To your health...

“Be sure at this time not to attend in your

kindness to anything other than what

is most appropriate to

regain your health.”

- Marcus Cicero

That Claude, what a guy! 

You remember him, right?  The healthcare man!  The fellow who provided you with the motivation to get up this morning and go for that morning walk, eat that healthy breakfast, enjoy that breath of fresh air…you know Claude Galen!

Wait.  You don’t know Claude Galen?  Never heard of him, you say?

What we don’t know…

Claude was on a mission most of his life.  He knew early on what his calling would be.  He was one of those people who had a life-changing event…a road to Damascus experience…a series of life altering observations that changed everything about the way he lived!

He was a sickly youngster and not particularly healthy into his 28^th year.  It was at this time he discovered…let me see how best to put this.  He discovered the secret to good health…a secret he would write about and a secret that would affect generation after generation of people.  His observations have effected your life and mine, but like a lot of innovators – those prophets that see where others do not – he has, but for a few, been generally forgotten by the passing of time.

To say he found a secret would not be precise.  Rather he observed and reported dramatic changes that could occur in people’s lives if they improved the way they lived their lives.  It has been a long held belief by philosophers and religious writers that nature is a great teacher – the natural law – the laws of nature.  It has irrevocable effects on us.  Kind of like gravity – the natural law, simply ‘is.’  Claude was a great observer of the natural law.

As Claude grew and paid careful attention to the way the natural law seemed to work, he developed ideas based on those observations.  A series of ideas had to do with how a person could have a healthy life.

In some ways, like the stoic philosophers, he understood one could really only control the words that they put in their minds and the opinions formed from those words.  The extension that he also understood, however, was nothing happens without action.  Thought was not enough…action was necessary!  His actions became game changers for him, and by extension…many others.

He believed, and taught, that there were some things needed for a person to have a healthy life.  They were:

1.     Good air to breathe,

2.     Healthy food and drink to consume,

3.     Appropriate and restful sleep,

4.     Moderate to vigorous daily exercise,

5.     Good working bowels for proper retention and excretion, and

6.     Thoughtful management of mental passions

You might say Claude was an early adopter.

Let’s take a look…

Clean air: He taught that clean air to breathe was essential in order for the body to be in balance.

Food and Drink:  The kind and amount of food were important – fresh and less rich were the best.  Balancing the enemies of nourishment put into the fire of metabolism. Digestion destroys the food, taking every bit of nutrition out.  If either side overwhelmed the other, a person would become either overweight or wither away from starvation.  Balance – the key!

Sleep: Who does not appreciate a good night’s sleep?  Claude observed too much or not enough sleep led to poor health.  As with food and drink, these two opposites – sleep and wakefulness – needed balance in order to keep one’s optimal health.

Exercise: There is little better for overall health than exercise.  This was one of the most important aspects of Claude’s observations.  Exercise had led him out of his poor health and carried him to a long and vigorous life.  It should be done daily, and by definition to qualify as meaningful exercise; it must increase respiration above rest and warm the body.  He did not believe in athletic competition, because he felt it favored the talented few, that the body would be used up in youth and suffer in old age.

Retention and excretion: Okay, I’ll say it.  There is little more gratifying than having good operating bowels, and little more problematic than when they are not working as they should!  Like the teaching many of us had as children, “…an apple a day keeps the doctor away…” – meaning the fiber in the apple would keep our bowels moving.  Claude believed it was important to have a bowel movement every day.

Management of the passions: Stress management is a really important skill set in our fast paced society.  It was clear to Claude that when a person was emotionally out of balance, it affected everything about their health.  While passion for life is important…he believed learning to control one’s passions and not being overcome by them, reduced life’s friction dramatically.

The irony…

Claude noted these things long before the science was there to show that his observations were key to the management and prevention of a lot of chronic diseases we find ourselves overwhelmed by today.  There is little doubt chronic disease is a problem for the person with it, but also a crippling economic burden on society in general.  In the United States alone healthcare costs, many of which could be avoided by following Claude’s ideas, sit at nearly 18% of our Gross Domestic Product.  That means nearly 18 cents of every dollar in your pocket goes to healthcare. 

