Friction

Learning to hold opposing ideas and contradictory beliefs in our minds and hearts creates friction.
This friction fuels wisdom, growth, and deeper understanding, opening us to a compassionate perspective toward both the micro (the individual) and the macro (the collective).

Humanity’s reluctance to cultivate this ability—to hold opposites within ourselves—leads to disruptions on a larger scale.
It results in narrow-mindedness and a lack of compassion for others.

Temporary

I woke up at 9:00 a.m. and did something a little different. Despite my heart's uneasiness—the urge that drives me to go, go, go and do, do, do to distract myself—I went to the washroom, brushed my teeth, and then went back to bed to continue reading The Beautiful Struggle. I am living and feeling two lives at once: the past of Ta-Nehisi Coates and the present of mine, which, for a moment, intensifies this feeling in my heart. Is this feeling anxiety, or is it something else?

I’m still learning to identify and name the swirls inside my heart. I suspect that each swirl is unique, each with its own identity and name. But my emotional vocabulary is limited to one word: anxiety. Maybe anxiety is a collection of emotions that add up to this name? Maybe. One thing I’ve learned over the past couple of years from surfing and the ocean is that no wave waves forever. Each wave has a beginning and an end. Some waves you ride, others you let pass, and some waves will knock you off your board into nature’s washing machine, where you can only pray to come out on the other side in one piece.

I feel like that in this moment.

The other side is yet to come. I’ll be swirling around in this for the next few weeks or maybe even months. But I have learned to come out of these moments a better "surfer" of this body of water called life.

I am the moon, and my life is the ocean. I am both the cause and recipient of these waves. Whoever and whatever I am, I know that this moment—however much it may feel overextended and seem like infinity—is, like all others.

Temporary.

It can only last forever if I try to control the vibration of the pebble I skipped across the still lake. It, too, will settle but will never be the same again. When it settles, all will be anew, inside and outside.

It’s only been an hour. It feels like hours have passed. I got a lot done: laundry, dishes, brunch, a little maintenance of my place, and of course, some writing. No music, no media, just the sounds of domestic instruments and the hum of vehicles outside my window. This is my nature at the moment. Not the sounds of insects and birds in the Amazon, or the ocean waves of the Pacific and Atlantic, or the markets in Spain, Morocco, and Nepal. In this moment, my nature is surrounded by industrial sounds—the nuts and bolts of the Western world.

I would be lying to myself if I said Ta-Nehisi Coates has not inspired me to move closer to my dream of being a full-time writer in the months to come. This is my dream. To travel and write with a partner by my side. This is my dream. Like Paulo Coelho and Haruki Murakami, Ta-Nehisi Coates is unlocking and activating new parts of me at a cellular level, one sentence at a time. His words, his story, are a key to the tucked-away and locked-up memories in my internal basement. What a gift. I’ve been searching and waiting for this over the last few months, maybe even years.

Inspiration.

We all need it from time to time. At least I do. I realize that I’m fortunate and lucky to have come across this angelic being who exported this book, The Beautiful Struggle, into my consciousness. I’m surprised that despite all his interviews promoting his new book The Message over the last couple of weeks, including the one on CBS, people still haven’t heard about him. This is mind-blowing to me, and it’s also a reminder of why it’s important for me to keep sharing my work, my writing, and my experiences. Why? Because I still carry this thought that the wisdom I’ve cultivated over my 47 years is of little to no value to the outside world because it’s old news. This thought is subtler now compared to the past, but it still likes to visit unannounced from time to time.

Everyone of color, particularly Black and brown people, should at least know his name, even if they don’t read his work. His interviews are powerful and inspiring. His ability to do what others in the soup haven’t—open up a platform for the voices of the suppressed and expose the hypocrisy and naivete of the American public—is remarkable. Yes, there are others speaking out, but Ta-Nehisi Coates seems to have broken down new barriers and reignited the flame of discussion for the Palestinian people.

Illusion? Perhaps.

Nonetheless, we truly cannot stop speaking about it. This is not just a fight for the Palestinians; this is a fight for the soul of humanity and the soul of our mother. I don’t know when we’ll come out the other side, when this washing machine cycle will end, but I know there is another side. Karma is brewing, and that bitch is going to cum hard. It seems like an eternity on our clocks, but in the time frame of the divine, it’s right on time.

Faith and a deep knowing keep my hopes alive. I see beyond to the other side, and I see a sunshine and the rays of a new sun.

Sabur. Sabur, Sabur.

The Seductive Shadow

Essaouira, Morocco

In depression, I embody my shadow.

The shadow is seductive,

the place where my deepest desires are stored.

A sadness engulfs me,

a desire to bring these parts of myself to light.

Fear freezes me.

Pieces of me cultivated as outcast,

pieces society, religion, loved, and trusted ones deemed as bad, sinful, unworthy.

The longer I wait, the heavier the weight.

It's time to declutter my shadow.

Heaviness.

Carrying the weight of my shadow.

Difficult to move, to breathe.

Walking along and suddenly, the swift energy of the shadow is activated.

It feels like walking through mud after a storm.

Sinking.

It's hard to move at times.

Gifts of intoxication.

Substances provide temporary relief,

an opportunity to act out the tucked-away self within my shadow.

The small window closes once again.

I put away myself and awake once again to my reality,

yearning for the seductive shadow to light me up once again.

EVERYTHING

I have only one weapon, and that is my pen. Use it. Don't waste its unlimited ammunition. It is forever. All that is etched into this piece of paper is etched into the Universe. It is never for nothing. It is all for something. Do not worry about the naysayers inside and outside. Your heart's expression, its mark on this land, in this time, is not a nice-to-have; it is EVERYTHING.

From the Streets of Valencia, Spain

You are the beauty we are all waiting for; it will be received by the seen and unseen. Don't be discouraged, and don't look for outcomes. Each moment that your heart expresses upon us is a push in the right direction.

They speak about the third eye, the home of our intuition and critical to our awakening, but there is another eye that lives within your chest, planted upon your heart. Centuries of seduction have kept her sleeping, but their tears are our tears. Their sacrifice is our awakening. Don't let it be for nothing because it is everything. Don't you see the gift they are gifting us? Will you let their screams awaken you from the seduction of he?

Don't let it be for nothing because it is EVERYTHING.

From the streets of Valencia, Spain

Life is Precious

The cycle of life. Death and birth are constant. It is not a one-time event. To experience it as such leads to suffering. Some cycles are small, others are a little more noticeable, but it is happening often. Think about your day today. All that you did was left behind. It has passed. The suffering arises when we hold onto it. Tomorrow we awake again, newborn, a new day, a new opportunity. What a delight it is to wake up. How blessed, another day to make a little impact on the ones we love, the strangers whom we cross paths with, a smile, a gaze, a nod of acknowledgment. Then there is this earth, a little hello to the trees, walking barefoot in a park, absorbing the energy of her, the one who holds us, the mother from which we were all birthed.

Life is precious.

https://ago.ca/collection/object/2014/6

Scaffolding for my Emotions

Resilience

Resilience came to mind when reflecting on dating and relationships, inspired by a podcast I listened to yesterday. The speaker suggested dating someone who is my opposite, as seeking someone like myself is egoic. While I can't recall his exact words, the idea stuck with me. Considering the power and potential of opposites, I realized that resilient couples, those together for 10+ years, have an incredible ability to weather life's storms and continually return to each other.

This resilience inspires me. I observe these couples and how they navigate and embrace their imperfections. It's normal to face challenging times. Of course, there's a limit, as seen in my family, and some situations are unhealthy for the couple or their children. But I'm not referring to traumatic relationships. I'm talking about the dance of falling in and out of love, the choice to recommit even when the fuzzy feelings fade.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is another crucial concept. My parents expect us to forgive without an apology or acknowledgment of our childhood experiences and their impact on our adulthood. Can I truly forgive without acknowledgment? I don't think so. Let me emphasize: can I forgive without acknowledgment? I don't think so. I have tried to block out unresolved injuries, but some memories resurface, seeking resolution and release. They cause surface chaos before retreating to safer, hidden places.

Scaffolding

At 47, I've shifted. In recent years, I've built scaffolding for my emotions, allowing them to stay on the surface without causing external chaos, though internal chaos remains. I'm building a relationship with unprocessed experiences from my childhood, teens, and 20s. I've created new spaces for them to breathe and take in light. I, the 47-year-old Talib, support these past versions of myself to heal, live, and eventually integrate.

I'm no longer seeking external resolution or release for emotional wounds. I am the parent, coach, therapist, and healer. There's only so far others and medicines can take me. At some point, I must take hold of the baton and run to the finish line on my own.

Waiting

Maybe she's waiting for me at the finish line. Perhaps I was waiting for her to help me reach it. But it's not her marathon to finish; it's mine. She's whole, having completed her journey, and waiting to run the next one together. Maybe. One can hope, right? To one day journey as a couple, to journey together.

Conclusion

In the end, the journey of resilience, forgiveness, and personal growth is uniquely my own. It's about embracing the storms and finding my way back to love, forgiving even when acknowledgment is absent, and building the internal scaffolding to support my emotional landscapes. At 47, I've learned that true healing comes from within, and while I may hope for someone to share my journey, it's essential to complete my marathon first. The resilience to weather life's challenges, the courage to forgive, and the strength to nurture my past selves pave the way for genuine connection. Maybe, just maybe, at the finish line, I'll find not just someone waiting, but the readiness to journey together, whole and healed.

Business Lessons From a Smelly Fruit

Business is the main meal, and the fuck-ups are the appetizers we never ordered but are forced to eat. It’s only after we fully accept and consume them that we experience the nutrients that follow the failures.

There are beautiful lessons to learn if you open yourself up and embrace these delicious, unwanted appetizers. Here’s another way of looking at it: While in Bali for a yoga retreat, my friend Scott went on and on about a tropical fruit called durian and how delicious it was. But we didn’t have any at the retreat. One, it’s hard to get, and two, it wasn’t allowed on the resort because of its unbearable odor.

It wasn’t until the day we were on our way back to Ubud that our friend Keduk surprised us. We stopped off at the side of the road and exited the van. He bought us durian, but it was tied to the back of the tailpipe because he didn’t want to stink up the car.

Durian Fruit

If you Google durian fruit smell, here’s what comes up: “Its odor is best described as…turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock.”

In business, it’s not as important to avoid fuck-ups as it is to accept their inevitability and learn how to respond when they arrive. Business fuck-ups are kind of like the durian fruit: they’re uncomfortable to hold onto, smell like shit, but taste amazing when you dive in and are one of the most nutritious fruits on earth.

What’s even more interesting is that if you don’t want to walk around with smelly durian breath, the trick is to pour water into the empty durian shell and drink it. The same properties that make you stinky are the same properties that will freshen your breath.

Hmmmm…maybe this stinky little tropical fruit isn’t just a metaphor for business failures but for our entire lives.

Giving Birth to Consciousness

This piece was inspired by a recent conversation with a friend: Do we have enough health and wellness practitioners? Enough alternative healers? The short answer is no—we don’t. The longer answer is that we're far from balancing the scales. Look at the health and wellness field compared to the industries that keep us in unconscious cycles—food, pharmaceuticals, media, and work environments. Just step into a grocery store, liquor store, or notice the number of fast-food spots and bars filling up daily in Toronto. We have a lot of evolving to do to reach a higher vibrational state, to live more consciously.

So, what is consciousness? It’s being present, making decisions in the now for the now. It’s hard, I know. Even after years of my own growth, I still have my unconscious moments. Living in a city filled with endless temptations, I say I dance between two worlds. My aim is to dance in the conscious world most of the time, and, hopefully, one day, fully.

When I indulge in unconscious consumption—processed food, sugar, or a night out drinking with friends—it pulls me down into a fog. The moment feels great, but the day or two after? I'm in a low-energy, detached state. As my friend Anam says, we’re borrowing happiness from tomorrow.

There’s a growing list of healers—naturopaths, nutritionists, energy healers, bodyworkers, meditation and yoga teachers—who aren’t recognized by outdated systems of government and insurance. Why? Because embracing these healers would disrupt industries with deep financial roots in food, medicine, and pharmaceuticals. Those in power play a short-term game, focused on immediate gains. I don’t blame them; change is scary, no matter how much planning goes into it. But an unknown future is better than a stale, outdated present.

It may seem like alternative healers are abundant, but in reality, they barely scratch the surface of what’s needed. As more health and wellness practitioners enter the field, we'll start seeing support from governments and corporations because, currently, many can’t afford holistic options outside what insurance covers. Instead, people turn to drugs from the pharmaceutical industry because that’s what’s accessible.

So, how do we get insurance companies and governments to invest in proven holistic approaches? By encouraging more practitioners and keeping open minds.

Alternative healing is still a new concept to many, but if we want to shift the collective mindset, I encourage you to explore these paths yourself. We’re moving towards a beautiful blend of old and new, East and West. But to evolve as a society, we need to make choices that either move us forward or hold us back.

Earth is like a mother on the verge of giving birth. This new baby’s name is consciousness. And it’s the healers I mentioned who are the doctors, guiding this birth, holding the Earth’s hand, urging her to push. We see the head; we hear the cry. But there’s work left before consciousness is fully delivered.

