Dear Friends, It has been quite some time since I have written you a blog. Sorry about that! I have been traveling a lot to promote my book and I just returned from doing a Fly Fishing for the Mind retreat in Chile. As you can see I caught fish but I also caught a lot of beauty and love from the people of Chile and the retreat participants. It was an extraordinary adventure.
I also recently returned from Los Angeles where I did a number of radio and TV shows as well as a talk to 120 professionals in the addictions field about "Fear: The Common Denominator of All Addictions", which was very well received.
With all this travel and jet lag I found myself feeling a bit stressed a few days ago. After reflecting on how I could make these transitions smoother since I am having a lot of them these days, I heard the phrase, "Home is where the heart is" ring in my head. We have all heard this saying and seen it embroideried on our mother's walls, but I haven't given much thought to the deeper meaning of this trueism till now.
As I stood in the line in Balcemeda, Chile at the airport waiting to board the 18 hour flight back home, one of my retreat participants offhandedly said to another traveler, "Well, back to reality." I quipped, "Back to another reality, not the reality."
Later I realized that my statement was only partially true. The deeper truth is that reality is whatever we are creating at this moment. Whenever we become disconnected from our true Self in the present moment, we loose that feeling of being home. When we loose touch with our Self, our heart, we feel disoriented, stressed, and out of sorts. We unknowingly believe that at some point in the future, we will feel settled again, back in balance and relaxed. This is a classic example of the acronym for fear: False Evidence Appearing Real. I knew I didn't want to keep feeling unsettled for a few hours, days or moments. I wanted to feel at home now.
As I heard the truth in that saying, "Home is where the heart is," I felt myself settle down and relax. I still had that pile of mail on my desk, the hundreds of emails to answer or delete, the laundry to do, and the unpacking of my stuff, but I felt a sense of presence and calm while doing all those things.
Now, four days later, I am packing for another trip tomorrow. Several times this morning I heard that admonition ring in my head again, "Home is where the heart is," and I calmed down, focused and got a few more things packed. When we are living in the present moment, aware that we are creating each moment, we are more likely to live more of the time in our home of the heart...our true Self.
It's good to be back in touch with you and I hope to keep up with our conversation a little better over the next months. Remember: there's no place like home and its right inside you.
Live fearlessly,
Joe 
