Two Sides of The Coin: Heads or Tails?

Heads Up: This is not meant to be a feel good kind of read. However, it is meant to be a blatant truth kind of read. Whether you know it or not, the aforementioned topics listed below are what my brain and heart can often get into ruts about. Being that we are all connected, I feel that I am being selfish by retaining it. It is time to release it out of my head space. I am not sure who needs to read this, but as I was typing away fervently last night, I just could not stop. Whether it gives perspective or not, isn’t really my business. If it creates understanding or some kind of shift within, I am happy to have been of help to you in some way.

There are periods in life when I have been in more of a outwardly sharing state. With the outward changes of the world, I have naturally gone into a more observing mode, especially when so many unexpected events in my own life and the external realm have given me nothing but truth bombs to step on as I step away from stepping into bullshit. This has naturally lead me to do one thing: step it up dramatically. What was the inner inkling that caused this movement without any extra head chatter to pull me back? One of the catalysts as we all know is most definitely the election of an unexpected candidate that has naturally taken up the limelight to be seen and heard on a world wide scale. This has been a period of heavy observation, especially from the standpoint of someone like myself who aspires to be a speaker and writer.

If you have taken notice of my silence, it has been due to being in the midst of getting out of my comfort zone, being challenged by perspectives different then my own, and being around individuals with totally different paths in order to come back stronger with well rounded and better crafted view points of the true way of the world. When I first started writing, it was for myself. When I first started to share, it was for my own healing. I would throw chairs, yell, scream, fall on pianos, etc. I did not care about compromising or adjusting what I wanted to share. It was about bringing out the darker, nitty grittier elements that I absolutely love about myself, and humanity.

For the first time, I noticed something start to grow that was bigger than myself. I felt connected in a world where I often felt disconnected. This is how I knew writing wasn’t just a hobby, past time, or something I took lightly. There was a calling connected whether I liked it or not. In the midst of my journey, I noticed myself shifting and changing away from what I initially felt at my core. My core isn’t by any means light hearted. I love the taboo, topics that society so often wants to sweep under the rug, topics that people shy away from and raw, darker material. As I have taken time away to reflect, I realize this is the realm I need to bring my work back to.

One of the problems with our society as a whole and why events have been occurring in the way that they have is due to society’s downplay of emotion. The isolation I mentioned above often comes from feeling at levels most humans cannot quite connect to, mostly because this world is not given a written manual on how to properly feel without finding a way to numb or dismiss what it is we are truly feeling. This numbing and dumbing down of emotion can be seen on a wild scale, otherwise these terrible acts of violence, hate, and separation would not be occurring. The Earth screams for love, yet condemns a loving heart. The people on the planet are saddened by suicide, but are always so taken aback when it happens. The Earth screams for love, yet condemn the happiness of a gay couple. The nation screams for improvement, yet all of the votes go towards who we currently have as our president. Let’s take it back - the problem isn’t the outer world. The problem lays in the thought process of the human mind. The president didn’t vote for himself, the people thought it was a brilliant idea to join votes and collectively vote for him. This leads me to ask: what is wrong with the people? People scream for love but can’t quite see that the individual choice , compassion and decision making is what creates the change. How do you change? You have to feel. You have to become intolerant. You have to literally feel with every fiber of your being the disgust of the present circumstance, and realize that everything you do positively and negatively impacts the greater good. I am bringing it back to a singular level. Yes, it truly does start with you.

For many years, since I was 13, I would drink to numb what I felt. I have now come to a point in my life where I have eradicated alcohol and have seen the numbing effects it has had on my life. I process and feel emotion at visceral levels, which is often “too much.” This “too much” feeling creates the cycle of wanting to numb what I don’t want to feel because it is often misunderstood, creating the feeling of isolation. This general cycle tends to make people passive when there needs to be more action. I get heated. I get angry. I have no qualms about this, and love to find ways to channel this destructive behavior into creative behavior. In my experience, it has only been from a lack of tolerance and disgust where true change can take place. From my observation and what I truly admire, the world needs more tell you how I feel and give a shit later kind of people. We don’t truly grow from hearing nice, sweet nothings whispered in our ears. We grow from heat. Give me something that makes me boil up. Give me something that makes me snap so I can unleash what I have to offer to the world as a whole. What cuts through the symbolic steel like nature of this world? Heat. It may not be the gentle warmth of the sun, but it is a different kind of heat that I personally generate a lot of.

I will start with this:

From a young age, I never liked people. 18 years later, I look at who the majority of people voted for as president and can look back as to why I inherently had this thought process engraved in the front and back of my skull. On the positive side, one thing I was fascinated by from a young age was improvement and progression. I was commonly annoyed by children in the neighborhood, and had the hunch to do my own thing. As an example of something I used to do: I would literally throw balls to the wall just to strengthen my throw and catch when I played softball at all hours of the day and night. During my college years, I had no issue crawling in a hole for 3-4 hours straight just to make sure I could pass my tests in genetics and biochemistry. I bring these examples up for a few reasons. As much of a people person as I can be, there is also the element that doesn’t like people. How could this paradox exist? Two opposing extremes bring a fusion of truth that I wish I could embrace sooner:


Fuck people.

Not all, but most. There are human gems that will inspire, motivate and give space for you to blossom into who you are meant to become. However, I can say that there is a part of me that is speaking from experience. There are no mistakes, and no coincidences. If I could change a few things, I would have embraced the ability to drop and disengage from humans who were just in my life to pass time much sooner. You can be friends with a person for 14-18 years, and realize you two are not as similar as you initially thought. I brought up Donald Trump previously because the situation gives insight into the way of the world that no one openly discusses. If the end result of that election is the culmination of the decision making of humans, something is clearly being pushed under the rug that no one wants to look at. In short, if you really knew how people thought at their core, it could push you to actually stop giving so much of a fuck as if they had their good wishes invested in your dreams.

If you really knew the majority of people don’t care, this understanding could possibly create shifts in your life. If more people took their time to think, “what could I create to make this world a better a better place” instead of the meaningless thought process that will mean nothing when ashes are scattered in the ocean or when you’re rolling in your grave, just maybe, the world would be a better place. When Donald Trump was elected, I quietly thought to myself, “How does the majority of the nation not see that someone who has undergone bankruptcy 7 times, yells grab ‘em by the pussy and cheats on his wife a noble person to rule a country? How is the majority this devoid of emotion?” On the flipside, the beauty and disguised blessing of his election really shot the fact out that you do not really know who is truly thinking what, and quite frankly, no one gives a flying fuck. The focal point is also a pinnacle point of human evolution and growth for the betterment of this society. This brings me back to the child in me that never liked people, and wanted to consistently work on improvement as a human. What is currently happening in the world shows me why I was inherently the way I was from a young age.

There are a rare set of humans who I have had the blessing to come across who possess beautiful hearts and souls. I also have been blessed to come across unions who radiate true love. This is ideally the ultimate dream. However, I have also come across humans who will gladly take a cheater over a good hearted person. Everyone screams loyalty, loyalty, loyalty but has no idea how to handle this when it stares them back in the face. Everyone claims to want love, but is somehow wired to choose a partner that makes them feel like they aren’t good enough. Everyone claims to want a well run nation, but chooses a madman as a president to get the job done. My dislike for humanity has two sides of the coin. On the flip side, there is actually a huge love that feels the need to tell it like it is to so people can cut to the chase of the way of the world so they can fervently move in the direction of their dreams. More than anything, I love seeing people go into the direction of their dreams. You may wonder… what does all of this mean coming from me? Everything your reading is coming from a person who has gone through most of the events that would make a person turn for the worse, but decided to choose the higher road to help others along their journey. Again, the level of emotional disconnection I see and feel on an array of levels saddens me. What I am saying is nothing new. People feel. However, how often do people feel and discuss on a frequent basis? How many people tell it exactly like it is on a frequent basis? What so often happens is, the emotion gets locked up, and thrown under the rug. It then become small talk and the person may think, “I really wanted to say this, but at this point what does it matter?” What I am trying to tell you it is, it does matter. How you feel matters. How do you respond to someone when you know you’re feeling terrible and they ask, “how are you?” Think about it for a second. How many people look the person dead in the eye and say, “I just want to crawl in a hole and die.” That response you really wanted to say turns into “I’m fine.” The problem is everyone is fucking fine. Everyone is always fine. If everyone was so fine, why is all of this atrocity taking place?

One of my frustration with humans lies in the fact that there generally feels like something bad has to happen to teach loss which is sadly frustrating. In terms of genocide, school shootings and suicides: they have been going on for as long as I can remember but of course, only select situations are brought up. I remember being 12 years old when the first main school shooting took place in my lifetime. Why does tragedy need to strike for people to all of a sudden “get it?” It seems to be a string of, “let’s care when something goes amiss, but forget about it when nothing has not come up in a while.” When someone commits suicide, it’s very much the same pattern that comes up. People will murmur in remembrance of the individual, “Wow, I didn’t know so and so had this pain boiling up inside him/her. This is so unexpected.” When these incidents happen, it’s not only a cry for help. It’s a cry for help in regards to the well being of humanity’s future. It’s meant to be an eye opener to pay attention to those who wear a smile and the weight of the world on their shoulders so well. It’s meant to be an eye opener to stop the judgement. For example: Just because someone is stunning, extremely wealthy or has a kind heart by no means does that mean they are problem free. Kind hearts and true compassion come from suffering. It comes from knowing what it feels like to be in such a down trodden place and never wanting anyone to feel like that. It has nothing to do with being a push over. It’s this same type of personality that has it in them to annihilate and crush in order to be humanity’s demise if he or she really wanted to, but instead chose the higher road. It’s a frustrating truth, because this path is extremely difficult to walk on. However, people get upset when someone chooses the easier way out. It brings me back to my first point: what’s wrong with the human condition? What can we change on a singular level in ourselves? In short, less judgement. More compassion. More compassion, especially for the self.

Even though I am not a mother, there is a mother in me that has been pleading to get out my words to the human race. Focus. Focus. On. Your Own. Shit. I don’t care what anyone says about something being hard. I am allergic to these kinds of people, thus why I choose to write and stay away from most people. Everything is hard. Medical school is hard. Starting your own business is hard. Yoga is hard. Acting is hard. Writing a book is hard. True lasting relationships are hard. Giving birth is hard. The majority of people shy away from the nitty, gritty, raw and real. If the human race could work on building these attributes in themselves to accomplish goals, and continuously worked on their dreams and their own shit by dismantling the opinions of so called friends and family, the world may be in a different state. However, the majority of people shy away from who they really are, or what they really want because of some so called caring wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend who in reality, does not give a fuck about your dreams or support them for that matter. There is some family member who claims to believe in you, but when shit really hits the fan, you find out they are not your fans. How about the friends who you never saw yourself parting ways from? How about the unexpected deaths and suicides that you never saw coming?

This pain I feel is just one perspective of the human collective. I bring this up into the air to shed light on areas that are still pushed under the rug. As cynical as I may sound, I know deep down in my heart of hearts that it is the love that pushes me to expel my inner workings in hopes that people will catch on so that we can create major change. Without this, there is nothing. From seeing, and most importantly, feeling all of these truths in the marrow of my bones, it has lead me to go after exactly what I want so that I can give back to this world at a greater level. Be the best you can be to give back. At the end of the day, nobody cares what you do. Don’t get caught up in the misconception that they do. If nobody cares, what is holding you back from doing and going after exactly what is you want that will create change in this world? How can you go with your feeling to create the change you want to see in the world? If you are looking at the reality and saying, “this sucks,” what can you change so that one day you are exclaiming, “this is the ultimate dream!” The only way to get there is to feel on an authentic and real level.

What Does a Coal Under Pressure Turn Into? A Diamond.

            When I first released this project, I had to take some time to let this sit. Sometimes, the best ingredient needed for a recipe is time. No, not thyme. Time. Well, this has been sitting, and I feel like this is the perfect opportunity to push this back onto the stove, and proceed to turn the heat WAY up. What does a coal under pressure turn into? A diamond. Similarly, as I have transformed from the work I have undertaken, there is no going back. Driving to inspire you during this time we are in to make that transition (if you have not started to already.) As I am pushing myself forward, I am also reaching out to you on a platform that allows me to give you a friendly, loving and gentle nudge. Keep going, keep persisting, and most importantly, do not give up.

             A few months ago, my friend Brian Soucier interviewed me on his podcast. I initially wanted to pin point some crucial tools and methods that have helped me during my own unique process of growth and evolution as a human, however, my story is just one part of the puzzle we are in. The collective root has a bundle of long standing issues that need to be sorted through. By starting my process of intently doing the inner work, I am now coming up from the depths to exclaim with every diaphragmatic inch of my voice how relevant and important it is for you to dive in if you have not already. Look whatever it is in the eyes, take ownership and make the moves to direct your life in the way you would want. If you for one second think that the president elected is to blame, think again. If you think your job is to blame, think again. If you think your partner is to blame, think again. I encourage you to look within. The suppression of the root cause is not just within you. It has manifested globally through issues such as racism, bullying, sexism, domestic violence, greed, gluttony, human trafficking, homophobia, suicide, school shoot ups, the food industry as a whole, GMO's, health disrupting house hold cleaning products, medical/street drug addiction, rape, all forms of abuse, and eating disorders to name a few. This has been a build up of what has been lying dormant for years upon years. When something detrimental on a global scale happens, I have always thought to myself, "Man, when will people get it? What will it take?" Well, the election is like the baby in Eraserhead (directed by David Lynch) screaming it's head off right now. If you have seen this movie, you know this is quite unsightly, but it makes you pay attention. We are being forced to look. The election is just amplifying what is truly going on within ourselves, and the world at large. Pushing these matters under the rug is clearly ineffective for the well being of this planet. The problems are presented, but not without a solution. In this post, we are going to get to at least one key component that can begin to untangle the roots within yourself, and for the world at large.

            Inevitably, there is a struggle. Many people are claiming to fear for their lives right now for various reasons. Some of the reasons are: rioting, blatant disdain towards women, racism, and sexism to name a few. Regardless of the election, the factors of fear were already heavily present for different reasons, although still connected. Living in fear is not doing anything for you, and it is not doing anything for your neighboring citizens of the planet. We are to look out and support one another like brothers and sisters, regardless of the never ending attempts to isolate. We all have to move forward courageously, boldly and bravely. The question is: What can you do to strengthen yourself so that you can release stress, anxiety, and gain unshakable confidence? The story below describes what brought me to my understanding of the need for physicality in my life, and how it has helped me beyond belief.

            After my father passed in 2012, I had found a Krav Maga, Muay Thai, and Jiu Jitsu studio known as Krav Maga Elite and Diamond MMA about 3 or 4 months after. This is the studio that helped me to pull through when I needed the support after losing one of the strongest connections I have experienced on this Earth. There were times when I needed to get my abs put into a casket, kick, scream, hear the cracking of my gloves or shins against a pad and call it a day. There were days I wanted the physical levels of pain to drown out my emotional pain. There were days I wanted to drench myself in another kind of water that did not pour out from the corners of my eyes. I wanted to feel weakness leave the body, and the finishing result would be the equivalent of what it would look like if I just ran in the rain for 30 minutes straight.  There were days when I was told, "I have to run 6 miles, and guess what, you're running those 6 miles with me." This is what pushed me through to the other end. This is one of the arts that trained my mind to persist regardless of how terrible the external situation appeared at the time. It was about pushing past my physical limitations and boundaries. It was about bringing out my strength regardless if I was spiking at my highest or lowest points. It was about having a safe space to let my anger shine. It was about remembering that all levels of pain are temporary. If I could give one crucial suggestion, it would be to get yourself involved with some kind of self defense training, yoga, physical fitness, or martial art if your physical health allows. Speak with your medical practitioner before incorporating anything new into your health regiment.

