Jason Frahm

The energy of competition then becomes, “There is not enough for all of us, so I am here to win it all!”  Quite a statement for me, who chooses to embody unity awareness, love and compassion:) The competitive brain wants to then beat every other yoga teacher, healer, etc… that part has to be number one! 

The sense of separation, me and not the whole becomes quite clear in this past example.  I am number one and then comes everyone else. The ultimate declaration of the self-serving part of the ego. From the wholeness perspective, competition is separation.  There is no-one to compete with since we are all part of the One, the whole.  Competing is a fracturization of embodying Oneness.  Rather than treating your brother and sister as yourself, as a part of God, in competition we separate and must dominate over the other.

Selfishness is embedded here.  It is about me first........Me-Me-Me-Me!  What else needs to be said?

The short sightedness simply is focusing on the importance of winning.  Yet, at what long term cost to who we are or what we are becoming?  Due to my competitive reinforcement as a child, I am graced with many opportunities to unwind these seeds that separate me from the natural state of divine love, compassion, and oneness.

This little thread is not about bashing competition.  This is about brining awareness to the snags that often come with competition.  Enjoy a healthy game of tennis and celebrate what you and your partner on the other side of the net put into the game no matter who wins or looses.  If your son looses a match, still go out for ice cream and acknowledge him for all the effort he put into the match. 

Is there not a way for us to play in this game of life without having opponents or enemies?  Isn’t it time to let go of sides and see humanity, nature, and consciousness as our friend rather than fo?  

Everything has changed since meditation. Before I began the meditative journey, I was victim to the winds of circumstance. I was happy when I got what I wanted and different shades of miserable when I didn’t get what I wanted.

Once there was a ripple in my lake, the waters could be rocky for days or even weeks or months. My lake might have seemed still from the outside, yet the inner tumult often remained long after the storm. I was bound to the “Matrix” and didn’t know it!

At the edge of my 27th birthday my heart was flattened by a girl for a second time in life. My girlfriend, Maya called it quits since I refused to meet her timeline for marriage.

I was abandoned without a place to live (I was primarily living at Maya’s place and not really welcome back at the flat of my housemate, Kolbe who was angry and jealous of my relationship with Maya.) Too, I was jobless with dwindling resources and credit.

The night after the break-up I slept in my 95’ Grand Cherokee... my first brush with homelessness. I woke up the next day anxious, devastated and scared.

What was I to do?

Fear as the driver, I negotiated one last month living with Kolbe which assured me to tip-toe around many unresolved issues with my gay roommate. Yet, this discomfort was far preferable to sleeping in the back seat of my Jeep.

I fretfully anticipated the same anxiety attacks may come back. A year and a half previous to this, I was fired from my medical sales job. I wanted to leave the misery I experienced in that job, yet my acting hobby was far from supporting me.

Allen Medical was not interested in waiting for me to figure out my life so i could aptly perform in the job. They justly fired me. I wanted this, but was unaware of my attachment to the paycheck and my identification with the job. Shock, Fear and Shame rabidly overwhelmed me.

Soon, I was so anxious that I could barely speak a word without clamoring for a shallow gulp of air. Each gulp of breath would barely afford me a half a sentence. The anvil on my chest was was unbearable. Inside, I was clamoring for a sense of security without a paycheck to hold onto.

This coffin-like experience continued for several weeks. After the third week, I guessed that I wouldn’t die from the failure and that it was time to shake of this anxious paralysis. From there I began to rebuild my identity and slowly my breath returned.

Yet, here I was after Maya… rocked again. This time though, I knew I must act quickly because my resources were on empty… I needed a job, money and a place to live in a month. I declared that I was not going back to the hell of paralysis ever!

I sped though medical sales interviews to get a “real job” and landed a solid six-figure biotech sales job in three and a half weeks.  Two days later,  I manifested a new roommate and a condo in a bustling part of the elite area of Brentwood with the new job credentials and every cent I had left in the bank. I was out of Kobe’s on the 29th day. A lot of change in that month August!

Things were looking up, yet, I could not unravel a new symptom that had arrived since my latest shake-up... my belly had doubled in size as though I had swallowed a balloon filled with helium. My voice was higher, but I felt like I was sinking.

