A Visit from your ‘Daily Bliss’

Calling All New Age Nerds..................

This is a message from your  ‘DAILY BLISS' (Bringing Love in Soul Support)....WE are a compendium of spiritual energy traversing the Universe...always on the lookout for authentic soul doers...intrepid enough to separate themselves from the soul doubters... WE came to visit you today, to simply shower you with the eternal light source of Infinite Intelligence and Grace... And to remind you of the daily "Soulabration" that is being held by your angels and spirit guides as you continue to experience life at your spiritual edge......  In fact,   WE  have been paying especially close attention to your current situation...  For in your World, most pain and suffering brings with it, the EXACT OPPORTUNITIES you came down to Earth to receive....  And for Super Soul Heroes such as YOU.... Your pain has always and in all ways been chosen to birth MIRACLES for others as well ... So please understand; in your deepest, darkest hours, not only have you NEVER been alone....   But because of your sacrifices, in this being YOUR time to shine, there have been,    A HUNDRED THOUSAND ANGELS by your side....   They have been whispering through the doorways and pathways of your mind....  Surrounding you and protecting your essence from this earthly ‘illusion’...  Telling you the stories of your life, helping you to stay at PEACE and assisting your soulful remembrances of this Journey...  And because of the myriad of selfless acts you have afforded others, your Heavenly title will forever be The PROMISE KEEPER, for this is exactly what you came down to Earth to accomplish....   We simply request, that each morning,  when you awake fully from your slumber, that you shower yourself with the same love and kindness you have given so freely to others...For one day, you will return to US, as a glistening pearl, once the tear from its shell has been healed.....As this very process will heal so many more that crossed your path.

Now please go spread some of that kick ass  Spirit's Secret Sauce that everybody's been bragging about!!

Your ‘DAILY BLISS’

The Alchemist

'The Alchemist' , by Brazilian writer and poet Paulo Coelho is filled with prose touched by the hand of a God intent on espousing the UNIVERSAL message that by following our Hearts desires and with the help of true LOVE, our greatest dreams are made whole.  We will be met with SETBACKS along the way, but they are just temporary opportunities for our growth and understanding to cope with the things yet to come...

THE NIGHT IS ALWAYS DARKEST, JUST BEFORE THE DAWN

What you need to know is this: before a dream is realised, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way… not because it’s evil, but so we can master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved towards that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which we say here,

“one dies of thirst just when the palm trees appear on the horizon.”

The Alchemist

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey,stardust,swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.” 
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.” “Every second of the search is an encounter with God,” the boy told his heart. “When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.” So his heart was quiet for an entire afternoon. That night, the boy slept deeply, and, when he awoke, his heart began to tell him things that came from the Soul of the World. It said that all people who are happy have God within them. And that happiness could be found in a grain of sand from the desert, as the alchemist had said. Because a grain of sand is a moment of creation, and the universe has taken millions of years to create it. “Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him,” his heart said. “We, people’s hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer whant to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them – the path to their Personal Legends, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place. “So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won’t be heard: we don’t want people to suffer because they don’t follow their hearts.” “why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?” the boy asked the alchemist. “Because that’s what makes the heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer.” From then on, the boy understood his heart. He asked it, please, never stop speaking to him. He asked that, when he wandered far from his dreams, his heart press him and sound the alarm. The boy swore that, every time he heard the alarm, he would heed its message. That night, he told all of this to the alchemist. And the alchemist understood that the boy’s heart had returned to the Soul of the World

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

What ONE step will you take today that will bring you closer to your heart's desire?!?!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

The New Age Nerd's NEW MISSION...........

“And why do we fall, Bruce?  So we can learn to pick ourselves back up.”

Dr. Thomas Wayne to a young Bruce in Batman Begins

The month of October typically signals the start of my favorite time of the year.  On the East Coast, the harsh humidity of Summer transitions into clear, crisp days and the foliage on the trees turn into a menagerie of transcendent colors that frame every vista into the perfect postcard.   For us sports junkies, it's a treasure trove of goodies as the NFL season is in full swing, the baseball playoffs can be found on some channel almost every night, and both the basketball and hockey seasons are just underway.  Throw in the fact that it's my birthday month AND the Holiday Season is just around the corner.....just two words.......YES PLEASE!

But October of 2012 was not so much of a time for celebration.  In fact, it was one of the most challenging points of my life (And I've had plenty of them... just sayin' !)  I found myself in the unenviable position of being jobless, broke, and living in my parents basement.  If that wasn't tough enough, the Crohn's disease I had been battling since my early teens required biologic shots twice a month to keep me in remission, that without health insurance, cost three thousand dollars EACH!  No health insurance company would even discuss a personal plan, so I applied for disability coverage. Sometimes, you do what you have to do, right?!?After waiting for nearly six months, the official letter of disability denial came in the mail.  OUCH!


Believe it or not, things only got worse.  My little pup Nacho started peeing around the house like he was a firefighter in training.  A trip to the vet revealed he had become diabetic and was going to need two insulin shots a day to live.  And I can't stand needles.  Aye dios mio!!  To top it all off, a job I had really wanted, and went through an extensive interview process with, completely fell through at the last moment.  And if one more person tried to cheer me up with ‘This will all pass, Jeff,’ I thought I was going to go ballistic!  FYI, telling someone everything they are going through will ‘pass’ should be saved for stomach and gas attacks.  NOT a complete life meltdown!!

Slowly, my heart started to sink and my faith completely crumbled.  Every facet of my life was a total disaster and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see a way out.  Until one morning, 'Uncle D' (my not so affectionate name for full blown Depression) showed up at the front door, his bags in tow, giving me no signs of how long he planned on visiting this time.

One late night, just a few days later, I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed, racked with an aching heart and soul.  The type of pain that makes it hard to breathe.  I didn't feel like a failure, because that word didn't seem large enough to handle my current narrative.  My mind raced from one insanely torturous thought to another.  All I knew for sure was that something had to change, or Uncle D would be taking me back home with him at the end of this stay.

As tears began to flow, I prayed to God to have mercy on me.  I needed a sign that life was still worth living.  I needed....anything.

A box of tissues were sitting on the top of a cabinet full of books next to the bed.  I stood up to grab a handful, when the pristinely white jacket cover of ONE book on the shelf grabbed my attention with such an immediate intensity that it nearly started to lightly glow.  With over 300 like minded tomes in my collection, this phenomenon of a book 'calling' to me was not new.   But never before was it quite this consuming.

As I bent down for a closer examination, I saw that the book's title was Pathways to Bliss by Joseph Campbell.   Despite devouring books like this with a fervent passion over the previous 15 years, I had ironically never actually read anything by this author.  I had bought the book on sale at Borders several years earlier, after seeing an interview with George Lucas in which he talked about how much  Campbell's work had influenced his work on Star Wars.  Little did I know how much the book was about to change my life.

As I began to wipe dry my tear stained cheeks, I pulled the book from its resting place and brought it with me back to the edge of the bed.  Miraculously, my mind stopped its racing, and I was able to focus on the words I was reading.  He wrote about the attainment of Bliss, and how ‘the privilege of a lifetime is being who YOU are.’

But what absolutely struck at the core of my utter BEING was his explanation of what he has termed ‘The Hero's Journey’.    And how everything that life brings us is no thing short of EXACTLY what we need in order to fulfill our purpose here on Earth.  Of course I had heard of the Hero's Journey during my previous travels.  But this time, I REALLY HEARD IT.  Truly understood its meaning with a ferocity of acceptance and purposeful enlightenment.  I wasn't a failure.  In fact, ‘just the opposite’,  I thought.  If I had gone through THIS much suffering and pain so far in my life, then my Hero's Journey must be pretty big.  I had always believed I was here to be a guide to assist others on their warriors path, but now, I KNEW IT.  Big difference!!

So no matter what your current situation may be, there is HOPE.  In those moments of despair, please remember that there is a PURPOSE for everything you are going through.  I PROMISE!  You are not alone.  That's what we are doing here, together.  Trying to help one another figure out why we are going through so much pain and suffering, and how we can channel it into our reason for being!  

Campbell also suggested that someone on this 'path toward Bliss' might consider looking for examples of stories in our mythological world that passionately resonate with their story.  It's an incredibly powerful manner to gain deeper meaning and insight into the life patterns that seem to follow us.  Not to mention it's a pretty kick-ass and fun entry point to discovering your true calling.  That's why I call that night my 'Dark Knight' of the soul.  Batman has become my personal spiritual totem and his healthy association in my life has been an absolute miracle! I have learned to call upon his spiritual essence on so many occasions that the "Bat-Signal" has needed to be professionally serviced many a time. 

