An Impactful Realization and My Trip To An Indigenous Cree Community In Northern Canada.

I was bent over, staring into the bottom of a bucket. I was trying to throw up and purge myself of something I didn’t want to hold onto any longer. I had a woman beside me singing to me with a voice that sounded like an angel. “Take it all away till only love is left, take it all away till only love is left, take it all away till only love is left” I repeated this mantra over and over; what felt like a thousand and one times. I could see all the things I was trying to run from just staring me directly in the face with nowhere to run. This was my experience during a recent trip to Peru where I took part in a 5 day ayahuasca experience, an indigenous plant medicine that has been used for thousands of years in Peruvian culture.

Want to Read The Full 3 Part Series About My Experience In Peru? - Take me there.

During this experience I had a very real encounter with something I cannot describe as anything other than God. I have had a regular spiritual practice for over a decade now, but never considered myself to be a religious man. This experience made me question many of my previous beliefs. Over the next 4 days I attained various insights that I will never forget. The aftermath of these insights continue to unfold and shape the path my life will take. I went into this with two intentions.

1) Show me the holes. Make me aware of the things that hold me back; those which I cannot see.

2) Whatever you show me, I will listen to without any doubt, even if that means my life does a complete 180.

Both of those things happened to a degree that still surprises me each and every day. I have often wondered why connection to God is often followed by a deep state of anguish or following a period of crisis. My experience was similar. I had to stare into that bucket and beg for forgiveness for the golden gates to open and for me to experience the bliss that followed soon after. I was thinking about it this morning and this is what I realized…

What if God is something we like to consider as a separate entity simply because it is illogical and often impossible to explain with words? It feels like a connection to something or someone else, so we describe it as such. It is common to believe that you need to beg for forgiveness, repent your sins, or ask Him to come into your life when you feel lost. But my experience showed me that we are extensions of God himself. I believe that when we throw our hands up and surrender during moments of crisis, we are simultaneously putting aside all of the walls we typically use to distract us from the things that may seem problematic, but not serious enough (yet) to truly look at. I think when I was staring into the bottom of that bucket and repeating that mantra, I was surrendering to myself. I was telling the piece of me, which is an extension of God, that I am ready and willing to come face to face with everything I had been avoiding.

On the other side of this was pure bliss; A moment of clarity that was so deep I struggle to find the words to explain it. I could see my entire life; past present and future flash before my eyes. I could see how there is never only one road you can travel to get to your intended destination. I learned how our destination is actually more of a return back to exactly where we started. To learn how to love without conditions, to have no judgements of others, to be innocent and and to practice awareness in every waking moment. The free will that we have to express ourselves throughout our lives serves as a double edged sword. On one hand, it is what makes life so exciting and so beautiful. On the other hand, it often distracts us from our only real purpose, which is to Be Love.

If you want answers to deep problems, you have to be honest with yourself and look at how you view yourself and the world around you. The thoughts you think, the words you say and the choices you make are shaping your future in every moment. Once the awareness of this settles in, you begin to understand the power of this realization.

My Trip To Waskaganish

This past weekend I visited an indigenous Cree community in Northern Quebec. The community is called Waskaganish. It was a 2 hour plane ride North from Montreal. I was there for 6 days to do the off ice portion of a hockey camp that was offered to the children of the surrounding communities. There were over 100 kids at this event. They had a former NHL player who was originally from a community in the northern Quebec region. Seeing this was both impactful and challenging. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. During the camp I showcased exercises including plyometrics, footwork drills, conditioning circuits and compound movements these kids could use to elevate there game on the ice.

As great as it was to be apart of this and knowing I helped support youth athletics in a community where hockey is one of the avenues that can be used to experience the world outside of their communities and avoid the common struggles that come along with their lifestyle, I felt like so much more needed to be done if we really wanted to make a real difference. For instance, it is nearly impossible to eat healthy up there. To get adequate levels of protein you have to consume extraordinary amounts of carbohydrates. Calories are easy to get, but nutrition is limited. So many of the foods are highly processed, loaded with preservatives and high in refined sugars. Vegetables are basically non existent and food that is available in the grocery stores is priced much higher than it is in the south of Canada due to import fees. I truly believe that if the food issue was solved, so much would improve in a relative short period of time. There’s so much about their culture and ancestral roots that can be restored and would provide tremendous benefit to the current and future generations.

Hunting, fishing, growing food in the summer and using preservation techniques over the winter would be valuable for everyone. It would be of benefit to them because their health would improve. It would be beneficial to us because slowly our countries heritage would be demonstrated and celebrated. I pray for a time where everyone in our home and native land understands, values, respects and celebrates the backbone this country was built on. This is Canada’s heritage. There is an infinite amount of wisdom and culture still available to us if we would all ask ourselves how we can help to truly make a difference. I am grateful for the experience and hopeful that the necessary steps are taken to restore this lost knowledge.

Thanks for reading. Be the best you can be.

Ty.