What Is The REAL Meaning Of FORGIVENESS...?!?!?

For many of us, this Thursday will be the official start of this year's Holiday season.  And for many members of my New Age Nerd TRIBE, this will mean gathering together with family and friends for all the tasty treats that encompass the annual Thanksgiving  celebration.  Believe it or not, it is also the start of the greatest time of depression and suicide on every year's calendar.  That's right, the Holiday season is the greatest time of sorrow and disconnection of fellowship that occurs throughout each and every year.  And I have always considered that an absolute travesty.  With over 8 BILLION souls currently inhabiting this planet, it dumbfounds me that oh so many find this time of year so challenging and difficult to navigate.  Don't you agree.....?!!??

One of the greatest reasons for the shift in collective consciousness that ravages this passage of time has very much to do with FORGIVENESS.  Many families gather and have so many various fractured relationships, that something that should be celebratory in nature becomes an act of obligation.  So I thought this was a perfect time for me to humbly offer my own personal BELIEF on the very topic of FORGIVENESS in the hopes that it will spark a new paradigm on the way we view this very crucial and absolutely necessary aspect of the human condition.  

In order for me to fully flesh out my personal explanation of this term, I thought I would break down the word itself.  If we look at the word FORGIVENESS and break it down into syllables it says For Giving.  But what does that mean exactly?!?  It means that to truly FORGIVE means that the act in and of itself is FOR GIVING someone who has forgotten who they truly are back to themselves.  Does that make sense?!?   In my coaching practice I know this is a very new and challenging viewpoint to truly understand.  And I get it!  We have been soooo conditioned to use this term as a way of thinking that another has in some way wronged us.  And so it is our choice whether to absolve them of their transgressions toward us.   And unfortunately, we often choose to hold these transgressions close to our BEING out of personal protection or from a place of EGO.  And this practice has caused many of us to a practice of judgement, but also many years or even decades of lost connection with other SOULS who only wish to feel loved and cared for on a heartfelt manner.

So I would like to offer to my TRIBE a radically different view of how we can actually use the act of FORGIVENESS in an entirely different and radically more powerfully manner than we may have ever pondered.  Are you game???   Great!!!!

The TRUE meaning of the word Forgiveness is FOR us to GIVE one another the Re-membrance of who we truly are until we can hold this space for ourselves.  And in this process, there is no SPACE  for judgment.  Only COMPASSION, Love, and healing LIGHT!!  For when we mistakenly BELIEVE that another wronged us in some way, we transcend this hurt and Re-member first for ourselves, and then for the OTHER that their only real transgression is forgetting that WE ARE ALL ONE!!  Because once we are offered this Re-membrance, all forms of separateness simply melt away.    

And we no longer look at another's actions as something that was intentionally meant to injure us.  

Now of course there are exceptions to this understanding, just as they say the only truths are Death and Taxes....LOL   ;0)  I am in no way advocating that we allow ourselves to continue to stay in situations that are completely TOXIC in nature.  NO WAY JOSE!  Sometimes other SOULS need time and space to heal and understand the affect of their ways on themselves and others.  However this does not mean that during this period, we do not pray for them from afar as they come to their own understanding in their OWN TIME!!  All in the effort of helping them Re-member who they truly are and why they came here on this ultimate adventure!!

It is my wish that throughout this Holiday Season that you receive one another in the true REVERENT nature that we all DESERVE!!  Because this Holiday Season is a wonderful time to give each other the greatest gift of all...........   The gift of the true meaning of FORGIVENESS so that we may all experience  the gift of and Re-membrance that WE ARE ALL ONE..!!!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

What is The LOVE LEGION..???

I can't believe it has been a week since my surgery was performed. It has been a week filled with an inordinate amount of pain, feelings of immense GRATITUDE, and time for deep soulful connection. I have always tried to use these challenging times in my life to reflect on my SOULFUL life's intention. And I thought I would share with all my tribe members and fellow New Age Nerds some of these ruminations before the start of this Holiday Season.

Our world seems to be at a precipice on so many levels. Kindness, compassion, and loving fellowship seem to be relics of a time long gone. The seemingly daily senseless violence that fills our various communication devices have truly desensitized us to the anger, fear, and disconection that has permeated the very fabric of our consciousness. Many of us have stopped feeling HOPEFUL and now feel scared and unsure of life and their place within it. And I get it! TRULY!

