The band has been working up a video project for the song Be Still.  I think we are just about ready to start filming but there is a component that we would love for you all to get involved with if you feel inclined.  The video is going to be a montage of clips of people being still and holding signs.  The concept is everybody is willing to be active for something but are people willing to Be Still for?  What are people willing to calm their hearts and minds for and focus their attention/thoughts/prayers on?  Each sign will say, “I am Being Still for…” and then it would say whatever they are being still for such as peace, those without a home, jumpers (filmed on Golden Gate), the rain, those who have lost a child….etc.  We are going to have cameras across the country getting clips of different people in different locations getting 5 to 10 second clips.

So where do you come in?  1. One if you have something you feel passionate about but do not have a camera you can either post a comment with your suggestion of what one of the signs should say and a suggested location if that is part of it.  2. You could film yourself Being still with a sign and send it to us (you might want to email me so we can tell you the deadline and format), 3. you could volunteer to be one of the people we film whether you have and idea for a sign or not.

The more we work on this the more ideas and camera people keep coming in.  Post your suggestions and thanks.

Be Still

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

5 a.m., Five A.M., God, Uncategorized, faith, life, music, peace, prayer, religion, spirituality, trent yaconelli | 21 Comments »

People make such a big deal about “doing” in our culture.  Millions and millions of books, motivational speakers, classes, teachers, parents, ministers, …etc all giving us new ways to do more, to get more, to try…more.  In all of this Doing how often do we trust?  How much emphasis is placed on trust?  How often do we speak to our children, to our friends, and to our family about trust?  To “do” is to be active.  To be actively pursuing change and action, to be in motion.  To trust seems passive doesn’t it?  In our culture it almost seems lazy or a cop out and yet it is probably the most difficult thing to do in ones life.  It is the letting go that is most often the hardest thing for one to do and yet we are constantly telling people to stick it out, suck it up, put your head down and push through, hang in there, never give up!, never surrender, and on and on but were does trust in God come in?  We are the people who are still.  I know it seems passive but it is truly not.  Ever try to be still for 10 minutes, for 20, or for 45?  It is one of the most difficult things one can do.  Your mind is screaming, your body is racing, your ears are listening to every possible noise as you try to simply be still.  The concept of placing yourself in God’s hands is often said but how often to we actually do this and do we really believe it?  Has it become just a nicety that we say, “welp I’m just going to put it into God’s hands” after we have basically given up? 

Trust is not a passive action, it is the opposite.  It is not an act of surrender it is a profound act of faith.  Instead of waiting for that moment when we are exhausted and trying and trying and doing and doing everything possible to change course or stick it out or push through what if we started with trusting God.  What if we started by actively trusting God in our life and then actively listening and noticing his presence.  I am often (not as much as I should) looking for God in moments in my life as I struggle and strain looking for an answer I can pursue and fix and change but when I find God in those moments he is most of the time telling me to trust….to be still….to listen…..to learn….to have faith in something bigger than my own actions.  What I have found is that it is easier to run out and have meetings, emails, discussions, schedules, lists…etc because I can get caught up in the feeling that I am DOING something when in actuality I am often just prolonging or confusing or avoiding.  When I trust in God and his action in my life it is letting go but it is like the Letting Go of a jagged cliff and having faith that you will arrive safely at the bottom….it takes a tremendous amount of courage and faith.   Hanging on is actually easier because you are just listening to your own instincts, your own reasonable mind telling you there is no other way.  Your mind tells you “yes, this situation is not ideal but HANG ON, struggle, push through because at least we know what this Jagged edge is.  Look down there, who knows what is down there!  Probably death, pain, and destruction!  Don’t let go!!!!  Trust in your own two hands not in some invisible force!!!!”

Right now in my life I realize I have one hand still hanging on to the jagged edge.  Part of me wants to just let go and trust in the arms of love to catch me and lead me down my path.  The other part of me tells me to keep hanging on….that I can do it….to trust in only myself…to take hold of my destiny but when I get a glimpse of what is above this jagged edge I cling to, I see only another jagged edge…..and another…..and another. 

So now is the long             

                                 deep   breath                   

                                                                before

                                                                               the letting go.

God, christianity, faith, life, peace, religion, spirituality, trust | 2 Comments »

It is strange when you get attacked by someone.  As I was on the phone with this LA guy who does some work for the band I kept thinking “this is strange” as he suddenly exploded in anger.  I don’t really know this guy as a person but suddenly he seemed to think that he knew me, suddenly he was explaining to me how I had a huge ego, that I was childish, that I was an angry-rant filled person, that I was not a big shot and apparently not as “big as nickleback” (by the way I am fully aware of this….the nickleback part not the other stuff…ha)  All of this over a business arguement.  I knew the game as soon as he started: the point was to make me smaller and him bigger.   He kept name dropping and speaking of his companies and million dollar deals and then going to points about how my career was nothing really. 

