“When fame really hit me was when Legends of the Fall was released three years after Thelma & Louise. You get no warning about what celebrity is or how to deal with it. It’s sort of multitiered. The initial stage is feeling discombobulated and not up to the task. I didn’t understand the incessant attention when I went outside, the way people completely focused on me. It made me feel uncomfortable.
“Then you start to see the fickleness of celebrity, that it isn’t rooted in something of real value. There is this strange wanting by people to get next to you. It has nothing to do with you but with something they feel they are missing in themselves.”
– Brad Pitt
***
“When I came to my master he said, ‘You have seen how worldly temptations follow a yogi; how the world wants to absorb a spiritual person. Now nothing will afect you, because you have experienced fame, positions of political immensity, institutions, and renunciation. People expect a lot from their spiritual leaders. Do what you can to uplift and enlighten the people – but never forget your Path.'”
– story as told by Swami Rama after He literally went AWOL from the highest spiritual position in India known as the Shankaracharya.
***
i have not trained Brad. nor have i trained a World Leader. i have however, been Blessed with a life filled with intimate relations with many celebrities and leaders. myself, i have touched the edges of fame; speaking to several hundreds of people at universities. at booksignings, where people are lined up, waiting for me. fortunately, i have been equally Blessed by having world class Dharma Teachers in my formative training. trained to see no difference between a clump of San Juan dirt or a stack of gold bricks; my heart rate would jump probably higher at the former, not the latter. working with celebrities or working with joe blow who just had a heart attack from eating too much meat and drinking too many beers his life; no difference. i have been trained to see and Serve the Go(o)d within all. 
(Hanuman tears open his heartspace revealing his masters; Sita and Ram)
It’s like that unforgettable response of Hanuman – the fiercely loyal Monkey God servant of Sita and Ram – when Ram asked Hanuman;
“Who are you?”
to which the Warrior Monkey God immediately replied,
“When i don’t know who i am, i Serve you…
when i know who i am, i AM you.”
May your Practice in WF today keep your feet on the ground
and your Heart soaring in the Heavens…
Om So Ti,
coach ilg
These teachings are the "Rasas" or "sap" of Wholistic Fitness. You’ll find insights to ponder, student chi to keep your own chi topped off, and plenty of proven training techniques to test on your own body, mind, and spirit! Also, you’ll find my very popular Race Reports, and news of our Sangha’s (community’s) latest transpersonal fitness adventures!