Building Spiritual Muscle / Fortalezca Mente y espiritu
by
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My life has been about building “spiritual muscles.” The term “spiritual muscles” is a metaphor for developing inner strength. I have also been a body builder and fitness trainer for over 30 years. That, coupled with my life-long reliance on spiritual thinking, has given me a disciplined mind and strong body. The well being I derived from physical fitness deepened my spiritual understandings. I experienced a state of transcendence, or enlightenment, because exercise helped me develop gusto for life. This state of joy brought me closer to God.
The discipline I gained through metaphysical studies, Aikido, and bodybuilding enhanced my ability to connect to the life force that sustains the universe. A positive attitude, faith, and metaphysical outlook helped me survive a childhood filled with poverty. I survived a failed marriage and raising a Down Syndrome child. I became a title-winning body builder, then the personal trainer and bodyguard to Gloria Estefan and her family. Working for the Estefan family enabled me to travel all over the world.
Traveling around the world has made me aware that we are all connected to each other on this planet, on this space ship we call home.
When you travel and really look at the amazing world we are in you begin to see and realize that all of our problems exist because we believe that we are all separate, all different. Since the beginning of civilization groups of people have banded together in their quest for survival. This fear-based grouping into different tribes, countries or creeds has created a division, a way of feeling different from each other. Because of this people have missed the great opportunity of touching each other beyond color, race and creed; they have missed the truth of and the feeling of being one. It is clear to me that we could collectively cure cancer, all disease, hunger, and all malice. It is possible to have peace and harmony. I have come to this understanding in my travels by being open to meeting one person at a time, by being interested in each individual as I encounter them. The connections I have made this way have changed my life. I have seen over and over again that we all have one thing in common – the desire to be happy.
I want to pay tribute to all the
people I have met and to the continued impact they have on my life and my
understanding of it. Each of them has been one of the building blocks of my
character and my soul today. Each has made a difference in my life. In my
travels to every continent and every nation in the world I have been blessed to
be in the company of the most honorable, good hearted and loving people on the
planet. From the Dalai Lama to the
humblest worker in
But my most rewarding experiences were not the places it was the people. I love people and at first when I meet someone I immediately set the mood for intimacy. I want to know ABOUT THEM not by probing but in a caring way from a place of true interest. I consistently see by doing this that people open up and before you know it we are friends, talking about our lives, our beliefs, we talk about our loved ones and our dreams.
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Book Details
About the Book
Building Spiritual Muscles is
written in five parts. Part I talks about how my encounters with ordinary
people during my world travels helped put my years of metaphysical
understandings into perspective. Part II is a sketch of my early life where the
seeds of my metaphysical thought processes were sown. Part III offers advice
for developing physical strength and endurance based on my many years of body
building and work as a personal trainer. In part IV, I share insights,
instructions, meditations and exercises that I use for building spiritual
strength. Part V highlights essential metaphysical guidelines that can expand
have expanded my capacity for inner peace no matter what I’ve encountered on
life’s journey.
This book is not a traditional
“how-to” book. I believe that each
individual must find his or her own path to happiness and peace of mind. My belief is that sharing my personal
experiences and revelations would motivate others on their journey to peace of
mind. This is a journey of the heart. It begins by being open to others, being
non-judgmental, having compassion and self-love. It takes living and
experiencing to discover your own individual way. The only person who can teach
you about yourself is you; however, every once in a while, people show up in
our lives as guides. Guides help smooth out the path, but it’s our own personal
experiences that generate wisdom.
About the Author
Power, conviction, strength, and depth are qualities that Tony radiates. Within minutes of talking to him, one senses Tony’s passion for empowering others. He wants people to understand their true nature. “We are spirits living in a physical experience.”
Like many of us, Tony followed the world’s dictates about what would bring happiness: home, family, career, but for years denied an inner voice that cried out to be heard. Tony turned to spirituality because of pain.
“I’ve been at the abyss of loneliness and sadness but those times brought me to a point where I reached out to the infinite. I felt the world abandoned me. So I reached out to something else and I began to question the meaning of my existence.”