I know what you’re thinking… “So, what did you learn and would you do it again?”

Before I answer these questions I’d like to revisit why and what drove me to trying Ayahuasca in the first place.

I was in a dark and lonely place. You know they say entrepreneurs often times suffer from depression. Maybe it’s from stress, maybe it’s the perfectionist in us. In my case it came from the aftermath of being a workaholic.

If you’ve been following my journey, then you already know that a few months before committing to Ayahuasca my long time (3 years) on-and-off again girlfriend and I decided to call it quits. At the end of the day I wasn’t there for her. Both physically and emotionally. It’s been a journey in itself exploring my emotions and desires since the break-up. One thing I see clearly now was that I always put work first before her and before us. I guess it was meant to play out this way, but one thing is for sure I now realize the importance of relationships. I now realize that my work does not come first. I don’t want to live to work. I want my work to enable me to do the things I really want to do in life.

So, in a sense you could say that one of my big realizations is that I am too focused on work and not as focused on living my life as I would like to be.

It’s wild to think that in addition to running my promotional products business, I have 2 podcasts, manage 3 other pods, have 2 weekly YouTube shows, and just published my 3rd book in less than a year. I’m so incredibly proud of this and most of all that my sales were an all time high in 2018 AND 2019 is shaping out to be just as strong if not even stronger!

Wait a second though… I’m not happy. Does any of this perceived “success” matter if I’m not happy? I think not.

In all sincerity I wish I could just throw all of this away and travel the world. Just be that free spirit. I’m not ready to do that though. What I am ready for is a dramatic shift in my day to day and my beliefs in general. I want to consciously live in the present.

SHIFTS IN DAY TO DAY

As of now, I commit to the following:

• Pausing my Inbox when not working to avoid the temptation of “just checking” my email.
• Meditating Daily: No matter if it’s once for 5 minutes or 3 times for over a total of an hour. Routine is everything and I do not want to break this routine.
• Reading my Truths and affirmations daily.

MY TRUTHS

If you remember from the previous post, I spoke about how Mother Ayahuasca helps you discover your truths. These are the biggest truths I discovered from my journey…

1. Everything happens for a reason exactly when it’s supposed to happen. You know a lot of people say everything happens for a reason. I’m not sure how many of us that say this actually think about the meaning behind these words. I believe that there is a greater plan at work. Think of it like the movie “The Truman Show”, except each of us are living our version of the Truman Show and that everything is interconnected. The fact that I’m writing this and you’re reading this is no accident. There’s a reason why these words came into your world at this specific time.

ONE EXAMPLE: My intention for the first night of Ayahuasca was to shift my negative energy into positive energy. As you know by now I was in a deep state of sadness and loneliness. By the end of the night I noticed a smiley face atop of the yurt. The smiley face was a direct reflection of the candles in the sacred circle. Each person had a candle in front of their spot. Well, a couple of candles on each side were either blown out or just burned out. With these candles missing it created a smiley face in my direction only atop the yurt. This came at a time when I was soaking in my first journey and in a state of euphoria. Just thinking to myself it can’t really be this easy to be happy, can it? Then I looked up and was reminded of happiness and greater plan at work by the reflection of the candles making a smiley face.

Of course, I can think of many other examples of everything happening exactly when it’s supposed to (as can you). But, this specific example was more powerful than most and a meaning (memory) I wanted to share with you.

2. Remember the Vibrations. During my journey, I had a deep connection with the ocean and specifically sea creatures like killer whales. I have no idea who I was in past lives. Who actually knows anyway? Is it possible that I (we) could have been animals like a whale in a past life? I don’t see why not. But, again who actually knows?

What I do know is the deepest of my body vibrations came when I was feeling the connection to the ocean and thoughts of killer whales, dolphins, sharks and sea turtles occupied my mind. Then there was the drums. One of the facilitators was playing the drums — like the tribal kind. The beat of the drums shook my soul. With each beat the vibrations got deeper. For a bit I felt as if I was floating. I wish I could remember these feelings in more depth. I just remember my heart being full and being more in touch with my soul (my being) than I ever have been prior in my life. This was a deeply spiritual experience that I don’t ever want to forget about. I need to explore this more — somehow some way.

3. My Calling: To Lead, connect, and guide others to find their answers and happiness. Ever since college I remember being a natural networker. I’ve always had a great talent in connecting people. In recent years I’ve been able to inspire people through my motivational podcast “Mojo Monday’s”, teach people through my books like “Working with Virtual Assistants”, and inspire others to chase their dreams just by seeing all that I’m doing and them (you) realizing they can do it too!

My calling isn’t to sell swag, that I know. I’m very good at it and it pays the bills. But, eventually I will need to find a way to help others in more ways than what I’ve been doing recently.

4. Energy is Everything. Follow your breath to guide you to positive energy. The second night of doing Ayahuasca I truly discovered the power of energy. I cannot put this into written words for many reasons. Call me (Sam@SwagWorx.com for my number) and I’d be happy to tell you all about it. But know this; energy is real and I do believe that as humans we have the ability to telepathically communicate with each other. Our minds and souls are just so cluttered with noise that it takes a lot to access this “special power”. I know this to be true because I experienced it first hand!

Secondly, our breath is everything. We take our breath for granted (or most of us do at least). For more on the power of our breath, go back to post 2 of this series to read it again.

LESSONS LEARNED

All of this is to say that my journey with Ayahuasca taught me a lot. Most of all it taught me to slow down, to breathe, and appreciate living in the present. I absolutely can’t wait to journey again! I don’t know if it’ll be this year, next year, 5 years, or 20 or more years from now. What I do know is the real journey has just begun. I’m not nearly down the rabbit hole as much as I’d like to be, but I’m on the way!

I have forever changed. As a good friend jokingly said I’m no longer SwagSam; I’m now SoulSam (thanks for that)! In all seriousness though, I’m a happier and more patient person and this is just the beginning.

THE INTEGRATION

Ayahuasca isn’t about your journey with this beautiful plant medicine. It’s about the actions you take after your journey to integrate the lessons learned into your daily practices.

As you must know by now, when I commit to something my mind is determined and I dive right in. I don’t know what’s next for me, but now I accept the fact that I am not in control.

I’m excited and ready for the true journey — the journey that is living this life below the surface. Open to feeling (and sharing) my emotions. A life of love and teaching. A life of adventure and learning. A life that will make a mark on my soul for all eternity.

A life of infinite abundance.

THANK YOU 🙂

If you’ve enjoyed this series, please let me know (Sam@SwagWorx.com). If you want to chat more about any or all of this, please hit me up!

THANK YOU so much from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate you and I can’t wait to hear how these short stories will impact your life!

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To Always Improving,
Sam AKA SwagSam AKA SoulSam