My heart grew 3 sizes that day.

That was the day my son Skye was born.

It was a little over 2.5 yrs ago. And my love for you grows with each and every breath I take.

I bow to you and the exquisite nature of your being.

I see your “Light” and stand in awe of Life expressing as you.

I do the work on me, to drop the baggage from the past, so I can be fully present, loving and connected to you.

I take the best of what my father gave me and let go of that which no longer serves me or you.

I vow to keep growing, evolving and adapting as a father.

Thank you for choosing me, my son.

I love you, Daddy

We are vibrational beings.

Our bodies and minds react to other vibrations outside of ourselves.

Including music.

Depending on the frequencies, we can experience completely different brainwaves, emotions and physical sensations.

In other words, music/tones/sounds can either excite us, balance us or calm us.

Related to this, my morning drive to work is Sacred time for me.

I don’t turn the radio on to hear about the chaos of the world, or listen to morning “talk radio” that for the most part is fluff.

And it carries a vibration that affects us at a cellular level.

I first do affirmations and then use carefully curated playlists I’ve created on Spotify to set the tone for the day.

Right now, what’s in rotation is my “Chillmode” set. The songs there keep me cool, calm and collected as I start the day.

The frequency of these songs tend to shift brain waves from Beta to Alpha...from “Doing” to “Being”

Here are a handful from the list:
1. Beginnings by MC Yogi/East Forest
2. Limitations by East ...

Yoga, meditation, affirmations and things of that nature are dumb morning habits.

They steal your productivity and kill relationships.

What?

When I read these words the other day in an ad someone has up on Facebook, my jaw dropped.

Because it reminded me of the way many men still think on this planet.

It’s scary because it’s so antiquated, one-dimensional and steeped in generational b.s. which only knows how to “muscle” your way through life.

And look where that has gotten us.

Essentially it’s an “alpha male” mindset.

And it needs to go away.

This same ad paints a picture that the measure of a man or father, is based on the car he drives, having a "hot wife" and how much money he has in the bank.

Almost laughable.

I get it though, because I used to think that way too...about 20 years ago.

However, it's this type of thinking that's holding us back in terms of the evolution of our species.

SCIENTIFIC study after study confirms it’s actually quite “intelligent” to include these things.

It'...

This photo may simply look like a father holding his son, but it represents so much more.

You see, for the majority of my adult life, I was tremendously insecure about the fact that I have a fair amount of body hair.

I’ve got a lot on my chest and legs, some on my shoulders and a little on my back.

I used to actually hate this about myself.

Even just a few years ago, I never would’ve posted a picture of myself with chest hair.

When I was in high school, I used to be teased about the amount of hair on my legs.

Now for some, they wouldn’t think twice about that. But it stuck with me.

And it seemed everywhere I turned, society supported this. In most ads, you see these hair-less men doing their thing.

I held this up as to what was considered sexy, handsome and strong.

And in my mind, I wasn’t that.

So I did everything I could to hide my hair. I went so far as to wax my chest and trim my leg and arm hair.

And if I didn’t have a chance to do these things, I’d stay covered up.

But with the bi...

What what follows are some hard cold facts of where we are as a country.

• August 3rd, 2019 was the single deadliest day for hate crimes targeting people because of their race since 1921. It was the deadliest day of hate in 98 years.
•  62 People Have Been Killed in Mass Shootings in 2019 Alone.
• Since 1982, an astonishing 110 mass shootings have been carried out in the United States by male shooters. In contrast, only three mass shootings (defined by the source as a single attack in a public place in which four or more victims were killed) have been carried out by women.

This is the environment we are living in right now. It's abhorrent and it must stop. Yes, we need stricter gun control laws...NOW. Yes there are clearly some mental health issues attendant to this type of behavior. That should go without saying. But even more importantly, we need to address and change what I believe is a giant root of the problem.

Wait for it...it starts in the home. Fathers need to do a better ...

Some days I’m far better at being responsive rather than reactive to stuff that comes up in life. In my opinion, one of the primary benefits of a consistent meditation practice. And I owe pretty much all of my zen moments to my 14+ years of meditation because this wasn’t and isn’t always the case).

Yesterday was one of those days when I think I got it right. Let me set the stage for you. Every morning Monday-Friday at 6 & 7 am, I lead my morning bootcamp class down on the beach near Lifeguard tower 26. On this particular morning I lead the class directly out in front of the boardwalk (but out toward the water).

About half way through the 7 am class, I noticed a gal sitting on the bench attempting to meditate at the end of the boardwalk. I could sense that her energy was agitated and something told me that it was due my voice and our presence. As it turns out, I was correct. In total there were 7 of us out there. 5 of us walked by her when the class was over and she said nothing.

But...

It’s in the moments of decision that our destiny is shaped. I’m pretty sure Anthony Robbins said this. I’m a believer in these wise words. Fate is what happens if we simply move about our lives mindlessly. Yet, if before we “do”, we pause, take a breath and think, “how is what I’m about to choose to do or say going to affect not only my own happiness and peace of mind, but also those around ME?”, WE have the opportunity to shape our reality.🙏

This morning I had that opportunity to choose. I was exhausted when the alarm went off at 4 am, so I fell back asleep and happened to wake up 30 minutes later. Now I knew this was going to affect my morning routine a bit. Based on everything I typically like to do, today I was only going to have 10 minutes to either sit in meditation or do the dishes, which were pretty piled up. My morning meditation is everything to me and often sets the tone for “my day”. So this should be a no brainer, right? And in the past when I lived by myself, there would...

Who inspires me? Who are true champions in my eyes? Those of you who have fallen or been knocked down in life, but choose to rise again. Those who choose to see the goodness in others rather than what’s wrong with them. Those who continue to work on themselves so that they consciously evolve. Those who practice kindness, compassion and empathy. Those who still say please and thank you. Those who still see the beauty of life even amidst the difficulties of the day.

Those who wake-up and say “how can I be of service to others and the planet today?” Those who are willing to acknowledge their “mis-takes” and then learn from them. Those who constantly look for ways to unite rather than divide. Those who look to build-up others rather than break them down. Those who start and end their days with gratitude for simply being alive.

🙏
This thing called human life is quite a ride for us all and my goodness, it can be ridiculously tough and harsh at times. Yet I will never stop believing that th...

It seems these days, in our high-tech, low-touch society the art of a "proper" hug has been lost. More often than not, people see/feel themselves as so separate from others...so disconnected. When they hug, if they hug at all, it is just a cold, almost societally imposed way of greeting each other.
🙏
Rather, there can be such a healing force that is passed from loving, caring human touch. It is after all, a transfer of energy from one living being to another...almost an acknowledgment that "I see you"...(to steal a line from Avatar). That is... to see beyond our differences, our separateness and through this "touch" we acknowledge in the other, that at our core, it is from love that we all have come and it is to love that we all shall return.
🙏
I recently learned that within the Buddhist faith/tradition there is a practice called "Hug Meditation". When one hugs another, the hug is sustained for a period of 3 full inhales and exhales. During that time, you hold the person close...close enou...

It’s in the moments of decision that our destiny is shaped. I’m pretty sure Anthony Robbins said this. I’m a believer in these wise words. Fate is what happens if we simply move about our lives mindlessly. Yet, if before we “do”, we pause, take a breath and think, “how is what I’m about to choose to do or say going to affect not only my own happiness and peace of mind, but also those around me?”, we have the opportunity to shape our reality. 🙏

This morning I had that opportunity to choose. I was exhausted when the alarm went off at 4 am, so I fell back asleep and happened to wake up 30 minutes later. Now I knew this was going to affect my morning routine a bit. Based on everything I typically like to do, today I was only going to have 10 minutes to either sit in meditation or do the dishes, which were pretty piled up. My morning meditation is everything to me and often sets the tone for “my day”. So this should be a no brainer, right? And in the past when I lived by myself, there woul...