You’re killing me…

Near the end of the 19^th century, germs were discovered and rather than focusing on health, Western medicine began to focus on the treatment of disease.  This would not have been a problem, had there been continued interest in keeping people well, the role of medicine for a very long time. 

Prior to the 20^th Century, most people died from acute infections.  This meant the sick seldom lived long enough to develop chronic diseases.  By the end of the 20^th Century deaths from acute disease was practically zero – a great success for the scientific medical community.  Unfortunately, little to no emphasis was placed on the management of chronic disease, so that by the end of the 20^th Century, the vast majority of deaths occurred from chronic causes.

Everybody took credit but Claude…

In the 1960s, observant people began to say, “Hey, wait a minute!  Isn’t there something we can do to reduce the risk of dying from these chronic diseases?”  Heart attacks got the most attention, because…well, you know…they were lethal!  From these roots, wellness hit its stride, and by now, the health/fitness industries provide services for people who either want to get healthier, or need help managing a persistent health problem.

While Claude did not get the credit he deserved, there seemed to be an awakening to the ideas that the air we breathe…the food we eat…the sleep we get…the exercise we take…the effective and regular working of our digestive tract, and the management of stress have dramatic positive effects on our health.

Who was this man?

By the way, Claude Galen was ‘Claudius Galenus’ a physician who was born in 129AD and lived into his seventies.  His broad interests included: the nervous system, anatomy, disease (pathology), physiology, the effects of medicines, and philosophy.  He wrote and published lots of papers on these topics, many of which were part of medical thinking for more than 1,300 years.  Some of his ideas and writings were later discarded as science began to emerge in the fields he studied, however, his teaching on health lifestyle can be found in practically every university curriculum and wellness program world-wide to this very day. 

I guess I just wanted to give a little credit to the man, who from simple observation, created a recipe for good health, and barring an unforeseen catastrophic event, a long life.  It is as meaningful now as it was then.  Yep, the natural law…gotta love it.

Yes indeed...“That Claude, what a guy!”

- ted

'The talk'…

"Adults are obsolete children."

- Dr. Seuss

“I have a question,” she said with a little frustration.  “Yes Ashley,” I replied to one of the little girls in the group of children.  With a look of frustration she said, “I thought we were going to be talking about sex!”

It’s part of the process…

The question inevitably materializes in youngster’s minds.  Maybe it isn’t clearly formed, but as one’s self-awareness emerges, it surely comes.  Early on we are distracted by colors, tastes, textures and sounds.  After all, there are a lot of things for a newly arrived passenger to absorb after stepping on to the platform of a new life after that nine-month journey that takes us from…well from nothing to – something!

The question began to take shape when my mother disappeared for a few days in my second year and returned with a small noisemaker in the form of my new arrived sister.  Hmmm…where did she come from?  At first, and really for a couple of years, she was just another curiosity that occupied space in my brave new world…there is a lot of stuff to learn when you don’t know anything!

Eventually, I wondered, “Where the heck did she come from?”  That led in fairly quick order to a more important question, “Where the heck did I come from?”  So, I asked my mother. “Mum, where did I come from?”  I can almost still feel that loving smile and the warm answer.  “Well honey, your father and I prayed and asked God to give us a little boy, and He brought you to us.” 

I mean, I would ask my mother for things from time to time and she would give them to me…so it seemed sort of natural…she wanted a little boy; asked God to bring him around and here I was.  She had given me the 50,000 foot view (15.2km) of the story, and at the time it was just enough. She had avoided ‘the talk,’ and I went on exploring my brave new world.

Dad’s job…

‘The talk’ came several years later.  I now appreciate my father was given the assignment, one he would have preferred NOT to have had, but it was his place…so he took it on.  ‘The talk” about how we really showed up on this planet. 

