Tales of My Travels: The Boy With the Golden Coin

After spending a few days at a farm in the Department of Santander with friends, my husband, Jhonathan and I needed to get back to Medellin to spend New Year's Eve with his family. Our friends were staying at the farm for a few more days so Jhonathan and I used a service they recommended called "Puerta a Puerta" which means Door to Door. It is sorta like a long distance Taxi Service. Since we were in a 5 seat car there were two available spots for other passengers. One was an older gentleman and the other was a young boy, maybe 6 years old. The boy's father was following us on his motorbike. Motorbikes are really popular around here both for traffic and economic purposes. You will see some families transporting their kids and even moms with infants on one of these things. It is crazy to think of putting a baby on a motorcycle with such aggressive drivers on the road, but they don't know (or have) any other way. 

This particular family (the boy and his father) appeared to not be very wealthy. And many families in their circumstances would have had the boy travel the 3 hours of extremely windy roads on the motorbike. But the boy told Jhonny that he and his father had fallen off the bike one time, so the father didn't want to make that trip with his son. I can imagine that finding the money to get this boy a ride was challenging for them. It was equivalent to about $45 US dollars. But the devotion to his son's safety prevailed. This touched me immediately. 

The boy who went by the name of Juan Esteban was the last one we picked up. He sat in the back seat in the middle between Jhonny and the other gentleman. I was sitting in the front because I have a tendency to get car sick. When the boy entered the car, the driver asked him if he gets carsick. (Like I said, the road was really windy). The boy said that he would be fine because his dad had given him a coin to hold tightly so he wouldn't get sick. The driver seemed happy enough with that answer and we were off.

On the ride, Jhonny noticed that Juan Esteban was nodding off so he grabbed his sweatshirt and put it against his own side so the boy could lean against him to sleep. He managed to catch a little snooze before waking up when we were in a very windy part of the trip. Jhonny then saw that Juan Esteban has started to tremble. Jhonny asked what was wrong and the boy said he was frightened. "Why are you frightened?" Jhonny asked. He answered that he was worried about his dad because the road was so windy. Jhonny looked behind our car and saw his dad was still following us. He told the boy his father was fine and was right behind us. Seat belts are not required if you are in the back seat, so the boy was able to easily jump up and see his dad. With his hand in a fist as an expression of victory and relief the boy exclaimed "Si!" ("Yes!"). 

We were still on the windiest part of the trip so it wasn't long before his relief turned to carsickness. (I'm guessing he wasn't squeezing the coin hard enough.) Luckily there was a plastic bag on board so he didn't make a mess. Shortly after his mini explosion we were able to pull over to a roadside market so his father could get him a drink and we could all get some air. I must admit, I needed this break as well. That car ride left me feeling pretty woozy. 

At this point most of the really windy road was behind us and soon we were at a multi lane highway. The boy's father sped ahead of us to lead the way which proved to be a thrilling experience for young Juan Esteban. He was so excited, like he was cheering on his father at a Motocross race. He was yelling to his dad to be safe and was so happy when he thought his dad heard him, exclaiming "Si! Si!" repeatedly. His father led the car to the house they were staying. It was in one of the worst neighborhoods I had been in. Jhonny insisted I roll up my window because thieves will steal the sunglasses right off your face. The driver didn't seem to want to hang around much longer than he needed to either. While I understood the desire to get out of the neighborhood, I did not see darkness as much as I just saw a lot of people trying to live their life. They do not have a lot, but they are very social. Lots of people in the street, getting ready for the New Year celebrations. Jhonny said crime goes up around the holidays. He said it is not that the people are evil, they are just more desperate to have what they see. 

My thoughts can't help but go back to young Juan Esteban. My heart is so with that little boy. He is so sweet and so pure. I have found myself sending him blessings and prayers that he lives a good life. Even if he is in the poor neighborhoods his whole life, I prayer for his safety and happiness. The moment he got in the car with us that morning I knew that I was destined to meet him. Our souls were supposed to spend that time together. 

What to do in a Flash Flood

From the Viva Institute "May your soul guide you"

We are not only awaiting a shift that is supposed to occur on 12/21/12, we are already in it. We have been for some time now. I do not believe that this is the end of the world. But instead I look at it as the end of the world as we know it. We are in the midst of an ascension to higher consciousness and cosmic existence. This is exciting! But since we have been living at one level of consciousness and light for some time many of us are experiencing some growing pains. The Universe and our Souls are no longer just letting us live mediocre lives. We are being guided to change and growth. And with this change comes some fight and struggle. People are losing jobs that don't allow them to live up to their higher nature. Relationships that do not serve our highest good are ending. Many people are in life transitions that they are experiencing as painful. Although these situations are challenging, people are also waking up to the beauty of their souls and making changes in their lives to follow what they would refer to as a higher calling. Light is pouring onto this planet and into many of us.

With this shift it is very important, now possibly more than ever, to look inwards. To pray, to meditate, to seek communion with one's True Self. Because this shift is not really a choice. We are all a part of this Universe. And the nature of this Universe is to evolve. What we do get to decide is if our personal change is evolvement and growth or devolvement and degradation. Regardless of what we decide we do not necessarily get to choose what this process looks like. While our participation does have influence, the force of this change is much larger than just us. And we must respect our place in the greater whole.

As humans we like to know what to expect out of things. So not having control over how things evolve can be frightening. Therefore we often do what we can to resist this evolvement. We can sometimes be successful in staving it off for a while. But the Universe wins every time and change occurs. We are brought to a new place in our life for better or for worse.

Imagine a flash flood happening, sweeping away everything in its path. If you were to get swept up in the flood what should you do to fare the best? Should you try to grab on to the passing trees, fences or posts to prevent yourself from getting swept away? Or should you just ride with the current? If you try to hold on you risk the possibility of other flowing objects crashing into you. You also exhaust yourself while fighting the current, making it unlikely that you will hold on for very long. Whereas if you just flow with the river keeping your head afloat, you will conserve energy so that you may avoid obstacles better. Eventually the flow of the river will slow and even stop. It is then that you can swim your way out. You will surely be in a different place than you were before the flood. But you will have your energy to make a life. 

The shift of 2012 is like the flash flood. It is happening. The harder you try to hold on to where you are the more likely you will have occurrences crash into you and leave you pretty beat up. I am not saying that flowing with the current leaves you pristine without any scratches, but it conserves more of your essence. And when the the shift slows down you will not have lost who you are at the core. You will be able to adapt yourself to this new mysterious place.

There are a variety of ways for you to stay afloat as we ascend to a higher dimension and as the Universe takes us for a cosmic journey. Yoga, meditation, art, more rest, spending time in nature are all ways that work for me. They help distinguish between what really matters and what is just busy work or a distraction from the greater change going on. I used to be very task oriented and made lists to achieve multiple duties in a day. Not that lists are bad, but they were disconnecting me from my inner needs. Because my life allows it, now I just get done what needs to get done and anything extra is bonus. I replace my busy work with lounging. I also soak up outside time as much as possible. Being in nature helps me stay in touch with my own true nature. 

Yoga and meditation have a way of helping us clear out the junk thoughts allowing the useful thoughts to remain. They more importantly have a way of bringing us into the present moment helping to diffuse issues that we thought were much bigger than they actually are.

Take a few moments where ever you are to
take care of yourself.
This is me at the Miami airport. 

The worst thing that we can do right now is be out of touch with ourselves. Be aware of the methods that you use to distract yourself from inner work. Spend time each day recognizing your heart, your soul, your true essence. Remember that it is there. Do not allow yourself to become separated from this essence. Without it we are empty. This is when we are an open vehicle for darkness and destruction. Most people that do awful things do not choose to do these awful things at a soul level. What happens is they (unknowingly) left themselves open to be hijacked by evil to do it's bidding. This is not to say that this person is innocent. But their biggest mistake was losing touch with their true essence and giving up their divine connection to God-given power and love. I hope that you recognize that this is the main point of this blog and this discussion. Do not be apathetic. Be a voluntary part of the shift and all of the amazing things that it stands for. 

Nurture yourself, honor yourself, love yourself, and enjoy the journey! Align yourself with the beauty of your soul. Like I said before, we are not awaiting the shift. It is already here. We have been witnessing it for sometime. Now is the time to allow it in our lives. Participate in it so that you may choose the Light. And grow from it. You just might discover some amazing things about yourself if you do. 

Throwing Caution to the Wind!

Me skydiving in May 2010

After a two year hiatus I decided to jump out of an airplane again. I had learned how to skydive in May 2010, jumped through the summer and into the fall, then stopped jumping that October. I really enjoyed skydiving and didn't intend to stop, but a few things coincided to keep me out of the air: A lack of gear to use, trying to save money, struggling to put in the time, and concern for how repeated jumping was treating my body (specifically neck and shoulders). I never said I quit skydiving. But as time went on the less likely it felt that I would get back into it. Something about that time off allowed fear to take over as the leading cause for not jumping. Naturally fear plays a role in such a sport and it was always present when I jumped. But as time went on between jumps it started to get the best of me.

One of the things that made me realize fear's grip on me was that it was showing up in other parts of my life. It wasn't just keeping me out of the sky but it reared it's ugly head every time my husband would jump. My husband, a professional skydiver and BASE jumper, was well into these sports when I met him and I thought I was fine with it. But a few months before we married he was on a skydiving trip in Dubai and my fear began to really show up. I guess I hadn't truly processed and examined it yet and now this was game time: we were about to walk down the aisle. It was at that time that I had to decide if I was really cut out to marry an extreme sports athlete. If I freaked out as much as I was then, how would I get through future trips and projects?

Now there is a value to having fear. In fact, many people say it keeps you alert and therefore keeps you alive. But my fear was debilitating me in my own life and making me miserable while watching my husband's life. I was afraid of him being away and doing risky activities. But my other option was letting go of the love of my life. How could I reconcile this? Luckily, I could turn to my dearly respected spiritual counselor and she helped me find the right questions to ask. The first step was to be brutally honest with myself.

My husband, Jhonathan Florez, in Dubai - February 2012

Would I be happier without him and his traveling and risk taking? The thought tormented me as I dealt with feelings of its reality.

or

Could I live with trip after trip of feeling this fear? Then that is when it happened: Something about acknowledging the "fear" immediately diffused it.




Suddenly I was not simply in fear, but I was recognizing a lapse in my faith. Since I know that we cannot begin to understand when and why life and death occur, I had a choice: Rather than choosing to not live a life that satisfies my soul for fear that it will be taken away, I began to choose to just live in the beauty of the present moment: a moment that is made up of pure love.

This was the beginning of disarming my fear. After our wedding, I made it through a few more of his trips. My husband went to Colombia for 3 weeks and did high altitude skydives, Peru for 10 days of highly technical BASE jumps and lots of jumping in between. Each trip got better. My fear was still present, but my faith allowed me to live and let him live. Rather than being afraid, I became interested. Not necessarily in jumping, but in living. What I saw my husband doing was living a life he loved and staying very true to his inner guidance.

Acrylic on paper shopping bag. 

So my interest in living brought me to write more and paint more. I also began to meditate more. I continued to practice yoga but what I found in my practice was that I had been missing the mark. In yoga, often less is more. While I knew this, I had not applied it to my life. So I began to take less yoga classes and, in turn, practice more yoga. All of this allowed me to tap into uncharted areas of myself and I began to truly hear my inner voice.

One day, this voice urged me to skydive. I was driving home from work with the windows down. The wind blew my hair and it was then that the urge took me over. That evening my husband was doing ground training with a skydiving student and I listened in. I told my him about my desire and decided if the urge continued for a few days I would consider jumping again.

Five days passed... did the desire remain? 
I started my day with a nice breakfast and fresh juice. I meditated and spent time with Divine Spirit. I then prayed and asked Divine Spirit if skydiving that day would serve my highest good. The answer was "yes". I then heard another familiar voice. This was the voice I had listened to for the past two years. Hearing it in such close proximity to the Divine Spirit was rather revealing. They sounded so different! One pure and peaceful. The other pushy and excitable. One rooted in the divinity. The other rooted in the mind. I felt so blessed in this moment, because distinguishing between the two voices was previously a challenge for me. But in this circumstance it was clear. While knowing the difference comes natural to some, it takes practice for others. It took practice for me. And I am so grateful for that practice. It only made me more confident in my decision to jump.

After my morning meditation I drove to the dropzone. My incredibly patient husband went through some jumping and landing procedures with me then a final gear check. He told me to manifest when I was ready. Yes, that is what it is called: when you want up get on a skydive load you go to an area (like a check in desk) called "Manifest".  This is where you give them a ticket and they tell you what plane you are on. So moments later, I grabbed our tickets and manifested into a purer version of myself. No longer paralyzed by fear. Ready to throw caution to the wind!

The whole ride up was beautiful. I hadn't felt that close to God in a while. So faithful. So loved. So alive. No longer numbed by fear, but open to it. The jump went perfect. My landing was smoother than it ever was two years prior. I have jumped a few more times since. I maintain that my goal is not the jump. My goal is to know myself and to know God. For me, at least right now, jumping is a part of that.

Watch my first two jumps back below!

Video taken by my husband Jhonathan Florez - September 7, 2012