The only relief from this distention was leaning my stomach into any hard rounded surface I could find like a table or counter edge to open up the space around my mid-section. This was the only way I could achieve a few seconds of breath and relief.

This eternal bloating stubbornly remained through my next six-month relationship and the ensuing heartbreak. Even though I had some material security through this, I didn’t know what or who I could rely upon, including myself. The walls and identities that I had been constructing my whole life were splintering again rapidly.

Something had to change! I seemed to be shifting in a positive manner, but it wasn’t quick enough to stave off the scream from within. Yes, I already had my first awakening moment where I realized that I was responsible for every high and every low in my life which transformed the victim within me. This happened shortly after the breakup with Maya.

I was reading many spiritual books. I was fascinated with anything that had to do with growth and expanded perspectives of God beyond the confines of the Christian teachings. I figured there must be something more to discover since I was still experiencing such uncomfortable life symptoms.

What could it be?

About a year later, I was introduced to meditation... something to transmute the confines of the mind and ego. I pledged to a forty-day commitment of daily meditation which has become an essential part of my daily life.

There wasn’t one big Wow moment that changed everything including the eternal swell in my belly. Though, within three months of daily communion with “Presence” (meditation), what had been there for over a year and a half disappeared almost unnoticed. At the time I didn’t put the two together, yet in reflection I am now able connect the dots.

The fears, attachments, denials of responsibility and identifications to things outside of me had been so “log jammed” up that when the gates finally opened, I was flooded with an ocean of unprocessed emotions, unsubstantiated beliefs and life disappointments.

My belly became my teacher reminding me when I was on course (with space and breath) or off course (bloated and restricted). It guided me to seek help to unravel what I did not understand in me and in life. Slowly, meditation guided me to living “With Space” within me.

Meditation has piloted me to inner trust, eternal joy, peace, and an unending well of love and acceptance for what is that I’d never known. This gift continues to grow. The challenges in life still come; I’ve been severanced out the next job, been broken up with several times more, lost all of my assets twice more, almost died in a motorcycle accident, etc.

The list of tests goes on and surely not to top the life challenges in your journey. Yet, through daily meditation, guidance of a spiritual master and living consciously  “The Power” within me that is Source is awakened and unscathed by the highs and lows of life.  This “Power” continues to blossom freeing me from the confines of suffering and the ego.

This same power is within you. I invite you to hop on the meditation journey and awaken this fountain of youth, eternal joy and infinite wisdom within YOU!

For more information on Spiritual Retreats and Meditation Retreats USA, please visit: http://www.jasoncfrahm.com

I stand at the base of a the peak Umantai in the high Andes knowing what is to come next will not be fun. Andreas (my shamanic guide) ushers me into a glacier lake that sits on a precipice where peak after peak paints the golden horizon. The air is thin and crisp at 17,470 feet and bites at you when the Sun ducks behind the silver-lined, fluffy clouds.

I am told to stand naked in the icy lagoon below a jagged boulder that sneaks out several feet from the bank. I huddle near the boulder anxiously waiting for the team of three shamans to get their sh** together for the ceremony... I'm and m edgy and ready for this initiation to be done (not really the attitude to have in this important moment)

Somehow, I feel in the dark while it’s the middle of the day. I intend peace, but the icy feeling that rises through my body feels like mini switchblade slashes deep below the epidermal layer of my skin. I knew these were serious rights of passage in the pre-Incan tradition I was to receive so I prayed to calm.

I deepened my breath from the shallow pant that spat out of my lungs and called in my support system of love, light, and oneness. It was my will and grace standing tall against the fury of the elements and the unknown of what pain was to come.

The shamans whisked over quickly, chanting and rattling in a plume of incense. Andreas called me forth with fierceness and clarity. He dumped gallons of glacier water over my head and shoulders to clear me of the chatter between my ears.

I tried to breathe and chase back the desire to leap out of the unforgiving waters.  There was no choice for me but to stay, yet could I remain centered while in the midst of the onslaught?

Andreas whipped me with eucalyptus branches and pounded my head with a shamanic altar full of magical stones called kuyas. My left knee buckled. I didn’t know how much longer my legs would hold.  Suddenly, a warmth shot through me, a geyser of determination to remain steadfast. The transmission of power continued!

Seconds, or minutes later, I’m not sure… I was beckoned to the shore.  The youngest of the three rushed over and wrapped me with four alpaca ponchos.  Incense was shoved underneath the mound of me.

Andreas commanded me to absorb the incense for balance and integration. I inhaled the clouds of smoke as best I could.

Andreas whispered in my frozen ear, “No dudar, no dudar, no dudar amigo.”

A fountain of fury shot from my belly. How dare he assume I was doubting!  Here I am thousands of miles from home, in lands I little know, with my life in the hands of men half my size, and a mountain language I can’t decipher, yet here I am standing tall. Well, kind of in this heap of ponchos.

My ego felt brave and was convinced I did not doubt (dudar). This felt like the final straw to a long line of tests I was through with. I was done and could not wait to get back home.

The next day we were back in the arms of civilization, Cusco, the metropolis of the Andean mountains. I flew to Lima where I had seven hours before my next flight. My anger softened, yet my resolve to end my apprenticeship with Andreas was clear. He did not know how clear I was!

Three hours before my flight I get in line a bit nervous. I did not have such good luck on the way out from the states. I was gifted a Delta buddy pass ticket which put me near the end of the line of standbys on the one Delta flight a day out of Lima.

On my trip out it took me all day to get from LA to Atlanta, I missed my flight to Lima, had to stay the night in Atlanta with $150 for a hotel room, then added another $200 for a new flight to Cusco. This cut out all of my savings with this freaking buddy pass, minus the convenience.

In line for my return I worried that I was bound for the same struggle as before? Once I was tagged as a standby, I was shuffled to another line.

I stood in front of the desk attendant and nervously asked, “So, how’s it looking for me today?”

I had to get home! You know what it’s like. You’ve been beaten up by the elements, no bed for a week, branded with everything you don’t want to know about yourself, then thrashed by three shaman with eucalyptus branches! The last thing I could stand is being stranded in the pits of Lima for days.

The attendant fingered her computer keys with rapid speed, “Well, we have a seat for you, but we’re going to wait to check you in since you have luggage.  Come back in two hours and I’ll let you know if we are over our weight capacity or not since we’re freighting a lot today.”

My heart leapt when I heard there were seats and crashed just as quickly to the impending answer. I positioned in a chair with the ticket counter in eyes view.

The minutes crept by. My mind processed schemes to assure getting on the flight that would take me home to my comfortable bed and my favorite foods.   “I could leave my bag with my friends mom in Lima, I could check it at the storage place, call her and pay her for her troubles later. I could buy a return ticket home.  Hmmmmm. How many days could I be stuck here? I’ve gotta hit the pavement running tomorrow.  What if I asked another passenger who has a real ticket to check my bag? There’s gotta be a way.”

A light bulb clicked inside.  Jason, “No dudar, no dudar, no dudar amigo!”

Andreas was right. I was drenched in doubt and planning escape routes with something as simple as waiting for a ticket on a buddy pass. I’ve must let go of the excess luggage in my head. How many other crevices of doubt reside within me I wondered?

This was my opportunity to shift the embedded groove of doubt within me. For the next hour I envisioned the steps of getting on that plane, having the perfect seat and returning home with ease and grace with plenty of time before my planned workshop.

Every time my thoughts went to something other than success, I reconfigured the vision to ease and grace. I was sure to be on this Delta flight.

Thirty minutes left, my eyes traveled the shiny tiled airport floor where a Japanese man strutted towards the Delta line. He was carrying a sign like many do when they have an entourage. My eyes bulge as I take in the line of Japanese tourists.  The old couples were not too much weight, but my goodness, each one rolled two suitcases that were larger than them!

The doubts rushed in to test me!  I was almost overcome with the surety of failure.

I heard Andreas again reminding me, “Do not doubt, do not doubt, do not doubt my friend.”

I steadfastly remained with my vision of boarding that flight against the greatest odds, where a nearly over-weight flight was ushering in 50 Japanese tourists with their 100 monster bags.

The two hours were up. I rushed to my ticket agent with warmth and trust in my eyes.  She already had my ticket ready for me. The amazing ticket agent tacked my pack with the LA destination ticket. I was going home!

