Rocky Quote

The Legend of Bagger Vance Quote

Why The NEW AGE Nerd.....?!?

It took me some time to conjure up the name I now use for my business The New Age Nerd.  The last  40 years have not always been so kind to the 'New Age' moniker.   In fact, in my opinion, it has gotten a bad rap.  So I thought I would take some time to deconstruct what it means to me, and why I ultimately settled on the term behind this passion that now embodies my complete purpose of being.  You may not agree with some of my beliefs, and that is OK!  It is much more important to me that you at least keep an open mind.  "Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier," said the pioneer writer Dorothea Brande.

According to Wikipedia, the term New Age ‘is applied to a range of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices that developed in Western nations during the 1970s.’   I grew up in the late 70's and 80's.  And the majority of my formative years were ensconced in rather strict Catholic dogma.   Although I respect anything that serves one's soul, and I have seen firsthand how organized religion can do just that, for me, it always felt....  empty.  The rote sermons and ritualistic prayers said during mass had a 'been there, done that' resonance.  Don't get me wrong, every once and a while, a guest priest would show up on a Sunday morning, and step out from behind the pulpit, with a blazingly poignant or fiery soliloquy of spiritual TRUTH that would cause a stirring in my soul.  But the following week, it would be back to the stand, sit, kneel, pray, stand, procession I had grown so accustomed to.  But once again, I knew I was not TOO far off from my eventual calling, as I was twice voted MOST LIKELY to become a priest in my CCD (Continued Catholic Development) classes.  

Like so many others I have met along my path, I prefer the term spiritual to religious when describing my way of being.  Which inevitably brings up the quandary, "What's the difference!"  Those in my circle know that question will quickly illicit the response,  ‘Religion is for people who are afraid to go to Hell.  Spirituality is for people who have ALREADY been there!’   Can I get an AMEN up in here please!!  ;0)

As I am quite sure you have ascertained from my posts, the core element behind my calling is the desire to assist others on their own Hero's/Heroine's Journey.  God knows it took me a quarter of my life to actually step into my TRUE CALLING, and I feel like I have been through life's buffet line of challenges, trauma, and obstacles enough times to perhaps aid others to get thru their line a little faster! 

For my money, it is nearly impossible to think of completing your Hero's Journey without engaging SELF ACTUALIZATION.    The definition of which is ‘the realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities.’    After all, we are all spiritual beings having a human experience, right?!   This term and being of a spiritual or 'New Age’ mindset are thus completely interchangeable in my book.   They both have the same desired result, the need for self fulfillment in mind, body, and spirit!   So, I think you can see why I ultimately decided on using this often mercurial term for my new business!  

Now that we are hopefully clear on our name, in the next post I am going to discuss another term that is the core PHILOSOPHY that instructs the New Age Nerd and its teachings...  
GROUNDED SPIRITUALITY

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

The Pursuit of Happiness Quote

Follow YOUR Yellow Brick Road

I am a huge fan of the television show Shark Tank.  It's so inspirational to see individuals, many of whom have sacrificed everything, create their own business to follow their Passion and Purpose in life.  It takes real chutzpah, especially in these already uncertain times, to throw such caution to the wind, stand apart from the crowd, and courageously say, "Here I am world.  It's time to shine my light!"  It's much safer to shrink back into darkness, let the Monkey Mind loose, and live in the murkiness of what Emerson declared "the life of quiet desperation."  Trust me, I have shunned the calling of my own soul for YEARS, and it ain't a pretty path.  Just ask my family, friends, therapist; heck, I bet even my dogs would've chimed in saying such a long haul is less than 'Paw-fect'!

So why do we do it?  How come so many of us refuse to act on the yearning of our heart and Soul, preferring to trade our mental and physical well being for a healthy paycheck instead.  Because each of us is a unique emanation of Universal energy, our individual stories are just as special.  I will, however, share parts of mine, in the hope that it may shed some understanding toward what you have or may STILL be going through.  

