Making The Most of This Moment:
by Dan Kimpel

Singer/songwriter Levi Kreis is a joyful independent artist. "I'm a businessman, not just a musician. It's not a responsibility; it's a freedom, because we get to decide how far we go nowadays. The difference in the industry is fantastic. I don't have to sit around and wait for 20 suits to decide my fate anymore."

A series of indie releases has established Kreis as a recording artist while providing a bounty of material for film and television projects. Most recently, he wrote and performed three songs-two penned with co-writer Darci Monet- in the feature film Kiss The Bride, starring Tori Spelling. "I met (music supervisor) David Quan through a group of friends. We were drawn to each other because of our histories," recalls Kreis. "I didn't even consider what he did, but we got a call from him asking to hear some songs for a film. He knows people I worked with in Nashville. I love that we have a common past, not only in a business perspective but also from a personal standpoint. And now here we are in the present and he's got my back. I'm very grateful."

Born in East Tennessee, Kreis broke into the business as a Christian singer/songwriter in Nashville. "I was comfortable with the camaraderie, I felt inspired by the excellence of musicianship they require. But being the product of a very religious background, I felt there were certain things about the church that weren't ringing true. Eventually, the rub inspired me to redefine my views about God and the universe, and although I am thankful for Nashville and its spirit of religion, I wouldn't want to live there again," notes the Los Angeles transplant.
In conversation, Kreis speaks with the fervor that echoes evangelistic cadences. "if I were to say that we were created in the image of God, then I believe that we are every bit of the creator that God is. But the challenge of that for us as artists and singer/songwriters is that when we start out pursuing dreams, it's not an easy task. There are always rejections and obstacles. Over time, we begin to build internal judgments about ourselves, about the world, and about how much success we may or we may not be able to achieve. So the goal is to realize that we should dismiss these internal judgments and let the universe have the last word. And standing right here, connected to the divine, say, 'Why not me? Why can't I have all this? I'm not going to listen to these internal judgments. I am meant to create, to serve what God has blessed me with the ability to do.' Just as he has blessed us all with a very special specific ability that we then have the responsibility to take to somebody else."
Post Music City, Kreis was groomed for a major label signing in New York City. "It was all looking so fantastic, but there was some shady shit that I was too naive to navigate my way through," he confided. Stuck in New York, with no release imminent, Kreis snagged an appearance on the television series The Apprentice on an episode where XM Satellite radio challenged the two teams to find an unsigned artist and deliver a produced song to be heard on XM Cafe. "I had about seven minutes on TV," says Kreis. "I had to make the most of this moment. I had all of these ballads the label didn't want, so I sat down at a piano and made the CD (One of the Ones) for $200. I went to a friend to do graphics, borrowed money to manufacture CDs and set up a website. The show aired and I couldn't keep up with thousands and thousands of requests for this album."
Kreis is now completing a new CD, titled Where I Belong. "This truly represents who I am as an artist. I feel like I'm coming home to the gospel roots that I've grown up with and the country influences, too. I said a lot of heavy things on my last album, so I feel good. I can celebrate the moment in front of me rather than wading through the past."

There is a small theater in town that shows nothing but foreign and independent films. Watching foreign films has become one of my favorite pastimes as it is a combination of submersion in an unknown story line and submersion into another culture. Sometimes the dialogue comes so quickly that I can't fully process the action. I get so intent on understanding and reading the subtitles that I can't focus on what is happening on the rest of the screen. Fortunately, with practice, I have learned to read them fast enough to be able to appreciate the film in its entirety.



I have learned that where I sit in the theater helps to determine how much I am able to capture. The closer I am to the screen, the less I am able to see the big picture... to process all that is happening... to understand the interaction between characters... to understand how one frame leads into another... to follow the story line.. to grasp inner meaning of what is going on. Conversely, if I am too far away from the screen, I can't always read all of the dialogue and end up missing crucial bits of information.



Life is kind of like that, you know? Because we are so close to the action, we don't always get a feel for the bigger picture. Sometimes the story line doesn't make sense. We can't grasp why things happen the way they do. We don't always understand the inner meaning of situations and events... And we don't always appreciate the role that each character is contributing to the overall plot. It is only when we allow ourselves some distance, either emotionally or chronologically, that things begin to make sense. I have come to trust that there is deeper meaning behind things and even if I don't understand it at the time, everything is part of a much larger whole and in the grand scheme of things, it is all perfect. And so it is.

During one of my recent deep thought conversation with John, we pondered the connection between love and the attraction process. At first blush they may appear to be only peripherally related. However, the more you look into the energy behind attraction, the more clear it becomes that the things you attract into your life are essentially a bi-product of the love you broadcast to the world. If in fact, every thought we think is a "cause" set in motion producing an "effect," then thoughts brimming with love energy will produce love-based effects. Conversely, fear-laden thoughts will produce fear-based effects. To extrapolate... if our thoughts are the building-blocks of the attraction process then what we think about ourselves and others and our lives will help to create our experience.