 I knew that I could give in to anger and yell at him horrible things, cut him down, tell him to go fuck himself …etc . but what would that do?   We both would walk away feeling smaller and more angry.   Years ago I would have done that but now I have learned that I often end up just feeling….well…bad afterwards.  When you give into that kind of anger it only destroys and it is usually on yourself that it does the most damage.    It also reveals more about yourself than you probably realize, your insecurities, your arrogance, your fears…etc.   There is a great quote by buddha that goes “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”  The thing is these are the moments when it is really hard to live a spiritual life because your instinct is to attack back, to wage war, to get your pound of flesh but it is not the way, which is why I think Jesus upset so many people when he came not as a military leader or stern and strong commander but with a message of love.  It was far more radical than anybody ever imagined. 

 The other thing I learned is that truth and honesty is far more powerful than anger and insults.  Not giving into anger does not mean you allow yourself to be walked on.  The more I kept coming back to the fact that this person had made a mistake, had done something wrong and was not willing to admit it the more calm I became and the more this person became more and more furious with me.  I hung up the phone…or I guess more accurately….I was told the conversation was over and drove the rest of the way home in silence.  In the quiet I found no burning coals waiting to be picked up and thrown back, just a calmness that can only come from within and from above.  The insults that were hurled at me didn’t stay with me and were left behind smoldering in the dust.    I walked into my home to find a smiling wife and two happy kids who greeted me at the door with hugs and requests to dance with them.  Not a bad way to end the day.

God, Uncategorized, christianity, life, music, peace, religion, spirituality | 6 Comments »

Last night I watched the documentary film The Bridge.  This incredibly disturbing and powerful film simply follows a year in the life of the Golden Gate Bridge watching the people who jump and then interviewing family and people who saw the jumpers last moments.  One of the most disturbing parts of the film is when the camera zooms in on someone getting ready to jump.  They climb up on the ledge or climb over the rail to the ledge below and you watch as people keep walking past them…..either not noticing or looking the other way.  There are clear moments when you see someone who is obviously distraught and yet nobody stops, reaches out, or asks if they can help. 

For me watching people jump was heartbreaking but probably just as heartbreaking is watching people jog, walk by or turn their head as a person jumps up on the rail.  I wonder how much we all do this in our regular lives.  How often do we turn our heads to the pain and sorrow around us.  How often do we walk by the person we know is down, distraught, and longing for someone to reach out and pull them back from whatever edge they are on.  Have we become so disconnected that we do not see any connection between the person jumping and the person turning their head or quickening their step in order to purposefully ignore the jumper.  Maybe we are all too consumed with ourselves….our own problems….our own life…pain…etc.  Maybe we just don’t know what to do so we chose to recoil instead of reach out.  But if we are to have peace in this world we need to stop ignoring.   We need to stop seeing everyone as separate from ourselves.  We need to start reaching out our hand even when we are scared because in a way we are reaching out to something inside ourselves at the same time.  We are reaching out to the very best in all of us, we are reaching out to life, to love, to compassion, to God….and when we do God reaches back.

God, depression, life, peace, spirituality | 2 Comments »

So the big show is this Saturday.  The band has done a ton of press and radio to pump up the CD release and we have been on a practicing frenzy.  I just got back tonight and wanted to write real quick.  For whatever reason things seem to be going our way right now.  Do you ever have those moments in life when everything seems to click?  That is what is happening with the band and we really aren’t running around stressing and struggling to make things happen.  Things are just going our way.  It makes you wonder why you ever push and push and push for somethings to happen.  Seems like they have a life of their own and when things click all you can do is hold on.

If you want to get a copy of the album you can click here http://cdbaby.com/cd/fiveam5  or you can find it for download at itunes or links from our website.

This week the Press Democrat Entertainment writer John Beck stopped by and interviewed the band and focused on the songs Be Still.  You can check out his video blog interview here http://pop.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=738568

This song is called Just Say Anythingand is probably my personal favorite on the album.  I won’t go into details on what it means for me because I want to let the song mean whatever it means to you.  I will say I started to write this song in my head during a horrible show as I was sitting back stage with a drink getting ready to go back on.  One of those, “what the hell am I doing here” moments as I looked up to the heavens.

Send Good thoughts our way this Saturday.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

5 a.m., Five A.M., God, life, music, peace, spirituality, trent yaconelli | 5 Comments »