Act III ~ Confronting The Wetikó

Episode Taurus

How NAME! “Chose” ME, Part I ~ Operation: A Diamandis “In The Rough!”

Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.
–Mary McLeod Bethune–

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
–Wayne Gretzky–

Seven years ago…TODAY!!!

April 4, 2013…4 Seed…

The day I met Dr. Peter Diamandis!!!

It was one of the most important and empowering experiences of my life!

But, amazingly, it was just the first experience…on the FIRST day, in a week that has been…perhaps…the most “Spiritually charged” of my entire journey…thus far…

With Divine irony…the week ended with a rejection e-mail from Diamandis’, San Francisco-based, Singularity University (SU), on April 11, 2013!

That e-mail altered my life path…AND my perception and comprehension of “my” NAME!…forever after!

Dr. Diamandis traveled to the Hyatt Regency hotel in San Antonio, Texas that “fate-filled” day in April 2013, to offer the keynote speech for an entrepreneur’s conference.

I had “failed” in my various attempts to “get my foot in the door” by applying to jobs at SU…over the previous few months, reaching back to December of 2012…much less even a response to my multiple e-mail and voicemail inquiries…nada!

Sooooooo…I decided to align with HIS path, and employ HIS 10th Law!

Law 10:  When faced without a challenge, make one.
“Peter’s Laws: The Creed of The Persistent and Passionate Mind”
-Dr. Peter Diamandis-

As the conference fee was $600…which was $600 more than I could afford…the best option I saw was to show up a few hours before his talk and attempt to finesse my way into a quick introduction to him…somehow!

I was picturing ONLY a few moments of time with him…

No…NOT impossible…

…just HIGHLY improbable!

Sooooooooo…I arrived with plenty of time and casually walked from my car to the Hyatt…a few blocks away from where I parked…

It was a “typically beautiful” Spring day in downtown San Antoné and…having a pair of headphones with me…I started listening to my recently created “Love For Sale” playlist of mp3s on my phone.

The music allowed me to relax and appreciate the perfect weather, which easily brought me back into the calming reality of the present moment…which, at that time in my life, was the NEW baseline I was learning to discern for how to exist at all times.

As a result, my awareness began to expand and stir in the “nervous” anticipation/excitement (not anxiety) of the coming possibilities.  I was feeling GOOD and IN THE FLOW!

After arriving at the hotel and straightening myself up in the lobby bathroom, I began to scan the information kiosk to determine what floor and room to head towards. (Picture a major conference hotel with multiple floors of conference rooms…several meetings simultaneously underway.)

Feeling nearly overwhelmed by the size of the hotel and the number of possible conference rooms…and simultaneously…not finding the entrepreneur’s conference I was looking for listed in the computer…I decided to walk over to the concierge desk.

At the desk, they politely informed me that I was standing in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt and that the Hyatt Regency…a few blocks away…was where I wanted to be!!!

Until you’re ready to look foolish, you’ll never have the possibility of being great.
–Cher–

So…feeling a bit embarrassed and silly…I thanked them for the information and started to walk again.

This time, however, I moved a little more deliberately…as that old, familiar feeling began to weave itself around my demeanor…

…creeping…dripping and spiraling into my reality…in the ever-so-subtle way that The Wetikó tinkers with the body’s endocrine and nervous systems…

…inducing the powerful distraction of anxiety, where moments earlier the same systems were allowing for the existence of a peaceful walk within The Divine Flow of the present moment!

With the benefit of hindsight, I like to perceive that my “decision” to mistakenly “choose” the Grand Hyatt, first, was influenced by Wetikó-energy, in one of Its attempts to disrupt “my” plans to meet my hero.

And it was starting to work, as the fear of failure entered my thoughts…temporarily banishing the present moment from my perception.

However, much to The Wetikó’s chagrin…I imagine…I have powerful, Divinely-delivered, allies who help me to refocus…and reenter…The Present Moment!

You win battles by knowing the enemy’s timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect.
–Miyamoto Musashi–

Amazing timing as always, synchronously, my oldest friend…Sagittarius73…called me in this moment!

Uncanny in his ability to sense himself needed…without consciously knowing/realizing it…he had the exact words to bring me back into the calm of the present moment and…most importantly…help me to refocus on the day’s goal!

As I explained what I was about to attempt, he became very excited for me and encouraged me to remember everything I’d learned about “staying in the now” and that I should “go for it” because…

“Hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained!”

…which was his way to show his comprehension of the philosophy behind Gretzky’s quote from the beginning of this piece.

Thank you, Sir!

And I was ready to go inside…the correct hotel this time!

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
–Marcel Proust–

I decided to bypass the computer and go straight for the concierge this time.

“Hello, Sir. How are you today?”, I asked, introducing myself and shaking his hand.

He responded that he was doing well and asked how he could help me.

I explained that I worked with soldiers recovering from combat injuries and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), as well as teaching Biology and Psychology courses…part-time…at local universities, and came to the hotel today because Peter Diamandis is a living hero of mine and I wanted to see if there was any way I could just quickly introduce myself to him and shake his hand.

I also mentioned that I did not have any expectations of success, but that…and I sheepishly smiled as I “spring-boarded” off of my wise friend’s advice…“We miss 100% of the shots we don’t take, right?”

“Very true!”, he said while laughing and smiling.

Leaning forward (Like he was about to whisper a secret in my ear), he then pointed up and over my right shoulder and said, “Well, listen, he’s giving the speech right up there…and there’s only one way in and out of the room.  So, I bet if you went up there and sat on the couches in the hallway…you can’t miss him coming or leaving.”

I emphatically shook his hand, again, and thanked him for the advice. (In my mind…I perceived that I had just defeated a Level One boss in a video game…the original Nintendo “Super Mario Bros.” comes to mind, because I love the “old school!”)

I climbed the single flight of stairs to the second floor and assessed the situation.

The couches he mentioned were to the right side of the hallway, that I began to walk down, after reaching the top of the stairs.

A bank of elevators was across from the couches, to my left, and the door to the room where Diamandis was to give his speech, was directly ahead and in the right corner of the hall, as it widened out…after the elevators…into a small reception area that looked down onto the lobby below.

The reception area included a conference registration table that was managed by three women who were busily checking people in.

I chose to approach the one who was all the way on the left end of the table, primarily because she was the one that made eye contact with me as I approached the table…but reflecting on it…being, to me, the most attractive of the three women…it seems like, subconsciously, The Wetikó was “on point” meow…attempting to ‘trip me up’…manifesting as many of my personal “stumbling blocks” as possible. (Like a beautiful woman…in a business suit…low blow We-ti-kó!)

As I was “dealing” with a new set of…parameters…my approach changed accordingly, as I re-explained to her what I had just said downstairs.

I had to speak quickly this time, however, because…already…there was another conference registrant lined up behind me and more were coming in…it was getting a bit crowded in the reception area.

She listened to my spiel and thought for a second, then asked if I could please wait over to the side for a few minutes, so that she could help the other people in line.

I…of course…capitulated and found a comfortable piece of wall just to her right.

After approximately 10 minutes, she called me over and asked me to re-explain myself, meow that she had a minute to listen.

So, having a little time to elaborate, I shared more of my background, stressed my lack of expectations, and my desire to “just try anything I could to meet him.”

She asked me to hang on again and I went back to my piece of wall…calmly people-watching and contemplating the dichotomous nature of the archetypal “distractingly beautiful women in a business suit”…which The Wetikó meow seemed to be manifesting all around me…karmically challenging my thought process…in process.

How could it be, I thought…perceiving myself to be, seemingly, impervious to the influences of such “base” sexuality (Which was my naive perception of myself at the time.), yet still so easily they could pull me away from the “meow” of my purpose for being there…while still keeping me SUPER in the “meow of attentively observing them” as they pass in front of me. (Paradoxes are very important…I’ve learned to pay attention to them when they “pop up”…reading somewhere that where we find paradox, we find our power…)

I don’t want my body to be a distraction from my talent or my brain.
–Shania Twain–

After a few more minutes, she called me back over and told me that she had texted the director of the conference, that he had agreed to come talk to me, and that he would be at the desk momentarily!

I shook her hand emphatically, as well, and thanked her for her help…again going back to my piece of wall to wait. (Level Two boss “defeated”…MUCH more challenging “battle” [wink, wink…heavy sarcasm]…but…it’s ok…I’m always happy to “take one for the team”!)

As promised, appearing minutes later…and looming over me…Frank had to be at least six-foot-four and was a well-put-together middle-aged man…probably in his late-forty’s or fifty’s.

From his articulate and polished manner, it was clear that he was a successful and intelligent man. Observations noted…incorporate new parameters and execute!

Same story…third version…more polished…much more relaxed and comfortable with my words and delivery. (Thanks for the “practice” Level One and Two “Bosses”!)

Frank listened to my impassioned monologue…covering all the bases of the earlier versions…but this time, I added that I, too, am “an aspiring entrepreneur“…who could not afford his wonderful event…but that I believed in what he is doing and felt that these types of conferences are helping to move our world forward…or something to that effect!

When I finished speaking, he told me that he really appreciated and was inspired by my efforts in coming down to the hotel and that it was clear to him that I was very passionate about the work I do, but that there was really nothing he could do for me…that Dr. Diamandis is one of the busiest people on the planet and that for all he (Frank) knew, as soon as he (Diamandis) finished the speech, he’d be walking to his limo to go directly back to the airport.

I shook his hand and thanked him…saying, (THANK YOU SAGGITARIUS73!!!) “Hey, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, right?”

Law 14 – Patience is a virtue, but persistence to the point of success is a blessing.
-Dr. Peter Diamandis-

When I saw how genuine his laugh and smile were, in reaction to that comment, I decided to “go for broke” and asked him if he minded if I sat on the couch by the elevators, to wait for Diamandis to walk out after his speech…that I would then simply stand up, introduce myself, and ask if I could walk with him to his car?

Frank said, “Honestly, NO…that’s NOT ok with me, unless you promise me that you will wait until after the speech…on his way out only.”

I agreed…enthusiasm beaming out of me…and said, “Are you kidding, Frank, I’d wait three days just to shake this guy’s hand!”

Again, the genuine laugh, and Frank wished me good luck, with a pat on the back.

In retrospect, I feel it may have been that last comment, more than anything else I said or did, that led to what happened next. (Level Three boss…presumably side-stepped…for the moment.)

Law 20 – If you think it is impossible, then it is…for you.
-Dr. Peter Diamandis-

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Divine Foreshadowing

I had with me both my iPad and the book I was reading at the time, “Be Here Now” by Dr. Richard Alpert, Ph.D into Baba Ram Dass…

…yes that is actually how he chose to display his two NAMEs on the title page for the first part of the book, which describes his spiritual transformation. (Amazingly, as I wrote that last line…in the VERY early hours of the first day of Spring 2014…nearly a year after it happened…I just meow (Then) “saw” the Divine irony/foreshadowing…that I brought a book with me about the experience of awakening into an awareness of the present moment…written by a guy who changed his NAME! because of and through the process being described therein!)

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Settling into one of the comfy couches, I already expected that I would potentially be there for the next three hours…possibly longer if his speech ran further than the one hour I was anticipating.

I began to listen to music again…continuing to “people-watch.”

About ten minutes later, Frank came over and made eye contact.

I quickly removed my headphones as he said, “So, Dr. Diamandis is already in the room preparing for his speech.  I went in and told him about you and he’s going to come out in a few minutes to speak with you!”

I jumped up, grabbed his hand again, and…my voice slightly cracking in excitement as it raised an octave…I exclaimed, “Frank, are you serious?!?!?! Can I please hug you?!?!?!?”

One more genuine laugh and smile as he walked away, “That won’t be necessary.”, he warmly offered.

I sat back down and observed my heart pounding as if it were on overdrive. (I demonstrate this to people by putting my hand under my shirt and simulating my heart jumping out of my chest…moving my shirt a good foot away from my body in the process…a scene found in many a Looney Toons cartoon.)

It was a “full-on” Love cascade…a plethora of physiological symptoms that were uncontrollably…simultaneously…FREAKING OUT!!!!

I didn’t pee myself…thankfully…but if felt like my consciousness was “flying” far faster than my mind and body could keep up.

For a few seconds I really could not believe that I was about to meet Peter Diamandis!

Since I had no idea how much time I had before he came out, I quickly closed my eyes…focused my breathing…and listened (with considerable effort and several failed attempts), as my heart beat slowed down.

It worked, though, and I was back “in control.”

I suddenly realized that it would probably look pretty strange to Diamandis, if he walked up to me and found my eyes still closed!

So I snapped back into the hustle and bustle of the conference attendees milling about…focusing on purposely distracting myself, meow, with the multiple beauties walking by. (Oh yeah…Level Three boss “defeated!” Only the final “battle” remained…bring it on Wetikó!!!)

Another ten minutes passed and, again, Frank walked by asking, “Has he come out yet?”

I smiled and replied, “No, Sir. I’m still waiting patiently!”

He smiled and disappeared into the conference room. I knew I was in the one-or-two-minute “countdown” meow, so I again centered myself and everyone else around me disappeared into “the field.”

I looked up…and there he was…walking towards me with Frank.

She smiled and said with an ecstatic air: “It shines like a little diamond“,
“What does?”
“This moment. It is round, it hangs in empty space like a little diamond; I am eternal.”
–Jean-Paul Sartre, The Age of Reason–

I stood and shook his hand as Frank introduced us…thanking him one more time as he walked away.

Dr. Diamandis sat down in the chair to my left…with a small wooden separator, meant for drinks and such, in-between us…my iPad, with “Be Here Now” sitting on top of it, resting there. (I’m not sure the book registered to him or if he even saw it sitting there, but it did not come up during the few minutes we spoke.)

He accepted my thanks for taking the time to come out to speak with me and asked me what he could do for me.

Overwhelmed in my bliss, I blanked for a few seconds and decided to ask him, “How are you doing?”

I think that may have been a good move, because he seemed to visibly relax for a second and leaned back into his chair, answering with his famous smile, “Very busy.”

I smiled and said, “Yes, Sir. I know you are.”

Still blanking, momentarily, as to how I was going to steer this conversation, I asked him about the pin he had on his lapel, which he then looked at, turned upright, and replied, “That’s my company, The X-Prize Foundation.”

I’m sure I blushed, because once he turned it upright, I immediately recognized the familiar logo! (I imagine that The Wetikó was simply “squeezing” all of my internal systems meow…just to keep me out of the present moment at all costs!)

I felt like SUCH a jackass at that moment…so in full moron fashion my next question was another mega-dud!

I asked him, “What do you think about the Grasshopper rockets?” (The, “VTOL,” vertical take-off, hover, and land “Grasshopper” rocket technology that the company Space-X was developing at that time.)

“Well, that’s Elon’s company, but yeah it’s pretty amazing.”, he replied evenly. (Elon Musk is the founder of Space-X.)

I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.
–Jim Morrison–

At this point, I think it was apparent to him that I was floundering, so he was gracious enough to ask me a question that helped me move us into a much better place.

“What questions do you have for me?”, he said.

“Yes, thank you!” I said and began a brief explanation regarding my work as a research coordinator and adjunct faculty…and how I had been following his and Ray Kurzweil’s work for several years…as well as most, if not all, of the faculty at SU.

I explained my attempts to contact SU and that I had already applied for a job, in December.

Further, I told him that “I believe I am particularly well-suited for this position, because I feel I am good at connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated events and concepts,” and that I could see myself thriving as the Faculty Director at SU…sitting in the center of all the brilliant scientists and researchers there, helping all of them to work more smoothly together.

That…effectively…I had been “in training” for that role, over the past two years, as the coordinator of the research study that constituted my full-time work…constantly having to placate and simultaneously manage several strong personalities represented in the various academic and military doctors and psychologists/psychiatrists with whom I worked.

I explained that I believed SU was the best place for me to continue my career in research and that I felt like I was the best suited person for the job description.

Finally, I emphatically expressed that I came to meet him today because of his direct inspiration in many areas of my life.

He listened and seemed impressed with what I had to say.  He replied that he was no longer involved in the day-to-day operations there, because of all his other commitments, but that he would be willing to give me the e-mail address of the woman at SU who would be the appropriate person to contact about the job!

I thanked him as he pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his long list of contacts.

It was in this particular Present Moment of silence that I decided to also thank him for his “laws.”

I told him that I had found profound success and happiness in my life, as a result of implementing them.

He stopped looking at his phone, smiled genuinely while giving me a sincere nod and, as he looked me in the eyes, simply said,“Thank you.”

Law 4 – Start at the top then work your way up.
-Dr. Peter Diamandis-

As he returned to his phone, I smiled widely and added, “Especially Law 4…that’s why I’m here today!”

Another genuine smile was joined by a sudden and spontaneous laugh/chuckle…almost a guffaw…as he found the contact.

After relaying the details, I thanked him again for the information and for taking the time to come speak with me.

He closed the conversation by saying ten words that may not have been chosen specifically from his point of view…but to me…it was one of the most empowering things anyone has ever said to me…“I look forward to the next time I see you.”

A gentle word, a kind look, a good–natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.
–William Hazlitt–

HIM…looking forward to seeing ME again???

I thought, in that moment, that I was IN…FOR SURE…at Singularity University!

But…little did I know…

A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.
–Jonathan Lockwood Huie–

I was wrong about that…

After he got up and left, I sat there for a few minutes.  I think it was a combination of shock and a desire to savor the moment.  I was certainly bewildered at my success just in meeting him…much less “apparently” impressing him!

My understanding of what was possible in my reality had shifted and expanded…majorly!

I needed a minute…

Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.
–Napoleon Bonaparte–

Next Piece: Act III, Episode Scorpio ~ How NAME! “Chose” ME, Part II ~ Back…To Reality!

Back To: Act III ~ Confronting The Wetikó

Forward To: Act III ~ Episode Scorpio

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