You Are the Key
The Spark Behind Curious Embers
My pursuits have centered on uncovering why the world is the way it is - and why people are the way they are. I’m a student at my core, and in many ways, these have been my centering questions. I’ve looked through many lenses - political philosophy, technology, policy work - and, thankfully, eventually finding my way to mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and positive psychology.
I haven’t found all the answers. But one truth has become unmistakably clear to me:
How we choose to show up for ourselves is how we choose to show up for the world.
That belief is the heartbeat of Curious Embers.
It’s required my intention, presence, and patience to bring this offering into the world. I’ve been shaping it quietly - in conversations with friends, coaching colleagues that I know have so much to offer this world, in the practices I turn to, in the way I move through uncertainty. And now, it’s beginning to take form.
The Essence of Transformation
When I was at Google, my manager surprised our whole team with a suggestion: sign up for the “Search Inside Yourself” (SIY) program starting next week and take the time to do it. We were sellers - bosses rarely let you take time away from your quota, and yet I could see the seeds of wisdom in what she offered us. SIY was a 7-week cohort that met weekly to learn about the neuroscience of mindfulness, and by extension, provided a window into the kind of wisdom studies I hadn’t even known to search for. This sparked a deep interest in me, a flame which only grew steadily as I saw the positive impact it had on my life.
Through weeks of connection, learning, and (most importantly) consistent mindful practice, I saw the spheres of my life come more clearly into focus. I could articulate my values, respond rather than react and, bit by bit, come back to myself. It’s taken me many years to carry the torch forward and offer the practices and frameworks that served me well because I was still wrestling with my own “why”.
Years later, as we emerged from the pandemic, I took part in the Inner MBA - a 9-month program designed to apply conscious leadership to the world of business. This program helped me sharpen my understanding that attending to ourselves is a necessary precondition to shaping our emerging future. Late in the program, we encountered a framework called Theory U, created by Otto Scharmer of MIT-Sloan and the Presencing Institute. I was fortunate to study under Otto directly a few years ago at MIT-Sloan as part of my Master’s program, and remain convinced that what we need is a consciousness-based model for systems change to shape the human world into what we believe it can be. The “why” I was looking for turns out to be paramount to ensuring a better future: a belief that to change the world, we need to change our minds, our hearts, and how we show up together.
This means learning to let go of the old stories. It means listening inward before acting outward. And it means allowing something new, and often quiet, to emerge through us. This is the essence of transformation. Not forcing a change, but making space for what’s ready to arise.
The Snow Globe and the Spark
Recently, I held a soft-launch session for Curious Embers, where I led a short grounding meditation offered during International Coaching Week. My intention was to help the folks that gathered find some respite from the stressful barrage of the week through some light practice. We began with something simple: stillness.
Before reaching for clarity or setting intentions, we grounded.
Clarity doesn’t come from striving. It comes from settling.
Our minds can often be like a snow globe - constantly swirling with thoughts, obligations, ideas, anxieties. If we don’t pause, we end up grabbing at whatever’s floating on top - or get lost in the haze.
But if we let the snowflakes fall… If we breathe… If we just wait... We begin to see the spark beneath the storm.
The spark we’re looking for doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from listening differently.
The most meaningful transformations don’t start with a goal.
They start with a pause. They start with presence. Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with having goals you’ve thought up - but if you haven’t sat with the discomfort of resistance or attuned your inner radio to listen for what’s really going on, I suspect you’ll have an incomplete picture based on anxieties or fears rather than fulfillment and connection.
We must cultivate the inner conditions before anything true can take root. We ground, we settle, we listen… then we set our intentions and goals.
If You’re Reading This...
Then maybe something in you is already flickering.
Here are a few questions to sit with:
What would change if you showed up for yourself with the same care you offer others?
What truth in you has been waiting for space to emerge?
What intention is quietly taking shape within you right now?
We ended that first Curious Embers meditation with a poem from Yung Pueblo’s Inward — one that’s stayed with me for years as a reminder and a prayer.
They asked her,“What is the key to saving the world?”She answered,“You. You are the key. Heal yourself. Know yourself. Make yourself whole and free. Release all limits so that your love can flow unconditionally for yourself and the world. This will open the heaven of your heart, and it will guide you without fail.”
I was thrilled to see that this resonated across the group when we went into discussion afterwards - a reminder to us all that we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. Mind you, it’s not an easy challenge - but we have to do the work if we want to shape this future into one we are proud of.
What’s Ahead
In the months ahead, I’ll be offering direct coaching conversations, seasonal meditation events, and space for honest reflection — designed to help curious individuals reconnect with the quiet truth within and lead from that place.
If something here has stirred something in you, I’d love to stay in touch:
👉 Follow me here on Substack for future reflections and event announcements
🌞 Join the next meditation on Friday, June 20 at 1 p.m. PT, themed around activating our best selves on the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. Reach out to [ info @ curiousembers dot com ] to be added to the calendar invite.
🙏Feeling called to explore working together directly? Fill out this short intake form to share what’s emerging for you.
Thank you for being here.
With warmth,
Miguel
The wisdom, care and inspiration you've woven into Curious Embers is truly exceptional. The most potent part: "The spark we’re looking for doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from listening differently."
So beautifully written. Love “the start with a pause”.