By Reynaldo Mena
He felt like the world was moving in slow motion. Every frame of what could be defined as reality in that moment appeared like cinematic shots. His body on top of the motorcycle, both sliding on the ground, his leg stuck, bearing the weight of that machine. Surely, flashes of other images were also coming to him, perhaps some memories, some people, some desires.
Diego Soto was on Providencia Island, a paradise that offered everything he loved in life. Water, lots of water, crystal clear, clean, open to tourists and residents in the vast Caribbean, diving, and all the aquatic activities he wanted to enjoy.
And why not?
Diego Soto was at the peak of his career in marketing. He worked at renowned agencies and attracted as many clients as he wanted to his domain. However, lying on the ground, bleeding, trapped under the motorcycle, didn’t seem like a trophy in a career filled with triumphs.
“I was at the pinnacle of my career, I thought everything was going in the direction I wanted. This accident woke me up. Things weren’t going as I wanted; there had been previous signs that had warned me, and I didn’t listen. And that’s how things happen, when we don’t listen to those messages, stronger ones have to come to make us understand that we need to change our path,” says Diego Soto, recalling that time.
“I lost everything. I had earned a lot of money, had properties, and it all disappeared. I spent several months in the hospital, unable to move, accumulated credit card debts, and lost my job. My friends had to invite me to eat, help me with my expenses; I had to start from scratch,” adds this Colombian born in the city of Cali, now turned author and creator of a self-help technique called ‘Create Your New Reality.’
During his convalescence, he heard an inner voice saying, ‘Buddhism, Buddhism.’ He had been interested in this doctrine before, but never with such seriousness that it called him to study it formally.
“I asked myself again what to do with my life; all the things I had contemplated in my childhood and youth reappeared,” he says, and it was time to answer them.
Diego Soto is the Digital Content Producer at Univision and the creator of the ‘Create Your New Reality’ method, which is based on the premise that thoughts create your reality and can be molded.
Diego was born in Cali, a warm and festive city where people are very simple, easygoing, and friendly. He attended a religious school, which raised many questions in his open and curious mind.
“I had a very nice childhood; I love water, always being close to it and playing with it. I wasn’t good or bad at school; I focused on doing what was necessary to pass. That’s where I learned the meaning of the word ‘mediocrity,'” he says. “I wasn’t the one involved in problems or had influence, but I was always there. I had a lot of chatter.”
Diego wasn’t a tormented child or teenager, but some essential questions bothered him, fueled by the religious education he received at school.
“The concept of a Loving God who also punishes, good and evil. I remember always carrying a book about India or Japan. Those were my concerns. I wasn’t popular with girls at that time; all of that came later, in college,” he says with a laugh.
His adolescence was more adventurous; he started skateboarding and had an intellectual rebellion, anarchic.
“I hung out with friends who were similar to me. Our parties weren’t typical teenage parties; we listened to punk, metal music, and our gatherings were practically filled with kicks,” he adds. “It was quite fun; it was a time when we mingled with people connected to the drug trade and people who had nothing to do with it but were open. I never got involved in that. I tried ecstasy more as a personal experience than as a drug itself.”
Ecstasy helped him explore philosophical themes, explore other levels of consciousness. “I thought, ‘What is this?’ I was never an addict, but I was a regular user.”
Against all odds, when he entered college, he chose to study Advertising.
“The themes of love and fulfillment went out the window,” he says amusingly. “I’ve always said that there are two people within us. On one hand, there was the person concerned with spiritual matters, and on the other, concerned with life, making money, and succeeding.”
The creative process in the field of advertising won him over. He fell in love with the career; it blew his mind.
Someone summed it up for him, “Leave all the values you have at the door; here you will create the narrative.”
In college, they discussed how the profession manipulated people, and Diego Soto was willing to learn the tools to manipulate them.
“Before going to college, I had to choose between philosophy and advertising. I chose the latter; I chose to have fun and make money,” he says.
He immersed himself in this field, and his whole life revolved around it. He won clients, awards, money, whatever he wanted. He didn’t accept a NO in his professional life.
“I felt fulfilled. But then that first sign came, and I didn’t listen. My girlfriend became pregnant without planning it. It was the first time in my life that I felt something was out of my control, and I wasn’t prepared for it. For a few months, I didn’t know how to handle it. Then, the accident happened. I would learn one way or another,” he mentions.
“It was a breaking point; my son’s mother sued me for child support, and I was desperate. And then, when the word ‘Buddhism’ came, I went to seek it out. There was a Buddhist center on a route I always passed by, but I hadn’t noticed it. So I went there and asked to attend the meditation services. The first time it didn’t work. I left. I came back; I wasn’t going to give up. It worked. Within a few minutes of meditating, I felt a peace I hadn’t had in a long time. I could feel that I was entering another space,” Diego Soto says.
He began practicing Buddhism, and it helped him get out of the breaking point he was in.
“I was desperate, even thinking about suicide, but I came out of it,” he says. “If there were no regrets, there would be no God. The vast majority of people turn to Him seeking forgiveness,” he adds.
Buddhism was his source of recognition, and after three years, he was formally invited to join, but he distanced himself. He was interested in Buddhism but not the ‘ism.’
Shortly after, he met a woman who hosted shows. She was American, and they started a relationship that led them to move to Miami and then to Los Angeles.
“I didn’t want to work in advertising, but it was the easiest way to make money. I was still on my quest, and then, once again, I heard an inner voice saying, ‘Diego, get up.’ That’s how my book ‘Create Your New Reality’ was born. It was essentially many of the things I had gathered along the way, the teachings of Buddhism that tell us we are what we think. I told my partner that I would spend time writing, and three months later, I finished it,” he says.
Diego started his own internal process, visited and studied various religions and philosophies, and shaped his own technique.
“It basically consists of three things: having an intention, visualization, and the right emotions. These elements can be used for good or bad things; there are figures like Hitler who used them negatively,” he points out.
Diego Soto mentions that he is in a process of transformation, shedding his old skin and emerging into a more collective one. Doing things consciously.
“I don’t regret anything; it was part of my process. I hope to keep ‘cagándola’ in my life,” he concludes with a laugh.
And Diego Soto recommends…
“We must sit down and listen to that noise, see it fade away; it’s not necessary to meditate, just listen and see it calm down, to have a more peaceful reality.”
