Follow Your OWN 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

Learn How The FIVE HOUR RULE Can Change Your Life.......

Today's Inspirational “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

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If you are anything like me, than you are constantly searching for how new ideas, concepts, paradigms, and thought patterns can be implemented into your daily regime to enhance and bring your life to new found heights.  Plus, I know that success leaves a trail, and so I try to sniff out the good ones whenever possible.  

I would like to share a new concept that I recent came across while reading a recent edition of Inc. magazine!  It's called simply “The Five Hour Rule.”  While I was very much aware of Tim Ferriss' book “The Four Hour Workweek,” the Five Hour Rule was completely foreign to me.  And so of course I dove into the article with a fervent exuberance!  And what I found was both practical and given its use by such luminaries as Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey, something I was eager to start incorporating into my own life PRONTO TONTO!

The most fantastic part of this process is in its complete simplicity.  Basically, the writer of the article,  Michael Simmons of Impact, like so many of us, desired to understand and uncover some of the key patterns used by the iconoclasts and true luminaries of their fields that has assisted in their phenomenal success.  Like I said earlier, success leads a trail, and those of us smart enough to follow its scent get to reap the rewards. According to Simmons, one trait he could find amongst the greatest leaders in their selective fields was  “Many of these leaders, despite being extremely busy, have set aside at least an hour a day (or five hours a week) over their entire career for activities that could be classified as deliberate practice or learning.”

And for the special and unique individuals he tracked, according to Simmons “the five-hour rule often fell into three buckets: reading, reflection, and experimentation.”

Again, while nothing earth shatteringly new or revolutionary, I've always believed in the power of KISS~ Keep It Simple Stupid.  It's always worked for me!  Now, I would like to quickly break down these three attributes, and in turn fleshing them out in their practical application with a little more moxie.  Deal!  Awesome........

1. READING
I am completely on board with this one.  In fact, I have a personal book collection that tops 400 and am constantly searching for new books that I can devour with a connoisseur's consciousness.  DOn't get me wrong, I am in NO way a book snob.  But my philosophy is that a book can introduce me to even ONE concept that I can implement into my enhance my life, it was well worth the time and investment!

And, obviously, I am not alone!  LOL  Here are some fascinating facts that Simmons discovered during his uncovering process:

• Mark Cuban reads more than three hours every day.
• Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot, reads two hours a day.
• Billionaire entrepreneur David Rubenstein reads six books a week.
• Dan Gilbert, self-made billionaire and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, reads one to two hours a day.

And by far the most interesting fact Simmons uncovered was that Nike founder Phil Knight so reveres his library that in it you have to take off your shoes and bow.!!  For real!

2. REFLECT

I think many of us use a plethora of strategies for our own reflection.  Be it through meditation, journaling, or even taking long walks.  But read some of the ‘interesting’ ways Simmons found that the great minds amongst us use their personal reflection time:

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong makes his senior team spend four hours per week just thinking. Jack Dorsey is a serial wanderer. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner schedules two hours of thinking time per day. Brian Scudamore, the founder of the $250 million company O2E Brands, spends 10 hours a week just thinking.

When Reid Hoffman needs help thinking through an idea, he calls one of his pals: Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, or Elon Musk. When billionaire Ray Dalio makes a mistake, he logs it into a system that is public to all employees at his company. Then, he schedules time with his team to find the root cause. Billionaire entrepreneur Sara Blakely is a long-time journaler. In one interview, she shared that she has more than 20 notebooks in which she logged the terrible things that happened to her and the gifts that have unfolded as a result.

3. Experiment
Napoleon Hill discovered that most self made men do not hit their true stride until they are in their mid to late 40's!  He summed up this phenomenon to the fact that these men never accepted the status quo.  They took great risks and and chances with their lives and business endeavors always pushing the preverbal envelope to discover the impossible.  

Simmons investigations found a similar pattern amongst today's greatest luminaries.  He writes, “Throughout his life, Ben Franklin set aside time for experimentation, masterminding with like-minded individuals, and tracking his virtues. Google famously allowed employees to experiment with new projects during 20 percent of their work time. Facebook encourages experimentation through Hack-a-Months.”

