By Jason T Walters

Even as a child, I knew something was wrong with this program. I hated sitting in class, listening to teachers squawk, and didn’t learn much beyond basic math, reading, and writing. In the tenth grade, I read Behold a Pale Horse by Bill Cooper – and that pretty much set the tone for my belief system… or rather, my disbelief system. This was probably when i started waking up from the matrix.

It was easy for me to see and understand that the two party government system in the United States was designed to keep the public divided – a tool used to manipulate and control people.
I remember during Army bootcamp, in bayonet training, I almost laughed out loud as the drill sergeants were indoctrinating us into becoming “killers.”
They’d bark, “What’s the spirit of the bayonet?” We had to scream back, “To Kill! Kill! Kill!” Then they’d ask, “What makes the green grass grow?” And we’d yell, “Blood! Blood! Blood!”

It was laughable to me – until I looked around and saw everyone else taking it too seriously which i thought was pretty weird. I would notice this again and again throughout my life – the majority of people following whatever narrative they are given, without question.

Of course, your vibe attracts your tribe, and most of my friends are pretty conscious. We’ve talked about how lucky we feel not to be herd-minded, and how wild it is that so few others seem to see what obviously is a scam. Most people just live on autopilot and that’s what baffles us the most.

It seems to me that the so-called “American Dream” is just that – a dream, not a reality for most people. You’re told to grow up, pay taxes, get married, buy a house, have kids… and then the cycle repeats. But here’s the reality: nearly 50% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, and when they do, the wife often gets the house and the kids and the man’s life spirals into misery. That doesn’t sound like a smart bet to me. You work a job to pay taxes that fund a government which doesn’t even represent the will of the people – a government that commits atrocities abroad and funnels taxpayer money into foreign wars, courtesy of Joe Paycheck. AND… to top it off, retirement age is 66! The average life expectancy for a man in the U.S. is 73. So even if you make it to retirement — and that’s a big if — chances are, your body is too worn down to enjoy what little time you have left. It’s a laughable, obvious scam.

In 2003, I decided to change my life. I moved to Los Angeles to attend recording engineer school and shortly after landed a job in a recording studio where I stayed for the next 18 years. Being around the music business exposed me to so many different perspectives, and during that time, I discovered Yoga while dealing with some health issues. What started as a physical solution quickly became a passion and it was life-changing, so In 2017 I became a Yoga teacher. I left my job in the summer of 2022 and hit the road with another band, working as a touring roadie. When the tour ended and I returned to L.A., I taught Yoga for a few months and then made a big decision: I was going to use the money I had saved to go live and study yoga in India.

I spent three months in Rishikesh, fully immersed in the culture and yogic lifestyle. From there, I went to Nepal for a month, and then to Vietnam.

Vietnam was where I encountered digital nomads for the first time — I didn’t even know what the term meant and It blew my mind. People of all ages and backgrounds were living abroad, working from their laptops, and funding their freedom from anywhere with a Wi-Fi signal. I was fascinated and I knew instantly I wanted that life.

To me, these people were living the most amazing lives possible. They were fully present, intentional, and living life to the fullest. As I traveled all around Southeast Asia, I kept meeting more of them – and in my mind it was already decided: I was going to become one of them… somehow.

After nine months abroad, I ran out of money and had to return home — the shock hit me like Mike Tyson. I landed at LAX, picked up a rental car, and found myself back on the 405 in bumper to bumper traffic… almost in tears. I couldn’t believe I was actually back. I drove around my old stomping grounds in North Hollywood and was shocked — the same people were in the same places, doing the exact same things.

I saw a guy that I used to pass almost every day standing in the same spot with his coffee like no time had gone by. I saw the same girl walking the same dog on the same street… she might’ve even been wearing the same clothes. (To be fair, I was exhausted from the flight.) And that’s when it hit me: Oh My God… they’re NPCs!

And if I didn’t take massive action — I’d become one too. The thought terrified me. I talked to some of my friends and it was like nothing had changed. Same jobs. Same problems. Same routines. I was having a full-blown existential crisis. Ya see, Most people are on auto-pilot and they don’t even know it.
They’ are stuck in the NPC loop.

In Yoga, there’s a concept called Santosha which means contentment. The yogic path teaches us to find contentment in all aspects of life but I don’t believe true contentment is found in mindless routine — peace is found through purpose. How can anyone be content living a mediocre, passive life?

As humans, we need growth. We need adventure, challenge and connection. We’re living in a system that suppresses all of that unless we’re lucky enough to wake up. An epic life begins with pattern interrupt. You’re either living according to someone else’s script… Or you’re living your own vision.

I have been relentless in my pursuit to build a life abroad through aligned online ventures that support freedom and purpose… And every day, I get closer to the dream.
Soon.