Recovery

Today I worked with four young male recovering heroin addicts.  I closed with one of them and he is moving on with plans to go to school and, possibly, begin working with other recovering people.  As I told him, he has the potential to go far.  Another of the individuals today has already begun his post-addict life.  The two others are relatively early in the process and I can just begin to see the light coming on in their eyes.  All four clearly demonstrate the power of love and connection and how that power can change lives.  It is a wondrous experience, for me, to be so immersed in that power.
I am still struggling with being sick (general malaise and diarrhea).  It doesn’t happen often, but I do not like being sick.  I find it hard to maintain a positive attitude in spite of disability, pain and sickness.  Writing the above paragraph and staying focused on love, certainly helps!

A Broadening Perspective

Today I encountered one of the foundational phrases that I heard and came to espouse in my scientific past, “If you cannot measure it, it does not exist”.  At one point, several years ago, I was speaking to an international audience about my research, and I questioned the validity of a theory of a prominent colleague based on the fact that it was not testable and was, therefore, worthless.  I find it amusing and quite ironic that I now base my life on things like God or the power of love, things that are totally untestable.  During my scientific years, I did not realize that I was closing myself off from a great deal of information, that science had a very definite part, but was not a total answer.
During dinner tonight, my wife, Maria, and I were having some light conversation and, in response to my comment about something being trivial, she said “nothing is too trivial for the physical plane”.  I tend to get involved in all sorts of drama, such as the living problems of relatives or the way my boss treats me, which mean very little if one takes the perspective of eternity.

Spiritual Beings Having a Physical Experience

I just facilitated a four day men’s spiritual retreat in Mexico, near Rocky Point on the shore of the Sea of Cortez.  We got back late on Sunday and I have been sick and mostly in bed with cramps and diarrhea since then.  It is now Tuesday evening and I am happy to say that I feel better.  I don’t like being sick, but know it will pass, as things do.
The retreat was a wonderful experience for all ten of us.  Lots of love, connection and emotional vulnerability.  Early in the retreat we spread the ashes of a friend in the Sea.  We then talked about grief, change, who and what we really are.  I put the stress on each of us being spiritual beings having a physical experience.  As usual, I attempted to facilitate the movement of each individual a step or two further along their spiritual path, by providing the emotional and spiritual space they need.  It is important, for me, that I keep things general and have respect for individual differences.  I truly feel a lot of love for these guys and want the best for them.