Throughout the course of my spiritual journey I have come to be a keen observer of the river of thoughts that pass through my consciousness. I have to confess that at one time in my life a majority of my thoughts and preoccupations were fearful and angry and dark. It is of little surprise that at that time, my life experience was pretty bleak and in retrospect I can see how my consciousness of fear perpetuated itself. When I reflect on the person I was at that time, I can clearly see that my beliefs about who I was and about my self worth (low self-esteem) attracted a life experience that confirmed and supported my thoughts about myself. In short, I was only capable of attracting things of which I felt worthy. So in essence, the love I felt for myself (or the lack thereof) was the energy behind the thoughts that helped shape my life.

Fortunately, as I am fond of saying, "the past does not equal the future." For a conscious shift in energy from fear-based thinking to love-based thinking has created an entirely different life experience for me. Rather than engaging and indulging fear-based thoughts of limitation regarding who I am and what I deserve, I chose (and choose daily) to position love as my foundational energy. And that energy continues to attract people and things and experiences that confirm and support my thoughts about myself and about my life. And this can work for you in your life the same way it worked for me in my life.

Just for today, make an honest appraisal of your life experience. Simultaneously, assess whether your predominate emotional energy is love-based or fear-based. Can you see a connection between the energy that serves as your foundation and the life you are living? Can you see a connection between your self worth (your beliefs about what you are worthy of) and the people, things and situations you have attracted to you? Can you dig deep to muster the faith that changes will occur if you change your thoughts and the energy behind those thoughts? And will you make a conscious decision to make the necessary changes in order to produce your best life possible? It is my hope and prayer that you will for at the end of the day, you must know that you are oh-so worthy of love and you are oh-so worthy of your best life possible. And so it is.

I used to be of the mind set that if I set my expectations low, I wouldn't be disappointed if nothing positive happened. Once I started my spiritual quest however, I came to realize that the world would pretty much respond to the things I ask of it.. to the things I demand of it. Setting the bar low, I avoided disappointment, but I wasn't actively attracting great things to myself either. By setting the bar higher and demanding more of the world, I opened myself up to a better experience.



I expect wonderful things to happen to me each and every day, thereby creating more a likelihood that they will. I have learned, however, how to remain unattached to the outcome in particular situations and circumstances. That is to say, I am not negatively impacted if my expectations do not manifest exactly when and how I deem they should... If my expectations for great things do not materialize, I simply remind myself that something even better is just around the corner. And it always is.



The basic reality of life and living is that the universe is ready to supply what you ask of it. Set the bar higher and expect good things... expect abundance... expect miracles. You deserve all that you expect, for you are a miracle. And so it is.

For a number of years now, I have had a sign above my desk that reads. "If you want to hear God laugh, tell her your plans for the future." This idea has particular applicability when I forget that I am not the sole architect of my life trajectory. Although I firmly believe that my beliefs, thoughts, and actions help to create my reality, there is a power at play in the universe that has the final say. When I either try and deny what actually is, or force my own version of reality (the way things SHOULD be), the results are usually disastrous and the happiness that I think is within reach, somehow slips away.



There are times when I get so enthusiastic and wrapped up in my plans that I forget that there may be another destiny that awaits me. Thankfully, when things don't materialize the way I have determined they should, I am usually surprised and blessed with something that is ultimately better than the blueprints that I created. I still need occasional reminders (sometimes not too subtle) that I would be better served by relaxing into what is meant to be and let go of my concept of what SHOULD be.



Just for today, take a good look at how you may be try to force reality to suit what you believe to be the best for you. Try to relax into the great "what is." Trust that there is an infinite creative power and intelligence at work in the universe that will help you design a life that exceeds your most positive dreams. Trust that God has your best interest at heart. Trust and believe that you are attracting things to you. Trust that God too believes that you deserve the best that the world has to offer. And so it is.

I was facilitating a discussion yesterday of new students at the university in which I got to questions them about their hopes and dreams and fears about making a transition to higher education. As I have written many times before, I really love working with this population of student because of how impressionable they are and because they remind me of our unlimited potential. And I am a great believer in the educational process. God knows, I would not have committed myself to life-long learning if I didn't feel that education somehow compels us to be more and do more. However, for all the good that education does, I always felt that our educational system was falling short in teaching our students the really important things about how to be in the world.



Would it not be amazing if there was a mandatory curriculum that included how to love yourself and how to love others? Would it not be amazing if we taught students to believe in abundance rather than limitation? Would it not be amazing if we taught students how to overcome the barrage of negative programming that brainwashes them into believing that they are somehow not good enough or worthy of all the good the universe has to offer? Unfortunately, more often than not, young people are rarely exposed to these ideas and at some point may be fortunate enough to stumble on them on their own. And if a child doesn't learn about love and caring and compassion at home, do they learn it at all?



Just for today, connect with the notion that we are all teachers in our own right and that we are role-modeling our lessons to countless others in our sphere of influence. Take some time to focus on the lessons you are teaching.... Are you teaching self-respect, caring, compassion and love or are you teaching something different? Are you a conduit of good energy? Remember that you don't have to have a college degree to teach the things that are most important in life. Remember too that we are all simultaneously teacher and student and we are constantly learning about love. Above all, remember that your sphere presence is an amazing gift to the universe. And so it is.

