant, no matter how tall or short we are in this lifetime!

When I signed up with Nancy Cleary of  Wyatt-MacKenzie to publish my book several weeks ago, I was immediately taken under the wing of about 30 women who are part of WyMac's publishing co-op. As a first-time author overwhelmed with all of the choices avaiable to market my book, I set an intention for the Law of Attraction to help unboggle my mind and send me a marketing coach who specialized in working with less than techno-savy first-time authors.

One of the supportive women who published her book through  WyMac is PR Diva Christine Holhbaum. She gave me some helpful suggestions regarding PR, and not only has she published several books on mothering and a CD about publicity, but she also works  for Wasabi Publicity.  Wasabi offers a cool service called Press Kit 24/7, which I plan on signing up for since it allows me to put my media kit in a database that  55,000 journalists check monthly. One of those journalists just has to want to talk to someone who wrote a book about their spiritual journey with a rock band, right?

The Law of Attraction also brought Steve Weber's Plug Your Book!: Online Book Marketing for Authors to me. Being the less than totally hip techno-savy gir that I am, his book is chock-full of ideas on how to promote my book without every leaving my office. I'm still overwhelmed, but now I'm overwhelmed with a more focused marketing plan.  I had no idea the power Amazon.com can have in helping an author get the word out about their book. I learned that you can contact the top reviewers on Amazon, and ask if they'd like to review your book without any obligation. I didn't realize the impact and weight these reviewers pull for a book. There's lots of other juicy  tidbits in his book for me, and I'm delighted the Law of Attraction made my search for a marketing coach so easy to find.

Stephen Hopson of Adversity University sent an email yesterday tagging me for his new tagging experiment called “Secrets of Dealing with Adversity." I love this synchronicity. I've been thinking about learning how to tag and link my blog to other sites for the past few weeks. I even had to e-mail Stephen and ask how to tag someone! How embarrassing. So, let's see how this experiment goes for me too.

Overcoming adversity has been the name of the game for the past five years. When my soul catapulted me onto the path of the hero's journey in 2002 with the knowing I'd write a book about group reincarnation and rock music, I had no idea of the adversity I'd face along the way. Thank heavens I was clueless, because if I'd known what I would have to confront, you would have found me hiding under my bed with my feet peeking out, kind of like when Dorothy's house squashes the Wicked Witch of the East. (That scene freaked me out as a child when her legs curled up and disappeared. Creepy!)

Perhaps the most challenging moment during my journey came in August of 2005. Cheap Trick, the band that was the catalyst for my spiritual awakening, was coming to Colorado to open for Alice Cooper. I'd finished the rough draft of my manuscript a year earlier, and wanted desperately to let the guys in Cheap Trick know about it, because the band members and their music were essential characters woven throughout the book. In the manuscript, I take the brave and bold stance that the band and many fans appear to have experienced a traumatic/psychological wound in another lifetime, and that we were brought together through the law of attraction via their music in this lifetime to heal, individually and collectively. But I never had the courage to let the band know. I was waiting for the write (pun intended) time.

The band added a meet and greet to a show in Loveland, CO, which I had tickets for. The pressure was on, because I couldn't possibly meet these guys and shake their hands and feel any sense of integrity if I didn't let them know about the book in advance. What was I supposed to say, "Hi guys, nice to meet you. Guess what? I've written a book about our possible past lives together. Gotta run. Have a nice day." No, I'd have to let them know about the book ahead of time, and decided to send them three sample chapters with an introduction about how and why I wrote the book. That took 25 pages.

The final day came to register for the meet and greet, August 17th, 2005. I had their road manager's e-mail address, and was going to include my long, winding e-mail with my registration. The fear that consumed my mind and body in the weeks leading up to that day are not describable. Absolute terror overwhelmed me, for I knew once the e-mail was sent, I could never turn back. The words I wrote to this rock band that I'd never personally met in this lifetime were so powerful, so incredibly personal and intimate, that my entire being sensed the catalyst this e-mail would be for myself and the band.

On August 17th, my gut was in complete turmoil. I worked on the long e-mail, tweaking, trying to make it perfect, and didn't send it to any of my writer friends for feedback. This was about learning to trust myself. Over and over I read my words, pouring my heart out to these men who didn't even know my name. Over the years, they only saw me standing in a concert among a mass of fans, and I intensely prayed that they'd understand what I was trying to say. Group reincarnation isn't a joke, but a significant phenomenon for our souls. We are drawn together so that great healing can take place. One of the sample chapters illustrated this concept about how seeing them in concert helped trigger a release of old, repressed traumatic feelings from Jr. High, and the subsequent healing of of the memories which were trapped in my body for over 25 years.

It was after 5pm, and my kids were yelling for some dinner. I had to send the e-mail. It was good enough. I ran to my Tarot cards, and asked one last time, "What will be the outcome of sending this e-mail?" And the cards encouraged me to go for it. It's amazing how the "Enter" button is such a small button on the keyboard. One doesn't need much strength to touch it and make it work. But every molecule of courage and strength in my body had to be mustered to hit that send button. My heart yelled, "JUST DO IT!" And finally, at 5:26pm, on August 17th, 2005, my message was sent to the band.

Five years ago, I couldn't have hit the send button, but the challenges I faced during my spiritual journey gave me the confidence to know that sometimes we must run the opposite direction of the masses, and stand alone in our beliefs in order to know ourselves at the depths of our being. Against all odds, we hit the send button, and allow fate to take its course. The impact of sending that e-mail, and the ramifications it has had upon my life, could fill another entire book. And it will. I was right; there was no turning back. But by facing my fears, and listening to my heart, I now trust that adversity is not only my friend, but my greatest teacher.

Now, it is my turn to tag some other bloggers! If you want to participate in this tag, read more at Secrets of Dealing with Adversity.

Julie Watson Smith - Inspired Imaginations
Kevin Doherty - Having Health Now
Lana - Get Rejuvenation
Sarah King Feldman - Food Beautiful
Pam Moore - Madame Pamita
Danae Shanti - Prosperity Source
Erin Gonzales - Stampin' Up
Kelly Paull - Slumber Parties
Kathy Mahoney - Cracked at Birth
Marisa Haedike - Creative Thursday
Nancy Cleary - Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing

28 years ago, the rock music of Cheap Trick intertwined with my soul, and believe it or not, recently helped heal my emotional childhood wounds.

As a 6-foot-tall, awkward, female adolescent with 2-inch-high self-esteem, Trick’s teenage anthem “Surrender” reflected the internal angst we all face about giving our power away. But it was the intoxicating bass riffs of songs like “Ballad of T.V. Violence” that instilled a sense of fearlessness in my self-deprecating pubescent mind. The intense vibrations of the drum and bass guitar actually calcified my spine, and generated the strength to face any challenge.

When mom launched a torpedo that dad was dying of pancreatic cancer, Cheap Trick’s sonic force field helped shield my heart as I helplessly watched my father wither away. He never discussed his illness or impending death, nor did I ever possess enough courage to look into his pain-filled eyes and utter, “I love you, and will miss you daddy.” He died without either of us saying good-bye, and for nearly three decades, I remained totally unaware how our lack of communication left my psyche hanging, begging for completion.

Over the years, a compulsion to see Cheap Trick in concert grew more acute. However, whenever any band member made eye contact from the stage, strange feelings shot out of me like a howitzer canon and I’d instantly avert my gaze. Though numerous fans have met the band, a bizarre fear they’d never want to meet or talk to me kept rock girl at a distance, so asking for an autograph was unthinkable.

Last year, the band themselves illuminated the source of these atypical feelings. They released a single entitled “Perfect Stranger,” and surges of anxiety and guilt swelled whenever I heard the song. For months I wondered, “Why does this tune impact me so profoundly?” The answer came in an intuitive flash: Dad and I were “perfect strangers.” The lyrics mirrored aspects of our relationship, and like a humongous backhoe, dug up painful feelings locked within my subconscious mind surrounding dad’s death.

Finally, my uncomfortable feelings around Cheap Trick made perfect sense. “Perfect Stranger” let me see how I transferred unresolved psychological issues with dad onto the band. I couldn’t look him in the eye and share my feelings, nor could I look the band in the eye or request an autograph because in the recesses of my neo-cortex, they symbolically represented my emotionally distant dad.

It was time for my psyche to become whole again. With the help of a good therapist, I made amends with the soul of my father, and told him all the things I wanted to say, but never did. Cheap Trick’s music shielded my heart when it most needed protection, and years later, helped bring my teenage trauma to light. Who’d ever think a fan could gain a sense of resolution, forgiveness and healing from a rock band and their music? Strange but true. I’m a believer. How ‘bout you?