Adventure Travels

Who Am I?

2014-12-26T19:28:00.001-06:00

My name is Billy Gray. I am a high school Health and Wellness Teacher and head girls soccer/cross country coach.

This is my 8th year as a teacher, but took a 2 year sabbatical to live my life on my terms.

I am a photographer, documentarian, travel reviewer, and blogger in my free time.

I am an avid traveler. I have been fortunate enough to visit 36 countries on 6 continents.

I enjoy seeing nature's beauty and experiencing foreign cultures. I enjoy spending time in the outdoors, camping, and hiking.

I speak English, French, German, and Spanish.

I have practiced yoga and meditation on a daily basis for the past 3 years and it has transformed my life.

I am a vegetarian 99% of the time, but occasionally have fish. I work out everyday, and play on too many soccer teams.

When it's all over I'll be able to say one thing: I Lived.

Alistair Humphreys and others like him are my inspiration and motivation. To see the world, live life how I see fit, without the pressures of society is my ultimate goal.

I recently purchased a packraft, have completed buying all my necessary back country gear, and plan to head out into the wild for the foreseeable future.

Motivational, inspirational, and educational books and documentaries will follow my journey every step of the way with one purpose - to encourage others to do what they want to do in life, regardless of their current circumstances.

Experience, money, equipment are bonuses, all you need is an idea and the willingness to see it through.

After years of planning, contemplating, hoping - I've decided I need to take my own advice. Starting in the summer of 2015 I will begin my first large scale outdoor adventure through Norway - packrafting, hiking the rivers, mountains, and fjords.

"Created in the image of God"

2013-07-29T13:38:00.005-05:00

"Created in the image of God"

I thought I would take a moment to share my spiritual journey pre-enlightenment and post-enlightenment. Enlightenment may be the wrong word, but it sounds better than something else.

I have been Catholic my entire life, and still go to a Catholic Church, but over the past year my mind regarding spirituality has shifted. Through deep introspection and examination I have come to the conclusion that what I used to think about religion, and divinity in general, has, well, changed.

I would say the biggest change is my open-mindedness towards other faiths and belief systems. I have intentionally sought, and found; asked, and received – mostly in religious terms, but also regarding life in general.

I have thought about writing a book about my preconceived notions of Biblical scripture before my awakening and re-examining them after. Spiritual awakening, that’s a good term - probably more appropriate than “enlightenment” for this transformation.

Through my studies and self-reflection I have determined all faiths share one eternal truth – we all contain a soul, spirit, true-self that goes beyond the physical. This Being is immortal and has always been and will always be. It will continue long after we are gone from this Earth. This idea was easy to grasp and straight forward, but it led me to begin asking other questions.

During this journey I began contemplating God, what He is, how He is, where He is, who He is. I looked to the Bible, ancient Hindu texts, the wisdom of Buddha, and others. I found again that no matter what religion someone professes to believe is the truth, they all shared the same answer.

God is eternal. God is everywhere. God always has been and always will be. God is light. God is love. In other words, God isn’t an old man with a white beard. I don’t know how that image came to be, but it’s more appropriate for describing Zeus or some other mythological being.

Before I began this process of searching for answers I probably would have described God as a man with a beard that sits in the clouds. I’m sure many others would as well; and probably still do. I, on the other hand, have completely transformed my vision of God.

Today I view him as an invisible source of energy that fills the universe – creator of all that is seen and unseen. This realization led me to pursue this path further. While in meditation one morning a question and ultimately an answer came to mind. The question was based on an accepted theological question by many spiritual teachers, scholars, and believers.

It originated from a simple, yet profound, Bible verse. I thought about my revelation of what God is, and it reminded me of the Book of Genesis. Specifically, Genesis 1:26-27. Genesis states:

1:26 And he said: "Let us make Man to our image and likeness..."

1:27 And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them."

Knowing what I know God to be, if we are created by God in his image, then we must be an eternal, spiritual, all-loving being also. However, if we look at this from a worldly view we may differ. So in essence, to rectify this situation, we can’t look at ourselves from a purely worldly view.

In other words, we aren’t what we see. We aren’t what we do. We aren’t what we experience. We are more than that. We aren’t our bodies. If we we’re truly created in God’s image than God would have to look like us. God would have to be a human-like being. Maybe this is where the notion of an old man with a white beard originated. I now realize this is a superficial representation of God; however, like I stated before, one that many still have. And sadly, one that many still preach.

If God is light and love and all these other great things we must be that too. And if God is eternal, we must be that too, at least to some degree. And if we look like God - and God doesn’t look like a human being – than our true self, the image God created must not look like a human being either.

So what is our true self that looks like God? It would have to be our spirit, soul, or whatever word you choose to describe that. I feel like I have unlocked this amazing secret. I call it a secret because it wasn’t blatantly told to me before. I feel like I was lead to believe all these things about what God is and what we are and none of it was true. I don’t know if I misinterpreted the information, the facts were misrepresented, or if those teaching and preaching haven’t yet realized the truth.

Either way, I know feel confident that I know who I really am and what God really is. I see myself now as looking at things on a deeper level than before. Not accepting things just because I was told to by someone else. It brings a whole new meaning to the words “seek and ye shall find. Ask and ye shall receive.”

I want to re-iterate, maybe all along I was just confused on what was being said. I wonder if other people feel like they are actively being taught the version of my pre-Spiritual Awakening or the post-Spiritual Awakening. I’m curious if other people agree or disagree with my new stance on this issue.

I really wonder now if other people are actively searching, or just accepting. I really hope others are seeking, asking, and ultimately finding. I know that I am just at the beginning of this incredible journey, but I am looking forward to where it ultimately leads.

How do you know if you are right if you don’t know what others believe?

Tourist of the Year - Competition submission letter

2013-07-15T11:50:00.002-05:00

Why should I be the Tourist of the year?

I find it hard to believe anyone over the course of the past year has been more of a "tourist" than I. I recently quit my job to spend a year experience as much of the world as I could. I already had 23 countries and 5 continents to my credit, but I wanted to take time to see more while I am still young and able.

I loved the Lord of the Rings movies and was inspired by the scenery to the country for myself. In addition, Australia and Antarctica were the last two continents on my list to visit. Antarctica being very expensive and virtually inaccessible in the months of June and July, I decided I'd visit New Zealand. Being so close I figured I would take the short flight to Sydney as well.

My brother and myself spent 63 days traveling throughout the North and South Islands of New Zealand and 3 1/2 days in Sydney. It was winter time in the Southern Hemisphere so temperatures in New Zealand ranged from 9 degrees Fahrenheit to the low 50s, the further north we went. Due to expenses and part of the adventure we chose to camp virtually the entire time. Luckily we had very warm sleeping bags, but some of the nights were terribly cold, rainy, and windy. It must have rained 90% of the time, but it never put a damper on our spirits or our adventure.

We had some amazing adventures. We did paragliding in Queenstown, a 3 day kayaking trip in Abel Tasman National Park, a 17 mile trek across the Tongariro Crossing - the real "Mt. Doom." We also did an awesome caving experience in the Waitomo Caves. It was essentially walking down a river, in the dark, underground. It began with a 100 meter abseiling into a cavern, followed by glow worms, rushing cold water, and a few hours of repelling down waterfalls. It was one of the best experiences of my life. We then continued our journey by rafting down the Kaituna River. The river itself is very calm and relaxing, except for the fact that there are waterfalls along the way varying in size from a few meters, to 7 meters - 21 feet. It is the highest commercially rafted falls in the world. It was a highlight of my trip. Initially not planned, but time and weather altered our plans, and we made a go at it. There were no regrets whatsoever.

These were just some of the countless highlights we experienced during our time in New Zealand. I can't wait to go back.

We spent a few days in Australia visiting the beautiful and friendly city of Sydney and the surrounding Blue Mountains. It was time well spent. The peaceful of Sydney was refreshing. Next time I will need to dedicated a few months to explore more of this wonderful country.

I returned to the US unemployed. Thoughts crossed my mind to look for full-time work, but I wasn't ready to go down that path. In the meantime I stumbled across a photo contest on Facebook presented by Etihad Airways in partnership with Vayama. The contest was to submit your best travel photo. I had the perfect shot. While visiting New Zealand my brother brought a small chain, with a gold ring attached.

After completing our journey over the Tongariro Crossing we were watching the sunset on the mountains in the distance. He pulled out his ring and asked me to hold it over the mountain. It gave the impression that I was dropping the ring into Mt. Doom. The mountain was very small in the distance, while I was a larger presence in the foreground. It was great.

I submitted the photo and after months of voting by family, friends, relatives, and strangers I ultimately won. The grand was two tickets on Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I started making plans immediately, but due to funds my brother needed to work a little longer to make enough money to go along. Although the flights were covered, the rest of the trip wasn't. I was planning to visit multiple countries in the area since I didn't know when I would have the chance to return. I put the planning on hold, but still had my intentions.

Over the Christmas and New Year's Holiday my family wanted to go on a cruise. We did some research together and decided on a Norwegian Cruise to Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. Our rist stop was at the port of Costa Maya, Mexico. We visited the Mayan Ruins. Our next destination was Belize City, Belize. During our short stop we did cave tubing in Central Belize. It was a very good experience and a lot of fun. Nothing like anything I had done before throughout all of my travels.

Next we went to Roatan, Honduras. We spent the day at a local beach snorkeling. Our final destination was Tulum, Mexico where again we saw Mayan Ruins and a beautiful beach. I had never been on a cruise before, but overall it was an enjoyable experience. It was much more relaxed and laid back than the fast-paced action packed traveling I am accustomed to, but I think given the chance every true tourist must go on the ultimate "tourist trap" - a cruise. I most likely won't be doing one again anytime soon - too expensive for such little return, but it was nice.

A few months passed and I was ready to embark on my trip to the Middle East. The plan was to visit Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan. I had been to Dubai before and loved the city. This was the perfect opportunity to return for a few days. Qatar was chosen because it was near by, a very safe country where I could learn about Islamic culture without fear of persecution or terrorist threats, and it is an up and coming country in terms of wealth and prosperity. They are hosting the World Cup in 2022 and I didn't want to wait that long before my chance to see this beautiful country.

Bahrain was also chosen because of it's safety, location, and relative ease of travel. We were stopped at the airport for over an hour while our passports were investigated. I was thinking we would be told we couldn't come in, but luckily they sent us on our way. There was a lot more history, especially Biblical history than I was aware of. We visited the supposed Tree of Life, from the Garden of Eden. I must say, it was in the middle of a very hot, windy, desert surrounded by oil wells. Not what I would expect for a Tree of "Life." It was a great experience though. I should mention, we rented a taxi for the day that drove us all over the country to various sites of interest. Amazingly, he had no clue where half the things we wanted to see were. We must have gotten lost half a dozen times, but it was all part of the adventure. Trying to navigate that country in our own car would have been a nightmare.

Our last stop was Jordan. It was the last place we went, and the last place I researched. Had I been aware of all the awesomeness that is Jordan, I would have allotted more time. The 4 days we had wasn't nearly enough. The highlights included Wadi Mujib - canyoning in a desert with sheer sandstone cliff walls - a beautiful hike. Probably the highlight of the trip for me. We also went to important Biblical sites such as Bethany Beyond the Jordan - where Jesus was baptized, Mt. Nebo - where Moses was shown the Promised Land, the Dead Sea - the water is disgustingly gross and burns every part of your body, but the floating was amazing. And lastly, Petra of course. It was much larger than I had been expecting. Thankfully the weather was perfect while we explored this vast complex. The rest of the trip it wasn't so pleasant. Temperatures in the 100's everyday. How people live there is insane.

We were being cheap on a few occasions and chose to walk rather than take taxis. We made that mistake the first time we went to Dubai and apparently didn't learn our lesson. Walking in the mid-afternoon in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Bahrain is not recommended, which is probably why so many of the locals stay indoors, hang out in malls, movie theaters, and museums. At night it's a different story, everyone comes out in droves.

Personally, I love Middle Eastern cultures. Many people have a backwards view of this region based on the media's portrayal, but the true Islamic Culture and people of this region are fascinating. One of my favorite places to visit. And the women are beautiful.

I was back from the Middle East and within days planning my next adventure. I had just spent time in a very hot, dry location, and the Texas summer was fast approaching. Three of the last four summers I spent in the southern hemisphere - South America, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, and New Zealand/Australia and wanted a return to a cooler climate. My destination of choice - Iceland.

I went there with the hopes of learning about viking culture, the impact of volcanoes and glaciers on this tiny island. Instead I learned the unreal belief by many Icelanders in trolls, elves, little people, Christmas yule lads, hidden people, and a plethora of other fairy tale characters. It was a very eye opening experience. Not to mention the landscape is rugged, yet beautiful. It is a magical real life fairy tale land. It took some convincing, but staying strong in my intention I was able to convince my family to join me. In general I travel with just my brother since we have similar tastes and the same adventurous spirit, but having traveled so much already in the past year I needed some help with funding. Actually, my brother did, but I didn't mind either.

The flights were reasonably priced, but rental cars were ridiculous. To offset costs and to help with the convincing process I decided we would camp the whole two weeks as we traversed the Ring Road. After persistence I was able to convince my sisters, mom, and eventually my dad into joining the adventure. One of my sister's boyfriends joined as well.

We had our team of 7 ready to go. We saw some amazing sites - countless beautiful waterfalls, fjords, glaciers, volcanoes, and other worldly features. Along with the knowledge of Icelandic culture, history, and sagas the entire experience was perfect. Sadly two weeks wasn't enough time. Next time I go I will be planning a month or more, that's really the only way to be a true tourist.

In total I went to 11 countries in the past year, 8 of which I had never been to, and 4 continents. I am the "Tourist of the Year." The things I have seen, learned, and experienced has opened my eyes to a whole new world. In reality I am not a tourist. Tourists by definition only see and do, but are never fully immersed in a new culture, but instead are merely observers stuck in their own habits and lifestyle in a new country. I like to think of myself as more than a tourist, as an active visitor and contributor. Someone that wants to experience, but also learn. With this knowledge I like to shed light on the truth and use my stories to influence others to have an open mind and heart and to see for themselves the true beauty that is found all throughout our world.

Truth Is Bliss - Attaining Salvation

2013-02-27T16:14:00.000-06:00

Truth Is Bliss - Attaining Salvation

Do you perish into hell if you don’t accept and acknowledge that your inner consciousness, your being, your soul, is part of a Higher Universal Power in this lifetime? What I mean is if you don’t come to the realization of God in this life, will you have a chance to find it in the next life?

Different faiths preach different concepts about this idea. Most Christian faiths believe that it’s not when you accept Christ in your life, but the fact that you do that will ultimately lead to salvation. This makes me wonder – if you don’t accept God in this life does that mean you go to hell? Furthermore, just because someone says they accept Christ in their life, is that enough? In other words, must something be done to show your acceptance, or is faith alone enough?

For example, how do you know if you or someone else really truly accepts Christ? We all sin. We all have doubts about our beliefs from time to time; what is the underlying truth that we have done enough on earth to attain salvation?

In the Bible in Luke 13:23-27 it says,

“Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

Is Jesus referring to our soul when he says enter through the narrow door? Is he also saying that many will not be able to - either by lack of knowledge or desire? How do we know if we did enough?

We must actively seek, and ultimately find God in this lifetime to be able to experience His bliss in the next life. It is often said “Ignorance is bliss.” I believe “Truth is bliss.” If we never experience bliss while we are living, how will we be able to when we are not? Is it possible that the soul will not truly know what bliss is and won’t be able to attain this state in the next life? As such, will you be in a torturous state, hell, trying to achieve this feeling?

So how do we attain bliss on earth? Regardless of your faith and what you refer to it as, it is a belief for many that because the soul and God are alike, that a part of God is always in us. Many people, from many faiths, have preached the idea of looking inward for hope, strength, answers, etc. Although not always stated as such, this can be accomplished through entering a meditative or trance-like state.

There are people who believe that the Kingdom of God is a literal place on earth. Others believe it is a metaphorical statement and the Kingdom of God resides in each of us and we can enter this place whenever we choose. This is stated clearly with the following passage in Luke 17:20-21 when Jesus says,

“The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

So, the Kingdom of God is already in us, our soul represents a part of this kingdom. We must acknowledge this truth and attempt to enter it whenever we can. Prayer, meditation, whatever you want to refer to it as all hold the key to this door.

Again, if we don’t find God now, how can we find him when we are no more?

There are some religions that believe life is a process, for some a never ending process until you reach an enlightened state at which point you reach a state of bliss and truly know God. This is accomplished through the practice of yoga and looking inward to find answers, as stated earlier. This of course is done through meditation, good deeds, and living a just and righteous life. This idea is shared through many cultures in the world, but it may not be said as such.

Should an individual not accomplish this in their lifetime than they will be reincarnated and have another opportunity in the next life. This is a key concept in the Hindu religion.

So, the question remains, must one reach salvation in this lifetime to be saved in the afterlife? According to Hindus should one reach enlightenment through a life of good deeds their soul will be freed from the endless cycle of rebirth and attain moshka. In this state of moshka, an enlightened individual becomes aligned with God. Unlike many misconceptions, the soul doesn’t become God, but becomes closer to Him.

There is the idea that your soul is part of an eternal, universal power. Although the soul is eternal, like God, you will never truly become God, as it is very limited in nature. Imagine a large sheet of fabric. God is the fabric and you are but one strand. You are made from the same cloth as God, but individually you are very limited.

Even those that don’t attain God in this life, they should still strive to have God-like qualities such as forgiveness, kindness, and love. By doing so, they will be reincarnated at a higher level than before and continue their path to moshka. Although moshka frees the soul from rebirth, after a very long time a person can be reborn at an enlightened state. Think of Ghandi, Mother Theresa, or others. There are particular ways to reach the blissful, enlightened state of Samadhi through meditation and good deeds, but to go into more detail is beyond the scope of this discussion.

Once Samadhi, a superconcious state of enlightenment is reached, God is revealed. It is at this point that the soul becomes one with God. Again, not God, but one with God. Imagine a candle flame. Although the wick is burning and they appear as one, the candle and the flame are still separate entities.

The benefit of this heightened state is that immense knowledge and power is revealed directly from God to the individual, which must only be used in the service of God to benefit society as a whole. It could be said that Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Rishis, Mohammad, and many others were able to attain this state during deep meditative prayer.

Going back to the earliest of civilizations the accepted belief was that man was created to please God and do his will on earth. This is true even today of all faiths, even if it is not openly preached continuously.

With billions of people on earth claiming to be faithful followers of God, how can it be said that few will truly know him and enter His kingdom? Is it because most people just pay lip service to their beliefs, but do nothing further? Is it possible that only a few really truly seek beyond the superficial and want to know and experience the truth of this great Universal and eternal source of power? Even those that claim to be the most faithful often times don’t exhibit what that means.

Another problem lies in the fact that many blindly follow without introspection, contemplation, and a true search for knowledge. Many people are afraid of new concepts and ideas that challenge their time tested beliefs. Whether it is fear of the unknown, fear of change, or the possibility that they may have to admit they were wrong is unknown; however, it is true that many people are uncomfortable with the idea of leaving the safety of the box they have created to shield them from potential consequences of their beliefs and actions.

If you choose to accept the belief that your soul is part of God, and everyone has a soul, then inside of you must be God. Many prophets, seers, and religious men of faith have stated repeatedly to look inward to find God. Is that because they know that in your heart resides your soul? And by listening to your inner voice that you are hearing the words of God?

We have all heard the phrase, “Follow your heart.” In this circumstance your heart is the soul, and therefore God, speaking to you about what actions to take next. If we are told to find God we must look inward, are we actually doing that? Or do we believe that God is an old man with a long white beard living in the clouds in a castle? Maybe the problem lies in the fact that we are taught something without truly examining it's merits based on truth, rather than conjecture. Nowhere, outside of fantasy, does any scholar, prophet, or scripture talk of the things we envision in our mind. Rather than mindlessly following an idea, we seek answers for ourselves.

Do you believe to know God? Saying it, believing it, and doing it are completely different things. If we aren’t actively searching for God now, then when? If we don’t find the true power and beauty of God in this life, then when will we? Faith and good deeds are beneficial, but if we don’t come to know God in our heart, through contemplation and meditation, then have we really achieved anything? If we don’t know what it feels like to connect our soul to God while we are here on earth, will we get that chance another time?

It all comes down to your beliefs. Should you actively search, but never find, if you are a Hindu you believe you will get a second, third, fourth, and however many chances necessary until you accomplish your journey. On the other hand, if you are Christian, Muslim, or Jewish – you only get one life. It is best to start actively searching now rather than waiting until it’s too late. Faith is truly more than words. It is a feeling, a feeling of bliss - a feeling that we should all actively seek to attain. With that comes a new attitude, a new perspective, a new life.

Keep in mind the following truth. God is bliss or "Heaven". The soul is not bliss. The goal of the soul is to attain bliss. The soul can attain a blissful like feeling, but only by actively seeking and eventually reaching God. You can attain this feeling of bliss through meditation and prayer.

If the soul is not naturally in a state of bliss then how will it know what it feels like if you don't teach it, train it? It is vital that you expose yourself to this feeling as often as you can so that when your soul leaves your body that it is prepared and able to align itself with God in Heaven, whatever and wherever that may be.

How you choose to achieve that is your choice. What you choose to believe is your choice. But to really know and understand God, a choice must be made at some point. It is entirely possible that many people go through life believing they have the answers, become complacent, and no longer seek. These people may be further along the journey and achieved the bliss that is God, but it is entirely more likely that they haven't and as such will never know the truth.

I just hope they are Hindus so they get a second chance at it.

The Quest

2013-02-24T20:17:00.000-06:00

The Quest

We are all on a quest through life. As we progress through our journey we determine who we want to have in our life, our family and friends, our preferences and interests, our career, where we live, and how we behave. All of these choices are determined by our beliefs. Even if we don’t believe in God or a Higher Power we still have beliefs. These beliefs are shaped by our experiences.

Because are beliefs have such a profound impact on our life it is important that we understand what are beliefs are, and more importantly, why. For most of us are beliefs were passed onto us by others, such as family, friends, co-workers, or other people that have crossed our path at some point.

As we mature, become exposed to new ideas and concepts, over time are beliefs will most likely change. They may change wildly or a small amount. For some they will never change. They are set in their ways and are unwilling and unable to accept a different perspective. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing to be confident of your opinions, but sometimes there are other ways of seeing things. When someone becomes so fanatical about their beliefs that they are unwilling to listen or learn about a different point of view they become ignorant.

I asked before and I believe it is important to repeat – how do you know if you are right if you don’t know what others believe? If you truly attempt to search for answers and come to the same conclusion than you can claim to be educated, otherwise you are just closed-minded. There is nothing wrong with seeing what else is out there. You may become stronger in your faith, you may change your attitude towards other faiths, but at the very least you will become more educated.

There is of course the chance that you will change your beliefs altogether. In the end is that such a bad thing? If it brings you closer to understanding truth, which is what we all want to do, than it is for the best. Some of us have been on this quest for a while, others are just beginning, and some haven’t started yet. We all must begin on our own time when we are ready. When you are ready my hope is that this book will be a great source that you can refer to for answers.

The nature of this book is to open your eyes to the major faiths of the world. I would like to go into as much depth as possible, but due to the complexities involved I have had to limit it. The scope is intended to be an introduction into a brief history of each religion. In addition, my intent is to highlight the differences, while examining the similarities.

My ultimate goal is to inform you, the reader, that even though we may have different customs, we as a faithful community are much more intertwined than we may have previously acknowledged. Although Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists worship in different ways, in the end the ultimate goal is to praise a Higher Power. Whether we call that being God, Yahweh, Allah, or Brahman it is in essence the same. For example, the belief in an omniscient, omnipotent, all powerful and eternal being are common features that will be covered in great detail.

The most important aspect of this book will be to expose the similar aspects of each faith. This will be done by simply presenting the writings from scriptures and analyzing their meaning. Regardless of what we call our sacred texts, whether the Bible, Torah, Koran, or Vedas they all have the same message. The names and stories may be different, but the message is the same - forgiveness, living a moral life, and putting others before ourselves. There are many occasions when you will read a particular set of scriptures and not be able to differentiate the author from one faith to the other except when it is a commonly known phrase.

Beyond these similarities there are many more - from customs, traditions, to rituals. All of these will be discussed in order to better understand their uses and origins. Once again many of these have been passed on through the generations and even shared with other religions.

Of course there are significant differences as well, but more often than not they pale in comparison to the overarching themes of each faith system. To truly present this information in an accurate, informative, and interesting way I have spent countless hours of research by examining the texts, works of other authors delving into the same concepts, and talking to a number of believers from each religion to better understand their interpretations. Many times this meant traveling to distant places around the world – from China to Thailand, from North America to Europe and many places in between. From these events this book was created.

In addition to covering Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism there will be sections related to beliefs of other lesser known groups such as Shamanism, Taoism, and the teachings of Natives in the Americas such as the Inca, Mayans, and various groups in the American southwest.

Throughout these pages will be a consistent theme, which I have alluded to already. Even through all of our differences on the outside, on the inside we are essentially the same. You may not agree with my interpretations on particular instances, but remember to keep an open mind. Just because it may be different than what you have been taught, it doesn’t mean it is wrong. It is just another way of analyzing the information.

Invariably this will happen on occasion. Maybe multiple occasions. These differences are the reason there are so many different religions today. Remember the river analogy before. Each religion is a different river winding its way to the ocean. We are all on the same journey; we just choose to take a different path to get there. It may be because it’s all we have ever known and are unsure of change. It may be that we have educated ourselves and decided on a particular path. Whatever the reason, I hope to share my knowledge through extensive research with you.

Remember too that it would be impossible to discuss the teachings of each variation of each religion. Just as there are many sects of Christianity, there are also varying sects of Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism. Over time the original teachings of each of these have been perverted. My goal will be to discuss the original teachings of each, with exceptions as it relates to Catholicism and Protestantism and Shiite and Sunnis Muslims.

Beyond simply sharing the beliefs of various faiths throughout the world, this book aims to inform the reader of many misconceptions and misrepresentations that have developed over the years. Many of these are due to translating errors, while others are simply a result of biases, closed-mindedness, and plain ignorance.

In the end, as long as you feel like you have attained the knowledge of God, Universe, a Higher Power, or whatever it is you choose to call it, then you have been successful in this life. It isn’t my job to determine if you are worshipping in the proper way, and as all the texts of various religions agree, that is the job of God. We each have our own way of worshipping, and those things are different, but the being we are worshipping is the same. These similarities are what will be exposed in the following pages.

As you progress through this book continually ask yourself the following: “Why do I believe what I believe?” This will hopefully put into context what I hope you will discover. This is a question I have been asking myself all throughout my research. If as I have claimed thus far is true, that all religions teach the same things, why are my beliefs the correct ones? What makes me believe they are right? What makes the others wrong? Is it that these teachings resonate more with me? Is it that I’ve only been exposed to these beliefs? Hopefully I can help answer some of these questions for you and bring you closer to your truth.

One final thought is in order before we begin truly examining the great religions of the world and what and how they teach, preach, and worship. I have decided to begin with Hinduism, as it is the oldest of the religions, followed by Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Lastly, I will finish with the other lesser known religions and how they tie into the overall theme of this book.

I have also decided to add contemporary thoughts on the various religions and their teachings as well from well-known authors and no-name people I have met through my research creating this book. This will become more apparent as you reach the final chapters of this book. My purpose for doing this is to show how through time people’s interpretations of their own beliefs are the same, regardless of where they live, how they worship, and what scriptures they ascribe to.

Out of the Box - Book of Knowledge

2013-02-13T21:16:00.001-06:00

Out of the Box

Prologue

Out of the Box was written with one goal in mind – to seek the truth. Not the truth according to someone else, not the truth according to what I have been told and taught my entire life, but to seek the truth through the acceptance of knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

Many people have found their answer, many people are still looking, and many haven’t even begun their journey. I am on a quest for knowledge. I have always had a burning desire to learn as much as I could, but those goals derived from my want of material possessions. Simply put knowledge that would benefit me and my lifestyle.

I am now searching for something greater. Something that few can explain and even fewer have the ability to explain adequately. I could spend hours talking about my faith and how it has shaped my life, but most of it is irrelevant to where I am now.

I know what I believe; I want to know what others believe. When I was teaching and a student questioned someone else’s opinion I would always ask, “How do you know if you are right if you don’t know what others believe?” I don’t think you can. If you base everything on one idea, one philosophy, one belief, and are closed-minded to a new way, how do you grow? How do you improve?

The true purpose of Out of the Box is to bring to light various teachings from a wide spectrum of religions and faith, both past and present. By examining the beliefs of the great prophets, philosophers, and sages I hope to gain better understanding, while at the same time enlightening you, the reader.

It is vital that there is no judgment of yourself, your current beliefs, or the belief of others. It is best to keep an open mind. Growing up Catholic I always assumed I was right and anyone that questioned me must be wrong. That was until I had suffered an injury playing soccer that led me to seek medical attention after months of suffering.

I went to a local chiropractor and received treatments three days a week. I did my stretches as instructed, but I still never felt like my old self. There was progress, but it wasn’t enough. I felt like there must be some other way. As someone that had just started doing yoga within the past 7 months I thought maybe I could find answers and healing there.

The concept of using a holistic approach to healing was completely out of the norm. I didn’t tend to take medication for my injuries or pains, but I also didn’t think acupuncture was the answer. I began discussing my dilemma with a few of the yoga teachers I had come to know and trust.

I knew eating healthier could help heal me, I knew the yoga poses could help, but even with those there was still something more I needed. I had been exposed to a few new concepts such as meditation, Ayurveda, and other potential approaches to self-healing.

I was recommended a book that completely changed my thinking and my life in general. For some reason it has led me on this journey to learn more. Unlike before, I’m not seeking knowledge for personal gain, but for spiritual gain. It is strange how one thing can lead to something you never expected. I didn’t realize going to yoga would go down the road I am currently on. I thought I was just going to do some stretching, improve my strength, and meet some cute girls. All of those things happened, but they pale in comparison to the door that has opened.

One evening after a vigorous yoga class I was laying in savasana, corpse pose, and had a strange feeling. I had never felt it before. It was as if I was completely relaxed to the point that I was asleep, but I wasn’t asleep. My mind was blank for the first time ever. I could feel, and I knew I was awake, but everything else was surreal. I was in this state of bliss for at least a few minutes, at least that’s what I imagine it was looking back on the experience.

When I came to and regained awareness I felt like I had to literally tell my brain to move my arm, lift my leg, and get up. It was a surreal feeling. Since that time I have felt as though something clicked in my mind. Following that dramatic experience my mind and my heart have opened up. During this time I was doing a yoga class that focused exclusively on opening certain chakra’s, or energy centers in the body.

This process further fanned the fire that was burning inside of me. I felt tension and stress being released from my body, new ideas and concepts I had never thought about before coming into existence. I was becoming a new person inside and out. I was becoming healthier, more aware, more focused.

I still wasn’t sure what was going on. I thought it may have been a side effect of my injury and I wasn’t fully recovered. There would be times where I would be in a state of euphoria for a few minutes and I just wanted to scream for joy. I couldn’t stop smiling. Then I would feel like I was hit with a ton of bricks. My energy and strength plummeted for no reason.

I wanted to constantly be in the state that made me feel positive, happy, and energetic. I began reading more books, most of which dealt with a concept completely foreign to me. The idea that we aren’t our experiences, we aren’t our body, we aren’t what we think about ourselves or others, but instead we are our soul, our inner self. The I AM.

I read three books before I really began to understand what was being presented to me. I felt like I needed to join a book club just to have someone tell me what was going on. I asked everyone I knew that was familiar with this concept what they thought of it, how it changed them, and frankly, what it meant.

All the while I was still feeling in pain and not like my former self. I needed to find a new way to heal. I found my answer through yoga. Not the stretching and poses, although that did help. But instead through the ancient practice that all yoga poses are based on, meditation. I had been doing meditation during one of the classes I attended and felt really good during the process. I was able to reach a feeling of peace, serenity, calmness.

I wanted to have that feeling all the time so I asked for more guidance. I began meditating with the assistance of an audio track that was given to me. After just a few weeks I felt great. I wasn’t 100% yet, but meditating was healing me much faster than any medicine, food, or doctor was doing. I’m convinced meditation was the answer.

During my meditations I began to have new thoughts, deeper thoughts, things I had never even contemplated before. I began to not think at all at times. My breathing became so deep that I felt like I didn’t even need to breathe. I was counting my breaths sometimes once every 30 seconds, and then once every 40 seconds. Eventually I just thought maybe I should breathe just to remind myself I’m alive, but all the while not even feeling it necessary.

This was cool. I liked what was happening. I could see the effects, I could feel the effects, I knew meditation was the answer. But it wasn't the end. All meditating did was lead me down another path - a path that I am currently on. I’m no longer seeking healing, but instead answers - answers to questions that have arisen through meditation, books, experiences, and everything in between.

None of this would have been possible without taking a chance on going to yoga and being exposed to these new ideas. A year ago if you told me the things I am learning about now I would have said you were a stupid hippie. I don’t think of myself as a hippie, but instead as an open-minded, enlightened individual seeking truth.

I recently read a quote that summed up my feelings exactly and the feeling I have when I meet others that disagree with me. I was reading one of the many books I have purchased and in it the author discussed an important figure in his life, Mother Meera, a woman worshiped as a divine mother in India, in his words. In the book she told him simply “The divine is the sea. All religions are rivers leading to the sea. Some rivers wind a great deal. Why not go directly to the sea.”

This is a concept I had believed before and actually came to realize during my enlightened phase through meditation. Sadly I didn't know how to express it so eloquently. It’s not so much how we get there, but that we get there. Some people need to chant, pray, read, perform rituals, and any number of other religious activities to tap into the divine. While others may simply just need to meditate, accept, or change their behavior. Again, it’s not so much how we get there, but that we get there that matters. We all have different needs and beliefs, and that’s fine.

I hope that the words of this book and my experiences will guide you on your own quest and answer your questions. I can’t tell you what to believe. We all have to determine that on our own. But what I can do is provide you with information that shows the similarities and in some cases differences between the major philosophies of our time and the past.

I believe it is extremely gratifying to know that even with all of our differences, we are still very similar.

Chapter 1 - Our Own Little Box

We all live in our own little word, our own little box. We like living in a box – it makes us feel safe, comfortable, and we have control. We choose the home we live in. We choose the furniture we fill it with. We decorate how we want. We organize our little box exactly how we imagine it should look. We choose our car. We choose our job. We may not like the job, but it was our choice.

We choose our friends. We choose our family. We choose our attitude. The box can be our things, but it can also be ourselves – our thoughts. We get to decide what comes in our box and what we remove from our box. We don’t like when people mess with our box, whether that is our emotions or our possessions.

We control every aspect of our box until it is perfect. It may not always be perfect, but that’s what we strive to accomplish. When we feel we have achieved what we set out to do, we add more things to our box.

The box is good. It’s safety. It’s comfort. It’s home. It can also be bad though. By controlling what comes in, we filter certain things that we think might cause us harm. This can be people, items, or even ideas. It’s natural to be uncertain about new concepts, but is that always a good thing?

We don’t live in a hole. A hole is bad. If you live in a hole you are completely shut off from the rest of the world. You have no clue what is taking place in the rest of the world. You have control over what you see and do, you have total control. You have so much control that you are isolated. Sometimes our boxes become like a hole.

We see something, we hear something, we experience something and we judge it. We say it’s good or bad. We make assumptions based on our beliefs and morals. The assumptions may be correct, but without all the facts they may be incorrect.

So, is our box the best place to be? Are we missing out on something by choosing to live with people that think, look, and act like us? Is it possible that we aren’t being exposed to differing points of view? The reason this is important is because you can’t grow as a person if you never have something to strive for or something to answer.

We need conflict, questions; a goal. It improves us emotionally, physically, and yes, even spiritually. If we have always gone to the same church, talked to the same people, and hear the same things, are we really growing? Yes, this helps strengthen our faith, but compared to what?

If we don’t know what else is out there then how can we truly know our faith is correct? Out of the Box addresses this issue. This isn’t intended to convert you to a particular philosophy, theology, or way of life. It is merely to educate. What you do with the education is up to you. It may indeed make you confirm your beliefs, it may make you question them, or it may make you completely change them.

The beauty of it all is that you will finally have all the answers and then be able to make an educated decision. The worst thing in life is making choices without all the facts, and what bigger choice in life is there than your beliefs? For many people it determines your salvation, your lifestyle, and even your friends and family. I can’t think of something more important that you would hope to get right than your faith – whether that is in God, the universe, source energy, or something else.

Throughout the pages of this book you will be exposed to teachings and beliefs that differ from your own, but you will also see teachings and beliefs you are familiar with. Some of them may be from your current belief systems, but some may come from another source. Even though we are all different, we are also all the same.

People want to know the truth. Some seek and find, others seek and never find, but some will never take the first step and seek at all. By examining various faiths and philosophies the answers should present themselves to you. You may have to dig deep within yourself to understand, but it may become apparent immediately. You may get angry, you may be filled with joy, in the end just know that you are on the right track.

We are all in this journey together and will eventually come to realize the answers to all of our questions, whether in this life or the next. Don’t lose hope and don’t lose faith.

Chapter 2 – Beginner’s Mind

During my yoga practice a few months ago I heard the teacher say that “we should have a beginner’s mind when doing a pose, to not judge our experience, or compare ourselves to others” because our bodies are all different. I didn’t really think much of it at the time. To me everything is a competition. If I see someone doing a pose better than me then I push myself to get better, even if it means potential injury or pain. I don’t recommend this approach to yoga and I’m positive nobody else does either. In fact, I’ve heard multiple times to the contrary.

I haven’t heard the term “beginner’s mind” since that time. It wasn’t something I thought about. I guess it didn’t resonate with me at the time or just wasn’t something I cared to contemplate. However, as my yoga and meditation practices have progressed I have become more aware of odd little sayings and their true meaning.

As I was reading a book about the Law of Attraction the author mentioned having a beginner’s mind. She too practices yoga. It must be a yoga concept. So it got me thinking - what is a beginner’s mind? More importantly, why have one? Beginners are usually uneducated, unskilled, or skeptical. But there is also the other side to the equation.

Being a beginner can be a good thing. It means you are unbiased, open-minded, and willing to learn.

Why is a beginner’s mind important in regards to faith? Because for most of us that’s exactly what we have – a beginner’s mind. We are uniformed about other’s beliefs. Somehow we have determined that we are correct and they are wrong even though we don’t have a clue what they believe. If we approach each lesson with a beginner’s mind, an open mind, we may learn something new. It might be something we had never considered before. It might be something we agree with. It might even change our thoughts about ourselves and others.

Learning about the customs and beliefs of others can put a new perspective of how we view people that are different than ourselves. It opens a whole new world. Being open minded doesn’t mean we have to agree with their teachings, just accept them.

Often times people use the phrase “I respect your opinion” or “I accept your beliefs,” but do we really? If you truly accepted them you’d start believing them. Most likely that isn’t the case, and that’s fine. You don’t have to agree with everyone and that’s not the purpose of a beginner’s mind. It’s just about being open to the concepts and having a better understanding of them so that when it comes time to make a determination you have all the facts.

Another great quality of a beginner’s mind is non-judgment. You can’t change something you don’t understand. You also can’t judge something just because it’s different. Even with all of our differences – our appearance, our customs, our language, our lifestyles – we still aren’t that different from one another.

As you read through these pages keep an open mind without judgment. Understand that something you don’t agree with isn’t necessarily wrong. It may just be wrong for you. We are all on a quest for truth sometimes we just have to take a different route to get there.

If faith means praying in silence in the solitude of your home and that makes you feel closer to that higher power, whether you refer to it as Source, God, Spirit, or some other name, than that’s ok. If it means going to a synagogue each week that’s perfectly fine too. If you think praying to Mecca multiple times a day, or praying the rosary, or following a certain way of life will bring you closer to God than that is great also.

We each get to determine what brings us joy in our lives and solace in our heart. How we get there isn’t important, it’s the fact that we arrive. Again, as you read understand that many of the concepts may be familiar to you while others may be completely new. You may even find that although said differently, worshipped differently, preached differently, in the end all faiths rely on the same basic concepts and teachings.

I often times tell people that “to learn you must listen, to listen you must be silent.” The same is true for this book. If you are seeking truth, answers to your questions, then you must truly listen. You must be silent. Don’t judge, accept, understand. You may learn something.

There may be times while progressing on this search for truth, for knowledge, that you become uncomfortable with a particular subject. Something may contradict your beliefs. It may make you rethink something. You may have questions. Most likely all of these things will happen at some point. You can’t change it so don’t get hung up on it, frustrated, or upset. It is what it is. When you are ready to accept the truth the answers will come to you.

Rather than rush to judgment just remember the famous words of John Lennon – “There will be an answer. Let it be.” At this point you will know that your quest for truth is over. You will have inner peace and be ready and willing to share it with the world.

Chapter 2 - Christianity

Chapter 3 - Judaism

Chapter 4 - Islam

Chapter 5 - Taoism

Chapter 6 - Buddhism

Chapter 7 - Hinduism

Chapter 8 - Shintoism

Chapter 9 - Confucism

Chapter 10 - Greek, Roman, Egyptian Mythology

Chapter 11 - Incan, Mayan, Native American Mythology

Out of the Box

2013-02-12T15:58:00.001-06:00

Out of the Box - Stillness

Your heart is your source of energy. It pumps the blood to your body and keeps you alive. Your breath is your connector to your vital organs and proves you are alive. As Jesus said “I am the bread of life.” Was he telling us that he wasn’t what we see on the outside, but what we feel on the inside? Our soul, our breath, the I AM voice? Is Jesus saying that he, God, is the breath in all of us?

We all have access to this “I AM” if we choose. The inner being, our soul, can be tapped into through silent meditation and listening. In this instance we delve into the gap, which is silence. This is the voice of God. It is from nothingness that we are able to create.

