Intertwined Minds
The state of my mind and my search for love. If I were to die today, what mind am I moving on with? Is it lighter than that with which I arrived, heavier, or has it remained the same?
Perhaps I did let go of the old and then refilled the suitcase—aka my mind—with new thoughts, patterns, emotions, and habits. My feeling is that the load is lighter for my mind and the mind of my ancestors. We are intertwined. It’s how we stay connected and communicate with each other.
The more I clear, the lighter my lineage becomes, and the clearer the lines of communication will be.
This visual of minds being intertwined has never presented itself with such clarity. A clear mind is strong and holds the ability to connect with ease to the minds of the seen and unseen. The act has been more unconscious than conscious, but now I have more clarity around the workings of the mind.
This is the next evolution: to connect with the minds of the unseen, those wiser than I, and be open to their teachings that are needed in this moment in time.
When you watch the news, it is static for you, and it’s not only impacting your mind but all the minds you are intertwined with, blocking the wisdom of your ancestors, the sages, and other beings yearning to communicate through you.
You are to simply learn how to be a vessel for your Higher Self and beyond.
In the past, your meditation was for clearing and strengthening your own mind over the years, but it became a comfort, an escape.
Now that you have been away from it for some time, return to sitting.
Open yourself to receive from those wiser than you, who can show you, teach through you. Be a conscious vessel. You are not your own.
Always watched over.
Keep your channel clean, your mind pure, and your heart open.
Love.
What is love’s role?
Lighten the Load
Abundance, presence, love.
For those who take more than their share, ask yourself what impact this has on others, and, more importantly, ask what impact this weight has on your soul—to collect all these things that will remain behind.
Nothing you have will come along for the ride except your deeds, intentions, and stories carved into your mind and spirit.
The mind goes with us to the next.
We may leave our bodies behind, but the programs of our mind will remain intact.
Ask yourself: if I were to die tomorrow, is this the mind I want to travel with?
This day, and every moment that follows, will be another opportunity to lighten the load, improving the chance of transcendence.
Time is a Trickster
Land the plane, aka the mind, on the page.
It wants to be in the skies, but it is down here where its services are required.
Tap in, but do not be seduced by its grandeur.
You come from there to here, so be here.
Acknowledge and respect the desire of your soul to experience that moment in time.
Time is a trickster. There is less of it than you know, and the spaceship is moving faster than you can imagine.
Respect the soul. It is the reason you are here.
This YOU is once in a lifetime. You will perhaps return once again, but the next journey will be or could be, with new companions.
So enjoy the ones who are journeying with you now.
The ones that were, the ones that are, and the ones still to come.
What Now? Versus What's Next?
“The journey begins here with whatever is capturing your attention.” —Radiant Sutras
The lake. The sounds of birds. Sounds of kids playing. The trees. The sounds of humans working their machines. But this last one is subtle.
Nature is capturing my attention. Softness, silence, solitude.
In this moment, it’s me, my writing, this pen, and this beautiful journal. So much love was poured into creating this journal. It’s taken me years to have the courage to inscribe my thoughts and reflections onto these pages.
Now is the moment to enter the beauty that I have felt unworthy of entering. It’s off limits. Or so I thought.
Now is the moment to enter the beauty with perceived barriers. Sacred. Quiet. Silence. Listening. Stillness.
Emotions want to encapture all, to flood my being with the sacredness of the divine essence of love. There’s a reaction—fear to this movement—an attempt to reject. Noise from news. Actions and procrastinations counter one another.
Return to the blank space. Be present with nothingness, with emptiness. Observe the yearning to consume, but be still in the yearning.
Pausing at the doorstep of beyond. Enter beauty with nothingness, emptiness. Enter with space so that the extraordinary may dance in your presence. Weave in and out of the space that is you.
Unattended, unattached. Leave the doors open. It is not yours to keep. You own nothing.
The beauty is only that in the presence of freedom. Its opposite leads to suffocation and drainage.
Possession is the death of beauty.
Blessings, Infinite Blessings.
