Amazing.

Doesn’t that have a nice ring to it?

Michael Moore thinks so.

And so do I.

It gives me chills of joy and excitement to watch it.

It inspires me.

It also teaches me a little something about effective marketing.  If I can connect emotionally to my potential clients, I don’t have to sell them.

They’re already sold.

Just Do It.

When we talk about notions of freedom and citizenry, inevitably other profound issues also come up, like nationhood, politics, privilege, and now more than ever, what it means to be patriotic in its many forms.

Whatever your views on these, and however they play out in your life and your conversations today (and any day), I wanted to share with you (perhaps you’ve already heard it) Marvin Gaye’s live rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States of America.

It’s the most beautiful rendition I’ve ever heard.

Recently, I gave a testimonial that I want to share with you on the personal benefits I’ve received by conscientiously applying Dr. Baron’s Equation for Manifestation (EFM) audio program on a daily basis.

As Dov voice guides you through the 16-minute EFM meditative process, mixed on the audio are 7 additional layers of music and rhythms that collectively are called brain wave patterning designed to neutralize the mind’s chatter, allowing your own positive messages to drop into your subconscious.

It’s a wonderful process, and here’s what I have to say about it (I no longer have the crazy, spikey hair, though!).

Since I am having challenges actually embedding the video into this blog, click this link to view the full-screen version (It’s only 53 seconds long):  Tshombe’s EFM Testimonial or TshombeEFM.notlong.com

Because Dov is in high demand, this was a rare opportunity to connect with Dov in a more intimate and informal context where attendees could ask him any question they desired. In fact, Dov has never offered a forum like this before (to my knowledge).

He and his team offered the workshop at no cost to anyone who wished to attend.

There were only two caveats. The first was that "Only the serious could apply". In other words, the sole stipulation for attendance was the proviso that attendees be committed to their own self-development and personal growth rather than being "tire kickers."

The second was that each participant had to agree to attend both days of the workshop.

The content was amazing. I volunteered at the event and still was able to take pages and pages of notes. I’m quite sure that, had everything been transcribed, the content would fill volumes.

(The event was filmed and recorded, so it’s quite within the realm of possibility that it could be transcribed verbatim. Since it was essentially a question-and-answer format, I think they should have it transcribed. They could then publish it either traditionally or through self-publishing or print-on-demand means like lulu.com or iUniverse. I wonder if they’ve thought of that? The investment would be minimal.)

What did I learn?

Well, I haven’t really had the chance to go through my notes as thoroughly as I would like. I probably should type them up, but here are few things I learned from Dov, as he answered questions that were put to him during the two-day event:

• Did you know that ‘the walls of your mind can melt’ without the use of drugs?  Dov took us through a modified holotropic breathing exercise and explained what Stanislav Grof developed during the 1970s and 80s.
• Discipline (i.e., "will power") doesn’t work long-term.  It is what we make important in our lives that matters.  Are you finding it difficult to pinpoint exactly what is most important to you?   Look at what you are currently struggling with in your life and that will be your clue.
• Feeling scattered?  Ungrounded?  Run both of your wrists under cold water and deeply (and simultaneously) breathe in the cold through your nose, down through your feet and into the Earth.
• One way to access the subconscious mind is during hypnagogia, or the hypnagogic state.  This is the transition between wakefulness and sleep.  Messages are thought to be most powerfully implanted during this state.  Since children are essentially walking around in this state much of the time, and the subconcious mind receives the majority of its information between 0 and 7 years of age, it’s of the utmost importance that parents or primary care givers and others proactively and consciously provide the child with life affirming messages.
• Dov illustrated the power of mind over matter, citing Franz Mesmer‘s healing work on Charles Fillmore and his wife in the late 1800s.
• 8 steps to finding your purpose.  Ask yourself:
1. If I could instantly do whatever I wanted and be instantly qualified to do that thing, what would I do?
2. What is it that I tell myself in order not to do it?
3. Who do I know or who could I find who would be willing to help me do it?
4. What 5 things do I currently have that would make it easier for me to do it than most people?
5. How would me doing it impact the people I love for the better?
6. How would me doing it impact humanity better?
7. What one thing can I do in the next 24 hours that would move me in the direction of doing that?
8. What am I doing when my lights go on?  What is it that when I’m speaking about it, I get impassioned, juiced? (First, ask yourself this final question and write it down. Then, without revealing your own answer, ask your friends to answer the question about you.)
• Dov scratched the surface of the philosophies of Richard Bach, including discussion of the quote "You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past."
• Did you know that $34 trillion circulates the world every day?  And that’s just what’s legal!  Clearly, there is no real lack of money in the world.
• When we have the courage to step out and do something different, we show others it’s possible for them, too.  (Example:  Roger Bannister breaking the 4-minute mile)
• Dov discussed his interpretation of the coming end of the world in 2012, as predicted by Sacred Geometry and the Mayan Calendar.  Which path will you choose?
• I learned a technique for developing laserbeam mental focus that took Dov himself 4 years to perfect!  (I better get to practicing!)
• I learned what a dead seagull and an eagle have to do with making decisive choices and following my dreams.
• I learned how to instantly moved from a state of depression to one of joy by shifting my focus and by manipulating my body’s energy centers.
• Dov described déjà vu as a "glitch in the Matrix." He used String Theory, Many-worlds/Parallel Universes Theory, and the Law of Resonance to describe the phenomenon.
• Did you know a child can be born addicted to stress because of the influence of the mother and father?
• Why does mental illness exist?  What purpose does it serve?  Dov explained in detail his view on this topic.
• Have you ever wondered when it is time to leave a relationship and agonized over the decision?  Dov gave a crystal clear answer to this question, which has to do with the present or absence of commitment to growth, development and healing.
• Dov gave a great example of the difference between "outcome" and "goal."  On the journey of this life on Earth, goals are important, without attachment to the outcome.  So-called "enlightenment" is a journey, not a destination:
• A goal is a marker on a progressive journey whereas,
• Outcomes are all about postponing your joy

And much, MUCH more.  What an awesome event.  I hope he hosts another "First Access" event, so both you and I can improve the quality of our relationships and of our resonance.

This morning, something moved me to give more than cursory treatment to a YouTube video — sent to me by my sister, Tahirah — that I also want to share with you here.

Far more articulate than me, recently-naturalized US citizen, Derrick Ashlong, offers an answer to would-be critics of Obama who assert that he is heavy on emotional appeal, but lacking in substance.  Derrick illustrates with incredible reasoning that nothing can be further from the truth, and shows with equal power the depth of engagement young people have in this politcal process at this historic time.

This spontaneous, impromptu interview (where it is clear the interviewer intended to catch Derrick unprepared and uninformed) is just shy of 6 minutes long.

Awesome, don’t you think?

Those who know me know that I have been won over by Senator Obama.   I am inspired by the message and politics and consistency of Senator Obama, particularly his broad appeal and commitment to collaboration and unity — as opposed to a hardline, go-it-alone attitude — as the vehicle through which positive change can occur.

This has been my impression of the man already.  Derrick’s interview only served to further seal the deal. 

In fact, the response was so great, Derrick was moved to record a follow-up response to this interview to explain his deeply personal and emotional reasons for supporting Obama.

I hope you’ll take a moment (about 7 1/2 minutes) to also view the following video by Derrick Ashlong.  I think you’ll find it inspiring and moving, regardless of whether you agree with his choice of candidate to be the next President of the United States or not.

I would love to hear from you about your thoughts and your impressions.

For now, I leave you with Derrick Ashlong:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s a somber and sobering day, as I remember Dr. King and the legacy he created in life and in death.  Forty years after the death of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., there is still much work to do.

That’s why it is also a day of rejoicing that you and I have the honor and privilege of embracing the spirit of Dr. King and taking up his torch of freedom, racial equality, and economic justice for everyone.

Will you take up the challenge? 

I am also reminded today of my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Dov Baron (who was just a 10-year-old boy when Dr. King died), whose mission is to raise consciousness and impact the world with the same magnitude that Dr. King impacted his.

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but Dr. Baron has surely impacted me in immeasurably powerful ways.

I just looked at my email there’s a contest in progress that you can enter!  Since time is of the essence — it ends at midnight tomorrow — I wanted to tell you about it right away.

(Apparently there were other contests that I should have known about and told you about, but as I mentioned in my last post, the month of March seemed to disappear into thin air for me!  I must have missed the notices.)

Dov Baron just last week launched his new eBook, The Secret Beyond the Law of Attraction.  There have been some questions about how to order, why anyone would want to purchase it, what makes this book different than all the other books on the Law of Attraction, whether this is just another bunch of hype, and other healthy skepticism-type questions like that.

Get the answers by clicking over to:  http://www.secretbeyondthelawofattraction.com/answers.htm

And for the contest where you have the opportunity to win

• a copy of Dov Baron’s Equation for Manifestation Audio Technology CD (I’ve used this myself with amazing results, as I you can see in my testimonial at this link.  See me live in the flesh by scrolling down to the handsome black man, dressed in black with the spikey hair!), and
• a copy of Dov Baron’s new eBook, The Secret Beyond the Law of Attraction (at this link, you’ll see among many testimonials, one from my partner, the writer and poet Chad Helder.  Scroll down the page to see it.)

Now (for real this time!), I’m off to find that video clip I promised you!