My two biggest passions in life are spiritual based self actualization and what I now call "The Power of Story".  I used to say the second was film or mass media, but I have come to acknowledge that the connection I truly had to those verticals was the authentic illumination of understanding that they could represent.  These two delightful accoutrements of my soulful interest have taken me down an ...interesting...  path of possible life callings the last two decades.  You may need a map and a scoresheet to keep track, but here goes!  

I started my career as a television sports producer and writer for the now defunct George Michael Sports Machine on NBC out of Washington, DC. (NO, not THAT George Michael!)  This was way before ESPN and their nightly SportsCenter became a nightly staple for millions.   I often got in trouble for turning in nightly scripts that were MUCH too long for a 7 minute sports broadcast.  But I couldn't help it.  Even then, I was much more intrigued by the Hero's Journey of the athletes, even within the construct of a single game, than I was in just reporting of the stats.   So I was given a stint in front of the camera, as the weekend sports anchor for a station out near Annapolis, MD.  But 80 hour work weeks that eradicated any sense of a personal life put an end to that career track after three years.   But I knew I was onto something.  I couldn't quite put my finger on it so early in my journey, but I sensed I was at least on a semblance of the right ‘playing field’.  Even after that exhausting experience, I still had an intense pull toward the world of media.  It was somehow in my DNA, and my heart pumped its essence through my veins.    So when I next received a call from a temp agency about a new TV show called 'Building America' based in the Washington, DC area, that was looking for a salesperson/producer hybrid,  I took the bait!  

Over the next few years I received my ‘MBA’ walking through the office doors of such high tech luminaries as Steve Case (AOL) and Larry Ellison(Oracle).  I was responsible for the launch of the West Coast version of the show on an ABC affiliate in San Francisco, California.  Our show was edited into three segments that each highlighted an up and coming high tech company in Silicon Valley.  This was in the mid-90's mind you, so it was an absolute fertile hotbed of companies that would go on to revolutionize the world.  I felt so lucky at the time to be in the middle of such trailblazing energy.  Just walking down the street, you could sense the excitement!  

But, at the end of each long day, I would come back to my apartment in San Mateo, and ....  sulk.  The self judgement was off the charts.  I should have been ecstatic; a 25 year old living in San Fran mingling with the juggernauts of the time.  But something wasn't right.  And I knew it.  

Being so close to LA, the Myth making capital of the world, was tough.  I dreamed of writing screenplays, and telling stories that could emotionally move people to laughter and tears.  My self-conflicted ways were short-lived, as a rather large dispute between my boss and me ended with job loss and my ass back on a plane to DC.  Dejected, frustrated, and completely lost, my body became a petri dish of Dis-Ease, and I spent the greater part of the next two years in and out of hospitals having my entire colon removed from an extreme Crohn's flair-up.  Yeah, the next time you feel sorry for yourself, think about what life could be like if you spent it pooping in a bag tied to your hip!!  I'm not kidding!  Thank goodness for modern medicine, as I eventually had a resection of the first surgery performed that left me 'sans' colostomy bag!  WHEW!!!!  Let me just say wearing such a contraption does not have the ladies singing, "Some day....... my prince will come!"  Just sayin'.......    

As tough as that two year period may have been, it was also one of the greatest periods of my life.  There is nothing like coming face to face with your own mortality in your mid 20's, to truly wake you up to something deeper.  In fact, it was during one particular long stint in the hospital that my true SPIRITUAL JOURNEY began.  One of my best friends came by for a visit and carried in his hand a copy of the book The Celestine Prophecy.  Now at this point, I had not eaten food for almost 40 days, so of course my first initial thought was  “I wonder if I can eat it!!”  No, seriously...  lol

After a nice visit, he handed the book to me and said, "I think you are ready for this!"  Barry was the same friend, who in our early teens, was often told by me that he didn't have to worry about going to purgatory when he died, because I would pray for him.   Yes, I was a good Catholic boy then and he was Jewish.  Barry always knew that I had a deep seeded desire for spiritual growth, and the gesture was his way of showing me 'the way'.

