Incontrol15

Thanks for the text SG I'm sorry it took that long. I r super appreciate the follow up though.

Been doing pretty well. Little roller coaster but nothing like before. Sometimes I put too much pressure on myself. I'm back to my old ways of being a workaholic and meanwhile I was hitting the gym 5 days a week or more as well as an AA mtg every other week or two.

Amp... You mentioned how good it feels to let things go. That's pretty much where I am now. I stopped going to the gym for a bit. But I was disappointed since I was making gains. Had to take a deep breath and let it go. I'll just pick it back up later. Still going once a week for now.

The stress has been ramping up as I slowly lose grip of the store I'm running. Nothing major. Just not knocking it out of the park like I was. Some things were out of my control. I had to let they go. So what. . The store isn't going to slip that far down and it's nothing I can't fix when the uncontrollables settle themselves. They ALWAYS DO.

I'm new to this "Let it be" philosophy I realized last year was important. It's actually one (of many) issues which didn't end so well before if I set too many or too high expectations.

I guess to they point, I'd like to thank you again SG. I'm more than fine. I really have learned a lot and applied much of what I learned, but I'm not a fool to think I'll NEVER slip into old habits. Most of the time it's subconscious. Thankfully my conscious self picks up on it, but I "fear" they'll be something my conscience mind won't recognize.

Part reason I make it a point to hit a meeting once in a while. But after typing that out, seems rather silly to make thst effort, but I can't stop here for just shy of 2 months?

Incontrol15

OMG. That's awesome SG! That is too funny. Man, those were the good ok days, were they not?

​​​​​​Am I completely nuts for feeling that way? I have a funny feeling if I was teleported back to that day, I'd be screaming to come back to today in less than one minute.

Dee74

Good to see you IC.

don;t get why it's silly to make an effort to hit an AA meeting once in a while tho?

D

amp123

So great to hear from you Inc! Glad you are doing well!!!

Hi Dee, hi SG!

stargazer016

Good to see you Inc!

I am going through the same "losing grip" of the store feeling with my management team. We have been so shorthanded on help, that many things that routinely got done no longer get done. We are lucky to be able to complete the basics. Lowering the bar is a slippery slope, and hard to bounce back from if it becomes a new expectation. It is just difficult trying to run a retail food store this time of year with slow sales summer time staffing. We have to pick our battles I guess.

Have a good day all!

stargazer016

How's it going guys?

Amp, you will get a kick out of this. I picked up an old acoustic guitar that was lying around in my daughter's room and have started to learn a couple of chords. My fingers have little dexterity to them. It just makes me further appreciate all the amazing guitar players that I have seen over my lifetime. Having a little fun with it. Will see if I stick with it a while.

Have a good day all!

amp123

Good for you SG! Give it a bit of time and you'll soon see that you're able to get a sound out of it!!!

Dee74

I agree - I can do it anyone can

D

Incontrol15

Sweet SG!

Funny. I think God made me come here tonight to read that you're playing the guitar SG.

I was feeling sorry for myself and unable to sleep. I had a dream which triggered a thought about my personal belongings I lost from when I was a drunk. I practically gave away all my tools / hobby and my house with some personal stuff still in it.

I tried taking a minute or too to accept it and felt a little better. There's no reason at all I need to have, never mind be upset over momentos. I think the true pain point was that allowed that situation to happen.

Forgiveness is a hard trait to master. I'm currently going through A Course In Miracles which is another path to enlightenment. This, however, was written by a psychologist who claimed to channel Jesus. That's a pretty hard pill to swallow. But I just put that aside and study the message. I don't want to throw out the baby with the water you might say. Of course... In this case... Maybe I'm throwing out the baby but not the water :/

Anywho...
The main concept in this program is to break down the ego to a point where you can see that God is everything and everywhere. All that's true is love and forgiveness. Everything else is a lie made up by the ego.

I'm doing pretty good with seeing the ego for what it is and I can see how it's impacting my view of the universe. Where I'm growing the most (opportunity) is see clearly what's left behind once I remove the lies out there by the ego.

​​​​​A Course in Miracles has a lesson book with 365 lessons and practices designed to tear down your strong grip to ego vision and replace that with Chris vision which just means seeing God in everything, every person, and situation. This is where my interest lies.

So... I'm lying in bed feeling sorry for myself and unable to sleep. Then have the realization I'm not "seeing God" in this situation at all. So I try to think where is God in that situation where I was a drunk and lost stuff that was dear to me.

Of course I realize a few things. One, it's things. Material objects that have no ability whatsoever to create happiness. Not even an smidgen of happiness. That can only be done within me and I can still feel that happiness if I think about the memories themselves that the momentos represented.

I'm also thankful for having the experienced the awakening I've had so far. I never would have begun this journey if I didn't hit bottom. I'm on a new journey now and I'm grateful for it in a huge way.

Well... The thing is... Learning to play guitar is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Right now is the perfect time to get a used one too!

Thanks SG for the reminder

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amp123

Hey! Really nice to hear how our group is moving in a more musical direction!

I think it's hard not to dwell too much on wasted years and mistakes, and it is certainly an interesting challenge to move onto the next step of the journey. I guess there are many paths to enlightenment, and we all need to try to find our own way...

