JUST BECAUSE...!!!

Today, Go Make Something Possible........................

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Do It..GO WITHIN!!!!

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A Native American myth recounts that the Creator gathered all of creation and said,
"I want to hide something from humans until they are ready for it.  It is the realization that they can create their own life and their own reality." 

The eagle said, "Give it to me; I'll take it to the moon and hide it there."  

But the Creator said, "No, one day they will go there and will find it."  

Then the salmon said, "Give it to me; I'll hide it in the bottom of the sea."

 "No," said the Creator, "they'll get there too." 

Well, the buffalo came and said, "Give it to me; I'll bury it in the plains."  

The Creator said, "No, they will get there. They will cut into the skin of the earth, and they will find it even there."

But then Grand Mother mole came, the one who has no physical eyes to see on the outside but has spiritual eyes and the capacity to see on the inside, and she said, "Put it inside them; they'll never find it there."  And the Creator said, "It is done."

by Unpublished


In 2018, let's all remember the answers to our prayers, the guidance for our decisions, and the JOY we all so DESIRE, resides within us, Always.   
GO WITHIN!!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

How Would Your Life CHANGE If You KNEW You Couldn't FAIL..?!?

TODAY'S “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

~~  From (THE CROW)

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Ok!  I want to ask you all a question.  And us being just three days into the New Year, I think it's perfect timing to confront your answer to the following:  What would your life look like if you KNEW that failure did not exist?  It wasn't even a concept that held any tangible meaning for you. Would you still be at your current job/career?  Where would you be living of your choice not limited to ANYWHERE in the world?  How many fantastic ideas and wonderful businesses would have you started that could assist and support real world problems we all face?  The possibilities seem endless, don't they?!

I recently came across a truly paradigm shifting video from ‘Business Insider’ that was both fascinating and struck a chord that I had such a strong urge to share with all of you!  

The video was an interview with the CEO and Founder of the company SPANX, Sara Blakely.  For those of you unfamiliar,  SPANX is an uber successful women's fine apparel company that has been the talk of the Silicon Valley set for a number of years.  Sara is a true icon and trailblazer in her industry.  And after devouring this video several times, it is quite apparent why she had the intestinal fortitude to strike out on her own engaging the fear of failure as a lexicon of the unimaginable. 

The interview starts with Sara retelling stories of her childhood dinner conversations as her dad would pepper her and her brother with a singular question each and every week.  That being, “So tell me, what did you fail at this week?” Quite an unusual declaration by most parents standards and certainly antithetical to the information most parents are seeking to ascertain.  Such as, so tell me how how your week went?!  Anything great happen?!   Or, were my parents the only ones to ask that ?!  LOL

But there was a definite method behind his intention of this form of questioning, that formed a core sense of strength and reframing of the notion of failure for Sara and her brother.  Sara recalls telling her dad, “Dad, dad, I tried out for cheerleading this week and I failed miserably.  I was horrible!”
To which her dad would retort, without skipping a beat, “Give me a high five, way to go!!”

Sara said that as unconventional as this may seem, it actually helped her reframe her definition of failure.  “Failure for me became NOT TRYING, and not just the OUTCOME.” she said.  She continues by saying , “So many people don't start that business, don't go out and create the art they want to create, or try out for the play they want to be in.  Or whatever it is, all from the FEAR OF FAILURE.  Once YOU REFRAME THAT FOR YOURSELF AND BELIEVE THAT FAILURE IS ONLY NOT TRYING, life starts to open up,” she said.

Now here is where her father doled out the SECRET SAUCE to this paradigm shift.  He would tell her that anytime she felt she had failed, or got embarrassed by a certain situation, to come home that night, and WRITE DOWN THE HIDDEN GIFTS IN THAT EXPERIENCE!

Sara said that after putting this into practice, she realized that there was a hidden NUGGET of wisdom that she wouldn't have wanted to pass up. An experience of truth and wisdom for her Heroine's Journey.  

“At SPANX, to encourage people to fail, I am bringing up my failures in front of the team often.  I call them OOPS.  And at the end of the day, if you can learn from it, and laugh about it, than it was all worth it!” she espoused.

