what does the world need right now?

I met this beautiful couple on the beach in Thailand.

At the time I didn't know they were musicians and my friend Brett and I decided to go for a walk and jam on the beach to the sunset with his guitar. We invited our new friends and in a divine spark of magical union, created a wonderful little song.

We called ourselves Coco and the Palm Trees. The next evening we performed it at the open min night (video here) which was so beautiful to share with our friend's at The Sanctuary and was a lovely welcome shift from some of my old heart bleeding poetry :)

This song really moves me, so I wanted to share it.

honour time & happiness

Too often in life we find ourselves entangled in stuff, being drawn away from ourselves or getting stuck in a loop of behaviour patterns that disempower us.

Thanks to my old friend and 'gay husband' Faz Bags for this simple empowering exercise that he kindly shared with me.

It is such a great exercise for thinking about one's well-being and honouring the sacredness of time; a resource we all have a limited supply of and so in my humble opinion, must appreciate. "This too will pass" is a wonderful little reminder for that.

So...

Take out a sheet of paper, and a pen.

On the left side of the page, list all the ways you've been spending time on things that don't serve your goals of being happy, healthy and wise. For me I realised I spend a lot of time on social media which can distract me from the here and now. Thank God I don't use a smart phone.

On the right side, tell yourself how you will use that same time to your advantage, or how you can shift time around to make space for your goals. Even 5 minutes a day spent stressing less and healing more is extra healing you didn't have before. And when it comes to transformation, it all adds up!

Then, tape that sheet up on the fridge, and whenever you see it, remember to re-orient your day by using that brain of yours that's so good at getting what it wants to move your body into brand new habits that YOU want.

When I did this exercise in 2011 I came off Facebook, took up daily yoga practice, herbal tea and woke up every day with the mantra "carpe diem" trying one new thing every day. Spontaneously. This was my prescription in the wake of a break up and they were great new habits that I got to share with friends.

For people looking to get a step closer to their dharma, their purpose or calling(s) in life,
this exercise below is really empowering and simple to start brainstorming with to create a life you love.

Anyway I hope this helps.

Keep smiling - its good for you - as is being great.

the magic word

Travel Montage from Jessica M. Brookes on Vimeo.

I've had the weirdest most magical and eye-opening few years of my life. Totally unexpected and rich with life's tapestry of stories, people and impressive encounters.

Recently I exchanged my travel diary (great for venting and reflecting) to a 'gratitude journal' where I write five things everyday that I am grateful for. Simple.

It really illuminates the little things in life that make one smile and reminds one to live with grace. I have found my first week of writing thank you's very magical and if you're reading this, wanted to say thank you to you too. 

5 things money can’t buy

“Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself, Love possesses not nor would it be possessed: For love is sufficient unto love.” – The Prophet 

More "Funny Money" images here.

As many jectaspecta readers will know, I decided about 3 years ago to go traveling until money ran out. I stepped out of the game, had paid my debts, never had a credit card and only had my personal life savings to financially support myself.

Every now and then I would get paid for good deeds done on tour, but otherwise, life has sustained me by living humbly.

It has not been easy.

Neither is it easy being in London without money and working as a yogini (which is integrally non-competitive).

All things said however, I have realised some personal truths on what gives meaning and value to life which I thought would be worth sharing.

1. Moments with loved ones.
Being with someone I care for, having their presence in my life and sharing good times is the most heart-warmingly divine experience. That time when Dad and I played backgammon and I won three times in a row is among many of those moments that I will treasure for the rest of my life and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

 2. Naked tumbles.
Those moments of love-wrapped intimacy can transcend everything. A Sunday spent naked in the arms of another, empty tea cups by the bed and the musky scent of naked tumbles steaming from the sheets is something you can never put a price on.

3. That light in time of need.
Life isn’t always easy. Sometimes there are storms leaving one feeling lost and afraid (I learned this sailing in the Caribbean). When there are disasters personal or at scale, the most natural thing for a human being to want to do is be there to help. Having someone there in those moments of darkness can be the light that guides you through. Like a lighthouse as your boat comes in to port through stormy seas, their presence is invaluable.

4. That last bite. 
It’s amazing how scarcity invites one to reflect on the meaningful things in life. As human beings we don’t need as much as we are lead to believe and when hungry one truly appreciates every morsel. We live in a world where there’s enough for everyone. But we don’t have enough for everyone’s greed. Appreciating the small things; kind gestures and last bites is worth more than any amount of money taken for granted.

5. Love.
With everything and with nothing - the hearts of gold will love you no matter what. No amount of stuff and no amount of money will ever change that. Love is the most powerful force on Earth; it purifies karma and teaches us lessons in all its feeling and through all its pains.

BONUS: NATURE.

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money" - Cree Indian Proverb

Being a happy-go-lucky character living in Australia, insulated from some of the harsh realities of this planet, I didn't realise how sensitive I would be to some of the deeply saddening circumstances people live in and behaviours cultures can deem acceptable.

What has continually pulled me through is nature (and inner strength!) Experiencing unity with nature has lead to the most healing, empowering and awakening experiences.

We live in urban swells far removed from the stillness, serenity and spirit of nature. Furthermore, we are incredibly wasteful as a species and our mass consumptive behaviour has devastating results on our environment.

I feel passionately about this subject and I hope technology and infrastructure can keep up with the growing demands of increasingly westernised nations such as India and China with their growing demands and consumerist paradigm of 'buy the latest' while destroying our land and contaminating waters with toxins.

I likewise hope to see consciousness evolve to a level where cultures can unite and become more harmonious with one another, while humans act as the guardians of the planet we once were, yet somehow in our insanity, lost along the way.

IN OTHER WORDS: 

NATURE. NATURE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE!!!

what are you afraid of?

This video might be the best 15 minutes of your day in front of your computer via Thrilling Heroics

My Dad is afraid of heights.

He explained that fear of heights is either the fear of falling or the fear of jumping.

This last few years travelling to the tune of my heart I learned that one of my biggest fears has been not to live.

Has anyone ever felt like they had ridiculously little time left?

That was me before I packed my bags.

And despite knowing my shift in lifestyle challenges so many of the old man's paradigms from the era of work to make money etc. "You are dreaming Jess" is what he tells me. Gosh don't I know it!? (tips for dreamers here).

I still say with hand on heart to anyone reading this;

JUMP!

UPDATE: Dad said he is conquering his fear of heights. This year he zip-wired.

Go Dad!

pray for japan, pray for the world

It was the very first week of my travels and the scenes that I saw before me still visit me to this very day. I had intended on going to the mountains of Niseko to carve the famous powdered slopes with my snowboard. Instead after spending the morning exploring the Tokyo fish markets with a fellow couch-surfer, Natsumi, found myself spontaneously inspired to accompany her on her trip north to a community in Miyagi as a volunteer helping to restore the community following the devastating tsunami.

The things I saw were atrocious. Actually frankly they shook my soul in a way that can still haunt me. I remember having a very awkward moment when I visiting a lady's broken home with a couple from my team. We were ceremoniously served traditional green tea and yet something in me said "don't drink it".

It is very uncustomary to refuse tea as a guest in Japan and I knew by politely refusing I was showing disregard and disrespect to the dear host; an elderly survivor who'd lost many of her family members due to the floods. Yet, as I sat in this dishevelled living room where water stains still lined the walls and listened as my friend and fellow volunteer Shomuto explained that she believed radioactive waste was being dumped in the oceans nearby, my survival instinct took hold.

"I don't... like... green tea" I whisper to Shomuto awkwardly knowing deep down that it wasn't true. "I'm sorry, I can't drink this."

Of all the places in the world to break custom - Japan was certainly the most uncomfortable. I felt ashamed as the three Japanese looked at me in surprise (but equally grateful that at least being the 'foreigner' I could fall upon that as an excuse). I then continued to refuse all tea alternatives feeling more and more apologetic. Alarm bells within were warning me not to drink the water and while another voice in my mind said "it's just a cup of tea Jess" the louder voice told me not to risk it and I chose to trust it.

For anyone who doubts this truth of what is going on in that part of the world, I'd say; go and experience it for yourself... Or don't actually after watching this exposé on Fukushima above (watch it!) and learning what I have learned, I'd say one would be foolish to risk exposing themselves. It is however deeply saddening to think that where my friends and I were creating new parks for those brave children, delivering heaters for those forced to stay among the rubble and visiting people relocated in to lorry crates with ghastly fluro lighting to help lift their spirits; that their well-being is at further risk as are generations to come. I pray for that dear community of volunteers so devoted that when we awoke to an Earthquake at 2am, were on stand by to respond. Holy sh*t that was one of the most surreal and intense moments of my life. The whole building rattled and for a brief moment I thought we were done for.

I know full well that the media has lied about a second nuclear power plant that has been heralded as an example of excellence. It's not. Families have been separated. Workers forced to sign contracts to absolve responsibility of the power plant for any contamination. I know this because my team visited them. I wish I were more scientifically astute so that I could go in to the numbers and science behind it all (thankfully Vice spoke to scientists). I wish I could also give names, facts and recordings. I can't. I can only relay my personal experience and what I learned in the short time I had there.

What I can say, as a human being, is that something terrible happened there, life was not cared for by the government nor corporations and that the media wasn't telling the truth about the extent of damage and destruction... and also that my inner voice which I have learned to trust wholeheartedly - despite forcing me to break social custom - said very loudly "Jess, do not drink that water".

Watching this exposé now helps me realise why. Now what can we do about it?

My family in Japan. The Pray for Japan relief community.

not sweet enough!?

Bro in the jungles of Palomino, Colombia

I am on a flight between Cartagena (Colombia) and New York (USA). Two incredibly contrasting cultures. I have come fresh out of the jungles of Colombia where I slept in a hammock, washed in a river and cooked on a fire while foraging mangoes and coconuts and staying with a humble shaman's family.

I get served high altitude coffee and despite requesting that the stewardess not give me sugar I get a pile of sugar sachets labelled "Dunkin' Donuts" and "Pure Sugar" on the reverse. One of the most addictive, unhealthy and unpure sources of sugar out there. My inner yogini breathes, surrenders, accepts and goes within to feel this fire sparked. And then in honesty another part of me really doesn't like this. No matter how cool, how chilled and how compassionate one can be, I feel like a boundary has been crossed against my will and because it is socially acceptable, I am expected to subject myself to this unhealthy brands presence in front of me telling me a blatant lie that it is 'real sugar' and whispering 'take me, take me, let me sweeten you up'.

Tip: Sugar makes really good face exfoliator. Rather than throw away the sugar one may wish to mix it with natural soap and make a yummy face scrub.

But this is just the start of my gears getting lightly grinded as my weary mind and body traverse across dimensions. I know it is probably due to my time drinking "La Medicina" (an indiginous cleansing potion) with my brother and the shaman a few days before that I am sensitive. I am feeling incredibly in touch with these emotions and when I find myself talking to the American guy next to me, I again find myself fired up.

Before I know it I am passionately explaining how the mass consumptive culture nurtured in the Western world needs to end. That things are being made to last little time before being thrown away and replaced with 'the latest model', that people are being taught to care about the wrong things, that peak oil is coming, that too much power is in the hands of the few... before I finish, said American looks at me suspiciously.

"Are you a communist?" he interrupts me.
"No" I reply politely. "But I do have common sense".

Gosh, I'm no angel. I've worked with the big banks, big FMCGS etc. I know (second-hand) that Coca-Cola wonders how to get a child to drink 7 cans of the stuff to create a newly addicted consumer.

Tip: Coke makes really good silver jewellery polish, teeth and stomach rotter.

That and a few other secrets of this world that won't be able to sustain the growing populations and demands of the middle-classes of the 'emerging markets' where people also want the latest and bestest of stuff built to last a year before the latest model comes out.

I want to cry. I want to shout. I want people to see how out of harmony we are with the world we are here to protect. The innocent children manipulated. The women made to feel inadequate. The religions made to feel self-righteous. The men commoditised. People taught to fight for a freedom that is a lie. To be at war for a 'democracy' ruled by an elite. Oh I'm so fired up and so I explain simply:

Finite resources plus mass consumption equates to the destruction of our planet. The one living organism that we are all collectively a part of and that, I believe, will also be doing a ceremonious cleanse of itself if human beings persist on being the cancerous body that destroys it.

While I say this, knowing that I am returning to the vibrant, interesting, alive yet fiercely loud, interruptive and competitive city of New York, a part of me longs to be back by the rivers of the jungle again. Despite the mosquito bites apparently caused by too much sugar, the lack of internet and homely comforts of hot showers, a fridge and stand up kitchen. At least there I felt a serene sense of connection where nature gave me what I needed without forcing products, ideas, labels and stuff on to me. Messages telling me to fill divine emptiness with clutter and insecurity. Messages feeding my human ego and telling me to be selfish and want more.

I can't direct any anger at anyone person. We are all part of this silly machine we've built and while one may, to an extent, need to adapt in order to survive (make money), another part of me wishes that we had the power to create a more responsible, sustainable and harmonious culture transcending these lesser human desires. That perhaps more people had that space and time in nature to truly see how beautiful simplicity is. And how much collectively, we need to protect our home for the sake of our own survival as a species and, dare I say, we could all do with slowing doooooooooown.

I am afraid Dunkin' Donuts sugar sachets are a long way of that.

Tip: But they do have free internet.

stonehenge spiritual rituals in crappy british weather

The Summer Solstice is the most important day of the year at Stonehenge and a truly magical time to be there. It's a time of celebration that brings together England's New Age Tribes (neo-druids, neo-pagans, Wiccans) with ordinary families, tourists, travelers and party people - 10,000's of them! 

At the heart of Druidism lies a love of Nature and of her changing faces as the seasons turn. Eight times a year, once every six weeks or so, Druids participate in a celebration that expresses this love and last year I was kindly invited to join the druids for their celebrations at the British pre-historic monuments where they have exclusive access to perform their energetic rites at the stones. 

This is a time of fertility and celebration: bonfires, maypoles, dancing, and outdoor festivals have been traditional during this time for most of human history. In some modern Pagan faiths it is believed that this holiday represents the highest ascendancy of masculine divinity.

In my experience - in true British style - it was so bloody wet! We slept in cars and did various meditations throughout the 12 hour long overnight ceremony which required commitment especially in England's summer downpours from sunset to dawn. First we did a meditation in a remote field where in a circle, affirmations to connect with the divine were made as we meditated together. At one point during the speech of one of the elders a huge gust of wind blew at the most divine point of his speech, that put all my hairs on end as the sensations overcame my being and I felt a wave of dizziness while I meditated in the muddy field that my wellies were sinking in to.

Around 4.30am we arose for the final sunrise meditation at the stones. The rain poured down on us as words in the old English were proclaimed in the ceremonious celebration of mother nature and love for humanity.

Throughout my life I've been a part of many different spiritual practices which in my heart I feel is an cathartic way of connecting and healing one's being; whether through ritual, ceremony, contemplation or creation, while demonstrating a humility for mother nature that which envelops, nurtures and unites us. This time round, perhaps given it lacked the mystical mantras of a foreign language but was grounded in the stories that preceded Christianity, I found the experience really intriguing and a little bit funny.

I mean there I was, in my white gown over waterproofs and wellingtons, walking around in divine cosmic time to meditate on ancient stones while hearing words such as "Walk forth torch bearer!" in the country I was born. In one aspect it was amazingly powerful within me. I mean the energy created by this devotional act was to a vibration of cosmic levels that if you haven't experienced - you might think I was nuts. Yet, in another aspect, lets call it an egoic identification with personality, I felt like I was in a funny play where the characters all spoke English with funny accents using old linguistic terms and funky props to connect with their truth and the divine. My inner cynic would've written it off as some ridiculous ritual, but as one beautiful soul brother I met in Nepal reminded me "isn't life one ridiculous ritual?" and who am I to say what is the best path to take or rite to make in order to create a sacred space for divinity? And the truth is, after the ceremony, something did change within me. I became friends with a pain that had haunted me for far too long. Perhaps it took for me to meditate under the stars, in the shitty British weather, aligned to the divine shifts of the cosmos and Earth's seasons at some old stones to finally say "its ok to let go now".

See here for more info on the Druid order and special thanks to Cristel who I met at a yoga retreat in India for the kind auspicious invitation. There are more images on my photoblog.

I love you, I'm sorry, forgive me, thank you.

'Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.' - Martin Luther King Jr.

Katey Brooks - B****, Don't Kill My Vibe - Acoustic Remake 

"Ho'oponopono" is a beautiful Hawaiian ritual whereby one makes an affirmation "I love you, I'm sorry, forgive me, thank you" to all the relationships from ones life that need atonement. I know while my adventures in the outside world are probably more interesting, I really want to illuminate how cathartic and beautiful this little ritual is.

To make mistakes is to be human and sometimes the people who hurt us the most are those who know us the most intimately. I wish I could say I am the perfect human being that does no harm, but I've screwed up, said the wrong thing or pressed someone's buttons enough times.

I sat my third Vipassana the other day in Bogota, Colombia. The first time about 5 years ago was incredibly painful, I sat with multiple cushions supporting my twice fractured coccyx, a wooden floor-stool to support my curved spine while I struggled through my mind's OCD behaviours around herbal tea and light switches, as I committed to 10 days of daily 11 hours sits of mediation and went on the proverbial cosmic journey. That time I came out and stopped eating meat without a rationale besides "I didn't feel like eating it anymore" and I recall visiting a shop with my boyfriend trying to find a shampoo and having no idea how to choose. I became that equanimous! The second Vipassana I sat was 18 months ago. Shortly afterwards my father called Interpol...another story...

from Burning Man via The Atlantic

Now this last silent 10 day sit was different. For one thing I only had one cushion to support my body and my mind was incredibly well-behaved and present. A fire burned through my spine however in the agony of sitting in stillness for 11 hours a day and to be witness to it without judgement, nurturing the act of equanimity, was incredibly challenging for me. Nevertheless I had epiphanies, time travelling realisations and outbreaks of spontaneous emotions while every now and then transcended the pain that felt like a knife had been lodged in my back.

It's taken the last couple of weeks to integrate the experience spending time as a recluse out of the travel community while hanging out with a friend on the outskirts of Bogota. During the full moon my friend and I both set our intentions and did a little fun Ho'oponopono ceremony together which involved cheerful smiles and cheesey music. The results for us both afterwards were incredible though, so much so, that I felt compelled to share.

I find people come in to our world to be vehicles for something deeper within us, whether they shine a light on a vulnerable area of the subconscious or simply teach us that the journey to love is found through forgiveness for another... as much as for oneself. Easier said than done sometimes and I am not one to preach, although in my experience, if there was more forgiveness and acceptance in this world, it'd probably be a much more peaceful and happier place.

lost & tripping with shamans in NYC

Aya: Awakenings - Trailer from Rak Razam on Vimeo.

For all those seeds the vine has touched, and for those yet to sprout....   

Rushing through the cold streets of drizzly New York City after a couple of mis-directions on the subway, I finally arrived at the cinema. I looked around “is this the right place” I asked myself as I mopped my sweaty brow and took in a deep centering breath. While according to my friend Kyle, getting lost may arguably be my forte, being late is something I constantly work with in the land of time especially since my watch strap decided to snap (and not having a phone etc.) 

The scent of sage filled my nostrils and soothed my nerves while affirming that despite being a little late for the showing; I had arrived at the right place. This was the evening I was going on a trip to the Amazon and thanks to my tardiness, my friend and I (sorry Pablo!) were forcibly sat on the front row for some airborne journeys of Pacha Mamma spirit through shamanic medicines in Rak Razam’s latest documentary; AYA Awakenings.

While personally, I advocate meditation; it did become very clear to me that there are medicines out there for those searching for that heart opening experience of oneness. I asked Rak some questions after what was a wonderfully insightful experience. 

1. For those who do not know about Ayahuasca can you describe its qualities?

Ayahuasca is an indigenous plant medicine from the Amazon that combines MAO-inhibiting vine with DMT-containing plants for a hallucinogenic (visionary healing modality. You can feel the vine seeping through your blood and body as it locks onto your vibrational frequency and starts clearing and healing blockages and supressions, ills and hurts. It can be a bitter earthy medicine, or sometimes neutral, thick or syrupy, and like most medicines it usually tastes awful. But it is the most powerful tool in the Amazonian shaman's medicine cabinet. It's been proven to scientifically relink up the synapses of the brain flushing it clean, and you purge and vomit up any sicknesses within you, whilst simultaneously being thrust into a world of geometric visions, sometimes spirits, entities, and multi-dimensional reality!

2. In the documentary, one of the most powerful shots was sharing your experience during the Ayahuasca ritual. In as far as words can describe, what was that like?

I liken it to a connection to the web of life, but a visceral, real, immediate and emotional connection. Ayahuasca opened up my heart chakra, my ability to feel, my intellectual-empathic pathways to feel the fact that there are no negative spaces separating us from everything... we are all connected in the Great Green Womb where we are all one, the atomic sea of vibrational consciousness itself. To feel the wind and the breath of mother nature, to hear the frogs and insects and know with a certainty they are talking with one another and pouring through spirit in the sounds, connecting and cascading the other species in the web, to feel that connection and the intimacy of life itself is transforming.

3. Has that changed the way you perceive and interact with the world?

I think so. I'm in the baseline world most of the time, but with an overlay memory of that interconnection and awareness of the larger matrix of nature and us as one species strand in the collective, interdependent whole. Every thought, word, action and deed ripples through the web of becoming and that remembrance reminds me to be as present, loving and understanding as I can in each moment. Sometimes that 'holographic awareness' can see the causal domino effect as certain events and things interact and connect to the larger whole, and sometimes I can see those strands and how they connect with an empathic knowing. The world is alive and aware and we are but one layer of Gaia's never endings in matter...!

4. One of your panelists mentioned the power of one's imagination. What are your thoughts on the mainstream media's impact on this in our present world?

The imagination has become ensconced in the mind forg'd manacles Blake wrote about in our modern age. Imagination has at once been commodified down to a narrow bandwidth of possibility, and the cultural dreamings we once had in our tribal mythologies are erased, or worst, co-opted and turned into saccharine Hollywood films. The heroic archetype has similarly been commodified by Hollywood like a virus that has taken control of the host body and is used to tap into this deep longing the human race has to express its imagination, which for me is linked to intuition and can be used as a valuable psychic tool to carve out the imaginal realm, to make manifest what we dream amongst an infinite sea of morphing probability. Imagination can be our GPS to survive, to dream in a better world, to improve the human condition, to think outside the box and to magically make real probability streams to anchor the thing we dream. Imagination is our anchor to the infinite, more than its come to mean in the denuded western entertainment complex: I-mage-i-nation is a holy, spiritual act where we overlap with Great Spirit and know and become.

5. What is your vision for the future of mankind and our planet?

Well let's talk sustainability - what does that mean? Ditching hierarchies, power (or revealing power has always been about the collective, the tribe, the majority) and collecting and connecting in networks, tribes, extended family structures that understand needs and wants, taking only what they need, and feeding the web of life around in all directions. Letting go of the old world of division, loving and caring for all our fellow being and species as interdependent units in a greater whole, working together for maximum connection and meaning.

Plant entheogens can reveal our own divinity, our soul, and at the same time reveal the frequency of soul we are embedded in, the existence of an ecology of souls and sentience that extends far beyond the physical. I feel the plants are tuning us back into these potentials as training wheels, and the medicine helps us remember our full beings as galactic citizens, and sometime soon we won't need the medicines, but will step forth with the ability to engage with the greater whole. 

More info on AYA Ayahuasca USA Tour 

on being a citizen not a consumer

"What was said to the rose that made it open was said to me here in my chest." - Rumi

A powerful documentary by an award winning Hollywood director who explores the relationship we have to stuff and what makes us happy. The community and connection between us all. 

believe in miracles

I recently decided to study "A Course in Miracles" (pdf) and its a beautifully empowering course that in essence is founded upon forgiveness and the grace of prayer and meditation.

Given it is the time of year 'for giving', I thought I'd share this wonderfully inspiring TED talk from Gabrielle Bernstein that my old colleague and friend Farrel Brest sent me.

I have found one of the biggest cathartic miracles in life has been to forgive myself for... well... urm... everything... including things that probably weren't my doing but I felt responsible for them nevertheless. Before traveling at times I slipped in to self-doubt whether it be in my career, in association with my body, my mind and my ability to live my truth and pursue my dreams... as ridiculously unattainable as I thought them to be.

There have been many moments on the road where I wondered "what is this for?" and "where am I going?" while also sensing a world that doesn't always reflect what I'd like to see; witnessing needless unkindness between people, towards nature, towards children and the conditioned systems in place that seem to bind more than liberate the human spirit. Dealing with shame has been a powerful lesson.

My work now is more focused on being a conscious miracle worker, as yours can be too. Waking up and being grateful for life, for friends, for family, for the lessons one must learn is important; as I have found letting go of what doesn't serve the highest good be it an emotion, person, place or material item - as much as a very human part of me might want to cling on to it.

It becomes a living practice to consciously “empty your cup,” again and again and again. The cup fills up easily, especially on the road; we want to fill it with the tea we “like” and it takes fierce courage to choose love over being right or comfortable. It takes a commitment and courage to be empty, open, and receptive. It takes courage to hold out your empty cup to receive something new and unexpected, including what seems to us the dark, not-so-sweet side of the 'Mystery of Life'.

For me it whittles down to being kind while learning to tread lightly on the hearts of others and the land we rely on to survive.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. 

~ Dalai Lama

becoming a conscientious objector

“Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. And I believe that in this generation those with the courage to enter the moral conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe.” - Eulogy of Bobby Kennedy

Sometimes, on the road, I have the honour of encountering those wonderful humble souls who've truly lived it. Those who are rooted and sane and beautifully true. These people remind me to keep going sometimes when I slip in to doubt and appreciate that we can all make a difference and needn't fear standing up for what we believe to feel right for humanity even when it requires the courage to face the scathing judgement of others or even, in Jackson's case, leaving his home country.

Besides touching my soul in the most remarkable way, introducing me to some wonderful rhythms of Jazz, Rag-time and Blues, showing me his home town of Strafford (Vermont) and giving me a souvenir of 'real deal' Pure Maple Syrup, Jackson did something greater; he reminded me to have faith in humanity and to have courage. I want to share the story of a real game changer who made a huge decision during the Vietnam war among other noble movements toward equality when he sought to challenge Vermont's abortion law.

I know personally life keeps repeating lessons for me until I learn them; I wish mankind could do the same when reflecting upon some of the devastating actions against peace and equality in the world we live in; our backyard not just a place we see on TV.

Here is his story on becoming a conscientious objector.

"Dean Rusk spoke at our graduation, defending the commitment to South Vietnam. That fall back home in Philadelphia I took science classes hoping to qualify for medical school. At semester’s end though, I was shocked to receive my draft board notice. In person I proffered my potentially greater military value later as a physician, but it fell on deaf ears. “Report for your physical in two weeks with your bags packed.” Miraculously, I received my medical school acceptance a week later.

In junior year we kept hearing rumors that nationally all new graduating M.D.’s were being drafted. One could, however, complete post-graduate training in the inactive reserves then serve as a specialist. I enlisted in the Air Force, but upon leaving the Federal building afterwards, I felt this inner angst that I just may have made a big mistake.

My wife, one year old son and I moved to the University of Vermont in1969 for five years of postgraduate training. My hair and mustache grew, as did my rage over the war. Nightly news showed soldiers setting fire to thatched roof peasant shacks and burning out entire villages, women and children screaming and crying.

I had intense discussions with friends about the war’s immorality. How could I honorably serve and help soldiers heal if they then might be returned to war? Literature from The American Friends Service Committee was especially helpful to me. I agonized for three years - I had to be absolutely certain I was not merely acting expediently. Then Nixon’s Cambodian Christmas bombings pushed me over the edge.

After submitting my essays and application to the Pentagon, I drove around a frozen Lake Champlain to the air force base in Plattsburg, NY for interviews with a psychiatrist, Catholic chaplain and commanding officer. They deemed that I was “sane, morally committed and respectful.”

Soon after two letters arrived. One offered me a fellowship at Norway’s cancer center in Oslo, the other was a brief ruling by the Secretary of the Air Force: “You have not demonstrated the sincerity of your moral and religious beliefs. Report for active duty July 1.”

I was crushed.

I located the only selective service lawyer in the state, and the AFSC contacted the Senate Armed Services committee to retrieve my ‘pentagon papers’, which revealed a progressive series of rubber stamped rejections all the way up to the top.

My lawsuit went to Federal court and I finished my residency under a legal cloud with a wife, two young sons, no job, no income and no judicial response. The docket said five more months. Desperate, I wrote the judge asking only for timeliness in his judgment so that I might plan my medical future.

He ruled in my favor four days later. The Air Force gave me an Honorable Discharge, Nixon resigned and we moved to Norway." - Jack Beecham

Matt Damon recently stood for what he believes... in this powerful speech he speaks of a movement towards a global interdependent disobedience.

In the words of Gandhi:

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”  

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem.”  

“If I had no sense of humour, I would long ago have committed suicide.”