WHY ME?

“How could this happen to me?”

“Why does this always happen to me?”

“Well, with my luck….(insert bad outcome)."

“Why is the Universe/God/World against me?”

Do these types of thoughts sound familiar, either coming from yourself or someone you know? 

If I find myself in a low emotional state, if I’m stressed, sad, angry, or hurt, if I am honest with myself, I realize that the common denominator, the main cause for my state, is that I have allowed myself to slip into victim consciousness. I have let myself fall into some level of belief that someone or something “out there” is 100 percent responsible for my life, my success or failure, my peace, my happiness. This is incredibly disempowering and ultimately an illusion. 

Let’s be clear, I am not talking about situations in which some of us are truly victimized physically, sexually, emotionally, socially or economically, as adults and especially as children. I am talking about those of us who either have some distance in time from those situations or are outside of those situations completely, mentally and emotionally capable adults, who are allowing ourselves to exist partially or completely in a victim state of consciousness. 

Yes, people do or say things towards us that are mean, violent, irritating, inconvenient, you name it. Situations occur that are incredibly challenging, but as hard as this may be to swallow sometimes, we ALWAYS have the ultimate choice as to how we let them or the situation make us feel and how we choose to respond. Often, it does not feel as though we have a choice in our response at all, but we ALWAYS do. 

The supreme opportunity is to choose our perspective. Can I look back at every single challenging situation that has ever happened to me in my life and discover that through the pain, fear, grief or anger, I received a powerful evolutionary lesson from it, that I met someone because of it who is now extremely important in my life, that I became closer with someone than ever before because of it? I believe this is always the potential final analysis, if we choose for it to be.

It is amazing the grace, power and flow that I experience when I am living the belief that LIFE DOES NOT HAPPEN TO ME, IT HAPPENS FOR ME. That the universe will give me exactly the experience I need at exactly the right moment for the evolution of my consciousness. As Eckhart Tolle said, “How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.” 

Then I find it is about patience. We understandably want to know the WHY right away but often it doesn’t work that way. There may be a lot of growth that needs to happen first in order for our state of consciousness to have the capacity to know, understand and apply the WHY. The truth is, we will know, when it is relevant for us to know. 

So can we say, "Why me?", not with angst but with great curiosity and enthusiasm? And can we remain available for an answer that may not look, sound or feel anything like we imagined? 

Love, Wade.

6.30.18

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STUFF

What is our relationship to stuff? 

I’m not talking about our understandable desire for basic stuff like shelter, food, water, clothing, transportation, etc. I’m talking about all the stuff that comes after our basic needs are met. All the stuff that we often allow ourselves to define as needs but actually do not meet that criteria. 

The following are several questions I ask myself that you may find interesting to answer. 

Do I feel better about myself when I have more or fancier stuff than someone else?

Do I feel less than when I don’t have as much or not as impressive of stuff as someone else? 

Does my stuff or lack of stuff drive who I think I am?

How much time and energy do I spend researching, working for, acquiring, posting about, organizing, cleaning, and getting rid of, stuff?

What percentage of my stuff has ever given me a true and lasting sense of fulfillment, contentment, meaning, purpose, love or peace?

Based on our answers to the above questions, we may wish to reconsider our relationship with stuff. 

If we were able to spend less time, money and energy on stuff, what would we choose to do with that newly available time, money and energy that we feel would possibly result in more peace, joy and fulfillment in our lives? 

The following links are a couple of resources I have found inspiring and that have sparked these questions in my life. 

Graham Hill: Less stuff more happiness

Minimalism: A Documentary Film

LOVE, Wade. 

6.22.18

VALIDATION

Will he or she love me? Will they love my work? Will he or she understand me? Am I good enough? Will they appreciate me?

How much energy do we expend searching for validation from other people and the outside world? 

And even when we receive positive validation from the people we were searching for it from or organizations at large, how deeply does it actually impact how we truly feel about ourselves? In my experience, if we do not believe at our core that we are worthy, lovable, and/or good enough: no matter how much validation we receive from the outside world, it does not penetrate our core beliefs about ourselves. Yet still, we keep trying to change it from the outside in. 

For most of us, this pattern seems to start from quite early on as we look for the approval of our parents, maybe our siblings, then teachers, friends, peer groups, lovers, bosses, social media followers and on and on. We alter our thoughts, personality, behavior, creativity, work, interests, and relationships, all in the hope of being accepted and validated as worthy by them out there; often based upon the assumption that there is no way they will ever accept and love us for exactly how we are naturally, so we must conform to the version of ourselves we think they want us to be. All of this is confusing and exhausting at best, deeply painful at worst, and always fleeting and free of any true and lasting satisfaction. 

So what might be an alternative way?

First, I believe we must find a way to begin physiologically removing the years of social conditioning and stress that has lead to these beliefs and behaviors. In my personal experience, meditation and psychotherapy (namely Vedic Meditation, E.M.D.R. and Somatic Experiencing) have been hugely effective in this process; coupled with correction of the intellect via reading, writing and social research, as well as experimentation with ceasing to follow the directives of my ego and instead following my hearts desire and intuition as to what I want, say, choose and do. This for me has not been a light switch kind of change in thinking or behavior, it has taken and continues to take constant diligence and practice as these beliefs and behaviors, as they were for me, are often deeply ingrained in our biological hardware. 

When I am able to tune into and act purely upon my hearts desire rather than my ego’s insecure search for external validation, life seems to unfold in a frictionless and evolutionary manner, meaningful personal relationships flourish, non-evolutionary relationships reveal themselves and effortlessly fade away, creativity flows and a sense of inherent worthiness becomes the launching point rather than the fruitless goal of activity. 

So if you are charmed, maybe ask yourself, what would I think, desire, choose, say, and do if I felt inherently and unwaveringly worthy and loved already and had no concern for or need of permission or validation from anyone or anything outside of mySELF? What would that look and feel like? And what am I willing to do towards making that my reality? 

Aloha, Wade. 

6/9/18

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LOVED & LOATHED

If you choose to say or do something vulnerable and honest, propelled by something you believe in deeply and/or know to be true…

There will be people who love you for it and people who loath you for it. 

If you choose to communicate a truth that will expose certain people’s wrong doing or that certain people may not want to believe or can’t accept about themselves… 

There will be people who love you for it and people who loath you for it. 

If your expression actually puts no one at risk and doesn’t challenge anyone’s integrity but is purely an honest and loving articulation of your own heart…

There will be people who love you for it and people who loath you for it.

So…

Shall we let other people's loving or loathing raise or silence our voice?

Shall we design or edit our honest and responsible expression based upon whether we believe people will love us or loath us for it?

Shall we measure the validity of our honest expression based upon whether people love us or loath us for it?

Or…

Shall we tune into our heart and express our truth unabashedly?

Shall we speak truth to power?

Shall we find our validation based solely upon how our expression feels in our own heart? 

Shall we try to be mindful as to designing our expression in a way that could possibly move the needle towards the greater good of all?

Shall we continue expressing from a deep place of truth after people demonstrate how much they love or loath us for it?

Only you can answer.

Love, Wade. 

5/25/18

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UP + DOWN

One month, weʻre a new parent beaming with the profundity of life and reveling in our new found sacred responsibility. A few months later, weʻre in the crux of a nervous breakdown wondering where the purpose of everything went. 

One day sheʻs under the trees bursting with gratitude and riding the endless wave of universal guidance. The next day her energetic frequency is low, sheʻs stressed, irritated, static and wondering why me?

On Monday, all the kids in your class wanted to play with you at lunch, now itʻs Tuesday and you seem to be the butt of a joke, everyone is laughing at you behind your back and you are all alone. 

An hour ago I was stressed, angry and short on adaptability units, now here I sit in a coffee shop with tea, scone, a gentle breeze, blue skies and a limitless sense of possibility. 

His brother just died unexpectedly. His new business, that is of great benefit to society, which he has put his heart and soul into, is thriving and providing for his family. 

Last night I was an asshole, this morning I am a saint. 

As Chögyam Trunpa Rinpoche said, “THERE IS NO CURE FOR UP AND DOWN.” 

Can we embrace that the UP holds such greater meaning and reward because of the DOWN? Can we take solace in that the DOWN is tilling and watering the soil to provide a fertile foundation for the next glorious UP?

Can we move further away from black or white, this or that, and move more towards the self-evident reality of simultaneity: of this, that and the other? Our lives are rarely all up or all down but a mixture of up, down and the in-between.

I believe moving more towards this simultaneity understanding of our own lives, thoughts and emotions could possibly help us to be more understanding towards other people. I donʻt believe people are either good or bad. We are so much more nuanced than that. We all have the potential for all qualities inside of us and depending upon our life circumstances, certain qualities are triggered more than others. At times we have all been kind, mean, compassionate, judgmental, brave, scared, nondiscriminatory, prejudiced, loving and hateful. Through it all, were we not mostly trying with whatever was our best at that moment? 

So, in the knowingness of our internal and external UP + DOWN, can we find more patience, listening, understanding and communion for ourselves, our neighbor, our stranger, and our so-called enemy?

Wishing you health, love + the revelation of your fulfillment. 

Love, Wade. 

5/18/18

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MY BEST

Sometimes I’m compassionate. Sometimes I’m judgemental.  

Sometimes I’m patient. Sometimes I’m not.  

Sometimes I’m insightful. Sometimes I’m short-sighted. 

Sometimes I’m vulnerable. Sometimes I’m guarded and playing a role. 

Sometimes I’m playful. Sometimes I’m way too serious.  

Sometimes I’m peaceful. Sometimes I’m stressed.  

Most always I’m trying my best but my best looks different, everyday. 

I’m imperfect and I’m enough.  

You’re imperfect and you’re enough. 

Love, Wade.  

4/28/18

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MUSIC, MOVEMENT + ME

Stream of consciousness, as I remember it…

Two years old, Michael Jacksonʻs “The Making of Thriller,” on VHS. Ran into the kitchen to hide when he became the werewolf, ran back when it was time to dance. Everyday. Obsessed. 

On my stomach, on the carpet, Fruit Loops in a bowl, Salt-N-Pepaʻs “Push it” music video on MTV. Glorious. 

Fisher-Price kids record player, “Thiller” album on repeat. 

Hours alone in the living room, itʻs dark, the carpetʻs green, Iʻm facing the TV copying dance moves from music videos. Heaven. 

Five years old, hours of dance rehearsal at the Johnny Young Talent School in Brisbane. I didnʻt love being choreographed. I had my own ideas. 

Dressed head to toe in MJ gear, hot Brisbane days, front of our driveway dancing my heart out, drenched in sweat, just waiting for a car to drive by. Painfully quiet street. 

Won a dance contest, prize was to meet Michael Jackson. Wildest dream come true. Met him, a couple nights later Iʻm on stage with him and Stevie Wonder in front of tens of thousands of people. Downstage center, throw my hat off, letʻs do this!

On top of the world because when Mom picked me up from school she handed me a new record she bought for me. Ravenous for music. 

Birthdays backstage. 

Seven years old, first time to Los Angeles. OMG, head over heels in love. Met MJ again, Neverland, Dance, Inspiration, Sexual Abuse. You know that story…If you donʻt and your curious, go back after and click here, here, and here. 

Music and movement interests begin to expand beyond MJ: Bobby Brown, Tony Terry, M.C. Hammer, Bel Biv Divoe, Johnny Gil, Snap and G.U.Y.

Nine years old, Mom, Sis + I move to LA. Weekly training with street dance legends Pop-N-Taco, Popnʻ Pete, and Boogaloo Shrimp. Invigorated by the movement knowledge. 

Dancing professionally in LA. Commercials, music videos, live shows. Iʻm the 10 year old kid at the 18 and over auditions. 

Hip Hop music and movement blows up my world. Heavy D,  LL Cool J, E.P.M.D., Naughty By Nature and A Tribe Called Quest. 

10 years old, working on a solo rap record. Drenched in hip-hop culture. 

11 years old, joined a rap dup called Quo. Weʻre signed to MJJ Records. Weʻre produced by the likes of Teddy Riley, Redman and Eric Sermon. Dream to write and produce music is officially sparked.  

12 years old, MJ sends me some recording equipment. Piano lessons happen. All hours of the day and night, Iʻm in my little studio making music. Canʻt get enough. For the music gear heads, MPCII + 3000, Korg Trinity, Emulator III, Adats, etc.

I start teaching 6 dance classes a week. In class, time slips away, music and movement takes possession. I love teaching and seem to have a knack for it. 

Music interests expand; Prince, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Bjork, Tori Amos, James Brown, Ani Difranco, Beatles, John Williams, Danny Elfman, Bernard Herman, Alex North and on and on. 

Creating edits, remixes and original music for my dance classes. Harder to decipher which one comes first, the music or the movement. They have become one. 

14 years old, choreographing music videos, commercials and live shows, music editing, remixing and original compositions to accompany the movement. 

16 years old, Britney Spears, *NSync, choreography, music, stage direction. Big break. 

Writing and producing album music for Britney Spears, *NSync and others. Love being in the studio writing music and geeking out for hours on the arrangement and technical aspects of music production. 

More and more pressure and expectation builds in my career. My love affair with dance: on the rocks. Fun is slipping away. Stakes are high. 

19 years old, I quit Choreography and Stage Direction, “been there, done that,” to focus on Film Directing. 

Writing and producing music continues. I get a big music publishing deal. Pressure feels stronger than ever to deliver. Fun is slipping away and taking productivity with it. 

20 years old, MTVʻs “The Wade Robson Project.” Dance is back in my life. Some moments of fun but ultimately stained by the superficial desire for fame. 

21 years old, I quit dance again to focus on Film Directing. Love/Hate relationship continues. 

23 years old, join the second season of So You Think You Can Dance. Feeling experimental + playful. First piece out the gate wins an Emmy. Gift/Curse. 

5 year resurgence of choreography career. Another Emmy. Music creation here and there. Music and movement interest expansion. Starts out fun. Pressure builds. Less and less play. Career peaks. Anxiety peeks.

About to Direct my first feature film. Son born. Two nervous breakdowns. Disclosure of MJ abuse. Bury dance, music and film. Disappear to most isolated land mass on the planet. 

Music repertoire shrinks for a while to the only kind that makes me feel safe and good, Bob Marley and Jack Johnson. Dance is gone, forever I think. 

Meditation. Therapy. Reading. Nature. Family. Hawai’i.

Music interests are the first thing to begin to unravel. I am reborn as a fan and student once more. Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, classical East Indian, Tom Waits, Ennio Morricone, Philip Glass and Miles Davis. I pick up the guitar, start writing songs again. 

Film creation comes back in a whole new way. 

2017…DANCE…oh dance, comes back. We fall in love like never before. We play. We share. We remember. The music and movement runs deeper in me than it ever has. My gratitude knows no bounds. 

They never left. Theyʻve always been there for me. An infinite, condition-less gift. It was me that had to find my way home. 

Sometimes you have to experience who you are not, in order to know who you are. 

Wishing you music, movement, health, love and the revelation of your fulfillment. 

Love, Wade. 

4/21/18

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ENOUGH

From teenage-hood through my twenties, I woke up nearly every morning with a nervous, anxious mass of energy in my stomach. This was accompanied by a feeling that I was already late, that somebody out there was already doing something impressive before me and better than me. I was possessed by the need to be first and best. The motivating belief was that there was only so much time and so much room for true greatness (read external success, validation and material acquisition), so if I wanted it, I needed to hurry up! Therefore, when a peer experienced an external success, it was often very hard for me to be truly happy for them, to celebrate them because in my mind their success meant my failure, my laziness and my forever missed opportunity. 

This was a painful existence and ultimately stemmed from an egoic belief that I was not enough; that I was not worthy. This belief was created and compounded by mentor and societal teachings such as, “Be the best or nothing at all because life is a competition and survival of the fittest.” After my nervous breakdowns, beginning my healing process and finding Vedic Meditation, I began to come to the realization that these “teachings” were merely stories that us humans made up and bought into, stories that were created in the first place from a deep feeling of unworthiness, lack and scarcity. Stories that we can now choose to opt out of and make up new ones that better reflect our actual present experience, and/or how we want to feel and our dreams of how we wish for life to be. Stories that make us feel worthy, loved, empowered, connected, loving, enthusiastic and peaceful. 

The vast and magnificent flat ocean is accentuated by rising and falling waves. Yes, waves behave differently than the flat ocean but that does not make them non-ocean. They are not connected to the ocean; there are no screws: they ARE ocean, in motion. Do the other waves protest, complain and feel less than when one wave rises up? Of course not because there is a knowingness of reciprocal flow going on. Because that wave has risen, the next wave is able to rise and the next: ad infinitum. 

Our consciousness is like the ocean and our human life is like a wave. That human over there is not actually separate from me; She and I came from and are made up of the same stuff: consciousness. Because she rises, so can I, because I rise, so can you, and so on. There is infinite space for each and every one of us and we each have our own individual timeline. So optimally we exult, celebrate and praise when our fellow wave rises and we surround, support and lift up when our fellow wave falls; as we are all a part of the one, infinite, glorious ocean rising and falling: perpetually in motion. So ultimately, when she rises, we all rise and when she falls, we all fall. 

Abundance in all its forms is our birthright and its source, our source, is inexhaustible. 

Letʻs try to release our poverty consciousness because:

What we expect, is what we experience.

What we pay attention to, grows. 

What we look for, we find. 

Letʻs try to relax, slow down, meditate, tune into our deepest desires that were implanted there by the universe and then unhesitatingly take action, knowing that we are undulating ocean whoʻs rise, fall and rise again is guaranteed in the design and is supported and organized by the infinite intelligence of the vast, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient oceanic consciousness. 

Summary of the story: as Bruddah Bob put it, “Every little thing, is gonna be all right.” 

Wishing you peace, enthusiasm, motion and holistic abundance. 

Love, Wade. 

4/14/18

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FORGIVENESS

Over the last several months, the Universe has made it clear to me that FORGIVENESS is the next big chapter in my healing journey. I received the questions, “Who have you not forgiven? How is this resentment blocking you from living the life you want to live?” This was clear for me so I began to try and move toward that forgiveness for two key people in my life. But I kept hitting a wall. I felt that my heart was absolutely ready to forgive but I couldnʻt quite make the leap for some reason; some intellectual, ego, fear blockage, I thought. 

With the help of my therapist I received the revelation, ITʻS ME, Iʻm the wall, Iʻm the one I havenʻt forgiven. I canʻt forgive anyone else until I forgive myself. I canʻt give anyone anything that I do not have. Can I forgive myself for not being able to tell the truth about Michael Jacksonʻs abuse earlier than I did? If I could have, maybe I could have prevented Michael from abusing other kids. Can I forgive myself for choosing Michael over my Father? Can I forgive myself for, in certain moments, not living up to my own standards as a Husband and a Father?

I keep coming back to, if my son made the mistakes that I have made, how would I feel towards him, what would I say? I know that I would be infinitely more forgiving, understanding, compassionate and loving towards him than I am towards myself. Is that fair? What would it be like if I treated myself like my son, like someone I love, like someone I know has a beautiful heart and is human, makes mistakes, tries to learn from them, tries to do better the next time, never wants to hurt anyone, but sometimes does, unintentionally? As Dr. Maya Angelou said, “If I would have known better, I would have done better.” This grand adventure lies ahead. 

Reader...

What have you not forgiven yourself for?

How is this resentment blocking you from living the life you want to live?

Who have you not forgiven?

How is this resentment blocking you from living the life you want to live?

What would life be like if you treated yourself like someone you loved? 

Love, Wade.
4/6/18

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LET THE HARD TIMES ROLL

Understandably, we humans would love for everything in our lives to go smoothly all the time. We tend to have this idea that we are going to put our heads down, grin and bear all the pain, challenges, ups and downs for a certain number of years until the day arrives when weʻve finally figured it all out, everything becomes a piece a cake and weʻll then coast peacefully and happily through the rest of our lives. We tend to feel as though hard times in our lives are a sign of something gone wrong, that they are something that should not be happening and need to be removed as quickly as possible. 

But if we look back on a “hard” or “bad” time in our life, I believe that most of the time, if we are honest with ourselves, we can actually feel grateful that it occurred. Because if it hadnʻt, we wouldnʻt have learned this or that, or we wouldnʻt have met so and so, or we wouldnʻt have landed into a certain circumstance that turned out to be really good for us. 

In my own life, seven years of child sexual abuse and 22 years of silence about it eventually led to two terrifying nervous breakdowns, an awakening, the revelation of a path towards an infinitely more fulfilling life and a deeper understanding of myself and humanity. Periods of stressful financial scarcity led to a deeper reverence for, understanding of, and relationship with the positive role finances can play in oneʻs life and purpose. Finally, years of painful association with and aversion towards dance tilled the soil and created a foundation from which a rebirth of dance in my heart, mind and body could occur, redefining my purpose, yet again. 

There is a lot of simultaneity here: the above experiences of mine were painful, stressful, and damaging as well as enlightening, instructive and evolutionary. I think we make it harder on ourselves when we try to label our experiences solely as this or that. I have found that my experiences are most often this, that and the other simultaneously and that taking this perspective on them allows me to grow from them profoundly and exponentially, whether they were pleasurable or painful in the moment. 

If we do the work of researching our past “hard” or “bad” life experiences and discovering all the good that actually came from them, it can give us the knowledge, evidence and confidence to boldly know and declare, in the midst of a current painful experience, “At some point, I will be grateful for this experience because I will understand that it helped me to grow.” This does not mean that the current experience will necessarily completely cease to be painful or hard, but I have found that it can make it, at the very least, much more manageable, as it can lessen, if not erase, the crippling feeling of victimhood. 

When we put ourselves in the stratum of gratitude, we put ourselves in the powerful position of choice. We may not be consciously choosing to experience the current painful situation, but we can consciously choose to listen to why the pain or challenge has arrived in our lives, and ask, what is it here to teach us? I have found that every experience arrives with the gift of a priceless teachable moment. This knowingness gives us the capability to engage in a partnership with life rather than feeling as though we are being controlled by some supernatural dictator with a bad attitude, “Why is the Universe and/or God against me?” This could not be further from the truth. 

365 days a year, 24 hours a day, there is actually only one thing gong on, EVOLUTION: progressive change from one state to another. Sometimes itʻs joyful, sometimes itʻs painful, but itʻs always evolutionary. So the next time a challenging, sad, painful, or scary experience arrives, try to stop, look and listen to what it is hear to teach you about where you are, what it is time for you to let go of, what it is time for you to gain and where it is time for you to go. And if youʻre charmed, try uttering something like, “Thank you for this experience and for the greater one it is carrying me to.” 

Wishing you health, love and the revelation of your fulfillment. 

Love, Wade.
3/23/18

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LESSONS OF LOVE

She grew, birthed and raised me. She re-designed her life and fused it with mine. The best she knew how, she tried to give me everything I ever dreamed of. She did many things right, she made many mistakes, the least of which being that with the intention of exulting me, she unknowingly ushered me into the arms of a predator. Things got complicated between us. I moved far away. The distance has enabled us to begin to grow closer again. She is human, she loved and loves me deeply. I love you, Mom. 

Iʻll never forget him being barely able to make it to the punch line of his jokes because he couldnʻt stop laughing in anticipation of it. He worked hard, he loved hard, he suffered, danced, laughed, forgave, crumbled, got back up and kept trying. Then he got tired and he left. From close range, from half-way across the world, and from somewhere before, after and beyond this earth, he has given me gifts of immeasurable value. He has shown me, by example, what it means to be a man of integrity, vulnerability and heart. And for the most unforeseen of his powers, he has shown me how to dance from my heart again. Beyond space and time, Dad, I love you.  

From the beginning, she was an emotional force to be reckoned with. Never afraid to tell me what she saw, thought and felt, she has kept me honest many times. Whenever I or anyone she loves is in need, she is instantly there to help and never asks for anything in return. Her capacity to feel, give, hurt, and love is beyond compare. Mine and many peoples lives are infinitely richer because she is a part of it. My sister, I love you.

Our relationship has been permeated by distance, both in time and in geography. I have always looked up to him. I have, for as long as I can remember, told stories of him as if he was a mysterious and irresistible character floating through the great novels of my mind. I have longed for closeness with him, both in times of near and far physical proximity. I learn immensely from his patience, reserve, choice communications, humor, practicality, mystery, deep sense of loyalty and love. My big brother, I love you.

As a young boy, I was unknowingly looking for something I was not getting, and there he was. He became like a Father to me. One of the aspects of my life that was rapidly disappearing was play, and he did his absolute best to give that back to me; drives to nowhere with amazing music blaring, pizza dates, movies, basketball, cooking, art and the list goes on. As no role models are, he was not perfect; his deep love for me sometimes made him go too far, but now as a Father myself, I understand. “Whether you are a famous entertainer, a garbage man, or the President, does not matter to me, I will love you the same,” he told me many times. This has and always will stay with me. Thank you Boobie, I love you. 

I was as if a young man in the desert, unknowingly dying of thirst, until suddenly, there she was like a tall, cool, glass of water; my awareness rapidly awakened as to my extreme dehydration. I grasped and drank her in, soothing my cooked heart and mind. I was quite emotionally repressed when we met and I marveled at her emotional lucidity. No matter the circumstance, she always seemed to have such clarity as to how she felt, why she felt that way and was always able to articulate it unhesitatingly and eloquently. She became a teacher for me, the likes of which I had never before or have since experienced. 

Through up, down, left and right she has carried me with the strength of a mythical hero. 15 years later, she remains as clear, refreshing and cleansing as ever, as if emanating from a heavenly source which never dries up. I will forever be in awe of her strength, vulnerability, honesty, courage, creativity, generosity, deep knowingness and capacity for love.

My best friend, my wife, the Mother of our child, the love of my life, infinitely, I love you.

His divine and timely appearance on this earth is unparralelled. My wife unlocked a door through which I could find a new healthier way of life; he kicked it wide open and catapulted me through it. He is the most reflective surface I have ever come upon; everything I have ever wanted to and not wanted to know about myself and life, he has and continues to show me. My love for him knows no boundaries or conditions. My Guru, my son, I love you, Dada. 

Through him, I was first introduced to what was to become one of my greatest gifts, dance. By the complicated grace of the universe, from opposite ends of the earth, we were physically brought together. I was enamored by, infatuated with and instantly in love with him. He inspired me, taught me, loved me in his twisted way, manipulated me and ultimately betrayed me; sexually abusing me as a child. Sometimes an important love is the one that breaks your heart; the one that opens your eyes to the sometimes cruel, contradictory and most often complicated truth of humanity and the world. Michael, I do not excuse or thank you for your abuse, but I am thankful for what it and the healing from it has taught me about myself, humanity and the world. 

To you who are reading this, the lessons of love are infinitely deep. Jump in and pay attention. 

Love, Wade. 

3/2/18

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BOOKS THAT HAVE CARRIED ME, PART I

Dear readers, below are a list of some of the books that have inspired, challenged, changed, motivated and saved me. Click the titles to be linked to the books on Amazon. Happy reading!

A New Earth: Awakening to your Lifeʻs Purpose

It is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. I usually read it once a year.  

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

An absolute paradigm shift. A desperately needed one. 

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

I find Brene Brownʻs communication style to be incredibly grounded, raw, funny, honest and relatable. Because of which, what she says resonates effortlessly, deeply and truly sustains its potency over time.  

When Things Fall Apart

Early on in my first nervous breakdown, I went to the bookstore in search of help. I looked on the shelf and the first title I saw was, “When things fall apart.”  “Thatʻll do,” I said to myself. What a life saving gift this book was and continues to be along with all of Pema Chodronʻs teachings. Pema makes Buddhist philosophies so relatable and the practices so practical. Whenever life feels like the title, I HIGHLY recommend picking this one up. I am not and you do not need to be a Buddhist to reap the benefits of this heart advice. 

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

This book played an enormous role in my being able to allow dance back into my heart, mind and body after five years. Each successive paragraph takes another hook out of us that is holding us back from making the art that wants nothing more than to manifest through each and every one of us. Itʻs playful, humorous, raw, honest, simply profound and bombastically motivational. It helps to re-educate us to have fun! Itʻs a once a year read for me too. 

Zen Mind, Beginnerʻs Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few” The wisdom in this one quote speaks to the infinite power of this book. 

The Alchemist

Beautiful, inspiring, motivational and simplistically profound. A fantastic story filled with infinite wisdom. 

The Essential Rumi

Each page, each line is like pouring a warm soothing balm on a sensitive wound. The relevance of these 13th century thoughts and words for our lives today is absolutely remarkable. The poetry is dripping with beauty. 

The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Page after page, the wisdom, beauty, honesty, and knowledge makes me weak and therefore, makes me strong. Absolutely glorious. 

The Tao of Emerson: The Wisdom of the Tao Te Ching as Found in the Words of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Experiencing the divine creative intelligence in both the Tao Te Ching and the thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson simultaneously and in compliment is an unparalleled experience. This is a book I go back to again and again. Open to any page, and that will be the page you need, today. 

Autobiography of a Yogi (Self-Realization Fellowship)

To witness the devotion to the divine inside of this manʻs incredible life story never ceases to humble and inspire me. 

Conversations with God: Book 1

After years of spiritual confusion, irritation, fear and even apathy, this was the first spiritual book that ever drew me to it. It was my first entrance into what has become one of the greatest adventures of my life thus far; the revelation of my personal relationship with the divine. After this, I devoured the entire series. 

Victims No Longer: The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse

An absolute life saver. 

Love, Wade Robson.

2/9/18

BOOKS that have carried me, Part I.jpg