Why Your BURDENS Are BLESSINGS In Disguise....!

 

~~  Gandalf    (THE LORD OF THE RINGS)

~~ Alfred    (BATMAN BEGINS)

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Yesterday morning, I was incredibly inspired by a speech given by Joel Osteen.  I must profess I do not watch his show religiously, but as I was switching channels this day, the moment I turned to his program, he was espousing the importance of looking for the blessings that come with most of our daily burdens.  And of course being The New Age Nerd that I am, I was hooked! So much of what he was saying resonated at a deeply profound level for me.  Mostly because of how it correlated very closely with the core intention of this blog; that being The Superhero's Journey.  And the fact that nothing that comes into your experience is a coincidence.  Be it illness, loss, betrayal, as well as the many wonderful and amazing things that we co-create each and everyday. It is all a part of the DIVINE'S way of supporting us on our true path. It does not meanthese experiences and emotions are easy. In fact, some of them can feel downright brutal, and cause us to question what the hell is going on in our lives. Some of us get hit so hard, and in so many ways (often all at once), that we start to lose our faith. That is why his message was such a powerful infusion of remembrance for me. And I am sure for many others. 

Mr. Osteen told some powerful and humorous stories about his own life. And the manner in which some quite challenging personal events forced him to face his biggest fears. Many of them becoming the most magnificent blessings he had yet to experience.  For instance, his father was a pastor who actually started the church with his family.  Joel was much younger then and was quite introverted and very shy.  He much preferred to stay behind the scenes and help his family by serving the church away from the pulpit's spotlight. Until his father suddenly passed away. And in the middle of his heavy grief, he had a huge decision to make.  In order for the church to continue, he knew he would have to take the lead and become the church's head pastor. Something that scared the hell out of him.  But he decided to put his entire faith in Spirit. And so the following Sunday, he gathered (was given by Spirit) the courage and strength to grab the microphone for the very first time, and get on the pulpit to carry forth the work his father had started so many years before.  And as we all now know, Joel has become one of the most beloved spiritual teachers currently on this planet!  He has inspired millions of people to live the Greatest Version of the Grandest Vision ever held of themselves.  Now that is a transcendent example of turning a burden into a blessing.  Not only for himself, but for the world!

It also brought to mind a powerful story from the life of Napoleon Hill, who is one of the founding fathers of modern day self actualization.  Of all the magnificent stories he has shared through his many books, none is nearly as powerful as the story of his second son from his seminal tomb ‘Think And Grow Rich.’  You see, Napoleon Blair Hill was born without any physical signs of ears.  From birth, all his doctors proclaimed that due to his physical deformities, he would live a life being both deaf and mute. A devastating declaration for any parent! However, Napoleon Hill was a true Bringer of the Light.  He made a vow the very day those doctors told them their opinion, that his son would indeed learn to hear and speak!  He has said his steely determination came from a famous quote attributed to transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, who profoundly stated, “The whole course of things goes to teach us faith. We need only obey.  There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening, we shall hear the right words.”

To help demonstrate the power of DESIRE, in the second chapter of his book, he outlined his plan to assist his son toward his goal:

Napoleon's plan included:

• renewing his own daily pledge for Blair's wholeness;
• imparting his burning desire to Blair;
• not teaching sign language to Blair;
• mainstreaming Blair's education instead of sending him to a school for the deaf;
• creating bedtime stories for Blair with themes "designed to develop in him self-reliance, imagination, and a keen desire to hear and to be normal" as well as to establish the belief that"his affliction was not a liability, but an asset of great value"

Through the use of several techniques, Napoleon started gaining some progress, as Blair slowly began to hear vibrations and even music if played loud enough.  Hill was able to incorporate his own famous declaration that “every adversity brings with it the equal seed of opportunity,” through the example of teaching his own son how to hear.  

Blair not only made it through a basic education, but later excelled at the University of West Virginia.  After graduation, he reluctantly traveled to New York to meet with a company who had heard about his story. They had been developing a hearing aid device inspired by Blair's own deep desire to help himself and others with auditory disabilities.  But so many former attempts of introducing such devices into this market had never found their mark.  But little did he know his own Hero's Journey was beginning anew!

This new device actually worked tremendously and allowed Blair to hear clearly for the first time in his life.  So excited and now doggedly determined to use his father's philosophy of  turning burdens into blessings, he asked the company that designed the device if he could work on its marketing plan.  His goal was to “render useful service.... to bring hope and practical relief to thousands of deafened people who, without his help, would have been doomed forever to deaf mutism.”

Blair spent a great portion of the remaining of his life on his mission.  And DID INDEED help millions of hearing impaired individuals all around the world to live new lives through the use of this magical hearing aide device! 

Blair Hill's faith, coupled with the unshakable belief and LOVE of his father, turned misfortunate into a MIRACLE! One that has magically improved the lives of millions of people. It is such an inspirational testament to the power God places within our pain. For while our suffering may at times appear to be arbitrary, this story proves that is far from the truth. Pain is simply a part of the 'HEAVENLY HERO MAKING MACHINE' that the Universe has put into place to forge miracles for us and through us. NEVER to us! Please always remember that distinction. 

And the next time you feel less than, unlovable, unworthy, or simply are lost in you own darkness, remember that you are a Superhero! Just being here is proof positive of that. Because not everyone who was asked to come here said "YES." In fact, the majority said "NO." 
Not because any of them are less than in there own making, but because this earthly experience is very dense for the soul. And at times can be quite painful. Some would even say BRUTAL! Growth and expansion at this speed often requires strokes of pain as the catalyst for the birthing process of miracles to occur within this realm.  So please be super proud of the fact that when confronted with the choice to make a lasting difference in a world that is in desperate need of superheroes, you did not back down from the challenge! And that in itself makes you a Legend in Training!

Through the moon lit night....
A single Path is now shown...
Dare I step onto its glowfilled glare...
For the destination is unknown...

I ask Spirit for Guidance and Strength...
As I take my first move into the Night...
Heavy are the thoughts of my mind...
An internal struggle to hide my Fright...

It is then that I Re-member...
That when our Journey is at its end....
We all forge a path and must go alone....
To those before me, much Love do I send.....

Night swept Fog now blinds my way....
A silent whisper like none before....
Asks for my utter Belief and Trust...
As I traverse this foreign shore..

My sight still betrays me...
Tho I surrender to this special voice...
And brave this dreamlike vision...
For I've learned the power of choice ...

We have many gifts to light our darkness..
Yet still so many lose their will...
Giving way to all their lifelong pain...
Shouting to heaven a powerful shrill....

Perhaps this night's Journey....
Will show me that our pain is power...
Perhaps forgotten along the way...
Inspiring others with this night's swept shower...

Is this the purpose for my dreamlike state...
To assist in my remembering of why I came...
A steward of conscious spiritual Light...
Teaching others that our path we can always reframe....

As I start the process of knowingness...
The path ahead begins to clear....
My Superhero's Journey illuminates this path...
And leaves me No Thing to Fear.....


Written by Jeffrey Louis Martinez

May these words offer you solace in the darkest of your nights. So you may remember all of your burdens are no thing less than BLESSINGS in disguise!

BE SUPER HEROIC!
BE LOVE - SERVE ALL - ALWAYS INSPIRE

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

TAG... The UNIVERSE Says "You're IT"...... !

 

Many moons ago, when I was still just a New Age Nerd in training, the warm Virginia summer nights became a magical filled time of memories in the making! I was blessed enough to have a great group of friends who shared most of the same passions as me. We were adventurous, creative, and at times quite competitive. Our complimentary skill sets made for a complete whole that was willing and waiting at all times to conjure the next great opportunity for real life fun! This was near pre-historic times mind you; way before cell phones, personal computers, and the internet.  Our form of 'Social Media' was the utter rush of excitement that accompanied knocking on your friends door to see if they were at home and wanted to come out to play! I dare say most kids nowadays would be hard pressed if asked where their best friends even reside. Aye Dios Mio!  ;0)

One of our nightly summer rituals became a game of MIDNIGHT TAG! Our mid-summer skies stayed lit until way past 9 o'clock, and so around 10 PM we would agree to meet in the middle island of our culdesac to begin the night's festivities!  

The game itself was our version on the standard Hide and Go Seek; only in the near pitch blackness of the toasty summer night.  To start each game, one person was picked to be the TAGGER.  They would close their eyes and count to thirty. In a hurried rush that resembled something akin to a ‘Chinese Fire Drill’ all the other players scurried about in the near dark to find a hiding space! Once the TAGGER had finished his countdown, 'LET THE GAMES BEGIN!'  The objective was fairly straightforward, albeit somewhat scary given the lack of light. The TAGGER went searching the neighborhood to try and 'Pick Off' any of the other players in hiding through physically touching them.    All the other players tried to get back to 'Home Base' safely before being tagged.  Once a player was tagged, that round was over and anyone who had made it back 'Home' safe and sound earned a point. And the player tagged became the new TAGGER in the next game.  At the end of the night's Battle Royale, the person with the most points won the game! Man, to be a kid again, right?!  

On one now unforgettable evening of frightful fun, my sister and I started running toward Home Base at the exact same time.  I was the TAGGER and was doggedly determined to knock her out of the game!! Now remember, with vision being compromised from the veil of darkness, we had no idea that WE WERE RUNNING STRAIGHT INTO ONE ANOTHER!  Without anyway to have known to brace myself, KAPOW!!  A full speed collision in which my sister's forehead blasted into my left upper eye,  leveling me down for the count before I had any idea what the HELL just happened!  For a couple of minutes, I didn't know Who The Heck I was, much less Where the Heck I was.  (Cue circling cartoon stars and tweety birds around my poor noggin')

When the cobwebs finally starting tearing away from my consciousness, I remember being on my back with all my friends hovering above me in utter disbelief.  'Did I win?!' was my incredulous first question.  LOL  To which my friend Frankie kept repeating, "Is it going to keep getting bigger than that?!"   Prompting my buddy Mike to continue sheepishly retorting, "I Dunno?!"     Bigger than WHAT I thought!   Then, I started regaining feeling in my body and I felt a warm, deep thumping-pounding above my left eye.   Inner Monologue Please:  UH OH! Either something nasty must be happening, or by the looks of all these faces, maybe I was just abducted by aliens!  And Scene........   ;0)

By the time my friends carried me back to our townhouse, my eye had closed completely shut from the impact of the blow.  I couldn't see a lick out of it!  Looking in the mirror, all I could conjure up was the line from the movie the ELEPHANT MAN;  "I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!"    LOL

On the bright side, this not so little mishap did befall on me a Get Out Of School pass for one week!  Yeah for me...?  Kinda.....   Once the wound slowly resolved, my vision in that left eye was never the same.  A trip to the optometrist to be fitted with a new pair of eye glasses is now part of my lore/origin story and eventual transformation into a New Age Nerd! 

Fast forward to last night watching the 2019 Golden Globe Awards.  Near the middle of the program, the customary Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award went to the great and very deserved Jeff Bridges!  And during his exceptional acceptance speech, he began to tell a story about Being Tagged in life.   I would like to share it in full:

"One of the great, great Directors I was lucky enough to work for was the late great Michael Cimino.  I can remember going into his office before the first day of filming and saying, "Mike, man, I think you have made a terrible mistake.  I'm not feeling this guy (his character) at all.  I feel so inadaquate. I feel bad because I'm giving you such late notice.  But please fire me." And Michael looked at me and said, "Jeff, you know that game TAG.  Well, YOU'RE IT!"  I said, 'What do you mean, I'm It?'  And he said, "You are the guy.  You couldn't make a mistake if you wanted to.  The life of this character is coming through you.  It's a done deal."  I thought,  that is a wonderful vote of confidence and a great new perspective to look at this thing.  And I used that in the film and use it now in all the other movies I've gotten, as well as in my life.    I've BEEN TAGGED!  I guess we all have been TAGGED.  We're alive!  Ya know what I'm saying.  I look at my life through the filter of movies.  I find directors and fellow actors all over the place in my life and one guy, he had nothing to do with the movies, but I have taken a lot of direction from him.  His name is Bucky Fuller.  Bucky made this great observation about these ocean going tankers. He noticed the engineers were particularly challenged by how to turn these things. They have this big rudder that took too much energy to turn the ship.  So they came up with a brilliant idea.  Lets put a litter rudder on the big rudder.  The little rudder will turn the big rudder.  The big rudder will turn the ship.  That little rudder is called a Trim Tab.  And Bucky made the analogy that the Trim Tab is an example of how the individual is connected to society and how we affect society.  And I like to think of myself as a Trim Tab.  And ALL of us are Trim Tabs!  We may seem like we are not UP TO THE TASK.  But we are, man, WE ARE ALIVE! We can really make a difference.  We can turn this ship in the way we want to go.  TOWARDS LOVE! Creating a healthy planet for all of us.  So, I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press for TAGGING me.  And I want to TAG you all!  You're all Trim Tabs!  TAG, YOU'RE IT!"  

Do any of you reading have what I call GODBUMPS?  I sure did and still do!  And Mr. Bridges story is so poignantly powerful.  Every single one of us is here NOW because we have been TAGGED by the Universe.  We are all HEROES on a Hero's Journey with a unique, divinely devised Calling that absolutely No One can fulfill but......   Y...O...U!  You are that Special, that Amazing, and the God Given Gifts that have been bestowed upon you for this grand adventure are desperately needed by the World;  RIGHT NOW!  No more excuses.  NAP TIME IS OVER!  It's time to fully awaken into your Divinity.  

Just like my own personal story about being TAGGED, I'm not professing that the Journey will be easy.  Life isn't meant to be easy.  It's meant to be meaningful.  And Transformative.  You will be asked to face your fears and undoubtedly will be gobsmacked down to the mat more than once!  Just as I was that summer night over 35 years ago.  But PLEASE do not let that stop you from answering the Soulful Ringtone that is trying to awaken you to your calling.  Bless that sound in every form it arrives in your experience.  Be it in the next song you hear, or the next blog (wink) or book you read.   That music is just your own Soul seeking back it's dance partner.  Re-member, you are not doing any of this alone.  Within each of you is a Super Heroic Higher Self!  Don't be afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone and pealing off the Illusionary Veil of a former self that no longer serves you.   As scary as I know it can be.

What if I told you that everything that has ever rested deep within your heartfelt desires is awaiting you on the other side of all your Fears, Self Doubt, and Pain?    Would that give you the courageous push to finally Ignite your Super Heroic Higher Self and start living from that New Illusionless Identity?    And in addition,  that the byproduct of transforming into this Miracle Makin' Machine was nothing less than widening the flow of LOVE, WISDOM, COMPASSION, and BLISS back into the World!  All while Being in Loving Service to All while wielding your own set of Super Powers.  As Mr. Bridges said, we are all 'Trim Tabs!'  And there is no more time to waste.......   

TAG, YOU'RE IT!

BE SUPER HEROIC!  

BE LOVE - SERVE ALL - INSPIRE ALWAYS

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez