What I'm reading
This week I read «The 7 Secret Treasures of a Well-Lived Life» by John Demartini. In it, he talks about the aspects that make up a balanced life. He explains that it requires developing the power of wisdom and creativity. Understanding the value of hard work and earning a living honestly. Taking care of our body, beauty, and vitality. Cultivating love for oneself, family, and friendship. Adding value and becoming a force for good. Generating wealth and acquiring financial independence. And finally, having a transcendent mission that ennobles and makes life worthwhile.
He's an author I discovered a couple of months ago, and I found him brilliant. I got hooked. There are three books I've read by him. The first was about gratitude. The second was about wealth creation. And the third is this one I just described.
Recommended.
Collecting Beautiful People
This Holy Week, recognition and gratitude go out to my dear Godfather Sergio Raimond-Kedilhac, R.I.P. I met him 33 years ago when he was the General Director at IPADE.
Sergio is one of the most profound people I've had the honor of calling friend. His human calling, which manifested through his Christian faith, makes me remember him at this time of year, when he would celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus with singular faith, love, and hope. And since we're talking about Sergio, allow me to share with you a detail of our friendship that transcends our human condition.
A few months ago, his son Sergio called me and said, «Last night my Dad came to me in a dream and asked me to speak to you and thank you.» Why, for what, I don't know. But today, Easter Sunday, I remember my godfather Sergio with love and with the certainty that he is enjoying that eternal life in the bosom of the God he so longed for.
There's no doubt that faith, love, and friendships are, for lack of a better adjective, magical. Happy Easter to everyone!
My daily struggle
This week I completed an intensive six-month training in Positive Intelligence.
His approach was to trace what Joseph Campbell called «The Hero's Journey” in his book. In the book, Joseph analyzes great souls of humanity and the path that our mythical and real heroes took to acquire the strength to make a difference in the world. Characters like Buddha, Jesus Christ, Nelson Mandela, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. A journey that is not reserved solely for great souls, but is a path of common sense that we should all follow.
The hero's journey is about self-evolution. It involves embarking on an adventure that leads us to confront our greatest saboteur. It requires preparing ourselves to penetrate what is known as the dark night of the soul, hitting rock bottom, and emerging from there as a better person, capable of fostering the greater good.
It seems like a paradox that to find true happiness, one must first penetrate the space that hides our greatest fear, our greatest pain, our madness. But it's true. Life is a balance, and this six-month exercise, complemented by the EMDR therapy I underwent during this period, allowed me to explore, as never before in my life, all those places in my consciousness that I avoided facing for fear of suffering.
Now that this exercise is concluded, I can exclaim without a doubt: What a relief!
By allowing myself to go where others fear to explore, I am now better prepared to help reduce needless suffering in the world and to inspire human greatness.