Each step from there was a majestic dance with a new power discovered within me. I may not always get what I want, yet I can trust in the power that is within me and everywhere.  This time the doors opened widely to me. I smiled to the final attendant before I boarded the 747.

“Thank you”, I said to each person with true gratitude!

I had an aisle seat and it looked like there was no one next to me, 33D! I loved that seat like no other!

Just as I was preparing to nestle in I felt a tap on my shoulder as a woman butchered my last name, “Mr. Frahamm, Mr. Frahamm, could you come with me?”

No way, I’m on the flight. How could this happen now?  “But...”, I fumbled with my words.

The stewardess stiffly smiled, “This way please Mr. Frahamm.”

I gathered my veggie sandwich, Bose headphones, iPod, beeswax earplugs, eye cover, black toe socks, crescent spongy airplane pillow, and my overhead luggage, then meekly scuffed forward to the front of the plane. A flash to once more trust in the journey and myself boosted me several inches as I continued down the aisle. So be it I thought.

We arrived to the front, but the airplane door was closing. The last attendant that I graciously thanked stood on the other side and winked at me as the door sealed.

I looked to the stewardess who smiled and opened up her hand, “1A Mr. Frahamm”.

Somehow-someway in queue I went from being considered collateral cargo to the A-list in first class. How sweetly ironic!

I can’t say that when you hold your highest vision for yourself and others that it will usher you to first class. The fruits become secondary.  What becomes even more important and empowering is our trust in the journey that unfolds as well as in ourselves.

Who would you rather spend time with the one who lovingly holds the highest vision for you and all involved or the one who always just gets what he or she wants?

This story is a simple invitation to observe our thoughts. Our minds run rampant and often feed the negative stories that roll through our heads. Notice when you have a situation where you have an attachment to the outcome and no one yet knows what will happen. Where does your mind travel?

Do your thoughts repeat the mantra of negativity or prepare to counter the perceived negative outcome with a reaction?

Do your thoughts naturally meander in the garden of the desired outcome or even fuel a higher possibility? Where’s your default?

What would it take for you to live in "trusting what is"?

To live in harmony with Self and the Universe we must hold the vision of the highest possibility for all involved and even acknowledge that we do not know what’s best for anyone including ourselves. Then we reside in the energy of “be as it may ~ whatever comes to pass, is divinely perfect.”

If you want to explore more details on Shaman Retreats in Peru, Luxury Retreats in Peru etc, kindly visit: http://www.jasoncfrahm.com/

I was 32, newer to teaching yoga and all the attention i received from teaching at a leading studio in Venice, California. Soon into my first official class at Sacred Movement I was already in trouble. I was invited on a date by a woman with jaw-dropping beauty and a unique element of intelligence and sense of humor.

As my new student, Candace with shyness, courage and a sweet-crooked smile asked, “Would it be ok if we went out on a date. I mean is it ok being your student and would you be interested?”

As her words gently stumbled out of her mouth I felt an inner excitement and elation at the possibility of dating this woman. I tried to mask it as much as I could to remain somewhat composed and perceivably cool, but inside I was already a goner.

I warmly replied, “It would be my honor to go on a date with you.”

I later shared with her my two rules that i created with dating students so to maintain a safe space inside and outside the yoga room. First, I would never ask a woman out from the studio. And second, if I were to be asked out by a student, my intentions must be pure in courting a committed relationship rather than using my new role as a way to indulge in short-lived sexual thrills. (I guess I share this as a side-note of my story due to the vast lack of integrity I’ve witnessed over the years by some male yoga teachers)

My first date with Candace lead to a passionate night and continued into the next day in bed. Our next several weeks patterned much like our first night, hot and unending. I thought I was in love and it seemed Candace was still finding her footing.

In this awkward dance a role reversal ensued. I quickly took on a role in the relationship that I had yet to experience in my 32 years… I began to move as the disempowered feminine holding onto every word and nonchalant promise Candace offered during sex or the noncommittal calls and messages she would often leave.

I became to take her heat of the moment “I love you’s” as a committed promise that we were meant for each other and that we were sure to live the rest of our days together while the rest of her actions stated something far different from commitment. I waited for her calls, I pined for the next invite to her home, I anticipated her next request or faint desire in the hopes that she would realize how great we were together. Who was this person? I had never encountered this side of me.

I usually was the guy fending of the requests of the woman i was with to be more intimate, to be more communicative, to please show that I love them, etc. And now, I was the one begging for more demonstrated love and attention.
Candace of course played the role ever so well as the “old me” the one available, but not too available. She was cautiously caring, yet maintained the upper hand.  From an outside view Candace wore a sign that screamed, “You need me more than I need you, so watch your step -  my boot is use to kicking!”

After a few months of the roller coaster ride of of extreme highs of love, sex, and hope of the future, we broke up for the first time. You may know this story… there is always a break-up in this kind of relationship and of course there is usually a getting back together.

Well, we did get back together and then broke up again one more time. Both times the breakup was painfully piercing, devastating and world crushing. For the next several months I scuffed around in a haze unable to feel joy of any kind. My yoga classes were miserably bland… I could barely muster a shift of pitch in my voice (It sounded like Steven Wright, the comedian teaching my class with out the humor).

I remember being devastated like this the year after I graduated from KU when my college sweetheart of senior year left me for her ex. That took me almost a year to recover from. At 32, I had fallen just as hard. What had happened? What was the common thread?

Of course, we all know it is not easy to break up with someone, yet it is far worse to be broken up with for most of us. The fears of being abandoned, not being good enough and being alone jack-hammer  within our psyche. Certainly, these fears must be addressed and healed for us to realize true happiness within. Yet, it still doesn’t seem to fully answer why I was so helpless in the relationship and for many months afterwards.

It took another heartbreak and the first date with a new suitor before I came to the precipice of this wound. Positive affirmations and communicating boundaries were merely band-aids to this gaffe. There had to be a shift in my inner consciousness.

On my 33rd birthday I had invited a new potential love, Sonia to join me for my birthday party. I must have been sending out the loudest sonar waves that screamed, “I’m a puppy dog and am extremely insecure, please don’t leave me!”

One of the running jokes of life is the law, “What we resist, must persist”. And that’s what ensued. Sonia seemed to be unconsciously repelled by my insecure sonar into an afternoon of flirting and long talks with a tall-handsome friend of mine.

I knew it was happening and I knew it was Choosing YOU in Relationship!me creating this. I was trying everything I could to muster up the old Jason, the game player who remained calm~cool~collected amongst all the games a lady of interest might play. I may have maintained the guise to my friends around me, but I no longer could fool myself into believing I didn’t care.

I could not wait to leave, but it was my party and it lasted from noon til midnight… truly torture. When I arrived home from my friend’s place in Malibu where we had the party, I plopped down on my meditation cushion and sobbed. I felt so broken and helpless.

From a place of complete despair a roar swelled inside of me, “No More!”

No more victimness, no more games, no more disempowerment, no more pettiness, no more waiting, NO MORE, NO MORE, NO MORE!

I had it with being the controller and being controlled.
I was finally fed up with protecting myself from hurt.
I was no longer willing to loose myself to be with another.
I was sick and tired of following other people’s cracker jack advice on how I should feel and live

For the next hour I chanted “No!” to all the ways I had lost myself in another or surrendered an inner knowing of truth to blindly follow the advice of another. I slashed cords connected to family, friends, lovers and the unknown others who I attached some sort of disempowered hope to or somehow allowed it from them.

The power and clarity moving within me took over. Old life contracts of victimness, guilt, jealously, manipulation and the like were being transformed within me.

Soon the energy of love, truth, empowerment… the Yes to life began to flow naturally through me.

I said yes to loving myself regardless of the circumstances
I redeclared responsibility for mySelf
I chose to make decisions to support conscious living
I embraced the whispers of truth springing from my heart
I embraced my new open-heart while maintaining discernment with who I invite into my domain


The next day I awoke to a lightness and strength that I had not felt for several years. I felt different, yet I knew the transformation would not hold unless I applied it in life. Since then I have never lost myself in relationship again. It has not solved all the challenges of life and relationship, yet the north star of honoring my relationship with Self first amidst the demands of life and relationship now prevails.

How has this improved my life you may wonder? Now I ride side by side with my beloved (we’re on the same path, but riding our own bicycle rather than being two strings wound up into a ball of yarn where we have no idea which string is which - who’s projection is who’s).

This does not avert us from the challenges of life and relationship, yet how we receive and perceive the challenges are much clearer and easier to address. This is the difference between living with contracted-anxiousness in the chest and breathing full unobstructed inhales into the belly. This can continue to expand as one roots more and more into the truth of the moment.

In closing I pose the questions that I hold to myself ever so often to assess if I am on track and living my purpose and following through with my commitments to God, Self and relationships.

What is your umbrella intention? (this is the qualities you choose to live by in every moment regardless of who you’re with or the situation you’re in)
Are your qualities supportive for the betterment of self and the world?
How closely are you living your umbrella intention?
Are you continuing to court this intention while also being kind to yourself when you stumble away from it?
Are you entangled or lost in the story of your life?
Are you lost and entangled in anyone else's story?
Are the people in my life reflecting and supportive of the qualities I choose to embody?
Where is most of my energy focused in a day?
How open am I to change and transformation?
How do I treat myself and others in my head?
What thoughts do I empower… which ones prevail?
What steps can I take to live more consciously, lovingly and truthfully?
And, am I enjoying the ride?

We all have opportunities to grow and stand clearer with the Universe, our Self and those around us. It is worth taking an honest inventory of your life and how you live. What kind of person do you choose to be in life and relationship… empowered with truth or a victim to how the wind blows?

The truth is that YOU Are LOVE, YOU are PEACE, YOU are BEAUTY, YOU are EVERYTHING.

The question is, “Do you know it in your heart, in your cells, in your beingness?”

If you also want to know about Luxury Meditation Retreats and Spiritual Retreats USA etc, Kindly visit: http://www.jasoncfrahm.com/

I shuffle out from the “Moon Room” studio of the Venice exhale still riding on the high of teaching my 5:30 yoga class. I relax into a padded bench with a cup of tea by the front door. I stuff my feet into the brilliant orange Vibram toe shoes that are resting at my feet, while communing with a few students answering questions about meditation.

A few grateful students float by with a “Thank you for class Jason!”

These are the moments that make teaching worth it for me. I feel good because I am seemingly helping those around me, they’re appreciating me and acknowledging the value I bring to them and the class. This feels really good.

An elder student who was not in class sits down with a few us as she removes her shoes and joins in with our conversation. I admit as I am sharing more information, I am feeling a bit puffed up with all that “I know” and how those around me are nodding in agreement with slight awe.

A few students part with more “thank you’s and namastes” and Cindy, the elder student remains as she waits for the next class to open their doors.

The conversation segues into Cindy sharing, “My mom is in the hospital and I do not know what to do. She and I have never gotten along and I think she is dying this time. I’m in the midst of deciding whether to go see her or not and I’m finding that meditation is not really helping me with this decision. Right now, life seems to be giving me some hard choices to make.”

Immediately, my mind is calculating what would be the best answer to Cindy’s dilemma. Should Cindy go see her mother and try to work this out? What is the spiritual lesson and opportunity for Cindy? How can I help? And, what can I share to give Cindy relief while remaining in the seat of the “Wise One”?

After Cindy shares, I too feel her dilemma. I want to help! I know (it seems that I know) that Cindy would be better off if she goes to the hospital and makes amends with her mother. It may be difficult, but I believe that she has an opportunity to break through some old wounds here. And, in her life timeline she will look back and be grateful that she at minimum saw her mother once more and at least tried to forgive.

Then I share, “This sounds like a very difficult situation. I am sorry you’re going through this.”

(pause… I’m thinking what can I say to help Cindy make the “right decision”?)

Cindy seems to have opened a bit with my expression of empathy and listening.

I continue, “I certainly do not know all the water under the bridge of your life with your mother, but it seems like you have an opportunity to heal something here before it is too late. I fear you may regret not at least trying to mend your relationship with your mother before she passes. I imagine if you go see her, you are at least saying to the Universe that you are taking the steps you know to forgive and heal.”
CIndy purses her lips and sits back a bit in defense. For some reason I am loosing her and I am unsure what to do or say next… is there a way to mend this where my suggestions land for Cindy and I remain in a positive light in her eyes?

It’s clear I need to wrap this up quickly, “You probably know what’s best and I am sure you will make the decision that is best for you… Whatever you decide, I know it will work out.”

Cindy was halfway out of her seat and onto another part of the studio by this point. I said goodbye, pretending that I didn’t notice the offense in her posture and departure.

I stumbled away feeling a bit surprised and then disappointed that my suggestions were received so poorly. I churned through this event for the next several days attempting to understand and resolve what had happened with little success.

Fortunately for me, I sit with a yogic master each weekend as Grace unfolded in my favor as I sat in satsang with Shankarcharaya.

Shankarcharaya shared one of his tenets of living consciously in the world this particular weekend, “… We act in the guise of not-knowing. We take action with the idea that we intend what is spiritually best for a person, yet at the same time we do not know what is spiritually best for this person. For instance, we go to heal a person who is suffering and yet if they were not healed one more day, they may reach up for God that next day and then their whole life would be consecrated.

Instead, we go to heal them thinking that is what is best. The problem is that WE DON’T KNOW WHAT IS BEST… WE NEVER KNOW WHAT IS BEST… from the ultimate perspective.

This doesn’t mean we don’t help to relieve suffering on the planet. We can still go to help the person who is suffering intending what is best, yet we act from the knowing that we do not know what is best.”

All of a sudden it landed. Ever since I picked up that first spiritual book that supported me in declaring full responsibility of the thoughts I empower, the words i speak and actions i take in my life, all the spiritual teachers guidance i gleaned and all the application of the teachings I understood,  I began to act and share from a place of authority as though “I know what is best”. What a mistake I have been making!

With Cindy, it didn’t matter whether my advice was “right” or not (for what is right anyway?). What mattered most is that my intention was coming from the place that I knew what was going to be best for her. Maybe, if she went to see her mother, her mother would curse her and reinforce the hatred they have between each other. And for the rest of Cindy’s life she remains scarred and unable to unwind from this final exchange.

And, if Cindy didn’t go to the hospital and her mother passed, maybe the loss and the feelings that ensued would lead Cindy to resolution with the past and the rocky relationship with her mother.

The point is, I don’t know and you don’t know either. It may seem like the best choice would be to go and attempt to heal and forgive while the person is still alive… which is what i concluded at the time. Yet, as I have a wider lens in this moment of life, I recognize that I have relationships where certain conversations will unlikely ever yield resolution with the other person. In those situations I have discovered that the work has yielded much more fruit when I do “the inner work” myself or with an adept guide.

I haven’t seen Cindy in many years nor have I had the chance to acknowledge the mistake I made with her that day after class.

What I say to her now and every other person I have done this to is, “I am sorry that I spoke to you that day with an agenda to help you (or even save you) and to prop up my own ego. The truth is I really do want the best for you and I have no idea what that is. I now see what you were asking for that day was a listening ear of love and compassion. You were not asking for advice nor needed it. I apologize for my ignorance in those moments and do wish you Grace in your journey. Too, I thank you for being an angel on my path. For, I have learned greatly from our exchange after my class many moons ago.

In deepest gratitude, I bow to the Divine in you ~ Namaste!

Amongst the Andean terrain there is an amazing blend of beauty between the peaks, the nature, the Incan Ruins, the thriving indigenous culture and the bountiful sacred sites that span these lands. When you step off the plane in Cusco (the center of the Incan nation), you spontaneously feel the magic percolating in the air.

The views offer one snow capped mountain after another with the valleys bustling with the locals herding their sheep, alpaca and llamas.  The people wave as you pass with kind and generous smiles that invite you to settle into a diverse culture of the Incas and Europeans.

Machu Picchu along with many other phenomenal sites take you to a time when man was united with the natural elements. You will find amazing technologies created so long ago that truly harmonize with the land, water and mountains around them. Here are the top 5!

1. Machu Picchu (of course): One of the new 7 wonders of the world offers many ways to explore the advanced civilization of the Incas amongst the green beauty of the cloud forest in Peru. With over 2000 visitors each day, there are many ways to experience this site. One can hike the Inca Trail with local guides on a 4-day hike to Machu Picchu: ( http://www.incatrailperu.com ).