So this brings me back to my question, is God in us? Is our I AM, our source of energy, our true self, our soul, God?

We talk to ourselves when we pray in silence. Only we can hear, but for those that believe in God we believe He hears as well. Could it be that when we pray the God that hears is the God in all of us – our I AM, the source of our energy and all-knowing being that creates our reality? That knows everything we see and do.

Psalm 46:10 states “Be still and know that I am God.” In this stillness, this quiet place, we access God fully. Therefore, in meditation we reach stillness. In this stillness we reach God. That quietness - that is God. The silence - that is God. During this time of quiet stillness – the gap between thoughts – we come to know God. Since we have looked inward to seek God, is God in us or do we merely access Him through introspection of ourselves?

I feel like meditation is leading me on a spiritual quest for truth. I wasn’t expecting that to be part of the process or why I started meditating. For those that meditate – do you feel like you have had a similar experience?

I am open-minded and respect the opinion of others enough to know that I am not always right. Many people say they are a follower of Jesus, but many people through time have preached similar and even identical concepts across all religions and faiths.

Are you a follower of them too? Why does Jesus stand out in your mind above the rest? Is it because he said he was God on earth? Is it all you have been exposed to? There must be some reason why Jesus takes precedence over the other great philosophers that came before and after Jesus.

Do you believe God is in you? For example, is the I AM, your soul, your true self, the voice in your head – God? You can connect with this spiritual realm through meditation when you enter the gap and achieve silence. If you must go within to connect, is God therefore inside of you? Is he the breath you breathe?

If we are truly created in his image, does that mean that have God as part of our being? Not that we are God, but that we are connected to him through our soul?

Is the overall theme of Jesus’ teachings that you must go inside yourself to truly know God? Is that possibly why Jesus says he is God? Is the I AM - God in all of us - and we must follow his example to understand this concept according to Christian teachings?

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. I’m not sure anyone does, but that’s what I’m seeking to answer.

I AM

2013-02-11T22:11:00.003-06:00

I AM

What is God? Who is God? Where is God?

These are questions that mankind has asked for millennia. The evolution of the concept of God has progressed for generations. Thousands of years ago humans believed there were thousands of Gods. The Greeks, the Romans, the Hindus, the Sumerians, and many more civilizations believed that each event that occurred was the result of a God or Goddess.

With the rise of the teachings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam the idea of one God became prevalent. Even still the questions still arise: What is God? Who is God? Where is God? With that there come many more questions. For example, why is God? How is God? Is God everywhere? Is there a heaven, a hell, an afterlife?

Religious leaders try to answer these questions with scripture, historical events, miracles, and a multitude of other sources. But do they really know? Does anyone know? When you ask your friends what they believe they may respond, “I am a follower of Jesus.” What does that mean? Do you know? Do they know? What did Jesus preach? We can read the Bible and historical texts from Jesus’ life, but what was he really saying?

As I meditate these questions plus many more come to mind. I don’t know why I have these thoughts or where they originate, but they are there. I have always felt confident in my beliefs and teachings of my church, but over the past few months I have been having a lot of questions in regards to what I thought I knew.

I have read scripture, I listen to the priest and the words of God every Sunday, but I’m not sure I really understood their true meaning. I have been told what they meant, but never actually analyzed the words for myself. I have never believed that many of the stories in the Bible should be taken literally, but I also didn’t delve deep enough to fully understand the concepts being preached. I thought I knew, but now I’m not sure.

All of this second guessing, questioning, pondering has come about through meditation. I thought I was meditating for health benefits, peace of mind, calm, not to embark on a spiritual quest for truth, but that is exactly where I find myself today.

I have been reading every book I can get my hands on for the past 3 months dealing with metaphysics, self-awareness, awakening. I’m not sure how I got to this point, but now I am fascinated with the subject. I feel like I am getting very close to fully understanding the whole idea of God on a deeper level.

You know those people that say “I was saved when I was 7. I felt the Holy Spirit in me.” I never believed those people. I didn’t even know what that meant or how that felt. I think they just wanted to be accepted by their peers and thought it was the thing to do. Maybe they had some spiritual awakening, but I’m not sure it’s what I’m experiencing right now.

I believe what I have discovered is on a much deeper level, but maybe I have just finally arrived at the place they found long before me. I don’t really know and it doesn’t really matter. I am still far from knowing the truth, but I’m sure I’m on the right track.

While I was meditating one afternoon I had an epiphany. I have been having a lot of epiphanies lately, but this one in particular stood out for me so I made a note of it. I was recently reading a book, “The Power of Awareness,” and in it the author discussed the idea of assumption. The Law of Assumption is similar to the Law of Attraction.

Essentially the Law of Assumption states that you must see yourself living the live you dream. In other words, assume that what you imagine is reality. By doing this, having these vivid thoughts, it will eventually become your reality. If you want a new job, new home, new girlfriend, etc. then you must first imagine it so and then it will become so.

The Law of Assumption states that creation is already completed. Everything you experience was created long ago. Your reality is just manifesting based on your thoughts. If you don’t like your reality simply change your thoughts. As long as you believe it fully then it will be.

This idea has completely changed my thoughts. I always thought if I wanted something I should ask God and if it was meant to be it would be. At the same time though I always believed that if I wanted something bad enough it would come to pass. I have had experience with both circumstances, but if I really think about it the things I ask God for are things I really want to happen, therefore, it happens.

So that concept got me thinking. If I can simply imagine something and it happen then what role does God play in this? To make things more confusing I have been reading a lot of books that discuss the idea of source energy and the “I AM” concept.

Source energy is easy to understand. It’s the idea that there is energy all around us and within us. We are energy. We are matter, and matter is energy. We are made up of trillions of tiny particles moving very quickly which have bonded together to form our solid body. This source energy can be shared with everything in our universe. Those people that bring light into a room when they walk in, they have energy. You feel the energy radiating from their bodies and it makes you happy. You probably experience this most with people you know and care about.

Every culture has a word for this source energy. Christians, Muslims, and Jews call it God. The Chinese refer to it as Chi. Hindus call it prana. Energy is derived from your breath, which comes from your inner self. This inner self is your soul. The soul is the “I AM.”

What is I AM? It is the real you. Not your experiences, not your thoughts, it’s the voice telling you that you are having thoughts. It is your subconscious. The I AM was created before you were born and will be here after your body has died. It is infinite. It will always be and always has been.

After your body is gone your energy, your soul, your I AM, will return to the universe. Maybe it will go to Heaven, maybe it won’t. Maybe you will become one with the universe and your energy will be forever floating through space and time. I really have no clue at this point. All I know is that the answer is somewhere and I am seeking the answer.

As the Bible says “Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find.” I am asking, and I am seeking. I hope to know the answer at some point. If we take a step back and analyze this scripture what is it really saying? Is this justifying and revealing the truth in the Law of Assumption? If we ask for something and imagine it, does that mean we will receive it? Is seeking truth the first step in finding the answer?

Those are things to ponder. Things I ponder.

So if we agree that God is everywhere in the universe and we derive our energy through God, then where is God? Is God in us? Is the I AM part of our being, our soul - God? If we can manifest our dreams into reality simply by using our imagination then what part of this idea involves a God? If we are the ones creating our reality through our thoughts then what role is God playing?

If we are all created from the same fabric of life, same energy, and same source, then we are all one. I am you and you are me. So where does God exist? Is he in the gap between space? Is he inside of us? I recently asked myself if meditation was prayer. Literally 5 seconds later in a book I was reading the answer appeared. The words were “Prayer is when we speak to God, meditation is when we listen.”

So when we meditate and we enter the gap – the space between thoughts and there is silence, but peace - that is God. We reach God in his fullness when we meditate. But I am still unsure where God is and what role he plays. It seems to me that when we meditate we are looking inward and when we look inward we find stillness, peace, and silence. This is where we connect with God.

So logically speaking God is inside of us and in our hearts. So how do we know God is in us? Must we accept some form of teachings by a prophet? Buddha, Jesus, the Apostles, and thousands of people throughout time have preached the idea of loving your neighbor as yourself, peace, non-violence, introspection through quiet solitude reached through prayer - essentially meditation. Were they all speaking of ways to connect with God?

Again, we find God in our hearts. The Bible says we must accept God and his ways in order to feel his love. So God is in us, our souls, and he is our I AM. How do we know when we have achieved this state of awareness where God is with us and in us? I think the closest I have been to feeling that form of bliss, harmony, and love has been through meditation.

Although I have spent my entire life praying every day before I began meditating I felt like I was just talking to myself. Imaging what I wanted and many times it would come to fruition. However, I didn’t fully understand who I was talking to and how things were happening. Now I believe that I have been talking to my I AM, my soul, and through the power of the Law of Assumption I have been able to manifest the things in which I desired most.

Furthermore, I think that inside of me, I AM, is actually connected to God. If I have the power to achieve everything I desire through my thoughts alone, and God gives us what we ask for, then is it possible that the energy source inside of me, I AM, is actually God? Not that I am God, but that God is me?

In other words, is my soul God? If I am creating, and God gives what we ask for, then I must be God. In order to believe this you must wipe away the concept that God is a long white bearded man in the clouds. Instead you must accept that God is an energy source and that energy is all around us, even in us.

This energy creates what we desire. We alone have the ability to imagine whatever we choose and through this process we can change our reality. This comes from within from the I AM. Therefore, I AM, must be God since it is what we derive our inner strength from and what creates our destiny.

Is our soul God?

I think, therefore I am.

Law of Attraction

2013-02-06T16:11:00.002-06:00

Law of Attraction

In February of 2012 I began going to yoga at a local gym. I spent the first 3 months just focusing on conditioning through weight training and cardio work, mostly running on the treadmill and going to a spin class.

After four months of hard training and seeing dramatic results in terms of my strength and fitness I was in the best shape of my life, or at least in the last 10 years. I was doing 800 crunches a day, running a mile in less than 7 minutes, after having completed an hour weight lifting session that either consisted of arms and chest or back and shoulders. Occasionally I would include legs as well. If I wasn’t running I was cycling for an hour at a high tempo.

After two or three hours of training I would go to the indoor soccer field and play for another 2 hours. I had nothing else to do and I wanted to improve my overall health of my body. I would even work out for 2 hours lifting and running followed by an indoor or outdoor soccer game. I was playing on 4 teams at the time. I continued this process for the next 8 months, taking a two month break while I was on vacation in New Zealand and Australia for the summer. I eventually strained my back lifting weights and had to take some time off.

As I was working out I focused on myself and my own goals. I didn’t interact with any of the other people there very often because I didn’t know them. Eventually I discovered a friend was a member and convinced her to work out with me occasionally.

She wasn’t into doing the same things as I was so that didn’t last very long. In the meantime I kept thinking that a gym should have more attractive girls. It seemed like everyone was middle aged women, or guys. It wasn’t very satisfying in the potential dating aspect of going to a gym and meeting a fit woman.

However, in February things began to change. The teacher of my favorite cycling class moved. As a result I stopped going to cycling. By doing so I came in contact with people I had never seen before. Being in a dark room for an hour and playing soccer with a bunch of guys didn’t lend itself to meeting girls.

I had been thinking extremely hard about wanting to meet someone at the gym. A girl that is pretty, healthy, and knows how to work out properly just seemed like a natural fit for me. One evening it happened. I was lifting weights and noticed an extremely good looking lady across the way. She looked like she was in her mid-20s. I kept thinking to myself that she is really pretty and I should go talk to her sometime.

I didn't have the courage to do that; however, I always noticed her looking at me. In my head I was thinking she must want me to talk to her if she keeps looking at me all the time. She would walk right by me, shaking her butt as she walked. That must be a sign. She seemed to be going out of her way to cross my path even if it was a longer route to where she ended up. Again I was thinking she must be trying to get my attention.

Even though I had no clue who this girl was I was thinking about her all the time. Wondering how I could approach her and not seem like just another guy at the gym trying to pick up some cute girl. I saw other guys talk to her, but they didn’t seem to be getting her attention. I thought I didn’t want to end up like them and then it be awkward every time I came to the gym from then on.

I noticed that she was going to yoga a few times a week. I had never done yoga, had no real desire to do yoga, and didn’t even know what took place in yoga, but if it meant I had a chance to talk to this girl then I should start going.

About a month went by of thinking about trying yoga for the first time. I didn’t want to go alone though. I convinced my friend to come with me. We went to a beginner class for the first few times just to get an understanding of what it was all about. I didn’t want to try to make an impression on a girl and then look like an idiot. That wouldn’t be good.

I went for a few weeks and felt like I was ready to start going to the more advanced classes. Those were the popular classes and the ones the girl I was interested in went to. Another month past before I finally decided I was truly ready for yoga at the next level. By this time I had still been seeing the same girl everyday at the gym at the same time. She continued to make eye contact with me. She even began doing work outs on machines right next to me.

I thought for sure this was it. I was going to talk to her. She was coming closer to me and I was ready to go to yoga and see her. The door was open. Thinking about this stuff all the time was starting to make me believe it. It was almost as if my thoughts were manifesting into reality.

I could walk into the gym and workout for 30 minutes and wonder why she wasn’t at the gym. Just as I would start to think that I would see her walk in almost on cue. It was kind of strange.

She is a cute girl that works out at the gym by herself and constantly looks at me and follows me around. She must be single and she must want to get to know me. I told myself that I would go to yoga and that would be my chance.

I went to my first hot yoga class sometime in March. It was extremely difficult. I was sweating like crazy and exhausted. I had no clue what to expect. I felt like I was going to pass out, which was one of the reasons I was hesitant to even go in the first place. If I wanted to follow through on my plan and talk to this stranger I had to do it.

A few days passed and I continued with my normal workout routine. Something was a little different though when I saw the girl at the gym one night. She had a ring on her finger! For 2 months I had seen this girl almost every day, no ring. She was even at the gym alone on Valentine’s Day. There is no way she could be married. No way she could be dating someone even. How in the world was that possible that she could be married?

It was like a kick to the gut. I spent all this time wanting something that I couldn’t even have. I felt like I had wasting my time and energy thinking all this stuff. I thought in the back of my head that maybe she wasn’t married and just wore a ring to keep guys from talking to her. That seemed feasible.