So what is the great TAKEAWAY from all this information?!  In my opinion it is that we all could all carve out more time in our daily routines for learning and personal growth.  We spend SO much time taking care of our bodies through exercise, eating right, and reducing stress, yet our minds are left to their own accord for such nourishment.  

Simmons finishes his article by perfectly summing up his point of the importance of taking orderly learning and growth vitamins by saying,  “The long-term effects of not learning are just as insidious as the long-term effects of not having a healthy lifestyle. The CEO of AT&T makes this point loud and clear in an interview with The New York Times; he says that those who don't spend at least five to 10 hours a week learning online "will obsolete themselves with technology."

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

TIPS To Break Away From The OPINIONS Of OTHERS......

Today's Inspirational “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

“When we say things like ‘people don't change’ it drives scientists crazy. Because change is literally the only constant in all of science. Energy, matter, it's always changing....morphing, merging, growing, dying.  It's the way people try not to change that's unnatural. The way we cling to what things were rather than letting them be what they are. The way we cling to old memories instead of making new ones. The way we insist on believing, despite every scientific indication, that anything in this lifetime is permanent.  Change is constant.  How we experience change, that's up to us. It can feel like death, or it can feel like a second chance at life. If we open our fingers, loosen our grips, go with it, it can feel like pure adrenaline. Like at any moment, we can have another chance at life. Like at any moment, we can be born all over again.”
~~  Meredith (Grey's Anatomy)

“You're MAD, bonkers....off your head.  But I will tell you a secret.  All The Best People Are.”
~~ Charles Kingsleigh (Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland)

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There seems to be an epidemic of GI-normous proportions that threatens to eradicate much of the  beauty, growth, and unlimited potential amongst us.  Climate change you ask?!  Damn straight, but that's for another, much longer post! ;0)  No, what I am referring to is the potent grip and searing strangle hold other people's THOUGHTS and OPINIONS seem to have over our own lives.  I am seeing it cause real pain and confusion.  Not to mention depression and anxiety. WAY too many of us playing small fearing the judgement of others.  Dreams and aspirations being crushed BEFORE they had a chance to flourish.  And in this wake, risk taking has become a foreign language taught in a classroom of unknown origins! 

Since I have absolutely NO desire to live in a house of glass, let me say I have not been immune to this toxic torrent.  In fact, I once became so affected by the aggregate thoughts of the masses following a gut wrenching experience,  that I left a graduate program that I was DEEPLY passionate about.  Yuperoo!  I think that's why I decided to dedicate today's post toward the subject.  Take it from me, the consequences of not addressing this issue and the manner it is playing out in YOUR life can be quite substantial.  And it isn't like things are going to get any easier to manage down the road.  Hello, social media!! Let's face the TRUTH, this brave new world brought on by technology and it's infusion in our daily lives has made it imperative to incorporate the practice of blocking out the negative ‘CHATTER’ from the unconsciousness that surrounds us! 

This topic brings to mind a wonderful exchange of dialogue I once witnessed on an old episode of Oprah's ‘Super Soul Sunday’.  She was talking with her guest when the topic of ‘worrying about what others think’ popped up.  Oprah shot up in her chair and espoused, “If you care about what other people are thinking about you, they end up OWNING you.  And slavery done ended 150 years ago!” True dat! 

In many ways, we must not forget to offer ourselves compassion for this malady that affects us all at some point.  Re-member, our primal ancestors were absolutely dependent on their tribes for survival and a poor ‘likability score’ often meant the difference between life and death.  Five days with no shelter and brontosaurus burgers saved for the ‘In Crowd’ caused a need and desire to be deeply liked.  So your genes still have whispers of an ancestral core where status was essential and fitting in was a requirement for your well being! Why else would Barney put up with so much from Fred?!!? lol

Thankfully, we have come a LONG way since the days of T-Rex and his cohorts.  While our current times are still challenging, our desires for survival and reproduction are no longer fraught with nearly the same type of daily struggle.  Which means there is NO reason for us to continue being in allowance of the pressure to meld with the masses in the never-ending attempt of expending endless amounts of time and energy on valuing WHAT OTHERS THINK ABOUT US.

