I play guitar in a band, and the other night while we were practicing, something strange happened. It was late and we were all pretty tired and feeling mellow. We were working on a new song, and I was sort of experimenting with different chords and melodies when I started to play in a whole new style. For several minutes I played like a master! It was music I've never heard before, and I have no idea how I knew how to play it! It sounded more like classical guitar than the rock I usually play. Now I'm wondering if this is some past life memory, or if maybe I was channeling the spirit of a great guitarist. Ever since then, I seem to be able to play all sorts of new music at a higher level of skill. What do you think?
- Rob
Dreamchaser:
Rob, first let me congratulate you on discovering a new level of talent inside of yourself. I am SO glad you asked this question, because it lets me address something that I have wanted to explore here for some time now.
Everyone has some talent, hobby or activity that helps them connect to Spirit/ God/ the Universe/ whatever name you want to use. When we are connected to that energy, to that one source, we feel this flow of knowledge and energy that is like nothing else.
It's what I call being in the zone.
It happens to me when I'm giving a reading, meditating or working out. It obviously happens to you when you are playing your music. We are some of the fortunate ones who get to earn a living being in the zone.
So you are not only channeling past life memories from when you were a musician, you are also tapping into the energy of All That Is.
Imagine a river where every single thought, piece of information, piece of knowledge, and everything that IS flows without end. Every single bit of information that exists flows in this river.
Now imagine that you could go and stick your head in the water. By immersing yourself in this river of knowledge, you would gain access to all sorts of new stuff. THAT is what is happening when we go into the zone.
When you're playing now, you leave behind your ego and allow your soul to take over. You allow yourself to just BE. In that state of being, you have discovered this whole new level of experience.
It was there all along - you just had never allowed your mind to get out of the way so that you could access this incredible level of knowledge. Now that you have discovered it, it's becoming your new norm. That's why you continue to play at that new level with ease.
I love to go to concerts and listen to musicians who are clearly in the zone. I got to see Eric Clapton this past year, and I really enjoyed watching him leave this world for the zone.
He throws his head back, his mouth drops open, his eyes close, and he is GONE. Then he starts a 10-minute long, absolutely amazing guitar solo. I can see him ascending through these levels of musical knowledge as I watch him on stage.
I think if you continue to flow like this, you'll be able to access this same level of genius. Just enjoy riding the rapids of this river, for that's what all masters do.
I wish you great success and much happiness to go along with it!
*****
Astrea:
From your description of what happened, you could be channeling a musical spirit or remembering music you played in other incarnations. This could even be a combination of both factors.
Most great musicians and artists I know have indeed had past lives when they were involved in the kind of creative process they feel compelled to explore in this incarnation.
Given the discipline and creativity that go into becoming a great artist, most of us don't have what it takes the first time around. Of course, if you hadn't developed all the skill you have in THIS incarnation, you probably would not have been able to play so masterfully no matter who you were channeling.
If you don't feel that you're tapping into a past life, and you sense that you're being visited by someone who is trying to help you, be sure to find a way to thank that entity.
Perhaps you could make a small donation to a nursing home for elderly entertainers, or even volunteer once a week to help out. Find someone in your community whose life was spent in the music world who needs help with their home or their pets. Walk the dog, take out the cat, make them some meals. This will ensure that the gift you're getting keeps on coming.
Here's another possibility: perhaps you have a spirit guide who was a great musician in other lives. While playing like a master naturally takes a lot of practice, this guide is showing you how you could play all the time if you really apply yourself.
You wrote that this happened when you were feeling mellow. Being relaxed does open us up to Spirit, so try to recapture your feelings at the time this occurred. Remember how you were breathing, and how easy it all felt when this music flowed through you.
Personally, I'm fervently hoping that you were channeling my great friend Malcolm Brian Smith, who died of a sudden heart attack at the Texas Renaissance festival in 1997 when he was only 43. It sounds like you could be to me!
At first Malcolm worked through people he had known when he was alive, but since not many of them were very receptive to that kind of thing, he began to reach out to strangers. Now he's working through various living musicians to get the music out. (So are Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Mozart!)
Hopefully, you can tap into the feeling of channeling to help your musical career. Please try to record the music that flows through you at these times either electronically or on paper so that others can enjoy this wonderful blessing too.
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.