Dr. Guitar God

“Stay true to your passion. That’s it, isn’t it?”
~ Jimmy Page, Boston Herald interview, May 2014

I liked the Boston Herald's photo caption for the photo below, so I borrowed it for the title of this post.

Dr. Guitar God

Here are some links to various articles and videos of Jimmy Page yesterday and today, at the festivities and ceremonies associated with his being awarded an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music.

Boston Herald 
Boston Herald Video
Boston Globe
Boston Globe video
Boston.com
BostInno.com

Photo links:

GettyImages
Boston Globe
LedZepNews (Twitter)

Also Ask Jimmy Anything event in NYC. You can ask but I'm guessing not every question will be answered.

I'd appreciate it if anyone who comes across a video recording of the concert and/or the commencement ceremonies would post the links in the comment section below.  Thanks.

♫ 

Advice from Dr. Guitar God that everyone should heed: “Developing your own character within music and with your own sort of creation and just believing in what you’re doing.  If you can feel that it’s coming and you've got your music coming through, you've got to go through with your passion.”

That's how Magick happens.

♫ 

Jimmy Page's Berklee College of Music Commencement speech
May 10, 2014 at 10:08am

Oh wow! Well, good morning! I had to check my watch there to make sure it was the morning. It’s so, ah, this is absolutely so amazing. It’s such a privilege to be part of this. All the energy from the graduates. You know, congratulations to all of you. And to the families as well. It really is something being up here and feeling all this.

I’ve got to say, the concert last night, you can see I’ve got something here which could loosely be called a speech, but I must say, after having come to Berklee and been part of the experience and listening to the concert last night, the speech is rendered useless. It’s not even going to be referred to. Here I am: A sort of busking musician trying to busk my speech.

What a spirit there is here! It’s absolutely amazing. The quality of musicianship that was shown last night is really moving, right across the whole of the different genres that were being played. I thank you so much for the interpretation of my music. That was really touching. But, across the music of Geri Allen, and Thara Memory, Valerie Simpson’s music, which is superb, I must say. Valerie Simpson was absolutely superb last night. Absolutely! But also the sheer, to hear the brass section that you have here. Hearing them last night from the audience, just down there, was so powerful and so precise and so punchy and everything about what real good brass sections should be about. Fantastic soloists there. It was just moving, right across the whole of the evening’s event and I must say that being here in a college, I have to sort of be perfectly honest with you all that I was sort of self-taught. Not such a bad thing because I learnt from records and trying to sort of interpret playing of what would be my guitar heroes from there.

Along the way I became a, I think you call it a side-man here, a session musician. And I was going in there and I’d have the charts. I was head-hunted for this, actually, curiously enough, but I couldn’t read music at that time. But I could read the chord charts and the session musicians in those days would play across quite a wide variety of music. It wouldn’t be, like, if you were a guitarist you wouldn’t just be the stylist in your own sort of field. I had quite a number of sort of guitar techniques that I’d evolved over my sort of teenage years so I could apply all of this acoustic folk-picking and slide guitar and etc etc. But it was a very, very closed shop in those days. Actually, probably still, maybe.

But now, obviously, as a specialist musician, you would be contracted in. But, in those days, when I had to sort of go in the door and have that discipline to play because, boy, if you made mistakes, you wouldn’t be seen again. I was in this whole sort of studio role for about two and a half years playing all manner of things from TV jingles to soundtracks and film music, Goldfinger, to The Kinks, to, you know, it was really a wonderful sort of, colourful role that I was playing.

Until, one day the music charts were passed out and there were the notes, and it was a gentle hint, I think, that I had to learn to read music in a very, very serious way. Because there were serious competitors there and everybody was fluent with music then. So I had to come on very, very quickly in leaps and bounds so it was, yeah, it was quite a pressurised moment but I had come through it and then I was reading like all you guys do.

