Category: Transforming Pain

Plastic Gold Coins

Published on March 22, 2026

Yesterday, as I was reflecting on the loss of my friend Lisa Lux, as I meditated closely on the thin line that separates life and death—me from death; her from life; and each of us from the opposite—and carefully allowed myself to enter that empathetic space of feeling what she might’ve felt and what I was surely feeling… I got abruptly interrupted three times.

…And each was by a different co-worker to talk to me about plastic gold coins.

See there was an event we were hosting at our martial arts school where the students could play arcade-style martial arts games to win plastic gold coins that they could turn in for prizes. And we didn’t have enough gold coins for the night. So my co-workers and I were scrambling to find solutions. Long story short, we were checking out and calling every local place that might sell them and keeping each other updated so we didn’t overlap efforts.

In no way was I upset about this.

But I did find it to be such a powerful analogy for the ways in which death hides behind life.

There I was… there we were (all of my co-workers knew Lisa Lux as well)… mourning the loss of our friend… except we weren’t able to because we kept getting ripped back to the urgent reality—the one where death ceases to exist—by one of the most trivial, insignificant, worthless of items here on this earth… plastic gold coins.

And if plastic gold coins can keep us from thinking about our mortality and death… just think about what even slightly more “important,” “significant,” and “worthy” things can do…

RIP Lisa Lux

Published on March 20, 2026

“Lux” was exactly right.

She was a light.

She was warm, vibrant, and kept away the dark.

She texted me, not even a month ago and said, “Hey I wanted to give you a health update. We came back from our family trip and I had routine scans. They ended up admitting me. Long story short there is nothin left they can do for me and that I don’t have much time left.”

I went and saw her that afternoon.

And even then… even after that text… as she laid there in that hospital bed…

She smiled. She talked about her plans for healing. She commented on how what we were watching was her favorite show.

She cried when we spoke of her son—as a stream of warm wax might run down the side of a well lit candle. His innocence and pure heart meeting the cold, cruel, and dark.

…But only because the world he knew—the one his mom worked so hard to build—was so much the opposite. Her wick touching the wicks of so many around them that what resulted was a brilliance of light—one that even the most cunning of darknesses struggled to fight.

But what was most brilliant about Lisa Lux… is that it was never a fight.

Not light vs darkness. Not us vs. them. Not her vs. cancer.

“Because when you fight, it fights back.” She said.

No.

It was simply an overflowing of warmth, vibrance, and light. From her to her son and husband… her to her friends and loved ones… her to acquaintances and even strangers.

Not to build an army. But to build beautiful light.

RIP. 🙏🏼

Square In The Jaw

Published on March 15, 2026

I couldn’t open the gate.

I was maybe 8 years old, and standing between me and my grandfather’s swimming pool that was situated in the middle of his assisted living complex, was this grumpy 10 or 11 year old who stood looking down at me from the other side.

I can’t recall his exact choice of words, but it rang along the lines of, “You can’t enter.” “What are you going to do about it?” “Make me.” Followed by a select choice of ugly, demeaning, worst-he-could-think-of adjectives.

Standing behind me was my sister and childhood friend, who was around 10 or 11 himself.

My sister and I didn’t really know what to say or do. And stood there like fawns soaked in white light… still trying to figure out what problems we must’ve caused?

My friend knew what was going on though.

This kid wasn’t upset, hurt, or offended by anything we did.

This kid was looking to upset, hurt, or offend.

And this friend navigated it by the book in the exact way I would teach it as a martial arts instructor today.

He kept my sister and I back. He spoke calmly. He told this kid we didn’t want any problems, we were just trying to swim, to relax, to leave us alone… and when pressed by the bully… at the exact moment when the bully reached out to grab and tackle my friend…

My friend punched him square in the jaw.

Dropped the kid in one punch.

Then calmly left him there to gather himself and walked my sister and I back to the pool.

We never had an issue with that kid again.

The Beauty Of A Beautiful Garden

Published on March 12, 2026

Inner work cleans the ground; prepares the garden bed.

It allows you to express suppressed emotions, let go or alchemize past trauma, and unlearn harmful beliefs.

…But this isn’t what plants the seeds or grows the garden.

New lifestyle habits should be initiated… activities scheduled… connections rekindled or explored. And each needs to be watered… exposed to the appropriate amount of sun… and cared for.

It’s this two step effort that grows the garden of a beautiful life—so that the same past garbage doesn’t just re-do what the inner work works so hard to clean up.

And instead of the clean bare land attracting back in garbage or debris (like an empty table in a busy family household), the ground eventually gets filled with an incredible array of flowers and trees and plants… so much so that there’s no room for anything else to wander in.

And even if it does… the beauty of a beautiful garden is that even the garbage starts to feel out of place. The aesthetics alone make it feel displaced and make it want to catch the next wind drift and wander out and away.

And suddenly… instead of cleaning endlessly and focusing solely on removing trash… you get to focus on beauty… and investing love and light into the garden of your life that begins to attract more of the same and repel more of the opposite.

You Know It’s Magic… Don’t You?

Published on March 10, 2026

The modern day brain has been programmed (quite literally) to desperately avoid boredom.

I overheard a child say to their parent the other day, “Mom, I’m so bored” in a play area that had books, puzzles, coloring sheets, crayons, colored pencils, magna-tiles, blocks, and so on.

…And what was the child hoping they could get access to to cure their boredom? …That’s right—their parents’ phone.

And as sad as that might sound… what you should consider is whether or not you and your loved ones are any better off.

What do you do when you crash on the couch after a long day? Or when you’re stuck in line at a restaurant? Or when you’re waiting for your child to finish their club/ class/ activity?

Because I’ll tell you what the majority of parents do while they’re waiting for their son or daughter to finish martial arts class… as soon as even an inkling of boredom occurs… they open up their phone.

This is not meant to be a criticism. It’s simply meant to be an inner work prompt. What is your relationship with boredom? Do you and boredom ever sit with each other for any amount of time? Or do you avoid boredom like the plague? When’s the last time you did what you encourage your kids to do (if you have any) and use your imagination to build, draw, or create minus the screens?

I’ll tell you what… there’s a magic in boredom that no screen game can touch.

…Just look at how a bored child can turn three blocks into entire worlds that are travelled and explored for hours and hours and hours at a time.

Indicators That Inner Work Is Needed:

Published on March 4, 2026

Struggle to meditate.
Struggle to dance.
Struggle to love.

At our core… these are truth. These are nature. These are pure.

Everything that causes us to struggle is lies… nurture… tainted.

The Cost Of Being “Too Busy” To Create

Published on February 23, 2026

Think of some of your favorite things you’ve ever created in life—the things people will remember you by.

How much would someone have to pay you to remove that creation from ever existing in your life?

…The thing is: many of us are doing this daily. And for A LOT less than we think.

Think about how many creations have been “taken away” because of extra work or from bringing work home or from being too exhausted to create after work…

Think, too, about how long some of those favorite creations took you to make? …And how much you get paid per hour in your job/career? …And if that creation is worth that price?

For many of us… the answer would be an unwavering, “No.”

And yet… many of us continue to work for that hourly rate at the expense of the things we might’ve been so proud to have created.

This isn’t a call to quit your job. It’s a call to renew your commitment towards creation—in the time you can afford to budget… just like you do so vigilantly for your job.

Nobody is going to make the time for you—especially not your boss.

But if you can be your own boss and learn how to make the time for yourself again… what you might end up with is something far more valuable than anything your boss ever gives you in a check.