Yung Pueblo - Lighter : Let Go of the Past, Connect with the Present, and Expand the Future

yung pueblo is the real deala modern sage and guiding light. In his new book, he beautifully illustrates how finding harmony within is the key to creating a progressive society built on compassion, clarity, and understanding. This is a book everyone must read, many times over.

Vex King, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Healing Is the New High

yung pueblo teaches how to heal with compassion as the driving force. Lighter is an empathetic and wise book that will guide you on a journey toward a deeper understanding of self and help you make impactful changes within and in the world. yung pueblo created a core curriculum on how to heal despite your experiences with suffering.

Nedra Glover Tawwab, LCSW, New York Times bestselling author of Set Boundaries,Find Peace

A beautiful encouragement for tending your own heart: for learning and healing, for finding well-being, and being part of the solution for all you care about.

Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart

To learn of yung pueblos beginnings in this intimate book is a gift. Lighter helps us understand the daily ways in which his deepening practice has impacted an entire generation of seekers. His words leave an indelible markhis struggle with self-abandonment and his personal process of compassionate self-connection have quietly inspired millions of us. yung pueblos humble, potent teachings help us prioritize our emotional maturity in the face of constant change, a vital understanding in these turbulent times.

Elena Brower, bestselling author of Practice You, Being You, and Art of Attention

yung pueblo offers insight into daily practices and choices that can remove the burdens of habitual reaction to reveal the freedom of wise reflection. In Lighter, we see that knowing the mind can transform a person, and also transform society.

David Simas, CEO of the Obama Foundation

Lighter is the story of one man and of all of us as we seek to become lighter, to walk through our lives freely, unencumbered by the weight of the past or the future. It is as inspirational as it is a practical guide.

Mark Hyman, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Pegan Diet

A rare and insightful journey into the authors own healing journey will inspire you to let go of the past and find a lighter path forward. As always, yung pueblo speaks truth in such an eloquent way. This book is a true gem.

Sheleana Aiyana, author of Becoming the One

Facing a pivotal moment, yung pueblo turned inward and learned that through investigation he could build a new way to think and live. He learned that true love of self is possible. Lighter shares his journey in a way that will touch you deeply, as he offers hope that peace is possible for ourselves and the world.

Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

As I lay there on the floor, crying tears of fear and regret, my mind took on a sharpness that for the first time allowed me to see how far I had veered from my potentialhow I had allowed drugs to block me from having to deal with my inner sadness.

I had been recklessly pushing my body and mind with dangerous excess when I finally pushed myself too far. It was during the summer of 2011, after another night blindly focused on the pursuit of escape and pleasure, that I found myself on the floor, thinking my heart was going to explode. I was twenty-three and convinced that I was having a heart attack. I was both scared I was dying and embarrassed that I had let myself get to this point.

My mind flashed back to my teen years, working as an activist and organizer for the Boston Youth Organizing Project (BYOP). I remembered how nourishing it had felt to be part of a group helping others reclaim their power and making real change. How had I lost my path?

In the beginning, I thought I was just having fun and that I was in control. But I could now see that the partying had become a way for me to avoid spending time with myself. I used and abused drugs to numb the pain and hide. There was sadness and anxiety inside me that screamed for my attention, but all I could do was turn away from it. And my drive to keep my attention away from my emotions stood like a wall blocking me from considering the long-term impact that drugs would have on my well-being, on my life.

My mind also kept focusing on the bravery of my parents, how much they had to sacrifice and how hard they had to work to give me, my brother, and my little sister a better life in the United States. When I was four years old, we moved to the United States from our home in Ecuador. Being immigrants and trying to make it in our new city of Boston left its mark on all of us. In the long run, it was the right decision to move here, but for the first decade and a half we all felt the intense pressure of poverty. It almost broke us. My mother cleaned houses and my father worked in a supermarket. It was a miracle that they made ends meet, but too often it was an incredible struggle that placed them under an immense amount of stress. Even though we lived simple lives with zero luxuries in a small two-bedroom apartment, money was still always lacking. As I lay on the floor, I kept thinking to myself, I dont want to die this way. I dont want to let my parents down. They have worked so hard and selflessly, given so much to me, that this would be a horrible way for me to die. I need to live and make the most of the opportunity they have given me.