That night I opened the book and......  something MAGICAL happened.  For perhaps the very first time in my life, I felt REAL CONNECTION.  The story that unfolded as I lavishly turned the pages felt like.....I WAS HOME!  And life would never be the same!!

When I was finally well enough to leave the hospital ~and my colon~ behind, I drove straight to this enchanting place called a book store~wink~.   I brought along that copy of the Celestine Prophecy with me and walked straight over to the help desk.  “Where can I find this particular book?”,  I asked with extreme anticipation.  The employee walked me over to the back section of the store and pointed.   I grabbed a shopping cart, wheeled it over to the bookcase, and started shoveling one book after another into the basket!  It was literally my version of FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD!!!

It would take me another TWENTY YEARS of starts and stops, (Including stints in NY, LA, and Atlanta) detours and YIELD signs, before I FINALLY hit absolute rock bottom and decided it was now my time to shine.  And thus THE NEW AGE NERD was born!!  But boy at times did it hurt. I mean soul crushing, heart shattering pain!  Loss and trauma and failure, OH MY!!   Such is the price we pay for a MIRACLE that is looking to be born.  As many women can attest, the birthing process is an arduous one.  Unfortunately, most of us will continue on their current path~~ until the pain of staying put exceeds the fear of the unknown.  

Let's keep it real- The Hero's Journey is NOT for the faint of heart.   To hear the ringing of the phone line from the soul and have the courage to pick it up and say "I am here, ready and willing!" takes cajones.   No wonder it takes so long for many of us to take the leap.    It means stepping out of what you know, your proverbial comfort zone.  AND, perhaps more scary than THAT, it means becoming VULNERABLE.  Letting others see who you really are.  Petrifying stuff, right!?!  But one thing I know for sure, once you do answer that call, there is NO GOING BACK........  And, the feeling you do receive after the transformation toward your calling is one of the most DELECTABLE, soul enriching imaginable!!

In future posts I will flesh out more of this story, but for now, may I suggest this; heed these words from Jesus the Christ.  "If you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you.  If you don't bring forth what is inside you, it will DESTROY you." 

Or, you just may end up with your colon in a jar!!  

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

X-Men Days of Future Past Quote

FROM:
X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

[Charles reads Logan's mind, and appears in the future]
Professor X: Charles.
Charles Xavier: Charles.
[looks around]
Charles Xavier: Is this what becomes of us? Erik was right. Humanity does this to us.
Professor X: Not if we show them a better path.
Charles Xavier: You still believe?
Professor X: Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn't mean they're lost forever. Sometimes, we all need a little help.
Charles Xavier: I'm not the man I was.
Professor X: You're afraid. I remember.
Charles Xavier: All those voices... so much PAIN.
Professor X: It's not their pain you're afraid of. It's yours, Charles. And as frightening as it can be, that pain will make you stronger. If you allow yourself to feel it, embrace it, .   It will make you more powerful than you ever imagined. It's the greatest gift we have: to bear their pain without breaking. And it comes from the most human part of us: HOPE. Charles, we need you to HOPE again.

Who are the people in your life that may have temporarily lost their way?  Or even worse, forgotten how to access the wisdom within their own heart.    They may be in need of your support to help guide them back on their authentic path. What would it look like, if today, we reached out to just ONE such person, to tell them we CARE?!  And in the process, help them HOPE once again!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Another GUEST Visit .........

