A nice post about Los Angeles by Derek Sivers and my response

First of all Read this post from Derek Sivers on LA, he has a nice outlook ....

http://sivers.org/la#comment-33888

Then this was my response as I spent most of my life there.


Nice one Derek!

I have a few things to add as I spent about 15 years in the city and was born just outside.  In all honesty, it was a love hate relationship struggle for me for a long time until I turned 30 and moved into a van on the banks of Palisades Park in Santa Monica.   Yes, you have to be full of optimism to take that plunge and I was but this is what I learned from the experience ....

1. There is quite a dynamic Metro system mingling throughout the city.  There is a bus from the beaches of Santa Monica, right to the heart of downtown LA.  There are many busses that run through the lanes of all the major streets and THEY ALLOW YOU TO PUT BIKES ON THE BUS, so you can move around when you get close to a destination.  Obviously to paint that whole entire city in Public Transport would be next to impossible, but it has come along way, and there is a great Underground downtown to the valleY.  Get a map, get confused and explore, I had a blast and ended up practically mastering it in a few months as I decided I would rather sit in traffic with a book and writing materials in hand then behind the wheel.

2.  The Spiritual Smorgasborg.  yeah I spelled that wrong, but there is an enormous spiritual community resting on the banks of Santa Monica Venice that will blow your mind!  Multiple events every evening, tons of uplifting music and workshops and even more optimism then you can ever imagine!  It is lovely.  I had a chance to start a small Conscious Community called 4DALOVE.org and had a blast doing it.  Get out your yoga mat and mingle with the healthy LIFERS, it completely transformed my life and was a gateway to INDIA, which is where I reside now.

3.  Learn to accept EVERYONE as they are.  LA has more people more more cultures doing more things then I have ever seen anywhere in the world.  If you can walk the city with an open mind and heart like a child, it is an endless display of creation and collaboration.  You can learn almost anything, play any style of music, learn any language, play any sport, meet any partner from any place in the world and you can also just take up a lounge chair and watch it all unfold, truly it is magic.

4.  More on the VAN.  Now, many people may think that living in a van is shameful and ludicrous.  But let me tell you how I turned it into the good life, free of rent in multi-million dollar property.  First, I parked regularly on the cliffs of Palisades Park.  The locals new I was there, but I worked a 9-5 while playing gigs, hosting events and having a social life so I wasn't there much more then the mornings.  My front yard was the most beautiful view overlooking Santa Monica Beach.  I would host pick nick, Yoga Classes and Play Music when I could.  My toilet had the same view and my shower was a 5 star Day Spa with all the mineral baths and extras the I indulged myself in just a few blocks away.  Sometimes I would drive up the coast and find another cliff to park on.  When I needed to go to the city late and did not feel like driving home, I just got in the back and rested.  I had a bike locked to the back for freedom and I just explored like I had just come to town, even though I had been there for the last 30 years.  Truly, it was some of the most vibrant days of my life.  Full Freedom, full connection, full on life for a fraction of the price as most rentals in the area are about 1500 for a shoe box not much larger then the inside of the van.

Anyways, I could go on and on as I am yearning to go back, but the right time will come.  If now is your time, open up and enjoy!

Daily Gratitude Group Started

Take a look at my latest group .... Gratitude 365

https://www.facebook.com/groups/310945615642430/

It's easy, just reflect back on your day, week or even the last hour and type out what you are grateful for, feel the bliss take over, then sit back, take a deep breath and enjoy.

Daily Gratitude has a way of transforming us into more powerfully responsive individuals.  It helps us to see the beauty in our life as we strive for the top.  It literally is the mental way of stopping and smelling the flowers.  To reflect on life through the heart and see how much abundance is already there in every moment.

We spend far too much emotional energy feeling a sense of lack. So, how about for the next 365 we spend our time and energy focusing on that sense of abundance.  Just for fun .... just to see what happens when we see our lives as completely abundant.  Who knows, we might just start really enjoying life!  But really, we wouldn't want that would we :)

Enjoy the inner bliss of Gratitude!

Fundamentals and the Journey to a Brave New You!

Less then a month ago I launched a new project in connection with my upcoming album release, "Brave New World - The Time is NOW!" I titled the project "A Journey to a Brave New You" as the intention is to take people on a self-reflective journey into the depths of their own life in a step by step process that coincides with each song on the album. Yes, I think it is brilliant! Really, something truly unique in the realm of music. Music in association with personal growth! mmmmmmm. Anyways, after a few weeks of sharing and promoting the page, I noticed that it wasn't catching on in the way that I imagined. So I decided to look deeper. And that took me to a decision to actually use what I set out to do for others, for myself. So I began the Journey to a Brave New Me, as I always see room for personal growth and why would I let this work go to waste.

So, here we are on April 19th, 2012, a little bit more then half way through the first month of the Journey and this is what I have done. I started this month with a 3-Day Vipassana Meditation course that has sent me in alignment for what it truly important in my life, peace. So each day this month I have been focused on that alone. Whenever something arises that frustrates or angers me, I ask myself "am I peaceful right now." The obvious answer is NO, so I wait, focus on my breath and allow peace to consume my presence again and then move forward with whatever task I am associated with (Eckhart Tolle has a great influence on this as well). I strongly feel that if peace is at the root of everything we do, our lives will be of great service to the world. It's working.

Another change I have made is consistently, each day, I have managed to jump out of bed at 5am, exercise, Breath, meditate, watch a TED Talk, connect with my partner, practice music and performance and manage to take care of a few mundane tasks associated with every morning and all that is finished before 10 AM!! These are my fundamentals, so by 10am I am ready for the rest of todays bliss with the core tasks that ground, energize and sustain my peace out of the way.

I tell you this not ONLY to pat myself on the back, because I DO believe in celebrating victories, but also to possible put a little fire into those changes you had been contemplating for years. How about making the changes right now. Maybe A 5AM wake up call is not your thing, but maybe quitting smoking is. Take it one day at a time, build on each day and attach bliss to the notion of not smoking and suffering to smoking. So when you go for the next one, there is just too much pain associated. If I get up after 6am I am tired all day. If I get up at 5, I may need a 20 minute on my back meditation mid-day, but I am energized all day!

I have also set off on Tony Robbin's "The Time of Your Life" 10 day program to focus on what is MOST important in my day to day and move away from the every growing to-do list that can boggle my fragile mind!

If anything, I am grateful for this "Journey to a Brave New You!" page as it is transforming my own life! I am sure that my walking the walk will in turn inspire others to do the same, but, really, I am here to heal myself, to live my fullest and give of myself and my love. With or without my projects or music, that alone will cause a shift in the world as each one of us makes a profound impact on the whole. I make these changes because I know that when I do these things I am able to give more freely and I truly wish the same for you.

If you haven't started, anytime is the RIGHT time. Journey with peace and love!