Turns out that was a wrong assumption. I found out she was married. I continued to see her at the gym, but tried to avoid her as much as possible. I stopped looking at her and moved away anytime she was around. I walked the long way to different machines just so I wouldn’t have to see her.

This whole time I was saying things to myself and getting the results I had wanted. Almost as if I was manifesting my desires. I would later discover that this was through the Law of Attraction. I was using a technique I didn’t even know existed. I thought I was just psychic or like Yoda and could control people’s thoughts and actions. In a way I guess I was.

As time went on I quit thinking about her. Quit seeing her. I told myself that I wanted her out of my life and to never see her again. That seemed impossible since I had seen her almost every day for months. Slowly overtime she stopped coming. I hurt my back so I stopped working out as much and just focused on yoga.

I haven’t seen her in months at the gym. Amazing how I could bring someone in and push someone away all through the power of thinking. Had I recognized I had this power I would have been utilizing it all along, my entire life.

Looking back now there have been times when I wanted something really badly and then it happened. I assumed it was coincidence or just luck or that I deserved it. Now I understand that I was tapping into an energy field much greater than I could have ever imagined.

To experience this and begin to understand what it can do is truly inspiring and mind boggling. As a result of this experience my mind has begun opening to new possibilities and realities. I notice myself attracting things at will now.

They may not always be exactly what I desire or when I desire them, but eventually they do come. My goal now is to focus the energy in a more positive way and to be more exact in my intentions to have better results.

I have had countless other experiences since this time that I can contribute to the Law of Attraction. As I think about something or ask myself questions it seems as though the answers are presented to me. It is really very amazing and indescribable. It is the type of event that must be experienced to fully appreciate.

I have spoken to friends and family about having reached enlightenment recently and I said it more as a joke due to crazy thoughts coming into my head that weren’t there before, but as I study more and more I discover that maybe I am on a path of enlightenment and understanding.

I have begun reading books about content and ideas I never would have considered before. People in my life have provided me with guidance and answers to questions I never asked, but was seeking in my own mind.

The mind has a plethora of abilities that most of us are never aware of and never activate. I feel like for the first time in my life I am doing just that, activating and receiving higher level thinking at a more spiritual and emotional state than ever before.

My mind is like a receptor, receiving messages floating through the air. A few years ago I began reading a book by Napoleon Hill about attracting wealth. The whole concept sounded far-fetched, but possible. I thought I understood what he was expressing, but now I have a whole new and deeper connection to what he was conveying.

I began thinking about what he said and contemplating strange new theories. Ideas that I never would have considered in the past. Things I had no knowledge about. Crazy ideas really that just popped into my head. Through the use of meditation the events are starting to actually make sense.

I don’t have as many pointless thoughts anymore. I still day dream in my mind and recreate past conversations and try to understand the meaning. I also think about future conversations I want to have and try to plan what I would say in case there is a particular question or event I must respond to. Of course I don’t know what will actually take place, but it makes me feel more prepared when those issues arise.

I am now at a stage where I don’t let those thoughts control my actions as much. I have them, but I am actually aware I am having them. I am able to stop myself or just let them pass when they run their course. It was as if I didn’t even have control over them before, but now I realize I can stop them whenever I choose.

As a result new thoughts will pop into my mind. These thoughts are more abstract, deeper, higher level contemplation. Almost hypothetical, spiritual, emotional, physical. I notice things I didn’t before about my body and my beliefs. I question things I wouldn’t have before and I question them with the intent of finding the answer without thinking I already knew.

It is almost as if everything has come full circle. No longer do things go in one ear and out the other unnoticed or unrecognized. Everything has a profound meaning from the mundane tasks to the big events. Life has purpose. Everyone we come in contact with is there to teach us something. It is our job to discover what that is. Don’t waste a moment, you only have so many.

Travel Experiences Worth Remembering - 11. Hluhluwe Game Reserve, South Africa

2013-01-25T15:38:00.003-06:00

11. Camping in the African Bush – Hluhluwe Game Reserve, South Africa

In the summer of 2010 I went to South Africa for the World Cup. We spent 63 days traveling through South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, and a short stop in Dubai for 3 days. The entire experience was amazing. In all honesty, it makes going to a zoo seem like a complete boring waste of time. When you get the opportunity to see hundreds of animals in their natural habitat it puts a new perspective on things.

We must have gone to 10 or 12 different nature reserves throughout the three African countries we visited, but none was more impressive than Kruger National Park. We spent three days there doing our own drive through the park in our rental car, a night drive with a guide, and a morning hike with a guide. We saw every type of animal you would want to see in Africa which includes the big five – lions, elephants, buffalo, rhino, and leopards. We never saw a leopard, but we saw plenty of the others. It got to the point that I was tired of seeing elephants everywhere.

At first you are happy to see anything, but eventually you just don’t care anymore and only want to see lions, which are obviously much harder to come across. We were lucky enough to see five on our trip. One of which was a male with a large bush main and literally walked right next to our car. I could have rolled down the window and petted him if I wanted to. Instead I was scared and ducked down in my seat so he couldn’t see me. The window was rolled up of course, but it was still pretty scary, but the good kind of scary.

So of course Kruger is worth going to see, but it wasn’t the top of my list for experiencing the wildlife in Africa. We did see many more animals in Kruger than the Hluhluwe Game Reserve, but it was the fact that what we were doing that made the difference. In Kruger we stayed in a luxurious type rondaval hut. Imagine a beehive hut, that’s what we stayed in. It was great, but not true Africa in my mind. While in Hluhluwe we stayed in a tent. Keep in mind this is a tent, with a Velcro door, in the African Bush. At any moment a lion, elephant, or other wild animal could break in during the night and attack us.

So why exactly did we stay in a tent? We were on a multi-day backcountry hiking expedition in the middle of a game reserve. The original itinerary included hiking to our first camp, staying overnight and then hiking to a different camp in the morning. That didn’t happen because the second camp was damaged or something had happened, so for the two nights we stayed in the same camp. In the end it didn’t matter. We were camping in the wild. I’m not talking about going to a local state park and hanging out with a bunch of drunks in the lake where the deadliest thing you will encounter is an alcoholic on a jet ski. This is the real deal.

Our first night was a great introduction to sleeping in Africa. As we were eating dinner our two guides and the cook heard something rustling in the bushes. It was two large elephants, literally 20-30 yards from our camp. We were told to sit quietly while our guides listened intently grasping their rifles. This went on for at least an hour. Nobody saying a word, just listening, wondering how far they were from us, where they were going. It was completely dark so we couldn’t see anything. Part of me hoping for a charge and some action, the other part of me planning an escape route should something happen. It was intense. Finally they left and we were able to get back to our conversations.

A short time later we heard more noises in the bushes directly behind us. The cook said it was hyenas. Great. Just what I wanted. Luckily they didn’t bother us at all. That night as we slept we could hear the sounds of animals passing through camp. During the night there was a leopard and a lion that was close enough to hear it growling. Again, our tent was shut with Velcro. This didn’t seem like a great idea after all.

As the sun came up the next morning we headed off on a hike to see what all was out there. We came across a number of signs that animals had been in the area recently. We were staying next to a major river, so it only made sense that we were in a danger zone surrounded by hungry animals.

During the day we saw a number of animals, all of which were from a distance and usually from a bluff looking down on the valley below as herds of animals came to the water to drink. The vantage points made for excellent views. It was incredible to see a herd of deer drink water, leave, only to be followed by wildebeest, gazelle, and other animals. It was as if they each were taking turns to drink. Following the same trails in and out. Each time a new group came in some stood guard. To understand how vigilant they are at every moment is amazing. I couldn’t imagine a life of fear knowing that death is around every corner. It really made me stop and think. It made me realize that for these few days I was in the same situation as the animals I was watching.

One of the things that really stuck out to me was the fact that the trail didn’t have good visibility in certain places. On these instances one of the guides would walk ahead and check it out for safety. I couldn’t help but think that at any moment as the bushes were pushed aside, poked, and surveyed that a lion would jump out and eat one of us. It never happened.

As we arrived back in camp and prepared for dinner an amazing thing happened. A herd of wildebeest came running across the river just yards from our campsite. The scouts, the wildebeest that run ahead and watch for danger were stationed in front of our camp as the others ran by. It wasn’t like on the Lion King or anything, but it was still a significant amount. I remember one wildebeest in particular standing stoically, staring right at us as we stared back at him. I was thinking how awesome this whole experience was. I wasn’t even thinking about the dangers involved, I was just thinking how majestic they looked. Sadly I didn’t have my camera on me and I didn’t want to run 20 yards to the tent to get it in case I missed something. I wanted to just pause, and fully immerse myself in the moment. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed.

Every time I think about Africa this particular event stands out as the top. Yes, there were other great moments, but being in nature with very little protection while facing some of the most dangerous animals in the world is life changing. I promise if you ever get the chance to go to Africa you will never want to waste your time at a zoo ever again.

Travel Experience Worth Remembering - 9. Kaituna River Rafting

2013-01-25T00:00:00.002-06:00

9. Kaituna River Rafting – Rotorua, New Zealand

The summer of 2012 was filled with a lot of adventurous activities and river rafting was one more on that long list. I love white water rafting and would do it every day if I could, but living in Texas that isn’t really an option. There are lots of man-made lakes, but very few rivers and the ones there are don’t constitute white water rafting. Maybe calm water floating.

I have done rafting a few different times, but nothing would prepare me for rafting on the Kaituna River just north of Rotorua in New Zealand. While we were staying in Lake Taupo we wanted to do something fun and exciting. Lake Taupo is the number one place in the world for sky diving and that was something I considered, but already having done paragliding I wanted to do something a little different. Luckily there were a number of other great options.

The weather wasn’t very good while we were in Lake Taupo, it was cold and rainy most of the time. We initially planned to stay for three days, but that was stretched into five. That was mostly due to convenience, but also because we had to plan around the weather. We figured we would be better served to use Taupo as a base and branch out from there to do other things we planned – Waitomo Cave Tour, Rotorua Thermal Pools, Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and various other things we discovered along the way.

It ended up being a good choice. On the rainy days we could do things that didn’t require nice weather and when it cleared up we could do activities that required clear weather. One rainy morning we decided to go to the local visitor center and see what things there were to do. We already knew about the things I listed above, but we figured there must be much more.

After spending over an hour looking at brochures and contemplating our schedule, weather conditions and prices we had made a few choices. One of the things that caught our eye was Kaituna River Rafting. During the months of research I had done about New Zealand when planning this trip I had never come across this option. I guess I figured it would be winter time so rafting probably wouldn’t be the best idea, however, after 6 weeks of cold temperatures my body was pretty accustomed to it. I was now barely fazed by 20 degrees sleeping in a tent in the rain and highs in the day of only 30.

There were two different options for Kaituna River Rafting, but both seemed to do the same thing. It was going to come down to price, availability, and the day that fit in our schedule. We decided on a trip that was $89 and would go on a Thursday afternoon. The benefit to this is that we were already heading to Rotorua that day to see the thermal pools and geysers and when we were done we could drive on to the river excursion. Afterwards we would just continue driving north to Matamata, our next destination and location for the filming of Hobbiton in Lord of the Rings.

By the time Thursday came around the weather had been both great and terrible, depending on the day. In the end it didn’t really affect our plans too much and allowed us to do things we otherwise wouldn’t have thought of doing. For example, one rainy afternoon we visited a honey shop. I learned everything I wanted to know about honey, plus more. It was interesting and not what I was expecting. We also watched the local dam discharge its water into the gorge below. Not really a typical thing I would do on vacation, but it was still neat. We got these off the wall ideas from a brochure in the visitor center that mentioned things to do on a rainy day. Just our luck, it was a rainy day.

Once Thursday came it was still pretty cloudy. It was probably in the 40s at night and 50s during the day. Some of the warmest weather we had had since we left Texas in early June. We woke up early and took down our tent and drove an hour north to Rotorua. We took a self-guided tour of Wai-O-Tapu. We had a few different options for seeing geysers and thermal pools in the area, and this is the one we chose. We hiked around for about 3 hours seeing as much as we could.

The weather wasn’t great. It was foggy and rainy most of the morning. I was hoping by afternoon it would clear up so we could do the rafting. This was our last day in the area and thus our last chance to get to do rafting. I’ve been rafting a lot, but this was going to be different.

White water rafting that I’m used to involved lots of large boulders, fast flowing water, big rapids, and other dangerous obstacles. Rafting in the Kaituna River is nothing like that. In fact, it’s not even white water rafting at all. Before we went all I knew is that there were Class 5 rapids – meaning waterfalls. By waterfalls I mean a 12 foot waterfall and a 21 foot waterfall, plus smaller drops along the way.

Much like some of the other crazy things we had done during this trip and others I was scared to death. Part of the thrill was going to be able to say I did this and overcame my fear. I was scared to paraglide; get in the water with great white sharks, a few hikes, canyoning, plus much more, but each time I did what I set out to accomplish.

All week I had been looking forward to this rafting trip. I was praying the weather would clear up, but in reality I was scared to death. Part of me wanted to do it, but the other part was thinking I was nuts. As we started driving towards our destination the weather began to clear almost immediately. The clouds parted and blue skies were out. Now the only issue would be water levels. Considering it’s a waterfall I was thinking too much rain could make it too dangerous. I didn’t know what the waterfall would be like so I didn’t know what to expect.

We got to the starting rafting companies location and started getting our gear. We put on wetsuits, helmets, a life jacket, and booties. There were two other people going along as well, they were two college students from Auckland studying something to do with tourism. The two made it sound like they had to do the trip to learn more about New Zealand adventure tourism. I wasn’t really paying attention, I was thinking about the waterfalls and my impending death from drowning.

After we had all of our gear ready our two guides quickly showed us what to do along the ride. Unlike other white water rafting trips I had been on this one involved some quick maneuvering along the way. What that meant was changing the way we were sitting in order to not fly out of the raft as we were plunging over waterfalls. In order to show us we sat inside the raft, me and my brother in the front row, the two others in the middle row, and the two guys in the back row.

We pretended to be paddling and then one of the guides yelled get down. This meant sliding down onto our butts in a ball with our knees to our chest on the floor of the raft. We held our paddles on the outer part of the boat as we hung onto a rope on the side and one on the front. Seemed secure enough, assuming we didn’t flip over.

Now that we had the formalities down we were ready to load the boat and head to our launch site. We all loaded into the van and drove across a field for about 100 yards. We parked and got out. We unloaded the raft and put it into the water and jumped in.

So far everything was going great. We were in the water and we were still alive. The water was a very dark blue-green and very eerily calm. This wasn’t white water rafting at all. This was going to be a 45-minute joy ride down a nice flowing river with an occasional steep drop off. It almost seemed like it was a manmade river. It was pretty narrow, only about 20 yards wide with fern trees and cliffs on either side. It was actually very pretty and calming, but in the back of my mind I was still thinking about the death trap up ahead. I was trying not to think about it and just have positive thoughts. It was working, a little.

We had one last refresher course on how to deal with the waterfalls and we were off. We didn’t really paddle except for a few strokes at a time. We just floated effortlessly along as our guides talked to us a little bit about the area. There were no rapids at all, but there was a pretty strong current. Every so often we would be told to paddle again, then stop and rest.

After about five minutes we could hear rushing water ahead of us. It was the first of the smaller waterfalls. We paddled hard into and then held on. It was only a drop of a few feet, but it was still a nice little rush. We continued down the river taking small drops along the way. To make things more interesting on a few occasions we would stop and turn the boat around to look at the small waterfalls we had just conquered.

One instance in particular our guides decided we should get a closer look. He asked me and Andy to pass our paddles back and sit down on the floor of the raft as if we were going over a waterfall. It didn’t really click in my head what was going on. The water was really cold and I wasn’t thinking straight. Maybe I hadn’t eaten enough. Regardless as we were paddling directly towards the waterfall I should have known what was about to happen. We were going in for a closer look all right, close enough to drink the water and get flipped over.

The other four on the boat were paddling as hard as they could against the current, directing us closer and closer to the rushing water before us. We were about to paddle directly into a waterfall. This was insane. I was sitting in the front of the boat with no protection. That was insane. We got right up to the falls. Imagine a large rock with water rushing over it. That’s what this was. We were able to slightly go up the boulder for a few seconds, water gushing over the top of the boat on all sides.

Every few seconds the force of the water pushed us up and back. They quickly paddled us back in. This went on for at least two or three minutes. I was getting water in my ears, my nose, and my eyes. At one point I thought my contacts were going to fall out. It was freezing. This wasn’t my idea of fun. Finally it was over. We were able to get back up. We switched places with the other two and let them have a go at it in the front seat. We paddled as hard as we could. A few times it felt like the water was going to flip the boat over. We got turned sideways a few times on the rocks. I really don’t know how we never flipped over.

Fun time was over and it was back to floating down the river. We made our way to the first of the big waterfalls. This one was about 12-15 feet tall or so. Along for the ride was a kayaker. He was there to help in case someone fell out of the boat and to scout ahead to make sure it was clear. We watched him go over the falls and then quickly followed.

We did two quick strokes and then held on. This wasn’t the big one so we didn’t need to duck down. We went around a slight corner and then dropped. It lasted about half a second. It was amazing. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. I didn’t know what to expect. Butterflies were in my stomach, but once it was over I was relieved. I just wanted to yell as loud as I could. We all wanted to, and we all did. I was ready to do that again.

I was envisioning a straight drop off waterfall, but it was more of a large boulder undulating from the riverbed with water gushing over it. We just road down it like a slide. At the base of the falls was a large pool of calm water that filtered into the rest of the river ahead. It was so cool. It’s indescribable really. It’s something that just has to be experienced.

Another ten to fifteen minutes of floating, a few stops to look at rapids we had traversed, and a few raft surfing opportunities. We stood up on the raft as we went over smaller waterfalls. It was pretty fun and very hard to stay balanced.

We finally made it to the big waterfall. This one was 21 feet tall. It is the tallest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. People go down steeper falls, but they are professionals and they aren’t licensed to be rafted for the general public.

We pulled over to the side of the river next to a cliff wall. One of the guides had found a hand hold in the rocks to keep us in place while he refreshed our memories on what to do. He warned us that if the boat flipped over to hang on the best we could and to not let go. If we were underneath the raft we could pop our heads up above the waterline to breath. The lifejackets would hold us up until one of the guides was able to get on top and flip the raft back over. He would bang on it with a paddle to let us know that he was flipping it over.

If we were to lose a hold of the boat when it flipped over we should curl up in a ball and we would naturally float back to the top. This was my biggest fear. I am a pretty good swimmer, but being bombarded by rushing water coming over a waterfall would be difficult. Once we popped up we were instructed to swim to the bank until we could be rescued.

Once again we watched the kayaker go over ahead of us. We watched and wondered. After about 15 seconds of silence our guide finally said he made it down by now. Giving the impression that the falls was that big. We couldn’t see it, but I knew it wouldn’t take that long. We heard a whistle, which meant he made it safely and it was clear for us to go down.

I was so nervous. Just before we went I asked one more time how to sit. We then raised our paddles in the middle of the raft and cheered. Now was the time to shine. We pushed off and gave two quick paddles. The guide shouted “Get Down!” just before we went over the falls. Without thinking I slid down as quick as I could and held on. It was like blur. We hit the river below. Water was rushing all around us. Pounding us down. All I remember thinking was that we didn’t flip. We were alive.

Again we raised our paddles and shouted for joy! It was so amazing. I can’t think of a better feeling. We stopped to admire the falls one last time from below before we headed off. The guide said he does the trip about 30 times a month and usually flips about 10 of those times. I was feeling lucky and relieved.

We weren’t yet to the end, but the excitement was over. Just before we finished we had the chance to paddle into one more small waterfall head on. I decided I didn’t want to be a part of that. The first time was enough. It was cold and I didn’t appreciate joking on water. I felt like the boat was going to eventually flip over and being in the front didn’t seem like the ideal place to be if that happened.

Andy and the two other people took turns at it while I just paddled us in. We came very close to flipping over a number of times. I was thinking the guides were trying to make us capsize. At one point it seemed as though we were at a 90 degree angle sideways. It was really fun, but at the same time frightening. I was sitting on the left side of the boat, which was raised up. I was seeing myself falling out onto the people below and getting hurt or stuck under the boat.

We eventually paddled on. We were given the opportunity to jump out of the boat and swim if we wanted to. The water was very calm and clear, but it didn’t sound appealing to me. We had a few hours’ drive to our next destination and being wet in the car wasn’t my idea of fun. Of course the other two with us did jump in. They seemed to enjoy it.

We had one last pit stop before we were done. We had to paddle back into another small waterfall to get our photos taken. This meant sitting down on the floor again with water crashing into our faces. I couldn’t wait. I had finally dried out and now I was going to get soaked again. During the whole process I could barely look up at the camera. Water was getting in my eyes and mouth. We were rocking out of control and I kept falling over onto Andy since I was on the side getting hit by the majority of the water and we were rising up. We got our photos taken and were ready to move on.

Just as we were approaching the docking point we could see another waterfall ahead. It was around a corner, but had large rocks at the base of it and would be too dangerous. At first we were told we would have to jump out and swim to the shore so we didn’t go over and they would navigate the boat to safety. I was thinking that would be weird, but at the time I was confused and figured it made sense. They were joking.

We paddled to the shore and made it to safety. We had to carry the raft down a dirt trail back to the van. The first time we carried the raft it was literally a few yards. This time it was about 200 or more. I think most of the weight was on my side. It was hurting my arms so I just rested it on my head. That didn’t feel good on my neck, but it was too much weight. I don’t think anyone else was even helping.

We finally got back to the van and we loaded the raft. A short drive followed and we were back to the shop. We changed out of our wetsuits and took a few minutes to see the photos that were taken of us along the way. A trail follows the river and one of the guys took photos throughout the trip. His camera and lens were really nice so the photos came out well. That is really rare. Usually on trips like this the photographs aren’t that great.

We bought the photos and then hiked up the road to see the trail that the photographer had used. It was going to be dark soon and we had a 3 hour drive so we didn’t have long to hike, but we at least wanted to see the big waterfall we had gone over just to see it from a different angle and get our own pictures.

We didn’t have to walk very far, but we spent about 45 minutes to an hour getting pictures. It was getting dark so we made our way back to the car. Our river rafting trip was over and we were headed on to our next destination. It was a complete success. It was definitely one of the best things I have ever done. I think I would do it again, but I would be just as terrified as the first time. At least now I would know what to expect though.

Wherever You Go, There You Are

2013-01-23T22:31:00.002-06:00

I just spent the last hour reading a book titled "Wherever You Go, There You Are."

It discusses meditation and gives insight into the true meaning and purpose of it, while also explaining the proper way to meditate in a step by step process. On a deeper level though it emphasizes the importance of being present in each moment, no matter how big or small. It made me start thinking about certain people in my life and the way they live.

Ever since I took a break from working it has obviously given me more free time, but it has also given me a new perspective on what matters in life. Like a lot of people I thought I wanted to make lots of money so I could afford to buy nice things and do what I wanted. That's not a bad thing, but is that really that important in the picture scheme of things?

A lot of people don't like their job, but for the majority of their week they let it control them. I was one of those people. I finally decided I needed a change and walked away. Most people can't do that because of bills, family, and other obligations. But the solution to that would be to stop buying things. Do you really need all that stuff? Is it making life easier for you or harder? If you can't afford it, most likely it's making life more difficult.

For many people it comes to a point that when they have a spare minute they feel rushed, and obligated to do as much as they can. As a result they aren't stopping, relaxing, thinking. It's always go, go, go. When one activity is done it's off to the next. Memories are made, but little contemplation follows, and everything is pushed aside as work, bills, and other obligations take over again.
Sometimes you might think you have to cram in as much as possible to fully live life, never stopping to think that is what you are doing really living. It would be a shame to look back in 40 years and say, "what did I do with my life?" And not have an answer.

Maybe the choices you are making are what you desire, maybe they aren't. Only you can decide. In all of the rushing around sometimes you have to just stop, relax, and spend time with yourself. You may think you don't have time to stop, or can't, but who says?

Only you can make that choice. Some of the best moments in life are the ones where you are doing nothing. Sometimes doing less is doing more. Every once and a while a step back is needed to see the whole picture. Next time a friend calls and asks if you want to do something, stop and ask yourself if you have time for that or if you would be better served spending that time alone to reconnect with yourself.

At the end of the day you have to live with yourself. You have to live with the decisions you make. Make sure those decisions are the right ones, the ones you are proud of, that make your life more fulfilling, more enjoyable, more rewarding, whatever it is.

Are you willing to put off something today to have something bigger in the future? Maybe that's something you want to think about doing. Will one night out just like the last one be more memorable than living a dream you've had for awhile, but didn't think you had time or money to accomplish it?

If you put aside the little things it can quickly add up to a big thing. Only you can decide what that big thing is. And the only way you can do that is to stop, relax, think, and focus on what will make your life more fulfilling.

It won't just happen on it's own. Ideas don't appear out of nowhere. You have to cultivate them over time. Regardless of your current situation never lose hope. You never know what tomorrow brings.

Travel Experience Worth Remembering - 10. Paragliding

2013-01-22T16:21:00.002-06:00

10. Paragliding – Queenstown, New Zealand

During the summer of 2012 I went to New Zealand and Australia. I spent about 7 ½ weeks camping in the North and South Islands of New Zealand along with my brother. It was my sixth continent to go to and 25^th and 26^th country to visit. I probably had some of the best memories of my traveling life during this journey. Obviously Lord of the Rings played a huge part in choosing to venture to this portion of the world, but there were many other reasons as well. For one, I had never been. That was reason enough for me to go, but during my other world travels over the year I have met a number of people that have been to New Zealand or were from there. I had only heard great things.

I wanted to see for myself what was so great about this country. I have to say that after spending an extended period of time there that it ranks as one of my favorite places on earth. Although we didn’t see everything, we saw an awful lot. New Zealand isn’t that big of a country so it can be navigated rather quickly, but to really enjoy all that it has to offer takes time.

Of course when we went it was their winter time so a number of the ordinary things one might want to do weren’t available or were limited. That didn’t hinder us though. We still found plenty of exhilarating things to do. However, in order to do the things we wanted to do we had to pay quite a lot of money. New Zealand is in no way a cheap country. Not only was the flight expensive due to the distance we had to travel, but food, activities, gas, rental car, and everything else added up. Luckily we were camping and that saved us a lot of money. Even if it meant freezing our butts off at times. It was all part of the adventure though. The average temperatures ranged from 15 to 40 degrees for most of the South Island, about 5 weeks. It was cold. It snowed. It rained. It was windy. But it was worth it.

My goal going in was to spend about $4,000 on this trip, but to truly do everything we planned that was going to be tough. I blew past that pretty easily. It ended up costing about $5,500. I never fully added it up because I didn’t want to be reminded of what I had just done with my money.

Every moment in New Zealand was awesome in some way, from hiking, to camping, to sitting in a car for hours driving to our next destination, but a few in particular are the most memorable. One of the places I had looked forward to most was Queenstown. It is in the southern central part of the South Island and a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. Anything you want to do that involves danger, excitement, or anything else you can imagine is located in this beautiful mountain town. There is rafting, ziplining, hiking, boating, Lord of the Rings tours, paragliding, hanggliding, jet boating, skiing. You name it, you can do it there.

We spent three days in Queenstown, and liked it so much we returned for a second stop as we headed north after spending a few days in Milford Sound, another highlight of the trip. While in Queenstown we did jet boating, essentially riding on a speed boat down a shallow river in a gorge at speeds of 80 mph. We also did some hiking and a short toboggan type of ride.

The thing that stood out most to me though was paragliding. I had wanted to do the whole time, but as we got closer and closer to the day of reckoning I started having second thoughts. Not only was it expensive, $190, but it was also dangerous. The thought of it sounds awesome until you realize exactly what you are doing, flying through the air thousands of feet up with attached to some stranger. Sounds fun, right?

We decided we would do it. We came all this way for adventure and we planned to find it. We went to the travel information office in town and booked our spot for the following day, $190 down the drain. We went about our business for the rest of the day in anticipation of what was to come the following morning.