In my ninth or 10th year, my father and I drove to Toronto from Cleveland, Ohio together.  It was unusual for us to make this trip alone, but exciting for it to be just the two of us.  I’m not sure we ever had done so.  We didn’t say much, but somewhere around Hamilton, Ontario he began, “Honey (he called me honey in those days), there are some things we should talk about,” and the story began – you know, the real story – no storks…no prayer… "…just the facts Ma’am, just the facts…"  He was uncomfortable, but the task was made a little easier, because he didn’t have to look at me – he drove…I looked out the window.  There is little I remember about his explanation of how children came into being.  Surely there was love and prayer, but there was more. 

As he got to what I am certain was the most difficult part of the discussion – you know, what goes where, how it works and what that means – a large seagull crashed into the top of our windshield causing us both to practically jump out of our skins.  The poor thing flopped over the top of the car, and when I turned to look out the back window, it lay motionless on the pavement behind us.  There is little doubt this did nothing to ease my father’s discomfort.  On the other hand, it provided the perfect transition for him to quickly finish the conversation and move on – which he did…assignment complete!

The funny thing about teaching is that it is best if a there is a context.  Discussions of attraction and arousal and intercourse and conception and birth are generally helpful, IF the person has any place to put the information.  At ten, there is little context and frankly I thought girls were a nuisance!  Dad did his duty and would be able to report to mother the deed was done.  He asked if I had a question.  No I didn’t, mostly because I was a little uncertain exactly what he was talking about. 

My turn…

Many years later I joined a spiritual community, and for nearly three decades it occupied the central focus of my life.  Over the years, in counseling folk, it became clear that ‘the talk,’ more often than not, did NOT happen at all.  As a consequence, the church felt it would be profitable to provide a day’s seminar on sex education and reproductive health.  There were several health care professionals in the ministry and we were charged with setting up a curriculum for a Saturday seminar.  The day came and the congregation was divided into three groups – young children, teenagers and adults. 

The day was filled with films, handouts and presentations regarding overviews of this important topic.  For parts of the seminar, the congregation was further divided by gender in order that specific issues of hygiene could be discussed.  The objective? Teach the material openly and honestly.  We had taken the spiritual/public health initiative proactively believing the more the congregation knew, the more knowledgeable responsibly people could take. 

The day was a great success!

Then there was Ashley…

The youngest children, somewhere between the ages of 5 and 10 had a shorter teaching time and were taught very basic ideas taken from professional sources…the material geared to their ages.  There were cartoon graphics and films designed to help provide a context, with the underlying message that life should begin in the framework motive of love. 

The last item for their day was an anatomical model of a pregnant woman’s torso.  It opened up to show the baby in its mother’s womb in the birth position.  This was intended to cap the day…close the loop…plant the seeds for future and deeper understanding.

Through their portion of the day, the children seemed engaged, responding well to the age specific content.  I did the last presentation and then asked if they thought teaching had been enjoyable.  “Yes,” they exclaimed with enthusiasm.  They had liked all of it.  Mission accomplished!  In some ways, I had been nervous about teaching the little ones, not really being sure the material would have any meaning.  It had!  Maybe I felt a little relief like my father had when he had completed his task and I had not asked any questions.  That was when Ashley raised her hand and earnestly stated, “I thought we were going to be talking about sex!”

The best laid plans…

When my father decided to have ‘the talk’ with me, he didn’t check to see what I knew or in what I might have had an interested.  He simply did what he considered his duty to be…and he did it in love.  I didn’t have any questions, because I had no frame of reference.

Years later I had the opportunity, to help create the environment, and content for ‘the talk’ to a larger group.  A lot of preparation went into the day and I thought the program committee had done a pretty good job…until…until Ashley was bold enough to say that in fact, we apparently hadn’t made our point, met her expectation, or set a proper context.  It was an object lesson for me, because just like my father, I was focused on the message and not clear about the need.  This from a little girl!

As I watched Ashley grow over the years and have a small family of her own, I am reminded how important it is to speak your mind (her example), and the importance of asking and listening, before acting - the lesson for me. 

Thanks Ash…

- ted

The pizza is dead, long live the pizza…

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.

"Pooh?" he whispered.

"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand.

 "I just wanted to be sure of you.” 

– A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Pizza Pie…is there a better comfort food?

I’ve been on a gluten free diet for the past couple of years.  No, I do not have celiac disease, nor attendant nutritional absorption issues that often accompany diets loaded with wheat products – at least for some people.  Nope, I’m on a gluten free diet because I am a married man.  Married you say?  Marriage is a state of cohabitation not a food source – right?  It is the “…state of cohabitation…,” however, that informs the way I eat.

To be fair, it is not just because I am married…it is more that I like to eat, and if I intend to eat in my home, I eat what Molly prepares…SHE is the one on a gluten free diet, and therefore…well, you get the picture.

I think to be fair once again, we – that would be our nuclear family – are actually not on a diet…we have changed our life styles to eat gluten free foods.  Also, to be fair, I am not always obedient to the kinds of calories I slip into my metabolic engines when not at home.

Pizza is the point here…we’ll get to that.

How it came to this…

All of this needs a little bit of explanation…

I am a man, and as such have suffered much for my gender.  I was taught that men, while cultivating relationships with women, were really…you know, in most ways superior to our planetary cohabitants of the ‘xx’ chromosome variety.  This was not my family teaching – indeed it was quite the opposite – but rather cultural influence in tandem with an over abundance of testosterone reinforcing my early worldview.

In the early years, I considered myself an enlightened man – one who realized that while I might NEVER understand women, I could live pleasantly with them – as long as I maintained an ever so slight sense of superiority.  My penchant for strong smart women, however, has chipped away at this myth over the course of my life with great vigor! 

Perhaps, I was not moving along the enlightenment pathway as quickly as God might have desired, so he brought Molly into my life…to help me understand that my sense of superiority, however slight, was a complete figment of my imagination.  The Lord God Almighty, Master of the Universe didn’t rush into it.  Recognizing I was not the sharpest tack in the box…He took his time.

An example or two…

In the early years of my professional career, I found myself in San Francisco speaking on a number of occasions.  I’m a walker and have always enjoyed exploring places I visit. On those trips, I had seen a lot of the things the city had to offer…Fisherman’s Wharf, Telegraph Hill, Cable Cars, Harbor cruises, Alcatraz.  It didn’t seem like there was much left UNTIL one year Molly came with me.  Being a man, I was content in the awareness that I would impress the ‘little woman’ with my knowledge of the city. 

There was a free day during the conference, and I suggested, with a little inner glee, that we walk around and see what we might find.  Instead, she suggested we take a city tour.  A city tour?  What about my plan for ME to be the center of attention…the man…the guide, the impresser of my mate?  A city tour?  Are you kidding? “Who would do a city tour?”   How…how…how pedestrian!!  Yet for the sake of love, and the loss of a little pride, I said, “Sure hon, I think that would be fun.” Grrrrrr! 

By the end of the morning, I was both amazed and a little embarrassed.  It was one of the more educational and fun things I had done in a long time.  As it unfolded, I realized in short order, I knew very little about San Francisco!  That tour provided ideas for explorations of the Bay area for future years, a number of which I/we have done and a few that are still on the bucket list!

“Don’t do more than you can…”

Then there was yoga.  Yoga, you know that ‘girlie’ exercise.  Oh sure, maybe some men in California might do it, but seriously – what a joke.  Yes sir, I have a PhD in the area of exercise!  Who could know more about exercise than me?  I didn’t need to have done it to see how silly and a futile waste of time it was. 

When Molly suggested we do an activity together and it was yoga, I thought, “Yoga…what???...Really??...NO!...”  What I actually said was, “Sure hon, let’s do it!”  Off we went, and as I suspected, I was the only guy in the class! 

Well, after spending the evening with the girls, in this ‘non-exercise’ class, I could barely get out of bed the next morning.  Had I listened to the teacher and not tried to do too much, my first experience might have been a little more meaningful and the next morning a little less painful!  Yoga turned out to be rigorous, deliberate, custom tailored to each member of the class, and in short order became something I looked forward to every week. 

That was better than six years ago, and while I do not attend yoga classes these days, I practice it an hour or so twice a week, and have found it both relaxing and helpful to my balance.

