Freedom is an Inner Game

While many people today celebrate a sold sense of freedom that very few actually experience on a deep level in our country, I reflect back to 17 years ago.

As I watched the first firework shoot into the fading daylight just outside the Las Vegas Strip on July 4th, 2000, I received a call from Hospice that my mother had passed on.

While my friends broke down in tears, I celebrated deeply knowing that my mother had found her freedom from the agony and detriment of 2 years fighting cancer.

To this day, I celebrate her life and I reflect on the journey of personal freedom that I have embarked on since her passing.

I grew up trapped by my own intellect. Trapped and caged by what I thought I was supposed to do or supposed to be.

I fought aimlessly to please.

I strived to fit in and "do the right thing."

The American Dream never made sense to me. It didn't feel free. It felt constrictive and controlled.

The only freedom I felt was when I did drugs, drank excessively or rebelled against society in one way or another. That ended up leading to even more agony.

Then I found mediation and breathing techniques, travelled the world, spent 10 days in Silent Meditation (4 Times), took on a 3 hour daily practice and began to uncover a visceral experience of deep personal freedom that existed inside of me.

Freedom is an inner game. There is truly no free person in our world when they have not found freedom inside of them.

Nelson Mandela only became free locked in a cage.

People all over the world under the most harsh conditions find freedom in prayer, meditation and gratitude.

As I reflect on my Mom, My Personal Journey of Freedom and the Freedom of so many that have found it in the most unlikely places, I pose the following questions ...

Are you truly free?

If not, what could you do to be free now, in this moment?

Then, what could you do in this moment?

How would you BE in the world if you knew that you were truly free?

America is so good as sales, at marketing. Everyone prances around in a state of conceptual freedom while they follow the conditioned laws and ways of a culture designed by control (remember, it started that way, when the first settlers arrived and controlled or killed off the natives. The "Forefathers only set the intention of freedom after that, but the very foundation was counter to the intention and then echoed through the generations with racism, sexism and other isms and still echoes to this day).

And, many people don't even know they are being controlled as the media and advertising agencies have become masters at subtle manipulation.

With that said, there is also the people that are finding their way to true freedom by looking inside. Then, when they start to go outside they relate to the world on their terms and Start businesses and systems that reflect what they truly want.

I celebrate the few that are truly making their American Dream, in their way!

We always have remember, freedom is an inner game.

To keep coming back home to the only place that you are truly free.

That place deep inside that is always at peace.

I wish you the foundational intention of America within you, everyday in every way!

P.S. In the upcoming months I will be releasing a free ebook with the working title "Be Free Now - Crucial Life Lessons for Finding Peace in Uncertain Times" - Stay tuned :-)

A Cure for Daily Mental and Physical Fatigue

How many times a day do you feel tired, overwhelmed, depressed, anxious or a number of other emotions that might be keeping you from giving your highest self to the moment?

Well, I think I might have found the simplest and most profound cure.  WATER.

 A few of my mentors and heroes have been suggesting to me lately to drink a minimum of 6 liters of WATER a day to keep myself in an optimal state so that I can continue to SHARE THE LOVE!

So, i tried it.  And, WOW, it works.  

Most of time our heavy emotions are directly related to dehydration!  I have tried this lately and find that when I get out of sorts emotionally or physically, I can simply down a liter of water and come out the other side refreshed and chipped up again.

There are so many things in our world today that are zapping our bodies of hydration including the air we breath (air conditioning especially) the foods we eat and simply our lack to consume this essential potion as we are bombarded by alternatives that are not well suited for hydration. 

If you think about it, it makes complete sense.  Our bodies are composed of more then 60% water, so it would seem that if there was a lack of this in our system that the system would go into flight or fight and start sending off all kinds of mixed signals to the rest of the systems in the body.  

So, it is time to get hydrated, feel good and pee lots.  Many people don't drink enough water because they have a small bladder and they find themselves having to pee a lot.  I think it is a very small tradeoff to have an abundance of energy that comes with full hydration and also, that pee break might be just what you need to release stress, come up with a brilliant idea, or just to simply take a much needed break.  

One great way to tell if the body is hydrated is The color of the pee.  If it is anything other then clear, time to get some water into the system.

Here is a little week long test you can do for yourself.  Give your best effort to consume 4 to 8 litres of water (depending on your activity and weight) and gauge what are the results.  Make sure that is plain, clean and fresh pure water, not bubble drinks or sugar based juices. Now gauge,  Do you have more energy?  Do you have less Stress?  Are you happier?

Enquiring minds want to know!  hehe.

Here are a few pointers that you can follow on your way to optimal hydration.  

1.  When you wake in the morning - Drink 2 liters before breakfast

2. Drink another 2 to 3 liters throughout the day keeping mindful of your states and when you get tired, drink a liter before you lay down to rest and see if that helps. 

3. Do not drink a large amount of water before sleeping.  start to ween down a few hours before rest.

4.  When tired or irritable, before judging yourself or feeling bad, drink a liter of water and see if it changes.

5. Find duties during the day that you can connect the water intake to. (Like Yoga Practice, cooking, cleaning, writing, ect.) connecting it to an event that you do very often in the day will insure that you are getting all of your required litres down the hatchet!  

6.  HAVE FUN and PEE A LOT!

LOVE!

12 Hours Through The Night

Whatever you decide to do, I will let you in on one thing that you must refrain from doing FOR THIS WHOLE LIFETIME. Ready?

REFRAIN FROM DRIVING FROM RISHIKESH TO DELHI IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. I honestly have a difficult time even putting together words to explain this horrific experience that I shared in 2 nights back.

