It’s been 5 months since I’ve done a reflection post.
These are where I like to give some quick personal updates, as well as reflect on “ahas” and things that I think are cool and probably don’t warrant their own blog post.
Personal Stuff
Costa Rica wasn’t it
We rented a house in Costa Rica for 6 months with the intention to potentially relocate there if we liked it. There were a lot of factors motivating this idea on both the surface and unconscious levels (as there always is).
On the surface, there was a desire to live in a place where it was easier to be healthy and feel good. I’ve struggled immensely with my health the past 5 years and was hoping that immersing myself in a more natural setting and way of life might move the needle. This is the story I mostly told myself and others.
Somewhere on the spectrum from semi-conscious to unconscious, there were factors spurring the move from anger at parts of the U.S. system, to a desire to avoid certain realities in my life. I knew some of these things, but I guess they were easier to face and own fully while I was down there.
Within the first 3 months, we had two emergency medical situations. This made us feel the pain of not having infrastructure, especially with a young family. We decided to come back early so I could get better care. I took it as a sign that Costa isn’t our place for now. I’m currently back in Austin.
I launched a new business
My new business Conscious Talent has been in the market for 4 months. TLDR we current function like a recruiting firm that connects entrepreneurs and operators who are great at what they do and are also on a consciousness path. We had a great launch, and then kind of a lull, and now things are really starting to pick up.
I love being back in the seat of building a business. After spending multiple years writing a book and immersing myself in the consciousness community, I find returning to the creativity of business very enjoyable. The feedback cycles are much faster and there’s such a broader spectrum of activities and opportunities on a daily basis, compared to staring at a wall of text.
At one point, I was afraid that doing another startup would simply reactivate many of my old anxious company building patterns I’ve spent so much time unwinding. So far, I’m happy to say that largely hasn’t happened.
My book is done
My book Conscious Accomplishment: How To Use Personal Achievement For Spiritual Growth comes out in early October.
Writing it was easy. Editing and iterating on it until I felt really good about it was the hard part.
I can earnestly say I created exactly what I wanted to exist - a guidebook for traditionally ambitious people on how to approach spirituality in an integrated way. They say we create and contribute the medicine we needed, and this feels like the case for me. I wish I had something like this almost 8 years ago when my consciousness journey got serious.
I’ll do some type of “why I wrote this” blog at some point, but the bottom line is I couldn’t not write it. I also believe western culture must transcend the false polarity that we must choose between earnestly pursuing spirituality or accomplishing things in the world. The “house-holder” path is largely undefined in our society and probably what makes sense for most Americans. In writing this book, I’m happy to do my part to support the cause. So far feedback from the advance copy has been fantastic.
**If you know any aligned podcasts that might be a good fit to talk about this topic, let me know**
Myofascial release
In my quest to not be in physical pain all the time, I’ve tried a lot of unconventional health things. My most recent jaunt is John Barnes Myofascial Release. I’ve become a big fan and can see the thread of how it relates to many ideas in the healing world.
I’d heard of myofascial release in my crossfit days, but didn’t really know much beyond that sitting on a lacrosse ball was somehow good for you.
The Myofascial system is the web of connective tissue (fascia) that surrounds and integrates with every muscle, bone, nerve, blood vessel, and organ in the body. It forms a continuous, three-dimensional matrix throughout the body, like an inner fabric that both supports and communicates. When gentle, sustained pressure is applied to restricted or tense areas of fascia, it can release adhesions, restore mobility, and influence the nervous system. A major difference between John Barnes system and many other touch forms, is that they recommend 5+ minutes of pressure or stretching in each area for releases to occur.
Despite the fact that our fascia runs throughout our whole body and weighs somewhere between 15-30 lbs, it doesn’t show up on any traditional imaging. As a result, many people have chronically restricted and tight fascia, causing an immense amount of pain, yet its never diagnosed as a fascia thing.
There’s lots of books like The Body Keeps The Score that point to this idea that we store trauma “somewhere” in our bodies, but that somewhere is incredibly nebulous. I’m pretty certain that somewhere is the fascia system.
I’ve been doing fascia release 30-60 minutes a day for over 2 months, and it’s like working on my consciousness from the outside-in. Instead of using my consciousness to direct my attention in a way to instigate processing of an imprint, emotion or subconscious pattern, the application of sustained touch induces these inner experiences and releases.