Several years ago, after I showed a prominent publication to a very talented musician discussing spirituality and playing the guitar, he asked me "Why is it that guitarists always have to be so spiritual?"  The question appeared to be delivered with an air of sarcasm since he was not a guitarist; but maybe also with a genuine curiosity as to why some guitar players are deified in the media and seem to be given almost religious status of heroic proportions.  After all, there are countless "guitar heroes" in the world, but how many "bass heroes" or "flute heroes" do we hear about?  We are sometimes treated to publications on newsstands paying tribute to "guitar gods", hailing them as messengers from a spiritual plane who speak through their music.  There are darker references as well, such as "axe-slingers" or "gun-slingers".  Guitar players also often "cut heads" when competing against each other.  Very few instruments seem to evoke as strong emotions as the guitar does in a musical and literary sense.

When discussing matters of spirituality, it can be very easy to get buried under a mess of words and tangling ideas.  Many people are turned off immediately by the word itself, linking "spirituality" to religion and personal concepts of God.  Very few ideas in this world are more intimate and inflammatory than religion.  Wars are fought, people are killed, friendships are lost, and major guilt trips are laid on people in the "name of God".

It is not my intent to discuss spirituality as a religious concept, because quite frankly, my definition of spirituality has nothing to do with religion.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t people who are both religious and spiritual.  Everybody is a spiritual being. All musicians are spiritual.  We all have a spirit.  The difference between some musicians is that some are more aware of their spirituality.  To me, being a spiritually-conscious player means to be aware and respectful of the process of creativity and how the music one creates affects himself and his environment.  Most religions refer to God as "The Great Creator."  If we are created in the image of our Creator, then certainly we must have the capacity to be creators ourselves.

I believe one of the highest purposes of people in this world is to create.  Artists are probably the most obvious creators in the world given the nature of their work; but one doesn’t have to be a painter, a musician, a writer, or a sculptor to be creative.  We can all be creative in every aspect of our lives.  Whether it’s an engineer trying to solve a problem or a single mother trying to reconcile the demands of working a full-time job with raising her children, life presents an abundance of opportunities to be creative either in dealing with problems, healing others, or simply expressing the soul.

So I return to the original question of "Why is it that guitarists always have to be so spiritual"?  The answer is that we can’t be anything else.  Nobody can.  Spiritual simply means “of spirit”.  Guitarists and non-guitarists all have a spirit.

Because I regard myself to be a spiritual guitarist, I thought long and hard about if I should address this subject and make this affirmation for fears that people might misinterpret it as an egotistical attempt to place myself above others as a person or player with some superior profound wisdom or spiritual abilities.  Thinking about this topic has made me evaluate my concept of what spirituality means to me.

 I came to the conclusion that being a spiritual guitarist doesn’t have anything to do with having more ability, status, or even knowledge than another player.  It also doesn’t mean possessing immunity from making mistakes or errors in judgment.  In fact, I think it means embracing one’s perceived imperfections or deficiencies with compassion and somehow using the process of playing the guitar to heal one’s self and others.  Being a spiritual guitarist isn’t just about healing and addressing imperfections, though.  It is also about celebrating pure joy and what is good in all of us, or what is already perfect:  our collective soul which is eternally in communion with the Creator (and/or creative spirit).

There is also the chance that this writing may come off as some crazy New Age rambling, espousing an allegiance to some cultist lifestyle and crazy behaviors.  My intent, though, is to simply place my views on playing the guitar in a spiritual context.  Therefore, I will cut to the chase.

I am a spiritual guitarist.  I take it very seriously.  Does that mean I practice and improve as much as I could on a technical level or make guitar playing the dominant activity of every minute of every day?  Absolutely not.  Does it mean that I burn incense and chant mantras every time before I pick up a guitar?  No (but I do like low lights and candles to enhance the mood ;-)  What it does mean, however, is that I have a general sense of purpose and feeling that I am meant to play my guitar right here and right now in this world.  Many of the lessons I am supposed to learn in life will be learned through my experiences of playing the guitar.  The grand purpose is not just about playing the guitar.  It is also about all of the things that surround it, as well as the entire process of learning how to play and live with the instrument.

Perhaps something might happen that would prevent me from ever playing another note, but that would just mean traveling down another path at another time.  I would still be a spiritual being even if I couldn’t play the guitar.  Being spiritual is my way of looking at the “Big Picture” and understanding that the role the guitar plays in my life is greater than merely picking it up and strumming it.  The paradox is that picking it up and just playing it really is all one needs to do!

Being a spiritual guitarist has also affected my approach to teaching guitar, because spirituality and creativity go hand in hand with each other; thus the concept of the “creative spirit”.  Musicians depend on “inspiration” which means “in spirit”.  As a teacher, it is my desire to "inspire" my students. When I teach my guitar students, I try to let them know that judgment or expectations can impede the natural flow of creativity.  There’s a difference between analyzing one’s progress in order to assess what needs to be worked on, and accentuating the deficiencies that somehow make one feel they are “not good enough”.  When we feel that we are not good at something, either to ourselves or in the eyes of others, it can make us hesitant to continue to play or try new things.  The pure essence of creativity is to be open to new possibilities of expression.  In order for new art to manifest itself, the creator has to clear the channels and make the effort to either consciously create or “get out of one’s own way” enough to receive divine inspiration.

The spiritual guitarist still hits bad notes, breaks strings, and has gigs where everything seems to go wrong.  There are still days when playing the guitar might not bring the enjoyment it does on other days. The spiritual guitarist feels pain and can also be “screwed over” by unscrupulous fellow musicians or industry figures.  The spiritual guitarist also has the capacity to make mistakes and hurt others as well. The spiritual guitarist is not a superhero with magical powers, and doesn’t even necessarily have a “better” sound than other guitarists. The spiritually-conscious guitarist, though, has an awareness of a greater purpose for playing that transcends the struggles of learning to be proficient on the instrument and living in a difficult world.

Playing the guitar has brought a lot of joy to my life, and hopefully to others.  Some days I can sit alone on my back porch quietly strumming my acoustic guitar and feel at peace, deriving the greatest pleasure from such a simple act.  Other nights I might find myself blasting away in a club to a packed house of enthusiastic (or angry) revelers and enjoying the atmosphere.  In either case, a spiritual perspective keeps me focused on why I love to play:  I wish to make myself happy and to make others happy.  I think everybody wants the same things.  I just happen to use a guitar to help accomplish these endeavors in my life.

It’s amazing to me how many people I’ve met and how many relationships I’ve maintained as a result of playing the guitar.  To me, the entire process of learning to play, recording, teaching, and gigging really is an important and sacred aspect of my life because it has led to so many opportunities within and outside of music.  I guess what I’m really trying to say is that being a spiritual guitarist means having a reverence for all of the ways playing the guitar can affect lives.  I know that I do, and that is why I regard myself to be a spiritual guitarist.

Jason