BIG Announcement...

Phuket, Thailand

I have a big and long overdue announcement to make.  And before anyone jumps to any conclusions, I am not getting married, having a child, buying a house or quitting my job. LOL

I am pursuing a dream of mine that I have been holding back on for a long time.  It is a dream I have been justifying not pursuing because I was afraid of investing a lot time, energy, and money into and it not working out.  I still do not have the details worked out yet but I am not going to let that stop me this time.  I am going to be switching over my writing platform from my old, simple blog site to a professionally designed website that is going to be filled with added resources to help people live extraordinary lives.  When I started this blog over 5 years ago, it was done because at the time I was planning on opening my own practice.  Hence the name “Westheimer Chiropractic.”  Well, I decided to take a different route and just never updated my blog platform.  Those days are going to be behind me.  I have met with a web designer and am working on connecting with a logo designer.  I am in the process of creating new and exciting content for the site and can’t wait for everyone to be able to experience it firsthand. You may be asking yourself why I might be telling you all of this.  The answer is very simple.  One is that I want you to be excited about what is in store for you as we move forward with this project.  The second reason is by me PUBLICLY announcing it, I can’t back out now.  Honestly, I have bold ideas for the site but very little actual content other than my 100+ blog posts.  But by announcing it, it creates an accountability to make sure my level of engagement stays high and motivated.

We all procrastinate at times.  We all hold back on our dreams at times.  We all avoid pursuing our dreams due to fear and uncertainty.  We all refuse to love for fear of loss.  We all let barriers stop us from following our heart and our passion and we settle for a life not nearly as meaningful as it could be.  Life requires bold moves if you want what other people don’t have.  It requires action in spite of the fear the lies in front of us.  It requires putting our ego, our fears, and our insecurities on the line and stepping over them en route to a life that is worth living; a life full of love, connection, abundance, adventure, and deep meaning and fulfillment. 

Find your path or create it. Either way, go out there and make big things happen.

Love,

Matt

Are your standards destroying your life?

Sunset at Uluwatu, Bali

Your life will be in direct proportion to the standards you set for yourself.  If you set low standards, you get little to no rewards. You set high standards, you manifest incredible rewards.  If it is as simple as that, why would anyone set low standards for themselves? The answer is easy. They have associated more pain and fear around the risk of what higher standards would mean to them than the pain they currently have living a mediocre life. Your life will only change when you create more pain with your current circumstances than you do with the risk of changing. Changing has to be a must. You have to get to the point where it has become impossible for you to live your live any other way than with ridiculously high standards. 

In our office, I talk to people all the time who are unhappy about their health.  They are overweight, unhappy, and tired all of the time.  When I give them simple solutions they can do for 10-15 minutes ever day to add much more energy and vitality to their life and really increase their health, the most common answer I get is, “I don’t have time.” I say, “You don’t have 15 minutes per day to change your life?” Now, what is the real issue here? It has NOTHING to do with time. We always find time for the things that are most important to us.  Do you ever not have time to get dressed, take a shower, brush your teeth, or eat on a daily basis? Absolutely not! We will do whatever it takes to get our teeth brushed, shower, get dressed, and eat. We will wake up earlier or go to bed later. We will cut out things like television or Facebook. We will do whatever it takes. The key here is value and making things a “must.”  You don’t leave the house naked no matter how little time you have because you have made it a must to leave the house dressed.  You associate more pain with walking around naked than waking up earlier to get ready. 

What have you not made a “must” in your life that you need to? Now is the time to stop making excuses and be honest with yourself.  Is your life where you want it to be? Are you as fit, as sexy, as intelligent, as spiritually connected, as socially connected, and as successful as you would like to be? If not, where are you sitting on the comforts of the status quo and where do you need to turn some more “shoulds” into “musts?”

Love,

Matt

Do you have courage?

Yoga at The Farm in the Philippines

I find it very interesting that when you commit your life to growing, opportunities for growth occur on a daily basis whether you are looking for it or not.  Today was no exception. 

It all started last weekend when I went back to a yoga class I have not been to for a while.  It has always been one of my favorite studios but I just lost touch for a while.  I decided to go back last Sunday and it turned out to be a beautiful practice.  At the end of the class, it was announced the following week we would be focusing on arm balances – my specialty.  Ask me to touch my toes, and you’ll see a struggle as if my life depended on it, but ask me to hold handstands and other arm balancing exercises and that is where I shine.  I was looking forward to it all week.  As I arrived at class today ready to showcase my talents, my expectations were not even close to being met.  Not only did we not do arm balances, but the focus was switched to my 2 worst exercises: forward bends and hip openers.  I found myself annoyed and frustrated.  I found myself questioning why I even attended the class.  I found myself judging the class as a waste of time because it was not what I was expecting.  Then the theme of the class was shared and I quickly realized it was EXACTLY what I needed.

The theme of the class was courage.  Not the loud roaring courage but the silent courage that comes from a place of self-love and self-respect that says I am going to stay in a space that may not feel good or feel comfortable because it is exactly where I need to be.  It is a space that allows for love to flow even in trying or challenging times and says that tomorrow is a new day.  It is a courage that only happens when you soften your heart and your spirit and allow life to flow. 

As I struggled to touch my toes all class and found my mind racing, I realized the things we struggle with must be faced in order for us to grow.  We will only grow so much if we only focus on our strengths.  In order to really transform, we must face the places that scare us, that embarrass us, and that challenge us.  We must face the places that make us feel unsettled, insecure, and inferior.  Only then can we demonstrate true courage and only then can we truly experience life in all its beauty and magnitude.

Love,

Matt

Surrender Yourself to Success

Indian Ocean in Bali

When you surrender to what is

and so become fully present,

the past ceases to have any power.

The realm of Being, which had been obscured by

the mind, then opens up.

Suddenly, a great stillness arises within you,

an unfathomable sense of peace.

And within that peace, there is great joy.

And within that joy, there is love.

And at the innermost core, there is the sacred,

the immeasurable, That which cannot be named.

-       Practicing the Power of Now

I came across this passage sitting on the beach in Bali of a 5 star resort experiencing the beautiful sun and sea of the Indian Ocean while drinking a freshly made lemongrass and ginger iced tea.  This was at the end of the trip so I was really getting over the discomfort of the idleness and embracing the presence of the beauty that surrounded me.  Reading the quote has a much different meaning in that atmosphere than in an atmosphere of long work hours, staff, a “to do” list, responsibilities, people counting on you, relationships, bills, and obligations and commitments.  It is easy to surrender to “what is” when the “what is” is exactly what you want.  It is much more challenging to surrender to the “what is” when the “what is” is the very thing that brings you discomfort in the first place.  What have you been resisting? What places challenge you and bring you to places you have been avoiding? What fears are controlling you that you have been putting off facing for a long time? Whatever fear you have owns you. Whatever you fight owns you.

I can totally relate to the idea that peace, joy, and love is only found in the present. Whenever I find myself out of peace, joy, and love, it is always because I am living in the past or the future.  I am creating a disempowering story of my past or I am living in fear of the future.  When I get myself back to the only thing that is real, the present moment, my past and future cease to have any power over me.  It takes constant conscious awareness on my part to do this. I always find myself drifting to the past and the future.  I must make constant reminders to get back to the present.  What used to take months then took weeks.  What used to take weeks then took hours.  What used to take hours then took minutes.  What used to take minutes then took seconds.  What used to take seconds then took a moment.  What used to take moments became so indistinguishable that my choices and my reactions became one and the same to where I am always acting in accordance to an individual that lives every moment in the present with peace, joy, and love.  Or at least this is what I am working towards.

What are you working towards?

Love,

Matt

The Bali Experience

Singing on the beach in Nusa Dua and "enjoying the moment"

I find that the two things I do best on a plane are reading and sleeping, and usually the former leads to the latter.  I figured before I fell asleep, I should pull out my iPad and reflect on a great weekend in Bali, “The Island of Gods.”

I have been to Bali four times and I always stay in a new area.  I love to explore and experience new things so when a friend of mine from high school who I have not seen in 15 years invited me to visit her on her Bali trip, I just couldn’t turn down the offer.  As much as I love and look forward to holidays, they prove to be a challenge for me in that I have a hard time shutting my brain off and recharging.  Usually there is some uneasiness the first day as I acclimate myself to doing nothing.  This trip was no different. This uneasiness used to last for the entire trip whereas now, it fades off rather quickly.  In the past, whenever I felt the uneasiness that inevitably surfaces when in an unfamiliar or uncomfortable situation, I would fight and resist it.  I would judge myself for feeling a certain way and I would try to resist it adamantly and fervently.  All this did was intensify the feelings of uneasiness and it would continue.  A powerful distinction I have realized is that which we resist, persists.  Anything that we resist in our life continues, especially emotions, and the very act of resisting is what adds fuel to the emotion.  It is perfectly logical to conclude that we should resist an emotion that we do not like in the hopes it will change, but in actuality, the only way to dissolve an emotion is to fully accept it presence in our life and NOT try to change it.  Emotions can’t exist in full presence and acceptance of things exactly as they are without feeling the need to change it.  As I practiced this, the uneasiness dissolved and I had a fantastic weekend of relaxing, eating, beach, yoga, and exercising.  I did very little of any measurable value like reading or writing or business (other than this of course which I am writing on the plane back to Singapore so it doesn’t count! LOL).  What I did do, however, was connect with an old friend and enjoy each moment.  I enjoyed the beach and sun.  I enjoyed great food and fantastic company.  I met and enjoyed the presence of other guests from all around the world.  I had deep conversations about life which reinforced my purpose which is being of outrageous service to others in helping them to transform their life and realize their full potential for being alive, happy, and fulfilled.  The value of these experiences are beyond measure.

When we welcome change and discomfort into our lives, we see it coming from a friendly place that provides us with the circumstances to evolve and grow.  When we see every experience as good because it creates the space to grow and learn, life becomes a fun adventure.  And fun adventures make life worth living.

Love,

Matt