Blayne Smith is the Executive Director of Team Red, White, and Blue. As Team RWB’s first employee, he has played a key role the development, growth, and operation of the organization. Blayne works closely with board members, staff, and volunteer leaders to ensure the delivery of excellent veteran programs. He provides strategic guidance in addition to building and managing critical partnerships.
Blayne served as an officer in the United States Army from 2001-2010. Upon graduating from West Point, he initially joined the First Cavalry Division as a tank platoon leader and later as a reconnaissance platoon leader. He spent most of 2004 in Iraq and led more than 200 combat patrols. He then attended the Special Forces Qualification Course and commanded a detachment of Green Berets in the 3rd Special Forces Group. Blayne led joint and inter-agency operations both domestically and during a combat tour in southern Afghanistan.
Smith earned a BS in Economics from the US Military Academy as well as an MBA from the University of Florida. He has completed numerous military leadership courses and was the Distinguished Honor Graduate of the Army Ranger School.
Blayne is a fitness enthusiast and avid athlete, and regular competes in running, triathlon, and CrossFit. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his family.
I was sitting on my night flight to Tel aViv and was having a hard time falling asleep, so I stood up in the isle. I saw a young man bowing down on a rug in the bulk head area. I watched him for a moment. There were a couple men lined up behind him waiting to use the rug. I had an immediate flashback of some of the news and intelligence I was given on the Muslim people before I left on Convoys in the Al Anbar province. I found myself wanting to judge these men…..but caught myself! I reminded myself, that I know nothing about them, they are human beings, and maybe I need to break some barriers I have built.
These men were Muslim, and performing their 5th Call to Prayer during the day. So to help start breaking the barriers in my own heart and brain, I decided to talk to one of the Saudi Arabian men who were waiting in line to use the rug. I asked him about himself- where he was from, his family, what his experience was like performing 5 Call to Prayers a day. He looked at me with the most kind eyes and said, he was taking his family on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia where he was from. He mentioned he enjoyed taking time each day to worship because it gives him peace. It is like meditation he said a way to find calm. My heart and mind was smiling. My judgement had since passed and new pathways and experiences in my mind and heart were being created because I was connecting with a human being…a human who belongs to a religion that is very often judged.
I feel I am an educated woman who still can get swayed by my experience in the Marines, the intelligence I received, what I read and hear in the media, and what people around me talk about. I studied the Palestinian Israeli conflict in college as my major was Political Science with an emphasis on International Relations. I can study, read, hear all I want, but meeting people, experiencing the culture first hand I learned the most. Listening to the Call to Prayers, visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, staying in a beautiful Palestinian hotel in Jerusalem, being herded through a check point in Bethlehem and scoffed at by one of the guards, walking the steps of Jesus Christ on the Via Delorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem, being escorted by a poor Palestinian man, praying and meditating it the Garden of Gettsemene, standing on the womens side of the Western Wall or Wailing Wall, being conned into getting my tennis shoes shined, floating in the dead sea gave me so much perspective on life and what truly life is like outside of what news I hear and read in Southern California. It was incredible and an experience I will never every forget.
The one place where there was peace and everyone treated each other with respect, there were no pissing matches, no issues with prayer time was when I was in the CrossFit gyms. I had the opportunity to teach the Movement and Mobility Course in the two countries was Isreal and Turkey, and despite the conflict with the government in Turkey and its people, the Palestinians and Israelies in Israel, there was no animosity or issues inside the gym. It was as if the box/gym arena all prejudices, ego’s, conflict was put to the side, and change really could happen, friendships were formed, movement improved, lives improved, and nothing but gains were made.
My judgements and beliefs were squashed and new ones were formed. I am so grateful for the experience to travel- as I learn and experience humanity at its finest, weakest, and its actual reality! As a human who has been judged harshly by her own piers and who has also judged, my eyes, heart, and mind are open to experiencing what is true and real and dismissing anyone, anything who chooses to live life through judgement.
“Honored to have Samantha Noe as one of our Get Quiet Challenge winners. Her story speaks for itself and something I can relate to in so many ways. Often times vulnerability is seen as a weakness and this is the furthest from the truth. Thank you Sam for opening up and sharing a piece of your journey to get to know the real you. Because of this it gives others authority to do the same and know they are not alone, and best of all it allows you to embrace yourself on a deeper level. Reading your story motivates me to keep up this Get Quiet charge! “ – Dr. T
Samantha Noe’s Get Quiet Journey…
There’s nothing like being barraged by disappointment in a meeting with your boss and feeling so overwhelmed that the only word you can muster up in response is “okay”.
Getting Quiet couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Lately, I find myself at a huge crossroads in my life; buried in the ‘real world’ and trying to find out who I am in order to face those really uncomfortable parts. I had just finished grad school, started a business, and set out on the long journey to becoming a meaningful coach- all at the exact same time. Talk about overwhelming, right? Everything is new to me. I have no clue what I’m doing, and I’m not even sure who I am.
I work out of a CrossFit box, where I had been apprenticing for many months as a coach. The owner, my friend/boss/colleague has been such an extremely supportive role model. She has put invaluable time into showing me how to be a good leader, a solid coach, and has even helped with business. Something just wasn’t working though. We weren’t on the same page but, why? Well, I was shutting down. I tend to put up a total wall when things get tough. It feels like I am drowning. I struggle to effectively “own” or overcome my feelings and actions.
For me, I was grown up on having to “figure it out”. There was no emotion. When I needed helped I had to pretend like I didn’t and just solve problems on my own. No one was there to answer questions or provide any guidance. In my world, vulnerability is weakness. If I was vulnerable or showed emotion, I was very wrong to do so. Because of this, I don’t believe I have a strong ability to process those feelings, so I just shut down- I numb them and go blank and that triggers stress. Well, my boss had figured me out. This caused me to take a step back, get quiet, and learn about myself so that I could move on and we could become a better team.
I turned off my music and all of the noise I often use to tune out my thoughts and numb my feelings. In the words of Brene’ Brown, we’ll call this write-up my “Shitty First Draft” of my downfall. The Get Quiet challenge encouraged me to honestly look at my past, my weaknesses, and myself. In getting quiet I began looking at things a little differently. I must forgive my past and love myself for everything that I am. I take such good care of my body, usually. I eat strictly to treat my autoimmune disease and I exercise daily. Something is missing though. I have found that I need to love my body. I need to love it for every flaw and broken kink that controls me and holds me back. I’m finding that this missing link is my mental health, and finding courage to forgive my past and march on. In this world we are taught that the brain and the body are separate, but how screwed up is that? I am beginning to recognize how important it is to address those pieces that often are too uncomfortable to face. Getting quiet is such a great way to begin to address this process.
These things take work and time. I am by no means “there” yet, but I believe I’m on a good road to begin that journey. Getting quiet has helped me see more of what is around me, and has helped me to start to forgive myself for my weaknesses. I have learned to ask questions, get uncomfortable, and take extreme ownership over my actions and my attitude.
“Abby Newcomb is one of our Get Quiet challenge winners and her story speaks for itself. She tells the story of how as a health professional she was so good at helping others help themselves, but not really helping herself. How many of you can relate? You are good at caring for your kids, husbands, wives, jobs, patients, but when it comes to you…there is not time! Like Abby said, you secure YOUR oxygen mask before securing your loved ones or someone elses. Abby is starting on this journey of getting quiet, and it is not easy, and is understanding it is a process not a pill. Abby’s story is real, raw, and one I can relate to being a health professional. “- Dr. T
Your Comment or Story: I am going into my 5th year of nursing and have landed in inpatient psych. As part of maintaining my license, I went to a conference where a family practice doctor said that the overwhelming majority of her patients suffer from depression and anxiety. She said that when she started to treat this, she noticed that the hypertension, diabetes, etc started to work itself out. She left us with her prescriptions for forgiveness (especially towards self), exercise- preferably in nature, sleep (8 hours/ night), drink plenty of water, and meditate.
I found myself incorporating this into my daily patient education, as so many of my patients have depression and anxiety at the top of their laundry list of diagnoses. Unfortunately- the overwhelming response is to want a pill to make it all go away. Tonight I worked with a 78 year old with a decade long dependence on benzodiazepines- an effective and addictive pharmaceutical response to stress/ anxiety/ etc…. generally creating some level of numbness to the world around. As she is on her taper off, her anxiety resumes. She came to me wanting a quick fix as her blood pressure was rising, along with her breaths. I quickly led her into a meditation- forcing her to focus on her breath in and breath out. Her blood pressure dropped twenty points systolic.