Nice to hear that we're all taking steps

stargazer016

Inc, I think we all need to "let go" of our ego based views of reality and see the world with fresh eyes. I have been sweeping away previous assumptions about my life (I can never give up alcohol, I can never play an instrument) and reevaluating everything. Why not try new and different things? All of us left a lot behind in terms of wasted opportunities to experience life to the fullest. That time is never coming back, but that is no reason to not life live to the fullest potential each and every day. I find myself defaulting to alcoholic thinking at times when stressed. Not an urge to drink, but the mentality of slogging through a day, a week or whatever, for a reward, which used to be a drink. When I catch myself thinking in that manner, I have to slow down and adjust my thinking to recenter myself and focus on something small. There is no reward for getting through a day, or a week or whatever anymore except the knowledge that we are living each and every day to the fullest. I am trying to view the world with the eyes of a child, one that does not have preconceived notions of how things "should" be, instead of how they actually are. Most things in life are not inherently good or bad, it is just our ego assigns these values to them. Getting above our egos is a liberating experience.

I think it's great that you are playing with a guitar too Inc. You can play rhythm guitar to Amp's lead. Maybe I should learn the bass? We almost have a band!

stargazer016

So looking for some guitar advice Amp and Dee.

My brother in law lent me an entry level Strat to play with for a few days. The strings are much lighter to play than my acoustic, and the neck is smaller, so I can hit the stretchier beginning chords like C and G easier. I can also practice chord changes for an hour or more at a time, compared to twenty minutes on my old Stella Harmony acoustic, before my fingers ache too much that I need to stop. However, with the smaller frets, I seem to be having problems accidentally muting open strings because I have short, somewhat fat fingers. I have been reading up on the differences between Les Pauls and Strats and it seems LPs have a wider neck in general but shorter necks. This apparently makes the string action a little lighter on LPs than Strats. The wider neck would give my stubby fingers a little bit more leeway in fretting chords. I do like how surprising light the Strat is. If I continue practicing and playing, I will likely be looking to get an entry level electric guitar of my own, and there are good instruments of both makers available at reasonable prices here, which include small amps, bags and a stand too.

Any suggestions on which guitar would make a better beginner's guitar? I am guessing I need to get to a guitar store and actually hold a few of each to see if one feels more natural than the other. Just at my stage, I am not sure that I would even know which would be better for me.

Thanks!

Dee74

Hi Stargazer - I'm a Gibson man - I like the LesPauls and SGs - but I actually think the Strats are better to learn on...they're lighter for one thing and the scale generally seems a little shorter to me - I have long bony fingers tho, so...

You might find the Gibson style suits you best.

You can always use whatever gauge of string you like too - you're not restricted to whatever they have in the shop and you can get the action set to whatever you like too.

Buying a guitar is a lot like buying a car - try them all and pick the one you like most.

It might not even be a Fender or Gibson - the best electric I ever had to play was a 1970's blond Yamaha I sold in the bad old days for rent, beer weed...or something....

a final caveat - remember I'm a primarily a bassist

D

amp123

I agree with Dee that you want to try out a few guitars and work out what you like

If you're having trouble muting strings you may want to consider the position of your thumb on the back of the neck. A lot of beginners have a tendency to grab hold of the neck and wrap their hand around it, but for a lot of chords you need to use your thumb as a pivot and position it a lot lower than you might think on the back of the neck.

I'd definitely recommend starting out on an electric. Much easier to play in general and entry level acoustics tend to be pretty uncomfortable.

Enjoy the journey! You should find you're able to play a few easy songs pretty quickly like Knocking on Heaen's Door or Stand by Me!

Dee74

Good point about the thumb, Amp.

and amps - Behringer make really good little amps for next to nothing. You can use them at home or mike them up if you play somewhere later on

D

stargazer016

amp123

Hey SG! I was thinking about a good starter guitar. You might want to think about a semi acoustic model (like the one BB King used to play?). Apart from looking really cool they have the advantage of having the action and playability of electric guitars but, because they have a hollow body, you can hear what you're doing without plugging in and destroying your relationship with your neighbours irreprably! Epiphone make some good ones which have decent resale value in case you get tired of the whole thing!

Whatever you buy, I'd definitely ask the guys at your local store to get it set up for you. Even really good guitars can be quite hard to play if they're not given a pro setup. In Europe that normally costs around 25€ so it's totally worth it.

On the other hand, given your nickname on this site, maybe you should go with the Gibson SG like the guys in AC/DC and just take the whole neighborhood down!!!😂😂🤣

stargazer016

It's funny Amp, all the people I know who have played guitar for a long time seem to own not one, but more like 8-10! Of course, there may only be two that they play at the moment. I am really enjoying practicing chords on my borrowed Strat. I can practice for an hour before my fingers really get sore. I practice sitting in a chair in front of the computer. I bought a refundable subscription to an online tutorial called "Guitar Tricks" which takes things slowly for a newbie like me. I also watch an Aussie guitar player's site, "Justinguitar" for lessons and pointers. I like how light the Strat feels. I read that Gibsons can weigh three pounds more, which isn't a deal sitting down, but I imagine would be fatiguing if I was a performer standing up holding it for hours. I am really just trying to learn how to finger basic chords properly at this point. I can't seem to transition between chords without getting either a lot of fret buzz or muting of the G or B string with my middle or ring finger. Some chords I seem to need to hit using just my fingertips, others I can hit having my hand at more of an angle. I don't know if that is normal or not. There also seems to be more than one way to play some basic chords, like E minor. One positioning is easier to finger, but another allows a smoother transition between chords. Oh, so much to learn!!

Dee74

My advice is to just practice as much as you can - you'll find the transitions get quicker and better

D

stargazer016

Congrats to our April Class of 2015 for hitting 44 months this month!