We had to wake up early the next morning to do another activity we had booked, jet boating. It too was expensive, $115. It was well worth it though and a thrill in itself. After we completed our jet boat we made our way back to town to catch our shuttle to the top of the mountain we were going to jump off of. Yep, that’s right. Jumping off a mountain, what a great idea this was.

We arrived at our pick up spot and a few minutes later a van pulled up. We jumped inside and started our 30 minute drive to the summit. Along the way we stopped to pick up our two guides. My brother and I would each be attached to a trained professional as we made our descent to the landing zone. I have no recollection of the two guy’s names, but they were both cool guys. We also picked up a hitchhiker that was going to snow board at the same mountain we were heading too. It was the first day the mountain was open for the season.

Along the way we were told a little bit about what to expect. It was pretty cloudy and cold outside and slightly breezy at times. They told us we would most likely get to jump today, but nothing was definite. Even the slightest bit of wind can alter plans and navigation. They only go when the weather is suitable due to the fact that they have someone else’s life in their hands. After about 25 minutes we made it to our jump zone.

It was too windy at the originally planned location so we had to jump slightly lower. At first I was a little disappointed, but once you realize how high you still are it made no difference in the end. The takeoff area was covered in a thin layer of ice and snow. We got our helmets on, strapped into the carriage and were ready to go. I had my gopro on to film the whole thing. The guide also had a gopro on a stick which allowed for some filming and photographs along the way.

I was all strapped in and ready to go. My guide was about a foot taller than me so it made the takeoff a little awkward. Andy was the same height as his guide. I was told that when he said go to start running as fast as I could towards the edge of the cliff. I was thinking that doesn’t sound like a good idea. Luckily the cliff wasn’t straight down. It was slightly slanted.

I’m strapped into this little soft seat to the chest of this guy behind me holding the ropes to his parachute – a parachute that he just bought and was taking out for its first flight. Another thing to be great news in my mind. Run towards that cliff strapped to a strange guy that does this daily for fun on slippery ice and snow with a parachute that has never been tested before. What could go wrong?

Oh yeah, he also asked if I had ever done something like this before. I said no. He said he hadn’t either so it should be fun. Of course he was joking, but it was funny.

We were ready to go. I started running towards the cliff. Actually I took about one and a half steps and felt something pull me back. Next thing I know my feet are off the ground. I’m in the air. Oh my gosh is what I was thinking. We were flying! It’s like being on a rollercoaster, butterflies in your stomach, amazement in your eyes. Other than that it’s indescribable. You just have to experience it to understand.

We were about 3,000 feet above the trees and valley below. Around us we were surrounded by snow covered mountains. It was slightly cloudy and extremely cold, but it didn’t detract from the experience at all. Before I was a little nervous about the whole thing, but now I was just thinking how awesome this was. I wanted to do this every day of my life. I wanted to take lessons and buy a parachute myself. This would be the life.

I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time. I was trying to just focus on this moment and nothing else. I didn’t want to think about the weather, the price, what I would need to do later that day. For this instance nothing else mattered. I was a bird in the wind. I just wanted to get the full experience and see all that I could. It was amazingly awesome. Not many things in life can compare to this feeling.

The landing zone was about 5 miles away and we could see it in the distance. It was a large smiley face next to a small building in a valley surrounded by nothing. I had gone first so I didn’t know what to expect with the landing. Andy was able to see what we did to get an idea of what was going to happen. The takeoff and flight had gone smoothly, but the landing is the hardest part.

As we prepared to make our decent the guide told me to lift my legs straight out so they wouldn’t drag on the ground and we wouldn’t trip and fall. In my mind I was thinking we were going to go sliding down on our butts across this grassy patch and everything would be ok.

As I’m preparing for this psychologically we started to turn a little, then a little more. We were circling the landing zone. Then all of a sudden we started rocking violently. This was it. We were 100 feet off the ground and going in for a crash landing. I was literally parallel to the ground looking faced down. I don’t know how we didn’t just lose all the air in the parachute and fall like rocks to our death. We quickly jerked back up right. Then again we swung around.

This went on for the next 30 seconds to a minute. Obviously we were doing this on purpose, but it was nothing like I was expecting.

I had just been thinking what a nice, comfortable, uneventful ride this was. Then out of nowhere we were in a death spiral. We finally straightened out again and I lifted my legs when instructed. We came in going about 15 mph or so, at least that’s how fast it felt. We hit the ground with a thud. We didn’t slide, run, or anything. We just hit the ground and stopped right in our tracks.

I had my legs outstretched so I fell to my butt. The guide was just standing there. I was thinking to myself what happened? We didn’t go anywhere. Either way we were safe on the ground. The entire ride lasted only about 10 minutes, but it was worth every second.

A few minutes later Andy landed. They slid much more like I was expecting too. They actually tumbled around. We both purchased the videos of our rides from the gopros that the guides had. We then loaded into the van waiting for us and headed back to town.

Our adventures for the day were over. It was an awesome experience and we were alive. I was ready to spend another few hundred dollars just to do it again.

Law of Attraction or Coincidence?

2013-01-21T14:32:00.000-06:00

For people that deny the existence of the law of attraction and the power of thought I have a few good examples that have just happened one after another. I'm listening to satellite radio and a song comes on while I'm over cooking boiled eggs and watching them explode.

From the kitchen I can only hear the tune, no words. I start singing along in my head. When I look at the tv it's not the song I thought. It was Summer of 69, I thought it was Should I Stay Or Should I Go, which is ironic because it fits into a related issue I'm dealing with. It's also a song I haven't heard in a long time so to randomly think that was weird in itself.

Anyway, I go back to getting the eggs off the stove. I look back at the tv again, the next song on? Yep, Should I Stay Or Should I Go. Coincidence or Law of attraction? You decide. Then I start day dreaming about something and thinking how I would wait for the girl I wanted.

Next song to come on? Yep, I Will Wait, by Mumford and Sons. Now that's weird. So I start thinking should I stay or go, should I wait, and would I try one last time.

So want to guess the next song? Uh huh, Try, by Pink. I think those experiences speak for themselves. Remember the power of your thoughts. Only think what you want, never doubt, never waiver. One misstep and it could all fall apart in an instant. Again, I know from experience.

This kind of thing happens to me regularly. I'm just glad I know why now and how to harness this undeniable power.

Eleven Travel Experiences Worth Remembering

2013-01-20T13:08:00.000-06:00

Recently I was thinking of all the really awesome things I have been able to do in my life. I wanted to take a moment to reminisce about those things and explain why they were so influential in my life. I’m sure I could list dozens, or even hundreds of things, but for this evaluation I am limiting it to the top eleven and all of them are travel based. I decided to focus on travel because it is my passion. The thing I live for most. It is the one thing that can always keep me striving for more. I am fascinated by what the world has to offer, and there is no better way to understand those intricacies then to go out, explore, and discover it on my own.

In 31 years I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the world. I have been to 28 countries on 6 continents, but the vast majority of my experiences have been in the U.S. and Canada traveling with my family every summer in a packed van visiting some of the most beautiful places on earth. I have been to 46 states and 8 provinces. It is indescribable to express to someone that hasn’t had the opportunity to see the things I have seen in person. Photos don’t always do it justice either. My advice, if you really want to know what is out there, go see it for yourself. And when you go, really immerse yourself in the experience. Take time to feel, hear, smell, touch, and see everything around you. Make it a worthwhile experience that you will cherish forever.

Although most of my traveling has been done in the U.S., the majority of the best things I have done were in other countries. It’s not that there weren’t great memories here, it’s just I have had the ability to a lot more when going overseas for various reasons. Part of it was money – when traveling overseas I’m spending my own money and when I see something that sounds too good to pass up I have to do it. I also am traveling with my brother when going to other countries and he is willing and able to do the same things as me, whereas when with other family members it may not always be possible.

Now that I have explained my reasoning for this list a little bit I will share the top eleven things I have done. As I travel more and more over the years I’m sure many of these things will be pushed aside, but for the time being they are the absolute best memories I have of traveling. With that being said, every moment is special in it’s own way and something I will always remember. I can’t even say these are in any particular order because each one was as awesome as the next. Some of these also may not sound that neat on the surface compared to other things, but the fact that where it took place, it was my first time, or other various reasons it makes it stand out more.

Personal Meditation Benefits

2013-01-18T20:04:00.001-06:00

I recently started an 8 week meditation course at my local gym through the yoga studio. I have been practicing on my own for about 7 weeks, but it's good to have someone guide you beyond your own limits.

The first week involved focusing on being mindful of this moment, not thinking about the past, future, and things that you can't change, and meditating while focusing on the breath alone or body awareness. I do about an 18 minute meditation every morning when I wake up and throughout the day whenever I'm not doing anything I will meditate for a few minutes. It's really helpful and soothing to meditate while I walk on the treadmill at the gym. It's just an 8 minute slow pace, but it's a good time to forget about everything going on around me while I get my mind set.

Below are my experiences through the first week.

Personal Benefits of Meditation

- Lower Blood Pressure – 120/70

- Lower Heart Rate on Treadmill – down from 111 to 106

- Quicker Return to Lower Heart Rate after Working Out

- More aware of things going on in my body

- More empathetic towards others

- Easier to relax in situations that used to be stressing

- Helped with my back and neck problems – No overall pain in my body

- More aware of this moment, not thinking about the past and future so much

- I’m more open with people

- More conscious about what I eat

- More positive about everything

- More creative thoughts

Mindfulness Practice

- I catch myself thinking about things that I don’t have any control over – past, present, or future

- More aware of what I say to others and myself

- I try to make sure I have only positive thoughts

- While meditating, reading, doing other activities I notice that I’m not fully focused on this moment

- My thoughts aren’t like other people’s thoughts. I think about experiences and conversations, not little things like daily needs

Meditation Experiences

- Without something specific to focus on my mind wanders a lot

- I can easily see a bright light, but I can’t control the colors

- I feel light headed at times during the day – probably a reaction to enlightenment and the burdens that go along with it

- My breathing slows down to the point that I don’t feel the need to breathe at all for 5-10 seconds between each breath

- Very rarely is my mind completely at ease, but it does happen after about 5 minutes

I'm sure over the next few weeks, months, and years I will have even better experiences. I encourage everyone to find their own meditation practice.

The Law of Attraction

2013-01-14T17:25:00.000-06:00

What s the Law of Attraction? How does it work? How do I use it to my advantage? How do I know if it's real?

All of these questions will be answered in the following paragraphs.

The Law of Attraction says that whatever you think, say, or do is where your focus is regardless of if it's positive or negative. So for example, if you say you want something than the universe aligns to make things happen that allows what you wanted to become reality. At the same time, if you say you don't want something than the universe will align to make the thing you say you don't want to happen, happen anyway. The reason is because it's what you are spending time focusing on. So if you want only good things to happen, only have positive thoughts.

To see if this is true look at your friends, your family, yourself. See how the things you say seem to appear on their own. You may say you want something to happen this weekend, and then it does. You may feel like you are psychic, or you deserved it, it's karma, or it just happened on it's own. But really it happened because you focused on it so much that it came true. At the same time look at something bad that has happened. For example, people on facebook like to post lots of bad things. Ever notice how it's the same people over and over complaining about the same things? It's because that is what they focus all of their time on, therefore, they get more of the things they say they don't want.

You can test it out by only thinking positive thoughts and see where it leads. Rather than make yourself have bad things happen to you, just notice the people around you, their thoughts, actions, words, and then see what happens in their life. Most likely if they are having negative thoughts than more negativity will be in their life as a result, not less. You can do the same for the positive people in your life.

Meditation and Self Healing

2013-01-13T19:04:00.001-06:00

Your body is created by two microscopic organisms coming together and developing in your mother’s womb for 9 months. Every tiny cell during this process knows what it is intended to do and create – your arms, legs, eyes, brain, and every other part of your body. If your body knows how to develop itself perfectly at this time, then wouldn’t it, and shouldn’t it, be able to do this later in life, after leaving the womb?

In other words, when you get sick shouldn’t your body be able to heal itself naturally? Your cells knew perfection and their function before, so there must be remnants of this knowledge somewhere in your body. It is said that the average human uses 10% of their brain power. A large portion of the brain is doing things that keep us alive, performing its natural duties such as sending signals to different organs, notifying us of our instinctive behaviors such as “fight or flight” and so on.

But somewhere in the 90% of untapped brain power we must know how to naturally heal. More importantly, we must be able to do a lot more than we currently are. For example, if you were to have damaged cells and developed a form of cancer it must be possible to tap into a portion of the brain to notify it that it needs to regenerate healthy cells and all of this should be done without medication.

If you were to lose a limb, develop diabetes, high blood pressure, and so on. Shouldn’t these be able to be healed with the use of the brain or some other bodily function as well? Again, the body knew the proper formula to create you properly the first time, so shouldn’t it be able to do this again?

What is keeping our brains and bodies from doing this? What did we know in the womb that we have lost sight as we age? Somewhere in that 90% of unused brain power is the answer. Of course proper living habits are a key factor in determining our health, but why is it that some people get sick while others live long lives even if they were to live relatively identical lives? Could it be something in our brains? Something that one person has tapped into while the other hasn’t?

Maybe mapping the Human Genome will provide these answers, maybe not. Could it be as simple as the fact that we haven’t thought about this potential power of our brain that we have lost touch with it? Is there some way to reconnect with that knowledge?

Meditation, positive thinking, the law of attraction, yoga, and many other easy to do tasks could be the solution. Scientific studies have shown the benefits of a daily meditation regimen. In a deep state of relaxation that can be accomplished through meditation many bodily functions begin to change. The heart rate and breathing slows, blood pressure drops, brain activity lessens, and the mind becomes still.

Is it possible that in a trance like state induced through meditation we can actually tap into this unseen and seldom used knowledge deep within the brain? Could we possess the power to heal all illnesses without the use of medicines and modern science? If such miracles have been proven successful on just one person in the past, why can’t they be successful for all people and all instances?

The cells in the body knew what to create the first time, why can’t it do it again? The answer to this question may never be known, but it is worth asking and attempting to understand. Harnessing this power might lead to unforeseen abilities that could never be imagined before – telepathy, immortality, and on and on. We all know the mind is a powerful thing, but how powerful? And more importantly, how do we access it?