Dearest New Age Nerds....  Greetings again from The Daily Bliss............

~~~~~ We come to you just after what your Heavenly Human Souls deem Happy Hour..  For on our collective planets..  WE tend to BE HAPPY most of the time..  And thus our days are filled sharing the LOVE and understanding that is culled from the compendium of accumulated Wisdom WE have gathered from the deepest reaches of the Cosmo of Consciousness.....

It has come to our attention of your radical shift in AWARENESS toward always being in support of others ..  So that others pain..  can be eased by the understanding your pain has brought to you..  This is quite an EPIC achievement indeed!!   .. 

It also happens to be the natural order of how things are meant to flow on your planet...

To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of GRACE, EASE, and PEACE. This state is then no longer dependent upon things being experienced in a certain way. It seems almost paradoxical...yet when your inner dependency on form is gone...the general conditions of your life...the outer forms...tend to improve greatly. Things...people...or conditions that you thought you needed for your happiness now come to you with no struggle or effort on your part...and you are free to enjoy and appreciate them. Life flows with ease.  

As many of you may say....‘Eazy..Peazy’     :0)

Your Eternal Team of Lovable Goofballs... 

The Daily Bliss..........

Something SPECIAL for New Age Nerds

Quote from
Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers
Samwise Gamgee




Happy Sunday fellow New Age Nerds!  For those of you like me, still digging out from the historic storm of the past two days, I am sending you the warmth of the Universal Love Light that NEVER loses power!

Starting today, we are introducing something new to the site!  Every morning we will post a different quote from the world of our amazing Modern Day Myth Makers!   Words from our favorite movies, TV shows, books, and music!  It is our hope that these ruminations from our pop cultural passions will help start your day with Inspiration and Motivation, as well as offer support, as you take yet another step on your own Hero's/Heroine's Journey......

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

The True Purpose of DESIRE

During nearly twenty years on my own Hero's Journey toward self realization, the term DESIRE has become a corner stone on which to build the foundational aspects of everything of value in life.  It shows up constantly in most of the books, mentoring programs, and teachings on the path to truly living your Soul's purpose.  But what exactly is it?  Why is it SO important?  And how can we use it to assist and guide us toward living a life that is filled with tantalizing joy and happiness, as well as pure intent?   

One of its most radical proponents is the sizzling spiritual SOULdier of truth Danielle Laporte.  In her tremendously powerful book, ‘The Desire Map’, she says. “knowing how you want to feel is the most important clarity you can have.  Generating those feelings is the most important thing you can do in your life."  So DESIRE is about our feelings.  Makes sense- feelings are the guideposts to the Soul, right?!  But if we based everything on our feelings, at all times, couldn't life become a constant roller coaster of nausea inducing ‘loop de loop's’ and frightening free falls!  And as far as DESIRE goes, do feelings alone encompass the entire story?

The teachings of Abraham, (a compendium of Universal energy channeled by Esther Hicks) spells out in their tomb, ‘The Law of Attraction’,  that manifesting our DESIRES is the reason for our Being.  Essentially, each Soul decides to manifest into the human condition in order to joyfully create their most heartfelt DESIRES.  While most of us can attest to the downright blissful rumination that bubble from our heart and soul when a deep, hard fought Desire is made manifest in our reality, we are also grounded enough to realize the pragmatic challenges we must face in between such moments of heavenly creation.  And does this mean that in the moments when I am NOT in continuous Manifest Mode, that I am doing something wrong.

Thank goodness I finally came across the ancient teachings of the VEDAS.  Consisting of a large series of texts, the VEDAS are the oldest Hindu proclamations on recording that have all been transcribed from Sanskrit.  According to their teachings, the Soul has FOUR distinct DESIRES.

The first is dharma, the DESIRE to become who you were meant to be.  It is that internal guidance system that helps us remember our ultimate destiny here on earth.  In New Age Nerd terms, it is THE HERO'S JOURNEY!

The second is artha, or the DESIRE for the means to accomplish your destiny.  Let's be honest, being more broke than a 'fritter on a fryin' pan' makes it pretty tough to start that business, or quit that job in order to ‘don the cape’ and join the Universal Team of Spiritual Superhero's!

