Leo,

Let me take you back to when you were running Glorious and staying up all night baking bread. You actually stumbled upon an effective method to reprogram the mind. Of course, you didn’t really know it at the time, but it’s something that ends up serving you incredibly well. Also, it’s super simple and requires no concentration.

Recall the time period when you were starting the business. How without any savings or capital, you quit your job to follow your passion and bake bread. Intuitively, you knew that the fears you were feeling would wreck the effort if given airtime. So in an effort to drown out the fears, you started listening to a couple of YouTube videos on repeat….incessantly.

Unbeknownst to you at the time, this droning on and on of the same message for hours was actually starting to wire new pathways in the mind. It was giving you access to more consciousness, and subsequently new thoughts and resources. Perhaps here it’d help to reference a specific example. There was one video in particular that really resonated with you and brought a feeling of ease to your being. It was the Abraham-Hicks “things are always working out for me” loop. Remember that one?!? Ah! Such a classic!

While you baked bread, ran deliveries and did dishes (🤦🏼‍♂️ soooo many dishes!) — you’d let the video play on loop for hours. Notice how you didn’t focus on trying to actively listen. You just put the loop on and allowed your mind to wander as you went about your tasks.

It wasn’t very long before evidence of the new belief started appearing in the outside world. This is when you really started to cement and ground the new thought in your being. Every time you’d get the perfect parking spot to make deliveries easier — you’d scream out in zeal “things are always working out for me!” When synchronistically you got introduced to the right people, you’d exclaim “things are always working out for me.” Or, when out of the blue, a new client would reach out to you — again there would be the joyful proclamation and claiming of the belief.

Perhaps the magic of all of this is still lost on you? No worries. You’ll come to powerfully realize that you can actively program and rewrite the software of the mind. And in proving it to yourself, you’ll begin to understand that YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE THE VICTIM OF YOUR THOUGHTS OR SUCCUMB TO BELIEFS HANDED DOWN TO YOU BY FAMILY, FRIENDS, OR SOCIETY.

You get to rewrite your operating system….if you choose.

Now in this exploration you’re going to end up trying a bunch of different tools. I’m standing five years in your future and here are the ones you’ll primarily use. They have almost no barrier to entry and their simplicity makes them highly effective.

1. A list of maxims you curate from studies and your own revelations. You periodically review these and reinforce and ground them whenever evidence of them is presented.

2. Your own audio loops. You end up having a lot of fun with the open source program Audacity — where you create your own loops and put them to music.

3. The app ThinkUp. This thing is easy to get started and within no time you can make your own custom affirmations.

4. Hooks from songs. Sing little empowered snippets to yourself throughout the day. For example, “I can do it” from Christina Perri’s song Human gets heavy rotation — as do this clip and this clip from Defying Gravity and of course the shower scene from Pitch Perfect. Other songs will include Let it Go and This is Me. Now, I don’t have any scientific evidence as to why this method ends up being so effective, but these little hooks become lifelines that are easy to grab onto whenever you find yourself swirling in a cycle of negative thoughts or face an avalanche of overwhelm or fear. They are super powerful!

5. YouTube clips. This one shows up a little later on the scene. However, it ends up being a game changer as you’re able to capture little snippets of wisdom right in the moment. You end up creating a rich, diverse list of clips from various books and teachers.

Ultimately, you’ll come to see that taking active control over the programming of the mind ends up being one of the most impactful practices on the journey. You’ll appreciate the simplicity and ease with which you’re able to do the rewiring. As it all unfolds, you’ll get really excited about becoming the software developer of your own mind.

Here’s a note of encouragement. Don’t be disheartened if some old thoughts seem like they are never going to be dislodged. They have just been more heavily cemented over the years through constant affirming by yourself or society around you. You’ll blow past them. Promise! ;)

Ciao for now.

Persevere, Leo. Persevere.

Leo,

Remember when you were sitting at your desk one summer morning. The neighbor a couple houses away was mowing their lawn. It was no different than they had done probably 100x before. However, this particular morning you nearly lost your shit? The sounds seemed to bounce, echo, and reverberate through your head to the point where you thought you might go absolutely mad within a matter of seconds?

Or, how about when you started encountering the torment of all those souped up little Subarus. Ya know, the ones with the mod’d out mufflers that sound like canons. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Ha!! I’m almost snorting with laughter thinking about it all! Yeah, sorry — it is totally at your expense. ;) But, if you could only see it from my vantage point. You’d see the humor in how crazy you thought you might go!

Spoiler alert: That sensitivity is only going to increase, and you’ll see it spread to taste, touch, sight, and smell. Also, beyond the five senses, others will begin coming online.

Initially, as they do, you’ll find some forms of gatherings and crowds intolerable. The energy dynamics and group thought forms will really throw you off. Don’t lose heart, Leo. You’ll come to see that this is perfectly normal. It’s actually a good thing! This is the result of your soul senses coming online.

As this unfolds, you’ll experience an increase in their capability and you’ll notice that new senses start to emerge. As they strengthen in intensity, you’ll come to see just how amazing this is. Your life experiences will begin to take on a richness and a depth that will absolutely knock your socks off! I promise — scouts honor.

Imagine it if you can for a second. The fragrance of flowers will have a sweetness previously unknown. Colors will seem to have far more character. The songs of the birds will bring you to new levels of joy. Your sense of taste will heighten and with it, new ecstasies will be yours.

Additionally, check this out — I know you’ll find this super cool. You’ll even get to the point where when you take your walks, you can feel the life current moving through everything around you. In this surreal — yet, also totally natural way — you’ll feel connected and pulsing with the birds, trees, and plants around you. It’s so trippy and rad! I really wish I could zap you and let you taste a bit of it now. 😌

It truly is the ushering in of LIFE MORE ABUNDANT.

So yeah. You have some pretty amazing shit to look forward to — and dude, it’s only just beginning!!! Know that over time you’ll adjust to the increased sensitivity. Somewhere along the way the loud noises and such won’t seem to bother you like they did. In fact, you’ll end up getting to a state where you just accept everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING), exactly as it is. More to come on that juicy little morsel in a future letter.

With that, I’ll sign off. Be kind and gentle with yourself as you move through these experiences. Don’t judge or doubt yourself if you need to get up and run away. There is no shame in doing what you need to take care of yourself. It’s all good. ;)

Persevere, Leo. Persevere.

Leo,

Wanna know something funny about your future?

As you find yourself in self-realization, there will come a point where you will bellow from the depth of your being in laughter. For you will have just gotten the punchline to a great cosmic joke.

What’s the joke? You ask.

Before I share it — know that from where you currently stand, it’s not going to land. You’re not going to find it funny. You’re not going to appreciate it like I (your future self) do. And that’s to be expected. I mean you’re right in the thick of things. You’re the one right now deeply in the trenches.

The implications of the joke are going to seem nonsensical. It’s all going to seem far too simple. But, you’ll come to find, that’s life. That’s how this thing, the IAM, rolls. It is utter simplicity.

So, ready for the joke?

You could do this whole enlightenment thing without ever leaving your house. You could awaken and call in the realization of your God-Self (your soul) right from your bedroom floor.

There’s no need to read another spiritual book. Listen to spiritual teachers, perform meditations, visualizations, or mantras. I know. I know. At this time, you see them as the path. However, once you stand at the mountaintop, you’ll see they were really just the debris you ended up leaving along the trail.

What? That’s not much of a joke! You say. Well, I did share that the punchline would be lost on you, didn’t I?

From where you are at present, you won’t be able to appreciate the beauty and gravity of these next couple of statements. Just know, there does come a time where you embark on an experiment that ultimately takes you in this direction.

You could forego all of the studying — all of the time wading through different spiritual beliefs and teachers — and just go inward. And you would have the great key.

For within you is everything you need. Your soul is the great liberator! Instead of searching outside of you, if you could just get really good at getting still and focusing inward — well you would bypass a lot of the detritus you end up wading through along the way. However, it does require that you learn to love, honor, and trust yourself at the deepest of levels. And oddly enough, this ends up being the hardest shit you’ll ever do.

Now here I think it’s important to call out that words like “love, honor, and trust yourself” are easily tossed around by society, metaphysical, and spiritual teachers. Yet, you’ll experience that very few have actually moved past the world’s perception and gone into true soul knowing. In real life application, it looks WAY FUCKING DIFFERENT than what a majority of the spiritual or self-help teachings portray.

Perhaps it’s best to end this letter here. Just know that there is soooooooooooooooooooo much more that I’ll share with you in regards to self-love and self-trust. For they truly are the keys to the inner kingdom.

I’ll part with one final observation. You tend to live your spirituality according to the maxim: “Seek first God and all these other things will be added unto you.”

It’s good, and I’d encourage you to still use it as your North Star. However, from my vantage point, from the mountaintop, with Soul embodied, I would adjust it to read:

“Seek first your true self, which is your Soul or God-Self within. Learn to truly love and trust yourself. Then you realize, you do have everything.“

Persevere, Leo. Persevere.

Leo,

Even though you’ve never seen me. Even though you’ve not been aware of my influence, I’ve been there. Sharing my presence, my light, and guiding you. I have never left you.

There will be many times when you feel absolutely alone. You’ll feel abandoned by spirit. You’ll find no comfort with the people in your life. Family and friends won’t get you. At some point, after many tears, you’ll give up trying to get them to understand you. You won’t know it at the time, but this is actually surrender and a step toward liberation.

Not gonna lie. It’s going to be tough and painful. You’ll attempt to distract yourself from the mental and emotional anguish. And your tactics will run the entire gamut. A new relationship will provide some momentary reprieve, until your knees nearly buckle under the weight of not being true to yourself.

You’ll try all sorts of other ways to escape. From eating out, shopping, spiritual study, to going out with friends — no matter how fun the distraction, the relief will always prove to be temporary and fleeting.

Invariably, you’ll have to face yourself in the rearview mirror on the drive home. And there, without any way to escape, the old familiar feeling of being crushingly, achingly alone will come back to the surface.

The pain of this will gnaw and tear you apart at times. It will be surreal because you’ll surround yourself with more people and yet feel ever more despondent and increasingly isolated. Sure, you’ll try to escape using masturbation. You’ll lose yourself temporarily in movies. You’ll numb yourself to a stupor with marijuana. But, you’ll continue to find yourself stuck in this psychic prison.

All this said, do not despair my dear one. I stand in what you consider your future. I am you, now the realized Master. I can assure you that you do make it through. As you reflect back on your life you’ll see that this period of unraveling was absolutely crucial.

You’ll come to experience beauty and deep reverence for this part of the journey. This period of great loneliness and suffering was necessary to force you to turn within. It was crucial for you to experience that no matter how hard you tried to run from it, tried to distract yourself, or numb the pain — this was a mental and emotional stripping that had to occur.

There really was no other way to learn this lesson. You had to viscerally feel the futility of trying to be validated or understood within the context of society and family.

You’ll come to appreciate immensely that psychic bonds and chains were lifted in the process. You’ll prove to yourself that experience truly is the great teacher. And I know it sounds far too lofty right now, but you’ll come to treasure the purifying fire.

Take heart. You’ll discover a treasure far greater than anything society, family, or friends could ever provide. For you will gain the realization of your soul — and with that — you will have everything.

Persevere, Leo. Persevere.