And then I came to New Mexico
So, for years, I had this vision that would come to me, whenever I would really imagine what I wanted in a work life. I would see this lively, collaborative work environment, with plants, and beauty, and light streaming in from many directions.
For years and years and years after graduating from college, I had wanted to do something meaningful, useful with my life, and really feel in service. Instead, I just tended to do computer programming work—because it was safe, high-paying, and relatively interesting. Meanwhile, I tried to get involved in numerous ecological and “activist” projects, in an attempt to help make change in the world. But I was still so frustrated.
Finally, in the spring of 2004, out of a desperate need to do something to create definite change, I decided to move to a swing state for several months before the November election, in an attempt to help get John Kerry elected, and not have George W Bush elected again for another term. It’s not that I considered the political approach to life necessarily my passion, but according to the way I was seeing things going at the time, that seemed like a good idea, and better than—once again—doing nothing concrete.
So in early September, I drove to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and started volunteering for America Coming Together.
I tried really, really hard to like it, but it was very boring, honestly. There were a bunch of people in the two-house little community I was staying in that were into something called Avatar. I didn’t really know what it was, but I trusted them. So, I decided, “okay, I’ll do the first part of this nine-day course (2 days)”. As I started to read more about it, I started to think, wow—this is the same kind of thing I have been reading about for years; but in this case, it is the clearest, most lucid and well-thought-out explanation of how this whole “what you believe creates your reality thing” I had ever seen. So I started to get inspired about doing the whole course. And, that is what I did. Doing the Avatar Course totally changed my life.
