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From the Desk of
Mark Shepard, Songwriter, "Modern Jedi":
It's almost funny now. The
very things that made me a songwriter also kept me from
getting the songs out into the world where they could be
heard and hopefully do some good.
I remember the
first time the Music came in...it just happened. I was 8 or 9 and my mom tucked
me into bed, went downstairs to the living room and
turned on some music. It was Christmas time. I think the
Robert Shaw Chorale...
I started feeling
sleepy...the cars passing by with a soft whoosh in the
street sent their headlights searching up my wall and
across the ceiling...One song finished and another
began...it was the Christmas carol sung to the tune of
Greensleeves..."What Child Is This?"
All of a sudden I
literally felt the music rushing up my legs and shooting
out my finger tips! I was surprised to find myself
standing up on my bed music flowing through me like some
electrical current...
That's where it
started. And since then songs have "come in", hundreds
of them.
For some reason
though there was a place of disconnect between the
writing and the performing and "getting them out into
the world"
In order to write
the way I do I must be a sponge. I soak up outside
influences and "re-mix" them in my internal world, open
up a channel and the music and words flow out...Often
better than I can imagine.
But negativity and
judgment and criticism are "out there" as well.
Sometimes it felt like I had no skin. I was labeled "too
sensitive" or "shy" or whatever. I had a lot of fear and
pulled back. Many times I just gave up. Promised myself
I'd never write another damn song...
Of course I wrote
songs about that! Have a listen to "Minstrel
Fires" (written in 1988 and recorded in 1990.
Just turned 30. My dream seemingly slipping away. BTW
check out the amazing Gene Moore featured on Electric
Guitar)
Surely there was a
purpose behind this gift that at times felt like a
curse. In the song I sing:
"My music is my lover, it is my enemy
It is my destination, It is my agony..."
That may sound a
bit melodramatic but there were times when it felt like
torture. Have you ever felt that way? That your greatest
gift or talent caused you the most pain and frustration?
Eventually the frustration and pain of not being
able to perform the songs, or to make a living writing
and performing them drove me to get help. It wasn't an
instant fix. There were a lot of dead ends and false
starts. But eventually I found some tools that
worked pretty well for me. (I just wish I'd found them
30 years sooner! Ah but no regrets. It's all part of the
path... :o)
It was a body of
knowledge and techniques called
Neuro Linguistic Programming, NLP for short. I found a
book by Robert Dilts, "Changing Belief Systems with NLP"
and did this belief change technique it described to get
rid of shyness. Moments later I felt totally different.
I had to
learn more. I had to master this stuff. I began to study
it in earnest. Along with the learning came massive,
positive changes in my life.
Things that used to
be practically impossible started to become natural and
easy. The more I learned and the more I transformed my
once miserable experience, the more I wrote songs about
it. I also began to work 1:1 with others like myself who
struggled with fear, anxiety, phobias, shyness, stage
fright, panic attacks and other crap that held them
back. They started calling me from all across the
country. I started to do seminars and trainings, always
using my songs to illustrate the concepts and to "lock
in" the ideas.
Here's an example:
On The Cause Way
One problem with
this Neuro Linguistic Programming stuff, it came with a
pretty complicated name. One day of my students made it
simple, he said, "It's like Modern Jedi Mind Mastery".
So my music and
"how you run your mind" are pretty
intertwined. Definitely how you run your mind and
what you achieve in your life (or keep yourself from
achieving) are connected.
So there are two
pretty big resources I want to share with you.
The first is
my 30 years of songs.
The second is
the transformational tools that I had to learn in
order to get to this very moment where I'm able to
connect with you.
So, that's the
scoop. It's all kind of coming together...I feel a song
coming up...Here's the "Victory Song."
This was the
first song I wrote after discovering NLP. Pay
attention to how the words connect with all of your
senses.Notice also the use of "Why" and "How"
questions (Which I first heard about from author Noah
St. John). Your unconscious mind loves questions. You
drop a question in and it begins to gather evidence to
answer it. So make sure you ask empowering questions.
There's a lot more
where these come from. After you get your free downloads
click the link at the bottom of the page for your access
to the Members Home Page
and the Song Archives...
Thanks for
listening,
Mark
Downloads: (right click
to save to your hard drive)
