My parents were avid meditators before my siblings and I were born. Of course, as we grew up, Mom and Dad had to focus on providing for the family so meditation became a fond distant memory.

Through the first several years of my adolescence, I lived in a poor neighborhood in Palm Springs where I felt afraid for my own well-being. I had to put up a “tough guy” facade in order to feel safe. More than that, when I looked into the mirror I thought I was ugly, stupid and that no one liked me. I had a lot of shame about my body and abilities even though overall I was doing fine in school and had good friends. I had a strong inner critic that had its grip on me.

When I was around 13 years old, my family moved to Los Angeles and I was re-introduced to my parents’ meditation tradition. Things started to change in that first summer of moving to LA and learning how to meditate. The hateful voice of my inner critic became very quiet and lost its tremendous power. In its place came profound self-love and self-regard. I also began to feel an appreciation for my deeper sense of self, inner beauty and love for life.

I didn’t have to put on a facade anymore because meditation stripped away a huge part of my self-criticism and made availabe self-appreciation and appreciation for all people. Meditation provided a homecoming to my essence as well as the path laid before me. I see it as a blessing and a miracle because at that influential age of 13, my inner critic was beginning to harden me, but because I started meditating the inner critic lost its grip. 

Life changed dramatically after that because I was no longer the typical teenager who struggled with his identity and low self-worth. My friendships deepened because the pressure to be cool and to be liked was released. I transitioned from the unpopular kid to the popular kid because I became a genuine ball of love and everyone wanted to be a part of my life. My school work also improved. Prior to, I had trouble with reading comprehension. I would read 12 pages of a book and was not able to assimilate the information. Meditation increased my cognitive abilities and my grades showed the proof of it.

I don’t know where I’d be if meditation hadn’t come into my life so long ago. Consider coming to the Indigo Meditation Retreat so I can share my love of meditation with you. There are only a few spots left so please don’t wait.