Personally, I absolutely Love, Love, Love (you get the idea lol) the idea of reinterpreting the term Failure as an OOPS.  Is it just me, or doesn't that shift FEEL SO MUCH BETTER?!?  

I have a suggestion for all you New Age Nerds!  What would it look like if you each did just ONE thing a week that absolutely scared the JOOJOO out of you.  And make sure to remember that the only TRUE form of Failure is not trying.  For as famed and inspirational author Robert Allen said, "THERE IS NO FAILURE.  ONLY FEEDBACK."  As long as you TRY-----  BOOM!!  

I am interested to see the miracles that start to manifest into your lives by incorporating this Paradigm shift into your daily DOINGNESS!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

It's THE NEW YEAR..Here Is How to Make Your RESOLUTIONS Become REALITY..!!!!

TODAY'S INSPIRATIONAL “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

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Are you currently feeling like your dreams will never come true?  That you are DOING literally everything you can think of to manifest a life that envisions your most heartfelt desires, yet it often FEELS like you are moving in the opposite direction?  It may be time to take your dreams and desires to the ER!  STAT!  

And NO, I AM not referring to the Emergency Room.  I mean it may be time to start reversing the manifestation process you are currently using, by STARTING at the END RESULT! (ER)  You see, most of us are not aware that our experiences, dreams, and desires come to us in a process that is exactly the REVERSE order shown to us by our physical senses.  I was first introduced to this version of the Universal Law by Mike Dooley in his life changing book ‘Manifesting Change.’  Many of you reading this may already be aware of Mike from his ‘Notes To The Universe’ e-mails and books.  And if you are not on his e-mail list to receive daily writings, I highly suggest you go to his website, www.tut.com, and sign up!  I'll wait while you go do it!  LOL

After reading and then implementing many of the techniques he outlines in his book, my life began to change in the most miraculous of ways.   And QUICKLY!  It's no coincidence that when I get disconnected from SOURCE and forget to implement these Universal Laws, well, life goes to Hell In a Handbasket.  Nooooo fun!! 

This passage from his book perfectly illustrates how things actually manifest in this energy matrix we are all living within.  Mike writes, “The Universe didn't think small and then bigger and bigger and bigger.   The Universe didn't sit down and say, “Oh my gosh, science!  Almost forgot science.  We're going to need biology, chemistry, physics, quantum physics- OH- and math.  We're going to need a lot of math for reality!”  No, the Universe wasn't assembled on a timeline!  Though that's how we typically assess ANY creation- using our physical senses alone, thinking in terms of beginnings, middles, and ends.  Completely forgetting that time is an illusion. Instead, the Universe simply began with the END RESULT: the spectacular beauty, the impossible perfection, and the infinite vastness. And in that instant all of the mathematics, all of the sciences,  everything necessary to support life as we now know it in time in space, fell into place. In an instant! The starting point of all creation, and certainly with any change we wish to manifest, is WITH THE DESIRED END RESULT IN MIND.”

Yet how many of you can honestly say your manifestation process begins with the End Result in mind.? And I am not talking about a vague mental image of what you want to accomplish or create!  I mean a complete blueprint that is powerful enough within your Being that you can even FEEL, SMELL, and SENSE what that desire looks like!  

To help assist you along this new path and for many of you a new Paradigm of thinking about how to create the life you always dreamed of, I am going to give you these suggestions as a process you can begin implementing TODAY!

1)  Start by creating a mental image of what the END RESULT of that which you desire looks like.  Make it as vivid, colorful, and as rich in details as you can.  Until you can literally feel your body tremble with anticipation as though it already exists!  

2)  TAKE ACTION!  The second step involves moving in the general direction of your dreams and desires.  Sorry to break it to ya, but having a vision board and loafing around on a sofa waiting for your dreams to manifest just ain't gonna happen.  EVER!  It's perfectly OK to start with small steps to strengthen your belief in the process.  But  you must make that call, write that e-mail, start that blog, send out those resumes.  Just move in the general direction toward what your desire.

3)  This is where the Universe comes into play to assist you in the most profound of ways.  For as soon as you finish the first two steps, the Universe creates as Mike writes, “A brand new NOW.  This can be a bit jarring because we don't expect the process to culminate in a brand new now.  Usually, we think the Journey begins NOW and finishes later.  The starting point of ALL physical change is in thought, which is the ONLY place the power of NOW exists.”

4) VISUALIZATION!  As you go about with tangible action steps each and every day, take five to ten minutes to stop and visualize the END RESULT you seek to manifest.  I find a quiet place, and do a quick meditation.  And then mentally paint the picture that contains the new and desired END RESULT in my mind's eye AS IF I AM LIVING IT NOW.  I then inject real emotion into the mental image, allowing myself to FEEL what it's like to live in this vision of NOW.  
Mike describes the process this way, “Your vision then begins attracting itself to you as life's MAGIC, programmed by your chosen END RESULTS.  Put the right people in the right place at the right time on your path.  You just need to be physically out there in the real world (step 2) showing up where you can be reached.  The Universe will always do the hard part of figuring out (forcing) the HOWS, which is the virtual incalculable part.  All we have to do is define whatever it is we want or the changes we wish to experience in terms of the end result. Define them as if they were already there (visualize) and then simply begin moving in the general direction of your dreams, knocking on doors, and turning over stones.”   I REPEAT, nothing in your life will change without persistent ACTION STEPS!

Now, before any of you stop reading, thinking all this to be a little too Woo-Woo for your sensibility, I will finish with a recent story that perfectly illustrates how this all really does work!  Just a few short weeks ago, I had made a decision to manifest a job that would allow me to work from home, back in the podcasting world I love so much, making a great deal of money, yet still leaving enough time for me to continue growing my coaching business.  One night I sat down and followed the EXACT steps from above.  I started with the END RESULT in my mind's eye.  I allowed myself to feel how this job would change my life.  The emotions I would experience getting up everyday to start the day.  The kindness and support of a boss and team members that would co-create blissful moments of work well done!  I then began the process of perusing the internet for jobs that fit the bill.  Here is where the magic happened.  Three nights later, I jumped on LinkedIn and saw that just three minutes earlier, a former colleague of mine had posted a blog about her new gig working for a new podcast advertising network!  I immediately reached out to her to congratulate her for her accomplishment on the new job.  It was for a company that had just started the process of entering the US marketplace, so I decided that evening to craft a cover letter and arbitrarily e-mailed it to the company's Director of Sales.  And guess what?!!?   In two short weeks, I was offered a job with the company covering the Mid-Atlantic, and NY territory!!  And I get to work from home!   And my team members are some of the smartest, authentic, and kind people I have yet to meet in corporate America.  If that isn't proof enough that this process is part of a tangible Universal Law of manifestation, then I have no idea what could............

I hope many of you incorporate this process into your own lives.  In fact, start today!  There is no time like the NOW!!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Kick Off THE NEW YEAR Practicing GROUNDED SPIRITUALITY..!!

I want to shed some light on the type of philosophy that the New Age Nerd adheres to with regard to all self actualization work- GROUNDED SPIRITUALITY.  Perhaps in a future incarnation,  I might come back with Pure Consciousness in tow, shedding all fear and disconnection.  But right now, I still have my moments.  Through the daily practice of grounded spirituality, I have become much more attuned to the nuances of being both Here and There.  And by that, I mean being connected to Spirit as often as possible, yet still allowing for the resonation of earthly illusions in my experience.  And that is why we are all here, right?!    To slay the proverbial ‘dragons’ along our path toward finding the Holy Grail of our Hero's/Heroine's Journey!  Kinda tough to do that when we refuse to acknowledge that ‘dragons’ even exist.   
Perhaps John Lennon said it best, "I believe in everything until its disproved.  So I believe in fairies..The myths..Dragons.  It ALL exists, even if only in your mind.  Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the HERE and NOW!"  Amen!

During my life, I have attended numerous churches of various denominations.  You name it, chances are I have investigated whether it was for me.  I have studied at a plethora of organizations from the East Coast to the West.  All searching for something that made sense, resonated deeply with my heart and soul, and that when put into practice, worked on a consistent basis.  In doing so, I think I was trying to create something that could help me better navigate this thing called life.  And guess what, on my journey I found out I wasn't the only who had come up with the term Grounded Spirituality.  There are several I am quite sure.    In fact, in a book I absolutely adore, and highly suggest anyone of this ilk read, called Soulshaping by Jeff Brown, he says, “...my philosophy of grounded spirituality started to concretize.  I call it Ascending with Both Feet on the Ground.  It is the idea that our ascension to heightened consciousness can ONLY be sustained it if is an embodied unfolding from the the ground up.”  What a terrific definition.  I believe we are meant to courageously engage the pain, emotions, challenges, as well as the joy, laughter, and LOVE we encounter in this Earthly Matrix of experience. 

He goes on to give more details of his journey and how he had a great lesson about spirituality from one of his mentors, the wonderful teacher Ram Dass.   After years of neglecting his body on his spiritual journey, he suffered a horrible stroke.  Pre-stroke, he preached that ‘we are not our body’.  A very common pronouncement in the realm of spiritualists.  His post-stroke experience, which he called FIERCE GRACE, shattered that notion.  This self named -stroke of good luck- grounded him as he later stated, “I came to appreciate, that as wonderful it is as a practice, ‘I am not of this body’ is only half the truth. The stroke brought me squarely in touch with the fact that, although I am certainly more than my body, I also am this body.”  Boy can I relate to that.  During my time with a colostomy bag, cleaning my own intestine several times a day, had anyone told me,  ‘You are not your body’, I would've flung poop at them like a chimp at the zoo!  I'm KIDDING....kinda!

So here are some of the basic tenets of how Grounded Spirituality has come to serve me and many other truth seekers I know.  But please always remember, that as a Course in Miracles states,  “There are many paths to God.”

1-  Feel Your FEELINGS and Emotions
When I first started to passionately engage this world of self actualization, it seemed as though there was this taboo like energy towards many common emotions like anger, and sadness.  Some of the practices I was learning about started feeling robotic in their teachings.  Not to mention unrealistic in trying to sustain a Zen like stature 100% of the time.  I started to feel guilty to express or admit when profound vibrations of any emotion outside of LOVE would bubble up inside me.  Worse still, I began to try and force others through their times of emotions by reframing, or spouting a newly learned spiritual epithet.  There is a funny story behind what got me to finally change my ways.  

There is a wonderful place called Agape in Los Angeles, which was attended by me and most of my like minded friends every Sunday for years.  Agape in Greek stands for unconditional love, and it is a true non-denominational Sanctuary of commiseration for those of us on this path toward Self.  During a weekend trip to Napa Valley, one of the friends in our group was going through the initial stages of divorce, and definitely having a boat filled size explosion of various emotions(Thank God for wine! lol)  Rather than allowing her to truly feel her grief, I started in with a reframing soliloquy that was sternly met with,  “I swear to God, Jeff, don't you dare try and F&ckin Agape me right now."  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.   Although that line became a long lasting re-membrance in our group about giving each other the respect of our own emotional process, it also taught me a PROFOUND lesson.  I started to acknowledge the power of our feelings, and that NOT being in ALLOWANCE of them is doing yourself and others a great disservice.  

And ya know what?!   When I  started allowing myself to fully enter into my own emotions, for a given period of time, I usually came out the other side with a new perspective, or plan for moving forward.  I began to understand that feelings are one of the most powerful tools we have to assist us in navigating our unique path.  They are truly the ‘guide posts to the Soul’.   So rather than ‘Apape'ing’ myself or others, now I remember that repressed emotions are actually unrealized spiritual lessons.   Just DO NOT make a Broadway Show out of them.  Cause nobody wants to buy a ticket to an event that has outstayed its welcome!  


2-Honor Your Body
Yes, we all know that this body is temporal.  It is ours for a finite time.  But is is also a precious gift.  That's why it is called the Body Temple.  It is sacred in that in houses our Soul while we are here.  As the book God I Am declares, “There were billions of other Souls around the Universe vying for the ‘ticket to ride’ that was given to you!”  That's right, YOU are that Unique and Special.  Everyone here already won the lottery!  So while you are here, be grounded enough to care for the body which brought ya!

3- Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously
By this, more than anything else, I mean learn to laugh at yourself.  This field is filled with people who take themselves so seriously.  Lighten up!  We all make mistakes, are infallible, and poop in our pants. (Or is that just me ?!  lol)  I have found that you will actually relate to more people with your story and message, when you can learn to laugh at yourself.  In fact, it is a proven fact that laughter has cured more illness than all the medication in the world combined!

4-  ACTION is Always Necessary
When the Secret first came on the scene with its teachings of The Law of Attraction, there was this huge ‘Wishful Thinking’ movement in the self realization world.  People actually started believing that they could simply sit on the sofa and think about money, and that checks would suddenly start appearing in their mailbox.  I believe it truly started doing damage to the real understanding of the Law of Attraction (The Law of Attraction is but one of several Universal principals by the way) and in my experience, caused a ton of frustration and disillusioned spirits in our community.  

Don't get me wrong, I am a BIG believer in the power of Universal Energy.  As Yoda says, “It's an energy field that is created by all living things.  Life creates it, makes it grow.  It surrounds us, binds us.”  And it is ALL powerful.  BUT, in this dense realm, it MUST be combined with ACTION in order to work.  And unfortunately, there is not enough re-membrance of the importance of taking daily actionable steps toward our goals.  You can think all day and night to align your energy fields with your desires until the cows come home, but if they are NOT backed by actionable steps toward your plan/goal/path, the ONLY person you will be making rich is your therapist.  Trust me!  

For more pragmatic advice about the proper use of The Law of Attraction, I highly suggest reading Beyond the Secret, by Dr. Lisa Love.   She has such a grounded way of explaining the Law's principles.  For instance, she suggests one use it to try and attract the qualities for keeping and using money responsibly, rather than just acquiring money in the first place.  Great stuff!

5-  Stop with The Shame Game

This is perhaps the 'secret sauce' toward maintaining a lasting vibration in the healthy use of Grounded Spirituality.  There is a large component of people I have encountered along my path who insist that EVERYTHING that finds its way into your personal experience, including illness, is a byproduct of something you did to create it.  Talk about a shame game.  Aye Dios Mio!!

Yes, a great deal of our experiences are indeed brought about through a combination of our thoughts, beliefs, AND actions, but WE DO NOT LIVE IN A VACUUM.  We each share this planet with billions of other souls.  Don't ya think that sometimes, we just happen to be in someone else's path, and in the process receive their byproducts?  And the truth is, we can never really know what the exact cause of everything that happens in our life happens to be.  And I personally think we have much better things to do with our time than try and figure it all out anyway.  

My point is that in grounded spirituality, the shame game DOES NOT exist.  Rather than spend time on WHY something happened, we focus on HOW to show up to meet the challenge once it occurs.  We are not so much responsible FOR everything that happens to us, but WE ARE responsible TO IT.

For instance, rather than blaming myself for the Crohn's disease I was diagnosed with, I try to listen to my body, and care for it with compassion, proper food, exercise, and rest.  Further, in meditation, I ask for the Wisdom to understand how I can draw any benefits from the illness that was brought into my experience.  

I hope this gave you a richer understanding of GROUNDED SPIRITUALITY and how it can be used to assist you on your Hero's/Heroine's Journey!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

A Special CHRISTMAS VISIT With A Must Read MESSAGE!!

Wow!!!   It has indeed been quite a while since WE have paid a visit to you NEW AGE NERDS!!  So for those of you who may have forgotten.....We call ourselves-KISS(Keep It Spiritually Simple)- a compendium of Universal Energy traversing the Cosmos always and in ALL WAYS on the look out for planets that are on a convergent path with pure CONSCIOUSNESS.  And although it may not always FEEL as though the SOULS on this planet are working their way back toward the TRUTH that YOU ARE ALL ONE.....TRUST us....Outward appearances very often, but DO NOT always reflect INNER REALITY...  :0)

On the EVE of this very special night that celebrates the dawn of the day most of you call Christmas, WE thought it was the perfect time to give you our own GIFT of Re-membrance!!  And in doing so, it is our INTENTION that you continue to practice the tenets of your inherent nature.  That of course, BEING Love, Compassion, Joy, Happiness, Service, and Fearlessness!!!

And while we acknowledge each and every SOULS individual understanding and way of celebrating this most special of Holidays on your planet, for there are many paths back to LOVE, we would like to offer you one path that has served oh so many MASTERS that have walked along side of you as guides back to the Love Light that burns brightly for eternity and is waiting for your return!!

The master you call Jesus the Christ was chosen by GOD amongst BILLIONS OF SOULS to become made in human form for the very first Hero's Journey on your planet!!  He knew that the majority of SPIRITS who had also taken human form before him were completely out of alignment and had allowed the ILLUSION of this world to become their reality.   This was causing an immense amount of pain, suffering, and chaos on your earthly plane.   Rather than having to search for his earthly CALLING, he was born with an inner awareness that never left his side.  Through the two thousand years since his presence on your planet, the true nature of his CALLING has been twisted and contorted to serve the EGO of many who have wished to control the masses for purposes of GREED and FEAR!

So as our Christmas gift to all of you, WE would like to offer up our understanding of the true meaning of this most revered Holiday on your planet so that you may always Re-member its true nature.........

Jesus the Christ was chosen to enter into the dense realm of your planet to leave a path of Re-membrance back to your true nature.   His teachings and so called miracles all ended with the same declaration, "This and so much more, one day, you too will do!"  A portion of HIS Calling was to remind you that each and every one of you precious beings are unique emanations of GOD.  Made in his image and thus able to accomplish the exact same earthly miracles that HE demonstrated during his short time here amongst you!!!  He also was well aware that often the path toward your salvation was through temporary SUFFERING.  And to assist your Re-membrance of this Universal Truth, he always BROKE BREAD amongst the masses before performing a so called earthly miracle.  A BEING of ultimate intention, his very purpose for this action was so that we understood that in this realm, we must often be broken just before birthing a MIRACLE!!

Out of FEAR, so many of your so called Teachers have tried their best to turn his preachings into something that they were NEVER meant to BE.  That being that he declared there was ONLY ONE WAY BACK TO GOD.  And that way was to follow HIM!!  Yet our gift to you this Christmas is to let you know that THAT WAS NEVER A PART OF HIS TEACHINGS.  In fact, he preached that THERE ARE MANY PATHS BACK TO GOD.  For HIS level of understanding rose way above EGOIC tactics that offered any thought that only through HIM could you commune back with YOUR CREATOR.

Many of you may question our presentation of the true teachings of Jesus the Christ, and THAT IS A GREAT THING.!!  For the only way that there are no more Gi-normous misunderstandings of this nature is for you to question EVERYTHING.  Listen to your feelings.   For they are the guideposts to your SOUL.  And when used with reverent intention , will always guide you back to TRUTH!!  Practice what others teach.  See what serves you.   And let the rest go!!

As you and your most beloved TRIBE members celebrate this HOLY DAY, we ask that you Re-member that the core CALLING of Jesus the Christ was to show you the power of BELIEF.  And that is the exact same purpose for our brief visit with you special SPIRITS on this EVE of CHRIST.
This Holy Day is meant for the purpose of Re-membering the POWER OF BELIEF. Why else do you think that the magical idea of Santa Clause has engulfed the imagination of billions of children the last two thousand years?!?  It is so they can practice the power and understanding of what you can accomplish if .....YOU SIMPLY BELIEVE!!

As much as we would LOVE to stay a little longer.....it is time for US to continue our own JOURNEY to spread the true message of this season to all those who have forgotten what this celebration is all about......    For it is THAT SPECIAL!!!!

Until We meet again...   Please Re-member that we are only one THOUGHT away...........

MERRY CHRIST-MAS

KISS

Learn Why GRATITUDE Is The KEY To ACCESS The POWER of The Universe..!

TODAY'S INSPIRATIONAL “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”

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With The Holiday Season now upon us, I feel it is the perfect time to reflect on how truly fortunate we are in this country.  Things aren't perfect, and we have a LONG way to go toward coming together in UNITY.  But there have been a number of individuals who have crossed my path lately, including a few clients, who are not originally from the United States.  I have been blessed to hear their personal stories of the strife, struggle, loss, and unfathomable challenges they have overcome to transition their lives to this country.  It really puts things into perspective of how lucky we are to live here.

The ONE thing I have observed that each and EVERY one of these survivors shares is an ATTITUDE  FILLED WITH GRATITUDE.  Most of them were forced to leave their families behind, many of them do not own cars, and work multiple jobs just to survive.  Yet, they share a common sense of kindness and appreciation for the smallest of things.  Their smiles are expressions of Soulful Bliss and they expend their energy not on complaining, but in reverence for the opportunity they feel this country has afforded them.  They carry the three attributes of a master; a kind heart, words filled with compassion, and a willingness to be of service. 

I once watched an interview with Oprah Winfrey in which she explained the massive transformation that started in her life 16 years ago when she started a daily ‘Gratitude Journal.’  Every night without fail, she would write down at least 5 things that she was grateful for that had occurred during the day.
“When you allow yourself to feel gratitude in the present moment, in the NOW, what I promise you is that the spiritual dimension of your life begins to change.  It opens up and expands and you start to grow with it.  That is the truth, if I have ever spoken the truth in my entire life.  If you want to change your entire state of being, start to be grateful. ” Oprah has spread this message in many of her speeches across the globe.

The very act of gratitude opens up a channel for Joy to shine through.  It might start off as a small pinhole, but with practice and focused intention, it will grow into a window wide as you ALLOW it to be!  Admittedly, it is so easy to get fixated on everything that isn't going well in our lives.  Jobs we dislike, money problems, and toxic relationships.  Remember, Energy Flows Where Your Attention Goes!

And life has a way of surrounding us with tangible examples to shake us out of our lethargy and back into a state of appreciation and gratitude.  My mom and I have been caring for a delightful woman who lives down the street from us.  She has no family to speak of, suffers from multiple sclerosis, sever diabetes and has no left arm.  Three days ago,  her best friend, a cat named Logan, passed away.  And yet, she may be one of the most grateful Souls I have ever encountered.  Never ONCE have I heard her complain.  She surrounds her house with mementos and joyful memories that are imbued with the passion, and joy of a life well lived.  And it is absolutely humbling to be in her presence.  It has a way of snapping my own problems into things of fodder. 

Iyanla Vanzant has described the word PAIN to mean Pay Attention Inward Now.  She believes that the path toward enlightenment is to pay attention to each stop along the way of your Journey.  One stop may be an illness, another a job loss, another an amazing new relationship.  And she believes that within each and every one of these stops, is a lesson for us to express Gratitude!

One of my favorite spiritual teachers, Tony Robbins explains Gratitude this way, “It is the reset button and the cleanser of the soul. When you are in a state of gratitude it is no longer about ME.  It becomes about giving thanks.  And when you are giving thanks you disappear.  And when you disappear, I believe you reconnect to the Divine.”  Amen! 

Hopefully, you are understanding the Re-membrance that Gratitude is is the most direct line of connection back to SOURCE.  Back to the Divine from which we came and which surrounds us always to be in service to our desires.  As Bishop T.D. Jakes says , “Appreciation leads to duplication.”  When we focus our energy and attention on what we are in appreciation of in our lives, it activates a system that brings even more of that very thing into our experience!  Yet, most of us spend out time focused on all the things that we don't like in our lives and experience....well....even more of THAT!  And I don't know about you, but I think we could all use more experiences that bring us love and inner joy!  And evaporates feelings of depression and anxiety and transforms them into lasting inner PEACE.

So what would it look like, if we all started to incorporate the practice of GRATITUDE  in our lies starting today.  Keeping our attention on the things we are truly grateful for and perhaps even starting our own Gratitude Journal to write down at least 5 things we have appreciation for from the current day's experiences?!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez