Interview with Hector J. Arencibia

1. What was the moment that you felt like something had to change in your life?

December 26, 2011, changed my life. It was the day I had my first awakening moment — although I didn’t know it then. I struggled to get up that morning after spending the previous night, which was Christmas, abusing as usual. After managing to get out of bed I felt an overwhelming urge to go look at myself in a mirror. At first I resisted, then finally gave in and dragged my sorry self over to the chunky framed floor-to-ceiling mirror in my living room. As I stood there something I can’t explain came over me. While staring at my sad visage, I said to my reflection, “What the fuck am I doing with my life?” I ordered myself: “You can’t continue to do this.” In the next moment the image of my face transformed: It looked like I’d been badly injured in an accident. A violent panic attack erupted. I couldn’t take it—I had to close my eyes and turn away. Everything was somehow becoming clear to me. I was overcome by a sense of infinite wisdom, telling me that if I continued on this path of abusive behavior I would end up badly injuring or killing myself; or even worse, hurting other innocent people.
I knew I needed to act fast.

2. You wrote the book “Letters from Wanderlust” which tells the story of your decision to leave behind your day-to-day life in order to embark on a spiritual journey around the world and one-way tickets. What was your greatest take-away from the entire experience?

Gosh that’s such a great question because there’s a multitude of experiences I underwent both physically and spiritually. I’ll break it up into two and provide highlights.

Physically:

I fell in deeply in love with the earth and her people. Our planet abounds with extreme natural wonders and awe inspiring places. Then there’s the vast diversity, richness and depth of humanity’s cultural fabric which blew my mind.

My journey made me realize how lucky I am to experience one of the treasures of The Universe (Earth), even if it’s for such a short amount of time. I appreciate life more and I feel more joy in my heart.

Spiritually:

That the subtle world, unseen energy if you will, wields more power than anything manifested in physicality. Everything stems from the invisible realm, belief makes real, and that we are supported and loved beyond measure.

3. Is there one particular place or moment that holds your fondest memory?

The entire experience; those four months are sacred to me. It’s impossible to pick just one moment of my journey because it was all pure magic from the second it started to the very-very last sunset. But if I had to pick one, I’d say Vietnam. I have an extremely powerful connection with that country. It’s deeply karmic —of a past life. I’m getting a wave of chills up-and-down my entire body just by typing this — confirmation.

4. How do you continue to ensure that your life stays on the right path and what advice would you give those who are seeking to alter their lives for the better?

I’ve been practicing a morning meditation for 15 minutes every day without fail for over a year now. It has brought me a tremendous amount of clarity. I’m able to direct my attention toward the life I desire a lot easier now thus manifesting more-and-more of what I want (where attention goes, manifestations follow).

I also stay physically active. It is critical for me to honor my physical temple every day via some form of exercise. This is also important to do as it keeps my energy fresh and free of any stagnant energies. I always feel wonderful after a workout!

5. What’s next for you? Which destination have you yet to check off your list?

I’ve visited about twenty-five percent of the countries on earth. I’d like to see them all before I die. However, in the immediate term I’ll be traveling between my hometown of Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California working on a really cool project that I can’t disclose yet. I leave to Los Angeles on March 20th!