Episode 8: Nightlife to Lightlife with Andrew Mystery

Andrew.

Cheers, brother.

Cheers. Different kind of cocktail. Different.

Definitely different cheersing to life in a different way.

Yeah. Here we are in the jungle. Yeah, it's been a journey.

Yeah, it's still going.

It's still going, man. And you're about to embark on. Well, I mean, you just had a child four months ago and now you're about to birth another child. Big day for you.

Yeah, we're. We're heading up to La Aldea, which is the echo village of the future, as we call it. Gonna do a nice little land ceremony, like little blessing, ask for permission to develop on the land. And yeah, just really excited to have some close friends come up from the community and to really set the. To set the tone for what's going to be a pretty big development and big move in our life. And of course, respecting the lands is number one in our. In our books. So, yeah.

Yeah, congratulations, bro. Thanks to speak and yeah, excited to have this conversation with you because obviously we've been close for a while. So I've been witnessing your. I would say your not just transformation, but the transition, transportation, the transmutation and all that. So, you know, for those of you watching this or listening, Andrew and I have known each other for almost. Probably 20 years.

Easily.

Yeah, easily 20 years, yeah.

So early 2000s.

Early 2000s, yeah. So back in the Toronto nightlife promotion days, when we had ZRF and you had mystery promotions, you know, we were promoting parties in Toronto.

Yeah, those were the days.

Those were the days. You know, it's funny, sometimes people ask me, you know, do you ever miss your old life? And yes, we've had some amazing moments and some great parties and some highs and lows, and I wouldn't ever want to go back to that or I wouldn't want to try to recreate that now because I feel like what we experienced in Toronto nightlife In the early 2000s, when our nightlife scene just really started to first develop.

Yeah, that was before bottle service.

Before bottle service, when people used to go out and dance without phones and there was no. Yeah, social media, you know, like, I feel that we lived through such a unique, special time in Toronto nightlife and entertainment, that it happened, we helped birth it, we enjoyed it, and it's gone. And, you know, I feel like that old guy now when I'm back in Toronto, I walk down King Street, I'm like, these youngsters, they don't know what nightlife used to be like, you know, and walk down the street, we say, oh, y. That used to be atelier now it's Shoppers Drug Mart that used to be Maison and now it's Nobu Hotel. And I'm sure same for you looking at what used to be Cheval or for sure any other place, all of.

Richmond street, just completely condos. Yeah, yeah.

And I remember back then they used to say, oh yeah, this whole area is going to be condos one day. And we're like looking around it like thousands of people on the street were.

Like, that's not happening. No, it's not going to happen.

Sure enough, the man had a plan and he sure executed. And you know, those are such amazing moments and really to be a part of creating a scene and a community and we didn't know we were creating a community at the time. We just thought we were throwing really awesome parties and having fun. But now fast forward, actually you never thought of it like it's the first.

Time that we come to think of it now that we do build community together, like conscious community.

That's it. But we were creating community back then. Like we had people who would come to ZRF parties who were so loyal that they would say, like, you know, I don't go out on Saturday so I can come on Sunday. And we'd see them on the Thursday, on the Friday, on the Sunday. And you know what's cool is how they evolved with us, like from promoting. It was then Sentry room and blowfish and Maison and Atelier and Hamam and our clientele kind of grew up and matured with us and now it's like our clientele are now potentially buying a home in your community, coming on my retreats, hiring me as a coach, you know, so it's interesting the evolution of our careers and our community and how we're still servicing them and providing them with for sure events, but just in a different way now. So I would love for you to share a bit about your journey, about how you went from being in the nightlife, you know, doing all that you used to do and what was that, you know, sharing your journey to, you know, give people an idea as to what inspired you to make the move to Costa Rica and now create all that you are here. So.

Well, talk about the highs and lows of, of nightlife. My nightlife started when I was 16 years old when my parents moved me back to school, Cyprus from Canada. And, and yeah, it was, it was definitely a transition. I went to a private school there and it was definitely a great, great different look at life for me. And. But there you didn't Have a age limit to go to clubs. Okay, clubs were you were drinking at 15, 16, even 14 year olds were drinking at the clubs there. So that was my first taste. And that's where I actually threw my first party was in Cyprus. And that's where I got the bug, nightlife bug. And then came back and of course a couple friends were. I had a friend that was like busing at Jet nightclub way back, if anyone knows that, it's way back there. But for me, like, I was in the rave scene a lot and obviously going to your events and, and when the highs of nightlife and partying, I feel like it's. It's one of those things that people need to go through. It's like you find your freedom on that dance floor and you find your social dynamics and how to relate to people on a street level. So for me, that was my highs was finding like you say community and people to be with and find that social game. And then of course, along the way, I didn't really have a huge education background. I went to school for hospitality and tourism for three years and that was it. Everything I learned was just through experience. Marketing, branding, event production and everything that goes into. So all that experience was a huge high for me as well. But again, nightlife over the 15 years that I was in it deeply going out three, four nights a week, it was a destructive side to it. And, and that destructive side caught up to me in 2016. I was like, I was the director of marketing of a pretty big company called Unique Hospitality that owned multiple nightclubs.

Shout out. Matty and John Samara.