Oh yes, the pizza…

As long as I can remember, after my first pizza at the Poky Dot Restaurant in Fairmont, West Virginia in the late 1950s or early 1960s, I have had an unnatural appetite and ability to consume the stuff. 

I wasn’t alone in this.  My late sister Nancy also had the pizza-eating gene.  While there may not be a legion, there are many who sat in our presence and knew with a sense of genuine awe, that in this area of culinary practice, we were gifted!

I never saw it coming…

Over the past couple of years, which just happens to coincide with the change in our eating habits, we haven’t eaten much pizza.  This is because those pesky gastronomic delights are made of wheat flour…the gluten culprit.  What we have done, from time to time, is eaten small ‘gluten free crusted’ pizzas at home.  They are okay, but as anyone who has eaten them knows, they aren’t the real genuine article!

A couple of weeks ago Molly was in Tucson and I found myself shopping on my own at the local Costco store.  I did mention, I am not always faithful to the lifestyle diet to which I have become accustomed.  With Molly away, from a dietary point of view, it was like being out of town myself.

 As I heading toward the fresh produce section of the store, I heard a small voice whisper, “Hey Ted.  Pssst Ted, over here.”  I looked toward the sound, and to my surprise on a refrigerated shelf were a couple of dozen ‘ready to cook pizza pies.’  These were not just any pizza pies, but 15 inchers (38.1cm).  Whilst I am certain I heard a voice, maybe it was just in my head…I may never know.  I quickly grabbed a ‘five meat topping’ special, picked up the rest of the food on my list and headed for the checkout counter.  As soon as I got home, I heated up the oven and prepared for an evening of pizza delight!

I could not wait to slowly consume half that pie…maybe more…and eat the rest the next day.  The first slice was heaven!  The second and third went down with no friction whatsoever.  I didn’t eat quickly, but savored each bite taking my time.  As I prepared to load up on the fourth large piece, I felt a sense of mild fullness – a feeling and experience unknown to me with this kind of comfort food.  I thought, “Hmmm…I’ll just let it settle a little before tackling that last piece.”  Much to my surprise, that feeling increased and seemed a little more like bloat.

That night, I slept a bit fitfully and the next day, I felt as sluggish as if I was working in a pool of Jell-O pudding!  I began to question myself. Had I lost the gift?  The volume had not been that great.  I hadn’t gotten that old that quickly had I?  Clearly something was NOT right!

Then it hit me.  It was the change in the way we have been eating. 

Molly!! 

That was it!  She was the real culprit!  It wasn’t just city tours and yoga – not to mention a host of other things – enhancing my levels of culture and fitness.  Now, she had made me a healthier eater, only this time, she had done it under the guise of her health,  Drat the woman! 

She had dispensed with the formality of asking me what I thought and just went ahead with it!  Strong and smart…this time she caught me by guile.  She made this happen without my even noticing!

Sometimes it’s better not to ask…

I don’t want to make this sound like I am married to a calculating and manipulating woman.  In fact, the balance in our relationship is excellent.  I am suggesting, however, that there have been many times in our journey when she simply knew better than I.  Having that important insight, she has used her intellect, sense of humor, and ability to see things I do not – on many occasions – to increase the quality of my life.  I haven’t always seen that whilst looking ahead, but most often do so glancing in the rear view mirror.

Now I a healthier, more fit, and eating a better quality of food because this woman seems to ‘get it’ much better than the fellow with whom she is living.

A couple of things that make slipping through the years more pleasant are:  A reduction in the need to be right, AND a reduction in the amount of testosterone my engines can produce. 

In the end, I have found it’s a nice thing to have company riding the bus – even if it is without the pizza…

- ted

What do I know? Not much…(Part 4)

 “Home, where my thought's escaping 

Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me” 

- Paul Simon

Heading home…

Thomas Wolfe may have been right when he wrote, You can’t go home again.  Once the moment-by-moment and daily pages of life are written, the manuscript begins to emerge and what has been recorded is…irrevocable…unchangeable – each new page waiting with eyes forward and ‘record button’ on.