The third DESIRE is kama, the longing for pleasure in any and all forms.  This is where our feelings really come into play.  And, NO, it doesn't mean a spiritual life in alignment with your true purpose should be constantly filled with scratching your hedonistic pleasures whenever you FEEL like it.  

(“Damn, Smithers, and just when things were getting....interesting!”  LOL)  Rather, it is the understanding that our feelings are an internal guidance system that help us navigate our authentic path.  They are one of the most powerful elements in the construction of our true DESIRE.  With a few exceptions, our feelings are what I call the GROUNDED PURPOSE of SPIRIT (GPS) for the Soul!  Got it!  Good!  :0)

The fourth and final DESIRE is moksha.  This is the want of spiritual realization and freedom.  Have you ever felt like you wanted or even needed to disconnect from the world, and get off the grid?!  As if your Soul was begging to forget about everything mundane, and commune with Source to get recharged back into the BLISS from which it came.  This is moksha in action!

The VEDAS teachings further espouse that these FOUR DESIRES are inherent to your soul and absolutely essential to assisting you on the completion of your Hero's Journey.    These teachings have become one of the core foundational aspects of my understanding of how DESIRE can be used to both discover our purpose and help us block out the barrage of distractions we all engage along the way!  

For instance, the teachings declare not all DESIRES should be pursued, and that the majority of the pain and suffering in our lives comes from the attachment we carry toward our DESIRES.  In fact, the VEDAS go as far in explaining that most DESIRES which are NOT in alignment with our purpose, result in frustration, depression, and much of the anxiety on this planet.  

If anything from above resonates with you, I HIGHLY suggest you do yourself a GI-normous favor and get your hands on a copy of ‘The Four Desires’ by Rod Stryker.  This book absolutely changed my life and is a constant companion on the nightstand nearly five years after my first engagement with its enlightened prose.  We tend to engage all four of these DESIRES on a daily basis, and Stryker helps us navigate between them with Grace and Patience.   I also love that it eschews any explanation in terms of the absolute (Right vs. wrong, good vs bad etc.), and leaves plenty of room for the understanding that spiritual principles DO NOT have to be mutually exclusive.   It further fleshes out how to use our DESIRES for our own greatest good, and in the process, not only fulfill our destiny, but bring greater Joy and Happiness into our life in the process!  

DESIRE is NOT just a feeling.  It is a daily process!  And like anything of real value, it takes  dedicated time and effort to master.   When we stop framing the Universe as our own personal wish fulfilling mechanism, and step into the true purpose of Desire- a tool to help us fulfill our destiny- life becomes much more easy to navigate and TEN times more enriching!!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

The TOP TEN Books for New Age Nerds

After nearly a week of impending DOOM on the news casts for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic region, the first few flakes from SNOWMAGEDDON are finally upon us!  Bread and water-check!  Flashlights, candles, and batteries- ditto! Sand, shovels, and TOILET PAPER....  Heck yeah!

Given that barely an inch of the fluffy stuff basically paralyzed the nation's capital earlier in the week,  I shutter to think what 25-30 inches may do!   As if evidence needed to be produced, a trip this morning to the local grocery store would have made a terrific pilot for a new reality TV show.   Grown men literally 'posting up' in front of the bread and water aisles.  Women hastily nabbing what was left of the poor produce as though they were in a 'grab and snag' contest.  My patience was beyond tested when I went to grab the last green pepper in the vegetable bin. (hey, snow and chili rock!)  A rather big boned individual was standing near me, and as if performing in a Vegas magic show, snatched said pepper and had it securely fastened in a plastic bag before I had time to blink!!    Rather impressive, actually.  He then turned and briskly walked away, no doubt to perform several other 'tricks' in the store before leaving!!  Time for me to exit, stage left.........

Time now to hunker down, and settle in with a glass of vino and a few good books.  At the very least, I figure this is all great practice for the Zombie apocalypse yet to come.  ;0)

SO.........  ‘Let it snow, let it snow.....let it snow.....!!’

In case you, too, will be one of the 50 million people affected by this SNOWPOCALYPSE, I thought I would suggest some of the books in my personal collection that over the years have become seminal influences on my own Hero's Journey.  So here is my list of the TOP 10 titles (all available on Amazon) that I believe would make excellent additions to any New Age Nerd's bookshelf:

1)  Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh

2)  Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav

3)  Beyond the Secret by Dr. Lisa Love

4)  Callings by Gregg Levoy

5)  Pathway to Bliss  by Joseph Campbell

6)  The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

7)  A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

8)  Power vs Force by David Hawkins

9)  The Four Desires by Rod Stryker

10)  Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel

It is my wish that at least One of these titles will have the ability to stir your own Souls's ‘secret sauce.’  Or perhaps ignite a dormant desire deep within your being.  As you peruse the list, see if anything jumps out at you, or somehow feels familiar.  After all, your feelings are the guideposts to your soul.  Ya never know,  for as they say, ‘the teacher appears when the student is ready’.  IF something resonates, consider class IN SESSION!

Stay safe and warm this weekend!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

I AM...........

I often LOSE leverage,  As I strain to maintain...

A whispered edge of SPACE..

Keeping the DOOR of My Understanding from slamming shut.

The Force of a thousand Souls thrust upon it daily...

To keep the TRUTH and all it's secrets hidden behind.

For on this side of existence..  They are the BEACON...

And I AM simply the LIGHT.

My powers here are thus weakened....

Told to me as such,  just before I came.

Physical essence bringing a notion called CHOICE...

The story of how fear, disrespect, and hatred thus began.

But CONSCIOUSNESS is the CURRENCY..  All must use on the Other Side...

And CHOICE then becomes useless..  

For here I AM authentic power... and declared to always SHINE.

by Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

She's BACK........!!!

Tonight on ABC is the return of the most overlooked SuperHero themed show on the air.
AGENT CARTER is back for a second season!!  Her character was first introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger and this series continues her adventures in Los Angeles circa the 1940's. For fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is a treasure trove of backstory tidbits to help further flesh out the stories of all of our favorite AVENGERS!

Hayley Attwell plays agent Peggy Carter as an erudite super sleuth who can land a perfect punch when she needs to.  If you are still searching for a show that ignites the Hero/Heroine's Journey within, Agent Carter just may be the ticket!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Turning Success into SIGNIFICANCE

While watching the final Democratic debate last evening, there was one through line that I feel is a core component of the true paradigm shift that has the greatest chance at combating the issues facing so many of us in this country and around the word.  When faced with the question of bi-partisanship, Bernie Sanders sounded off the most passionately, declaring the fact that the greater issue that must be engaged is the financial greed tied to the political system that has nearly wiped out the middle class in America.  The other two candidates agreed with these sentiments in what turned out to be one of the FEW issues in which all three found common ground.  This has been a recent triggering point for me as well!

I recently returned back to Northern Virginia after a stint just outside of Baltimore, MD, and am still trying to process the amount of poverty that I engaged on a daily basis.  You know the type of JOURNEY that may be underway when a car literally crashes into the foundation of your home at 8:00 in the morning, less than 5 days after moving in!  The car missed our just filled fuel tank by less than 4 inches, which if struck, would have sent the house into a massive explosion with me, my girlfriend, and our little pup inside!  YIKES!  ~~  I guess I still have work to do here God, but next time, how about a post-it..  :0)

Our street was shut down for the day, and we later found out the car was driven by a 15 year old who had stolen it the night before.  He got caught in a police chase that morning, that ended with him bailing out of the vehicle, and sending it careening straight into our home.  We lived in a historic suburb of Baltimore called Dikeyville (don't try to find it on a map) that had been built in the early 1800's and been kept to look like a picture taken straight out of a Dickens novel!  However, driving into the small, village like community was quite a humbling experience, as there was such poverty surrounding it.  I had never lived so close to areas that almost appeared to be victims of a war time barrage.  And these areas are FAR from anomalies in and around Baltimore.  It is, to say the least, quite a sobering experience, and one which still causes me to think a great deal about ways to assist this growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots.

One way that truly resonates with me is learning to turn Success into Significance.  Success tends to be more about ‘me’- what I've become and what I have got.  Significance is about what value I have created for others.  Success ignites your soul.  