Thank you, guys. Big part of my, my, my career. And I always look back on that fondly and a lot of the experience I got was because of that. But again, like, it was. It got to the point where it was just so highly destructive because of the addictions that I picked up. Drinking three, four nights a week led to cocaine use and all this stuff. And I just woke up one day and I was like, I'm. If I don't stop this, I'm gonna die. Like, like, it was like, literally the hangovers were three, four days. And the first two days I couldn't even leave my, my house.

Wow.

So what triggered that?

What. What had you want to put coke up your nose or get wasted? Like, what. What was that for you? And the reason I asked is because. And again, not comparing or whatnot, but, you know, I, I know that I didn't drink because alcoholism was an issue in my house growing up. And Cocaine for me just never made sense because I just really got high off of being in the party, you know. So I'm curious to know like what.

It's funny because at first like I stayed away from it. Like the first five, six years I just stayed away from it. I was more into the rave drugs of ecstasy and MDMA and that stuff, which was a beautiful high back then. That's where I found my freedom and my liberation on the dance floor. A lot more happiness came from it. Obviously there was a come down from that, but I can't even pinpoint the moment that I actually, I can't even remember someone actually did ask me that and I can't remember the first time I did it. Yeah, but it's, it was one of those things like as soon as I did it, it just hung on. And one thing, I have an addictive personality. Okay. And, and that's still to today like with other things now that I'm. I haven't drank booze in almost three years now. Cocaine now and drugs has been, I think upwards of almost 2015 is when I quit. But I can't find that pivotal moment. But I do know that the, what made me want to get out of that was just the sheer pain of my, my mind, my body and my soul was screaming. My soul was screaming, you got it, you got to stop. So that was my pivot and I, I quit drinking for 60 days, which was the first I went, did some hypnotherapy as well.

How long ago was that?

It was 2015. It's funny because it was the one thing I'm good at is quitting things.

Okay.

When I put it in my mind that I'm going to quit something, I do it. So it was Toronto International Film festival, it was 2015. I knew that 10 day stretch was like, I'm like, this is going to be my last stretch. This 10 days. I'm going to go out with a bang. And so I did. The final party was actually with our friend Lauren Lane at Wildflower and, and I did, I just said, you know what? This is the last night. And I woke up two days later saying okay, that's it. And went onto my regimen. Actually a good five friend, Niels Decker recommended a book called Clean Gut okay. Which was the start of the health revolution within me. That was my, I called my reverse aging started from then so 28 day cleanse by day 14 it was the, the greatest I had felt in years. And I was like, I never want to go back to feeling the way I used to feel. Quit drinking for 60 days. But the biggest spark was what really catapulted me into the journey I'm in now was Stacy and I were in our honeymoon in Thailand that same year, a few months after I quit. And she had started bringing spirituality into the house. Yoga, meditation. She was reading books on. On psychedelics. And the DMT molecule was one of the books she was reading. But at that point, I was going through my process and wasn't really paying attention to the book she was reading. And we were in Thailand, and she had met a friend through a friend. And we were at dinner, and those two were talking. I was talking with someone else at the table, and the girl goes to Stacy, hey, would you like to do some dmt? And Stacy's like, oh, you got it. Well, sure, why not? Stacy at that point was DMT for dessert. So she had.

She sounds like such a nosada thing that would happen. I know. So, hey, what are you doing after dinner? Some dmt. Want to try me? Let's do it.

It does sound like such a Nozzara thing, for sure. Oh, man. But no one's really asked me here yet, though, so I'm waiting for that now. Okay. So we ended up going back to the girl's house, and Stacy looks at me. She's like, you're gonna do this too? I'm like, sure, why not? I'm one of those guys that just like, I'll try anything. And she's like, okay. And so she went first, did her thing. I'm watching her, and I'm like, that doesn't seem so bad, because obviously I had no clue what it was. And then it was my turn, and the girl was like. It was Changa. So it was like, in a pipe.

That's a real. That's real deal.

That's the real deal. Yeah. So she's like, taking the smoke as much as you can, and if you can take in more. And of course, from my nightlife days, I was a good smoker. Went hand in hand with drinking and smoking. So I did went. And I took in huge. And it just, like, blast off. Like, just. And I was just like, whoa, what is happening here? This is insane. And, like, after I settled in, I was like, wow, this is incredible. And that was that journey. I met a spiritual being on. That journey took me. I saw some solid gold pyramids, and they were chanting and being. I was just like. It was the most beautiful experience to this day on my journey was like. And that was that was my awakening. And so when. And even Stacy says it to this day, like, if it was the one spark that changed you was that. And I came back out of it. The realization was life is just not that serious.

Yeah.

And I was like. Because I was so, like controlling and I want to control everything. I needed to know what was happening in the future. And. And that was it.

That was because you're a LEO Alpha male entrepreneur.

100%.

I feel you, brother. One day apart, Andrew and I, one day apart. So we get each other. Yeah. And I often say that my BUFO experience has been the most beautiful journey of my life because I actually got to be with God, got to actually see what is. Where do we go? Where did we come from? And while on the topic of DMT and bufo, there will be an episode or a full podcast talking about that because these are such sacred. Chief Phillips doesn't. I was at this event on the weekend. He said stop calling them psychedelics. There's sacraments. These are sacred medicines that allow us to go beyond this 3D world to connect with those other dimensions so that we can see like this human existence is just a. Yeah. Blink in our soul's journey.

