God Speaks in Music

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Like Empower Network founder Dave Wood, there was a time when I was living a very simple and broke life in Paradise. On the island of Kauai, I had just lost everything and was borderline suicidal. It was almost Christmas time – Winter Solstice 2000 A.D. Every one of my friends was at Christmas parties, shopping and spending time with family. Me? I’d lost all of my family inheritance, got divorced, spent all my money, my car needed a ‘starter motor’ – there were no parts anywhere on the island and aside from not having the money to buy the part – the closest part couldn’t be delivered until January. On top of that my girlfriend informed me she had ‘met the love of her life’ – another woman. She was leaving me for another woman during Christmas time!

Alone, broke and about to be evicted from my home, it started to rain. I had no food and was hungry. So I went outside and shouted to God. As lightning started to strike, I said,

I dare you to strike me down. I give up. What do you want me to do? Give me a sign.

I heard a very soft voice that simply said

Play the Piano

I said.

What the F%$K? What do you want me to play?

The voice said

Just play. I will guide your hands.

I had bought a Roland RD100 MIDI piano several months ago but I hadn’t hooked it up yet. How many times do we buy something ‘wishing’ that someday we would get around to using it but it kind of just sits in the closet?

So, I hooked it up to my computer and sat down and played. Just one note. Then I listened to the next one. And the next. Suddenly I felt goosebumps and almost like a presence was there with me in the room on that cold Winter Solstice night more than a decade ago.

For the next thirteen days, I was recording songs every day. The music was flowing through me like a torrent. Then came the editing, arranging and re-recording, mixing. On precisely the 13th day exactly down to the minute, my first CD of music was completed. As I listened to the burner make the very first CD. The voice said.

Make 12 more and give them to people for them to listen.

Someone who heard my music said,

You ought to play in the courtyard at the pizza parlor in Princeville center – they could use some music there while people are eating.

So that was the beginning of many years of concert performances, writing hundreds of songs, two studio albums and helping raise millions of dollars for charity from my live performances. When people hear my music they feel the urge to give…

I’m not sure if you believe my story or not, but that’s what happened. I was and still am humbled by that experience. I know there is something higher than me at work here, whether you call it God, Great Spirit or any other word. Even as I write this blog post, there are numerous times where I get what Jay-Lo calls ‘the gooseys’. There is no way on Earth I could have produced the kind of angelic music I heard on my own – or have it inspire as many people over the years without faith and support of God .

When you speak, allow God to speak through you. Whatever your form of expression is – allow it.  If you’d like to listen to some of my music – my latest – check it out on iTunes by searching for Viktor Bliss or by clicking here.

Perhaps if there’s a piano at the Empower Network event in San Diego I’ll play Winter Solstice for you, since the original CD is out of print.  Tonight, I found the original MIDI tracks and will be re-mastering the original “Light on Water” CD – The studio version of the First Song, Winter Solstice is on my other CD, Passion. CD Baby has 1 copy left.

Special thanks for this article go to Dave Wood. He’s been an inspiration to me to ‘come out’ with my story and inspires me to blog every day. I probably get an email from Dave every day and look forward to it. Here is the article that Dave Wood wrote that inspired me to write this – I received it today in an Email earlier from him. Thanks Dave. I’ve been wanting to put this story into words for a long time.

Still don’t believe in Empower Network? Look at this photo of Dave Wood and Dave Sharpe recently. Please, just get in. I did, and it’s not just about the money – I didn’t have it in me to write this story until I met Dave and started blogging daily.

In closing, I’d like to repeat something that Wayne Dyer said in a lecture when I heard him.

Don’t die with your song still inside you…