We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. ~ Teilhard de Chardin 1881 – 1955

While having an amazing time in NYC mid August with my beautiful friends, it dawned on me that life is all about having experiences. Let me explain.

Weeks before this amazing weekend I had a number of challenges come into my life. All of varying degrees on the stressometer. What did I do. Why me. Why now. Where all the too common thoughts running through my mind. Maybe there is something to learn from it all. And there were, a number of learnings. Very interesting ones. But that can be left for another blog post discussion.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift that’s why they call it the present.

So then came this amazing weekend with friends in NYC celebrating my wife’s birthday. So much amazing that it allowed me to put everything that has been happening to me in the last 2 months into perspective.

Our friends Elbra & Chris whom we spent time in NYC summed up the weekend well “Five rockin parties in 4 nights, bonding after parties, NYC’s best rooftop penthouses, bottle service, best NYC restaurants, dinner at Daniel…the.entourage, the paparazzi, the sexy censored photo shoot at the most exclusive venue in all of NYC right now…the jacuzzi room…our secret…the shopping sprees, also jam sessions with wall street traders, sushi cheers and drunken convos about past lives and trying to figure out if it was all a dream because we actually never went to sleep…….INCEPTION……..is ur top still spinning cuz mine is!”

“You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You can find yourself by coming into the present.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

We did this by embracing each day as though it was our last. Living to the fullest in the present moment. Nothing else mattered around us, just that moment together experiencing everything life has to offer. We saw the beauty and life in every moment, we partied together like it was our last day on this beautiful earth, we embraced each others presence and connected on an emotional level. We opened up our hearts and found our true self.

“Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves” ~ Teilhard de Chardin

So what does all of this narrow down to? – An experience. Both events were experiences but the NYC one allowed me to see everything in clear perspective. It was like night and day. Getting this level of perspective is like waking up and saying… wow, I now understand. I gained a level of understanding why the bad and the good experiences happen in life. It’s there for us to experience, to give us perspective and to make us realise how beautiful life is once we push through a bad experience. The experience was the take away. I learnt to never lose myself in a bad experience again. I realized that life is full of amazing experiences like the ones in NYC. What we take away from each day is an amazing experience.

Never stop asking for more experience

You may be asking, but Ernest some of these experiences you mentioned require money. The answer is yes and no. Our world revolves around exchange of paper carrying a promise of value, money. Yes we need money to eat, have shelter and transport. It’s a given. However money is available to everyone & can always be made when the need is there. Some people just don’t know how to ask. Jesus once said “ask and you shall receive”. So if you ask for an experience you shall receive it. If your experience requires money to get you there a way will always be found for you to have this experience, even if it involves money. Money isn’t the key here, rather the experience.

Few years back in Sydney (Australia) while doing my undergraduate Computer Science degree I always dreamed of working in Silicon Valley (California). I wanted to work amongst the elite in my industry. I wanted to experience. Experience working in a leading edge company. Experience the culture, lifestyle, people and everything else it has to offer. Today, I live in Mountain View, the heart of Silicon Valley, working at a leading edge company with the elite in my industry. Wow! I wanted an experience and the universe found a way for me to get there. There was no talk of how much money I needed just that I wanted to experience more. The bits in between, the money and how to get there all got sorted out as the dream became a reality.

Never stop asking for more experiences. There is no such thing as greed when it comes to experiencing more and being more. Greed is just a word, nothing more. Every experience makes you grow bolder, stronger, smarter and in turn enriches your spirit. The true you. Just never get lost in a bad experience.

Be open to change

If you haven’t already read my short blog post about a short story on how obstacles are conditions to success then please take this time to do it. You will see that change is at the heart of every experience. Being open to experience is all about being open to change. Know that change is what must occur in order for new experience to come into your life.

Aha moment

Change is that thing that rocks your status quo and makes you feel uncomfortable and can be perceived as a bad event. Wow, a label! Do you understand this now? Bad sometimes is a perception of change coming into your life. For me in the 2 stories above it gave me perspective to see the world from 2 different sides and experience something wonderful. We must embrace every experience else we can get lost in the one which lays the foundation of change heading your way for deeper spiritual growth. Remember, that the only boundaries are in form.

Your human experience

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Many believe that we need to be on a path, a spiritual journey, in order to find our self. I do not believe there is a path one has to be on / follow, I believe there is just being. Experiencing your human experience. We are not a human being having a spiritual experience, we are more, a spiritual being having a human experience.

The moment we stop or resist an experience.. we are stopping ourself from being more and our true self the spiritual being from having a human experience. This is why it is so important to embrace experience whether good or bad. The words good or bad are nothing more than words with a human meaning attached to them. Look underneath and between the words and you will see the true meaning of an experience. It has the power for spiritual growth in ways you never expected!

So what does it all mean?

It means many different things to many different people. To me it means that to have an experience is part of having a human experience. Spiritually fulfilling. It has the power to fill your cup with peace & love and make you see the world differently. Trying to think about how an experience can change you is not enough. Consciously we are bad at predicting how we will feel. I will talk about this in another post. But for now remember that there is no substitute to “just being” and letting yourself be bathed in the human experience.

Ernest

Finally a reality series worth watching. It is called Breakthrough with Tony Robbins now showing on NBC (and Hulu). It follows Tony Robbins (self-help author and success coach) as he helps the show’s participants face their personal challenges.

What is a Breakthrough?

A Breakthrough is a moment in time when the impossible becomes possible. When something happens that shapes you, that moves you. Maybe you meet someone who inspires you. Maybe it’s a tool or a strategy that you learn. Maybe you finally get so fed up you won’t settle for the life that you have any more. It’s when something inside of you clicks and everything changes. You take massive action and you transform your life. More about Tony’s Breakthrough show here.

Breakthrough with Tony Robbins - new TV series

The show – Breakthrough with Tony Robbins

I just finished watching Episode 1 (hulu video below) where Tony Robbins helps married couple Frank and Kristen come back together after a tragic accident. The story show us how doing something different helps you to see & experience the world in a different light instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself & living inside false thoughts (your head). Tony is amazing at helping people realise their potential. This is a must watch!