Exactly.

That's a whole other podcast in itself. So let's get back to DMT in Thailand. So you have this beautiful awakening moment.

And that was it. We. I stayed on the path, obviously the, the layers and at this point, obviously this is where my ego comes into play and I start the. All the layers that I build up with alcohol and smoking. And now is when we were transitioning. I was transitioning out of the nightlife scene and I was like. I had started the Tomorrow Today community with Stacy as a festival first in Jamaica where I got inspiration because we were, we. We did festivals together. We started Digital Dreams Music Fest and I started Exodus in Las Vegas. So I had that festival experience. And then what actually inspired to more Today was when we went to.

Because Today Tomorrow, Tomorrow Today is cultural, it's wellness, it's arts, it's, you know, empowering talks. I mean there's a lot of layers to Tomorrow Today, which is what appealed to me about it and what inspired. Because, you know, you're doing music festivals, some of the biggest DJs in the world. And now you make this jump to a wellness cultural festival in Jamaica. So what. What inspired that?

Yeah, so I was. I always thought of the festival as one dimensional, which was music festivals because that's what we were used to. Yeah. So Jamaica was. We got invited down by Kevin Burke, my partner in Jamaica, to go check it out because he had been inspired by the BPM festival. So at that point, this was pre awakening when we had gone down there, pre Mike. And so the intention was to go down there and look at it as a music festival. Okay. And. But we realized after that that trip was it wasn't going to happen because they had like a noise ordinance in place. So you couldn't play music past 12. And if you had to get an extension till 2, I told Kevin, I'm like, party doesn't start till 2 at BPM. So it's like there's no way that was happening. But then after that, me and Stacy went on a trip to.

I don't think Ralph Maddie got that message.

No, I don't think he was trying to keep pushing past two.

Shout out to Ralph Maddie.

Yeah, buddy. So then we were actually on the same trip, Further Future. Yeah, we went to the desert for Further Future was like a Burning man style event. Yeah. Festival. And what really inspired me was that they had the gastronomy tent, they had a wellness area, they had speaker stage and they had two music stages. I was like, wow, this is incredible. And I just remember this fact that I heard on the trip in Jamaica is that Jamaica was the original hippie destination of the Caribbean. And so at that point now Stacy was fully into her yoga and meditation. I was dabbling now too. I was doing yoga and I was like, okay, I think we got something here. And that's what really inspired to go to Jamaica and create a more cultural, holistic experience. And in 2017, I was born. We did a one week festival. And yeah, it was quite the journey because my first two, two and a half, three years of awakening was rough. Like really, really rough because I was just literally stripping away all this ego and layers, getting into the shadows.

Yeah.

And the universe was like. Was literally like, you, this ain't gonna come easy for you. You're not gonna utilize a holistic wellness sacred experience to just make money, you know, I mean, and of course that ego was at play. Like, oh, we're doing this to make make money. And you know what I mean? But at the same time, we're helping people. And it's like that's that battle, that tug, which we can. A whole other topic that that tug of war with. I want to make money, but I also want to help people.

So.

But the universe was like smashing us with rainstorms for the first year. It literally rained the first four days. It was insane. And it was like, it ain't gonna come easy. And next year it was again, rainstorm the last two days. And then state of emergencies in year three as well, like in Jamaica. And it was just causing people not to want to board the planes. It was just crazy. I'm just like, okay, I'm getting everything thrown at me. And 2017 was like the big year where the universe literally said, I'm taking all your money as well. And because at that point we were doing Exodus Festival. So I positioned the festival to be like, okay, I know I'm going to lose money in the first place year. It's always. It's typical with festivals. You have a three year projection, you're going to lose in the first year, make it up in the second, and start making in the third. The universe is like, I'm going to take a little more from you because I'm going to drop you with a rainstorm. You're going to lose half more sales than you expected. So that was a big hit. And then of course, when I came back, I was thinking, okay, I'm going to have some money from my other festival in Vegas, Exodus. And of course the ticketing company decides to rob about 15 promoters of their money. And that was a major hit. I'm just, okay, I'm just getting crushed in 2017. But what most people, like, I look back on it now, what most people would say is, that was the worst year of my life. I look back on it as the most transformational year of my life. It was the most pivotal because that was when I was at my bottom and it was like, it's time to build yourself up, trying to build the new person that you want to be, right? And it's like universe had to strip.

You away from everything and everything get to that point where, yeah, you had to really dig deep.

Deep, dig deep. And it was. And that was it. And then in what really was my big transition into the space of really going and doing the deep inner work, was meeting Peter Opperman on the same trip we were on in Oaxaca, Mexico. That was the deepest I'd ever gone in. Meditation is a future self workshop series that he did. And that was it. Then I did his program and had to rewire.

We were accountability partners.

Oh, yeah, we were. So, yeah, we just had to. That whole program was just rewiring and reprogramming everything that I was letting go.

Of those old stories. And what I love about Peter's meditation, because I did his meditation on New Year's Day 2018. We were there. Yeah, yeah, 2000. No, 20. 19.

Because 18 into 19.