But, what would happen if we looked at the current state of life affairs we are all facing as THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY. Because that is EXACTLY what I choose to see lying before us all. As the saying goes, the night is darkest just before the dawn. But we need anyone who is truly seeking a different way of BEING to step into the Light and share their gifts of laughter, joy, courage, strength, wisdom and LOVE with one another. And the amazing thing to Re-member is that one act of compassion and kindness is 1,000 times more powerful than one filled with fear and anger.

And the ONLY way for us to have the opportunity to share these gifts is for there to be pain, suffering, lack of abundance, and dampened SPIRITS along our daily path. Please do not misunderstand my words. I am NOT advocating for a society filled with pain and suffering. But we can only experience the feelings of healing, resurrection of spirit, reconnection of fractured relationships, being worthy of our sufferings, rekindling a SOUL'S lost purpose, faith being met with acts of GRATITUDE. or giving someone the precious gift of knowing that someone-somehwhere- cares........if there are those in that state.

As you fellow New Age Nerds are fully aware, I use the paradigm of The Hero's Journey as the underlying foundational technique in my life coaching practice. And there is a reason for that. I BELIEVE with every ounce of my BEING that Each and Every one of us is a Hero. Not the type of Hero that can fly faster than a speeding bullet, or forging the strength of a 1,000 mortal men No, the type of Hero I am talking about is 10 times stronger than those feats, as miraculous as they may seem. I am talking about us having the COURAGE to step into the path of our SOUL's true PURPOSE and find our Calling! Because when you do, you become a member of The LOVE LEGION!! For in the very moment that you join in this eternal TRIBE, you have but ONE MISSION. And that is to use your God granted gifts to spread LOVE in your own unique way in the name of service to others. How frickin cool is that!

And I think we can all agree on ONE thing. This world could use millions and millions of Heroes to join The LOVE LEGION. So as I sit in this chair still VERY slowly recovering from last week's surgery, I would like to offer a challenge to you all! Even if you are not yet ready to step into your own Hero's Journey, think about the many ways you can still spread your gifts to those in need. And please understand that as Gandalf says,"I used to think that it was only acts of GREAT POWER that could hold Evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that is the small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay."

Trust me, Gandalf is soooooo right. Do you know what has been the most healing forms of action that have befallen me in the last week. Simple texts and phone calls from friends and family. Just knowing there are people out there thinking of me makes my body glow and I just know it is aiding in my healing!

So think about all the people in your life, and rather than giving short loved gifts to them this Holiday Season, think how we can start to change the vibration of this world if we all gave a gift of pure and selfless LOVE........

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Did You KNOW When You ASK It Is ALWAYS Given..!!!

TODAY'S MYTHOLOGICAL INSPIRATIONAL MAGIC

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There once lived a little girl who absolutely adored cats.  She loved the way they felt and how strong and independent they seemed in her precious eyes.  She had asked her parents if she could have a cat of her own for what seemed like an eternity.  And yet her parents reply never wavered.  They always answered her request with a stern NO!

And so one night, before lying down for bed, this little girl got down on her knees and said a special prayer to God.  “God, I have something to ask of you.  I don't have many friends in my neighborhood and sometimes I get very lonely.  I was wondering if you could somehow send me a cat of my very own.  I promise that if you do, I will always love and take care of it with all of my heart.  Thank you for listening to me God.  I BELIEVE in you and know you answer all prayers in your own special way!"

The very next day, three streets away from where this special little girl lived, a kind woman was washing her dishes when she looked up at the Gi-normous tree that stood in her from yard.  She saw a cat that was desperately trying to climb down the tree but had become stuck amongst many of its thick branches.

She could see the poor cat was absolutely terrified as it cried out for help.  This woman was an enormous lover of animals and immediately stopped what she was doing and went outside to see how she might be able to assist the cat in getting down from the tree.

But as soon as she approached the tree, her heart sank.  The cat was way too high for her to do much of anything to help.  Just then, a man who had decided to take a walk in that day's cool, crisp air came upon the woman staring up into the heights of this hulking tree with a heavy heart.

Being the good samaritan, he promptly stopped and  asked the woman if every thing was OK.  She preceded to tell him about the scared cat that was stuck up in the tree right before them.  Also a lover of animals, he decided to try and help this petrified animal.

So he began to climb up the tree toward the cat.  At first, he made quick progress making his way almost halfway up the tree.  But then the branches began to become too thick for him to continue his Journey.

After stopping to think for several moments, he decided to make one last attempt to rescue this cat from its bondage.  Against his better judgement, he leapt with all his might just high enough to grab ahold of the very branch which the cat was clawing too.  But just as soon as he attempted to pull himself up onto the branch to grab the cat, the branch began to harshly bend back and the man lost his grip.  As soon as he did, this elastic branch flung out of the man's clutches and the force sent the cat flying through the air!!