There is a strong reference to oxygen masks on airplanes in nursing. We must secure our own before we can help anyone else. Teaching meditation and coping strategies for stress, anxiety and depression loses its effect if I am not willing to practice. After months of racing thoughts, and a few hardships- and realizing the sub par nursing care I was providing by not practicing what I was preaching, I committed.
I started making time for myself first thing in the morning- forcing myself to sit quietly with the thoughts racing through my head. Its amazing how often we try to avoid this. Anything to fill the time so that we don’t have to sit alone with our thoughts and ourselves…. In the comfort of my bedroom, cozy in my sweats- I take on this challenge. No Facebook/Instagram/ tv to distract me ( or the seeping in of deeper distractions- drugs, alcohol, numbing the place of having to sit alone with myself), I light a fall candle and play instrumental music and walk myself through a relaxation series I picked up from my novice yoga days at the good old YMCA, concentrating on releasing tension head to toe. Then my grocery list comes to mind. Or bills I have forgotten to pay. Text messages that urgently need composure. A sink that desperately needs scrubbing. And… I flake…. Giving in to the racing thoughts and completing the actions before I could ever let my mind quiet.
Two weekends ago I took a healing touch class and learned about opening chakras. My instructor, now an RN at the children’s hospital, admittedly told the room full of nurses that we might find this bizarre and too far or, as she had us swing penjulums around each other’s chakras (energy circles). As crystal collecting/ sage burning/ rain dance -dancing as it may seem, chakra opening has become part of my daily meditation…in fact, this my only meditation some days. It grounds me. It calms me. It makes me immediately appreciative and aware, and after all- that is what meditation is about right? Being divinely, serenely aware.
The warrior accepts the call and walks the long, arduous path of becoming Truth, Justice, and Wisdom.
The warrior questions all authority and all conventional wisdom that is spoken in the course of his life.
The warrior seeks to understand and explore all worldviews, all religions, all cultures, all histories and all legacies of truth to understand fully what he is, his nature and his essence.
The warrior knows what he must contribute; he leaves generations to come with strong, universal, and life-affirming foundations.
The warrior explores the interior and the exterior worlds, integrating and harmonizing both.
The warrior takes an eternal perspective.
The warrior loves as fully as possible; this loves comes from his soul; this love is light and truth united.
The warrior creates lasting communities of truth-seekers; the aim is Freedom.
The warrior knows suffering; his virtue is compassion.
The warrior knows love as both intimacy and rapture.
The warrior enters darkness with the soul’s light.
The warrior loves chaos; chaos initiates the transformation.
The warrior is a scholar of living; his being becomes an instrument of Spirit.
The warrior walks with loneliness; though he is never alone.
The warrior heals and expands the gentleness of his heart.
The warrior lives in the mystery; the warrior goes into the abyss of truth; the warrior lives in faith; the warrior is a testament of Spirit.
The warrior knows he is a creature; the Creator made his spirit and being.
The warrior seeks union of the soul with Spirit; the warrior knows only by crossing the purgative, illuminate, and unitive gates can he achieve this union; the warrior devotes his life to this aim.
Lastly, the warrior looks you in the eyes, sees your soul, and reminds you, all souls are called to become the living Light and Truth Itself; expressed here and now as Love, Goodness, and Beauty.
About Ryan:
RYAN MATTHEW KRUPA attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, on a Navy Reserve Officer Training (NROTC) Scholarship and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs, with a minor in Naval Science. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He served as a Global Logistics Officer for three years, completing a two-year assignment in Japan. He received two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals for exemplary leadership. He was promoted to Captain before leaving active duty.
After the Marine Corps, he worked for KPMG Consulting and Deloitte Consulting. At KPMG Consulting he specialized in Program Management and Risk Management. At Deloitte Consulting he specialized in Human Capital Consulting.
He also spent two years at the Center for Creative Leadership, where he studied the leadership development industry, participated in numerous leadership development programs, and built strategic relationships with Google, Starbucks, and Microsoft.