It’s not about old religions.

It’s not about past leaders.

It’s not about clinging to outdated systems.

It’s about you and me.

Let’s give birth to this baby.

Let consciousness scream, dance, and play with us.

Some are fighting this birth, but we can tip the scale. It starts with each of us nurturing our own abilities, discovering and unlocking them. Where to begin? Start by being conscious of where you place your mind. Humanity’s evolution depends on it.

No pressure.

The Challenges of Showing Gratitude and Saying Thank You

I had an interesting realization the other night and have been wanting to write this all month. A pattern has surfaced within me—an inability to truly thank those who’ve had a profound impact on my life. When it’s someone I’ve known for only a short time, expressing my gratitude feels natural, like my thankfulness can match what I received.

But when it comes to people—and in this case, an entire community like GLP—that have profoundly shaped my life, I feel like no words could ever be enough. Nothing I say could measure up to the appreciation and love I feel.

Every single day, I find myself speaking about the GLP community, expressing my admiration and appreciation out loud. Talking about the impact you've all had on me is one of my proudest moments each day. You’ve shown me how to give and receive love, taught me that I am enough, and even shifted my view on social media—it’s not just a place for distraction, but a space that can truly connect and uplift.

You’ve given me permission to dive deeper, to be unapologetically myself.

As I entered a new decade, I took a moment to reflect on the one that just passed. My early thirties weren’t easy, but I got through them. I knew, even then, that there was a reward waiting. And in 2014, I received it—a gift that continues to unfold.

That gift is all of you.

I feel like I won the happiness lottery, a lottery that gave me access to a world of feeling good enough, a lottery that allowed me to shed all the masks I wore and simply be. The prize? A deeper self-awareness, an acceptance of who I am, and the permission to wear just one hat—my own.

Every day, I feel like the luckiest person alive, and it’s because of each of you. I love you all deeply. Thank you for being in my life and for being such incredible examples to follow.

Many see the world through a lens of negativity. I choose to see all of you. This community gives me the hope I need. When people complain about the state of the world, I think of you all and smile—inside and out. I know each of you is transforming, within and without, and your presence alone is impacting the world.

Regardless of how much darkness surrounds us, this community will always be the light the world needs. You are the flashlight that illuminates my path, that keeps hope alive, even in the darkest of times.

It’s by standing on the shoulders of this community that I can see the beauty that lies ahead.

Let's Play

I, like many others, have spent time in the lower vibrational playing ground.

Some have been there so long, they no longer see beyond it.

But soon, we will collectively realize that human potential is only just scratching the surface.

Those who can’t see it yet have a mental barrier, built by both themselves and the outside world. But it won’t be long before it falls.

The light shines through a small peephole. From that tiny opening, each individual will begin to look.

Until staring out that little hole toward the higher vibrational playing ground becomes unbearable, and like I did, they’ll start to chip away and break down the wall.

Come and play.

Once you get here, there’s no going back.

It’s impossible to start seeing, then change your mind and try to unsee what you’ve seen.

Won’t you come and play with me?

Children’s playground in Valencia

Crossroads

I feel something stuck inside of me, an uneasiness in my stomach. I'm not sure if it's mine, hers, or both. She’s going back today. It’s one thing to know what we want and develop courage outside the environment where challenges exist, but it’s another to go back into that environment—into the trenches—and execute the plan, the change we desire. Disconnecting is hard because hearts are broken, and relationships are impacted. That’s why so few do it. We don’t want to get uncomfortable, and we don’t want to hurt others. It’s so fucking hard.

We’re raised a certain way, through the lens of others for most of our lives. When we can no longer live with that queasy, uneasy feeling, we come to a crossroads. Do we maintain the status quo for the sake of others, or do we destroy everything to save ourselves? To reach out and pull ourselves out of the quicksand before it completely engulfs us to the point of no return. What we don’t realize is that if we don’t save ourselves in this lifetime, the next one will be a rerun of the one that preceded it.

So, would you want to live the life you’re living today—the life of suppressing yourself—if you knew that the next life would be exactly the same unless you reach out that hand and rescue yourself?

Hell, to me, is repeating a life lived unauthentically, living for others at the sacrifice of our own self. The biggest misconception is that focusing on the self is selfish, that we should help others and place their needs above our own. But our capacity to love and help others is limited by our capacity to love and help ourselves. We can’t fill others' tanks while ours is on empty.