At that very moment, the lonely little girl who had sent a very special request to God the night before was playing in her backyard.  She suddenly heard a shrieking sound and as she looked up in the sky, that very cat came flying directly into her arms.

Absolutely filled with utter delight,  she hugged the cat close to her heart.  She then looked up to the Heavens above and Thanked God for answering her prayers!

So the next time you pray to God, ALWAYS Re-member that as you Ask, So it shall be given!!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

How To UNDERSTAND The Path Of A Hero's Journey ..!!!

Today's Mythological" Inspirational Magic"

Back in the early Spring of 1997, a rather torturous event changed the entire course of my life and things have NEVER been the same since!!  For those who have not regularly followed my blog ,I had been diagnosed with a severe form of Crohn's disease years earlier.  And let me tell ya, Crohn's disease is about as much fun a coming down a slide filled with razor blades and landing in a vat of lemon juice.  LOL  Yeah, it can be THAT bad.  Technically speaking it is an autoimmune dis-ease that attacks your entire digestive system, from the throat down through the entire colon.  When it attacks, it does so with a vengeance of hell bent proportion and causes those parts of your body to become inflamed with bleeding ulcers and extreme swelling.  Not to mention the extreme nausea and share shooting pains throughout your entire gut.  Told ya; not too much fun!

After battling this ailment for almost a decade, I finally succumbed to its grasp over me and was by my doctors I had but two options.  One was too have emergency surgery to have my entire colon removed, or let things progress and die.  (Most doctors don't have the best bedside manner.  LOL)
My biggest fear in having the surgery was the possibility of having to spend the rest of my life wearing a colostomy bag.  Nasty buggers that are permanently attached to the right side of your torso that allows your body to drain its excrement into a bag that must be cleaned and cared for up to ten times a day!  Not exactly what a 27 year old wants to face for the rest of his life.  And still being single, NOT exactly something that would be a top 10 Hit with the ladies if you follow my drift!! :0)

Of course it was a fairly easy choice between the two options before me and I elected to have surgery the following week.  When I awoke from the 12 hour procedure, I had a 14 inch cut up my torso and a beautifully placed and pristinely clear colostomy bag hanging from my side. The next few weeks were absolutely horrendous.  Dealing with a colostomy bag is nearly an all day affair.  It must be emptied cleaned and cared for on average ten times a day.  And each cleaning took on average ten to fifteen minutes!  And you think YOU have problems.  LOL

But I was BEYOND fortunate with my after surgery situation.  My surgeons informed me of a fairly new procedure that would create a pseudo colon in my body using my own intestines that would relieve me of having to wear that dreaded colostomy bag.  It only worked in less than 1/2 of patients it was performed on, but if I was willing to forego yet another operation, it was worth a shot.  SIGN ME THE HELL UP!!  LOL

Right before the second surgery began, my surgeons gave it to me straight and clean.   If when I awoke the colostomy bag was gone, then it meant the surgery was a success.  (NO more colostomy bag)  If it was still there, then I would have to learn to become friends with it.  Kinda like a family member you can't stand but are forced to deal on a daily basis.

Needless to say, when I initially woke up from the 8 hour surgery, I couldn't bare to look down at my lower torso.  After ten minutes or so, I slowly ran my hand down the side of my chest, over my upper abdomen, and finally down toward where the colostomy bad lied.   And......   tears began to stream down my face as the bag was NO LONGER THERE!  The surgery had been a success.  An for the next 17 years, I have had no after effects from the two laborious surgeries I was forced to endure.

Fast forward to last week.  I woke up one morning and felt a jarring pain jettisoning from the right side of my abdomen.  And then I felt a wave of nausea fall over me.  I was absolutely paralyzed with fear.  It was coming from the 14 inch scar that is still all too visible on my body.

I shot out of bed and ran to the bathroom, lifted up my shirt and saw two golfball size bulges in and around where the doctors had performed  the incisional cuts.  Out of fear, I dealt with the pain and nausea coming from my torso for about ten days until one day while walking to my office, I bent over in pain and knew I should head to the ER.

Several hours and one CT scan later, I was informed I had one tear(hernia) bellow my belly button, and two more large tears just waiting to happen on the left side and top of my belly button.  I would need surgery to repair the situation ASAP!!!   Aye dios mio!

On the drive home, I started having flashbacks to 1997.  The nearly year long recovery time and inordinate amount of pain I had endured to get my weight and strength back.  I mean, I had gone from 175 to 140 and for oh so many months life felt like an endurance test of power over pain.   And I had just spent the last year on a new workout regime that had buffed me up to 210 pounds of muscle that I knew would melt away as I will not be able to go back to the gym for several months.  I know that was my Egoistic side coming to surface, but DAMN,  as the great spiritual teacher Ram Dass espoused after his stroke, "We are NOT just our bodies, but part of us are our bodies as we live in this dimension."   Tears started to stream down my face as the flashbacks I had packed away DEEP within my consciousness resurfaced too quickly for me to fully comprehend.  Part of me truly wanted to cancel the impending new operation and just deal with the pain and nausea as a Wounded Warrior.  Seriously!

But then after allowing myself to process my feelings, I knew how much better I would feel post surgery and tried to ask Spirit for how I could turn this pain into power, this setback into my greatest comeback and share my Journey with others as INSPIRATION.

And as I mediated, I realized I had not been as diligent in my writing on my blog The New Age Nerd the last several months and that this was a catalyst to bring me the KNOWINGNESS that if even ONE precious Soul was being assisted on their Journey through my Inspirational writing that it was an endeavor worthy of re-commitiing my efforts towards.

So I put fingers to keyboard and was guided with the following words yesterday that I posted but am doing so a second time for those who may have not engaged its message.  May it be a message of Re-membrance for those who are still in their own version of DARKNESS:

Through the moon lit night....
A single Path is now shown...
Dare I step onto its glowful 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 Re-membering of why I came...
A Steward of conscious spiritual Light...
Teaching others that our Path we can reframe....

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

Written by Jeffrey Louis Martinez

It is right about this time in my previous 400 posts that I share the teachings of other spiritual teachers who have traversed both Time and Space to share with you their Truth and Knowingness.   But Not today.  Why?!?  Because like a JEDI in training, I have forged most of life's tests and have been bestown with the POWER of my own TRUTH and KNOWINGNESS to share with my Tribe!!  Not that my various mentors teachings will not be continually shared with my fellow New Age Nerds, but I feel as though my current circumstances have forced a LIGHT of Truth to share with my TRIBE!  My WISH is only that you TRULY listen to the callings that resonate with the individual JOURNEY that lies before you all.  Your Spirit Guides will show you the way.   Our current political leaders are NOT THE PROBLEM.     WE ARE!!!  There is No Thing that does not start from the top and flows downward into the abyss.  Our leaders are simply the reflection of.........US!!!!

In my UNDERSTANDING, we will each be given not a test, but rather a CHOICE.    A choice of EXACTLY what we DESIRE to experience in this dimension.   And this choice RARELY comes at the time of our choosing!!  It comes when the chips are down and there are two divergent paths to choose from.   One will bring us all eternal salvation , and the other will bring us temporary Glory that leads to a bridge that surrenders and hinders us to our true ESSENCE.  I forbid myself to tell you which offering to accept.   However, I have the KNOWINGNESS that my TRIBE will understand that anything in this REALM is temporary.   Yet the other path offers something that is all accepting of your previous misgivings and missteps  and still accepts you JUST AS YOU ARE!!!   It's all up to you.......Which path do you choose......?!?!?!?!?

As for me; on Wednesday morning I will once again forge the knife of this illusionary experience.  Not because I have to, but because I CHOOSE to.   It is part of my path and my own Hero's Journey!  And until then, I will be holding a vigilant prayer of Light and Love to everyone in my New Age Nerd Tribe to assist them to brave their own path of pain and suffering.  With the constant understanding that their FEAR will be used as a euphemism for Facing Everything And Rise!!

Facing your greatest FEARS is perhaps the most important part of our own Hero's Journey.   In fact, I truly believe that this illusionary experience called Life holds its true revelations on the other side of our most heartfelt FEARS!!  Each and everyone of us has a Dragon of Demons that we must come face to face with and stare down with the understanding that by doing so, we will be given the key of Re-membrance to Who We Are and why we came into this dimension!!    Please understand that No Thing in your experience is ever wasted.  It is all useful knowledge and experience for the greatest Purpose of All.   WHO WE ARE AND THE GIFTS WE ALL WIELD TO PULL OUR LOVED ONES OUT OF THIER OWN DARKNESS....AND BACK INTO THE LIGHT!!!   

For the Re-membrance of understanding and knowledge THIS JOURNEY affords us is worth a thousand experiences in other areas of Time and Space!!!

Please just be Patient and Kind with others on their Journey.  Each and every one of us is on a unique and Spirit filled path whose timetable is known ONLY to their own Soul............We have NO IDEA what another's Soul is up to and to meddle with its path is perhaps the most disrespectful action we can offer........

