Riding the Wave of Life
Interview with C.J. Macias
By Tiffany Brown
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We recently had the chance to connect with Professional Athlete, TV Personality, and Holistic Lifestyle Advocate CJ Macias. We caught up on his current role on HBO’s documentary, 100 Foot Wave, his inspired outlook on life, mental health, and the crisis in Hawaii.
Q: You mentioned the surfer mentality and how that can be applied to everyday life in what you coined as “riding the wave of life.” Can you describe that mentality and how someone can utilize it?
A: The main mindset comes from the idea that we can’t control the weather or the waves, but we can learn how to surf. We’re all in the one ocean of life experiencing it in our own ways. Some are sailing a boat, some are drifting aimlessly in a little raft, some are having a tough time getting tumbled in the waves, and some are surfing.
"Surfing the wave of life is a balance of paddling with intention to the places that we find most preferable and going with the flow of the currents. We let a lot of opportunities or “waves” pass us by when we’re not interested, not in a good position, or maybe feeling some fear about “going for it.” Then, we choose the waves or opportunities that we DO want to ride, and we go for it. At that point, actually surfing the wave is a balance of being realistic about what the wave truly looks like, and steering our board based on our own authentic style."
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Q: What is your experience with the correlation of a positive mindset to the manifestation of your life around you?
A: To speak of the positive, we must include the negative in the conversation. Positive and negative charges are basic functions of the universe. They manifest as hot and cold, inhale and exhale, high tide and low tide. You get the idea. Negative is the receptive and allowing that energy to be tapped into can ground us in the truth of things.
As far as manifestation goes, positivity is actually the creative penetrating force. It's what can allow us to see a new way of doing a thing and apply our will to bring it into reality. Even being “realistic” is kind of a perfect harmony between negative acceptance of the current state, and positive dreams of a way it could be different. When we apply positive forces to our minds and our lives, we are tapping into our creative capacity and empowering ourselves back to the truth of what we are: imaginative and creative beings.
Q: You've discussed the importance of nutrition (calories vs. actual) in the past — can you share some of your thoughts on this?
A: A good way to think of it is quantity vs. quality. Currently, our society has been running a program that more is better. We’re taught to eat a lot to keep up with the demands of life. What happens for most is that our digestive systems can end up getting bombarded and overloaded with too much “stuff” to process. Not to mention, the majority of our available food today is nutrient deficient (due to the depletion of soil for various reasons) and loaded with preservatives and fillers that actually disrupt our hormones. This stuff will put our bodies into “fight or flight” mode in order to protect us.
When we can consume less mass that has more value (the right nutrients and building blocks that our body can process and use), then it not only leaves more energy for the digestive process and other functions, but it can easily recognize the good stuff and put it to good use to keep our bodies vital. This is the concept of a lot of “superfoods” that have sustained mankind for millennia. Connection to the earth and understand where our food has come from is crucial.
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