Significance ignites a fire that many others can gather around for inspiration and support! 

Don't get me wrong, success is frickin' fantastic!!  One can only truly give away, that which they already have, right?!  But success in and of itself rarely adds VALUE to others.  Here are some examples that might help, in a quest to turn the success in your life into stupendous significance!

1- Success adds value to oneself.  Significance adds value to others.
A perfect example of this is my friend Jennifer Ohlson.  We met in college where she was awarded a full sports scholarship.   Here is just a sampling of some of her extraordinary personal achievements:
~~  Most lettered athlete in Colorado sports history
~~  USA Today Colorado Athlete of the Year
~~  ECAC Heptathlon Champion her senior year
The list goes on, but she has turned her MASSIVE personal success into a thriving business called Interactive Health Technologies!  She and her team have created a cloud based technology program to revolutionize the physical education system.   IHS is "dedicated to helping unlock the full potential inside every individual, empowering them from kindergarten through graduation day to take personal responsibility for their health and well-being."  Jen literally took her greatest passion and personal success, and has turned it into something that is adding TREMENDOUS value to others!  GO Jen!

2-  Success has limited influence.  Significance has UNLIMITED influence.
"When you influence a child, you influence a life.  When you influence a father, you influence a family.  When you influence a  leader, you influence ALL who turn to him/her for leadership."
Quote by Anonymous

3-  Turning Success into Significance is one of the best ways to find our CALLING.
I think we have all experienced the fleeting feeling that various success brings into our life.  But to go beyond ourself, and meld what our true talents to the world may be, with a burning desire to be of service to others, creates a gateway into our personal calling.

4-  Pursuing success only brings joy to but a few, but pursuing significance brings joy to many.  And isn't that what the Hero's Journey, at its core, is truly all about.  Bringing back the knowledge we have learned on our personal quest of challenges, to be of service to others who are still attempting to get through theirs?!  As Martin Luther King Jr. often espoused, “Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are we doing for others?”

So on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let's all think about the personal success in our life and be grateful to have been given the talent, support, and energy to have accomplished it!  But please do not forget to think about the many ways we can turn that success into the type of lasting significance that this world so desperately needs!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Go BRIGHT...or Go home........

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

FROM   Marianne Williamson's  A Return to Love

And as you shine brightly, remember God's LOVE LIGHT then illuminates the path for others. One NEVER knows if YOU may be the only bible/torah/quran the next person in your path shall ever read......................................

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Missing you Dad........

Alone I walk the shore...

Each step the cross I must bare

Waves of Illusion crash below

Past footprints no longer there

Hope is now my guiding light

To stave away all fear

The destination is not important

It is for the Journey that I AM here

Wind and piercing rain do come

‘Loss of Faith’ their intended try

Soulful Remembrances of that I AM

These transgressions are seething lies

A Phoenix flies overhead

The spiritual compass to lead my way

Conscious steps all drenched in the NOW

Soulful ruminations that must not sway

Eradicating all false essence

LOVE's stout boundaries to protect

Intrepid Promises of why I came

My soul's earthly contract now may be kept

And Heaven unleashes it's amazing grace

Ever expanding Strength.. my soul does accrue

Resonating in His promise for that I AM

Tomorrow as I wake..my body completely anew

by Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Happy Tuesday My Fellow New Age Nerds!

Quite astonishing to believe, but we just passed the two year mark of the passing of

our family's Patriarch, father, friend, and HERO, Roger Lee Poston.  

Although the healing process for me has progressed in many ways, there are still days in which I ache to hear his southern drawl, and am DEEPLY challenged to accept that my best friend has made his transition.  My dad embodied a life of service, connection, strength, and loving leadership; the epitome of a 'Bringer of the Light'.  

This poem was one of his favorites and so I share it with you as today's INSPIRATIONAL reading.......

I MISS YOU DAD. TONS.  You left an example of what a New Age Nerd can be and do in this world, and I COMMIT  from this point forward, to live a life using your essence as a template.   An extension of your personal Legend and Legacy.............

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Possibilities.......

The pessimist resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calender, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day.  On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calender and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back.  She can reflect with PRIDE and JOY on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest.
What will it matter to him if he notices he is growing old?  Has she any reason to envy the young people whom she sees, or wax nostalgic over her own lost youth?
What reasons has he to envy a young person?
For the POSSIBILITIES that a young person has, the future which is in store for him?
'No Thank You!', she will think.  'Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of many sufferings BRAVELY suffered.  These SUFFERINGS are even the things of which I am the most proud,
although these things cannot inspire envy.'

Quote by Victor Frankel

It's a brand new week.  There are only POSSIBILITIES awaiting you!!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

My Best Advice.. !!

I'm quite sure I am not alone when I declare that one of biggest pet peeves is  UNSOLICITED ADVICE!   Isn't it interesting how many 'experts' there are amongst our peers who know EXACTLY how to lose that 10 pounds, or quit smoking?!   Or what you "should" or "need" to do in order to manifest that new business, or end that relationship.  And how absolutely giving they tend to be with their knowledge, especially when we RARELY ask for it.

While I was studying for a master's degree in Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica, the law regarding this epidemic was laid down the very first day of school.  While our class of nearly 300 was mingling about, introducing ourselves to one another for the first time, I noticed one of the program's lead instructors writing something in Gi-normous letters in the middle of the blackboard on the auditorium's stage.  Although she was writing in wipe away chalk, it was etched as indelible grace within my mind.   She wrote,  ‘The Most Damaging Deed One Can Do to Another's Soul, is Give Them Unsolicited Advice’.   For many in the class, that spiritual sentiment was worth the price of admission alone!  Learn it, Live it......   Spread it!!   Please!    Spread it!!   ;0)

Does this mean that we can't offer past experiences or insight to others with the intent of assisting them during a 'bump' in their personal Journey?  Absolutely NOT!  However, there are much more caring and impactful ways that we can be of service.  Here are THREE suggestions toward not giving anymore UNSOLICITED ADVICE:


1.  Determine how you should be showing up
Much of the time, we simply have the desire to be heard in life.  Especially those of us in the beautiful world of service. (teacher, coach, care-taker)   We tend to immediately rush in with an attempt to fix a situation or try and 'coach' somebody toward their goal.  I know I'm super guilty.  Perhaps the greatest act of respect you can offer someone is to simply ask them how they would like you to show up in the moment.  They may, for instance, just want you to listen.  Without saying a word.  Now there is a thought!!  lol

The next time you catch yourself wanting to pipe in with a soliloquy of unsolicited advice, try simply asking, "How would you like me to show up for you right now?"    You may be shocked to see how grateful they become!


2.  FIRST, ask if they would be open to a suggestion
One of the reasons giving unsolicited advice can be so hurtful is because most of the time, it comes across as though the way they are currently handling the situation or issue is ‘wrong.’  Nobody wants to feel inadequate, less than, and/or stupid.  By humbly asking if they would be ‘open’ to your suggestion, their defenses will typically go down, because it won't feel as though you are directly challenging them.  
And let's not kid ourselves.  Often times, we are really making something all about US when we extend unsolicited advice.

3. Refrain from using phrases that contain the words ‘Should’, ‘Need’, or ‘Ought’ 
I hate to break it to you, but as absolutely brilliant as you probably have come to be, you do NOT have anybody else's answers.  Don't take offense.  Neither did Jesus the Christ.  
My point is that the ONLY person who truly knows another person's TRUTH, is that person them-self.  You have no idea what anyone else needs or must do.  I have found great success by implementing the phrases, "What would it feel like if you..............  or  What do you think might happen if you.....".   Plus, by not giving specific advice, you don't have to worry about being held responsible by the consequences of your own words!

If you try implementing any of these tips, please let me know your experiences in the comments section below.  I would love to hear your thoughts!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez