Hello You!

Just a moment ago I had another amazing synchronicity just after doing morning prayers.

A couple years ago, I bought padded foam flooring to put around my desk area, ostensibly to protect the wooden floor, but also to catch my computer mouse when it falls. (It’s a Bluetooth trackball mouse so when it falls, the ball rolls across the floor to a far corner while the battery and battery cover each go their own direction, leaving me crawling under my desk to retrieve the pieces.) The padding was supposed to keep the mouse from causing such a commotion, interrupting my flow, etc.

The padding never worked. I cannot remember a time it actually kept the mouse from hitting the floor and doing its part of increasing entropy in the world.

Just a moment ago, after doing my morning prayers, I hit upon the idea of putting the single remaining piece of padding where I can stand on it while praying. In doing so, I bumped the mouse from its perch and it landed right on the padding. The ball fell out but stayed right there. The battery even stayed in its case.

Wow. That’s the first time that’s happened! I guess God approves of me staying in touch more frequently. It was like the universe said “Yes, I encourage prayer.”

Over the past few weeks I have been showering the universe with gratitudes and receiving a shower of synchronicities in reply.

I’ll keep it short for now; I plan to stay in touch more frequently (weekly!?).

blessings - Rob

PS: if you’re in Tokyo, I’m co-facilitating a visionboard workshop this coming Sunday in Shinjuku from 4pm - 8pm. 8800 yen. https://portrait-of-your-soul.peatix.com/

"Living a life takes longer than reading a biography."
- Rob Nugen

​

Welcome to May!

My timeline of workshops has certainly accelerated with the new schedule offered by the Covid Powered Pause. My goal was to lead 24 36 workshops in 2020, easily achievable at 3 per month:

• First Saturdays: barefoot walkshop
• Third Saturdays: Your Art Matters (co-lead with Shinobu)
• ???? : eye gazing or past life memories

Now, as of May, nine+ per month!

• Every Monday: Bold Life Brotherhood
• Every Friday: Life Changing Life Adventures (co-lead with Rin)
• mid-month: Your Art Matters (co-lead with Shinobu)

I used the quote at the top to remind myself: even as things seem to be accelerated, day to day things seem to be slow, and “normal”. I still eat too much, waste time mindlessly online, haven’t been walking each day, don’t meditate or even study Japanese each day. And that’s okay.

I am distracted by N+1 things even as I write this newsletter, which (in early April) I hoped to write by May 5th so I could include the pun “Go Go!”

On April 30th, I enjoyed having a chance to safely release some anger in my men’s circle. In the process, I dented my wooden desk.

Afterward, I wrote in ink around the dent, “My body and I fucking matter!” and “GO OUTSIDE!!” to act as both an affirmation and a reminder to take care of myself. I need not be cooped up in my room all the time.

And so, to the point, if I can find my way forward, I think you can too. Just keep being as mindful as you can, as courageous as you like, and take care of yourself first before others.

Love and Light

• Rob

ps: I am pretty sure this newsletter is way shorter than the previous ones and I am having some anxiety about that but I’m gonna send it anyway.

New Year + New Decade, leading 24 workshops in 2020

My goal for 2020 is to lead at least 24 workshops. Two per month should be doable, right?

I currently have 4 different workshops available. Three are very clearly in the same genre, though they may not seem that way from the outside.

1. Barefoot Walkshops. This is where it all started, when my student Yuna took off her shoes during our walk before my first eye gazing workshop. The idea is simple: take off your shoes and walk around outside! This allows the nerves in the feet to get some much needed stimuli, especially if they have been cooped up in shoes all the time!

2. Eye Gazing. Perhaps this is where it all started, when my friend, life coach Rin, asked me what workshop would be most exciting for me to lead. It took a while to come up with the answer, but when it came, it was like BINGO this is it! The idea is simple: sit with a partner and look into their eyes. Just breathe. No need to say something witty. Just be present with what comes up for you.

3. Shadow Work® practice. In October 2019, I took the 8 day Basic Facilitator Training for Shadow Work® in Sugar Land, Texas. From their website, https://shadowwork.com/

   Shadow Work® is a way of transforming parts of your character that you’d like to change with compassion and understanding, and offers an effective technology for balancing these diverse parts.

Along with facilitator Mark Wild, I led one Shadow Work® practice workshop in December 2019, and plan to do more.

The above three workshops are all designed to bring awareness to the participants. Physical awareness of the body starting with the feet, mental and emotional awareness through the eyes, and inner awareness of our inner voices.

4. Past Life Memories workshops allow participants to experience a grander world that they may find familiar. I lead participants on a guided meditation which reconnects them to a familiar place. I keep the wording loose enough to have exploration, and clear enough to provide guidance. Participants have a chance to reflect and write about what they noticed during the meditations.

Coming up in January, I plan to lead a barefoot walkshop on January 11th, and a past life memories workshop on January 13th. I will likely lead a coffee and chat workshop with Yuna on January 25th. In February, I have planned an eye gazing workshop for February 23rd.

Currently I am using Facebook and Meetup for my events:

• https://www.facebook.com/barefootrob/events
• https://www.meetup.com/Tokyo-S%C5%8Dl-barefoot-more/events/

Also planned for, let’s say, the first quarter of 2020: a more comprehensive website, featuring a schedule of events! https://www.robnugen.com/ currently has my blog and my journal. I want to add pages for Schedule, Contact, About, and maybe other pages.

Love and Light - Rob!

Sign up for more content like this https://tinyletter.com/barefootrob