18 into 19. Yeah, because I had moved here in 18 and then came into Oaxaca. You know, we, we exist in different timelines. Right. And that future self, that future version of you that's made the choices that are aligned to who you want to be in your true soul's calling, that future you that's made those choices exists in a different timeline. And when we can connect with that future version of ourself, feel the energy, the emotions really like embody the energy of the version of us that has all the things that we dream of right now in this moment. Yeah, we are able to receive the guidance, receive the codes, receive the, the vision to help us to take that step forward, to follow that path. And I remember so clearly the guide to visualization and the visual that I saw with Peter, I remember seeing. I lived in a really beautiful modern house in the mountains here in Nosara. I saw my brunette wife in the pool with my two children.

Oh, I remember this story.

Yeah, they're both quite young, probably like 2 and 3. And she was playing in the pool with them. And I remember just being like an eagle flying over top and seeing this panoramic view and. Yeah, and it was beautiful. And, and you know, visualization and connecting to that future self is such important work because when you can see it, you believe it, you can feel it, you can conceive it. And that's where a lot of people get stuck in their self limiting beliefs that they can actually see that future self, that version of them that has all the things that they desire, even though they're grinding so hard for it, something deep in their subconscious has them believe that they're not worthy, they're not deserving, it's not going to happen for them.

And breaking down that timeline to believe that you already do have it, it does exist.

You just have to choose to believe that it's yours. And in a meditation and a program like Peter, by going into the deep subconscious and letting go of those old stories that create the beliefs, that create our ability to manifest what we want. When you can go and rewrite those old stories, you're now cleaning the slate so you now can write new future self story. And it sounds like that's, that's the experience you had there with him. Yeah, yeah.

It was when I, when I, at that point my meditation Practice was maybe 10 minutes, but with the headsets he had, of course, the binaural beat headsets. And we went, he was doing a 45 minute meditation. It was the meet your future self. And when I came face to face with my future self, I was just bawling my eyes out, just like just in tears. And I went up to him afterwards, I was like, what the hell was that? And he goes, you want to go deeper?

Let's go.

And he had his eight week program. So shout out to Peter Opperman who's been the biggest mentor. He's now one of my best friends, brother, and now the godfather of.

Oh yeah. Because Stacy. And by the way, for those of you that don't know, Stacy is Andrew's partner, his better half. You guys have been together for 15 years next month. Fifteen years, yeah. Stacy was a Century Room cocktail waitress back in the day. Right. And obviously the mother of Zaya. Partner in all that you do doing. Anyways, I'll let you share about her later. But just for any of you who might be wondering who the Stacy person is. And she, she did the Future self program is actually the Future Self facilitator. Right.

She's a Future Self mentor now. She does of course, the Future self meditations where she guides people at all of our retreats when Peter's not there. She, she now has the, the tools to lead. And yeah, it's a powerful experience with the female, the female perspective of. And the energy from, from that. So we did it last two years at our retreats in Canada and just absolutely powerful experiences. So she's really good at channeling. And same with Peter. Like they're just, they're just channelers of just beautiful energy and it just flows without even being scripted of how they're going to guide.

That's because they're really connected in their hearts.

Yeah.

Where you and I, we're really in our heads.

Yeah.

But working on the heart connection. We're working on it.

The mine heart connection connection.

Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So you come back to Oaxaca, mind blown. You're doing the Future Self program. You see who you want to be, what you're creating and then you're back in Canada. Yeah. And pandemic happens.

Yep.

And you know, I remember because I came to Tula tomorrow todays and by that time I was already living in Costa Rica. I'm like, Andrew, yeah. You got to bring it to Costa Rica. You know, And I'm not trying to take credit for bringing tomorrow today here, but I just knew like living here with the vibe, the abundance, the conscious community and all the just I, I knew like this place is ready for tomorrow today for sure.

And it was like those three years was like, like a, a training ground, I guess, for my, my growth and my journey of, of, of of tomorrow, today. And what happened was we had just finished a retreat here in Costa Rica. And then a month later, I was in Jamaica two months prior to tomorrow, today, 2020. And of course the world went to. And everyone was like, you got to come home. We got to come home. And this is like, I'm not canceling this festival. Stacy's like, we're not canceling. We're like, we're gonna, we're gonna be soul rebels, like we said, saying we're gonna power through. But again, of course the pressure was just like, they're closing borders now. And they really drove up that fear. And I was like, okay, so we made the decision to pull the plug. Yeah. So we took the, the virtual fest online. It was, and I was saying it was just, it was, it was. People were isolated. There were people at home by themselves, not with a significant other or friends or family. And they were, they needed it. It was a very important time to, to put the work out there. And everything that we've been learning through Jamaica and all our coaches and our teachers, they came ready and they were like, they delivered so well over those 10 days. It was such an incredible experience. So that pivot was almost like the universe saying, hey, it's time to look at connecting your community 365 days a year. Because whereas in Jamaica we'd meet once a year, then do this big 12 month gap with nothing in between. So we were thrusted into this 365 day a year container where we, we use a white label social app platform called the Mighty Network. So it keeps people connected on a daily basis. And then we were running events and programs. We ended up doing four virtual fests over that first year and a bit which has now transitioned into a program which we launched, the Tomorrow Today Academy where we test piloted for about a year with 30 of our members. An ongoing non secular program where we met every Monday live. We did breath work on the first Monday, then we do a couple workshops the following Mondays. And then we'd have a men's and a women's circle once a month. And it just kept people connected to conscious lifestyle. That was the goal, is to help you break free from that mainstream narrative because obviously a lot of people have this one foot in and their intuition is telling them, I'm not feeling what's happening in this mainstream right now. Like the world is going in this direction. My Intuition is guiding me somewhere else. So we've created this platform where people can really find that community to be 100% living a conscious lifestyle. Slowly, obviously we're not trying to rip them out of there because obviously what my awakening was quite rough, as I was saying. And it's a nice gentle way of bringing people into the, this conscious lifestyle.

Yeah. And that's super important to have community to connect and support you through the journey because, you know, for many people, you know, who might come on one of my retreats and they have this big shift in perspective and they realize, okay, I don't want to go back and go out every Friday, Saturday, get wasted. I don't want to go back to that lifestyle. Their fear is, but my friends aren't going to understand me. Like I'm not going to be able to hang out with my friends because they're into that lifestyle, they're doing certain toxic behaviors, whatever it may be, that just don't feel good anymore. And that's why I often tell people there are online communities like Tomorrow, Today, like Summit, like even Burning Man, a lot of these big events. And many coaches have online communities that you can join. Because when you're going through your transformation and you're feeling resistance and the dissonance is there between you and your pressure.

From friends and family.

Yeah. It can be very lonely, be very confusing. And that's why to have community to tap into, to be with people who share the same mindset and beliefs is really what gives you the strength to make that, make that hard transition. Because you're unraveling 30, 40, 50 years of who you are and letting go of that identity, letting go of those habits which you've carried for so long.

They'Re ingrained in our neural pathways. Like it's just how we're programmed.

Absolutely. And that's why moving to Costa Rica Nosara made so much sense. Because having Chris Hawk, having Lindsey, having, you know, friends like Fern and like, there's a handful, up to about a dozen really great people here in my Nosada community that welcomed me, that supported my transition and that played such a big part. So, you know, for any of you going through a life altering journey and transformation right now, find your community, find your tribe, you know, and just count on them, ask for help, you know. Yeah.

And that was the big thing for me when my awakening, I didn't have community. I had all these friends that were like, but I was in Jamaica most of the time, I didn't have community. And now that I see this birthing into this academy and seeing, like, people coming to our retreats. Like last year at our Tomorrow Today dream camp in algonquin, there were 20 some odd people there that came by themselves. And I was like, wow, that's such a beautiful thing. Because they were just like, I can't hang out with my friends anymore. I need to find community. And it's the number one most important thing to do in this work, I believe, is the connect the community is the integration and making a part of your lifestyle. I think a lot of us, why we moved down here was to be fully surrounded by conscious community.

Yeah.

Like, we can get our conscious community circles in Toronto. It's a little bit of different, of a dynamic because we got to make appointments or go to this retreat or go to this event and to connect or go to dinner with them. It's always making appointments here. It's just the way it is.

Yeah. And it goes from using tools to actually embodying the work. So that's not that, oh, I have to remember to meditate anymore or I have to, you know, remember to dance to stimulate my divine feminine. It's like, no, it's like we dance every Wednesday because that's what we do, you know, and it's just lifestyle, you know, so it's about finding those people who are aligned with your values, with your beliefs, with your perspective that support who you want to become and, you.

Know.

Transition to that lifestyle. So you're fully embodying the tools and the modalities that have helped you make the shift so that it just. It becomes seamless, it becomes effortless. It just becomes the new you, the future self.

Life is just like a meditation here. It's just we're flowing and it's. It's so at ease. And obviously not everybody can move to the jungle like us.

Yeah.

In a whim. Yeah.

So. And I'd love for you to share that because, look, you had to. You had, I don't say give up a lot, but you had to let go of many things to make them move down here.

Well, the. The Stacy actually had more to give up. I actually had the intuition almost the same time as you to. To move somewhere out, at least out of the city, because we were right in the heart of it, King Street West. And I was like, I'm just. I'd already been two years, a year and a bit outside of the nightlife, leaving nightlife World. And so I was like, it's down here is not for me anymore. But Stacy's Career started to take off. She was the lead meditation teacher at Mindset Brain Gym, which was one of the first meditation studios in the city. She was doing yoga all over the city, so I wanted to obviously honor that. And she started to find her. Her groove in her career. But of course, Covid hit and took all that away from her. I was like, stacy, it's time to go. It's time to move. And she obviously, Stacey has a little. She's a little harder time with change. But I was like, no going up on the market. Condos up on the market. We put it up in April, started getting a whole bunch of lowball offers because of the pandemic. But then we waited. We finally got our number and I was like, we sold in the summer of 2020. Literally minimized everything that we had. We got rid of everything down to like one small locker. We've got some stuff back there and feels good. That was one of the best things, was just getting rid of everything. I know you went through that same process too. And it was like, the stuff holds us down. It's just crazy. I'm like, where's all this stuff coming from?

Yeah, but now you've got a bunch of stuff in a locker you don't even give a about. Yeah, but it's like, ah, you know.

I don't even care. I don't even care what's in there.

Yeah.

And we lived in this 900 square foot, beautiful condo, don't get me wrong. But then we packed, we went and moved it. Moved into Stacy's parents for a few months just for that transition. And I was like, their house is huge. I'm like, what the hell? Did we even think our condo was big? Like, we thought our condo was actually a good size. And it's like, nah. So and then we ended up coming to Costa Rica for six months as of December of 2020 into 2021, all of last year. And we just traveled around the country, went to every coast. We went to Puerto Viejo, went down to Dominical and Ovita, went to Santa Teresa. And at this point we were like, okay, we wanna, we want to buy land and we want to build a home here, here. And we just didn't know what that looked like. We were like. And Stacy is obviously, she's the patient one. And she's like, don't worry, it's going to find us. I'm the. The Leo's like, oh, every piece of land. So I'm like, this is it. This is it. It was like, let's do it. Let's do it. It was like, no. And so we were torn between the South Dominical here in Nozada because the South Dominical is just such a lush jungle, tons of water. And we just kept hearing that Guanacaste doesn't have water. Not enough water. And there's going to be water problems in this area.

Not this season.

Definitely not this season. 100%. So. But anyways, like there was two weeks left on our trip in 2021 and I ended up at Bodhi Tree. We're promoting for the summer Soul event we were doing with Sabo here this summer Solstice event. And I ran into Sabo. Sabo is obviously one of the main sound healers here in Nosada. And we got to talking and he was like, yeah, I just, I'm building an off grid home up in the mountains in Saragossa. He goes, do you want to come check it out? I'm like, yeah, let's go, let's go check it out. So we went up there the next day. We went up into his farm. He had like banana plantation, 3,000 citrus trees. But the biggest thing was we walked down and hiked down to a natural spring. And I'm like, there's a spring here. Like there's actually water flowing through this mountain. He goes, yeah, and this mountain range is the San Juan mountain range, okay. He goes, this is its own microclimate. So this little mountain range here, it's special. And at that point I'd remember it. I'm like, oh. Someone had told me this guy Andres, who's now my partner in Laodea, that he had land that we could look at. Called him right away and I was like, hey, I want to come take a look at the land you were talking about. And it just happened to be 10 minutes down the road from Sables land. Went and walked this property and again, beautiful spring and creek system flowing through it. And that was mine and Stacy's number one non negotiable was that the land needed to have its own natural source of water on it. And then it happened to have its own water well as well, which was bonus, like hit, literally hit the lottery, especially here in Costa. So that was it. We closed on it in August of last year. And now we're in the preliminary master plan phase. We just finished our topography and really getting a sense of the land and, and, and really designing from a permaculture perspective is what we're really trying to do. And this is where we're at we're getting actually our presentation tomorrow from the architects with potential ways of how the community is going to connect from the homes to the holistic experiential center we're developing and the common areas. And it's just a beautiful thing. And it's just, it's scary though because I. It's a big project and I was talking about this in our men's group yesterday. It's like the last month and a half has been a lot of pressure. Not just Mercury retrograde, there was eclipses. So I kept telling people, if you didn't feel the energy of the last month, you got to check your pulse. Because there was a lot of trans transitional energies and, and heavier energies. And I was feeling it the last month and a half through financials of the bio. And so it's when we evolve going through this. We're evolving on this journey. I've, we've, I've. My visions are always big. So I've. My vision for this land ended up being 44 acres versus just an acre or two to build a home. Now it's 44 acres. I'm like, what did I get myself into here? And that's where I hit a wall on the. Of my involvement evolving and. But again, that's where I got to stop and learn the lessons of, okay, I've reached this point in my life, I wanted this. Now what are the lessons? Lessons from it. And there's a lot of real. A big reality check over the last month and a half for myself is like, how much can I take on energy wise, time wise? I have, I'm a father now. I have a baby. It's like, okay, it's like I have all these big dreams for tomorrow. Today I wanted to expand to Bali. We're talking to Ralph about we want to do Jamaica again for psilocybin retreats. And I'm like, no, no, no. We gotta slow things down.

Yeah.

And work on what we can control. Plus I got laude now, so it's like, okay, I can only do so much. That was the big reality change over the last month. And as we evolve, we got to really stop at some point. Check the dreams, put them in check, get a nice, plant some roots and really focus on what we can do best.

Yeah. And as you share that, because you and I are so similar in that way where there's something we've wanted for so long and we're, we're there, we're making it happen and it's coming together and before it's even done. We're already thinking about the next two or three projects. You know, there's this pattern in my way of being and how I operate where I'm always wanting to create, create, create. And I love to create. Like, I'm a manifester. I love the idea of, you know, just having an idea, a concept, and bringing it to fruition. And a question someone asked me when I was talking about all my travels and where I go and all the things that I'm doing. And he said, I want to ask you, what does home mean to you? When I say home, how do you feel? And home for me feels unsafe. Home for me feels unstable. It feels unpredictable and tension and right out when I think of home, like, just the word home, what it brings up for me. And he asked me, he said, do you feel you're at home with yourself? Or how. How often do you feel like you're at home with yourself? And I had to check in with myself, and I realized that I don't feel very home within myself, which is part of the reason why I'm always traveling. I'm always on to the next project. I'm always juggling multiple things. And we don't want to be at home with ourself because that is where we have to deal with what we are constantly moving away from. And it's something I'm present to ever since that conversation and something I'm leaning into to ask myself, what is it that I'm afraid to be at home with? So I throw the question to you because you and I are very similar in many ways from, obviously, our career path. We've had our own vices, and we're both creatives, both manifestors. So with all that you take on and all the ideas and all that you're creating, what are you afraid to be at home with?

I close my eyes for this one. Home right now is unsettling. Just because we have been nomadic, we don't have a home. So it's definitely been unsettling. And especially now that we have Zaya, although home is where the heart is, and. And she has brought so much joy to wherever we're living. Home, it's just a box, right? Yeah. So. And I think Stacy were always on that. Like, it didn't really matter where we were as long as we had shelter and we were happy and grateful for our home. But home again, it's. We're both Leos, and it's. Where is it that we just are content? Like, I'm. I feel like this insatiable thirst to just keep creating, creating, creating, and not focusing on what I do best.

Okay.

So, yeah, I think that's.

And there's a difference between creating and keeping busy.

Exactly.

Right. And when I also ask about home, when I speak about. About home, I speak about what home felt like during my childhood, you know, because it's that feeling of instability and a lack of safety that caused home to feel uncomfortable for me. Because for now, at the moment, I love my house. I just fully renovated my home. I. I've stayed here in Costa Rica longer just so I could hang out in my house. Like, I really love being home now.

Yeah.

But even when I'm in my home, I'm not at home with myself. And the reason I ask you is because, again, many parallels, many similar behaviors. This busyness that we are constantly activating within us. You know, like, most people would pause and be like, okay, my wife, my child, I'm building a community. I've got my online community in business. I'm good. I don't need to do anything. And you think about Bali, you're thinking about going to. You back to Jamaica, you're thinking about all these other things.

So.

And you know, you don't have to answer this now, but maybe just a question to consider. Where does the desire to be so busy come from? And if you were to check in and ask yourself, how often are you at home with yourself, you know, maybe leaning into that answer and exploring. Yeah. What that could mean. Because I'm present to the fact that there is some deep, deep stuff there that I have still yet to process and heal from so that I can be still and just be at home myself and be okay. Because, you know, I do also realize that a lot of my ability to perform form was also to prove myself, was also to show the world, hey, I am good enough, actually, look how great I can be. Look at my fancy club. Look at my beautiful restaurant. Look at my, you know, fit body or whatever it may be, you know, So a question for you to contemplate on your own time. Yeah. And, yeah, just something that came up for me as you're sharing all the different things you're going through and working.

Yeah. I think for me, like, there's this desire to just help people. I think there's a. I did feel helpless at home growing up. It was a very. Although we got everything we needed at home through my mom and my dad, we had everything. We were raised great, but there was obviously the turbulence. My parents were always fighting, and my mom and I don't have the greatest relationship, so there's definitely some mother wounds there. Unsettling of being at home. And my desire to not just help people, but also curate and to create a family like me and Stacy are a conscious family. And breaking the old karmic blockages, the karmic patterns that we have in our lineages, like my mom's side of the family has some deep, deep depression on her side of the family. And so it's important for us to create this new way of living and being from the family unit onto our community and helping as many people as possible on this path. And I think my desire to my. My Leo in me is always like, I need to create all these things and create this ecosystem is where it keeps me stretched too thin.

Yeah.

And so that was my realization over the last month and a bit that I need to bring it in and, and really take the timeline, take my time and energy and really turn it into a currency. And then focus and really focus. I just got to get focused, more.

Focused and take care of yourself so that you're bringing the fullest, most empowered version of you, because, you know, your. You and Stacy are leaders in your own community, and now you're going to be leaders in your physical community. And that's. That's a lot to take on. And I acknowledge you for your leadership. You know, you. You definitely inspire me. You know, you, you know, from becoming a father to what you've done tomorrow, today, the Aldea community, definitely something that I aspire to create as well. You know, psychology for that. And proud of you. And thank you, man. You know, it's beautiful to see you make all of this magic happen. And, you know, I feel that there's probably some people listening to this or watching that don't know what a conscious community is. So obviously, it's something we're very familiar with because we live in one. And, you know, we've been following and paying attention to these different communities that are growing up all around us. But can you share with us a bit about, you know, what is a conscious community and what are some of the unique elements of the La Aldea community that someone would want to know about? Because, you know, when people come on one of my retreats, like, oh, my God, I could live here. I would love my life to be like this. Like, what could life be like this every day? I'm like, yeah, it can be. There are communities all over Costa Rica that this is life. You get up, you do a group Yoga session. Everybody has breakfast together. There's, you know, I'll. I'll have you share what your vision is for LA conscious community so people can understand, like you, you can leave the city. Yeah. You can leave wherever you are and be a part of a real community.

Yeah, I think people can find it in the city for sure. It really does start with you consciousness and your awareness of what do I want in life? Like, how do I want to live my life? And if you look at your surroundings and you see that, yeah, I have all these amazing, like, well, what they call amazing friends. But it's like, a lot of times are my friends cheering me on, you know, I mean, and if you look to your friends, be like, you achieve something, but they're not really cheering you on. If actually, recently we had a community member say that her father just had a heart attack and she went in and she realized that her new community, the conscious community of Tomorrow Today, was there for her. So much more so than her lifelong friends. Just little examples like that. That's conscious communities, people that actually are living from the heart and breaking down these, these mainstream narratives that I keep talking about is we're told to live in this hustle culture. We're told. Told that we need to strive to be better than others and compete and make more money and. And show off all these things and stuff. And it's like, it doesn't have to be like that. We can live so minimally by just connecting with other humans that are going to be there in support and mentorship when you're having your ups and your downs. I think that's the biggest thing with, with Tomorrow Today community is like, you always have a space to come to where even a total stranger you've never met is going to show you more respect and love versus a lifelong friend that you've had for so long. And I think this is where the big divide in the world has been happening over the last few years is this constant division. And it's like, it doesn't have to be that way. We can come to the table and discuss issues in a conscious way and in a mature way and understand other people's point of views and not hate on them or berate them or give your perspective. It's just listening to someone. Just listen.

Yeah. Without judgment.

Without judgment. Just listen. And I think that's where a lot of our sharing circles come in. We have nice sharing circles where people can come and just speak openly. We just had our metamorphosis men's gathering yesterday These guys were going through some deep shit. Yeah. In the last month and a half or just in life in general. And it's. We had four new guys in the group yesterday and they were like, wow. It's like this is the first time that any man has listened to me without giving me their opinion and without telling me what to do. And that's where the biggest difference in a conscious community is.

You already have the community. You've got the Tomorrow Today tribe. What do you call them? Soul Rebels. You got Soul Rebels, you got your torte Soul Rebels. And now you're building this physical conscious community space. So if someone, if imagine it's where future selves right now and we're three years down the road, we're pulling up to the La Aldea gates and we're coming in and you're giving me a tour. Walk us through what, what would someone expect to see in the La Aldea community?

You would walk into our. The first space would be you'd walk into our boutique little welcome center where you'd be greeted by our family. We're not gonna have any staff there, everybody's family members, number one, whoever's there. And then you'll be welcomed by this beautiful lounge pool area overlooking a beautiful ocean, five different beaches, features, 360 degree views of Samara, Guionis, Garza, Palada, Ostiena, San Juanillo, beautiful peak at the top. And we're going to have a little restaurant, lounge, pool and some herbal garden gardens. Herbal gardens there, terrace gardens. And then on the second floor we're creating a multifunctional event space of which we're calling it right now is a sunset stargazing solarium that'll be a yoga Shala space, multifunctional event space. And then there'll be about 20 homes, lots that will be going on sale for people to be able to purchase their own slice of jungle paradise and build their own home. With two home designs to choose from as well, that'll seamlessly bring the community together. And then we'll have a holistic experiential center where we're going to do the Future Temple, which is Peter Opperman's program where we're going to be. It's going to be a leadership school bringing in some of the top coaches in the world to, to do residency programs to build the leaders of the future, Conscious leaders of the future and the Irish Sol Shala space, ceremonial space and an event space where we can do a lot of what we do with Tomorrow Today. There as well. So that's the beautiful ecosystem of Laodea, which was with the online community, with our Tomorrow Today Academy, connects our community all over the world, 365 days a year that's online now. We have the Echo Village to connect our community 365 days a year in person. Beautiful. So it's a beautiful complement to our festivals and retreats that we're doing. So this Tomorrow Today ecosystem now is okay. I live in this academy or this online space and I feel like going on a trip here to Jamaica or Costa Rica, which we're doing our festival, I believe, in March of 2023, bringing the full culture fest back. And. And then of course, Dream camping to Canada, which is a kids camp, which is tapping into our inner child, which is a beautiful experience that's coming up in August. So, yeah, we just feel like we have this incredible ecosystem, conscious community that people can tap into at their own pace. No pressure to jump into any programs or go on any trips. It's just a safe space for people to come in and really meet good people in the world and coaches like you and, and yeah, it's just that's. That's our vision for the future and really looking forward to really making some true positive change, not just in this community, but globally. And obviously I can't do it myself. We're going to do it in community. I think there was this beautiful quote by Thich Nhat Anh, who just passed saying that the next Buddha is not going to be an individual person. The next Buddha is going to be community. I love that. So that's what I really look at and be like, hey, that's. And the beauty is there's multiple communities that people can tap into and get what they need in life. So. Love it. Yeah.

Amazing. Cool. Well, yeah. And again, I acknowledge you for your leadership, for your vision, for making this happen. You know, I've probably met two dozen people over the last four years who've talked about building a conscious community. Now a lot of people talk, but you're making it happen. So congrats, brother. I'm proud of you for it and can't wait to come and join for some workshops and meet the community when. When it's up and running. And for anybody who's interested in learning more about La Aldea, I'll put the link down below. You're now taking like, I guess, pre registration.

Pre registration. Yeah.

For people too.

Yeah.

And yeah, maybe they'll have to fly down to get a tour of the land.

That's it. Yeah. Thanks for having me. I'm actually very inspired by you and your journey too, brother. Like, we've been on this together, and I'm really looking forward to growing with you.

Yeah, we're just getting started.

That's it.

We're just getting started. Yeah. And God willing, you know, Zaya and my kids will be playing together in a few years.

I think it's going to happen.

That's what I'm calling it.

See it in the future.

It's already here, my man.

Thanks, brother. Thank you, thank you.