The tipping point on this planet can be changed in an instant...   If We simply treat one another as the Unique and Divine emanations that are our birthrights and allow each other the patience to find our OWN way................  

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Why It Is NEVER Too Late To Become A HERO. The World NEEDS You!!

TODAY'S INSPIRATIONAL “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

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A friend I met in Los Angles and now an UBER successful life coach named Christine Hassler has carved out quite a niche for herself as the ‘Expectation Hangover’ expert!  What is an expectation hangover you ask?!?   I thought you might!  LOL   Have you ever woken up in the morning, and once the dream webs from your current night's slumber start to release their hold from your consciousness, you feel a sudden anxious, almost dreadful feeling of the day to come?  And as you begin your daily routine of getting ready for work, your inner monologue bellows with thoughts something akin to :  “This is NOT the life I had envisioned for myself!”   THAT, my dear friends is an EXPECTATION HANGOVER!  For those of you so called to do so, please check out Christine and her podcast (I highly suggest buying her books as well!)

What I would like to focus on is the fact that no matter what our current life situation may look like, it is NEVER TOO LATE TO BECOME WHO YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE!  We each signed a Universal contract upon declaring ourselves ready to enter this dense realm of pure illusion!  This contract was a promise written in the stars that we would use this Earthly experience to   bring forth kindness, compassion, and joy through an eternal LOVE LIGHT that shines through our darkest nights!  And as far as our calling is concerned please Re-memeber these holy words:

Please be patient with me....
As my CALLING has been patient...

And your calling with each of you...
Always and in all ways...

Eternally obedient...
A contract written with remnant tears...
From the times they were first imagined then birthed...

Through JOY'S LOVE and Laughter...

They are pure INTUITION made your tangible guide...

Sealed with God's Knowing Nod...

And so it is.....

by Jeffrey Louis Martinez

To help further clarify the fact that many of our greatest Hero's and Heroine's have created their greatest earthly success in the ‘Golden Years’, how many of you know the story of the chicken king himself, Colonel Sanders?!?!  At age 5 his father died. At age 16 he quit school. At age 17 he had already lost four jobs. At age 18 he got married. He joined the army and after a few short years knew that the military life wasn't meant for him and left. At age 20 his wife left him and took their baby. He became a cook in a small cafe and convinced his wife to return home. At age 65 he retired. He felt like a failure & decided to commit suicide. He sat writing his will, but instead, he wrote what he would have accomplished with his life & thought about how good of a cook he was. So he borrowed $87, fried up some chicken using his recipe, and went door to door to sell. At age 88 Colonel Sanders, founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Empire was a billionaire!!!

And one of my all-time personal Hero's, Abraham Lincoln faced a similar life's path.  He fought severe boughts of depression his entire existence.  And this, mind you, was way before we had the mental health compassion and tools that we do now. (Although we still have a ways to go in the compassion department!)  At age 9 he lost his mother to a horrible illness called milk sickness.  He later lost his beloved sister during childbirth.  Mostly self educated, Lincoln was often labeled as lazy and disillusioned because of his tendency to spend hours at a time scribbling thoughts and ideas in an old torn notebook.  

Lincoln was even tested several times by life through his dating life. In fact, his first true love passed away at age 23 from typhoid fever leaving him completely distraught.  While he did eventually marry a woman named Mary Todd, two of their four children passed away before the age of ten!  Lincoln and his wife were both so soulfully crushed from cumulative losses, that they both entered a long period of severe clinical depression, from which Mary was at one point institutionalized from.  

Even Abraham Lincoln's political career was far from an easy path.  He actually left politics for a period of 12 years to pursue a law career.  But Lincoln was finally persuaded by his fellow colleagues to re-enter the political fray and of course, as they say, ‘the rest is now grand history.’

I look at my own Hero's Journey as I am about to turn 47 in October and feel as though I am just now firmly stepping into my true Path!  And ya know what?!  I wouldn't have it any other way!!  I promise you that!  I needed to go through much of the suffering, pain, loss, trials and tribulations to access the abilities I use in my daily coaching practice and as well as  with The New Age Nerd!  

So while reading these words today, PLEASE do not be concerned with where you currently find yourself to be on your own Hero's/Heroine's Journey!  The SOUL has NO WRINKLES.....   And IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BECOME WHO YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE!!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

May This Story Light Your Way.........

Through the moon lit night....
A single Path is now shown...
Dare I step onto its glowful 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 Re-membering of why I came...
A Steward of conscious spiritual Light...
Teaching others that our Path we can reframe....

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