Ask and ye shall receive

2012-12-28T15:07:00.002-06:00

Ask and ye shall receive.

Stop saying what you don't want and start saying what you do want.

What if it was that simple to achieve the things you desire? What if I told you it was?

Stop for a moment about the things you say, think, feel, and do. Are all of these things in harmony with one another? Are there times when you want something, but your actions don't show it? Have you ever felt something, but didn't say it? Is it possible that in order to truly get what you want, your desires, that every part of you must be pursuing it equally?

If you have doubt, hesitation, or any other emotion chances are you won't be successful. An easy way to remind yourself of the importance of intention is as simple as remembering to always state your desires with an affirmative “I am” statement fully believing you are worthy. Live as if you have already achieved what you set out to accomplish.

I am success.

I am love.

I am greatness.

I am beauty.

I am healthy.

Followed by “And I intend to receive the abundance that is here, now.”

It is imperative that the thoughts you have are in line with your desires. Your thoughts determine the outcome, regardless of your actions. Your actions are just the outward expression of your thoughts.

So how do you obtain the things you want and need? You must be aware of your inner self at all times.

Look at it from this perspective. You get in return what you project to the world. Are you often angry, sad, lonely, jealous, greedy? Then chances are that is what you will get in return.

On the other hand, are you happy, loving, caring, generous? Then that is what you will get in return.

Next time you are upset rather than let your emotions guide your feelings, let your feelings guide your emotions.

You can't control circumstances, but you can control how you react to them. Rather than be upset because someone does something to irritate you, instead use this as an opportunity to grow personally, spiritually, and emotionally.

Maybe you want to scream at someone for making you feel upset, betrayed, lied to. Did that really make the problem better? Did you feel good by lashing out? Did it make the other person feel good? Most likely not. In fact, it probably made things worse. Either for a short time, or maybe longer.

Rather than belittle someone, next time choose to let it go.

At the grocery store when someone is fumbling around and taking too long don’t get irritated. Instead take a moment to thank them for teaching you patience. When someone says something you disagree with, thank them for teaching you understanding.

You will find that the way you project yourself to others, is how they will project themselves towards you.

Do you take others for granted? Then they will take you for granted. Do you lie, cheat, or steal? Then they will lie, cheat, and steal.

You have the ability to choose your destiny. You alone have the ability to choose your emotions.

As was stated before, stop saying what you don't want, and start saying what you do want. Intention responds to your desires, your desires are what you project to the world. If you recieve pain and suffering that is what you are asking for. If you recieve love and understanding that is what you are asking for.

So next time someone annoys you don't respond in kind. In the end you will get the same treatment in return. Instead be positive.

Life is simply what you make of it. Do you want to be happy or sad? Angry or joyful? You get to decide.

Making others feel good about themself will in turn make you feel good about yourself.

How we treat others is a direct reflection of how we feel about ourselves. Remember that next time you feel the urge to put someone down.

You are only on this earth for a short amount of time. How do you want to feel? How do you want others around you to feel?

I believe the following example expresses exactly what we all hope to realize.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.

Charles R. Swindoll

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

2012-12-27T21:01:00.000-06:00

Imagine the following scenario. There is a field of energy all around you. Within that field there is a force that you can't see, but deep within your inner self you can feel it. If conditions are right you can even tap into it. This unseen force holds the key to your intention, your purpose in this life. Some people may never realize this exists, others may only have glimpses of it, but there are others still that have the ability to harness this power anytime they choose.

The amazing thing is that it is always there, always waiting for us to access it. The best part is that it's easy to do, if you know how. The thoughts you have can draw you closer or push you further away. You decide by how you choose to view life and the circumstances around you.

We all have a purpose. Everything ever created was done so with intention. You are no different. Whether you believe it or realize it, you were intentionally created. It is your responsibility to determine that reason and pursue it with passion.

Once you acknowledge this intention it can provide you with everything you desire. It is there for the taking. The question is how do you utilize this energy and how do you access it? You know what it is that you want out of life, but how do you make it happen? Whether it is love, fame, fortune, health, etc. But how do you ensure this becomes reality and not just dreams?

You believe in yourself and express your desires to your friends, family, co-workers, God, but somehow you still find yourself lacking fulfillment. You may achieve one, two, or even all of those things, but still you don't feel satisfied. Once you achieve something you want more. So why is it sometimes you are successful when other times you are not?

It is important to remember the following: "Your thoughts must be in harmony with your intention."

You have this voice in your head, your ego. It is always having a constant battle. You tell yourself you want something, then something goes wrong. Immediately that voice in your head says it happens for a reason, it wasn't meant to be, you're not worthy. Whatever the case may be, you have convinced yourself that you don't deserve the thing you desire. Next time you see something you want you are reminded that last time you got your hopes up you failed. Again your dreams fall through. This recurring cycle is never ending. Some people give up completely, others make excuses but keep trying, and then there are those that always seem to get all the breaks. Nothing ever goes wrong for them.

You are just as smart, just as deserving, just as hardworking, so why do they succeed while you fail? Do they know something that you don't? In a word, yes. They simply know something that you don't. Next time things go well for you remember what you did. Next time things don't go well for you remember what you did. Notice if there is a difference.

At some point during the process there was a voice in your head talking to you. It was telling you how great you are. Then there were those times when it was holding you back. Yesterday you were the most qualified, but now you are worthless. What changed?

Have you ever wondered why sometimes you succeed at seemingly impossible tasks while other times failing at the easiest endeavors? What made you succeed? What made you fail? Furthermore, what was going on in your head? That little voice, your ego. What was it saying to you? Was it giving you advice or giving you doubts?

If you really think about it the answer is simple. The times you succeeded and the times you failed had one difference. One major difference to be exact. Harmony. Harmony in your thoughts, your words, and your intention.

Your inner voice told you it was possible and you believed. There was never any second guessing, questioning, doubts. It wasn't that you tried hard or were more deserving. It was you. It was always you. You just had to believe in yourself.

There is no secret ingredient. All it took was for you to set a goal, believe it possible, and allow your thoughts to be in harmony with your intention.

So why do you succeed? Your thoughts were in perfect alignment with your desires. There is no outside force keeping you from achieving your goals. Intention only knows infinite possibilities, abundance. There is no limit to what you can achieve. There is only a limit to what you believe.

The day that you are able to mold these two together, your thoughts and your intentions, will be the day that you no longer wonder what might have been. You will have everything your heart desires.

Reaching Enlightenment

2012-10-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

In case you are interested to know what it feels like to attain enlightenment this is my experience.

Whenever I close my eyes I see a tunnel of bright white light emanating from my forehead between my eyes. At the end of the light I see a young beautiful woman in a white robe walking towards me surrounded by a yellowish halo. I have a strange feeling of floating.

The upper part of my body from my chest up is really heavy, but extremely light at the same time. It’s as if my body is asleep, but my mind is wide awake. I almost have to tell myself to move.

I have a feeling of multiple thoughts coming into my mind from everywhere. I am aware of everything. I can take the thoughts of others and apply them to my own life to find meaning.

It’s as if I’m psychic. I can think something and then it happens. Where others see, but don’t understand, I am able to see and know. It is a sense of power and invincibility.

Win 2 Free Tickets to Aruba Contest

2012-09-12T13:17:00.002-05:00

After my recent success with winning a trip to Abu Dhabi I decided to give it another go.

I am currently vying for a chance to win a free trip to Aruba. The trip includes the following:

1^st Prize Vacation for two to Aruba, (Value of USD $5,500) including:

Airfare:

Credit of value of up to $1,000 sponsored by Carib Media Marketing Consultancy & Development N.V.

· 6 night stay at Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino

· 1 week car rental offered by Budget Rent a Car

Dinners at:

· Simply Fish

· Las Ramblas

· El Gaucho

· Matthews Beach Side Restaurant

· Papillon

· The Blue Lobster

Activities:

· De Palm Island Sightseeing Tour

· Sail & Snorkel Cruise offered by Pelican Adventures

· Horseback Riding tour from Rancho la Ponderosa

· Kayak tour offered by Aruba Kayak

There are also prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. As of right now the contest has been going on since August 15th and only has 5 entries. I think my odds of winning are excellent.

In order to participate I had to enter a video about what I would do to get to Aruba. I used videos I created from my travels around the world explaining that I would bike, hike, paddle, or fly. My theme was that I would do "Whatever It Takes!"

To win I need votes, likes, comments, shares, tweets, and pins on my youtube page and the official Facebook page. Details for how to vote are below and what I need to win.

The contest ends October 15, 2012 and I will be notified that I won on or about October 17.

If you would be willing to vote for me please do so. Below is the youtube video I created.

You can like, share, pin, tweet, and comment. Each will count as a vote. Below is the Youtube page you can view the video at.

Youtube Link - Aruba Video Contest - "Whatever It Takes"

On the Facebook page you can select my video. It's by William Gray. You can vote, like, share, comment, pin, and tweet. They all count as a vote.

Facebook Link - Aruba Video Contest "Whatever It Takes"

If you have pinterest and would like to pin, repin, like, or comment please do so at this link.

Pinterest Link - Aruba Video Contest "Whatever It Takes"

Please click all the links you are able to. Everything counts as a vote. it's very easy and very fast! I have always returned votes quickly. Thanks!

The winner will be based on tallies of all the votes, tweets, pins, likes, and comments on the various pages.

You are able to help on all the pages, but only vote once. Doing both is awesome! Be awesome!

Travel Contests

2012-09-12T13:03:00.001-05:00

I recently learned about signing up for contests online. I always like winning free stuff so I figured I should give it a shot.

Usually I would just send in my email and other personal information and hope my name was drawn. It usually wasn't. I just wasn't having any luck I guess.

My main focus was on free tickets, a GoPro, or other really popular items. As such, my chances of winning were slim.

Usually I just used Facebook to sign up from posts that companies I have "Liked."

I was just about to give up on these contests, but took a chance. The contest I signed up for on Gore-Tex. The prize was an Outdoor Research Jacket worth $450. I was just about to go to New Zealand in the winter time and this was going to perfect.

I didn't really know my chances, but I had to try.

About 2 months later, early May, I received an email saying that I was the winner of a random drawing from Gore-Tex. I had no clue what they were talking about. The email stated that the original winner failed to notify the contest committee in the necessary time so they had to redraw.

I was the winner! How exciting for me! I still didn't know what I had won so I looked at the description in the email and had to look it up online. The jacket looked really nice. I was really excited because I was considering getting a new jacket before the trip and now I wasn't going to have to. Awesome!

I responded immediately with my address and other necessary information and waited for my prize.

The company ended up ordering the jacket from a company called MooseJaw based out of Canada. It arrived just a few days later.

It was really cool. Since that time I have been trying really hard to win more contests. I will be compiling a list of my winnings so far and eventually share my secrets with others.

Stay tuned to see my list grow.

Vayama-Etihad Airways "Abu Dhabi Trip Winner"

2012-09-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

I want to thank everyone that took the time to vote and comment on my photo for the Abu Dhabi trip. I don't know how many votes I got, it never showed, but I had 108 comments. The closest competitor had 18.

Thank you very much!

Below is the winning photo! It was taken during a sunset near Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. It is on the North Island in the central portion about an hour and a half south of Taupo.

I learned about the contest through Facebook and I strongly recommend others that like winning free things sign up for them. People do actually win!

I have to use the two free airline tickets by October 31, 2013. I am going to be flying to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in November of 2012. My hope is to be able to by a ticket for a two week trip. During that time I will be visiting Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Dubai.

The plane tickets are about $400 in order to include the other 3 countries, however, to fly there myself would be about $2,500. I think it will be worth the small investment.

The trip I won only includes the two free tickets, so all other expenses I will have to cover. Based on my knowledge of cheap travel I'm planning to spend about $1,000 total. The accommodations are somewhat expensive in this part of the world.

I would like to go in November due to weather. I went to Dubai in June of 2010 and that was a mistake. It was 110 degrees everyday with 99% humidity. It was unbearable.

I will be posting information about my trip plans and information about each country in the near future.

I wish I had known about these contests sooner. I am now going to be a professional contest winner!

Vayama-Etihad Airways - Trip to Abu Dhabi

2012-08-31T21:29:00.000-05:00

On July 31, 2012 - the day I returned from my One Man, One Journey trip to Australia and New Zealand in search of adventure - I entered a contest to win two free round-trip tickets to Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways.

The contest rules are posted here:

http://promoshq.wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/248251.

The rules were to like Vayama's Facebook page, the sponsor of the contest, and submit your best vacation photograph. I had just returned from my trip and one of my favorite pictures was of myself pretending to drop a ring into the top of "Mt. Doom" in Tongariro National Park in New Zealand on the North Island.

The ring was taken from "The Lord of the Rings Risk Game" that I have. My brother carried it with him on a lanyard for the entire trip specifically so he could get this picture.

As we were leaving in the evening after a day of hiking there was a beautiful sunset so we pulled over on the side of the road to get pictures. He pulled out the ring and the photography began. Of all the pictures that were taken this one was the best.

It shows me dropping the ring from a few miles away, but with the right angle and proper stance it was possible. Naturally, by completing this task I was able to save Middle Earth from destruction and destroyed the eye of Sauron and the Orcs.

On another note, I had entered another contest on Facebook a month before we left for New Zealand. It was on the Gore-Tex page to win a jacket from Outdoor Research. Ironically, I wore the jacket almsot every day of our trip and can be seen in this photograph.

The person that actually won didn't respond in time so I was the lucky recipient for their misfortune. I am in the running for a few other Facebook contests as well and hopefully I will be a finalist and the ultimate winner of those too.

To help me win this photo contest I need your help, the help of your friends, family, children, grandchildren, co-workers, and anyone else you know.

All you have to do is click the link below and select "vote" for my photo in the green box. Share the link with all your friends. You can vote 1 time per day from August 31-September 9. The winner will be chosen on September 10

You are also welcome to leave a comment if you like.

Thank you in advance for all of your help and support! The link is below:

http://promoshq.wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/248251/voteable_entries/55617414