With about 170 Kilos of weight on the bike, we left Rishikesh at around 11pm. Being that the bike had just been repaired and had new parts, we could only max out our speed at 45 KM an hour, about 25 MILES PER HOUR!! And, we had to stop every 40 KM and let the bike cool. WOW! Imagine, every single person in India drives with their HIGH BEAMS on and, there are more bugs and dust in certain areas then a pig farm. So, because of the lights, you have to keep your eyes uncovered because the glare is far too much to handle if you are wearing glasses or a helmet.

Now, much to my surprise, but not really, the roads from Rishikesh to Delhi been destroyed, so, for half of the journey, I was behind the wheels dodging half seen potholes while LORI trucks managed to direct me off the the main road.

After 5 hours of this, I felt we actually were getting somewhere, HALFWAY, of a 225 KM drive in 5 HOURS! That means we were driving, on average, 20 KM an hour or 12 MILES PER HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! INDIA! you gotta love it.

So, on that 5th hour, the bouncing up and down of the numerous potholes had managed to bend and break the rack on the back of the bike. So, We had to pull over, in the most dusty part of the journey, NO LIGHTs, and take all of the baggage off of the bike. Luckily, my partner managed to flag down some passerby's and they, most sweetly, took all of our baggage in their cars and my partner in their car, and left me with the bike and another 6 hour journey, ALONE.

But, I kept on, insisting on arriving to a nice room, with a hot shower to wash off the 4 CM thick dust that had arranged itself all over my body and MORE SO, IN MY EYES!

Also, I went from COLD to HOT, HOT to COLD, and, last thing, let me tell you something about Delhi, when you arrive in DELHI, usually you have about 2 more hours till you reach your destination. I arrived in the Delhi Area at 8:45 AM. I arrived at my hotel at 10:30 AM and I was far from Spiritual. I WAS PISSED OFF!!!

I wonder why I choose to do things when I KNOW the outcome.

I KNOW driving at night is the most dangerous thing to do in India!

I KNOW the road from Rishikesh to Delhi is my LEAST favorite in all of INdia!

I KNOW that the journey will take at least 12 hours due to the bike situation!

But, I still chose to do it. hmmmmmmmmm….I will ponder this a bit more……

4dalove (having a bit of trouble staying there…but….what do do!)

The Second Time Around - Coming Back to Israel

I think back to over a year ago, I believe it was around the beginning of May, 2009. I could ask my partner as she knows all dates, but we are in Silence right now, so, we will just keep it as the beginning of May. I got off the plane in a country I perceived only through the eyes of the media. I imagined coming into this war torn 3rd world with half exploded buildings and people dying in the street. I imagined daily rituals of caution to battle against the opposing forces. Yet, when I arrived in Israel, I arrived to an modernized Western country filled opportunity to explore and people to love. I immediately went back into the patterns of the old days where I would spin around from place to place - person to person, leaving those closest to me anticipating a return that was unlikely. On that particular occasion, over a year ago, I left the person responsible for bringing me there, My partner. I know it was a necessary happening to break down the past and bring us to a deeper love in which we reside on now, but WOW, i was like a bird on the ocean, flying in the wind, taking a shit wherever I wanted and having no place inside or outside to call solid ground.

But this time around, when we arrived in the beginning of April, 2010, I came with a much different mind set, a clear intention and a solid foundation that was built and supported by my beloved partner and her family. This time my meetings were orientated with work and to those whom which I respected and cared for most. I did not have time to run around and float in the wind. I have work to do, inside and out and I am completely dedicated to that process. In the last 3 and a half months I can rest assure that I have finally reached Manhood. I can carry out business with Top Professionals, work a 14 hour day, dedicated to uplifting humanity and come home and provide the presence and love that my partner needs. Although we have our faults, I feel my relationship has come to a place in which both of us are happily residing in our true essence. She is able to shine in her beauty of femininity as I am able to be the solid oak tree that gives her the freedom. As she feels more safe, her light of love radiates and soars out, holding the necessary space that I must know is present for me to penetrate the world. She holds more space, I work harder and with more people and both of us are happy. I feel like a man, serving the world and her the same, she feels like a woman, nurturing the world and her man the same. Oh what an incredible exploration of relationship. I am grateful that I have never been able to do it in the past. As now, things are expanding at such a level that I find myself in AWE when i sit back and ponder the growth on both ends.

And as for the devotion to the other side, work. Well, I met with some of India's finest while I was there. Had a chance to work with and be produced by one of Israel's best guitarists, Joseph E-Shine from Hadag Nahash. We met with upcoming stars like Shye Ben-Tzur, an artist that we will be exploring our relationship in detail when we arrive back in India. He introduced us to his booking and management people and has paved a road for infinite possibilities in live show production. I performed 2 BIG shows that reached out to more then 1000 people. And, the aimless floating of the past turned into intention filled floating that led us to recording 3+ tracks while we were there.

I am dedicated to this path and show up in every moment in order to give this gift. With that clear intention, everything is literally coming! I have to do much less and LIVE much more. Our weekly videos have a steady view rate of 150 people per week (which I personally would like to be much more) but, we know that these short makings will be most treasured after the major success is achieved. People love to look back and explore the roots. So, the roots are always there now for everyone to find out for themselves, in their time.

One last thing...on the second to last day, I cleared an enormous hurdle by playing in the streets and earning money....was one of my biggest fears and this time, I passed the test gracefully with flying colors. WHAT A GIFT!

So, 3 and a half months of devotion to existence pays off and the album is well under way. NEXT STEP, or I say NEXT CLEAR INTENTION....RAISING THE FINANCIAL ABUNDANCE TO MAKE BRAVE NEW WORLD ENORMOUS....as it should be....