Butterflies. In my stomach. Beautiful, dancing, fluttering, colorful butterflies flying throughout my stomach. I didn’t want to think negative. So I visualized butterflies. It was 11 PM and I had been driving for over 3 hours on Highway 5. I spent the first hour in Los Angeles traffic, blech. The next two found me worrying about my seminar the following day. I had to give a lecture to a group of executives and managers from Marriott Hotel. I had material planned, I knew what I’d talk about and how I’d lead them to a laughter yoga session at the end. Still, I found myself nervous, with fluttering butterflies in my tummy.
So I wondered, is this normal? Is this how I’m supposed to feel, before I step into the great Unknown? I decided, I’d try something new. While driving, I began to do a Pranayama practice. I spent 10 seconds breathing in, 10 seconds holding my breath, and 10 seconds releasing my breath. I would close one side of my nose and go back and forth between them, almost creating a cyclic flow of air into my head. I noticed I was more relaxed. I noticed myself envisioning the smiles and laughter of the attendees of my seminar at Marriott. I saw their delight in receiving inspiration for the growth of their health and spirit. I also noticed that I was higher than a kite!
I had perfect focus on the road, which if you’ve ever driven on Highway 5, isn’t that difficult. I maintained focus all the way to my parent’s home in the Bay Area. I fell asleep on a dime, still intoxicated from the Pranayama session earlier.
I woke up in the morning, did my meditations, oiled myself with hot sesame oil, did my yoga and stretches, and ate a hearty breakfast. I still had butterflies, and I was learning to fall in love with them. I wondered, have all speakers and lecturers, even the great ones, experienced butterflies? Did they have them their whole life, even if they spoke a thousand times? I wondered and pondered, but I did not limit the possibilities.
Finally, it was time to drive to Marriott and give my seminar. This was no doubt an important time in my life. I have spent much of my adult life exploring the vast spectrum of health and wealth. I’ve lived with, learned from and taught the wealthiest people in the world. I’ve slept in parks and trains with the homeless. I’ve moved from sofa to floor to grass. I’ve served the poor and I’ve served the rich. I studied allopathic medicine and when it had no solution to my digestive illness, I studied Ayurveda. I realized the breadth of knowledge in Eastern medicine. Now, I seek to make connections between the ailments that cause so much suffering with the recommendations of treatment that have survived thousands of human lifetimes.
This opportunity was a blessing in disguise. It seemed out of my realm. I don’t know why I still haven’t “bought in”. I mean, I’ve given seminars before. When I worked with Revolution Prep, I traveled across Northern California giving lectures about stress management and test preparation. I would speak to teenagers, or I’d speak to parents in the evening sessions. I was able to give lectures in both the inner city schools of Oakland and Richmond and the elite schools of Belmont and Danville. Eventually, I was invited to speak at a professional gathering at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas. That was incredible. I spoke to a gathering of professionals from various fields such as medicine, law and finance. I wasn’t adverse from the experience of lecturing. I was, nevertheless, nervous as ever.
I entered the ballroom at Marriott Hotel. It was massive and a beautiful chandelier floated above me. I stretched and prepared myself as people trickled in. I smiled at the staff and encouraged them to be comfortable. I gave each of them a small notebook that could fit in their pockets. I made a point to personally meet as many of them as I could before the session started. Shaking hands and looking into one’s eyes is a powerful form of communication. It doesn’t even require language. It is transcendent and powerful. Many times, it breaks all emotional barriers. I have to digress, with kids I tend to use a high-five. I’ll go into this more in another thought blog.
Finally, I could let the butterflies out. I began the session with a color exercise. Then, the lecture turned into a wonderful interactive workshop. I encouraged it. It was terrific discussing health concepts, sharing ideas about them, having people in the audience looking up research and case studies, and connecting with each other about something we all care about; health.
Attendees took notes and we shared valuable stories. We discussed the importance of our digestive systems and various modalities that encourage digestive health. We spoke about taboo subjects like enemas, mushrooms and clarified butter. People from different parts of the world spoke about their ancestors and how they were conscious and healthy. Overall, it was a powerful collective experience. An hour or so later, I had to introduce a new dynamic.
Ever since I was introduced to Laughter Yoga, I’ve been a fervent subscriber. I forget it sometimes, and later realize I should implement the lessons of laughter yoga every moment I can. I stumbled upon Laughter Yoga when I lived in New York City. I was caught off guard by Alex Eingorn’s subtle ability to teach to and inject the power of laughter into people of all ages and backgrounds. By the way, Alex runs an amazing chiropractic clinic in Manhattan and offers free laughter yoga every week. Visit him when you can (http://www.chiropracticnyc.com/chiropractic/midtown/laughter-yoga.html)
Receiving a practical education in Laughter Yoga from Alex allowed me to transmit the same morsels of data to the Marriott managers and staff. We ended up including the cleaning staff, who did not speak much English for the most part. It was incredible to see managers laughing with the cleaning staff. Can you imagine? These two classes probably never spoke to each other, despite working under the same roof. And in my seminar, they were laughing, looking each other in the eyes and experiencing something profound and beyond explanation. Everyone was laughing, having fun, and I could sense that everyone was connecting to the child within. We often forget about the importance of laughter in our lives. Exercises can help us, they can help us connect circumstances in our life to laughter, even if they’ve been conditioned to make us stress. It’s up to us to reprogram how our heart and mind process information. It will no doubt have a profound effect on our health and happiness.
Back to the seminar. Someone in the group recognized it was time for the session to end. Everyone else was laughing, having fun and engaged in the lesson. As I closed and said goodbye, I felt a warm wave flow over my heart. I knew a profound shift was taking place in many of the people who attended. I also recognized a shift in myself. Some individuals got in line to ask me more personal questions. They even exclaimed that they didn’t even feel the 2 hours pass by! What a tremendous compliment. As a speaker and teacher, I strive to make the experience of learning a fun and joyous occasion. Those moments tend to pass much faster than the tedious kind.
I realized, my true journey has begun. I am a speaker. I am an inspiration to all I meet. I practice what I preach, and I admit that I fail. I am you and you are me. Why shouldn’t I share my gifts. If I “buy in”, will you? I can certainly count on myself, and if I do well, we can all count on each other.
Feel free to follow this Journey, help me as I share my gifts, and pass on the knowledge that I’ve worked hard to stumble upon. Thank you and infinite blessings.
