Being ALIVE is all about connections...

With others

I never realized my relationships with other men were so insufficient until my primary relationship with my wife collapsed. As I suffered, I was gifted interactions with a group of men that embodied a wholeness of humanity. Working with these men I felt as if I could go into battle with them while also feeling safe in allowing myself to be comforted by them. They lived the duality of yin and yang. Relationships like this are what guided me through the darkest stage of my life. They strengthen me as steel sharpens steel. This depth of male relationship took me 37 years to discover. I endeavor to live the rest of my life with these profound connections.

With yourself

Intuition is a sense we all possess. Our inner knowing serves us. The more we tune in and listen to the wisdom and guidance channeled through us for us, the more we find doors opening and paths meant only for our purpose and calling in life. I was at my breaking point when I felt like giving up like Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. I didn’t want to face another day of battle. It was in listening to my dreams and allowing an openness and attention to thoughts inspired by natural occurrences that I found inner strength. Through meditation, breath work, and visualizations, I cultivated and nurtured the growth of a seed of self-love and acceptance that continues to root and expand.

With surroundings

Having spent my life in communion with nature, I have always felt an intense connection with all life that inhabits our Mother Earth. As a friend shared with me “We dwell in the magnificence of the divine creator’s generosity.” I have had enough mystical experiences and nonduality realizations in nature to be confident in my belief that there is far more present than we ordinarily experience. The energy that flows through me, flows through the soil, flows through the trees, and flows through you. The more we slow down and connect with the elements of nature all around us, the more Zen we can be. Nature nourishes me, grounds me, and fills me with wonder and gratitude.