Allow Me To Introduce Myself... (Take 2)

patriciorayaz (43)in #introduceyourself • 7 years ago

Greetings, fellow SteemIt peeps. I'm finally getting around to writing a proper introduction after some much welcomed inspiration by @theaustrianguy and his creation @welcoming. I'm Patricio and am from Los Angeles originally but moved to Medellin, Colombia, 5 years ago.

I had lived in L.A. my whole life, and although WeHo is fabulous, I was over being in the U.S. and chose to move on. I had been traveling to Colombia for 10 years before I finally said "Fuck It" and moved here. I sold most of my possessions and packed up my clothes, books and Georgie Boy, and we bounced. Below is a glimpse of Georgie's hard knock life as he poses while on a ride through the Colombian countryside. Someone hit the jackpot...

I was super fortunate to have great parents growing up. I was a complete pain in the ass as a teenager and partook in more than my fair share of bullshit. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and in fact my musical taste and personal style are still stuck in 93. That's when music was still dope in my opinion. Some of my favorites are Gangstarr, Nas, Led Zeppelin, Wu-Tang, A Tribe Called Quest, Bob Marley, N.W.A., Eric B. & Rakim, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, KRS One, Mobb Deep, Johnny Cash, Biggie Smalls, Thievery Corporation, Beastie Boys, etc.

Here's Pops with my sister and I in 78. He looks stoned as fuck, he says he wasn't.

I didn't go to college because I never did like school. I distinctly remember sitting in algebra class wondering when I'd use it in real life... I concluded never and ditched the remainder of the semester. I worked at In-N-Out (during high school) and then in construction with the family business. I've been a life coach and have done hands on healing. I've successfully participated in a few network marketing companies and have produced events for a PR firm. I was in the mortgage industry up until 2008 and now I currently sell physical gold and silver.

When I was 27, I had a life changing experience when I begrudgingly participated in the Landmark Forum. I completed the Forum and Advanced course and then moved on to become an Introduction Leader. A few years later I completed the Mastery in Transformational Training (M.I.T.T.) curriculum. I'm LP62 and coached LP 64. Jonathan Livingston Seagull for those of you that have participated. ;)

In 1999 I read the Biggest Secret by David Icke and that had a profound effect on me. From that moment on, I began to look at the world very differently. I started to see through the bullshit and realized that what's truly occurring on this planet is vastly different than what we're conditioned to believe. A few other books that I have found enlightening are Chariots of the Gods, Alice In Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster, Bringers of the Dawn, Perception Deception, Remember Who You Are, The Active Side of Infinity, Behold a Pale Horse, Trans Formation America, and The Creature from Jeckyll Island.

I have always enjoyed psychedelics, psilocybin (magic) mushrooms in particular, but from the research I did, Ayuasca seemed like it would be much more intense. My only reference point was that I smoked DMT once which was fucking insane... but in a good way. I've currently participated in a dozen Ayuasca ceremonies that have ranged in experience from extraordinary to absolutely miserable. For me, the best part is not the ceremony, but the week after as I've found that I become more compassionate, loving, connected and mindful.

Burning Man was rad. To me it felt like an amalgamation of all the personal development programs I had done, wrapped up in a grungy, sweaty, dusty, hallucinogenic, virtual reality adult Disneyland. The following shot is from 2006, the first year I attended.

I 2009 I attempted to duplicate my Burning Man experience but that didn't work out too well. We entered the playa during an epic dust storm and couldn't see 3 feet in front of us. We parked in an attempt to allow it to pass but got sidetracked at the Pink Pussy Posse disco after having done acid with some Brazilians in their RV. We never did recover from that.

At 37 I walked into Hollywood Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and took my first class. I had wanted to start training for some time but was concerned because of a reoccurring shoulder injury I had. I finally said "Fuck It" and went for it but five months later I dislocated my shoulder again. I've since had it fixed for a fraction of what it would've cost in the states and am back at it. Here's a shot of our Colombian BJJ crew!

I've just recently become fascinated with Crytocurrencies and the Blockchain technology, which led me to SteemIt. I'm a complete neophyte on the subject but am enjoying the education process. I've thrown a little cheese on the table, and honestly... this shit's exciting.

I'm super soft when it comes to animals, especially dogs. I found Georgie running through a major intersection in Watts, over 15 years ago. I pulled over intending to return him to his owners, but he didn't have a tag on his collar, the rest is history. The newest addition to the clan, Vanessa, has a similar story. We found her running through traffic on Avenida Poblado. Below is Georgie and his new sister in bed... my bed.

I have a new found love affair with Permaculture and what it stands for after having finished a few books on the subject these last few months. I believe that Permaculture has the ability to radically and positively alter the planet, one farm, one community at a time. I feel we humans need to become much more resilient, much more self sufficient.

Colombia is amazing. It's the 2nd most bio diverse country on the planet, only behind Brazil. Some of the most stunning land is in the coffee region due to it's temperate climate. Below is a shot of where I'll design and build my Permaculturally inspired finca.

Ok, so that was a lot longer than I initially anticipated. If you've made it this far, I truly appreciate your time and attention. I look forward to making some great friends here and contributing as best I can to this radical platform for many years to come!

P.S. My grammar is horrible... I know. Don't judge me.

(This is a repost because I blew it the first time and set my rewards to Power Up 100% but as @theaustrianguy so kindly pointed out, I was throwing away a ton of cash due to the price of SDB being so high right now. Sorry for the duplicate content! I'm still trying to figure this out!!)

#bjj #life #burningman #ayuasca

7 years ago in #introduceyourself by patriciorayaz (43)

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paolajane (65) 7 years ago

It's so great to finally learn more about you!