I called my sister last evening to catch up with her and find out how she's been. In typical Deborah fashion she indicated that she is "deliriously happy." Deliriously happy... I love that. We then talked about how as Will Rogers stated many years ago... people are generally about as happy as they make up their minds to be. We talked at length about what it would be like to live in a perpetual state of happiness and why it is that we don't decide to be happy all the time. One of the thoughts that I shared was that many people adopt a consciousness of limitation which dictates that there is only a given amount of happiness to which we are entitled.... that there is only so much joy to go around. The question lingered long after the phone call ended.... Why can't we be happy all of the time?

Ironically, earlier in the day, my friend Karin was confronted with a person who was being "scratchy" with her and she told me that the interaction had the potential to ruin her day. However, she made up her mind to not allow it to get to her and decided to have a good day anyway. Both of these incidents reminded me that we choose how we are going to make our way through our day. Although we can start out the day determined to be happy, things can happen to us or around us that could potentially pull us off our game. I guess it is at these times when we need to be mindful about how we are going to respond to the energy around us.

Just for today, take some time to think about the happiness that you allow and create in your life. Think about what it means to develop a habit of happiness. Think about what it would take to develop a happiness response to everything that happens. Remember that in spite of the energy that presents itself to you throughout your day, you can decide to stay happy. You will find that the more you allow happiness into your life, the more you will attract people and situations that will perpetuate happiness. Above all, remember that you deserve every happiness... not in the future.. but in the here and now. And so it is.

John's nephew Lyle came to visit this past weekend. He is an amazingly creative young man who is about to enter his senior year of high-school. As Lyle lives in a very small and remote town located several hours from a major city, he finds it challenging to express his creativity and passion without standing out in the crowd. Although it is distressing to think about how lonely it must be to feel like you are the only one who doesn't fit in, I am exceedingly proud of him for asserting his style and unique expression and personality no matter the cost. Somehow, Lyle has discovered that it is more important to honor who he is and how he expresses himself than it is to fit in and become a carbon-copy of his peers.



This situation with Lyle has me thinking about the messages we receive about who we are as individuals and how those messages tend to reinforce the notion that we should somehow be other than. I think about the impact of those messaged on people who haven't developed a self-love that serves to reassure them that they are perfect the way they are. I worry that the constant barrage of negative feedback can weaken the defenses of even the strongest souls and can erode self-esteem. And I pray for divine intervention in the lives of those struggling to develop a healthy self-concept so that they may believe that they are worthy.. that they are okay... that they are loved.



Just for today, think about someone within your sphere of influence who may be needing some love and support in developing a healthy sense of self. Shower them with your love and positive regard. Work to recognize how you may be unknowingly contributing to their struggle and then redouble your efforts to let them know that they are worthy of all the love in the world. Above all, work to remember that you are perfect the way you are and you don't need to do or be anything other in order to be worthy of love. And so it is.

I used to be obsessed with things that happened in the past. I would lay awake at night and replay conversations or situations from the day (or previous days) that had not gone well. I could literally fall asleep thinking of all of the things that I could have or should have said or done which would have created a different outcome. As one regret would fade into oblivion, another would be there to take its place. Rather than emotionally experiencing the situation once, I would relive it full force again and again.



Another one of my pastimes was to worry about the future. "Ah... let's play a game of 'what is.' The game of 'what if' consists of.... well, to put it simply.... worrying. "PANIC NOW! BEAT THE RUSH!" Even though 99% of the things about which I would worry would never come to fruition, I would spend hours spinning a potential situation into the worst possible outcomes. The problem with this kind of mental pastime is that it causes fear and pain and does not lead to the creation of anything good and positive and wonderful.



Of course, obsessing about the future is just as useless as obsessing about the past. The only real power we have is in the present. If you find yourself dwelling in either the past or the future, use your mental focus to gently bring yourself back to the present. Bless your past and prepare for your future, but use your energy in the "here and now" to create the life that you fully desire. Your "present" is waiting. And so it is.

If you are anything like me, from time to time you might have a difficult time separating your "wants" from your "needs." To clarify, I define a need as something essential to stabilizing my personal foundation. Needs frequently involve other people, which can get interesting. You see, I have been known to have a hard time communicating what my needs are. Sometimes I think that the other person should somehow know what I need without me saying it. Sometimes I don't clearly communicate the need because I am afraid of the other person's reaction. In both of these situations I am often left frustrated with myself, with the other person and with the need itself.



When you have a need that requires someone else's participation, it is critical to express that need clearly and succinctly. Never assume that they will be looking out for your best interest or highest good. Even in the strongest relationships the other person may be too involved in getting their own needs met to pay close attention to yours.



Bottom line... communication is the key to getting your needs met when others are involved. And it is important that you get all of your needs met so that you may continue to grow and unfold into the magnificent being that you are. And so it is.