I wish I could say that finding such a powerful paradigm such as the Hero's Journey would have eradicated most of the pain and suffering in my own life the past 8 years. But, instead, it has actually felt at times as though my trials and tribulations have at times continued piling up quicker than I can put on my "Batsuit."  Thank goodness I also have a couple spare pair of batman night "jammies" that fill in quite nicely in certain times of desperation! LOL

My point is the following. Similar in vein to the dastardly deeds from the villainy that pours forth from Batman's home of Gotham City, mental illness shares the same sullen characteristics. NEITHER OF THEM HAVE A PERMANENT CURE! Even worse, mental illlness has been superimposed with a litany of extreme paralyzing prejudice, misunderstanding, and a polarizing stigma that is FAR FROM SUPER in nature. 

Last week, I wrote a post about my own recent personal battles with mental illness and the devastating effects they have wrought upon everything and everyone in my life.  If only our fiscal life was a Monopoly board, and our personal relationships were as easily unraveled as time spent after a  game of "Twister!" But while various board games are best used to temporarily alleviate life's numerous ills, they can in no way equate to the real world edition of the board game "Life."   

Last week, if forced to undergo being tightly secured by Wonder Woman's "Lasso of Truth," I would have painfully admitted to thoughts of shutting down The New Age Nerd. 
I became deeply conflicted by the notion of writing a blog about "Super Transformational" guidance while I was concurrently battling my own mental demons.  I felt like somewhat of a maudlin fraud. "Shouldn't life filled guidance be disseminated by those fortunate enough to live free of the mental woes I sometimes find myself succumbing to?!" After deciding to release last week's post about my own recent battles, I was luckier than most. While I did have some friends who reached out to me, still others remained near silent in their retorts. No judgement on either front. I accept the unique manner in which everyone deals with such hard to face maladies of the brave buckets that are filled with some form of mental illness. Sure, it would be terrific to have people reach out with a warm, refractory glow of love and kindness.  However, as a collective whole, we just aren't in such a place of engagement. 

Providence so often manifests itself in the form of a miracle.  And such was the case a were few days ago. I was reading a blog post filled with stories of others battling with mental illness and happened to come across a story that struck me straight in my Super Hero heart!  An incredibly brave young man had responded to a blog entry written from a young woman who had tried to commit suicide several times during her battle with bi-polar disease. She had finally found solace in the form of superhero comic books. She drew great inspiration from the manner in which these ink concocted super heroic icons never gave up and continued to fight, no matter the odds facing them! 

For some, this may have just been a wonderful cautionary tale of the power of modern myth when incorporated into our lives.  However, for this particular young man, her fleshed out personal epitome literally SAVED HIS LIFE!! Just prior before coming across this blog, he had been searching the internet for places to purchase poison. His mental anguish and psychic pain was that horrific and beyond unbearable. He had made the decision that his suffering no longer held any sense of meaning in his precious life. And was ready extinguish his "Life Light," permanently.

However, after reading that blog, he spent the rest of the night digesting various comic books! From all the illustrious pages filled with Super Heroes facing their own fears and still facing down their demons, he found an outlet large enough to carry his own once nasty narrative. And ease enough of his suffering that he instantly stopped looking for that life ending poison!  And although his post ended there, I pray he found a team of support and is now a Super Hero for others like himself!

I feel as though SPIRIT nudged me directly to that story of how the power of Super Heroic Modern Mythology truly has the ability to transform this planet! To help us all re-member that we are all SUPER HEROES!  With a Super Heroic Higher Self that has the ability to unite and heal; illuminate wisdom, compassion, kindness, joy, and most of all........LOVE!!

And so, rather than shut this blog down, I have instead discovered a new found framework for its existence and a rekindled fervent passion for part of its MISSION!  One that celebrates the Super Hero in each and every one of us! A place where it's safe to BE EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE! So that we can ALL be celebrated for our uniqueness and what our set of "Super Powers" can unleash on this world to make it what it was always meant to be...   HEAVEN ON EARTH!!