So I just wanted to give you that little bit of empathy and understanding about having to learn. Reading music is a major part of it and of course, once you can read, write it down, read others' work, that’s great. Thank you so much for inviting me here, it really is an honour and a privilege and I thank you all very much. Good luck in the future. Thank you.

Happy Birthday To Us!

Mage Music is two years old just about... now.

Mage Music 83

I say happy birthday to us rather than just to Mage Music because this blog has not only been about Magick and about the music of Jimmy Page, but it's been a journey of revelation as well as a Working of personal Magick. It is also a gift to you, the reader, that feels in many ways like a gift to me, the author.

Two years ago I wrote "I'm curious about music - why it works, why it generates the responses it does. I'm not educated in music theory, but I want to know more about music than just that I like it or that it seems powerful. I want to know why. I'm hoping you do, too."

I didn't think back then I'd be talking more about Magick than music, but I've let the writing lead me where it wants to. After all, writing is a creative act, just as music is. And all creative acts can be used as ritual for Magick.

So mote it be.

The Futility of Want

"Seems pretty unlikely, doesn't it?”
~Jimmy Page, October 2012 interview response to a reunion question. Mr. Page pointed out that the reunion concert had been five years prior and that if there was a chance they were reuniting, people would have heard about it.

“..just look at the facts: The O2 was seven years ago… there hasn't been any movement so it’s unlikely. It is what it is.”
~Jimmy Page, April 2014 BBC Radio 4 interview response to a reunion question.

Mage Music 82 

We never seem to change, do we? We who love the music of Jimmy Page are a greedy bunch. We want more, more, more – no matter what the man himself has to say about it.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it - why can’t we just use Magick to get what we want?

Sad news, friends: Magick isn't going to work if it is used on someone else to control them. There are no love potions that will make someone love you if they don’t already want to. There are no spells that will force a person to submit to your will. Contrary to what every sword-and-sorcery fantasy will tell you, it is futile to use Magick to get what you want by attempting to change someone else. If you keep trying, you are doomed to failure.

The power you get from Magick is to change your own reality. This may make it seem like Magick is a small, pitiful thing but it isn't. New discoveries in quantum physics are finally catching up to what humans have always known: A sentient being shapes the Universe by paying attention to it.

That is, frankly, damn powerful.

But did you notice:  It's not attention to other people and what they are or aren't doing - it's attention to the Universe. That’s where the energy of Magick is.

Attempting to change someone else is just spending that energy to build an insurmountable obstacle for yourself. You're trying to control something you have no control over. It’s like flooring the gas pedal and just spinning wheels. You use up fuel but you don’t get anywhere and you may end up by trashing your car. You have to work with the reality you've got, not try to impose your wants over the reality of others who have their own desires and will.

Feeling frustrated lately? You’re spinning wheels, my friend. Stop trying to change people around you. Use Magick to change your own reality.


But you still want that reunion!

If sheer numbers alone were sufficient to make Magick happen, then you’d think that there would be another Led Zeppelin reunion tomorrow because there are millions of us out here wishing and hoping for something just like that. Sure, we've got remasters coming but does that mean we are satisfied? No way. We want more.

But hey, Jimmy Page himself says it is unlikely we’ll see anything like O2 again. That doesn't mean there will never be a reunion, but Mr. Page is a realist. A good Mage has to be. Jimmy Page would be the last person to underestimate the power of one, but he also knows that as powerful as he is, he can only change his own reality and not that of anyone else.

So what would a reunion take? Nothing less than the desire of all parties to change their individual realities in tandem, to hold the same desire with the same will. With that, a reunion concert or tour would then be the ritual that would allow the Magick to shine through. The music we all hunger for insatiably.

While “all parties” includes you and me, obviously the most important participants in such a Work would be the musicians. But... just because they are really, really good at what they do and are key to the ritual doesn't mean that they can change how Magick works. Even Jimmy Page can't do that.

 

Co-creation 

Anyone can change reality with Magick to some degree or another.  A powerful Mage can create a big change in his reality that affects a lot of people who are open to the Magick.  But ritual of a band the caliber of Led Zeppelin requires co-creation: choosing alignment of desire and will to a common goal -- not just being on stage at the same time.

I have previously posted in this blog about how emotions control automatic biological processes, which in turn close or open the Mage to the energy of the Universe and thus to Magick. When it comes to co-creation this means that if any one party to a co-creative Work has no joy in it, if all parties are not in alignment of desire and will, then the desired reality is not going to happen, no matter how much any one (or the millions of us) want it to.

For some things in this world it doesn't matter if a group of people want to drive the same car, or even take the same road when they desire to reach the same goal at the same time. But if the process is Magick, if the ritual is music, then there had better be agreement on the fundamentals of means and path, because it's everyone's foot on the same gas pedal, everyone's hands on the same steering wheel.

So the chance of a reunion is what it is: unlikely. You can figure out why without knowing anything more than what you've read here.  It's futile to want something you have no control over.

Exercise Your Magick Muscle

"Everything you do in life, I don't care, good or bad - don't blame God, don't blame the devil, don't blame me, blame you. You control everything! The thoughts you think, the words you utter, the foods you eat, the exercise you do. Everything is controlled by you."
~ Jack Lalanne, "Godfather of Fitness" (1914-2011)

Mage Music 81

Click HERE to view video

If you've been reading this blog, you know what to do. Isn't it time you started doing it? With apologies to those who have been practicing what I preach, I want to have a firm talk with the rest of you who are thinking about Magick, toying with the idea of Magick, dabbling with the notion of Magick but who have never taken the first step by actually doing Magick.

It's hard to take first steps. It's hard for a baby to walk, too. But a baby crawls before walking. She learns to stand, she tries out a few steps  - and doesn't worry for one moment about falling down.

A baby builds up her walking muscles over time. It's no different for you and your Magick muscle.  You are the one who does the Magick, so you're the one responsible for building up that Magick muscle.  Get on your exercise outfit, and let's get going. Yes, yes, I know there's not a physical muscle involved, but truly, the same principles are involved.

One and two and bend and stretch...

The first thing to remember is that Magick is a process, and your life is a whole interrelated system, not a series of discrete incidents. No change in reality is going to work out the way you want if you think you're going to change one thing without understanding that everything else in your reality is changed, too. It's all connected.

It's all One.

Magick in your life means that everything you do is touched with Magick. If you are a musician, the world is all about sound and rhythm and silence. If you are a painter it's about color and space and form. So, too, with Magick: A new way of thinking about one aspect of your reality leads to breakthroughs in all areas of your reality. 

When you exercise the Magick muscle, it is more than just the abilities of a Mage that are strengthened. Magick isn't just about filling the holes in your life with things you want, it is about changing your whole life.

Three and four and breathe in deeply...

Once you have embraced the notion that changing one little aspect of reality changes everything, you can take advantage of the fact that exercising your Magick muscle to do a little Work has effects well beyond that Work. Your life is a complex weaving of threads - tug on one and the whole fabric of reality twitches. Or, if you like a different metaphor, your whole life resonates with the pure sound of one note.  It really helps to know which thread to twitch and which note to play, of course. Exercising the right Magick muscle means you don't waste time building up the strength of your left eyebrow if you aim to play guitar at Royal Albert Hall.

Only you can know which little Work to start with. I can't tell you which one, no one can. This blog and the best examples of the Masters should empower you to take control over your own life's choices - not choose for you. You can accept advice that helps you think about your approach, but your choices are influenced by your own values and goals and must reflect your own needs and desires. Thus everyone's first and subsequent Works necessarily will be as different as there are people performing them.

Just like with any beginnings, start with something simple and something small. Lift a one pound weight and build to the hundred pounder. Learn scales before plunging into Kashmir. And don't forget to breathe in deeply.

The science and the art 

There is science before art.  There is technique before creativity.  There there are rules to learn before going crazy with the Magick of it all. Masters break the rules all the time, but you can't consciously break rules if you haven't learned them. If you break them by accident and create a beautiful work of art - well, so can a million monkeys. Build your muscles as you learn how to fly, then break through the bonds and let your strength carry you on powerful wings to your heart's desire.

The first rule: Know yourself. Unflinchingly. Lovingly. Fully accepting it all - for to be human is to be flawed. You can't change what isn't there. You can't change that which you don't know - or refuse to know - exists.

It begins with this and this begins with you.  

Something simple and something small.  The first step, the beginning. Learn who you are. Become aware of the thoughts you think, the words you utter, the foods you eat, the exercise you do, every choice you make and why you make it. Everything is controlled by you, whether you are aware of it or not, but the first exercise of your Magick muscle is becoming awake to who you are.

Led Zeppelin Remasters

You can get your pre-order buying done right now at http://www.ledzeppelin.com/buy/  The Remasters will be released June 2, 2014.  You will at some point be able to order on Amazon as well.

Lots of choices! (Note image is not a live link. Use THIS to see ordering options).

Mage, Invent Thyself

"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

~ Leonardo Da Vinci, Codex on the Flight of Birds

Mage Music 80

Once upon a time, years and years ago, a young musician worked at his craft and honed his skills, biding his time until at last his music had so far surpassed the bonds of his apprenticeship that his dreams could no longer be contained.  He stepped away from the safety of the conventional in order to invoke the Magick of his dreams.

He had envisioned something that had never existed before. It was a sound that had not yet been heard, a musical message that had not yet been shared. His dream was bigger than any but the boldest had ever dared. His dream was even greater than that.

We know today that this was no ordinary musician, of course. We know that this is no fable. This is the true story of a musician who became a Mage, of a man who understood that without imagination there can be no Magick, and that it was Magick that would carry his music into realms beyond the dreams of most mortals.

Unclipped wings

It's no accident that we use words associated with flying to talk about the dreams we have while we are awake.  Flights of imagination, soaring imagination, on wings of dreams - the words are about taking yourself far beyond where you ordinarily dwell.

Magick exists everywhere as potential - Magick is purposeful use of the energy of the universe, after all. But Magick stubbornly remains as only potential until the Mage activates it though desire, will and ritual. A Mage’s desire is more than just a vague wish, however – it is specific, it is powerful, and it is held in place by will so that it can be manifest through ritual.

Imagination is what turns a wish into a desire. A Mage must invent his new reality, and because the new reality has never existed before, a Mage must imagine it so strongly that on some level it already exists for him. Once the new reality already exists - even if only in a Mage's imagination - the heavy lifting is done.  All that remains is for the Mage to use the ritual of Magick to make it so.

A Mage’s will is the discipline to know with all the cells of his body that there is nothing more important than that he attains his desire.  His discipline allows him to ruthlessly remove all obstacles that may be in the way. The first and foremost of these obstacles is doubt.  Doubt is the wing-clipper, doubt is the imagination-blocker, doubt is the Magick-slayer.

Eyes turned skywards

To step outside the comfort zone and launch into the sky takes a rare kind of bravery. While the world enjoys the results of invention, it is human nature to be cautious, even fearful, of new things. A Mage stands alone, eyes turned skywards, dreaming the new reality into his soul until he spreads his wings and flies free. The rest of us may follow if we dare.

Smile When You Say That

"People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion".

~ Albert Einstein

Mage Music 79

It’s not just people who believe in physics who get what it's all about. People who live the tenets of Magick and apply them in life also understand that the only moment when change is possible is the now.

Now is when/where life happens.
Now is where the power is.

But how do you stay in the now when there are so many pressures of the past and future distracting you?

The fallacy of the string of beads

There's too much to overcome. 
I can’t make any changes until I fix this other thing first. 
I can’t create a new reality because my past makes things have to be the way they are.

These are the kinds of things people tell themselves to explain why they are where they are and why their lives aren't changing.  We all do it.  But unfortunately, these are the thoughts that block Magick and the possibility of change. 

These thoughts are fallacies based on the idea that time is like a string of beads, that one moment in existence follows the next in an order that cannot be changed.  But time is not a string of beads. Time is not one moment after the next in an inevitable sequence. Time is a dimension, a physical property of the Universe like length, width and height are. And like these other dimensions, time just is - all at once.

The illusion of past, present and future is a product of human perception, which is finite and cannot ordinarily embrace the fullness of all that is. The default human perception is to sample reality in finite and discrete units - a sequence of events, a string of beads - but the Mage understands that this limited perception is not the way it has to be.

Because all dimensions exist all the time within time, anything can move or be moved from one condition in reality to another by choice and through the rituals (actions) of one who has the desire and will to do so. It is a matter of not letting the weight of perceived past or future influence the moment that is now.

Breaking free of the weight and influence of past and future is key. You need a reliable method to interrupt who you have been being in order to transition to the new reality you choose to manifest. How do you do that?

The confounded bridge

In music the bridge is often used to contrast with and prepare for moving from one musical passage to another. It is not intrusive – it fits with the whole – but it is different enough that it is a clear message that what was is done and something different is coming. It can be a note, a pause, a key change or a combination of several musical elements, but its function is to enable connection with a different place.

A Mage must have a reliable bridge to the now, the only moment of power - a bridge that is strong enough to clear the perception of an inevitable past-future sequence and allow for a new direction. It might surprise you to know that the simplest tool to accomplish this is the lowly smile.

Smile when you think that thing

Human (and some other animal’s) facial expressions reflect the output of the part of the brain called the limbic system (a.k.a. the paleomammalian brain or the reptile brain).  The limbic system is the oldest part of the brain (in terms of evolution) and is the most primitive. This part of the brain works on automatic responses, not intellectual decisions. It’s where emotions and immediate reaction to danger is handled and where memory is processed. It’s where “social processing”, including the evaluation of faces, occurs.  It's why you smile or frown without even being aware you're doing it.

When you’re feeling sad or mad or happy the emotions are reflected on your face automatically by the limbic system. The emotions don’t even have to be current – the memory of past sadness, anger or happiness and the anticipation of them in the future can elicit the facial expressions just as well. But what’s more important for Magick is that this is a two-way street. 

" The moment you change your perception is the moment you rewrite the chemistry of your body. "
~ Dr Bruce H. Lipton.

Beliefs are the lenses through which perceptions of the world are filtered. As with any good lens, beliefs are transparent, that is, they seem invisible and you are mostly unaware of them. Emotions are shaped by the lenses of beliefs. Unchecked, emotions rule a person and take the place of conscious choice.

No Magick for you when you live unconsciously because then you can make no choices.

Here's the usual string of beads of unconscious living:  Memory (limbic system) leads to emotion leads to physical results - one of which is the expression on your face. It's simple chemistry. Positive emotions cause the body to produce certain chemicals (e.g. dopamine and serotonin) and these in turn provide energy and growth and give people a feeling of connection with the world. Negative emotions cause the body to produce totally different chemicals (e.g. cortisol and epinephrine). These chemicals shut down your body, protectively disconnect you from the world to prepare you for fight or flight. Enough of these chemicals and you no longer have conscious control, meaning you can no longer make choices.  No Magick for you.

The simple smile - a tool you  have with you at all times if you only choose to use it - is the bridge that interrupts the flow and influence of memory and connects with the now. It is the reverse string of beads. The smile tells the body that a positive emotion is in play and the limbic system - which is so primitive it can be fooled this way - says okay, things must be good. The limbic system backs off and suddenly you are in the now.

The simple smile - it puts you in the NOW.  Try one on and see.