The amplification of complexity. You’re feeling it, yeah? The speed at which the awakening is reaching a wide variety of perspectives. The intensity of rapid change, as though humanity as a whole is squeezing through a birthing canal. What awaits us on the other side? We can’t know for sure. In a Free Will Zone such as Earth, infinite possibilities are shaping & shifting timelines with every choice each individual makes. And that’s fine. Embracing the “I don’t know” becomes more comfortable with practice.

We’re not here to predict the future. We’re here to access inner peace, so that whenever we are delivered into a future moment, we trust that we have all the tools we need within to navigate. Inner guidance systems fully activated, intuitive messages crystal clear, and permission to align with intuition granted.

Of course, growing pains can be expected. As the complexity of the Universe ramps up, so does the demand for our evolution. The rate of change can feel excruciating at times, as humanity wasn’t properly prepared for what the World Economic Forum calls “The Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

This isn’t a future concept we innocently view as entertainment from the comfort of our couches, while sci-fi movies fractal into seemingly distant realities. It’s here & now. We are living through the fusion of physical, digital, and biological worlds. Artificial intelligence is writing our code and shaping our culture. Digital currency is redefining economies. Social media has evolved into augmented social reality. Massive data centers burn through rivers of energy, exhaling heat into a world already feverish from our addiction to speed and information. All while sacred land in Australia, Chile, Nevada (to name a few mine locations), is being stripped, scraped, and drained for lithium. The “white gold” that powers our clean energy myth, leaving behind toxic salt flats and displaced communities. And somewhere behind closed lab doors, gene editing is quietly rearranging the blueprint of life itself.

We are not here to judge any aspect of the current industrial revolution as good or bad, right or wrong. Though it is here. How we respond to it is up to us.

It’s a lot to take in. How do we even begin to grasp our place in a Universe that’s spinning faster every day? Especially when, in conversations with our clients, we find that the most pressing concerns remain timeless: being a present family member, a caring and communicative friend, an active community citizen, an approachable boss, or an engaged employee. Human stuff.

So maybe that’s where we begin. With being fully human. Maybe it’s that simple. Maybe our place in the Universe, our purpose, is to become as fully human as possible.

And on that note, we invite you to slow down. Breathe. Deep breaths. Breathe all the way into your kidneys. After a few rounds of breath, how do you feel?

Maybe by becoming fully human, we collapse all timelines through our purified hearts. The present moment, experienced through the unconditionally loving heart, holds infinite power in the quantum realm. One inhale of optimism can fuel an exhale full of solutions.

Through that lens, we witness the Spirit Molecule at play, touching every soul on a global scale. And with the snap of our fingers, all industrial technology converts into Golden Future technology.

We become the intentional architects of our code. Authenticity and compassion shape our culture. Soul contracts redefine economies. Social media gives way to in-person community as we reclaim our mental health.

Data centers are no longer necessary, for we have remembered our ancient technologies (oh hey, crystals, you’ve been here all along?). Sacred land is protected. Nature is honored as Teacher, and Science bows to its role as humble student. Funding, research, experimentation, and development are conducted with transparency on the altar, opening dialogue through town hall–style assembly.

How do those possibilities feel?

Sometimes to step into the future, it’s helpful to revisit the past.

We invite you to journey back through time with us. The year is 1921, and the Second Industrial Revolution has taken root. The world hums with machinery, smoke, and momentum. Electricity surges through newly wired cities. Assembly lines are transforming craft into repetition and people into cogs in the machine, prioritizing the speed at which products can be made. Steel, oil, and mass production have become the new gods of progress.

Railways stitch continents together. Telegraphs and telephones collapse distance into instant communication. Automobiles and airplanes promise speed, mobility, and modernity. Corporations rise, urban populations swell, and consumer culture is born. It’s an age intoxicated by invention & the illusion that convenience equals freedom.

And somewhere in his hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana, Max Ehrmann is sitting down to write a poem of the ages. Desiderata.

100 years later, and this poem still slaps.

So much so, that when I am typing myself in circles to create a newsletter that I believe will help our readers cultivate inner peace, optimism, and joy for a future in which wisdom of the ages is not only valued, but embodied, I sometimes stop myself and ask, “Why bother? Didn’t Max Ehrmann already say it with precision in Desiderata?” Same as it ever was.

Though the truth is, the essence of this poem carries forward a thread of illumination along an entire lineage of ancient insight.

Rumi (13th century) reminds us,

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn’t make any sense.”

Lao Tzu poses the question in the Tao Te Ching (4th century BCE),

“Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?”

Marcus Aurelius reminds us in Meditations (2nd century CE):

“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” Other translations have attempted to drive the message home: “If you realize this, you will not find fault with others, nor will you blame the gods.” “When you realize this, you will discover the fountain of strength and peace within yourself.”

Lyrical counsel echoed throughout time. Repeated in a variety of tone and style, yet the connection to embodiment remains a mystery. What will it take for wisdom of the ages to reach us at the cellular level so we may walk the walk, instead of merely talking the talk?

And so I keep writing. Not because I believe I can say it in a new way or the way I write will awaken people into their fountain of inner peace. I write because it brings me radiant joy to synthesize my passions through language. I write because the points I love to illustrate are bursting forth from my body. I write because the alternative is depression.

When I don’t express my perception of the world, I dip into existential dread. Writing keeps me in the realm of unbridled optimism and idealism. The land of infinite possibilities.

Of course I hope our newsletters ignite cellular receptivity so that each and every soul who reads these words feels empowered to set aside conflict energy (Level 2 in Energy Leadership) in favor of responsibility (Level 3 Energy) for one’s own thoughts and feelings. Responsibility for what we are consuming, ingesting, regurgitating, perpetuating, and projecting.

Though I detach from outcomes. I know what keeps me vibing in Levels 5-7 (inner peace, radiant joy, purpose of passion), and it’s none of my business whether anyone else chooses to meet me there in Rumi’s field.

Either way, we exist, and I am in awe.

(Full disclosure, I did lean on AI for assistance in generating this image. My own drawings would not have sufficiently conveyed the vibe.)

This field Rumi describes…

When do you feel it?

What circumstances help you arrive there?

Where in your body do you feel it?

This metaphysical portal of relaxation. A dimension we all may access when we release the need to be right and loosen our grip on who we think we are. It’s the space beyond identities, where oneness reveals itself through expansion.

Recently, I heard about a course at a New England university where a professor was passionately teaching the importance of identity, digging her heels into the significance of defining ourselves by race, religion, gender, and other identifying labels. As it turns out, the course is titled “Why Identity Matters.”

Reflecting on this with Chris, I couldn’t resist making a snarky comment, “I feel for whenever she reads The Power of Now.”

The following passage from Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now offers a glimpse into why I made such a remark. Into the paradox that Rumi pointed to so long ago: to feel unity with all of creation, we must first become no one.

Page from Eckhart Tolle’s *The Power of Now*.

Ram Dass speaks of this often. The art of becoming no one. Becoming no one doesn’t mean we live in the void forever. When we have proper tools and a solid support system, it’s as tethered as a space walk. We can always return to the ship. Once we’ve become no one, we can always become someone again.

Before he was Ram Dass, he lived a whole life as Richard Alpert, Ph.D., Harvard psychologist. With the help of his best friend, Tim Leary, and some psychedelics, Richard Alpert began letting go of his identity attachments.

Imagine working toward a Ph.D., achieving the highest levels of academic prestige, and then choosing to dematerialize, letting it all go in search of the soul.

And imagine where we’d all be today had Richard Alpert not died so that Ram Dass could be born? That’s a timeline I’m grateful we’ll never have to know.

Ram Dass became somebody again within the love of a whole different community. His environment transformed from academia to holy, mental to spiritual, particularly after meeting Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji) in India in 1967, which completely transformed his life.

Maharaj-ji recognized him instantly, calling him “Ram Dass” (“Servant of God”), and through simple yet profound interactions, helped his devotee dissolve the intellectual identity of Richard Alpert.

Ram Dass devoted the rest of his life to embodying and transmitting Maharaj-ji’s teachings, especially those centered on unconditional love, service, and truth. He often said that everything he did afterward, every book, talk, or act of service, was in devotion to Maharaj-ji.

He kept a small photo of Maharaj-ji wherever he lived, led kirtans and satsangs in his honor, and referred to him as “my guru” or “my beloved Maharaj-ji.” Decades after Maharaj-ji’s passing, Ram Dass would often say, “Maharaj-ji is still here. He’s in the space between us.” A reminder of the true nature of death: it is not an ending, but a transformation.

Personally, when it comes to Gurus, I hold up my hand as a stop sign with an internal, “Hard pass.” I feel more resonance with the teachings of the Tao and Law of Being, which remind us that we are our own Guru. Though I do track Ram Dass’ journey as symbolic of the unconditional love we can develop for the Spirit within. Maharaji’s energy was so expanded, that his devotees were able to meet their karma through the lens of unconditional love simply by basking in his awareness. And I entertain the possibility that the pilgrimages of influential cultural figures to India in the 1960s were exactly what our collective consciousness needed at the time.

I’ve experienced a similar “death before death,”

that I don’t think would have been available to me had my psychedelic teachers of the 60s not explored the path already.

After graduating from law school and achieving promotions through my 7 years of devotion to a Fortune 500 company, I chose to bring death to the avatar I’d been occupying. Yes, I had lots of help from psychedelics, though the ultimate wake-up call was the birth of my niece.

I was gifted a new mirror the moment my niece was born. I could see myself through the eyes of future generations. They were peering back at me through the looking glass saying, “Really? This is what you came to Earth for? To perpetuate the status quo?”

I felt so utterly uncool.

It was time to change.

The evolution was gradual at first. It began with a desire to influence workplace culture from the inside. To help shift the energy from catabolic to anabolic. Surely that would be a mission worthy of future generations’ approval.

But when that very workplace traumatized me beyond repair, the need to bring death to that life escalated quickly. I was done being whoever I thought I had to be just to fit into an organization that was making me sick.

I let go of my once-celebrated title of “Assistant Vice President.” I let go of the insider knowledge that my golden handcuffs were on the way: “You’re in the partnership funnel. In just two years, you’ll be made partner.” I let go of the external validation that had been subtly and subconsciously guiding my steps up until that point.

And I took a leap of faith, trusting that the net would appear.

When I came to, I had moved out of Boston, was living in my parents’ house, reconciling with C-PTSD, and graduating from iPEC.

The most excruciating actualization process I could ever have imagined. Though not nearly as painful as squandering my true potential.

That’s the part Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs doesn’t illustrate. The leap into actualization sometimes requires a whole new set of roots: new ways of ensuring one’s basic necessities are met, new ways of relating to loved ones through crippling fear of no longer being accepted, new ways of cultivating self-esteem and prestige.

Though in the words of Eddie Vedder, “I... ohhh, I'm still alive...”

After a September full of such connection and opportunity, I feel as though I am officially back from my space walk and integrated into my new avatar as a Leadership & Workplace Culture Coach. I’ve become nobody so that I could rematerialize on the outside of companies with the tools to help transform “Mad Men” vibes into healthier, more fulfilling styles of leading.

And the best part: over the summer, Chris and I were hanging out with my niece, and as she admired our bracelets, we told her that Chris had picked them up in the Amazon jungle, where he spent time with the Yawanawá Tribe. Guess what she said?

“You guys are cool.”

Ten years after embarking on this journey to become a human worthy of approval from future generations, maybe even appreciation, I can officially declare the mission a success.

While I am not ready to shed this current avatar any time soon, I do have some leaves to release from my branches.

It’s time for me to let go of “the truth-seeker.”

*Current view as I write this newsletter. Watching the fallen leaves float down Blackstone River. Admiring the unimaginable beauty of death. Thank you for the sacred mirror, Mother Earth.*

This is a Test

The noise is getting louder. How do we maintain our inner quiet?

In the past month, I have embraced, “This is a test” as my mantra.

I am a Golden Future practitioner. This is an active practice.
Going down the rabbit hole of chaos contracts me back into 3D gridlines.

I stayed out of the rabbit hole all summer, focusing entirely on laying down tracks of gold, contributing to the 5D grid coming online just beyond the 3D matrix. Honoring my mission to quietly prepare humanity for an anabolic future.

Then one day in the middle of September, the day I launched our Golden Future Book Club go figure (ps, free to join), The Chaos Matrix snagged my attention. Old, familiar feelings of horror, trauma, doom & gloom surged through my body. My investigative, truth-seeking reflexes stirred. “The game is afoot” twisted adrenaline enticing me back to the theatre playing out on our screens.

I followed my addiction, my X-Files-wired instincts, thinking it would be a brief bridge to “the truth.” Instead, the excavation became a deep, vertiginous drop. I felt my escapism-prone Pisces soul free-falling through an endless, Alice-In-Wonderland like corridor: slow, surreal, with time to notice everything, strings connecting dots, shelves of information catching the light.

I’ve been deep in it. Uncovering information I never wanted to see, though I’m glad I know. Reminds me of my Telegram addiction back in 2020 & 2021.

And I am arriving at the same conclusion: So what? So what if all of my hunches are proven right? Does that give me any more credibility or safety when expressing my perspective to others? Probably not. Does not knowing make me any less safe when truths are revealed to the general public? No. Because as I said at the beginning of this newsletter, all we need is inner peace. When we are rooted in inner peace, nothing surprises us. And when nothing surprises us, we are empowered beyond measure.

It is time to claw my way back out of the Rabbit Hole.

As Thackery Binx warns in Hocus Pocus: Nothing good can come of this book.

(Shout out to Rachael C. for reminding me of the wisdom behind this warning.)

Nothing good comes from offering my attention to media theater. Allowing the infotainment industry to infiltrate my feedback loop only creates distraction.

So I redirect to creativity. I recommit to keeping my Feedback Loop pure.

Because that is what a Golden Future practitioner does. We remain aware of the madness, and we choose to focus our attention elsewhere.

A quick note about the Golden Future Book Club:

We’re still in the process of choosing our next meeting date! Harvest season brought a cornucopia of opportunities, and we’re joyfully adjusting to the richness of a full calendar.

If you’d like to be involved in deciding the next date & time, please email me at Rachel@feedbackloopcoaching.com. I’ll send out a survey soon.

And thank you to everyone who has been generating this momentum with us.

In the month of September, I’ve had the pleasure of serving Cacao in two new environments, connecting with my peer coaches and a brand new network of inspiring women entrepreneurs, starting my new weekly gig playing the Sound Bowls during Sunday Night Restorative at Mati, and collaborating with my best friends.

Pure joy connecting at FriendFest. Thank you to my mentor, Aliya Levinson, for dreaming up this event and bringing it into fruition. And a million thanks for the invitation to serve Cacao.

I uncovered a new passion in the process: serving Cacao at professional networking events. Let’s cut through the noise of inauthenticity and speak from the receptive and courageous heart. Way more efficient.

Infinite thanks to my brother Mike, creative force behind Musical Mandalas, for the gift of these Sound Bowls. The 432 Hz is creating miracles.

In the middle of this collaboration, I found myself giggling at the thought, “I’m just goofing around with friends.” My favorite version of being. Co-creating dope vibes with friends as we weave our diversity of passions into one cohesive tapestry. The ultimate chef’s kiss. Big love to Root Awakening for trusting us to land this half-day retreat in your space.

Looking ahead, we’re feeling especially excited about the Small Business Stronghold that’s been taking root here in Worcester. After attending the Small Business Summit at Clark University last week, we feel more confident than ever that what we’re offering is both unique and deeply needed within the community.

If you’d like to join the movement, email Chris@feedbackloopcoaching.com.

The Stronghold is completely free to join. At our next meeting, we’ll be diving into the Energetics of Money, exploring how money can be viewed through each of the 7 Levels of Energy.

I’d like to conclude

this long winding newsletter by returning to this topic of Death Before Death,

and posing a question:

When a tree loses its leaves, is it still the same tree?

Same goes for us. When we let go of all the ego identifications, does our essence remain?

I vote, yes. And just as new leaves grow in the spring after a winter of soil regeneration, our new identities bloom when we are ready to let our branches show.

As long as our lungs draw breath, we are always free to inhale a new moment and exhale deeper roots.

Rest in peace, beloved tree outside our old windows. Developers desecrated the sacred when they tore down the church & chopped you down to build these monstrosities:

How creative.

Though this tree will spring back no more, we alchemize this heartbreak into purpose.

I now devote my Level 7 perception of money to gathering enough of it to purchase both of these little boxes, clear the land, and plant a community of trees for the neighborhood to enjoy.

May wealth flow freely to the stewards of New Earth. We’ll take it from here.

Trixie would also like to remind everyone of the magick of October. As the veil thins, ancestral communication amplifies.

It’s a wonderful time to nourish our connection, with gratitude for the bloodlines through which we have each arrived here. The boundless love that carried us all forward.

And as the movie Coco so beautifully shows, our ancestors truly want what’s best for us. When we stand in our authenticity and express our soul gifts, we send ripples of healing throughout all of space & time, blessing not only our descendants, but our ancestors as well. Clearing up family karma by aligning with our dharma.

Every act of courage, every expression of truth, every song we sing in our own voice becomes an offering on the ancestral altar.

May this season remind us that we are both the dream and the dreamer, the twinkles in our ancestors’ eyes, the living continuation of every heartbeat that came before.

A lineage worth honoring.

If you haven’t offered gratitude to yourself for carrying the torch, I invite you to do so now. Thank you for being.

You exist,

and we are grateful.