“Encircled by splendor in the center of the sphere. Meditate where the body thrills to currents of infinite communion. Follow your senses to the end and beyond into the heart of space.” — The Radiant Sutras
Into the heart of space.
Be present today. Notice the spaces in which you play, the blessings waiting to be seen. How are others fitting into the space? How are you moving through space?
I often underestimate space, its existence and its importance and how it shifts depending on who or what occupies it in any given moment. Space is not static. We change it with our presence, our awareness, our gaze, our words, even our breath.
In a moment, you will leave this space, your new home, and dance in spaces with others. How does your space adapt to you? Observe how you adapt to the space and those within it.
How do I want to move through space? What about the space inside of me? The space inside of others?
Why is it important to cultivate spaciousness in our minds and hearts? How can we hold and flow with ease if we are full, if our minds and hearts are stuffed with what we consume, transmuting us into a dense and weighty object?
How am I breathing?
The Void
This void that lives inside all of us — it can't be filled. Or can it?
The void itself is an imbalance; we inherit a dominant energy. When we are born, we are split. This split causes a fracture, leaving a void.
A relationship with the feminine fills this fracture — and vice versa. It empowers when it comes together. The energy ebbs and flows.
Leave the desire to attach, to keep it permanently in the void. It’s not ours to keep.
It’s essential for it to move freely, like a bird in a cage with the doors open. We have a tendency to want to trap the energy, thinking it's the safe way. But energy is only energetic when it can flow freely.
An addiction to the illusory idea of certainty and stability. Even if it stays there forever, it needs to know it can dance and fly if it so desires. That keeps the energy healthy.
It’s a dance between the masculine and the feminine.
Being caught up with material labels at the physical layer takes us away from the source of what’s important — the energetics within the layers that make us whole.
The energetics of mind, body, heart, and soul.
This is where we need to shine our attention, from the moment we awaken to the moment we lay down to sleep.
Friction
Learning to hold opposing ideas and contradictory beliefs in our minds and hearts creates friction.
This friction fuels wisdom, growth, and deeper understanding, opening us to a compassionate perspective toward both the micro (the individual) and the macro (the collective).
Humanity’s reluctance to cultivate this ability—to hold opposites within ourselves—leads to disruptions on a larger scale.
It results in narrow-mindedness and a lack of compassion for others.
Emptiness in Neutrality
I feel empty today—not in a negative way, just neutral. I don’t have the energy to create, reflect, or dig into any deep insights. But I also don’t feel down or heavy. I feel neutral—a nice place to be. From this space, I can handle the admin stuff. My heart feels good, alive, energized. There’s an energy moving through me as I write.
Winding down, spending my evenings in silence with my journals and books, and beginning my mornings in the same quiet are meditations in themselves. I notice the subtle energies inside and outside of me, although I’m still tuning back into the external world. I’m not really doing anything, just learning to be within the being, to exist in the stillness. I simply observe.
Becoming the watcher once again.
I’m in this space, in this body, on this Earth, spinning and whirling on a floating ball in the universe. Just a blip in the system. What are we doing? What are we supposed to be doing? It’s such an odd thing to be human. Are we here to clean up karma from our lineage? Are we here to be tested? We have all these different ways to "sin"—good deeds, bad deeds. But what's the point of complaining about anything?
Super Moon in Aries
It’s so strange; I don’t think humans have really changed that much. The evolution of technology gives the illusion of human evolution, but in reality, we’re either on the side of making cool stuff or using it.
I yearn for a simple life. I want to enjoy this Earth as she was meant to be enjoyed. To align with her rhythm and dance to her tune, not the other way around. If we could just look up at the moon and remember we are nothingness, we might arrive at a place of humility, love, and deep connection. From that place, we’ll find everything we need. Because, really, we’re just not all that. Just a bunch of little ants with two feet, crawling around on this rock with inflated egos, trying to convince each other of what's right and wrong, defining morals that are complex and comparative. But in the end, it's all an illusion, a way to divide us from ourselves and each other.
What a strange thing it is to despise someone because of the colour of their skin, the name on their passport, or the religion they were born into. What a bizarre thing it is to make another suffer because of how they believe in God, how they dress, or how much money they have. It’s all so strange—the way we raise our children, how resistant we are to change, and how easily we’re coerced into devastating ideologies.
We’re really not that bright. I want to say we’re borderline idiotic, but I know that’s not kind. Maybe we’re just a collection of dummies. You know, I believe in God. I believe in Source, in the Divine, in angels and guides, in beings that are exponentially more enlightened than us—a place we may never reach. But every now and then, I wonder: Is there something wrong with God’s manufacturing plant? Are they using expired ingredients?
Of course, maybe there’s a greater plan, and we’re just too limited in these human costumes to see it. And even if we could see it, maybe our minds are too limited to understand. Perhaps the truth is right in front of us, and that’s the problem—we’re too close to see it.
It always comes back to the mind. But why? Why is the mind so vulnerable? I understand the physical body reflects the Earth, and I see the soul as a reflection of the Divine. But what about the mind? Why is it so easily attacked, while the heart is so easily broken? Yes, the heart’s purpose is to love, but I feel there’s more to explore there. Or maybe we just need to learn what love really is because at the moment we’re fucking terrible at it.
The mind. The heart. One is easily manipulated, the other easily broken.
A Moment of Reflection
At the Hart House for an R&B concert.
I feel like I need to be here, but I’m looking for some guidance, something more than just this déjà vu feeling.
What is this?
Is there anything I need to do beyond what I’m already doing in this moment?
Simply be as you are.
I am.
Your heart.
How is your heart in this moment?
Are you happy with your choice to come to this event tonight?
I feel a little emotional when I sense this feeling.
You know the one I’m talking about?
Like I’ve been here before, or that I’m exactly where I need to be?
Is that it? Is that the story for this evening?
Listen to music and go home?
Seems like a small ending to such a big feeling, doesn’t it?
“Beauty of artists is to seek for truth. Each note is a search for truth.”
I can relate.
For me, each word is my way of searching for the truth.
Searching for the truth from within.
It’s 10:45 now. The concert’s over.
I saw the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in a while.
I liked her energy; she naturally embodied the feminine.
Her smile shines as brightly as the ring on her finger.
The kind that lights up every room she enters.
The Myth of Originality
Ideas resurface from the depths or appear out of thin air
It Never Expires
If ideas and creations want to revisit you, let them. Allow them to express themselves. The belief that everything you create must always be unique and different is a myth—a notion you’ve picked up along the way, or perhaps one someone else planted in you. Think of these recurring ideas that resurface from the depths or appear out of thin air as old friends bringing messages—messages they couldn’t share when they first emerged because circumstances didn’t allow them to complete their original work.These ideas are old friends visiting again, seeking to reconnect and spend some intimate time with you. They’re choosing you, hoping you can help them finish their journey so they can move on without needing another ride on the earthly merry-go-round. Sure, things may repeat, but don’t worry about that. Be grateful that this idea, this thought, this old friend has visited you once again. Allow them to express themselves fully. Listen with compassion and love, and be the vehicle that delivers their voice to the world.
Mystical spirits are everywhere. We simply need to see with our ears and hear with our eyes.
There Is No Such Thing as Original
There is no such thing as original. Whatever stories, paintings, ideas, and thoughts come through you, using you as a mechanism to be heard and expressed, simply are. What a privilege it is that the unseen trusts you to help them be seen once again. What an honour it is that they are willing to share the depths of their hearts, emotions, ideas, thoughts, and art with you. Your role is to keep this vehicle—yourself—clean within and without so that when they arrive, you’re free of clutter and ready to host both the unseen and the seen. Because, in truth, there’s no difference. We’re all here together. Sight can be both heard and seen; listening can see and be heard. Allow your senses to live fully. Don’t reduce them to a one-trick pony.
It's Not for You to Decide
Let go of the outcome. When you entered Sychem, you had no time to get attached to the outcome; you only had time to learn how to swim. When you're drowning, the destination doesn't matter—finding air to breathe is all that counts.
Pokhara, Nepal
I realize now that the same mindset and level of detachment I had at Sychem should apply to what I create within the Ever Evolving sphere. As I just read in The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, the receiver of my creations will experience them through their own lens, not mine, meaning their interpretation of my art will differ from my own. It's pointless to worry about how others will receive the letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs I create. Release control—it's not yours to keep.
This detachment has allowed me to share with more ease. Separating my emotional attachment from how my work is received doesn’t strip the emotions from the work itself. It simply frees me to share without the burden of concern over others' reactions because there will always be those who love it, those who hate it, and those who are indifferent. The need I once had—and sometimes still feel—to be loved by all has, at times, held me back from fully sharing my inner world with the outer world.
Giving Birth to Consciousness
This piece was inspired by a recent conversation with a friend: Do we have enough health and wellness practitioners? Enough alternative healers? The short answer is no—we don’t. The longer answer is that we're far from balancing the scales. Look at the health and wellness field compared to the industries that keep us in unconscious cycles—food, pharmaceuticals, media, and work environments. Just step into a grocery store, liquor store, or notice the number of fast-food spots and bars filling up daily in Toronto. We have a lot of evolving to do to reach a higher vibrational state, to live more consciously.
So, what is consciousness? It’s being present, making decisions in the now for the now. It’s hard, I know. Even after years of my own growth, I still have my unconscious moments. Living in a city filled with endless temptations, I say I dance between two worlds. My aim is to dance in the conscious world most of the time, and, hopefully, one day, fully.
When I indulge in unconscious consumption—processed food, sugar, or a night out drinking with friends—it pulls me down into a fog. The moment feels great, but the day or two after? I'm in a low-energy, detached state. As my friend Anam says, we’re borrowing happiness from tomorrow.
There’s a growing list of healers—naturopaths, nutritionists, energy healers, bodyworkers, meditation and yoga teachers—who aren’t recognized by outdated systems of government and insurance. Why? Because embracing these healers would disrupt industries with deep financial roots in food, medicine, and pharmaceuticals. Those in power play a short-term game, focused on immediate gains. I don’t blame them; change is scary, no matter how much planning goes into it. But an unknown future is better than a stale, outdated present.
It may seem like alternative healers are abundant, but in reality, they barely scratch the surface of what’s needed. As more health and wellness practitioners enter the field, we'll start seeing support from governments and corporations because, currently, many can’t afford holistic options outside what insurance covers. Instead, people turn to drugs from the pharmaceutical industry because that’s what’s accessible.
So, how do we get insurance companies and governments to invest in proven holistic approaches? By encouraging more practitioners and keeping open minds.
Alternative healing is still a new concept to many, but if we want to shift the collective mindset, I encourage you to explore these paths yourself. We’re moving towards a beautiful blend of old and new, East and West. But to evolve as a society, we need to make choices that either move us forward or hold us back.
Earth is like a mother on the verge of giving birth. This new baby’s name is consciousness. And it’s the healers I mentioned who are the doctors, guiding this birth, holding the Earth’s hand, urging her to push. We see the head; we hear the cry. But there’s work left before consciousness is fully delivered.
It’s not about old religions.
It’s not about past leaders.
It’s not about clinging to outdated systems.
It’s about you and me.
Let’s give birth to this baby.
Let consciousness scream, dance, and play with us.
Some are fighting this birth, but we can tip the scale. It starts with each of us nurturing our own abilities, discovering and unlocking them. Where to begin? Start by being conscious of where you place your mind. Humanity’s evolution depends on it.
No pressure.
The Collective Mind (mini challenge)
The individual mind feeds the collective mind.
We’re often so focused on pollution in the outside world—like climate change—but the real change starts with the pollution within. Building awareness around the state of our minds leads to more lasting, meaningful change for the collective. It’s our internal world that shapes the external. When we begin to truly understand this, we’ll realize we can influence the world outside us by turning inward and becoming more mindful of what we consume.
Is it challenging? Absolutely. With the constant flood of media, I’d be lying if I said I never get sucked in. But luckily, my ADD nature tends to pull me back out of the media vortex pretty quickly.
Here’s a small challenge to help build awareness around this:
Spend the next week just paying attention to what you consume and noticing how it makes you feel. Then, the following week, take a break from your usual consumption—no news, social media, Netflix, or whatever you typically turn to—and observe how you feel.
Share your experience with those close to you. Notice if even subtle changes show up in your mood or the way you go through your day-to-day life.
Did you feel any difference in your mindset?
What is the Difference between Mind and Brain?
I was curious for a long time about the difference between the mind and the brain. I asked around, but nobody had an answer. So I continued on with life, occasionally pondering the question. Without answers, it became more of a fleeting thought.
Over the last few years, though, I’ve been diving deeper into myself. My experiences have taught me to differentiate between the mind and the brain. The mind is like a river. It needs to flow. If you block it by building a dam, it overflows and drowns the nature surrounding it.
In our case, the brain is that nature, and it’s being drowned by the power and overflow of the mind.
We’ve built a dam around our necks, trapping the mind in our heads. I wonder if this was necessary for the brain's evolution. If the mind hadn't been parked in the head, would the human brain have evolved to where it is today? Would technology and science have reached these heights, and at such speed, without the mind's focused development of the brain?
I don’t have answers to these questions—just perspectives from my experiences. But I see another part of human evolution unfolding right now, and I’m not sure enough people are noticing. We’ve been driving our brains in fifth gear for so long that we’re wearing out the engine. Just look at the rise in mental illnesses. Is it a coincidence that yoga, meditation, and group activities like CrossFit and marathons are gaining popularity? These activities help us reconnect our minds and bodies.
To me, this is our body saying: it’s time to break the dam. The next stage of human evolution is to bring the rest of the body on board—the heart, the gut, everything from the neck down.
How? By sharpening the mind through meditation.
Display in the basement of Rooms Cafe on Ossington Street in Toronto
Many people say, “Meditation isn’t for me—I can’t stop thinking.” But meditation is exactly for those who can’t stop thinking (myself included).
Yoga, CrossFit, and running are amazing for connecting with the body, but they aren’t enough. Meditation sharpens the mind. Once learned and embraced, it takes us to the next level—full mind-body connection.
Parking the mind in the head was necessary for a time, but the systems we’ve built (corporate workplaces, for example) are outdated. We’ve lacked the courage and awareness to collectively change the systems we still play in. The importance of bringing the entire body on board is that, at a mass scale, we can start building systems from the heart and soul, not just the head.
Even religion is being run from the head—not the heart, not the soul. For most of us today, religion serves little purpose because it was designed as a system to access the soul, the spirit, our true being. But we’ve boxed it in the brain, trying to make it logical. Prayers aren’t logical. They’re mysterious and magical.
There’s no access to the soul, to the source, unless our minds and bodies are synced.
My grandmother was my guru. I see clearly now what she was doing. She was a simple woman—no hijab, no fluff, none of the nonsense that surrounds religion today—just simple prayer, five times a day. She used a tasbeeh (prayer beads), which, by definition, involves repetitive utterance of short sentences (thank you, Google). The tasbeeh was essentially a counter. My grandmother repeated mantras.
I only developed this awareness after training in transcendental meditation last year and experiencing the power of mantras. Through meditation and prayer, she opened the doors to the soul and dropped her prayers into the fountain of the Universe.
If we want to reach the level of the spirit—and that’s where we’re headed, whether we like it or not—we need to hit the tipping point of collective awareness. It’s happening, and the seeds are being heavily planted. Those already there are making it rain.
The brain (actually, it’s our ego) tells us meditation isn’t for us. The ego’s sole purpose is to keep the self suppressed. But sooner or later, it will be time for your ego to let your true self play, to break the dam and let the river of energy flow freely.
Parking the mind in our head leaves the rest of the body like a neglected garden, overgrown with weeds. I see meditation as the body’s Weedwacker. It sharpens the mind, resets the being, and clears away the weeds that no longer serve you.
Watching Over Everything...
I observe and search for my place in this world—or even just this city I call home. Born and raised in Toronto, I’ve had an abundance of friends, yet at one point or another, we drift apart. No path is better or worse than the other; each is just different, played out by the choices we make—or more so, by the choices we don’t. I dance between moments spent in the company of others and those filled with the company of myself, thinking, dreaming, and brainstorming about the next possible steps forward (or, in some cases, backward).
Where will I go from here? So many times in my life, I could have stopped and set up a permanent camp. I’ve lived enough. No need for more experiences and growth. But something always pulls me forward, compelling me to keep climbing Maslow’s ladder. It’s a challenge because I also yearn, almost daily, for a loving partner in my life. Perhaps I need someone who’s willing to live a similar journey, to walk a parallel path with me. A partner with a pull of her own, someone who moves forward when the lessons of the present have been learned.
I dream big—of travelling the world, working from every corner, and impacting everyone I meet with my words, my labor, my hugs, and my energy. I want to lift and inspire others to explore their authenticity, to share their light—because it’s their birthright. I have dreams of having a greater impact on this world, and what better time to do it than now, in a world so interconnected? The impact you and I can have by sharing our light is enormous. I don’t know exactly how it got to this point, but I know we have the ability to stop, restart, and begin fresh today. We have it in us.
Each person who can take a moment to drop into the present has the power to stop, restart, and begin again. We control the volume of the impact we want to make in this world.
Right now, individuals from all corners of this Earth are turning up their volume. It’s happening.
Open your heart. Close your eyes and listen to your heartbeat. Imagine holding a key—a key that unlocks a lock, releasing chains from gigantic doors, the kind you’d find at the entrance of a castle. Picture the chains falling, the doors swinging wide open, and your light shining through. Imagine that light swirling around you, wrapping around your body, filling the room you’re in. Share it with those you love. And then share it with those you don’t. Silently. You don’t have to say anything; you don’t even have to see them. Just hold them in your thoughts, imagining sharing this heart-open energy with them.
Those you think are least deserving of your love are the ones who need it the most. I’ll say that again because it’s essential if humanity is going to collectively evolve. I know it’s hard to love those you don’t connect with or those who’ve hurt you, but doing so will have a profound impact on you, those around you, and inevitably, the world.
To change the world, remember: those you think are least deserving of your love need it the most.
The Sun that Never Sets
What do I do with this open heart? How do I keep it open, and how do I show up in the world now with this current state of being?
I want to show up the same in all areas of my life, with an abundance of love—in business, with friends, and with family.
To keep her in my heart, holding on to that feeling. My memories of her may fade, but I hope the feeling remains.
I want to hold on to both—the memories and the feeling—long enough for her to arrive fully into my arms. To walk into the world with this feeling as if she were already mine not just for one night, but for eternity.
She is with me, by my side, supporting me through every adventure I step into. She is the sun that never sets, always there, embracing me through the good and the bad. She loves all of me.
I look forward to the possibility of grey turning into black and white.
Rocking Vulnerability: Embracing Fear and Finding Evolution
I've been reading and listening to Brené Brown's work for a couple of years now, and I've also been consciously practicing vulnerability. But yesterday, I took it to a whole new level. I was nervous all week, trying to prepare for this talk—it was uncharted territory. The last time I gave a speech was in grade 7. I made it to the gym and almost competed with other schools. My buddy Dave won; he was the better storyteller. Now, at 39, I'm a much different man (thank God). If I were the same, that would be a whole other problem.
Last night, I stood up in front of 150 strangers, some of whom were friends and family I had invited. I face-planted with a level of vulnerability that would have made Brené Brown proud. I was in the arena. I got up and wiped the dust off, and today was a brand-new morning. Even though I forgot most of my speech, I felt fucking good. That doesn't mean my self-talk was all positive. Absolutely not. I'm human.
My initial thoughts were that I had disappointed Greg, who runs the Toronto chapter of ManTalks and invited me to speak. I also disappointed Conner, the founder of ManTalks, and I disappointed the audience. They took time out of their Monday evening for this event, and I choked. I got stage fright. I tried to compose myself and start over. I'd get going, then get stuck again.
Finally, I just gave up and admitted to everyone that I had completely forgotten what I wanted to say and share. Afterward, my mind raced with all the things I wanted to say but didn't—all the experiences I could have shared in the hopes of inspiring others to begin the process of looking inward and connecting with themselves because lasting confidence and deep connections begin from within.
Yes, it could have been better, and yes, I could have rocked it. But there were lessons I needed to learn, and I'm glad I learned them early—on a big stage. Being in this area of public speaking, I know the size of the stage I want to strive for. I know the level I eventually want to play at. And I will say, by no means was this a small stage. Sponsored by Samsung, with a wicked ass stage, purpose, and the best part—a wonderful audience.
I was thinking about a quote by Jamie Foxx during his interview with Tim Ferriss. He said, "Do you know what's on the other side of fear? Nothing." I loved that, but I would take it to another level.
On the other side of fear is evolution.
We have been taught to see fear as something to conquer, but it turns out that fear is something to embrace. The same goes for failure. If you don't fail, how do you receive clarity on which direction to head? Failure is a beautiful compass that guides us toward our highest potential.
I want another shot so badly. I'm opening myself to the Universe right this minute. My heart is open and ready. Dear Universe, I'm ready to play BIG.
I don't know where this culture of perfection and the need to always look good to the outside world came from while we struggle and sit in pain in our internal world. It stunts the evolution of humanity and keeps our hearts closed. I'm sure there was a moment in history when we were required to close up, but honestly, I don't give a fuck. Where we stand right now is what's important. We all need to encourage each other to embrace walking in spaces where there's potential for face plants. It forces us to reflect and look inside ourselves.
I cancelled cable at 25. Do you know why? First, I was falling asleep on a hand-me-down IKEA sofa when I had a kick-ass mattress I paid enormous amounts of money for in the other room. The other reason was I was watching all these people, whether in fiction or nonfiction, living their lives while I wasn't living mine. When I turned off the tube, I had no choice but to get creative with my time. I met my first girlfriend, who gifted me my first book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, which happened to change my fucking life. He talks about living your legend and how it should be your sole purpose—discover your personal journey and walk your path. This also led to my love of reading. Wow, there is actually a book and author out there that I could love. I always thought I hated reading, but in reality, I hated what the academic world was feeding me. Do you know we are still teaching Shakespeare? Are you kidding me? Our world is not ending; it's just stale, with the same old ways and messages. We need to liven it up by stepping into the unknown and identifying our own journey.
Do you know why people don't like meditation? It's not for the reason many say, which is, "I just can't sit down and quiet my mind." I had an aha realization. It's not the quieting of the mind that's the challenge; it's discovering what lies inside that's the challenge. When you begin the process, the goal isn't to calm the mind but to get into your mind, your body—specifically your heart—and then into your soul. When you get that deep, that's when the real shit opens up. That's when you start considering therapy and coaching because you have no choice but to discover your personal journey and purpose. It will rock your world and shake you up, but it's so fucking worth it.
Mirroring is the way to grow. Every step you take and every human you connect with is a mirror to you, especially in romantic relationships. I dated women who had no problems holding up those mirrors. There were mirrors everywhere! Eventually, I got the point and headed to therapy.
Therapy changed my life. It allowed me to open up and air out all the old scabs that never healed properly.
You know, I have this thing called Nexus. It allows me to bypass the line at the airport simply by scanning my eyes, generating wonder, awareness and curiosity. It reminds me how unique I am and how important it is to stay on my path, discover my personal journey, and unlock and reveal the portals within me. We have yet to reach the peak of our capacity. People talk about how the world is ending. I believe we are just beginning. So don't worry about the outside noise; don't pay too much attention. Decrease the external volume and increase the internal volume.
If you ever question your unique nature or authenticity, think about your iris and your fingerprints. There are seven billion-plus people on this planet, and there's only one authentic you.
Embrace fear and respect the failures because that's where evolution is waiting for you.
Rocking vulnerability feels good. My heart is a little more open today than it was before the talk. I love the path I'm on because I know it's my path to walk.
Open the door. I dare you.
“Where a few great minds once acted, now the entire human race must struggle to save our world from the dangers of its own excess.”
While the world may seem chaotic, it’s merely a sign of the next chapter. We consume all this negativity and then wonder what happened. We base our perception of the world on messages projected from a square box. We ask why there’s so much hatred and violence, but it’s like eating fast food three times a day and then asking, “Why am I so unhealthy? Why did I have a heart attack?” We are all participants in the cycles of negativity and responsible for every act of violence. We mindlessly consume information from the outside and allow it to dictate how we show up in the world. It’s time to let the external world reflect each individual’s authentic internal self.
We fixate on the Saints and Prophets of the past and look to the future with the hope of better times, but in doing so, we ignore the human potential of the present. We turn a blind eye to our own abilities and power. We all have it. We all know and feel it—that deeper, underlying uneasiness, a sense that there’s something greater. If we simply open our eyes fully, we’ll see that an internal evolution is happening. No longer will there be just a handful of Saints and Prophets, but an endless number.
Stop looking outward and turn your gaze inward. That’s where all the answers lie. Expanded consciousness and awareness reside within, just waiting—waiting for you to pay the tiniest bit of attention so they can soar. Crack open that internal door. I dare you.
Three Access Points to the Depths of YOU
I think a lot about the three access points/layers: the body, mind, and spirit. To live a happy life from the inside out, we need two out of three functioning optimally to reach a high level of happiness and present life satisfaction. If you can get all three going, you will reach some next-level success and wisdom.
How do we do this? We exercise the body, mind, and spirit. We train to strengthen the pillars of who we are. Meditation is how I maintain my balance and clarity and experience expansion.
Firstly, I find it easier to live a human life because I live in equanimity, creating space to allow the flow of energy. This enables me to be more adaptable in my external life.
Secondly, meditation allows access to my spirit. The clearer the mind, the easier it is to access my spirit and all the intelligence within and through it. I know it’s a little out there if you’ve never experienced meditation or a spiritual practice, but I promise it is accessible to all. You are accessible to yourself (if that makes any sense). You are an oil field waiting to be tapped, but the only person who can tap into you is, you guessed it, YOU.
Some people have a challenging time accessing or purifying the mind. Their life experience is so intellectual that their minds are stuck in their heads, and breaking the dam to get into their bodies is emotionally and physically painful. So, the best way to do it is to take the back door directly to the spirit.
Welcome to the world of Psychedelics or Religion. You pick and choose what feels suitable for you. There is no one right way; there is no one right path. There is no single path to reach your destination, which is the purification of the mind. It’s your path and your choice as to how you want to reach that destination. More importantly, it’s also your choice whether you even care about reaching that destination and discovering the depths of you.
I remember when a friend shared with me that she knows where the path to self-discovery leads, the path to the purification of the mind and access to her spirit, but she made a conscious decision to say, “I’m not ready; I love my external world and all the goodness that comes with it.” I have an abundance of love for people who make these types of conscious decisions.
It’s your body, your mind, your spirit. It’s your choice.
If the mind is difficult to reach, you can tackle it from both body and spirit. The purification process will be a lot more efficient. My ultimate goal is to run optimally from all three areas. The combination of body and spirit purifies the mind from above and below. It’s like cutting weeds from the top (physical exercise) and simultaneously pulling the roots out from below (spiritual practices such as prayer or psychedelics).
Once we reach the purification of the mind, all dissolve, and spirit, mind, and body synchronize and melt into one, leading to infinite intelligence. I wish there was a magic pill to reach and maintain this state, but there is not. It requires multiple lifetimes of work, although we are in a collective global self-discovery mode, putting the process of waking up on a fast track, and it is beautiful to witness.
Regardless of what is occurring in the mainstream media, or any media for that matter, if you just decide to turn it off for a little while, you will begin to see the beauty that I see. My hope for humanity is to turn down the external volume and increase the internal volume. The world wants to see you. The world wants to experience you. The world needs you.
I’ll end with one of my favourite quotes: “You are more powerful than you think; act accordingly.” – Seth Godin