Rest and Release

I'm currently in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico covering a wellness experience at The White Lodge. This sustainable property nestled in a concave of new development and a terrain replete with mud, lime, straw cottages and desert land, merges alongside the Sea of Cortés. The simplicity of the resort was captivating — flashes of the 1960's TV sitcom hit Gilligan's Island often came to the forefront of my mind.

After settling in for a day, I was taken into a cacao and Temazcalli ceremony. Led by an indigenous medicine woman whose ancestral heritage spans both Mayan and Aztec tradition, the 2.5 hour experience was intense on varying levels. The pure ceremonial cacao beans which were crushed and heated was designed to open the heart and the Temazcalli (an igloo shaped domicile representing the mother’s womb) is said to purify the mind, soul, and body through the use of large volcanic heated stones, fragrant plants, steam, drumming, and light chanting.

An intention was set before entering the Temazcalli. Interestingly, before I made my intention known in the area of love, the medicine woman inadvertently stated in her native tongue, "To bring love in, one must first bring love to self."

After exiting the Temazcalli, I felt lighter and free. The experience helped me realize that life is but a series of moments. If held on for too long, they begin to suffocate. They need space to breathe. Memories are beautiful. They connect us with the deeper experiences of our lives which often take us back to joy. But the opposite side of joy is suffering. Too much of anything can be debilitating if not set free.

The Temazcalli's clarion call was clear - release and let go!

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Every Tuesday morning at 10 AM EST I will post a powerful prompt and follow it wherever it leads. The aim is to resource all "three brains" — head 🧠, heart 💓, and gut 🤰 — in hopes of connecting the dots to those sticky parts in our nature that matter so we can live our best life.

As a syndicated columnist for Authority Magazine and Thrive Global, I have interviewed nearly 175 cancer survivors from all walks of life. In my #1 best-selling book, I Survived Cancer and Here Is How I Did It, I share the true stories of 35 of those survivors and what they learned physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually from this very difficult experience which has forever shaped their worldview. The intention is to tell a survivor story — that cancer is not an ultimate death sentence. Help support this movement by purchasing and sharing this Book, eBook, or Audiobook.