After a decade of military and professional experience, he co-founded MOSAIC, a center for leadership and human development.
His calling, and what he’s most passionate about, is working with warriors by providing leadership trainings to U.S. Special Operations Units. His aim is to produce leaders with the ability to uplift consciousness, unleash potentials, and awaken souls. His mission is to serve as a guardian while leaders explore the stages of human development.
To prepare for this work, he earned a Master Degree in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego. He has completed wide range of trainings in leadership development, human development, and spiritual development, resulting in over 3,000 hours of training. He has become a Leadership, Yoga, Meditation, and Reiki Practitioner with extensive experience creating and delivering cutting edge development intensives. He’s lived abroad for over two years and has traveled to over 25 countries. His endurance events include summiting Mt. Rainier, a Marathon, and 6 mile swim.
Do you remember the time your dad or mom came to visit you in college and they took you to your favorite restaurant? Do you remember ever taking a trip on a holiday or doing volunteer work at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter? Some of my most special holiday memories are centered around the experiences I had versus the ‘stuff’ I received. Experiences like feeding the homeless at a soup kitchen on 1st avenue in Seattle, visiting the sick with my Dad in Scranton, receiving Thanksgiving dinner from my church as a young girl when my mother was terribly sick, making coupons for my Dad saying I would go above and beyond in helping him around the house, baking cookies with my brothers back home in our log cabin in Seattle and traveling to Argentina for Thanksgiving. The list goes on. I usually forget what people got me, unless it was the Teresa Barbie doll I really, really wanted when I was 10 or the rope and wood my Dad gave me to make a rope swing…haha, but I never seem to forget the experiences.
My Challenge for US this holiday season: #1: Take a staycation or vacation
Why not change things up this holiday? Take yourself and your significant other or loved ones on a vacation. You say now is not the time? When is there a perfect time for anything?! You do not have to go to Paris, rather stay in a nice hotel on the beach or in the mountains, or go camping. Just do something together with your family for a half or full day.
#2: Give the gift of experiences
I am excited to give my loved ones experiences that they can build a memory around. When I think about doing this it makes me smile as I need to be creative to do this. We are all creative in some ways, but commercialism almost takes away that creative twinkle in our mind. Perhaps it is a gift card to their favorite restaurant, or a coupon to go shopping at their favorite store, or a homemade memory box they can store pictures, a picture of something memorable they can put on their wall, or simply an awesome card you wrote from your heart versus a generic happy holiday card with nothing extra but your cat’s mug shot.
#3: Get out from behind the lens and enjoy the moments here and now!
Another thing I challenge you to do (something that I am working on as well) is get away from taking a ton of pictures and just enjoy living the moment not through a lens. It is nice to have the pictures as memories, but I don’t need 700, only a handful. This will help me just be in the present versus waiting to get the perfect picture or create the perfect moment for my social media feed. I know many of you can relate.
#4: Steer clear from social media for a few days, get your dopamine fix from other stimulus like being present with yourself and your loved ones.
If you are obsessed with tweeting, facebooking, Instagramming, take a few days off. The world will go on, your friends will still be there, and it will probably make you feel less anxious and distracted, and therefore more mindful and present with your loved ones who are in town. It is not uncommon to see entire families hanging out all on their phones doing separate things, and not communicating. When will this change? Let’s start this holiday season.
#5: Slow down Lastly, slow everything down. Slow down your eating, slow down your walking, slow down how you talk. I notice during busy times of the year I start to walk fast and talk faster in an effort to try to get more stuff done in less time. Let’s all slow our roll this December. Unless you or I are an emergency room doctor, then what the heck are we rushing for?
Slowing down will allow us to be more mindful of what we are doing. Eating is a huge thing around the holidays and people end up overeating and often feeling uncomfortable with their food intake. Slowing down eating, actually chewing your food, making time for a meal, and saying no to one more piece of pie. Maybe you do really want one more, and if so, go for it, but if you do not, then say NO. Your in-laws won’t be changing their mind about you.
This holiday season, slow your roll, enjoy the moments, and give the gift of experiences that create memories for a lifetime.
The Spiritual Warrior