I feel better after getting this out. I think I’ll type it to her. It will be the last journal entry she receives before her flight. Is it possible that I already love her? Is it possible that all these random little moments connected us? If someone is guiding and helping me, thank you. Thank you for the guidance, for the little nudge in the right direction. So many mini crossroads, and fortunately, I was encouraged to flow in the direction of this woman who captures my heart.

The Sun that Never Sets

What do I do with this open heart? How do I keep it open, and how do I show up in the world now with this current state of being?

I want to show up the same in all areas of my life, with an abundance of love—in business, with friends, and with family.

To keep her in my heart, holding on to that feeling. My memories of her may fade, but I hope the feeling remains.

I want to hold on to both—the memories and the feeling—long enough for her to arrive fully into my arms. To walk into the world with this feeling as if she were already mine not just for one night, but for eternity.

She is with me, by my side, supporting me through every adventure I step into. She is the sun that never sets, always there, embracing me through the good and the bad. She loves all of me.

I look forward to the possibility of grey turning into black and white.

Rocking Vulnerability: Embracing Fear and Finding Evolution

I've been reading and listening to Brené Brown's work for a couple of years now, and I've also been consciously practicing vulnerability. But yesterday, I took it to a whole new level. I was nervous all week, trying to prepare for this talk—it was uncharted territory. The last time I gave a speech was in grade 7. I made it to the gym and almost competed with other schools. My buddy Dave won; he was the better storyteller. Now, at 39, I'm a much different man (thank God). If I were the same, that would be a whole other problem.

Last night, I stood up in front of 150 strangers, some of whom were friends and family I had invited. I face-planted with a level of vulnerability that would have made Brené Brown proud. I was in the arena. I got up and wiped the dust off, and today was a brand-new morning. Even though I forgot most of my speech, I felt fucking good. That doesn't mean my self-talk was all positive. Absolutely not. I'm human.

My initial thoughts were that I had disappointed Greg, who runs the Toronto chapter of ManTalks and invited me to speak. I also disappointed Conner, the founder of ManTalks, and I disappointed the audience. They took time out of their Monday evening for this event, and I choked. I got stage fright. I tried to compose myself and start over. I'd get going, then get stuck again.

Finally, I just gave up and admitted to everyone that I had completely forgotten what I wanted to say and share. Afterward, my mind raced with all the things I wanted to say but didn't—all the experiences I could have shared in the hopes of inspiring others to begin the process of looking inward and connecting with themselves because lasting confidence and deep connections begin from within.

Yes, it could have been better, and yes, I could have rocked it. But there were lessons I needed to learn, and I'm glad I learned them early—on a big stage. Being in this area of public speaking, I know the size of the stage I want to strive for. I know the level I eventually want to play at. And I will say, by no means was this a small stage. Sponsored by Samsung, with a wicked ass stage, purpose, and the best part—a wonderful audience.

I was thinking about a quote by Jamie Foxx during his interview with Tim Ferriss. He said, "Do you know what's on the other side of fear? Nothing." I loved that, but I would take it to another level.

On the other side of fear is evolution.

We have been taught to see fear as something to conquer, but it turns out that fear is something to embrace. The same goes for failure. If you don't fail, how do you receive clarity on which direction to head? Failure is a beautiful compass that guides us toward our highest potential.

I want another shot so badly. I'm opening myself to the Universe right this minute. My heart is open and ready. Dear Universe, I'm ready to play BIG.

I don't know where this culture of perfection and the need to always look good to the outside world came from while we struggle and sit in pain in our internal world. It stunts the evolution of humanity and keeps our hearts closed. I'm sure there was a moment in history when we were required to close up, but honestly, I don't give a fuck. Where we stand right now is what's important. We all need to encourage each other to embrace walking in spaces where there's potential for face plants. It forces us to reflect and look inside ourselves.

I cancelled cable at 25. Do you know why? First, I was falling asleep on a hand-me-down IKEA sofa when I had a kick-ass mattress I paid enormous amounts of money for in the other room. The other reason was I was watching all these people, whether in fiction or nonfiction, living their lives while I wasn't living mine. When I turned off the tube, I had no choice but to get creative with my time. I met my first girlfriend, who gifted me my first book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, which happened to change my fucking life. He talks about living your legend and how it should be your sole purpose—discover your personal journey and walk your path. This also led to my love of reading. Wow, there is actually a book and author out there that I could love. I always thought I hated reading, but in reality, I hated what the academic world was feeding me. Do you know we are still teaching Shakespeare? Are you kidding me? Our world is not ending; it's just stale, with the same old ways and messages. We need to liven it up by stepping into the unknown and identifying our own journey.