The ONLY reason you don’t have exactly what you want is the story you keep telling yourself about why you can’t have it or don’t have it already! ~ Tony Robbins

If you want to read more about Tony Robbins and see a video recording of Tony teaching UPW (Unleash the Power Within) attendees amazing way to view life click here.

What Tony teaches us in this show (the take-away / to-go)

• There is no challenge you cannot face or overcome.
• The events of our lives do not control our lives.. our decisions do.
• Life gives us these events because we have to grow. Realise this. Welcome it.
• To feel meaningful and alive we must have progress. Progress is Growth.
• Whatever you fear today is small when compared to a bigger fear. Fear is always comparable.
• It’s not what we face rather what we do with what we face that matters. It’s the action to unleash your human spirit to change your game of life.
• The worst thing one can do is to not take control of the force that controls your life. And that force is human emotion.
• All breakthroughs start with a change in your beliefs.
• Your beliefs make you “feel certain” and no talking (lecturing) can change you like an “experience”. An experience where you realise something deep.
• You get freedom when you push through your fear.

Change your belief by changing your experience – Tony Robbins

How to apply this to our own life – steps to transform

1. 1. Identify where you live emotionally. eg. depression, anger, feeling guilty /sad etc… that should good emotional fuel to take action. One side of the paper write down what empowering emotions you experience in a week eg. love, peace. And on the other side disempowering emotions eg. fear, depressed, overwhelmed etc. Circle the top 2 on each side.
2. 2. Identify the antidote. If fear is controlling things, we need an antidote called Courage. Courage doesn’t just mean you are scared, but it means you are scared but will do it anyway. It’s an emotional muscle. You just excercise it by facing it head first.  Identify the emotional state(s) you would you like to feel (to change the game) when experiencing those disempowering states and use them as an antidotes.
3. 3. Practise that emotion. Do it enough consciously that you can go from frustrated / depressed to determined. “Emotion is created by motion.”  Notice how you motion changes when you are sad. eg. slow, body sagging (body language). Realise that this affects your “emotion”. Knowing what to change when it happens will help you practise the antidote in response to a disempowering emotion. Ask yourself “what do I do when I feel loved / happy”. What are my antidotes? – from worried to determined, from not sure to focused etc.. learn and practise that emotion.
4. 4. Condition it. Up to a point so that it becomes automatic (a habit). Figure out where you live emotionally and practise it 3/4 times a day for 7 days. If you want to learn about building habits visit my prior post here.

And remember…

New pattern = New life
Our life is a reflection of our emotional patterns.
You can face any challenge from those emotions and overcome it.

You can do this yourself right now!!

The best way to keep something in your body is to share it with someone else. It has to be about WE, not just me. Pay it forward by sharing this post with people you feel will benefits from this knowledge.

We can make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong, the amount of work to get there is the same. ~ Anthony Robbins

Enjoy!

Ernest

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I love food. Eating it and enjoying its flavours and texture. So how could I ever give up solid food for whole 8 days and survive mentally. Did I mention I love food.

So I did it. It was easier than I thought.

I dedicated myself to a lemon detox for 8 days and lost 13 pounds. The results were amazing! Most people around me complemented how “I look thinner on the face” and “have a smaller belly”. Awesome, just awesome! Many have asked me to give them the full details on this detox program since they too are willing to try it out. So, as promised here is the program to follow and what to expect day by day based on my own accounts over the 8 days of not eating solid food, just drinking a liquid formula known as the lemon detox.

Lemon detox – what is it?

The Neera Super Cleanse from Amazon

• It’s a body and mind detoxification program that aids in the removal of allegedly harmful, nonspecific toxins from within the body, as well as a reducing diet for loss of weight.
• The cleanse involves drinking only a concoction made from fresh lemons, grade C maple syrup and cayenne pepper, as well as a laxative tea. No solid food is eaten for the entire cleanse.
• There are many variations of the Cleanse program but I used The Neera Super Cleanse. It is supposedly a better version of the famous Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanser diet.
• A Convenient kit from Amazon includes everything needed to do the diet except lemon juice: Madal Bal Syrup (a special blend of grade C Canadian maple syrup and palm syrups from South Asia), 1 x Neera instruction book, Neera organic laxative tea, and organic cayenne pepper.
• You will also need to purchase fresh lemons and squeeze them into the Neera drink blend. This helps with the cleansing process since lemons are alkaline.
• This is the diet made famous by Beyoncé and other celebrities in LA. And it works – see results below.

Don't forget to buy Fresh lemons

Why I did it

• I love to experiment and try out new things. This type of change requires a lot of persistance and determination to stick with it and go all the way. I wanted to prove to myself that I can do this. 8 days was what I could spare but I recommend you do it for at least 10-15 days. That’s going to be my next detox, 15 days.
• We all have some weight we all want to get rid of. So did I; and this was one quick way to get rid of it. My wife lost nearly 20 pounds in 15 days just over a year ago so this had to work. It also inspired me to give it a shot. Nothing speaks louder than prior results on people close to you.
• Health benefits of detoxifying your body. There are plenty of articles online about this topic.
• I wanted to stop being a slave to food for energy. This lemon detox diet switches your body’s source of energy from food to fats. Food as an energy source has a downside by taking us for a daily ride up and down (like a sine wave). As we eat the sugars and fats in our food we experience a high (up) and then after consumption, the body redirects all it’s energy into burning it. So the gut receives a lot of energy and this robs our cognitive processes (down). This continues throughout the day, up and down, up and down like a rollercoaster. So we relay on caffeine (tea / coffee / energy drinks) to drag us out of the slumps only to be dragged back down with a larger force when the caffeine wears. This trashes our nervous system by delivering jitters and an addiction as the body becomes immune to caffeine so we fuel more and more into it. A vicious never-ending cycle. Of course we can always drink Yerba Mate which is a lot better in energy delivery but is sure doesn’t beat the body’s natural energy source, fats.

How to make the blend (lemon detox drink)

How the final lemon detox blend looks

Batch Amount Syrup Lemon Juice Cayenne Water 1 glass (12 oz) 2 Tablespoons 2 Tablespoons Pinch 10 oz. 1 quart 2.5 oz. 2.5 oz. Large pinch 27 oz. 1 liter 80 ml. 80 ml. Large pinch 840 ml. 2 quarts 5 oz. 5 oz. 1 teaspoon 54 oz.

My experience on the lemon detox – day by day

The following day by day analysis are snippets of my experience as I recorded them each day.

Day 1

• The lemon detox drink (maple mix) tastes all right. The lemons help balance the sweetness of the maple syrup. Make sure you do not add too much cayenne pepper’s unless you like your drink spicy. I learnt this tip in my 1st batch.
• It’s amazing how much the conscious mind thinks about food when the body is forbidden of it. Every few minutes.
• It was ironic that I also started on this day. I come into work and in the kitchen were free sweets, I couldn’t have these since I’m on this detox. Then in my 1st meeting for the day, breakfast muffins – which I couldn’t have. Then an afternoon meeting a work colleague brought in designer cup capes – I couldn’t have. Man… how hard!! But I stayed strong. Was my mind more receptive to lack of food?
• Experiencing a small headache with pain on each side of my head.
• I am a bit unsettled due to lack of food. Extended periods without food typically drive my mood in the negative direction.
• Feeling tired so I took a nap on the couch at 8pm and woke up at 1am. Went to bed and slept till 5:25am. Sleeping pattern disrupted. Lack of energy or maybe catching up on lost sleep from night before?
• My weight – 196 pounds.

Day 2

• Woke up full of energy at 5:25am. Read a book. My mind took in a lot of content which was awesome! Is this energy stabilisation day?
• What do you know… it’s National Donut Day (4th of June). It’s hard celebrating National Donut Day.. while being on a lemon detox diet – D’oh! A work colleague brought in Krispy Kreme donuts and offered it to me, I had to decline. Gotta stay strong. I love Krispy Kreme donuts.
• Napped for 1.5 hours, 5-6:30pm. Lack of energy or just my body needing to remove toxins hence the nap?
• I think my mental capacity has dropped. Maybe it’s the tiredness doing this. I’m not as sharp or quick on the ball with cognitive processes. Weird. But I know this won’t last long.
• My weight – 190 pounds. Lost 6 pounds in 1 day? Hmm… this looks good! Although this was most likely the food which has now officially left my body.

Day 3

• No headaches today. Feeling better.
• It’s amazing how much the conscious mind ticks over on the topic of food especially when the senses pickup a faint smell of it. It’s as though food drives our conscious thoughts for at least 30% of the day… well for me anyway lol
• I’m staying away from all visual & scent of food.
• Feels like there is now extra time available since the physical and cognitive no longer have to accommodate for the preparation & consumption of food. Seems like there is an extra free hour or 2 available per day! Wow.
• My tongue feels funny and has strange layer of unknown deposit on it. Lack of water or toxins surfacing? Need to brush tongue to get rid of it.
• Energy levels are out the door. Up and down. Needed power nap. This one lasted few minutes and then I’m back into full swing. Hmmm… things are getting better?
• Since I cannot eat or drink anything else it becomes awkward being out at the cinema. The typical ritual is dinner before cinema. Now it’s just cinema. No dinner so no socializing over dinner. Feels awkward.
• My weight – 189.4 pounds. Lost 0.6 pounds.

Day 4

• Didnt really think about the fact I had no food today. Kept myself busy all day and night.
• No headaches or any energy issues. I think the worst part is over. Was this the beginning of the good?
• My weight – 186.8 pounds. Lost 2.6 pounds.

Day 5

• I had good feedback from work colleagues that my face looks thinner. Awesome news! Detox must be working.
• Good day today with plenty of energy. Fells great.
• No more tension around my waist line. The custom fit tailor pants feel like a great fit.
• Rethinking the last few days on the lemon detox diet:
  • So I can see we are sugar addicts. Always waiting for that hit from solid food. Changing your source of energy from sugars to fat is an ideal way to get a steady source of energy.
  • Downside – my stomach started grumbles every morning (and afternoons) since there is no food to burn. I need to drink more of the detox mixture as a replacement.
  • Helps if your partner is also doing it with you. The smell of food can be a strong driver. Good that Ula was doing this detox with me.
  • First 2 days small headaches but it goes away on day 3. Friends & family who did this lemon detox experienced major headaches. I may be lucky here since mine were moderate and manageable by keeping myself busy.
  • Energy levels for first 3 days are bad. My cognitive functions (speed) also appeared to have dropped but not dramatically to affect my everyday requirements.
• Now every day is an even energy curve. No sugar / caffeine spikes or crashes. It feels very strange to have this level of consistent energy. It’s bliss in one way. In total control. I feel like I’m no longer a slave to whatever I eat. The body is definitely a finely tuned machine when its inputs are improved. Spoken like a true software engineer. lol
• My weight – 186.4 pounds. Lost 0.2 pounds.

Day 6

• Belly grumbles too much in the morning from 5:40am to 7am. Great alarm clock! Time to fill it with my daily liquid breakfast – lemon detox.
• Day went splendidly well. No issues with energy or any urges to eat food.
• I could do this for a long time. But I think next time I need to have protein shakes to stop any muscle deterioration from lack of protein in the lemon detox diet.
• My weight – 185.6 pounds. Lost 0.8 pounds.

Day 7

• When we isolate some of our senses for an extended period of time they seem to get forget but at the thought of food they light up with vibrancy and energy ready for it.
• Not hungry these days at all. I can go on like this for a lot longer but I know that it’s going to be hard to get back into society lol not really thinking about food. It definitely helps when food isn’t seen or smelled.
• Good energy levels throughout the day. Loving the consistent energy.
• Work colleagues are asking me about this program, will blog about it – time to spread the good news!
• My weight – 184.2 pounds. Lost 1.4 pounds.

Day 8

• Last day of the detox. Feeling like I’m ready to eat! Also the taste of the syrup drink is no longer as pleasing – like overeating on food I think I over drank this stuff and need change. I have this weird sweet maple syrup taste on my tongue which is making me feel a bit sick. Again, over drank this stuff so I’m ready to go back to solid food.
• My weight – 183.8 pounds. Lost 0.4 pounds.

Final weight - lost 13 pounds on lemon detox diet

Day 9 – 1st day off the lemon detox

• Back on Food! Before I ate I weight in at 183 pounds. Lost 0.8 pounds overnight.
• Had nice lunch with Ula, a jumbo orange & carrot juice from Jamba Juice. Just fruit juices all day today.

Day 10 – 2nd day off the lemon detox

• 1^st hard food for lunch – chicken caesar in San Francisco. Felt heavy on the belly but without any bad side effects. Building my stomach back up to solids.
• Already missing the lemon detox but I know I will return to it later.

Day 11 – 3rd day off the lemon detox – back to solid food

• Belly is back to normal. Solid food is now accepted 80% of the time.
• Feels like my belly cannot hold as much food as it used to. It may have shrunk; which is great news! Now I need to retain it this way by eating smaller portions.

Questions & Answers on the lemon detox

Q1. Is this starvation?
A1. No. You actually stop feeling hungry since the lemon detox formula is filling up your empty stomach. It is a “very low-calorie” diet so expect to lose weight.

Q2. Is this all water weight you lost?
A2. Nope. I drank 2.5 Litre (2.64 quarts) of water enriched with natural lemon juice & maple syrup each day. Enough nutrients to keep me going each day.

Q3. Can I go to the gym while on this program?
A3. Probably not since you do not have enough Protein in this diet to stop muscle deterioration.

Q4. Ok I want to do this too! Where do I get the goods from?
A4. Directly from Amazon, click here to get a good deal from Amazon. There are 5, 10 and 15 day packs. Try the 10 day pack 1st since it’s a reasonable price or if you are doing this with your partner grab the 15 day pack and split it.

Q5. So what’s the go with the toilet business on this detox?
A5. Yes. This is always a tough topic to get into without getting into unwanted detail. Let’s just say things change temporarily during your detox and you do spend more time on the toilet since it’s easier for your body to process liquids then solids. Let’s just say no.2 transforms into no.1. lol

In America, get it here:

In Australia, get it here:
Lemon Detox Diet – Australian home of the Madal Bal Natural Tree Syrup Cleansing Diet

Final thoughts

You really get to realise how eating consumes your day, how food is a part of your thoughts and it’s affect on your body. Especially heavy foods which have a tendency to drag energy levels to a crawl. On this diet you experience consistent flow of energy throughout the day; no spikes or drops. It’s bliss and peaceful to have this level of consistency and energy to keep moving. The downside is socializing over dinner is next to non-existant unless you have a strong will to watch your friends eat. It’s ok, this is only temporary.

If you really want to stay on the lemon detox wagon I highly recommend if your partner is also doing it with you. The smell of food can be a strong driver to fall off the wagon. Also try to stay away from food so you do not smell it or see it. Years of “programming” for food consumption is hard to change so adjust your environment.

1st time every I can do this! belt clip was on the last setting.

What’s next?

The meat detox, crab detox followed by donut detox. No seriously this lemon detox is great to do seasonal. I have committed myself to a seasonal detox program. To get rid of the old and welcome the new.

So there you have it. How I lost 13 pounds in 8 days on a lemon detox diet!

This is something which you can do too. Of course it’s not going to be easy for everyone. I know people who had a far worse reaction to the lemon detox then I. Massive headaches and huge energy drops in the first 3 days have been the common symptoms. But don’t let this scare you away. Your body reacts in this way because it’s flushing out the toxins. This is a good thing. Just persist and when the storm passes a massive shift in both your energy and well-being will shine thru.

It’s worth a shot, after all you only have 1 body and your health should always be a priority in your life. Without health you cannot exist and thus cannot take care of your loved ones and experience life the way it should be experienced.

Happy detoxing!
Ernest

1st July 2010 Update (3 weeks update)

So it’s now been 3 weeks since I finished my detox program and I have only gained 2.2 pounds. Awesome! The 2.2 gain is the solid food digesting inside.

I hope this demonstrates to conspiracy theorists that this diet does work.

Of course I didn’t hit pizza and burgers straight after I finished the program. I now have an appreciation for eating the right type of food and feel my body’s response to what I put in. I listen to my body what it needs and feed it what it needs instead of eating what I see from all the marketing.

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“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader!” ~ John Quincy Adams

Another fantastic Sunday (23rd May 2010) passes learning, connecting with amazing people and having fun at a POWERTEAM event organised by Jeremy Gordon in the Bay Area (Silicon Valley, CA).

POWERTEAM event

PowerTeam events are organised monthly by Jeremy Gordon in the Bay Area. A range of interesting and engaging speakers spend up to 5 hours sharing ideas and educating a large crowd of like-minded individuals on topics of entrepreneurship to leadership. However this event was different. Moving forward Jeremy has changed the format of the POWERTEAM events to allow people to connect and help each other achieve their goals. The new format is now broken down into 3 sections over the same 5 hours on a Sunday day:

1. Mastermind group circle (team work) – we got into a group of 6 and formed a powerful team name. We called our team “Supernova”. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy – Yeah!! Plenty of energy. The aim of this mastermind group was to get to know & support each other and work as a team on the days activities. We were a stellar team!

Bay Area Powerteam event

2. Guest speaker – this was Jeff Slayter from “The Best Kept Secrets of Modern Day Heroes & Leaders”. Jeff talked about Leadership and what it means to be a modern-day hero. He got the crowd engaged and really ramped up the energy in the room. Team Supernova kept the fuel burning

Jeff Slayter and Me (team Supernova)

Here is some of what Jeff shared with us:

• The “David” masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created from 1501 to 1504 by the Italian artist Michelangelo started as a large piece of marble rock. Michelangelo painstakingly chipped little by little pieces of marble away until he felt he had to stop and let others enjoy what he had created.

• Just like that masterpiece, chip away everything from you that is not you. Removing everything between you and the leader that you are.

“Don’t ask who is this business but what is this business shaping you to be” ~ Jim Rohn

• The experience of being prepared is better than experience of preparation.

• There is no failure in life just feedback.

• How do you view others around you? Never judge a person without first separating the “Behaviour” from their “Intentions”. Only then you will realise their true intentions are not as bad as their behaviour may be exhibiting. This is the true nature of a leader to see past the behaviour and into the intentions. Only then is a leader capable of understanding.

3. Speed Networking. Final session for the day involved 1 team member at a time from each group rotating to the next team giving a 3 minute power talk on who they are, what help they need help with and what they can offer. Business cards were exchanged and new contacts made. A very rewarding session.

Overall a very successful event. I gained new knowledge, friends and our team Supernova won a price as the most energetic team of the lot! We all walked away with $500 worth of Leadership training audio from Jess Slayter & Kane Minkus. Kane couldn’t make this event but he is Jeff’s business partner and another great presenter. The two are a duo team teaching Leadership in the Bay Area.

Urszula and I both signed up for their intensive 3 Day – Mastering Weath Through Relationships event in June 2010. So watch this blog for exciting updates and more knowledge that I will share with you.

Who is Jeff Slayter & Kane Minknus

Jeff Slayter & Kane Minknus are the quintessential Entrepreneurs.  Having run bought and sold over 2 dozen companies and managed close to $100 Million in investment capital for investors in varying industries, they did this all from their virtual offices – sometimes from home, sometimes from a coffee shop & sometimes never getting out of bed!  Serial Entrepreneurs both offline and online, they currently work with the next generation of Entrepreneurs, Service Professionals, Small Business Owners and those aggressively Climbing the Corporate Ladder. Providing highly entertaining and fascinating workshops on cutting edge Fortune 500 business practices, infused with the most advanced social sciences around (NLP, Social Dynamics , Movement Analysis, etc), their techniques cause Entrepreneurs to have accelerated results.

More here: http://jeffandkane.com/

Mentioned links

Bay Area Powerteam – http://bayareapowerteam.com/
Jeff & Kane: http://jeffandkane.com/
Ernest Semerda Photography: http://ernestsemerda.com

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Ernest

This is going to be my shortest post to date. But it’s also going to carry a powerful message on how you can become “aware”, what some motivational speakers call “to wake up in life”.

Sean Stephenson said something which blew my mind away. He brought change to my mind. Change I am very grateful for. It has allowed me to build stronger awareness. Sean said:

The second I don’t like somebody they own me – they own me, my energy, my thoughts, my feelings!

Do you understand this? It is more than just a great quote, it’s am empowering message which carries a very powerful application. It tells you specifically how to bring awareness in 1 sentence. Awareness is key to being awake. Next time your mind/body wants to react negatively (due to bad habits – faulty programming), stop and think about the message in this quote… If you let it happen “automatically” they own you, your energy, your thoughts, your feelings! … instead become aware of what your body is feeling and respond appropriately so that YOU own your energy, thoughts and feelings!! Wow. Powerful stuff.

If you want to know about Sean visit his website: http://timetostand.com/
And don’t forget to watch his video on the front page to understand Sean’s amazing life.

If you want to know how to change your faulty programming (bad habits) read my post on developing new habits.

Ernest

When fear or anxiety consumes us we are prone to burn more energy using our Willpower. Willpower is the strength to act, or forbear from acting, in the pursuit of a goal. Burning your Willpower is a bit like pressing a gas paddle in your car really hard making the engine rev harder and burning unnecessary fuel to go a small distance. It’s not an efficient use of this amazing power you have to get things done.

Are you achieving your goals?

Look back to the start of this year, when you set your goals. How much closer are you to achieving those goals? If you are not close then maybe you are burning your Willpower on unresourceful activities. David DeAngelo taught me a very important rule about Willpower and how to use it wisely.

When we have awareness we should focus on Willpower to create routines (habits). Use Willpower to do something that will become a routine (habitual). ~ David DeAngelo

Ernest Semerda at Malibu LA Private Beach - Willpower baby!

Where is your Willpower

Willpower is with you daily. But a bigger reservoir is there with you early in the morning. This is because your Willpower is not yet sucked up by the daily disruptions, anxiety, email & internet addiction, noise pollution etc… Therefore, since your Willpower is at “maximum” early in the morning it makes perfect sense to utilise it then to make the most of it in achieving your goals.

Starting early

It’s no rocket science that most people are more productive early in the morning. You may have heard these people say things like “I’m more focused in the morning” or “the lack of morning disruptions allows me to do more”. No wonder. Their Willpower is fresh, new, full and ready to be focused on what they set their mind to. You too can tap into this limited supply of daily Willpower. Just wake up each day early and focus on your NEW will power day after day after day. After you have given focus to what you want to achieve using your new will power, your mind will take over and the power of habit pulls you to the thing you wanted to do. It becomes the thing you do automatically. If you want to understand more about quick habit building, check out my post on 21 day habit building.

Programming self thru practice

In order to make this work effectively, you have to program yourself to do it. This is done by creating a practise of it. The habit I mentioned above. Realise it will not always be in the moment. “Trying to do it” or “remember next time” never works. Practising is the only thing that works. Create a practise that you make yourself do it. Once you create a practise of it, you don’t have to remember how to do it again. The thing you practised JUST HAPPENS. It’s all automatic. In the same way great speakers can empower people naturally, and how we can drive a vehicle while listening to radio and speaking to your passengers. From practise it’s just happens, all automatically.

Awareness is the key

Awareness is the most valuable state to make this happen. ~ David DeAngelo

You need to be aware of what you are doing, how your body and mind behave and react and question everything. With questions come answers. Do the following:

1. 1. Marshal your will power on a daily basis.
2. 2. Put some accountability in place so it is something you just do.
3. 3. Make it inevitable so that you are doing this all the time.
4. 4. And it’s just what you do. So that you can free up Willpower to go and work on the next goal.

It all starts up the stream at “awareness”.

An excercise

Here’s a practical excercise you can do to understand this approach better.

1. 1. Image your specific outcomes you want & behaviour you need to change. Make sure it’s specific and measurable at specific time. For example; “I will buy a beautiful 10 bedroom waterfront property in 6 months at Carmel-by-the-sea, California.”
2. 2. Get your reason why. How will this affect your life?. For Example: “I have always wanted a waterfront property in a beautiful place surrounded by nature. My life will be more fuller, a life long goal achieved at an early age, I will have more space to spread my wings, have a large family and throw those fantastic cocktail parties for my close group of friends.”
3. 3. Visualise clearly – make it inevitable and then visualise, visualise and visualise. Imagine how you will behave when you have achieved this goal (buzzing with life and energy), how your body will look (perfect posture & glowing with energy), how you will feel different (inspired, full of life), how you will move differently (head up, chest out, relaxed), how you will breath (deep from the belly), your posture doing this new behaviour and how you will feel deep inside when you have reached this outcome. This is your new reality. Make it happen!

Your mentality creates your reality ~ Sean Stephenson

In conclusion

Once you engrave this new reality inside your mind, it becomes 2nd nature. Your map in your head changes and reality alters to meet your new map. You notice connections and become conscious of it. Your Reticular activating system fires up and starts to see things it wouldn’t see before. This is the same system which is behind your awareness when you buy a car and you notice that car everywhere. You know which one, we all had it happen to us with a car purchase. You are alert to it. You have learnt that through repeated and visual affirmations and clear specific outcome tied to motivation your mind snaps into action and pulls you towards it. This is nothing new. Napolean Hill had chronicled this over 100 years ago. But like most knowledge, if not used it gets lost. What nature gives it easily takes. “Believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.” – Bible.

As always I love questions so please ask!

Ernest

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I’m not going to bore you with the same aged material about goal setting and how important it is to your success or go into detail about a long rumoured Harvard study which found “that the 3% of the population which makes the effort to write down their goals makes over ten times as much as the other 97% combined”. Or was that the Yale study which also didn’t take place.

“Change your life change your future.” – Jim Rohn

What I will talk about is changing your future with a good solid plan for the year ahead. Putting together a set of steps  which you can follow to take you to the next level. Without a direction how do you know where you are going? where are you going? maybe you are drifting by with the rest. Time to take control of your future!

“Take control of your raft and steer your way forward, don’t let the current carry you in its own direction.” – Ernest Semerda

Planning the year ahead is the same habit every successful leader / company takes time aside annually to layout the strategic direction for the new year. The aim is to re/focus efforts (both resources and financial), create a road map how to move forward to stay ahead of competition and keep the wheels moving. This IS the biggest study that this system actually works and creates long-lasting results. Planning works. It has worked for companies ranging from 1 to thousands of employees generating up to billions of dollars per year. It has been underneath our noses, you may have even played a role in it, so why shouldnt it work for you. Let’s make it work for you.

The aim is to bring focus to the year ahead. What do you want to do this year in your personal and business life in 2010?

We all want more out of life, yet how many of us are willing to change in order to make a difference. Change requires effort, sacrifice and breaking through the fear barrier. As an unknown proverb once said “fall down 7 times get up 8 times!” in order to succeed. This means moving outside your comfort zone and building new habits. It takes time and rarely yields instant gratification. But I’m sure you have heard this quote before, “all good things come to those that wait”. It’s not wait do nothing, but that gratification comes over time to those who persist, put in effort and energy into change.

“Rome was not built in one day.” John Heywood

Where to start – it’s simple

1. You have 12 months (1 year) to make a difference in your life. Need motivation? I’m sure you can recall an event, a person or something unjust which happened to you in 2009. Get Angry! Feel the Disgust – today is the day you say “enough is enough” and you make a life changing event.

2. Start with a Mind Map. It’s the closest approach to how you mind works when brainstorming. Dont bother with bulleted notations for brainstorming – your mind is not linear in thought. It’s chaos in there. Let’s get it down on paper. Click here if you want to read more about mind maps.

3. Once you have the Mind Map done, pull out “Core Project” areas you want to focus on. Make sure each Core Project area is realistic – challenges should match skills, i.e. the task should be neither too difficult, which would produce stress and anxiety, nor too easy, which would produce boredom. You may call these Core Projects “Goals” if it helps to maintain uniformity with your earlier approach.

4. Expand on each Core Project and write it’s “Milestones”. Each Milestone must have a due date and be very specific without leaving much room for interpretation. For example, writing “I want more money by July 2010″ might yield you an extra 1% raise in your financial position. But if you write “I will have an extra $20,000 by March 2010″ then this is specific and your subconscious mind has something solid to work with. Think of your subconscious mind like a Genie. You have to be very careful what you wish for, because you are damn sure going to get it.

5. Now break down each Milestone into Actionable steps (how & what you plan to do). Let’s use the $20,000 example; ask yourself how do you intend on making that additional $20,000 by the due date. Some actionable steps might be:

• Sell a product online. This may be by creating an iPhone / Android applications or through Affiliate Marketing in a niche market. If you have the skills then you might do this yourself or maybe you need to educate yourself in this area before you can begin or hire someone with the right skill set.
• Meet that sales target at work, work out a deal with your employer that for a sale of x amount by the due date you will get compensated the required money. If you can give value to your employer which is above what they are to pay you there is no reason the employer would refuse. You and they make money. It’s only fair.
• Provide a specialised service (that’s of value to your target market) and set up a subscription service ie. $9.99 for access. This means you will need 2003 subscribers to reach your target figure. What will this service be, how do you intend to make it unique, how will you build your subscribers list and why should they subscribe (give money) to you.

These are just some of the questions you need to be asking yourself and working on their solutions to meet your target.

6. Have fun. You need to enjoy what you are doing. When you are doing something you enjoy and it is realistic you will experience Flow. The pleasurable state that people experience when they are absorbed in an activity that demands their full attention, but such that they feel in control, i.e. able to effectively move towards their target, however far away this still may be.

7. Put your targets where you can see them daily. You want to be reminded constantly to generate “urgency” for completion. You want to make sure that you review the list on a daily basis and have it in sight all the time, say on the bathroom mirror (to see the list each morning), on a whiteboard, to do list etc…

8. Dont forget point 1. This is very important to keep you going (motivated). There is a reason why you must change / make a difference in your life.

“Gambaru” translated from Japanese means “Never give up! Even if there is no chance of winning!”

Feel happy

When you have achieved a goal or set a milestone it will make you feel happy. You want to be happy, right. You want a sense of accomplishment, right. When you get to your golden days you want to be able to tell your kids you made a difference not only in your life but the life of other people you connected along the way, right.

Not enough time in a day – an excuse?

The same old excuse plagues many. If I told you that I can show you how to recover 3 hours daily without sacrificing your work or personal life would you once and for all eliminate this excuse of “not enough time in a day” and get moving on making a massive change in your life? What if I explained how to get another 2 hours on top of the 3. In total around 5 hours per day to focus on your goals. That’s 25 hours extra per working week! No gimmicks, no painful sacrifices (well maybe some pending how you look at them) but in the end you will be more, have more and get more pleasure out of life. I will share these learnings in a February post (if not earlier).

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I hope this post has inspired you to start making a difference in your life today. It’s never too late and now is the best time to start making a difference. What are you waiting for – do it now!!

May the rest of your life be the best part of your life! – José Silva

Ernest

It’s been a fantastic year filled with adventure and plenty of amazing experiences. In March 2009 I moved from Sydney (Australia) to Mountain View (California, USA) in order to break old patterns and establish new ones. This brought plenty of change in my life. At first what appeared as a scary roller coaster ride proved to be one filled with plenty of adventure and life enriching experiences at every turn. I got the pleasure to meet many amazing people and continued to meet many more. It’s been an amazing journey.

Understand thy self

During this time I decided to start this blog (June 2009) as a way to store my own learnings in a digital format and also share them with the world. What seemed like a complicated journey was actually simple. In order to feel better, be better and have a better life one first needs to understand thy self. To learn to challenge your own thoughts. You need to understand that feelings are created by thought therefore are not fact. Your emotions are created by your thought. Illogical and negative thinking (thoughts) lead to depression. It’s how you feel about events that determines how you feel. Not events. You must straighten your thoughts to reach a cure. I straightened my thoughts with 2 simple steps I outlined back in August 2009 (click here to read more on this). What I have covered thus far in this blog is just a scratch of the surface of what lies beneath – tools and techniques we can all leverage to change our life for the better. Our life, our history, is an acting out of our individual psychology. In order to change we must begin at this core and work our way out. 2010 will be an exciting year as I explore these areas!

2009 was a good year but 2010 is going to be better

I’m happy to say my beautiful wife Urszula (pictured below) has now joined me in Mountain View after 8 months of being apart (US – AU gov issues) so that we can both enjoy (share) these new adventures.

As we wrap up this amazing year, 2009, we should all reflect on what has been, how we lived each moment, what we experienced, the lessons learnt and what we can do better in the coming year 2010. Start planning for 2010 today so that the path you walk is the one you set yourself and not someone elses.

With that, God bless and take care of yourself and your family during this festive holiday season and see you in 2010. Happy Holidays!

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Floatation; there’s no doubt that this amazing therapy works – as a therapeutic, educational and entertainment tool it has powerful effects on a number of levels, including the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. But the question is why? Reading Michael Hutchinson’s book The Book of Floating: Exploring the Private Sea (Consciousness Classics); Michael does a great job in exploring some of these questions in a number of distinct, though interrelated explanations.

In case you missed my previous posts on floating, I recommend you visit them 1st:

• Floatation (isolation) Tank – fringe science?
• Floatation (isolation) Tank – indepth and upclose

Among the most important explanations are as follows:

1. The Antigravity Explanation

The buoyancy afforded by the dense Epsom salt solution eliminates the body’s specific gravity, bringing the floater close to an experience of total weightlessness. Gravity, which has been estimated to occupy 90 percent of all central nervous system activity, is probably the single largest cause of human health problems – the bad backs, sagging abdomens, aching feet, painful joints, and muscular tension that result from our unique but unnatural upright posture. This theory asserts that, by freeing our brain and skeletal system from gravity, floating liberates vast amounts of energies and large areas of the brain to deal with matter of mind, spirit, and enhanced awareness of internal states.

2. The Brain Wave Explanation

Several studies at Texas A&M and the University of Colorado have shown that floating increases production of theta waves in the brain. Theta waves are associated with vivid memories, free association, sudden insights, creative inspiration, feeling of serenity and oneness with the universe. It is a mysterious, elusive state, potentially highly productive and enlightening; but experimenters have had a difficult time studying it, and it is hard to maintain, since people tend to fall asleep once they begin to generate theta waves. A study of Zen monks conducted by Akira Kazamatsu and Tomio Hirai, in which the monks’ brain–waves were charted as they entered the meditative states, indicated that the four meditative plateaux (from alpha to the more sublime theta) “were parallel to the disciples’ mental states, and their years spent in Zen training.” Those monks with over twenty years of meditative experience generated the greatest amount of theta. As few of us have the ability to spend 20 years studying meditation to achieve this sublime state it is useful to know that people who float regularly quickly enter the theta state while remaining awake, consciously aware of all the vivid imagery and creative thoughts that pass through their minds, and after getting out of the floatation environment, they continue to generate larger amounts of creativity–promoting theta waves for up to three weeks.

3. The Left/Right Brain Explanation

The two hemispheres or the neocortex operate in fundamentally different modes. The left hemisphere excels at detail, processing information that is small–scale, requiring fine resolution: it operates analytically, by splitting or dissection. The right hemisphere, on the other hand, is good at putting all the pieces together. It operates by pattern recognition – visually, intuitively, rapidly absorbing large scale information. Just as in the sunshine of a bright day it is impossible to see the stars, so are the subtle contents of the right hemisphere usually drowned out by the noisy chattering of the dominant verbal/analytical left brain, whose qualities are the more cultivated and valued in our culture. But recent research indicates that floating increases right–brain (or minor hemisphere) function. Floating turns off the external stimuli, plunges us into literal and figurative darkness – then suddenly the entire universe of stars and galaxies is spread out before our eyes. Or as brain researcher Dr. Thomas Budzynski of the University of Colorado put it, “In a floatation environment, the right hemisphere comes out and says, ’Whoopee”.

4. The Three Brain Explanation

In a series of studies Paul MacLean, chief brain researcher at the National Institute for Mental Health (US), has produced convincing evidence that the human brain has three separate physiological layers, each corresponding to an evolutionary stage. In this “Triune Brain Theory,” the oldest layer is called the reptile brain, and it controls basic self–preservative, reproductive and life sustaining functions. Sitting atop the reptile brain is the limbic system, dubbed the visceral brain, because it generates all our emotions. The most recent part of the brain to develop is the neocortex, seat of our abstract, cognitive functions; memory, intellect, language, and consciousness. Unfortunately, there is insufficient communication and coordination between the neocortex and the two older levels. This results in a chronic dissociation between the higher and lower brains which we experience in the form of conflicting drives – unconscious and conscious, savage and civilised, lusty and loving, ritualistic and symbolicThere are times when the levels do act in harmony, as in peak experiences when body and mind unite in exhilarating moments of vitality, when our actions come effortlessly, spontaneously. Now there is evidence that suggests that, due to heightened internal awareness and decreased physical arousal, floating increases the vertical organisation of the brain, enhancing communication and harmony between the separate levels. Floating, it has been hypothesised, can provide us with peak experiences almost at will.

5. The Neurochemical Explanation

Neuroscientists have recently discovered the brain is an endocrine organ that secretes numerous neurochemicals which influence our behavior. Our brains secrete hormones that make us happy, anxious, depressed, shy, sleepy, sexy. Each of us creates different amounts of these various neurochemicals, and those who create, for example, more endorphins – natural opiates – experience more pleasure as a result of a given experience than those who create fewer endorphins. Tests indicate that floating increases the secretion of endorphins at the same time as it reduces the levels of a number of stress–related neurochemicals, such as adrenaline, nordpinephrine, ACTH, and cortisol – substances that can cause tension, anxiety, irritability, and are related to ailments such as heart disease, hypertension and high levels of cholesterol. One other neurochemical theory is the “return of the womb” explanation. Since pregnant women produce up to eight times the normal endorphin levels, the foetus experiences true prenatal bliss. When a floater is suspended in the dense, warm solution, enclosed in darkness, body pulsing rhythmically and brain pumping out endorphins, it’s possible that subconscious memories are stirred and profoundly deep associations called up. It is no coincidence that at least one commercial float centre is named “The Womb Room.”

6. The Biofeedback Explanation

Because of biofeedback research (including Johns Hopkin’s researcher John Basmajian’s conclusive study of subjects consciously firing off single motor–unit neurons), we now know that humans can learn to exercise conscious control over virtually every cell in their bodies. Processes long thought to be involuntary, such as the rhythm and amplitude of our brain waves, healing, blood pressure, the rate or force of heart contractions, respiratory rate, smooth–muscle tension, and the secretion of hormones and neurotransmitters are now thought to be controllable. The way biofeedback machines work is by enhancing concentration. By focusing on a single, subtle change in the body, which is being amplified by the machine, we are able to shut off our awareness of the external environment. This shutting–off of external stimuli is exactly what the floatation environment does best – almost as if in an “organic” biofeedback machine, in the float room every physical sensation is magnified, and because there is no possibility of outside distraction, we are able to relax deeply and focus at will upon any part or system of the body.

7. The Homeostasis Explanation

The human body has an exquisitely sensitive self–monitoring and self–regulating system that is constantly working to maintain the body in homeostasis – an optimal state of balance, harmony, equilibrium and stability. Considered in these terms, we can define stress as a disruption of our internal equilibrium, a disturbance of our natural homeostasis. Research now indicates that many of floating’s most powerful effects come from its tendency to return the body to a state of homeostasis. When we view the mind and body as a single system, it becomes clear that external stimuli are constantly militating against the system’s equilibrium, every noise, every degree of temperature above or below the body’s optimal level, every encounter with other people, everything we see and feel can disrupt our homeostasis. But when we enter the float room, we abruptly stop making constant adjustments to outer stimuli. Since there are no external threats, no pressures to adapt to outside events, the system can devote all its energies to restoring itself. The normal state, of course, is health, vigour, enthusiasm, and immense pleasure in being alive.

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Today I came across videos & pictures I took at the 4 day weekend at Anthony Robbin’s UPW (Unleash the Power Within) back in September 2008.

The song played in this video “Life will never be the same, Life is changing by Haddaway” is well engraved into my subconscious. And it hammers home a message and gets the heart pumping!
All this from using NLP techniques; an amazing set of tools which we can all learn very easily and apply to make good changes in our life.

Anthony Robbins UPW – Life is changing

Here is the full track of this amazing song.

Haddaway – Life

Here are the lyrics:

Life Life will never be
Life life will never be the same

Time is gettin’ cold what is going on
What is on your mind are your feelings gone

Need to see it clear where do we go
why are you doing things all the things you do yeah
yeah

Life will never be the same life is changin’ yeah yeah
life will never be the same life is changin’

Everybody needs somebody to love to love

Solo yeah
yeah oh oh

In the name of love you should draw the line
got to feel secure
that you’re still mine yeah
yeah

Life will never be the same life is changin’ yeah yeah
life will never be the same life is changin’

Everybody needs somebody to love to love

Solo yeah
yeah oh oh …

Life will never be the same Life is changin’

Solo oh oh yeah
yeah oh oh yeah
yeah
oh oh yeah yeah

Life will never be the same life is changin’ yeah
yeah
life will never be the same life is changin’

Life Life will never be
Life Life will never be the same

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