Yesterday I went whitewater rafting along the Colorado River in the INSIDE of the Grand Canyon. Words cannot describe how incredible this experience was.

I haven’t seen the Grand Canyon from above, but from inside it’s like being amongst giants, as cliche as that sounds. I just kept thinking over and over that I was surrounded by Gods. It really does feel that way. Just breathtaking.

I shot some video for you to give you an idea…

The beginning is my trip to the Grand Canyon including Lake Mead and my trek through the Hoover Dam. Then video of my trip and shots of the beautiful canyon, followed by my helicopter trip.

Hope you enjoy! I couldn’t edit the video enough or make it truly amazing - I was going to add music and cool edits, but I just don’t have the time and frankly I want to enjoy my trip!!!!

Alright, I know I”m late in getting this update out, but I didn’t have connection while in the Grand Canyon (not to mention I was busy screaming my head off as we held on for dear life in the huge rapids of the Colorado River!).

Below is a video update from our final day in Vegas:

Next will be my whitewater rafting experience in the Grand Canyon!

Tonight my brother Matt and I decided to keep it low key. We went to Hard Rock Casino to chill at the bar and drink. When we were done, we returned to Luxor and on our way back to our room we were lured to the slot machines.

I picked a slot machine I felt would bode well - keep in mind I don’t gamble and I don’t play slots…though I take chances here and there.

Flash back: My first time in Vegas I played the obligatory table - Black Jack. I won 5 Black Jacks in a row. Too bad I didn’t know what i was doing. I could have REALLY cashed out. But at least I won a couple hundred bucks.

Tonight I played a 2 cent slot machine. My brother played one next to me and won $80 bucks out of $20, so then I took my turn at the machine next to him and we both though I was doing ok…about $16. Well we decided I should cash out. Making $16 from $2 is pretty good! But then the ticket voucher came out and said $166.96!!!!!!

Turns out we can’t count worth crap when we’re drunk. We were multiplying 2 cents by 720 instead of 7200 which was the amount of credits (roughly) that we had.

Needless to say I was stoked. I just paid for my Vegas trip! (hotel anyway….let’s not discuss alcohol content.

I’m still inebriated at the moment, so if this post is rambling I apologize. We shot some video earlier today so I’ll try to post that in the next day or two. But had to share my big transformation of $2 into $166.

Quick post and update:

So I just arrived in Vegas yesterday. Staying at the Luxor. It’s not the best, but it’s cool. I brought my 22 year old brother here. It’s his first time as a legal drinking adult.

We went to LAX last night, just because it was free and easy to get in since we’re staying here. We had a great time. Tonight we’ll go to Moon. I’ll bring my camera so I can capture some of the evening (if I remember to!).

This weekend commences my two-week road trip through Nevada and Arizona. On Monday I’ll be heading to the Grand Canyon to go whitewater rafting INSIDE the Grand Canyon, along the Colorado River. I CAN’T WAIT!

After that, I’ll head to Flagstaff for four days so I can explore Sedona (only 30 miles south) and enjoy Flagstaff, which I hear is a great town.

I’ll finish off my trip in Phoenix for two-five days, depending on my work load (I’ll be working along the trip, but obviously not as well as I could at home).

I’ll make sure to blog the entire way! So stay updated.

The Happy Ending Bar & Restaurant

So this Tuesday Rachel and I bid our farewells. Not permanent, mind you, as we’ll reconnect in Latin America end of September. But after living together for 7 months and becoming best friends and even partners on a very successful product…well it was a big deal.

So we sent her off in style, going to Happy Ending, a wonderful, low-key club on Sunset in Hollywood.

Here’s a video of our drunken craziness:

Though I’ve mentioned her in a few posts here, I want to talk about one of the most influential, beautiful, kind-hearted people in my life:

Rachel Rofe

This post is sort of an ode to her as she is leaving in a week for a two-month road trip across the United States, after which we will reconnect in South America.

10 Reasons Why I Love Rachel:

1. You can always see the open love and acceptance in her eyes. Just look at any of the videos on her blog and you’ll see what I mean
2. She challenges me to be a better person, yet she accepts me wholeheartedly as I am - flaws and all
3. She’s the same height as me. We can share shoes and clothes! (as tall as I am that is a BLESSING)
4. She can be honest with me, and I can be honest with her - even when what we have to say isn’t easy or comfortable
5. She always brightens my day and the day of those around her. I’ll watch her talk to someone, and she has the ability to make everyone around her feel cherished and appreciated
6. She helps me appreciate flip flops
7. Her intelligence and wit will floor you. We all walk around spouting “Rofeisms” because regular speech just isn’t nearly as stellar as Rofe-speak
8. I’ve never met anyone as authentically supportive as she is. She wants nothing in return.
9. If she had $5 left to her name, and I needed $3, she’d not hesitate to give it.
10. She knows what bliss feels like and strives for it, no matter how challenging the journey. Oh yeah, and she’s walked on fire!

So here’s to Rachel. I’ll miss you!

As you might know, my best friend is fellow colleague Rachel Rofe.

We decided a couple months ago that we wanted to create a joint blog project to chronicle our adventures and exploits while traveling the world. Since we’re about to head to South America, Thailand and Australia, and she’s about to embark on a cross country road trip just before we connect, we knew that now was the time to get the party started!

We just had our photo shoot for the site and next week we’ll work on getting it built and launched.

Wanted to share the love though - check out our pictures! We get a kick out of them. Hope you will too!

See Our Pictures at Flickr!

I received a phone call today from one of my partners that I’m developing a weight release product with. She had me on a call last Tuesday to share my hiking experience that I also shared here in the Trail to Change post.

There I shared the entire experience and some of my own story about overcoming a deep loathing for my body and learning to cherish and love it these past years.

It was the first time I shared any portion of my story with several strangers NOT in written form where I could censor and filter and feel safely tucked away behind the page.

Today I received my first taste of what this is all really about. Yes, it’s about my healing and what I can accomplish through embracing these new and daunting experiences and squeezing every ounce of awakening from them…

But all that paled in comparison to what graced my ears today:

“One of the women on our call phoned me today,” my partner began. “She visited the Statue of Liberty this week and as she stood at the base of the monument, she looked up at the 354 stairs and thought to herself, ‘No way, I can’t do it.’ But then she began climbing, though with each new step she didn’t think she could go on.

“She said it was the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life. But you know what Jaime?”

“What?” I asked, hoping against hope for what she would say next.

“She made it to the top, and because she thought of you and your story every step of the way.”

There Were No Words…

I can’t form words around the welling in my heart when I heard that.

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I just got pictures from our resident photographer in Cancun. Just wanted to share! So many good memories…

Here’s me and Rachel, my best friend:

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Working through my current healing process has brought me into an uncanny synchronicity in my life where I will experience something and then within a couple days, have to read or write about it (I am a ghost writer on some self-help projects and such).

For instance, today I had to write a lesson for a weight release course on “Releasing Our Victim Story.” Though it somewhat escaped me at the time, this past Sunday I had an experience that allowed me to tell my victim story, acknowledge it, and begin to disconnect and let it go.

It also helped me acknowledge that I have more than one victim story! Ugh…

All the World in a Grain of Sand

A new friend of mine invited me out to Santa Barbara for the day, to enjoy some time at the beach and then hike up to a mountain peak where he had spread his dog’s ashes. I happily agreed, figuring it would be a fun day. I had no idea what I was in for (that’s becoming a theme with me, isn’t it?) and, as has been usual with my life experiences of late, a huge lesson and healing awaited me in the dust and dirt of that mountain trail.

When we reached the base of the trail, I had a minor panic attack.

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