           Old paradigms and limiting belief systems will slowly begin to drop away. Your neurotransmitter levels will change. Your confidence is going to surge. Your posture, how you process thoughts, and ultimately, how you conduct yourself will change. You will become comfortable with getting uncomfortable. You will start to feel at home in an area that was not initially your comfort zone. This is what is needed right now. You need the strength, vigilance, and disposition to carry yourself in this world in such a way that makes you feel safe during a time like this. Remember, mortality is definitive. Your days are not to be spent living in fear. You need some kind of way to release stress out of the body in order to get the mind out of a fear based state. 

           I am forever grateful for Krav Maga Elite and Diamond MMA, as this was the catalyst that helped propel me to feel more confident, secure and safe within the body. I have ventured and explored other methods of physical fitness, but I will touch on those in my future blogs to come. If my words have lit a fire within you, I encourage you to train at the establishment that has greatly improved my strength, endurance, confidence and persistence. If you mention you discovered Krav Maga Elite and Diamond MMA through this website, you will be given your first session for free.  Regardless of the path you take, they all lead to the same destination. After immense amounts of study, I can tell you, there is truth, practicality and reward in taking care of you first especially during a time like this. If there are physical limitations, or this form of exercise does not resonate with what your body needs presently, I have a few other methods to discuss in future posts.

Sign up here:

www.safestreetdefense.com

 

The Awakening


             

 

          If you are reading this right now, there is a chance you have individuals in your life who act as beacons of light and sources of strength for family, coworkers, creative/business partners and friends. This person I am referring to may be you. If you are this person for others, I send my love and compassion to you. Your unyielding strength and indomitable will has given you wings to fly over hurdles, and the uncanny ability to conquer all that you have on your journey in a world designed to extract you from your soul. This deed is otherworldly.  

         Whether your story is reverberating throughout the outskirts of the universe or not, you are one of the reasons I have pushed through. Yes, you... the person reading this right now.  It is the stories I have heard thus far that have pushed me beyond my limits, however, it is also the stories I have not heard that have penetrated my core to transform. This transformation has driven me to put words to what is not seen, but felt on a visceral level. You may wonder, how could this be? I will put it this way: silence is the essential tool needed to have the truth find you, but it should never be used to conceal the truth.

          Sharispeaks.com is inspired by the beautiful souls I have been so blessed to know who have bravely spoken their truth, encouraging and inspiring me to do the same.  The most healing element in the universe is sound. It is through a voice that shows the connectivity and oneness of all. You can then begin to flow, rather than tie yourself in knots trying to make yourself believe you are isolated. In silence, we may not always understand the connectivity of all, which is the understanding that takes us to our deepest levels of healing.  Even through the lack of words that are not clearly identifying facts or painting a picture of an unkind reality, I know what exists beyond the veil of silence, and can feel it.  I speak up because I know what others hold in. This process was not easy. It took a lot of releasing, uncovering, forgiveness and beyond to expel this story. It is time to let a story be a story, and not become attached to it. It is time to share a story to help others do the same. The purpose of doing this is to let anyone reading this know that they are not alone in the process.  

           Here is a forewarning: do not be fooled. The outcome of what you visually see on the surface does not magically fall into place. It is a compilation of various factors and facets that should never be taken for granted.  Someone could look at another person and say, "Wow, that person is so much ______ (insert adjective) than I am." If this ever comes up in your thought process, I encourage you to ask the person their daily routine, or what it took for them to reach this level of awareness. There is usually quite a story to be told. I would release the assumption that it must be so easy. Instead, send your love and cease your judgement before you continue to waste time permeating your own mind with lies. Any accusations of how nice or easy it may be are false and insulting to those who put the work in. Now that I have cleared that piece of the puzzle, I can move on to the next piece to be digested:  this work is not fleeting. It may not be overnight. It may take a life time(s). If you decide to commit, it will change the course of your life forever.  

           A favorite past time of mine consists of breaking through walls to really understand the depths of life, however, I came to a point where I came face to face with a threshold. I took on a commitment, and could not let a bump in the road stop my persistence. Once I saw what was being revealed after pushing forward, I must admit this line of work was quite daunting at first. It involved me staring my ego down and uncovering what was truly holding me back. This process made me feel like a scientist putting their ego on a microscope to be zoomed in on. As this occurred, I realized a story I had been holding in was permeating my nervous system. My soul felt the call to tell it. For so long I had held this in, and the moment I discovered part of my journey was to reveal this story to the world, I caved in with anxiety. My nosy two cent giving ego asked, "Oh, telling your story? Revealing what you thought would once be taken to the grave? Oh no, you can't do that! What will your family think? Being vulnerable? What's that?" Once I witnessed my ego's way of trying to further isolate from humanity, I immediately let out a raging belly laugh, quickly snatched my ego out of the driver seat and took control of the wheel. As I tossed what was holding me back out of the passenger's window, I smiled and said, "Sayonara my friend. Better luck next time! Not in this life time," and put my foot on the pedal like I was speeding away in a Ferrari on a race track. This was the work needed to get me on my true north. 

           Ferrari comes to mind, as the famous race team's emblem Cavallino Rampante literally translates to "prancing horse."  You can say I sped away, or pranced away; whatever you think is fitting. The one thing I built from the experience of investigating the workings of the ego was momentum and endurance, as any intense undertaking like this is essentially helping you prepare for the marathon we call life. You need to be physically, mentally and spiritually fit. You need to train the mind like a warrior to conquer this battlefield. 

         At this point in my journey, I have decided to do the opposite. For some people, their fear is heights. For some people, their fear is spiders. For me: it was vulnerability. It was sharing my truth. It was expressing the good, bad and the ugly. In order to take the charge out of a story, it had to be told. I would encourage anyone who has gone through anything similar to express yourself. Do not let a story sit in your body and continue to have power over your nervous system. Get it out to encourage others to stop holding it in. If you held in your breath, you would lose your life. If I held in this story, I would not be living the highest quality of life I can possibly reach. Life is too short to not become the ultimate best version of yourself there is. If I could be of service to you by saving you time, money and heartbreak, I would do so by encouraging you to make your insecurity your security.  Integrate. You need that darkness to propel you. It is absolutely gorgeous and does not need to be tucked away in a closet. It is like the beautiful dress or suit you never wear because it doesn't seem to be the right occasion. Who cares? Pull it out and wear it anyway. There will never be a perfect time. Just start wearing it now while you can still breathe and move in the flesh. Do not wait until your last day on this Earth.                  



Thank You For Visiting! Here's a little about www.sharispeaks.com

     

                    My mother's favorite adjective for me at a young age was inquisitive. I was quick to get up and walk around at 6 months, so taking action and getting myself involved in everything was never an issue for me.  However, at the age of 2, I was still having a difficult time speaking. I was in school by the age of 4, and entered into speech therapy shortly thereafter. As you can tell, it was an uphill battle from the start. As a child, I was fighting to be heard. If you cannot be heard, how are you going to be understood? Lack of understanding leads to lack of compassion from others, making a person feel isolated from those who cannot take the time to "get it." 

            From the young ages of 0-7, a child has no concept of right, wrong, or boundaries. If boundaries are violated, could you imagine the struggle of saying no? Could you imagine the struggle of learning how to speak out about a negative event that for some period of time had negative waves and ripples in my life? Fortunately, spoken word poetry is something I picked up after my father passed in 2012 to heal my mind, body and spirit, but has now evolved into something bigger than myself. This art form has helped me to evolve and grow into the person I am today. On my journey of analyzing the ins and outs of human nature, I have recognized the importance and power of the human voice. It is what forgives, heals, loves, and brings truth when used correctly. 

                  In this world, it is very easy to be socially drowned in a multitude of ways. If there is one thing I could share with the world, it is to speak your authentic truth no matter how dark it is. I encourage you to shine a light on it, so you can see what you once feared is in actuality incredibly beautiful. Someone out there needs to hear it. Regardless if we know each other, have met in passing, or not at all, I have to let you know the most attractive feature in a person is honesty and truth. There is nothing more appealing to me than someone who can own all elements of themselves, yet drive towards a better future. 

             By telling my story, I would hope it shows you how beautiful your own darkness is, and to never suppress or put it away. This is where true healing and understanding begins. A dear friend of mine helped me to reach the next level of my journey. By being so fortunate and blessed to hear someone else's story, in time, it ended up giving me the courage to go forward and share my own. When one person tells a story, it starts a chain reaction. We all gain strength to tell a story as a means to let go of the meaning it once had. By telling it, the story then just becomes a story. There have been many strong forces of nature to which I have looked up in awe. It is now time to share my story, as a way of thanking these brave souls for the life work they have chosen to do. Some of these strong souls I have had the blessing and pleasure of knowing in real life. Without these people, I do not know where I would be. The ones who have jumped over leaps, bounds, walls and obstacles are the ones that have really caught my eye.

              Originally, this project started as a way for me to create during darker times of my life. With the combination of love, death, thrills, and dopamine, this creation ran through my human vessel as a method of helping me to not lose my shit in the process. I have experienced events in life that could have had a potentially crippling effect, but, outlets such as spoken word, kickboxing, drumming and meditation have turned what could have been negative into positive experiences. Being that I am still living here on Earth, I have come to see the importance of sharing my story in order to show people there are many options and possibilities.  

                    If you ventured to this part of the website before taking a look at the video featured, I would suggest you take a break and check it out if you have not done so already. As you will see at the end, this spoken word piece was dedicated to my father. At the age of seven, I remember asking if he would stop drinking. If it was not one addiction, it was something else. Even in the midst of his human struggle, he truly was an amazing individual of whom I was so blessed to know.  While enrolled in college, I decided to pursue a degree in Biology to have a sturdy platform which would help me in my studies of complementary medicine. Clearly from having my home look like a pharmacy and seeing the effects it was having on my father, I was not a fan of the little pills jiggling around in a plastic bottle morphing him into a completely different human being. He passed at the age of 55. 

                    With the expansions of alternative medicine, there is still argument about its validity.  However, people were turning from flesh to statistic faster than rapid eye movement. You may be asking, "Well, what have you pursued with your Biology degree?" My answer to this:  the path is not clear cut. It sounds easy. If you want to go to chiropractic, go to chiropractic. If you want to go to acupuncture school, go to acupuncture school.  In my journey of healing and life, what I have learned is that if you want to truly heal and help others heal - you need to get to the root of your own life. You need to take an honest look at why your relationships have gone the way they have, why you are not living the life of your dreams, why your own patterns and habits are limiting your world view, and so on.  You need to get to the root, and share your story to take the emotional charge out of it.

                    With the help of prayer, Vipassana meditation, martial arts and yoga, I was able to take a very direct, honest look which my ego absolutely feared for 26 years. I am now 28, and ready to take the charge out of the story. Without my roots, I would not have the compassion and faith I have today. I have been told it takes courage, but as we all know, we are none getting out alive. If you want to truly thrive, you need to expel what is keeping you down in order to move forward in this human journey. 

               This is just the start. Will have a release out to purchase in the next coming months. Keep your eyes and heart open. 

                                                             With love and my deepest gratitude, 

                                                                                  Shari Sanahi