So here are a few suggestions of things that can help free up your precious effort and energy toward things that really matter.  Endeavors that give us more SELF worth and LOVE, courage, and the inner fortitude to face our PURPOSE with verve and gusto!  

1 -  Don't Make Assumptions
2 -  Don't Take Anything Personally

I am borrowing the first two suggestions from my brother in TRUTH, Don Miguel Ruiz and his brilliant book ‘The Four Agreements’.  Further fleshing out rule number one, past the making an ‘ASS’ out of you and me template, Ruiz explains, “Find the courage to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstanding, sadness, and drama.”  Nobody is a mind reader, so it is super important that we let others know what we are thinking.  And co-creating a space for others to feel safe to communicate their TRUTH back to us.  I constantly assure my friends when I feel they are writing a script in their head for a movie that is NEVER going to be ‘greenlit’ for production. Misunderstanding is one of the biggest issues we humans face.  Heck, they made a WHOLE show out of it in ‘Three's Company’.  And I doubt the Regal Beagle is still around to drink away your pain and sorrow from worrying about something that probably isn't TRUTH anyway!  

As for not taking anything personally, I believe this is perhaps the most POWERFUL tip in protecting  yourself from the needless suffering that often accompanies our obsessive habit of allowing the words of others to affect us in negative ways.  As Ruiz also states, “Nothing others do is because of YOU.  What others say and do is a projection of THEIR own reality, their dream.”  Amen!  Nuff said!

3-  Start small if need be.  Don't not care at all, just care LESS.

Again, I will be the first to admit that freeing yourself from the oppressive nature of external opinions is not easy.  Like so many other Spiritual principles, it is a process and takes practice.  Letting go of a long entrenched behavior is not going to happen overnight.  I am a huge believer in setting yourself up for success, not failure.  So start small.  Set bite size goals to achieve.  And reward yourself when you see momentum forward toward even individual moments when you staved off the vitriol or judgments of others.  

4-  Practice BEING Self Confident

Unfortunately, there are many folks clouded with their own unconsciousness, and they feed off of making themselves feel BIG by making you feel SMALL.  Don't let these emotional vampires sink their teeth into ANY part of you!  Get into the habit of doing things that allow the feeling of confidence to bubble up deep within your core ESSENCE.  Super hero posing, recalling past proud accomplishments, or listening to music that ‘PUMPS you up’ are all things you might try.  Anything that makes you rock those pearly whites and stand taller will work wonders!  Start walking with the motto, ‘Things in life DON'T happen to me.  I HAPPEN to things!’  Even subtle shifts in core energy can do wonders in how others treat you!  TRUST.....!

May these suggestions bring you closer to a life FREE of the imprisonment of your mind, and the needless anxiety, pain, and suffering that comes from the opinions of others! Life is so short, please do not waste precious moments on worrying about what anyone else thinks about you.  At the end of the day, it is NONE of your business anyway!  Cause that NOISE is all about THEM!  ;0)

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Sometimes Even HEROES Need To Ask For HELP.......

Today's Inspirational “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

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I started my career working in the local TV news industry.  While this was MANY moons ago, the same principle tenet still applies.  That being ‘if it bleeds it leads’.  After a while, you become somewhat numb to the daily deluge of death, destruction, and general mayhem that constantly bombards the satelitte feeds that you are in charge of managing for nighty content.   And one would be horrified if they saw the downloaded feeds that were WAY too horrifying to even go near the nightly airwaves!  Not that I am advocating being ignorant to the happenings of the world we live in, especially in our own community, I just tend to gravitate toward the stories where people are making a positive difference, or influencing the community in which they reside.  

Last week, such a story caught my attention on the local 6'clock news.  I was actually deep in the middle of a writing assignment, when my subconscious was shaken back to the present when I heard a local newscaster mention something about a missing firefighter.  My eyes left the glare of the computer screen to look upon the image projected on the large TV screen in our living room.  My jaw dropped the second my brain processed the ethereal beauty that appeared in high definition before my very eyes.  Tall, blond, with a smile that was meant to offer solace through others sufferings, she was absolutely radiant.  I actually had to rewind the segment to digest the story behind this beauty.  She was a 31 year old local firefighter in Virginia who had been missing for two weeks.  My heart sank as I am fully aware of the statistics of persons who go missing for that period of time.  I prayed for her and her family that evening.  That they would receive some closure to her whereabouts, and soon.

The next morning, it was reported that her body was found, nearly a mile from her abandoned car, as an apparent suicide.  Tears streamed down my face as I heard the known information surrounding this horrendous tragedy.  Apparently, she had been badly bullied, much of it from the cyber sphere.  She called in sick to work one day and was never seen again until her body was found weeks later.  

I sat for about an hour, thinking about the potential life of this woman who had dedicated her life to one of ultimate service.  And the family she left behind, offering them LOVE and LIGHT with my deepest prayers.  May her SOUL know the eternal Joy and ONENESS of an eternal PEACE that this world did not obviously provide.  

Later that night on the same station that originally broke the news of her passing, they hosted a 15 minute special segment on Mental Health.  This is in no way an indictment of this young lady's state of mental well being.  Regardless of the triggers, the tragic fact was that she took her own life.  And the statistics behind suicide in this country are absolutely staggering.  Did you know that suicide is the 7th leading cause of death in the US.   AND, of the top ten leading causes, it is THE ONLY ONE that is rising.  According to this segment, it rose over 24% in the last decade.  STAGGERING!  

Mental health has had a taboo like stigma attached to it for decades, and although its judgement has lessened over time, there is STILL way too much shame, fear, and alienation that needs our collective consciousness to awaken to allow those suffering to ask for and receive the help they need and DESERVE.  It's interesting that our society is typically accepting of a myriad of physical ailments that befall most of us at one time or another.  Cancer, diabetes, liver disease, heart problems, or in my case Crohn's disease being viable examples.  We blink not an eye when we hear of others suffering from these various maladies.   YET, too many of us still treat those with issues from chemicals in our brain as a modern day leper colony.  AND IT HAS GOT TO STOP!  

And I do know that of what I speak!  I have suffered from depression during my life and on two occasions it has become nearly debilitating.  And I am being VULNERABLE enough to share this fact with my fellow New Age Nerds because I hope that it inspires you to ask for help if you ever  find yourself in a position of feeling incredibly BLUE, hopeless, filled with unbearable anxiety, or just plain not feeling like life is worth living anymore.  In fact, it's the people who shared with me their COURAGE to ask for help with their mental pain that will always stand as my greatest and most inspirational HEROES.   Before hearing their stories, I always felt ashamed to admit to anyone that I was suffering from a form of mental malady.  Especially since I have been on a 20 year journey of self realization and many of my friends and family looked to me for sage advice and ‘magical’ musings to help calm their own stormy days and nights.  Often, I felt like a fraud, as if my own battles with something I had ABSOLUTELY NO control over, made my sincere LOVE, care, and suggestive advice seem hypocritical in some way.  But ya know what?  The EXACT opposite has actually occurred.  The more I have shared with others my pain, wounds, weaknesses, and sufferings, the more respect, admiration, and INSPIRATION has been born!!  I am not saying it's always been easy, but I can say IT HAS BEEN WORTH IT!  

To further prove my point do you know what ONE of the five characteristics of being a HERO actually is?!?  Being WOUNDED.......Mythic scribe Antonio Del Drago says, “Every Hero has a wound.  Like their villainous counterparts, all heroes are scarred in some significant way, either physically or emotionally."  Perhaps the greatest way for us to truly complete our Hero's/Heroine's Journey is to face that wound, overcome it, and then share how we did it with others who are suffering in a similar manner!    Whaddya think?!?!  

So anybody who is reading this, and feels like they need help with their mental and emotional pain, please know that by having the COURAGE to reach out and ask for help, you will become a HERO to yourself and so many others who value you and all you have to offer the world.   Please don't make a permanent decision on a situation that is temporary.   YOU are truly ONE IN A MILLION.....     You are here because the world needs you......    So please DO NOT be afraid to ask for help if you feel you are in a desperate situation and your own well being is at risk.  You will be surprised how many people will be willing to shower you with unadorned support.......        

BE SUPER HEROIC!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

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