So from now on, every Monday will be deemed, "Super Heroic Mental Health Day." The posts will all radiate with inspiration and information about how to improve your own mental health. No matter what affliction you may be struggling with. All so you can slowly transform into a life of not just surviving, but SUPER HEROICALLY THRIVING! And showing this world that those of us who fight our daily battles with mental illness are SO MUCH MORE THAN WE ARE GIVEN CREDIT FOR!!


BE SUPER HEROIC!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Man's Search for Meaning

Today's INSPIRATIONAL offering comes from one of my favorite books, Victor E. Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning".

Frankl was an Eastern European Jew born in 1905, who not only survived persecution in a Nazi concentration camp, but went on to become a doctor.  His message is that life is not a quest for pleasure or power, but rather MEANING..........

Dostoevski said once, "There is only one thing I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings." These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of the their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom—which cannot be taken away—that makes life meaningful and purposeful. 

In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice. 

A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth-that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which a man can aspire. 

Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of human is through love and in love. 

I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for the brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when a man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way-an honorable way-in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. 

For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words,"The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.” 
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search For Ultimate Meaning

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

The Power of Self Compassion

“See this guy here staring back at you?  THAT's the toughest opponent you are ever going to have to face.  I believe that's true in the ring, and I think that's true in life. ”

Rocky Balboa from CREED

A few years ago, while taking some classes toward a leadership coaching certification, I had quite an impactful experience that I still use to help me re-frame my own ‘inner critic’.   Who needs enemies when our own MONKEY MIND insists on taunting us with thoughts of blame, guilt, regret, and self-hatred,  often with a big, heaping side order of worthlessness.  And as that day's class was soon to me show, we are truly all ONE in this experience that causes so much anxiety, depression,  and pain.  Not to mention how it blocks us from the healing LOVE we need to move forward in our lives..................

After our mid-day lunch break, our class of roughly 30 seated students were each given a stack of cards with various short phrases written on the back of each one.  We were instructed to pick the ONE card that best exemplified the way we felt about ourselves most of the time.  You have to remember this was an extrapolation of people who were all on an active path toward self growth, many of us having spent years, if not DECADES, on a quest for the specialized knowledge that would allow us to coach and train others on becoming the ‘greatest version’ of themselves.

The phrases on the cards ran the emotional scale from ‘I Am Love’ to ‘Work in Progress’.  Once we all had our card picked, we were told to stand up, and with its message facing forward, held in front of our chest, start mingling with one another.   One by one, we stood up.  Suddenly, a raucous set of laughs started erupting from one side of the room to the other.  With over 20 different messages that each member in the group was free to choose from, ALL but five of us picked the EXACT SAME CARD.  That card read......   NOT GOOD ENOUGH !!

I will NEVER forget the divine feeling of oneness I felt in that moment.  Oh, I laughed my ass off like the rest, but my soul was shedding tears of joyful connection.  Up until that moment, I had often been afraid to admit the intensity of my own MONKEY MIND.  How controlling, suffocating,  and idea crushing it could be.   But as I looked around that room, and saw nearly everyone holding up that  card, with its illusionary message, all I could see was beings of perfection.  Even if THEY could not see it in themselves.  How could they not see that in themselves?!  Why could I often not see it in myself?!

Since then, I have come to understand that radical self compassion is like most everything else of   great value, a PROCESS.  Our capacity for self compassion is not unlike a muscle.  It must be trained, honed, and cared for with patience and love.  Here are 4 TIPS for practicing self compassion that have made an enormous change in helping me keep my inner critic just the way I like him,  Supah Silent :

1.  Feel your feelings, then let them GO.
When you suppress your feelings, in reality you are quelling a spiritual lesson that is trying to emerge for your highest good.  Your inner critic is going to get on stage and grab the mic(he/she LOVES attention) when something triggers you no mater how much work you've done on yourself. By allowing yourself to fully FEEL the emotions this brings up, you may just find that there is some light being shown on issues where attentive love still needs to be applied.  The key is to make sure you DO NOT make a 'broadway show' out of your feelings.  Nobody wants to buy a ticket to feelings you are holding onto that no longer serve you anymore!

2.   Meditate
When my Monkey Mind is causing me all kinds of chaos, the most powerful tool I know for calming the noise is through meditation.  If you don't currently practice meditation, NOW may be a great time to start.  There are some fantastic programs that are free online (Oprah and Deepak Chopra offer one a couple of times per year) if you don't know where to start.  By simply going within during meditation, you can reconnect with Spirit and re-member that you are a unique emanation of God, perfect and whole in every way.  As you get better at meditative practice, you will begin to carry that FEELING of being whole and worthy out of your meditation, and INTO the rest of your day.  Just be patient with the process, my meditations are STILL a work in progress.  ;0)

3.  Realize that you are NOT your thoughts

The arch enemy of your 'inner critic' just may be the watchful observer.

When those thoughts  of worthlessness and doubt arise, try this little trick.  Close your eyes, and visualize yourself in a room, alone with JUST THE THOUGHTS that are causing you trouble.  See how you are completely SEPARATE from them in the room.  Do not judge the thoughts, or allow yourself to become anxious around them.  You are simply an OBSERVER. It may take some time to achieve this space.  Thats OK.  Simply breathe   ...one ...breath... at a... time.
Once you are in a place of calm, address the thought/thoughts.  
“Thank you for coming.  I appreciate you shedding light on the places I still need work. But now, please GO!  You are NOT a part of me.  And I am NOT a part of you."

You can repeat a mantra that works for you(feel free to experiment until you find something that really resonates) again and again.  Visualize these thoughts slowly evaporating back into the ether from which they came.  You may be laughing, but TRY it!  By seeing yourself as separate from the thoughts through the power of your watchful observer, their grip on your psyche is truly lessened.

4.  Choose your TRIBE carefully
The number one thing I hear from people is how they have no control over their lives.  For the most part, that is true.  We do not live in a vacuum, and many facets of our experiences are completely beyond our control.  However, ONE thing we do have complete control over is also one of the most important aspects in determining our overall joy and success in life.  
That being WHO we choose to let into our lives.  
There has been scientific evidence that proves we become the average of the five people we choose to spend the most time with on a daily basis.  We spend SO much time dealing with our own inner critic, don't ya think it would be a great idea to make sure the people we invite into our TRIBE shower us with inspiration, support, kindness, and growth filled experiences.  So when it comes to picking new TRIBE members in 2016, CHOOSE WISELY!!

I hope this helps you quiet your ‘inner critic’ and ALLOWS IN the healing love and light that is all around you..................

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

Just Because........ You Asked

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

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez

SUPERGIRL Returns Tonight

"Isn't it human to face our weaknesses, and rise above them.  To act like a superhero even if you aren't one....  Supergirl's spirit stays with us...Her insistence on seeing the best in people.  A call for us to heed our better Angels."

from Cat Grant on Supergirl

Happy Monday fellow New Age Nerds!!

The Grandest Vision and Mission of The New Age Nerd is to create a place to revel in the communal experience of assisting one another in becoming the HEROES we were ALWAYS meant to be in this world.  And if You are like ME, then I know you also GEEK out over the Inspiration and Remembrance drawn from the stories, myths, and legends that imbue our shared pop cultural passions.  

There is a REASON movies like Star Wars-The Force Awakens is breaking box office records faster than Luke could "bulls-eye womp rats" back on his home planet of Tatooine.   One of my personal heroes, the wonderful mythologist, writer, and philosopher Joseph Campbell, discovered that the STORIES that collectively touch our hearts, do so because they hold the roadmaps and guideposts toward our own unique personal purpose!  In fact, mythological pop culture has become a powerful modern day MATRIX of accessible Infinite Intelligence.  It emanates the wisdom that helps lead us toward what I believe is the most thrilling aspect of the human experience.....   
THE HERO'S JOURNEY

Periodically, I will be chiming in with some suggestions that I think you may want to put on your radar screen!  It is my wish that at least some of the recommendations will cause the Geek Freak in you to want to go out and Live YOUR Legend.  PRONTO!!!

So if you are STILL reading this (And I hope that you are!!), I want to remind you that SUPERGIRL on CBS comes back with all new episodes tonight.  I've caught all of Season 1 so far, and I have to say, Melissa Benoist totally KICKS -ASS as Supergirl!!    Plus, it's pretty cool that there is finally a female Super Hero to wet our nerdy weekly whistle...... and one who has a TON of heart and optimism too!!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez