New Paradigm Personal Development

The vibrations, and by vibrations I mean the thoughts, feelings and actions you send out into the universe, hugely determine the world you live in especially your thoughts and emotions, because what you give you receive. This is really a key fundamental truth of the universe. Many people call this the Law Of Attraction. So if your vibrations are high and positive your life will be filled with positive high vibration things, people and places. The external is a mirror of the internal, it really is.

This is why its so important that we do what we are passionate about and what makes us really feel good (as explained in my last podcast).

This is also why its so important to connect with people if you really want to help someone, because its all about the vibrations you have when you are with them that determine the quality of the interaction. If you really want to make someone feel better you simply allow them to access that part of themselves that already feels great, you don’t have to do anything but keep feeling great yourself. If you feel like yo have to fix them or something then what kind of vibration are you sending out to the universe? You are attracting situations in which things don’t work, or in which things or people are broken and need fixing, that need your help. So keep doing what you are doing if you want to continue attracting that.

If you want to attract something different in your life you have to shift your internal state. This is why its so nice to be around people who feel good, because they are not trying to make you feel good, they are just accepting you as you are and feeling good as they are, because thats what they are attracting into the world. If you want to create more peace in the world you have to be more peaceful. You can’t go to anti-war protests and expect their to be more piece in the world, you can’t get angry and expect there to be more love in the world. You have to have love and there will be more love in the world. When you are loving you will be attracting more love in the world.

You have to be the change you want to see in the world. If you want to be happy you have to start doing those things that make you happy now. If you want to be peaceful you have to start doing those things that make you peaceful now. And its not really a matter of doing things that make you peaceful or happy its about simply just shifting your attention, your thoughts, on those things that make you peaceful and happy and then your actions will follow.

In this podcast I discuss the reasons why its important to follow your passion and how to start doing it by calming the fears of the mind.

Timothy Ferris’ simple yet in some ways groundbreaking book the four hour work week made the idea of a cheap to set up internet business an extremely viable path for many, his book and blog have some very clever ideas on time management and business. What I like about Tim is that he really practices what he preaches, his blog now a days is mostly him just having fun and making cool business deals on the side: The Four Hour Work Week

Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It: Why now is the time to cash in on your passions is an amazing book on the necessity of building your personal brand now because business is shifting to a predominantly online world. Gary’s rise to fame is his WineLibaryTV where he just does what he loves; talks about wine, and makes a business out of it.

I was pleasantly surprised by Jonathan Mead’s the Zero Hour Work Week ebook, its my style; direct and full of helpful ideas and resources; its a very how-to e book that doesn’t get bogged down in the specifics. Its free and totally worth checking out. Its key concepts are: Doing what you love, finding and speaking to your tribe, providing value, motivation, and has some great case studies, very well done. His blog the Illuminated Mind is a great place to find new age business material and yet another example of someone doing what they love and crushing it.

So what do these three blogs have in common? They all make a case of living your passion and using the leverage of the internet to build a profitable business.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Andreas-photography

I have a tendency to speak at people instead of speak with people. I have come to realize that a lot of my blog posts have been about how to stay positive or the benefits of a raw food diet but I haven’t really been speaking with my audience, I haven’t been telling stories and engaging. I aim to start adding my personal touch to posts more often, its this personal touch that makes each one of us shine.

By speaking with people instead of at them they are much more inclined to listen to you and trust you. Who wants to just listen to someone telling them what to do all the time? I can tell you this, my habit of constantly trying to speak at people instead of really connect with them has really hurt my relationships. I often feel that I know whats best for someone or how they can overcome all their problems, but really (even if I actually do) by speaking at them by telling them how to do things differently they will never really listen to me.

When I speak at people and try and tell them what to do, usually my nicest friends will nod and say “Yes Wayne that’s some good advice, I’ll probably do it.” and switch subjects and most of the time never actually take my advice, this is a loose loose situation, I lost by not effectively communicating and they lost by not really hearing me and taking my advice and to add to this we both lost our time.

Recently a really great friend of mine finally let me know she had had it with me constantly talking at her (by the way the best friends are the ones who let you know when your messing up). Now I realize that every time I was with her I seemed to be telling her what was probably the best thing for her to do, or think, or eat, or whatever. When she told me this it took about a day for me to understand that if you want people to understand you, trust you and take what you have to say seriously you have to speak with them not at them.

True Connection

The key to speaking with people and not at people is developing connection and empathy within yourself. To really be heard by people we must shift from the attitude of “I have all the answers and you must just listen to me” to “I’m here to connect with you as a fellow human being.” When you connect with someone you listen to them, I mean really hear them and see your shared humanity, see how you aren’t that different from your friends, see how you could easily put yourself in their shoes because you could have easily had been born with their parents and chosen their way of life. You aren’t trying to fix them, you aren’t trying to do anything to them at all you are simply just connecting with them.

When you connect with people you might or might not say anything at all to them, you might not decide to do anything else than listen, and this is OK. Because when you are really connected to someone you will know what is the best thing to say at the best time, but you can’t know the best thing to say if you are only concerned with telling others what to do, basically just yelling. Its much like those people who yell at the top of their lungs in public spaces telling others what god to believe in or whatever, does anyone really listen to him, no not really they might hear him but they don’t listen to him. But what if that guy was to come up to you and start a conversation and really listen to you and develop a connection with you, would you be more inclined to listen to him now?

Tell your story

This is great and all, but how do we connect on the internet or in books or on podcasts where we are not speaking one on one? Tell your story. People connect when they hear stories because it reminds us of our shared humanity, as we all have stories.

When we stop trying to make our points heard is when they really become heard because we allow for it to happen, we are no longer forcing it to happen. So tell your story, be yourself and remember the most important thing is not getting your message across its connection.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by rachel_thecat

As you transition to a more pure raw food diet you begin to let go of accumulated toxic chemicals your body has taken in from a cooked diet. As you detox your body you naturally also start to let go of toxic emotions that have accumulated in the body.

Raw foodists know very well that the experience of emotions are very different on a raw diet than compared to a cooked diet. After most of the toxic emotions have been purified from the body you then start to experience emotions in a whole new way.

When I was eating cooked food emotions seemed to last longer in the body and were less intense, like a slow moving small wave. On a pure raw food diet I feel emotion much more strongly and emotion tends to pass much more quickly than it did while I was eating cooked food. For some people this new stronger, more powerful emotion is hard to cope with, and some actually start eating cooked food in order not to feel these strong emotions. I personally love the increased feeling of emotion because it helps me stay true to my heart. As a raw foodist you can’t do what doesn’t emotionally feel good for a long time because you can’t really hide or mask the emotion under heavy cooked food.

I’m so grateful to have such a strong connection to my emotions, they serve me well they keep me going in the direction that I want to go. To be strongly connected to our emotions is such a great gift as our emotions are our guidance system in life. Our emotions let us know if what we are thinking and what we are doing is really the best thing for us.

Let me give you an example of how increased sensitivity to emotions really can really help take your life to the next level. I, not to long ago, was working an office job doing work that I was skilled in but not something that I was really passionate about, and honestly probably could have stayed there for a lot longer if I my hearts emotions weren’t so strong pulling me to really follow what really made me happy. See I just couldn’t stay there any longer because my emotion was so strong, and only 3 weeks later I can honestly say that my life is many many times better that I made that decision. To be connected strongly to your emotions is such a great gift, by following your emotions you really start to follow a life of bliss, a life of real inspired happiness. The beauty of being a raw foodist is that it becomes so easy to follow your emotions because they become so much more apparent.

A life lived in emotion, following emotion is a great life lived, its a rich vibrant life. A life lived without emotion, in fear of emotion, or with little emotion can be a dull montaneous life in which real happiness and fun has a hard time appearing. It does take courage to start living in emotion, but let me tell you its really worth it, and why not? Why not have a life filled with exciting contrast, vibrancy and newness? Living a life with emotions turned on is like watching a movie in high definition. So I say yes to a life of abundant vibrant emotion.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Nganguyen

I have been on a raw food only diet since the summer of 2007 and have never felt better, in fact I never even knew that these levels of clarity, energy, emotional freedom, and strength were even possible until I switched to a all raw diet.

What is a raw food diet?

A raw food diet is one that consists of all raw foods, any food that is cooked over 104 degrees Fahrenheit is not considered raw. By definition a raw diet does not necessary exclude meat and dairy products many raw foodists eat raw goats cheese or raw milk on occasion, and there is a whole movement (called the primal diet) which considers raw meat to be a healing food. I personally do not agree with eating any animal product raw or not and follow a strictly raw vegan diet (the most popular raw diet is raw vegan).

Why a raw food diet?

Raw foodists tend to give varying answers as to why they eat a raw food diet; some quote scientific literature that states when you cook food you loose most of the vital nutrients contained in the food. Generally the scientific raw food argument is that vital enzymes are damaged in cooking food that makes cooked food nearly nutrient-less compared to its raw counterparts and therefor harder to digest and assimilate in the body.

In general raw foodists claim a very significant increase in overall health and well being in all areas of their life: increased mental clarity and increased emotional well being, increased stamina, increased eyesight, increased overall physical health, hightened senses, emotional freedom, weight loss, and a leading cause for the cure of many diseases including cancer have all been attributed to a raw food diet by a significant number of people.

After over two years of eating a purely raw vegan diet I absolutely affirm that this diet has given me physical health, mental clarity, emotional happiness, and a feeling of deep connection that I ever knew was possible. I attribute much of my success in all areas of my life to my diet. I absolutely feel so divinely great every single day that what the general public describes as sickness and dis-ease feel like distant memories to me. Eating a raw food diet is definitely one of the most amazing things to ever happen in my life.

What specifically does a raw vegan eat?

I really like how David Wolfe in his book The Sun Food Diet Success System segments raw food into three categories: fruits, greens and fats. The most obvious raw food is the fruit. Fruits include all the normal things we think of as fruits like bananas and apples and even some things we don’t usually think as fruits like avocados and tomatoes. In fact there are so many different varieties of fruit in the world that you could have a new variety of fruit every day for the rest of your life and not try the same fruit twice! Greens consist of all those green leafy vegetables you see at the farmers market including: spinach, lettuce, kale, collard greens and etc. Fats consist mostly of nuts and seeds including cold pressed virgin oils. Obviously listing all the possible fruits, greens, and fats you can eat is beyond the scope of this article but generally just have at the produce section of your local supermarket or health food store most of the items there are probably raw.

What doesn’t a raw vegan eat?

Generally a raw vegan will doesn’t eat anything processed, at least not in the conventional way. No rice cakes or peanut butter, no ice cream, no pizza, no sugar, no bread, no eggs, no milk, etc. A raw vegan diet is actually pretty easy to understand if the food doesn’t contain whole raw foods then it will not be eaten. A general rule of thumb is if the food you are eating can’t be found in the produce isle or isn’t a combination of things made from the produce isle then it probably isn’t raw.

The key to success in a raw food diet.

My general advice to anyone who wants to experience the magnificent results of a raw food diet is to simply start where they are by adding more and more raw food into their diet until they are eventually eating 100% raw food. As for what types of raw food to eat, how much and how often I usually recommend David Wolfe’s book as great place to look to find these answers. But generally I recommend you follow you listen to your heart and body. Douglas Grahm a very influential raw foodist loves to say that the key to success in the raw food diet is simply more bites. Since raw food generally isn’t as calorie dense as cooked food one simply needs to learn to eat more to receive the same amount of energy they are used to on a cooked diet.

A raw food diet does not consist of a simple apple for lunch and medium salad for dinner, this is the cooked perception of raw food. A raw food lunch might be a salad 3 diced apples 2 pieces of celery, a bag of washed spinach, some minced parsley, some raw almonds with a generous amount of spirulina sprinkled on top with a raw fruit dressing. Or it might be something more simple like 5 persimmons spread out over 2 hours (which is what I had today for lunch). In general the key to success in raw food is to get over the idea of small portions of fruit and vegetables and to eat really as much as you feel good eating (which means a lot).

A raw foodist though most be aware of how many nuts and seeds they are eating as its easy to eat to much of this food. Raw nuts and seeds hold many nutritional benefits but are hard to digest and are easy to overeat.

This post has been very general and should act as an introduction to raw food, I plan on posting much more on this amazing diet including topics such as; superfoods, the raw food diet and relationships, how to be a raw in a cooked world, and other general raw food techniques as they come up. Be sure to check out the raw food category for more posts on raw food.

May your diet uplift you and bring you happiness.

“Winter Velvet” by ebergcanada.

Wu Wei which is usually translated as action through inaction is one of my favorite Taoist terms. Understanding this simple, yet profound, idea has helped me focus on those areas of my life that are most important and yield the most results. Let me explain how by not doing those things that are unimportant and don’t lead to the accomplishment of your goals you are actually doing more than if you did them.

When you take the time not do unimportant things you actually accomplish more than if you took action on those unimportant things. By not doing that which is not in line with your goals you are actually creating much more time and space to do that which is in line with your goals; there is plenty of action in inaction. By consciously choosing not to do those things that are not in line with your goals you are creating the life you want to live, you are practicing Wu Wei – action through inaction, you are becoming extremely efficient. Many people think that to be more efficient you have to accomplish more in less time, but my view of efficiency is accomplishing less in less time, or in other words accomplishing those items which are vitally important to your goals and nothing else.

By choosing not to take action on those things that are not in alignment with your goals you are actually doing more than if you did them and also that by having more time in your life.

Another important reason to do less is that it gives you time to meditate on that which is really important to you. Its very important that we realize what our goals are so we can build a solid foundation for our life.

In our modern world of to-do lists, agendas, calendars, etc, its vitally important that we set apart time everyday for inaction, by doing nothing we learn that which is most important and do just that. Accomplish those things that are only important to your goals and watch your real productivity increase.

photo credit: Seattle Miles

Your only real job on while on this planet is to enjoy your life.

Life is meant to be a joy, its our life after all, we should spend it as happy as possible, always reaching new levels of happiness previously un-experienced.

How do we experience the next level of joy in our life? If you think that you have to work hard and do lots of things that you hate in order to be happy you are living a life of means to an end. My question to all those people that are living a life of means to an end is, when will the end become now? When will you actually experience your end, when will the means pay off? Living life as a means to an end will never pay off, because the end never comes its always in the future and never now.

The key is to stop living life as a means to an end, and start living life as if you already have what you want. As Ghandi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” When I first heard that quote it changed my life, because it absolutely makes so much since to me. If you want to be happy you have to start doing things that make you happy now. Living a life as a means to an end will leave you unhappy 95% of the time because you are constantly doing something you don’t like for a short lived result.

If you want to be happy most of the time you have to do those things that make you happy most of the time. It takes courage and clarity to do what makes you happy most of the time, but life is so much better when your happy.

So start doing what makes you happy now, realize that by living a life as means to an end can not give you long lasting sustained happiness. Realize that you must be the change you want to see in the world; you must be happy now.

Be happy and enjoy life.

I have recorded my first podcast. I know its a little rough around the edges but I will get better better and better as I practice more.

I almost ditched this recording because it has a lot of “ums” and “likes” but I feel there are some really strong points in the recording that people could really benefit from.

The main points this podcast goes into are authenticity and positivity. I touch on how its a common theme in the conscious community to say act happy when you actually aren’t and how its actually much more important to be authentic than to be afraid of putting negative vibes out. I also touch on the notion of positivity as a state of being that is a result of loving and accepting yourself. Positivity as a state of being can not be had, you can’t try and be positive, being positive comes from loving and accepting yourself as you are right now.

So check out the podcast and let me know how you like it in the comments section below.

photo credit: JPhilipson

The holidays often have us visiting relatives and old friends. When we encounter these kinds of reunions, we sometimes realize that we might not have a lot in common with these people anymore, and we can even realize that, honestly, we probably wouldn’t choose to spend our next weekend with these people. So how do we make the best of situations in which we are around people we would rather not be around? By quickly connecting on a deep and honest level with those we are around, regardless of how we feel about them, we can instantly transform the situation from one of unhappiness and pain to one of joy and peace.

To instantly connect with someone, resist the urge label and dismiss by learning to look past who one appears to be, and seeking out who they really are. An easy way to instantly connect with someone is to look deeply into their eyes for at least 3 seconds before you even say a word – this will build rapport and trust. Learn to look at people beyond their age, gender, occupation and other external appearances, learn that these traits are not at all as important as you think (because labels don’t really tell the whole truth anyway), and you will have a great relationship with everyone you meet.

Once conversation starts, remember that even if they identify themselves as a “staunch conservative” or a “harebrained liberal,” they are much, much more than that. Everyone is much much more than who they say they are, what they look like, or who you think they are! If you take this attitude, you will surly connect with everyone you meet instantly, and all of your interactions, no matter if they be with your scary mother-in-law or with your best friend, will be filled with peace and joy.

Enjoy your new deeper connections, and Happy Holidays!