I've been in my new home country, Panama, for about 24 hours now, and it feels more like home than anyplace I've been in at least 17 years. And for February, I'm not even in my own place, but rather a luxury 23rd floor suite at the Esplendor Hotel.
Maybe it's the people. Even though I speak hardly a word of Spanish, we seem to communicate and they are welcoming and friendly, if not downright exuberant. I definitely am more a tropical person than a chilly wet weather aficionado, though the transition from San Francisco may take a few weeks in body adjustment. But sunny and warm are my favorite weather report words.
So I've begun my status as an expat. Some of my friends are pretending to be jealous or envious. But most of them have less hurdles to leap over to accomplish such a major move than I had. If they knew all the nitty gritty facts about Panama, it would no longer be pretending. This is perhaps the most telling fact about this small Central American nation between two great oceans--those who are its most enthusiastic fans are mostly well-traveled folks who have seen much of the world and can thus compare the delights of Panama to many alternatives.
I had a great meal last night at Jimmy's, just across the street. And a great brunch at Manolos, just down the road. Played some low stakes three card poker at the Royal Casino, got my factory unlocked iPhone 5 fitted with a sim card, a month's worth of unlimited text and data service for $15, and a $10 prepaid phone card, walked down the street to the huge Rey supermarket and bought some preliminary necessities, like Coke Zero, locally made paper towels and toilet tissue, Kleenex, an onion, and a very strange purplish tomato that sliced open looks like a maroon kiwi, but tastes like an interestingly tart tomato. My total bill was $8.50.
Tomorrow, with two friends, I visit the famous Allbrook Mall for some more shopping. They serve such generous portions at the restaurants here, that in between eating out, I may largely survive on doggie bags.
Bringing all my stuff with me means I have about three days worth of intense unpacking to do. But knowing me, I will probably take three weeks to do it. No one has to say, "Welcome to Panama, Jerry," though they do. The place itself shouts out a warm Latin welcome from every direction.
You may enjoy my prosperity blog, too:
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Friday, February 1, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
MY INNER EX-CONVICT SPEAKS
In preparation for relocating to Panama in a few weeks, I have been sorting through many piles of papers, including hundreds of letters written and received during my 12 years in prison. I also came upon a bunch of writing from those days, some of which I plan to tap into when I eventually write a prison memoir. The following essay, from sometime in the late 1990s, is an example of this:
There is in Eastern tradition something known as "The walk of a thousand days." In this spiritual cleansing process, someone gives up not only all his (or her) possessions but everything and everyone familiar in life and walks forward into uncharted territory so that he may come to know himself and the true nature of the universe in a much deeper way. When I first heard about this I thought that three years was an awfully long time to be spent in lonely contemplation--and I also thought that very few people have the luxury to be able to walk away from their lives and responsibilities to take on this kind of project of self revelation, or as some might see it, self-indulgence.
Thanks to an unpredictable series of events involving some immensely stupid choices on my part and some turns and twists beyond my control, I've been given a chance to take my own thousand day walk times four. I don't get to do that much walking and the scenery isn't constantly changing, but all the other elements are there and perhaps even intensified. The actor, Robert Downey, Jr., told the Today Show two weeks before his release from Corcoran State Prison, located just down the road from my current place of worship, Pleasant Valley State Prison, that "prison is spiritually debilitating, it's like dying."
I can't say I agree with Downey. Yes, there are many horrible truths about prison--some that would shock even the most ardent supporter of law and order if they became known. But prison also has the capacity to be spiritually strengthening, and it has the power and potential to allow someone to find new meaning and purpose in life, free from many of the distractions and concerns of the outside world. In this, it has much in common with the walk of a thousand days.
There is in Eastern tradition something known as "The walk of a thousand days." In this spiritual cleansing process, someone gives up not only all his (or her) possessions but everything and everyone familiar in life and walks forward into uncharted territory so that he may come to know himself and the true nature of the universe in a much deeper way. When I first heard about this I thought that three years was an awfully long time to be spent in lonely contemplation--and I also thought that very few people have the luxury to be able to walk away from their lives and responsibilities to take on this kind of project of self revelation, or as some might see it, self-indulgence.
Thanks to an unpredictable series of events involving some immensely stupid choices on my part and some turns and twists beyond my control, I've been given a chance to take my own thousand day walk times four. I don't get to do that much walking and the scenery isn't constantly changing, but all the other elements are there and perhaps even intensified. The actor, Robert Downey, Jr., told the Today Show two weeks before his release from Corcoran State Prison, located just down the road from my current place of worship, Pleasant Valley State Prison, that "prison is spiritually debilitating, it's like dying."
I can't say I agree with Downey. Yes, there are many horrible truths about prison--some that would shock even the most ardent supporter of law and order if they became known. But prison also has the capacity to be spiritually strengthening, and it has the power and potential to allow someone to find new meaning and purpose in life, free from many of the distractions and concerns of the outside world. In this, it has much in common with the walk of a thousand days.
Jerry
My other blog focuses on prosperity and can be found at:
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
THE GREATEST NEW YEAR'S SHOW ON EARTH
Finally, the Philadelphia classic (going back to the 18th Century) New Year's Mummer's Parade is getting some of its just due, with livestreaming available nationwide (and I suppose worldwide), and lots more exposure of this greatest parade I've ever experienced, dwarfing the Rose Parade and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in terms of sheer volume, music, dancing, and comedy.
http://www.mummersmuseum.com/
Before I was born, and I think before he even met my mother, my dad, Edward, was a marching banjo player in the most popular band in the parade, The Ferko String Band. My own favorite instrument in watching the parade were the xylophones. We kids would imitate the strutters by holding our coats open and singing the iconic song most identified with the Mummers, "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers." Which was written near the end of the 19th Century by an African-American composer and was a mainstay for blackface performers in minstrel shows. It is still ubiquitous in today's parade.
New Year's Day was usually cold in Philadelphia, and I would be bundled up as I walked with my parents the three blocks from our 11th Street home in South Philly to Broad Street, where, if we were early enough, we could get a place on the curb to sit. As I grew older, I would go with my friends. It was like a three ring circus. There were the string bands, with their Vegas showgirl-type elaborate costumes and headdresses, then the comic divisions, making fun of just about everything going on in the world, and the fancy dress divisions, as colorful and inventive as any Rose Parade float. There were actual floats, too.
It was a far longer parade than most, often lasting six hours or more. A sort of endurance contest, but worth every minute shivering in the cold and watching one's breath as the parade went by. If I was lucky, a soft pretzel vendor would appear and I could warm my hands on a heated version of Philadelphia's gift to culinary culture.
Perhaps Carnaval as celebrated in several cities in Panama can match the Mummer's Parade, but somehow I doubt it. I'll be moving there in time for that mid-February celebration, so we shall see.
http://www.mummersmuseum.com/
Before I was born, and I think before he even met my mother, my dad, Edward, was a marching banjo player in the most popular band in the parade, The Ferko String Band. My own favorite instrument in watching the parade were the xylophones. We kids would imitate the strutters by holding our coats open and singing the iconic song most identified with the Mummers, "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers." Which was written near the end of the 19th Century by an African-American composer and was a mainstay for blackface performers in minstrel shows. It is still ubiquitous in today's parade.
New Year's Day was usually cold in Philadelphia, and I would be bundled up as I walked with my parents the three blocks from our 11th Street home in South Philly to Broad Street, where, if we were early enough, we could get a place on the curb to sit. As I grew older, I would go with my friends. It was like a three ring circus. There were the string bands, with their Vegas showgirl-type elaborate costumes and headdresses, then the comic divisions, making fun of just about everything going on in the world, and the fancy dress divisions, as colorful and inventive as any Rose Parade float. There were actual floats, too.
It was a far longer parade than most, often lasting six hours or more. A sort of endurance contest, but worth every minute shivering in the cold and watching one's breath as the parade went by. If I was lucky, a soft pretzel vendor would appear and I could warm my hands on a heated version of Philadelphia's gift to culinary culture.
Perhaps Carnaval as celebrated in several cities in Panama can match the Mummer's Parade, but somehow I doubt it. I'll be moving there in time for that mid-February celebration, so we shall see.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Friday, December 28, 2012
HAPPY IS AS HAPPY DOES
"HAPPY HOLIDAYS!" "HAPPY HANUKKAH!" "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" "JOYFUL AND TRIUMPHANT!"
We hear a lot of references to happiness and its synonyms during this time of year, and we are seeing an interesting phenomenon throughout the year and throughout society. Happiness is becoming more relevant. In part this is due to a number of research studies that have shown that people are healthier and live longer and are even more financially successful when they feel happy.
There was just a study reported on which shows that grumpiness is related in men to a lowering of testosterone levels, so that the term "grumpy old men" is pretty accurate. And grumpy is pretty much the opposite of happy. Twenty years ago, when college students were asked about what their major aspiration was, a large majority said it was to make lots of money. Now, when the same question is asked, the answer is that they want to be happy and make a difference in the world.
More than a few people have asked me how in the world I could have been happy during my time in prison, how I could smile and write cartoon gags and notes for a humorous prison memoir and future stand-up act in the midst of that depressing environment. I think just asking that question indicates more about the person asking it than me no matter how I answer. It reveals someone who doesn't understand the basic truth about states of mind, moods, and psychological balance and well being. To put it as simply as possible, happiness has nothing to do with one's external reality. It is an inner experience, and as such can transcend even horrible physical environments and situations. We are happy when we choose to be happy no matter what else is going on around us in that outer world.
Lots of people are struggling with financial anxiety, worried about the debt and deficit and government dysfunction in dealing with the economy. But none of that matters, or has to have anything to do with whether we are happy or unhappy. Unless we choose to make it matter, unless we choose to stay focused outside ourselves on something that may or may not occur.
If you didn't see or feel or remember at least a dozen things today that made you feel happy, then you are not paying attention to what is really going on, but rather choosing to focus on limited, negative, disappointing, frustrating fantasies about what is going on.
You may not have the same view on this as I do, but I'll guarantee you one thing--if not, my smile as I write this is a lot bigger than yours as you read it.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog at: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
We hear a lot of references to happiness and its synonyms during this time of year, and we are seeing an interesting phenomenon throughout the year and throughout society. Happiness is becoming more relevant. In part this is due to a number of research studies that have shown that people are healthier and live longer and are even more financially successful when they feel happy.
There was just a study reported on which shows that grumpiness is related in men to a lowering of testosterone levels, so that the term "grumpy old men" is pretty accurate. And grumpy is pretty much the opposite of happy. Twenty years ago, when college students were asked about what their major aspiration was, a large majority said it was to make lots of money. Now, when the same question is asked, the answer is that they want to be happy and make a difference in the world.
More than a few people have asked me how in the world I could have been happy during my time in prison, how I could smile and write cartoon gags and notes for a humorous prison memoir and future stand-up act in the midst of that depressing environment. I think just asking that question indicates more about the person asking it than me no matter how I answer. It reveals someone who doesn't understand the basic truth about states of mind, moods, and psychological balance and well being. To put it as simply as possible, happiness has nothing to do with one's external reality. It is an inner experience, and as such can transcend even horrible physical environments and situations. We are happy when we choose to be happy no matter what else is going on around us in that outer world.
Lots of people are struggling with financial anxiety, worried about the debt and deficit and government dysfunction in dealing with the economy. But none of that matters, or has to have anything to do with whether we are happy or unhappy. Unless we choose to make it matter, unless we choose to stay focused outside ourselves on something that may or may not occur.
If you didn't see or feel or remember at least a dozen things today that made you feel happy, then you are not paying attention to what is really going on, but rather choosing to focus on limited, negative, disappointing, frustrating fantasies about what is going on.
You may not have the same view on this as I do, but I'll guarantee you one thing--if not, my smile as I write this is a lot bigger than yours as you read it.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog at: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
LIVING IN PARADISE
Though I am sometimes envious when I read something I wish I had written, even if it's not a literary masterpiece, I mostly just appreciate and share it. This is an unusual post in that I am doing just that, and it's an article or essay from a commercial site, International Living, which I follow because it is focused on Americans moving to wonderful places around the world and provides lots of useful free information. This appeared today and reconfirms my decision to move to Panama at the end of January.
26 Ways to Know You're Living in Paradise...
By John Curran
By John Curran
During the recent Powerball hype, a friend asked me if I won the lottery, would I move somewhere else? Sure I would! I would move anywhere...but only if you can find me a place that has...
- Good weather, the kind that doesn’t require a furnace or A/C to cope—just a T-shirt and a sweatshirt.
- Beautiful scenery...because life’s too short to live someplace ugly.
- Access to plenty of clean water all year round for cooking, cleaning, and drinking—because I tend to do all three year round...
- The proper mix of sun and rain so flowers, plants, and trees don’t just grow, but flourish. (I lived in the desert as well as the snow and cold for far too many years.)
- Internet access where I can read, watch, or download whatever I want or need.
- Decent roads (I’ve traveled in the outback of Kenya...)
- Fresh fruits and vegetables available year round—full of flavor, not chemicals— because I tend to eat year round.
- Airports, so I can leave when I need to and, more importantly, come back when I want to.
- A healthy environment because I don’t want to live in a place where I’ll need the most expensive health care in the world.
- Friendly people who view their life as a privilege, not a right—and live accordingly.
- A government that minds its business...so I can get on with mine.
- Decent public transportation, even in rural areas, because sometimes theburro (donkey) is in the shop.
- A teeny-tiny police force because that’s all that’s required.
- Peace and quiet.
- A news media that doesn’t think the Kardashians are news.
- Clean, crisp air so the sky really is blue during the day, and at night, I can see all the stars I remember as a kid.
- Good food... because I like to cook and bake.
- Good restaurants... because I don’t always like to cook and bake.
- Lots of holidays—because, well, why not?
- An appalling lack of mosquitos because I’ve lived in Wisconsin.
- A low-stress environment. I’m a firm believer that stress causes bridges, buildings, and especially people to fail at their weakest point.
- Airports where I can go through security with a full bottle of water and my dignity.
- Adequate health care because you just never know, somebody I care about might need it one day.
- Low property taxes because I don’t like paying for my house...twice.
- A lot of chickens because when you have chickens around, you’re already halfway to a laugh.
- People with a "you only go around once" attitude to life. "I wish I had spent more time at work" were never anyone’s dying words.
Now John lives in Ecuador not Panama. And there are a few differences between the two. For one, though still low crime, I think Panama has more than a "teeny-tiny" police force. Also, one thing, and this is much more important to me, is Panama has no earthquakes or volcanoes, both very present in Ecuador. They do share the happy fact that neither country has hurricanes. All in all, we all can use all these items as a checklist as to whether we are really living the best lifestyle we can be living.
Jerry
I equate lifestyle with prosperity, and you can check out my prosperity blog at:
Monday, December 10, 2012
TOOTHLESS MOSQUITOS
If mosquitos didn't have those four rows of teeth that allow them to suck out your blood, they would be harmless, just mildly annoying occurrences in life. This is exactly how I view the obstacles, challenges, and setbacks that pop up in my life, as they do in all of our lives from time to time.
I have been exuberant of late, preparing to move to Panama on February 1st, where I have already met a terrific group of new friends and have a great support system in place for my efforts as that nation's first English-speaking stand-up comedian, as well as continuing as a motivational speaker and workshop facilitator. The ten days I spent there in October convinced me that all the glowing reports I had from my friend Tony Busse about living in that tropical country were being seriously understated.
But in recent days, I've been dealing with a sore back, probably due to overdoing it in sorting through all my accumulated stuff, lugging some of it out to the recycling bin, deciding what to take, what to give away and what to throw away. And just minutes ago, my so-far-very-dependable two year old high definition 24 inch computer monitor just up and quit on me. Technical nitwit that I am, I haven't a clue.
I see people all around me, and even posting on Facebook, allowing even less significant events to cause anxiety, depression, anger, sadness, and general mood damage. Notice I say, "allowing," because we do have a choice when these occur. Perhaps the factor that helps most is that I am on a path I am passionate about, work and an upcoming lifestyle that fill me with excitement and joy. So in the larger scheme of things, little temporary setbacks won't get in my way. If you have not gone for your passion, then even very petty events can throw you for a loop.
So I am headed for my chiropractor in about an hour, who just happens to be across from In-N-Out Burger, which I feared I might not get a final visit to before I leave February 1st. And I will either stumble upon a way to get my monitor back on, or someone will give me a suggestion that will get it going, or I will just have one less bulky object to take with me to Panama, and will buy a new, maybe even larger once once I get there.
Oh yes, I am human and I got severely pissed at both events...my back and my monitor...but just for about a minute each. I gritted my teeth and growled in upset and frustration, for exactly a minute, intentionally, forcefully. It feels good, try it the next time something doesn't go your way. I did it in prison every single day, railed and ranted against the terribly dehumanizing unfairness of it all, for one single minute, and then went on to plunge into creative projects and daydreams and meditation and visualization. We all need to remember that we control the balance of things, and all mosquitos can be toothless if that's how we see them.
I have been exuberant of late, preparing to move to Panama on February 1st, where I have already met a terrific group of new friends and have a great support system in place for my efforts as that nation's first English-speaking stand-up comedian, as well as continuing as a motivational speaker and workshop facilitator. The ten days I spent there in October convinced me that all the glowing reports I had from my friend Tony Busse about living in that tropical country were being seriously understated.
But in recent days, I've been dealing with a sore back, probably due to overdoing it in sorting through all my accumulated stuff, lugging some of it out to the recycling bin, deciding what to take, what to give away and what to throw away. And just minutes ago, my so-far-very-dependable two year old high definition 24 inch computer monitor just up and quit on me. Technical nitwit that I am, I haven't a clue.
I see people all around me, and even posting on Facebook, allowing even less significant events to cause anxiety, depression, anger, sadness, and general mood damage. Notice I say, "allowing," because we do have a choice when these occur. Perhaps the factor that helps most is that I am on a path I am passionate about, work and an upcoming lifestyle that fill me with excitement and joy. So in the larger scheme of things, little temporary setbacks won't get in my way. If you have not gone for your passion, then even very petty events can throw you for a loop.
So I am headed for my chiropractor in about an hour, who just happens to be across from In-N-Out Burger, which I feared I might not get a final visit to before I leave February 1st. And I will either stumble upon a way to get my monitor back on, or someone will give me a suggestion that will get it going, or I will just have one less bulky object to take with me to Panama, and will buy a new, maybe even larger once once I get there.
Oh yes, I am human and I got severely pissed at both events...my back and my monitor...but just for about a minute each. I gritted my teeth and growled in upset and frustration, for exactly a minute, intentionally, forcefully. It feels good, try it the next time something doesn't go your way. I did it in prison every single day, railed and ranted against the terribly dehumanizing unfairness of it all, for one single minute, and then went on to plunge into creative projects and daydreams and meditation and visualization. We all need to remember that we control the balance of things, and all mosquitos can be toothless if that's how we see them.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog, too:
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
IMPROVING YOUR ALREADYNESS
I just came across a great quote from the Dalai Lama:
"Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."
This is so profound on so many levels. As an author, motivational speaker, and teacher over many years, it always has been most significant for me when a student uses what I offer to improve, expand, or accelerate his or her alreadyness (my newly coined word of the day).
There are many who teach others to become almost clones of themselves, as there are institutions that teach participants and devotees to become regimented followers. Many organized religions would be appalled by the Dalai Lama's advice, having as their main focus the idea of worshippers becoming good whatever-the-church-wants-and-expects-you-to-be. One of the spiritual teachers I most admired was Jiddu Krishnamurti, who had some two million "followers" or disciples worldwide as a young man, but disavowed them and disbanded the organization he led to become what he termed a "simple teacher".
It can be very heady stuff having followers or even fans. When Moneylove first gained major recognition, I was approached by a number of people who wanted to become apprentices or disciples of my prosperity teachings, little Jerry Gillies mini-mes. I discouraged them all. One went on to become one of the leading lights of the prosperity teaching movement with a bestselling book, even appearing in the movie, The Secret, so I evidently was right in turning him down at the time. He found his own way, as we all ultimately must do.
When I taught meditation and was running the Biofeedback Institute in New York with two partners, I always was careful to teach that meditation is not going off in a corner or a cave and putting all your attention on your breathing or your mantra. That's just the preparation for meditation. A true meditator has learned to absorb those skills into his or her everyday life, so that everything becomes a meditation, so that meditation is an enhancement to what they are already doing, to what-they-already-are.
"Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."
This is so profound on so many levels. As an author, motivational speaker, and teacher over many years, it always has been most significant for me when a student uses what I offer to improve, expand, or accelerate his or her alreadyness (my newly coined word of the day).
There are many who teach others to become almost clones of themselves, as there are institutions that teach participants and devotees to become regimented followers. Many organized religions would be appalled by the Dalai Lama's advice, having as their main focus the idea of worshippers becoming good whatever-the-church-wants-and-expects-you-to-be. One of the spiritual teachers I most admired was Jiddu Krishnamurti, who had some two million "followers" or disciples worldwide as a young man, but disavowed them and disbanded the organization he led to become what he termed a "simple teacher".
It can be very heady stuff having followers or even fans. When Moneylove first gained major recognition, I was approached by a number of people who wanted to become apprentices or disciples of my prosperity teachings, little Jerry Gillies mini-mes. I discouraged them all. One went on to become one of the leading lights of the prosperity teaching movement with a bestselling book, even appearing in the movie, The Secret, so I evidently was right in turning him down at the time. He found his own way, as we all ultimately must do.
When I taught meditation and was running the Biofeedback Institute in New York with two partners, I always was careful to teach that meditation is not going off in a corner or a cave and putting all your attention on your breathing or your mantra. That's just the preparation for meditation. A true meditator has learned to absorb those skills into his or her everyday life, so that everything becomes a meditation, so that meditation is an enhancement to what they are already doing, to what-they-already-are.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog too:
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
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