Do you know why people don't like meditation? It's not for the reason many say, which is, "I just can't sit down and quiet my mind." I had an aha realization. It's not the quieting of the mind that's the challenge; it's discovering what lies inside that's the challenge. When you begin the process, the goal isn't to calm the mind but to get into your mind, your body—specifically your heart—and then into your soul. When you get that deep, that's when the real shit opens up. That's when you start considering therapy and coaching because you have no choice but to discover your personal journey and purpose. It will rock your world and shake you up, but it's so fucking worth it.

Mirroring is the way to grow. Every step you take and every human you connect with is a mirror to you, especially in romantic relationships. I dated women who had no problems holding up those mirrors. There were mirrors everywhere! Eventually, I got the point and headed to therapy.

Therapy changed my life. It allowed me to open up and air out all the old scabs that never healed properly.

You know, I have this thing called Nexus. It allows me to bypass the line at the airport simply by scanning my eyes, generating wonder, awareness and curiosity. It reminds me how unique I am and how important it is to stay on my path, discover my personal journey, and unlock and reveal the portals within me. We have yet to reach the peak of our capacity. People talk about how the world is ending. I believe we are just beginning. So don't worry about the outside noise; don't pay too much attention. Decrease the external volume and increase the internal volume.

If you ever question your unique nature or authenticity, think about your iris and your fingerprints. There are seven billion-plus people on this planet, and there's only one authentic you.

Embrace fear and respect the failures because that's where evolution is waiting for you.

Rocking vulnerability feels good. My heart is a little more open today than it was before the talk. I love the path I'm on because I know it's my path to walk.

Three Access Points to the Depths of YOU

I think a lot about the three access points/layers: the body, mind, and spirit. To live a happy life from the inside out, we need two out of three functioning optimally to reach a high level of happiness and present life satisfaction. If you can get all three going, you will reach some next-level success and wisdom.

How do we do this? We exercise the body, mind, and spirit. We train to strengthen the pillars of who we are. Meditation is how I maintain my balance and clarity and experience expansion.

Firstly, I find it easier to live a human life because I live in equanimity, creating space to allow the flow of energy. This enables me to be more adaptable in my external life.

Secondly, meditation allows access to my spirit. The clearer the mind, the easier it is to access my spirit and all the intelligence within and through it. I know it’s a little out there if you’ve never experienced meditation or a spiritual practice, but I promise it is accessible to all. You are accessible to yourself (if that makes any sense). You are an oil field waiting to be tapped, but the only person who can tap into you is, you guessed it, YOU.

Some people have a challenging time accessing or purifying the mind. Their life experience is so intellectual that their minds are stuck in their heads, and breaking the dam to get into their bodies is emotionally and physically painful. So, the best way to do it is to take the back door directly to the spirit.

Welcome to the world of Psychedelics or Religion. You pick and choose what feels suitable for you. There is no one right way; there is no one right path. There is no single path to reach your destination, which is the purification of the mind. It’s your path and your choice as to how you want to reach that destination. More importantly, it’s also your choice whether you even care about reaching that destination and discovering the depths of you.

I remember when a friend shared with me that she knows where the path to self-discovery leads, the path to the purification of the mind and access to her spirit, but she made a conscious decision to say, “I’m not ready; I love my external world and all the goodness that comes with it.” I have an abundance of love for people who make these types of conscious decisions.

It’s your body, your mind, your spirit. It’s your choice.

If the mind is difficult to reach, you can tackle it from both body and spirit. The purification process will be a lot more efficient. My ultimate goal is to run optimally from all three areas. The combination of body and spirit purifies the mind from above and below. It’s like cutting weeds from the top (physical exercise) and simultaneously pulling the roots out from below (spiritual practices such as prayer or psychedelics).

Once we reach the purification of the mind, all dissolve, and spirit, mind, and body synchronize and melt into one, leading to infinite intelligence. I wish there was a magic pill to reach and maintain this state, but there is not. It requires multiple lifetimes of work, although we are in a collective global self-discovery mode, putting the process of waking up on a fast track, and it is beautiful to witness.

Regardless of what is occurring in the mainstream media, or any media for that matter, if you just decide to turn it off for a little while, you will begin to see the beauty that I see. My hope for humanity is to turn down the external volume and increase the internal volume. The world wants to see you. The world wants to experience you. The world needs you.

I’ll end with one of my favourite quotes: “You are more powerful than you think; act accordingly.” – Seth Godin

Finding myself through conformity

Compliments and praise... Receiving them is more difficult than criticism for me. In my twenties, if someone complimented me, my ego would be fed and there would be a temporary extra pop in my step. When someone complimented me in my thirties, it was so difficult to receive that it would result in mini throw-ups (this stems from not feeling good enough).

In my mid-twenties, I moved out on my own for the first time. Late for the Western world, unacceptable in the Eastern world. Eventually, I canceled cable, met my first girlfriend, and had my first real travel experience without family—one week which I spent on my own. My girlfriend gifted me "The Alchemist," which I still have with me today. Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, and Neale Donald Walsch helped me work on dissipating my ego and peeling off the layers of crap that others had draped over me.

My second girlfriend, first love, and first heartbreak took me to an entirely different level of feeling. She broke my world—and for the better. The relationship made me go inside and look deep within and ask the question: WHO AM I? WHO AM I? WHO AM I?

I have no degree; I am half-assed at everything. Heck, I don't even have a high school diploma. No connection with religion, not a criminal, not feeling fully Canadian, Muslim, or Indian. If I am none of these things, then WHO THE HELL AM I? I had so many social norms to look up to, but none of them fit. In every area of my life, I felt like a square peg in a round hole. I didn't identify with any of the worlds, and with utmost certainty, everyone had laid out as a matter of fact who I needed to be. Without it, I wouldn't succeed in life, I wouldn't reach the heavens, and I would probably end up as a bum in this life and in hellfire in the next. So much to look forward to. God was mad at me. Teachers were mad at me. My parents were mad at me. WHO THE HELL AM I?

Not fully fitting into my religious world, my Indian world, and the Western world resulted in not feeling good enough. So, what do you do when you don't feel good enough? Conform, conform, and conform to all three worlds around me. I was partially religious, not religious enough, partially Canadian, not Canadian enough, partially Indian, not Indian. I want to say I was partially academic, but I am three credits shy of a high school diploma. Those who knew I didn't have it continued encouraging me to return. From a societal sense, I understood the importance, but internally, I didn't want to go back because I didn't understand why I needed it to be successful.

I worked in my father's business, in retail, in warehouses, did a little bussing, sold flowers, and did some telemarketing too. I eventually did a $17,000 six-month IT course, which resulted in a $40,000 job at Citibank. The investment paid off for me. I thought, this is it! At 25 years old, I landed a $40,000 job at one of the largest banks in the world with no high school diploma. It felt like I hit the jackpot. I moved out, travelled, started dating, and had sex for the first time (I was a little late to the party).

Did I love my job? No. Did I love the people I worked with? Hell yeah. They were this new, awesome community that is still a part of my life today. I grew out of my job quickly. I pretended to love it because I didn't know who I was. I think many of us don't know who we are until later in our lives, and that's if we are lucky. If you don't know who you are, don't worry. Keep chipping away. The only thing you should not do is sit on your ass. Trust me. I tried it, and nothing good or bad came from it. Life isn't going to push you to start. You have to push yourself and explore the internal and external worlds. Experiment.

Working at Citibank helped me gain social acceptance. When I was asked the question "Where do you work?" I proudly responded with, "I am an Operations Analyst with Citibank!" Usually, the person asking the question would beam with approval. I would be lying if I said it didn't feel good. I was fitting in for the first time in my life and felt accepted. "Citibank is a great company. Good for you," they would say. My ego and external self enjoyed this approval. I made it. I was a part of the corporate world. I had successfully been accepted into the club of conformity.

Around the third or fourth year of being part of the club of conformity, my soul began to get restless and agitated to the point that it would no longer come into the building with me. It would stay outside the revolving door, waiting for me to finish my day (or come out for lunch) to reconnect. It was so hard to quit or get another job because I had zero clarity about my purpose in this world. It took a good friend and colleague to quit before I did. When this colleague of mine quit, I felt completely alone at this point. Not long after, I quit as well. I had no job lined up and had hefty debt and rent to pay among other expenses, but I was young. I mapped out my worst-case scenario, and it really wasn't that bad.

I thought to myself, am I ungrateful? So many people in this world would love to have my job. Am I being greedy by asking for more of myself? In the end, it became so unbearable to the point that staying was more uncomfortable than quitting. If I had stayed, I would have died a very slow death. I didn't have a plan, but it felt so good to quit that place!

Creative Connections

I spent the first part of my day in Tate Modern. I learned something interesting about Museums over the last few years. Walk through it and scan the work; you will have an energetic draw of those works that align with your inner being. Don't try to analyze and make sense of the works. If out of 200 pieces of art - sculptures, paintings, photography, etc, only two or three pull you in, that's ok. It's how it should be. Spend time with those pieces that draw you in, and be there with them because they will open up treasures within yourself. It will inspire you to be more significant and to do greater. If you get this, it will be a trip well worth it. You don't have to see or connect with everything. You don't have to understand, make sense or take pictures of every piece.

I love it when a piece pulls me in and triggers an emotional response from deep within, sometimes even making my hair stand. Others inspire me to do something to evolve, to draw to paint, and other pieces generate new ideas from the heart and soul.

Rick Rubin discusses this in his interview with Tim Ferriss. He discusses the importance of exploring other forms of artistic expression to bring out our inner wisdom and creativity. We should be inspired to be greater from the place of the heart and soul. It's where real greatness is generated. 

It could be a song, a lyric, a sentence, a poem, a painting, or a film. The forms of potential inspiration are endless. If you don't know where to start, start anywhere. Don't think about it. Go to the theatre, watch a movie, pop into a museum or check out a concert. 

We are all creative beings, but most of us have had our creativity suppressed and told to be practical instead. What is the logical and rational thing to do? Logic and rationality have their place, but they need to take a back seat to creativity right now. We have suppressed who we are so deeply that the only way to unleash it, take the veil off, and unblock it is through external inspiration. Make it your purpose to find your creative connection. It will lead you to finding yourself, being yourself, and loving yourself more than you could ever imagine, inevitably resulting in loving others more deeply. 

You will eventually find a creative connection so deep that it is like gravity is pulling your creative being out from the dark corners, from under the rocks that have fallen on top of it through the avalanches of societal expectations of logic and rationality. You will have no choice but to express your deepest inner self and share your creativity in forms that align with who you truly are. 

Make those creative connections. It's time now. We need you to come out from under the rubble and shine your creative light. 

Small changes, BIG results

I want to talk about a topic that comes up almost daily, and probably in all of yours. Whether it's a podcast, a conversation with friends, a Facebook post, or other forms of media, it's always there. What am I talking about? I am talking about food. Everywhere I turn, I am advised on what to eat and what not to eat, and depending on who you talk to, the list of foods is vastly different.

I have been known for years to sleep anytime and anywhere, including in class, at parties, at work (close your eyes, but make sure your hand is on your mouse and you are facing the computer screen), and even in clubs. This has generated many nicknames, but my favourite one is "furniture." When I was young, everyone thought it was genetic because my father and uncles were the same. When I was a teen, people thought I was on drugs. As an adult, the diagnosis was sleep apnea.

Who grew up eating cereal? Who still eats cereal? I haven't done any surveys, but I will go out on a limb and say almost all of you grew up eating cereal, and many of you still kick-start your day with a bowl. For me, after a bowl of Vector (or any other cereal, for that matter), I would be starving and exhausted by the time I reached the office. About two years ago, after a conversation with my cousin, I decided to shift from a bowl of cereal (oh, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, how I miss you) to a bowl of oatmeal to start the day. According to my cousin, oatmeal is digested slower and might eliminate my crashes.

My favorite drug of all is Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

Honestly, I would wake up every morning with a ton of energy. By 11:00 a.m., all I wanted to do was sleep. I would also crash in the afternoons. It got so bad in the last few years, especially with all the demands from the business, that I would make frequent stops in mall and plaza parking lots to get a 20-minute power nap. In the winter, I knew which underground garages were warm enough for a quick nap. Also, I admittedly have fallen asleep at red lights. Crazy, right? It wasn't genes, it wasn't drugs, and it wasn't sleep apnea. It was cereal. At around the age of 35, I stopped eating cereal in the mornings, and it completely changed my life. Hello, oatmeal, and goodbye, Vector!

One small shift, and my life changed. I'm not one to dwell on the past, but I can't help but wonder how I would have performed in all areas of my life, especially academically and physically, if I had made this change earlier. Today, I'm thinking clearer, sharper, and bigger than ever before and haven't slept in a parking lot since.

I'm not a nutritionist or a health specialist, but the experience above has made me very mindful of how I fuel my body. Every time I eat something new, I pay close attention to how my body reacts. Is it fueling me or draining me? I'm curious to know if any of you have had similar experiences with food and, whether it's food intake or some other area of your life, what small changes have you made that have elevated your life to new heights?

Cheers to small changes and big results!

Over time, I evolved from oatmeal to a breakfast of eggs, avocado, and salads, which resulted in even more energy throughout the day!