How Do You KNOW You Could Be Having a SPIRITUAL AWAKENING..??

TODAY'S INSPIRATIONAL “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

BOY:   “I want to be a Superhero!”

GIRL:  “ What's your name, Spiderman, Ironman?”

Boy:  “YOUR MAN.”

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We are currently living in very precarious times.  People are living in FEAR, unsure of what their future may hold.   Our TV screens filled almost daily with images of violence, separation, vitriol, and anger.  Yet, I am more HOPEFUL than ever before!  Why, you ask?  Because I am experiencing an enormous amount of individuals who are using this time to try and learn, grow, and change.  I get SO many personal messages from readers of The New Age Nerd who share their stories with me.   And I feel incredibly honored and privileged that they entrust me with their deep heartfelt longing and pain. Not too mention their sincere DESIRE to experience a more spiritually awakened life.  One that encompasses the reason why we are ALL here.  And that is simply to give and receive LOVE.

For many of us, the first sign of a Spiritual Awakening is having what I call a ‘BREAK OPEN.’  This occurs when we are at our own razor's edge.  And life seems to be slowly breaking us down in every way imaginable.  Many people call it hitting ‘rock bottom.’  And it's more than just emotionally painful.  It causes us to question the very fabric of our foundational BELIEFS.  And for those of you currently reading this who are in this state, I want to say CONGRATULATIONS!  Because this is a sign that you are about to have a Spiritual Awakening.  You are being broken down so that you can ‘Break Open.’   And in doing so, unleash the gifts and talents you were blessed with for the purpose of sharing them with the world.!!  I am NOT implying that this stage is easy.  FOR IT IS NOT!  I know from recent personal experience how scary, painful, and absolutely terrifying it can be.  This stage often includes the letting go of things that no longer serve us;  friends, jobs, even family members.  As Marianne Williamson calls it ‘The Day of The Wrecking Ball.’  Because our very foundation must be pulled up and out to allow the space for the new one to be built in its place.  And that my friends, is NO FUN!  Yet it is also a crucial part of the process.  Just like any building, it is ONLY as strong as its foundation, right?  Many of the elements of our past foundation were manifested into our experience when we were not yet ready to Break Open.  And now that we are, some things are going to have to change.  

My personal HERO, the late Wayne Dyer, explained this stage like this, “The experience of a crisis immobilizes us for a long period of time. Our mind is focused on the disaster aspects of the situation, and we are unable to function effectively. We are unable to sleep or eat, and do not know how we are going to get past the terrible set of circumstances. We use our minds to focus on what is wrong, how painful it is, and how terrible it is going to be in the future. Advice from friends and relatives seems unrelated to our problem and usually results in anger and frustration. We cannot see any way out of our misery.

This is a typical response for all of us who are traveling our life paths in the belief that the external signposts are all there is to our reality. We cannot imagine that there is a valuable lesson in the trauma. We reject any suggestions that someday we will recall this experience as a necessary step in our development. We simply want to wallow in our hurt, believing that someone or something outside of us is creating this pain, and wishing that those externals would change.”

This stage often includes a period of depression and extreme anxiety, or both.  Please know that there is NO THING wrong with you.  You are NOT broken.  What you are doing is getting prepared to birth miracles.  And the birthing process (as you ladies know) is an arduous one.  Not for the faint of heart.  Part of the depression stems from the longing of the things we are letting go of.  Some of it is because we are just beginning the experience of having a deep KNOWINGNESS that we are not currently following our Hero's/Heroine's Journey, the very purpose that we came to BE.

Stage TWO of a Spiritual Awakening is where we begin the slow process of having complete GRATITUDE for our sufferings.  Because we start feeling that our pain and suffering is not in vein.  We begin to have KNOWINGNESS that there is an important reason behind it.  Things start making sense.  Wayne Dyer explains it like this, “This is an important step in the enlightenment process, and helps us to see how synchronized the onesong really is. Certainly we still experience the pain and suffering, but we simultaneously know that there is something magnificent in this as well. We are able to be gentle and accepting with ourselves, and to honor and love even the part that is creating the crisis. We probably will not cognitively understand why this pain is occurring right now, but we will have an underlying knowingness and belief in the value of it.”

Stage THREE of this awakening is ALL ABOUT SYNCHRONICITY.  There comes a moment in which the pain of NOT committing to our awakening and purpose becomes more painful that the thought of taking that leap of faith.  So through pure force of will, we TAKE THE JUMP.  Having Faith that Spirit will provide and protect us on the Journey.  And guess what, Spirit does.  Always and in all ways.  It is a Universal Law  (A promise from source if you will) that once you TRULY commit to this Divine Awakening, Spirit will flood your experience with everything you need to fulfill your destiny.  It may not happen all at once.  So PLEASE, be patient during this stage.  Miracles take time in this dimension.  But by staying in this new state of ALLOWANCE, you will begin to experience SYNCHRONICITY almost daily. People start showing up out of the blue to offer guidance.  Financial opportunities present themselves to help support your vision.  You begin to attract a new TRIBE of like minded friends and a support team.     And let me tell you, it's when you first start experiencing the sensation of Heaven on Earth!!  And it is blissful, and magical.  You cannot imagine living in any other way, ever again!  

For those of you who may be skeptical of this process, I can understand.  ESPECIALLY if you are currently in the middle of Stage ONE.  I know, because I was there just six months ago.  I was so depressed I could barely get out of bed.  My mind caught in a constant replay of my past.  Unable to let go of the constriction these perceived failings were having over my entire psyche.  I had no money, no job, and had dropped almost 25 pounds because I simply had no desire to eat. In fact, I had little desire to do anything,  From the bed, I would make it to the living room sofa and sarcastically say to myself, “Watch out world, there is NO stopping me now!”  LOL

But as I made a commitment toward my path, the fog slowly lifted, and my life took off like a rocket of Re-membrance!  Now, just five months later, I have a burgeoning business as a life and leadership coach with The New Age Nerd!!  I am working as an advertising consultant for the largest podcast advertising network in the world, and they are actually launching my podcast next month!!  I have put 30 pounds back on and am in the best shape of my life.  And it feels GLORIOUS!!  Where I could barely get out of bed just a few short months ago, I now leap out of bed every morning, super stoked to experience the wonders of the coming day!   Can I get an AMEN in this congregation?!?! :0) 

Even if it doesn't feel like it right now, LIFE IS A BLESSING!  And please do not beat yourself up for whatever state you currently find yourself in.  You are EXACTLY where you need to be on your Journey.  No Thing you have experienced will be wasted. Each and every one of them has been to give you the wisdom, understanding and re-membrance of knowledge you will need moving forward!  And once you reach the place where you are in complete alignment of allowance, and living your PURPOSE, fully awakened to your calling, LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

AWESOME Tips On How To OVERCOME Temporary Defeat..........

A few months ago, when my life became a tsunami of chaos, loss, confusion and it felt as though the preverbal rug had been pulled out from beneath me, it seemed like a true “knockout” punch from the Universe.  This Rocky was temporarily down for the count.    I felt so completely overwhelmed that simply getting out of bed in the morning seemed like a daunting task.  It felt something akin to the task of moving.  You simply don't know where to even begin!  And with the Holidays right around the corner, I decided to do, well, nothing!  I had been putting in 18 hour days the previous year and knew I was mentally, physically, and spiritually spent. We can only give to others that which we have, and as humbling as it was to admit, there wasn't much left in my ‘spiritual giving’ tank.  As those of us in the Wounded Healer community can attest, sometimes we give so much of ourselves to assist others, that we forget to save some of that LOVE, compassion, and understanding for OURSELVES!

The wonderful aspect about being a life coach and teacher is that we can use our hard fought wisdom and understanding on our own BEING!!  Yes, even the greatest of the great need assistance from time to time and us coaches are NO different.  In fact, I come from the philosophy that everyone is MY teacher as I am everyone else's!  After all, WE ARE ALL ONE, right!  

So with the help of my personal mentor Justin C., right after the Holidays said their final farewells,  I slowly began to devise a plan to put the pieces of my shattered life back together.  ONE DAY AT TIME!  And now my life is back on track toward my own Hero's Journey!!  The first step in my process was to continually remind myself that No Thing in life is ever wasted.  Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING that manifests into our lives comes for a grand purpose.  They bring the essence of the wisdom, compassion, strength, and empathy that you will need for your personal Hero's/Heroine's Journey.  But here is the catch; like everything of value in this world, these useful gifts come at a cost.  Usually they come to stretch us in ways we never felt possible.  And like starting a new Yoga class after years of inactivity, this can be quite the arduous process.  Let's just keep it real.  IT CAN HURT LIKE HELL!!  And can be just as dauntingly scary!  And this process is never-ending on our Journey through life.  Our own Soul knows when and what we need to take on the next challenging task at hand, and thus we are forced to grow and stretch many times throughout our lives all to share our greatest gifts and become the greatest version of the greatest vision of ourselves!

So here are a few tips and suggestions on how to overcome temporary defeat and get back to spreading the spiritual perfection that is a part of your very essence!

1.  TAKE SMALL STEPS
Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will the rebuilding of the parts of your life that require a fresh start.  Sometimes we become so overwhelmed with how we are going to get from A-Z that we don't even begin the process.  So break up your plan into small, bitesize chunks that FEEL doable within your own personal wheelhouse!

2. Lean On Others For Support 
You would be absolutely amazed how many people are willing to extend a helping hand to assist you in your times of need.  Don't believe me?!?  I strongly suggest you heed my suggestion and put this step into practice, PRONTO!  I think you will be happily surprised at the response you receive!!

3.  Find Someone To Hold You Accountable
Life can pull us in so many different directions, that even with the best of intentions, we can fall of course of our plan.  That's why it is SO important to pick someone to compassionately hold you accountable for your game plan!  In fact, hiring a personal life coach is one stupendous way to incorporate someone in your life who will help keep you and your plan in check!  

4. REMEMBER:  You Are Both a Masterpiece and a Work In Progress At The Same Time
I always remind my clients that they are NOT THEIR CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES.  Your current life situation is here for a purpose.  Now I believe it is our responsibility to try and understand what we can Re-member from those whirlwinds of chaos that whisk into our lives from time to time.  But trust that they are there for a reason!!  

When our lives turn into something  more convoluted than the most insane television soap opera, it often means that something absolutely MIRACULOUS is making space to come into your life.  It may feel like the exact opposite is true (in fact most of the time it does) but sometimes The Universe needs to force us to remove foundational aspects of our lives that are no longer serving us, so that the people, places and things that will raise our consciousness can replace them!  You can either do this on your own volition, or wait for the Universe to step in!  It's all up to you, but which one do you think is more painful?!?  LOL

So in times of complete chaos, please Re-member, you are still a perfect emanation of Spirit, here to shine as bright as the shiniest of stars!!

5. Be Patient With Yourself And The Process And Don't Compare Your Journey      With Others
We live in a world of instant information and results.  Yet life is all about the Journey, NOT THE DESTINATION.  What if I told you that YOU CANNOT MAKE A MISTAKE?!?  How would your action steps and plan in life change?  Well, I am here to share with you that you truly cannot make a mistake.  Everything you do is based on the amalgam of experience, conditioning, and information at your disposal at any given point in time.  In fact, I have removed the word mistake from my lexicon and replaced it with the word “Misstep.”  As long as we learn from our missteps, they can no longer be deemed mistakes, but lessons learned.  So please be patient with yourself along your Journey.  You are going to make missteps along the way.  And that is entirely OK.  In fact, it is a crucial part of the process!!

And lastly, try and refrain from comparing yourself and your current life conditions with those around you.  You have NO IDEA what they are here to accomplish and why their life situation is so much different from yours.  Marriane Williamson always says comparing yourselves to others is like trying to look at another person's life notes.  They are not meant for you, just as yours is not meant for them.  We all have separate Journey's and miraculous purposes for being here.  And none is greater than another's!!

It is my hope that some of these suggestions resonate with you and are tangible enough for you to incorporate into your own lives............

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

A Six Week Lesson in Life............

First and foremost, I would like to extend a belated yet still very heartfelt HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the readers of The New Age Nerd!!! It is my wish that the start of 2017 has already provided you with many blessings, laughs, love, and a wonderful foundation to manifest the goals and dreams of the year to come!!

For those who thought I had stopped with my numerous musings and lessons learned along my own Hero's Journey, NOT A CHANCE!!!  The truth is that 2016 ended rather challenging for me on many levels.  And I came to the realization that I had been band-aiding some very crucial areas of my life and it was finally time for the coach to take some much needed time to heal, mend, and truly face these issues HEAD ON!  Scary?  HELL YES!  Humbling?  Damn Straight! Positively life altering?  ABSOLUTELY!!

So what exactly did I learn (Re-member) during this six week “time out” of sorts??  Well, how much time have you got?!  LOL  ;0)    Firstly, life is a process of never-ending heart breaking experiences.  As much as I would love to declare that your precious heart will endure this excrutiating process once or twice, I am here to definitely declare that that's simply just not the case.  Our heart is a muscle, and just like the rest of the muscles in our body, it much be broken down to be rebuilt even stronger.  And for anyone who has just started their New Year's resolution of getting back in the gym to whip that body into shape, the process ain't easy, and often quite painful!  The good news is that each and every time our hearts are broken wide open, they develop the ability to be the bearers of more LOVE, compassion, wisdom, vulnerability, and clarity.  So Re-member, what you resist, persists, and what you face slowly fades away.  

Sweeping our true feelings, shortcomings, missteps, emotions, thoughts, and pain under the proverbial rug only exacerbates their affect on our own ability to shine the LIGHT we were all meant here to bring and share with one another.  And thinking that by ‘fixing’ other people's issues you are somehow sidestepping the daunting process of healing your own is delaying the inevitable.  As Gary Zukav states in  his wonderful book “The Seat of the Soul”, “The journey may take many lifetimes, but you will complete it.  It is Impossible not to complete it.  It is not a question of if but when.”  Preach Gary!!  Basically, you can face your demons now or later, but face them you will!  TRUST ME PEEPS........

Another vital soulful connection that resurfaced into my daily consciousness is the importance of a daily spiritual practice.  We have to fight like hell to raise our consciousness and all it takes is a few missteps and unconscious experiences with our fellow soulful 

brothers and sisters to completely allow the illusion of this world to become our reality.  I've said it before but it truly bears repeating!  THE ONLY THING THAT WILL BRING YOU ETERNAL PEACE, CONTENTMENT, AND JOY IN THIS WORLD IS FOLLOWING YOUR PURPOSE.  Anything short of that is a temporary ‘fix’ of what we truly seek.  So I believe it would be in your best interest to stay connected to your Spirit as often as possible in the New Year!!

And most importantly, this six week process helped me truly understand and Re-member that we CANNOT wait until we are completely healed of our illusionary imperfections before sharing our gifts and wisdom with a world that yearns for the gifts inside us all! There were MANY DARK moments during the previous six weeks in which I felt completely broken.  And all alone.  Isolated in what felt like a never-ending tornado worthy of Dorthy's journey on her way to Oz.  Only this wind storm seemed to have no real destination.  Just a continuing amalgam of self doubt and internal, gut wrenching pain.  Much having to do with the constant internal monologue of “Who in the hell do I think I am to be a life coach and spiritual teacher.  I still have so much to Re-member.”  And there are many times that I do not always live the very words I espouse.  I get frustated and depressed.  And ya know what?!  THAT IS COMPLETELY OK!  Even Jesus the Christ had to enter the Garden of Gethsemane to ask God, “Why have you forsaken me?”  

I also Re-membered the most important part of the Hero's Journey.  At the end of his/her quest, he/she brings back all the wisdom and understanding he/she learned along the treacherous way.  And not only the ebullient feelings of his/her triumphs, but also the hard fought lessons for all in the kingdom to learn!  

And that's EXACTLY what I promise to continue doing with The New Age Nerd in 2017and Beyond!  And that is to courageously follow my own Hero's Journey and with as much personal vulnerability I can muster, share all the understanding and hard fought lessons I learn (Re-member) along the way.  I hope you all will continue to share this Journey with me...........

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez