Yes, we finally made the decision to pursue what is in our heart, following our dream of starting a piece of Heaven on Earth. To leave a comfy 2500 square foot home in the master-planned community of Irvine, California after 13.5 years to the rainforest jungles of Costa Rica was not an easy decision to make. Coupled with our large network of friends, family and clients in the U.S., it looked like we had everything we ever wanted, but that was not true. It is not enough for us to be comfortable and living in the safest city in the U.S (according to FBI statistics) when we knew of many others who could not afford our services, but who needed our help. The awakening moment for me was when someone I knew died of a disease that I may have been able to help treat. She was dying of cancer, but because I had paying clients, three children to feed and a mortgage bill, I paid more attention to the paying clients. When she passed away, it was a real wake-up call for me. It led me down a rabbit hole trying to understand why I felt like I was selling my soul for money, and how I could have prevented it, very much like the ending of the movie Schindler’s List. Do you remember the ending of the movie? JAL shared it in a Facebook post titled: “The regrets of not having done all we could have done when circumstances called for it” as Schindler realized that he could have saved at least one more life.

My soul searching led me to question the purpose and origin of our economic or monetary system. The monetary system started with the same people who created the banking system who also own the oil companies and then created the pharmaceutical industry (many don’t know that the word pharmacology is a Greek work that means “the study of poison” because all pharmaceuticals are derived from petroleum, hence all their toxic side effects). I also learned that we actually lived for a much longer period of time without a monetary system (or even barter or trade) and that it was a time of peace, abundance of food, matriarchs, reverence of the Divine Feminine, sharing like one big happy family with no evidence or artifacts of weapons and therefore warfare (Signs Out of Time, Marija Gimbutas).

It also led me to learn more about my grandfather in Vietnam who had his own Buddhist temple, organic farm, herbal medicine garden and his own water source and therefore was able to help many poor people for free because he already had all he needed. People who were dying were brought in on stretchers because they could not afford care elsewhere. Then I remember reading about some hospitals in the U.S. that would turn away patients and let them die on the street because they did not have insurance or money to pay for the care. When money starts to dictate who gets to live and who can be left to die, you know there is something really wrong. How many people do you know do not like or even hate their jobs but are currently only working them because they need the money to survive, essentially selling their souls for money? 90% of the people in jail are in jail due to poverty or money-related crimes. A major contributor to high divorce rates in the U.S. are disputes over finances (New York Times, 12/7/2009). How many people do you know worry about finances, causing stress in their life? How much time and energy do you spend on shopping around to make sure you get the best bargain or deal, worry about spending too much on something, collecting coupons and trying to remember to use them to save some money, getting your money’s worth, and other financially related concerns. How many corporations pollute the environment and produce or use toxic chemicals that cause so much human and animal suffering, all for the sake of increasing profits?

Money is debt and debt is a form of slavery (Money as Debt). The monetary system makes us believe that our survival depends on obtaining and even hoarding money. Since when does a piece of paper give us the nutrients we need to survive? As the old Native American Indian prophesy states “When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.” We don’t need money if we just learn how to share and trust each other again. Yes, we have hurt each other in the past, but it is time to start small, start healing and start all over again, if not within your own extended family, with trusted friends and neighbors. Starting and remaining small is the key. When groups get too big, the attention paid to the individual diminishes, individual rights are removed in favor of the larger group, and it becomes too impersonal, too chaotic, too hard to manage, and therefore too easy for abuse of power.

Joining the Ecovillage Movement

All around the world, quiet little ecovillages are springing up in response to the social, political, environmental and economic injustices, collapse of local economies, and the impending collapse of the global monetary system. Wikipedia has a good working definition of ecovillages:

Ecovillages are intentional communities with the goal of becoming more socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Some aim for a population of 50–150 individuals. Larger ecovillages of up to 2,000 individuals exist as networks of smaller subcommunities to create an ecovillage model that allows for social networks within a broader foundation of support. Certain ecovillages have grown by the nearby addition of others, not necessarily members, settling on the periphery of the ecovillage and effectively participating in the ecovillage community. Ecovillage members are united by shared ecological, social-economic and cultural-spiritual values. An ecovillage is often composed of people who have chosen an alternative to centralized electrical, water, and sewage systems. Many see the breakdown of traditional forms of community, wasteful consumerist lifestyles, the destruction of natural habitat, urban sprawl, factory farming, and over-reliance on fossil fuels, as trends that must be changed to avert ecological disaster. Ecovillages see small-scale communities with minimal ecological impact as an alternative. However, such communities often cooperate with peer villages in networks of their own (see Global Ecovillage Network for an example). This model of collective action is similar to that of Ten Thousand Villages, which supports the fair trade of goods worldwide.

Why Costa Rica

The following are the reasons why we chose to relocate to Costa Rica in particular:

1. According to National Geographic Magazine, Costa Rica is the most bio-diverse concentrated place on the planet. This is the reason why it is the number one place on the planet to go for eco-tourism or education for those who love Mother Nature.
2. Costa Rica has the largest Blue Zone area in the world in the Nicoya Peninsula with hundreds of living centenarians (those who live over 100 years old)
3. Costa Rica already has a large number of existing ecovillages compared to their size and population. We want to be able to learn from, join, or network with other nearby ecovillages.
4. 90% of Costa Rica’s energy comes from sustainable sources such as geothermal, hydro, solar and wind
5. They have no nuclear power plants or research facilities
6. No military since 1948 (does not engage in, instigate or start “preemptive” wars)
7. Reinvested the savings from having no military into health care and education thereby making Costa Rica one of the top three largest middle class populations in Latin America (World Bank, 2013). Known as the “Switzerland of Central America”
8. As the middle class populations in Latin America increase, the middle class population in the U.S. is shrinking at an alarming rate following the alarming decline of the value of the U.S. dollar (especially frightening since the U.S. dollar is the world reserve currency which many other currencies are pegged to).
9. U.S. dollar ($) fell 25% against Costa Rican colon (¢) the past 7 years and this trend is predicted to continue. The Costa Rican colon is not pegged to the U.S. dollar, unlike its neighbor Panama.
10. Elected their first female president in 2010 (U.S. has never had a female president)
11. Almost no reported chemtrails
12. Leader in rainforest and wildlife preservation which is critical for carbon sequestration. 25% of Costa Rica is protected wildlife preserves.

Why Costa Rica – Personal Reasons

In addition to growing our own organic food and herbal medicine and having our own natural water source and sustainable energy sources, we want to start an ecovillage or tribe that will serve as a center for self-sufficiency, biodynamic organic farming, permaculture, yoga, meditation and holistic healing to share what we know, learn, and have freely. The only reason why my grandfather was able to help people for free was because he had his own water, food and medicine and even grew enough to share.  I don’t want to have to worry about my own survival anymore. I want to get off the hamster wheel and out of the rat race. I want to know where my food and water comes from. I don’t want to be forced to go against my real sharing, loving and giving nature. Ecovillages are really models of living for our future – mini heavens on Earth. As local and global economies continue to collapse, sustainable alternative systems will be available to help people heal and transition. We won’t be able to transition off the money system completely overnight. In the beginning, we will still need to ask for money for our products and services, but as we become more self-sufficient, we will be able to ask for less until one day we can offer everything for free, or at a very low fee or donation. There are some things we foresee like Internet service, computer maintenance and government taxes which we cannot make ourselves which we will need money to pay for, but as the ecovillage movement grows and governments are replaced by a network of small ecovillages, our collective dream of Heaven on Earth will be realized once again. The following are our personal reasons for moving to Costa Rica:

1. Remove our dependence on money by becoming self-sufficient which will enable us to help a lot more people.
2. JAL and I came from different countries as immigrants to the U.S. and therefore were blessed to be able to speak multiple languages and experience living in different cultures. We want our children to also have this enriching experience and learn to speak Spanish and to be immersed in a different culture to appreciate a whole new way of living and perceiving. We feel many in the U.S. are too isolated from the world and therefore tend to have a U.S. centric view of the world that we don’t want to happen to our children.
3. Our kids are nature lovers and want to live where they can explore and learn about a variety of wildlife without having to go to a zoo and see them imprisoned in unnatural cages.
4. Food is really easy to grow in the tropics which is important for food security
5. Water is never in short supply in tropical rainforests which is important for water security
6. Freedom to pursue sustainable living without persecution (Costa Rica provides political asylum)
7. Not directly under U.S. or U.K. control
8. Closer to family in Venezuela and Panama
9. We love vacationing in tropical paradises so why not live there year-round?

Unplugging From the Matrix

In order to realize this dream, we had to unplug ourselves from the societal Matrix that has kept us imprisoned for so long. Since the tentacles of the Matrix is such an interwoven and complex web which permeates our mental and physical bodies, it took at least five years for us to start loosening its grip on us and we obviously are still not entirely free yet. Unplugging from the Matrix requires a process of de-programming yourself by removing all sources of physical and mental toxins such as subliminal messaging, mind-control and indoctrination in your life. The following was what we did to start the unplugging process:

1. To remove physical toxins, our family went through a comprehensive detox protocol and continues to do a daily maintenance detox which includes making permanent dietary and lifestyle changes such as not eating out anymore and stopping toxic vaccinations.
2. Stopped working for public corporations and started our own small family business.
3. Stopped watching mainstream television, cable/satellite/Direct TV channels, movies (DVDs, theatres, Netflix). Instead we watch documentaries on YouTube, GaiamTV.com, and subscribe to NaturalNews.com and Mercola.com newsletters so we can learn more about what is really going on.
4. Stopped other forms of mainstream entertainment such as mainstream video games, music, Disneyland, LEGOLAND, Knott’s Berry Farm, etc. To help us reduce our need for entertainment, we naturally experience inner peace and happiness by strengthening our connection to our Higher Self and God through yoga and meditation. We realized that we have a greater need to be entertained when we lack inner peace and happiness. Entertainment was a substitute for what we lack or at least distracted us from our unhappiness, stress or pain. Similar to how drug, alcohol, gambling, or sex addictions work.
5. Stopped following mainstream religions as well as New Age groups that have been misled by The Law of Attraction Scam.
6. Gave natural, easy, fast, orgasmic birth to all three children under water in our bathtub at home with no drugs or complications
7. Freed ourselves from debt by selling our mortgaged home in Irvine, California.
8. Sold all our furniture and learned to live without furniture (see The Health Benefits of Living Without Furniture).
9. Donated a lot of possessions to charity and learned to live with just the essentials (see TEDxDoiSuthep – Jon Jandai – Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard? video to learn how having many things makes life so complex and stressful).
10. Downsized to just one car and training ourselves to use bikes for local transportation to reduce our dependence on oil and get more exercise.
11. Learned to eat less (e.g., two meals a day, or smaller portions) – eating less helps you live longer
12. Removed all funds from the stock market (e.g., retirement plans) after learning how manipulated the stock market is and how it benefits the few and causes so much misery for the many through periodic economic crashes.
13. Will stop enrolling our kids in public school systems end of June and start homeschooling. See The Deliberate Dumbing Down of Humanity & How to Reverse It to Co-Create Our Future to learn more.
14. Convert our U.S. dollars into more sustainable currencies and tangibles (e.g., land, home, farm, etc.) we actually can use or eat.

To understand how the monetary system is the most successful mind control program in human history, see The Most Successful Mind Control Program in Human History.

Ardent Light Continues

Since Ardent Light is the English translation of our last name Luzardo, we are keeping the Ardent Light web site, email addresses, and the same phone numbers that are on our business cards so clients in the U.S. can continue to contact us using those numbers. We will continue to use Skype with our international clients and will establish local numbers in Costa Rica for our clients in Costa Rica. However, our U.S. cell phone numbers will be disconnected since Verizon Wireless cell phones do not work in Costa Rica. We don’t know exactly where we will be based in Costa Rica yet as we will be leaving July 11th to start exploring Costa Rica to find our piece of land while learning from various ecovillages there. We’ll keep everyone on our mailing list updated on what we learn and where we are heading, and we hope someday you will be able to visit us there.

Good News! Your chance to get JAL’s book at a BIG discount

JAL’s book is still receiving good reviews and now it’s your opportunity to get one at a nearly 30% discount. Get the Spirituality: The Awareness of Reality – How to ‘See’ the Unseen and Break Free From Suffering Caused By a Narrow Perception of Reality book for only $15 (you pay no tax) instead of $20.47 ($18.95+$1.52 tax) now through the end of 2013 at An Water & Tailoring (Ngoc’s mom’s store in Garden Grove, California where you can also get very affordable tailoring services and purified water). The book is also available (at a different price) world-wide through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other Internet retailers if you want the book shipped to you. Learn more by clicking the book title link above or book image to the right.

More Personal Updates

Every eight months we provide a personal update on our adventures, what we learned, and how we changed in Costa Rica. See the Newsletters page for all our updates to date. If you are not already on our mailing list, you can sign-up on that page.