A Living in a Brave New World Moment

It is amazing to me to see the world through the eyes of compassion and love and the other day was a prime example of the Brave New World that we are already living in if we choose to see it that way.  These days I actually LOVE Bureaucracy.  I grew up hating places like the DMV, Court Houses, Government Buildings and the like.  The inner rebellion inside of me wanted to kick and scream against the system and run away, judging, clawing, biting.  These days, I SEE humans living and acting out in their lives all striving to become a better version of themselves, so, I choose to connect.  

I walked up the marble steps (after waiting for 45 minutes outside) into a lobby in which only 6 people waited in finely upholstered chairs.  A man greeted me with a helpful smile and I reflected back the same as he heard my story and informed me of the simple process of accomplishing what I needed to accomplish.  I trusted, sat down with my number and waited patiently as the TV screen flashed dozens of ways to make my tax preparation easy and free.  I like it!  I am more the kind of guy that is searching for the ways to become tax free, but, I say thank you when I do pay the taxes, trusting that my specific energy is being used to create a better land of the free.  

Before I knew it I was called to the counter of a woman whom talks loud and to the point, I was excited to meet her at her edginess, but as I arrived I was called next door to a man with a cast on his arm, a calm demeanor and a warm smile.  His presence relaxed me and we formed an instant bond.  I shared with him what I needed and we spent the rest of our time speaking about travel, perspective and the great gift of living in another country and how that can bring so much pleasure to enjoying our own home land.  His calmness was what the world needed, his peace was living in me and I walked away sharing how lovely it was to BE with him today.  I felt I had found a friend for life.  He left me with a piece of paper that described a way to get whatever I needed via the web in the future.  COOL! 

As I walked away this afternoon, I could not help to reflect on the ever-revolving topic in my life of creating our own reality.  The Brave New World in which I see is already here.  It is in the fabric of my interactions, the food I eat, the challenges I greet with ease and the wonder in which I see.  I find people helpful, skies full of clean air, fresh food and juice whenever I want, people helping each other and getting along, striving for growth and serving the moment.  I know I am living in this because in the one area where I would imagine I would be met with a harsh comment and a stiff neck, the IRS, I am met with a living Buddha, clear and concise and oh ever so nice!

Natural Persuasion

I just finished watching a highly sensitive and genuinely insight PBS special "The Persuaders" (Please Watch) on the persuasive mechanisms of the Marketing and Advertising Industry and how they are increasingly getting more and more hungry to connect to the consumer at an emotional level.  I think the ending statement sums up the bottom line of the whole message, "the secret of all persuasion is to induce the person to persuade themselves."  I immediately got stars in my eyes of how these manipulative process is now being used for good.  

On the first watch, I find myself despondent and thoroughly disgusted by the whole matter, but, in the same breath, equally intrigued.  I ask myself questions like, "How can we use these techniques to get the messages of inner peace and self-transformation to the masses?"  or "How can we find ways to persuade the consumer to buy into their own liberation and out of materialization?"  

I am quickly met by the past reality of the enormous budgets that are put into the constant battle for consumer attention.  The professional research that is done to insure that the consumer is reached on a multi-sensory level as well as the teams of people that stand behind these creative sub-cultures of illusion.  

But now the times have changed!!  And this is where we can bank on the enormous possibility of a massive shift in human consciousness by naturally being ourselves, which is by far the greatest advertising tool out there.  

With the extensive amount of ADS clogging our minds at every corner, nobody is standing out anymore.  And what is amazing is that, because nobody is standing out, they are having to go person to person to achieve their advertising success.  AHA!!!

This is where all of us transformative light seeking conscious revolutionaries come in.

Let me make one thing clear, we are a different kind of revolutionary.  We are not the ones that stand in the streets and spout our philosophies and beliefs.  No NO.  We are the ones that have committed to doing what it takes to break through dysfunctional belief systems, through patterns that do not serve us, through limiting beliefs into the life of our dreams, interconnected, respected and liberated from fear and doubt.  What an amazing time!

So back to my point, I believe in the changing tide of advertising, we can easily shift the illusion into one of transformation.  I believe we can persuade people to learn more about themselves naturally using the same techniques.  How will we get the budgets?  We are the budgets.  We are the persuasion.  It is in our day to day life and interactions is where the real advertising comes from.  We stand for a better world and that touches the hearts and souls of everyone we come into contact with.  

So the next question comes from the spiritual entrepreneurs, "How do I meet my Monetary Needs with this philosophy?"  "Don't I need to advertise something that will bring me profit?"  Good good question.   A simple answer comes.  Listen to your heart.  Create the products and life that is most reflective and authentic to your journey.  Share it with everyone you meet.  Price yourself HIGH, believe in whatever you do and you will be amazed, no matter what it is that you do, how much abundance will come in.  And, all in all, you didn't have to persuade anyone, you just were being YOURSELF and that just changed a consumer into a transformer.  mmmmmmm

Please comment, I would love your feedback and take on this matter!

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!

The Platform

The Platform - April 23rd, 2011

For months and months now I have been guided to a vacant platform overlooking the hills of jerusalem for my morning practice. It was as if this small piece of stone slab was placed for me to go into deep meditation and ecstatic Yoga at first light everyday. There was a deep sense of belongingness to this platform that I figured was due to the fact that it was surrounded by nature, but, much to my constant yearning of realization of something greater, I happened upon a connection while walking the dog of a Potential Business Partner here in Israel.

For the last week, we have been having constructive meetings about representation in Israel and the possibility of doing an rather large festival in the near future. On this day, My partner and the potential Israeli partner decided to speak in Hebrew in order for the meeting to move along smoothly. So, after a few 30 minutes of gathering my thoughts I decided to get up, have a stretch and look around the yard.

In the distance, I saw a curious looking canine beckoning me to its 20 meter CAGE. After getting over the fact that the poor mutt was in a cage, I decided to take it upon myself to take the muscular and excited mammal for a walk …. he ended up running me! When I walked/ran outside with the poochie, I looked to my left and SAW MY MORNING PLATFORM! WOW I thought, we are so close to where I meditate in the mornings, what a great thing that would be if we ended up working together, maybe I could come for breakfast …. When I returned, I told the potential business partner about my findings and he mentioned the platform was HIS. I guess I have been attracting him in for some time now. AMAZING!