A second way is to take the Peru Rail into Aguas Calientes and enjoy a stay in the city below Machu Picchu. One can enjoy modest accommodations for under $70 at places like Wiracocha Inn. And, if you prefer to splurge, The Sanctuary Lodge snuggles up right next to the entrance of Machu Picchu (prices range from $600 - $1000 depending on availability).

2. The Sacred Valley: This vast area of beauty is noted for its plethora of snow-capped peaks, bountiful rivers and fertile land. This was actually under the rights of the Incan King because of its lush setting. Here you can hike to many Incan Sites like Moray, a site that was used to test crops at different climates and elevations. Moray looks like a huge UFO planted itself in the earth - a photo: (http://cristimoise.net/2012/10/29/moray-sacred-valley-peru/ )

The local market in Urubamba on Wednesdays is not to be missed giving you the feel of vibrancy of the indigenous culture. Here you can get your fruits and local made chocolate! The place to stay is Las Casitas del Arco Iris (http://www.lascasitasdelarcoiris.com/Flex/Site/Page.aspx?PageID=&Lang=  )

This quaint hotel has eight private bungalows that are amazingly crafted by the local stones and eucalyptus with design of luxury. All of the proceeds go to support the school, medical clinic, orphanage and outreach programs on site. A real treat to stay and know your money is supporting the people of Peru.

3. The Shamans: The power and lineages of the Andean Shaman (healers and spiritual guides of the indigenous) span many centuries earlier than the Incas. You can work with a Pampamisayoc (earth shaman) or you may get lucky enough to find one of the four Altomisayocs (exhalted mountain shaman) of Peru. These men and women have been known to have the gifts to heal incurable diseases, assist in bringing peace to the mind and re-harmonizing us with mother nature.

Many of these authentic shaman work with westerners with a willingness to share how to connect with the wisdom and spirits of Mother Earth (Pachamama) and the Mountians (Apus). The best way to assure a authentic experience may be to go with a western guide who hosts these type of shamanic journeys.

One group offers bi-annual Spiritual Retreats in the Andes with a family of Pampamisayocs and one of the few Altomisayoc. You will find  yourself with a small group exploring sacred sites unknown to the tourists and you experience a full immersion in the traditional healing ways of the ancient Peruvian shaman. This is a unique-amazing trip:http://www.jasoncfrahm.com/calendar/retreats/

4. Lake Titicaca: Visiting the highest navigable lake in the world is a trip of its own. The Peru side offers Luxury Retreats in places like the Liberatador ( https://reservations.libertador.com.pe ) and Titilaka (http://titilaka.com) 

There are many trips out to Uros, the grass islands - village constructed out of grass and literally on grass islands. There are opportunities to have home stays on some of the islands like Amantani: (www.mysteryperu.com/eng/pu_lake_titicaca_2days_homestay_program.html ). Here you can learn how to weave like most the andean women do… a real treat.

And while you’re there,  you might as well traverse over to the other side of the lake into La Paz, Bolivia and explore some of the islands and beauty for this side. There isn’t much luxury in La Paz, yet the magic is said to be on the Bolivian side. Near La Paz, it is whispered that there is a vortex the Ancient Incas traveled through. Few know of its location and I’ve heard the Dalai Lama has traveled there to experience its authenticity. It is a treasure hunt to find this place!

5. The Valley of the Condors: This excursion requires a minimum of 3 days to fly to Arequipa, wheel to Colca Canyon and settle in before the 100’s condors take flight at dawn over the landscape of the mountains and volcanoes. Between your two days days of soaring with the condors you can soak in the four private hot springs if you choose to post up at Aolca Lodge ( https://www.colca-lodge.com ).

And if you have a wild hair you can zip line at 70mph over a river bed and pine trees encased by the jagged edges of the Andes (http://www.colcaziplining.com/index.php )

You will often have to finish with a night in Arequipa before flying out. This is a much calmer city than Cusco. Here, I like the La Plaza Arequipa ( http://laplazaarequipahotel.pe/es/ ). From there you can easily explore the city and enjoy some of the top gourmet restaurants in town.

Try the Zig Zag  for dinner ( http://www.zigzagrestaurant.com ) and the Crepismo for breakfast or lunch (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294313-d1086593-Reviews-Crepisimo-Arequipa_Arequipa_Region.html )

Enjoy an amazing stay while you’re in Peru! Hasta pronto.