For me, however, the operative word is “…again,” because the strongest urge I have had and have, IS to go home.  Home, not as a returning point, but rather a destination to, and for which I have longed my entire life.  ‘Home,’ the indescribable place of protection…safety…contentment…renewal and growth. 

Maybe it is nothing more than a yearning to return to my mother’s womb – I am not clever enough to know.  What I do know, however, is that it is informed by a view of the horizon, the ‘what’s next.’  Surely the ‘what’s next’ is greatly enhanced by ‘what has been,’ but the ‘what has been’ is finished and tucked away in the recesses of my life experience.

It is also important to acknowledge one’s inability to escape the gravity of their lives, meaning the early and cultivated influences.  I was brought up in a home of faith…taught the existence of a Creator of the Universe…that life had purpose, and that little was impossible in the face of curiosity and faith. 

I was taught, “…that without faith, it is impossible to please God.”  While this teaching was in a religious context, and at the time only words, I have come to understand the power of the concept in all parts of life.  For without faith/belief, nothing comes into the ‘viewfinder of possibility.’  Further to the point, without action based on that conviction, nothing is possible at all.

Does anything really matter?

If life - all the stirring of the waters…tempests in teapots…much ado(s) about nothing – has zero meaning, then truly what is the point?  It seems to me that if we are bit players with nothing more significant than the briefest of appearances on the stage of an insignificant situation comedy, life is little more than a poorly written cosmic joke.  If this brief period of consciousness is all there is in the enormity of the universe of which we are less than the tiniest of specs, it is more than a cosmic joke…it is lunacy.

If there be of no meaning, all the philosophers, theologians, scientists, cosmologists, astronomers and more…those who seek to find what it is all about…are simply wasting their time.  Seriously, if it we are just a useless breath on the looking glass of the universe, who really cares?

I reject this idea out of hand.  Everything matters!

The great escape…

All of us are looking for a way out…a transition to something more.  Why do you think we seek to be entertained, take mind alteration substances (alcohol or drugs), play games, exercise, read books, go to dances? The list is endless! It is because we are, at the most basic of levels, looking for an escape…a doorway with the grand prize being a holiday from sinking even further into the quagmire of mediocrity.  The entertainment, recreational and vacation businesses are huge because we inherently hunger for an artificial relief from our day-to-day existence. 

Isn’t there an obvious instinctual drive revealed in all of this?  Does this not suggest we are wired to look for nourishment beyond our mundane world?  Does it not imply we are seeking a way to transcend our daily lives?  Are we not pursuing worth…meaning…immortality?  It seems pretty obvious to me.

The alphabet…

As a child I was taught an alphabet of ideas.  These notions seemed unconnected at the time, but were planted with deliberation and love by my parents.  Seeds of thought rooted in the fertile, sometimes not so fertile, soil of my mind.  They were cultivated by curiosity and faith.  The teachings did not create the hunger for eternal existence; rather they provided a framework to which I could return again and again, when there seemed no hope.  They wove themselves into a narrative of experience that both pushed (based on success) and pulled (inspired) me forward to the unknown.

What has emerged over many decades is an understanding, gleaned from patterns that seemed to repeat themselves again and again.  Small signposts along the way that appeared with enough frequency, even I could not help but see them.

What began as curiosity and faith on the empty tablet of my life has developed into an understanding that has fed my hunger for more, and increased my appetite for what’s next.  As a child I only knew by experience there would be something next as long as I had breath. 

Now? I have, by experience, no doubt there is a next…a way out…much more than a singular journey on this planet.

Where’s the beef?

There is little I can speak to regarding the life journey taken by others.  I can only be certain what has resonated with me, and evidence I consider to be empirical to my life’s excursion.  The journey to date, has been/is enough for me to genuinely look forward to the completion of my ‘tour of duty on planet earth.’  In the language of military service overseas, I am “…getting short,” meaning there is less time left than what I have lived.

While this is surely not an exhaustive list of observations that have brought me to this place in the middle of my sixth decade, they represent the less subtle ones.

1. Instinct for survival: Everything inside me, to this present moment has been built on an instinct to survive and grow.  It is a drive that has gotten me out of bed every day of my life.  In the early years, it was just showing up for the day.  In latter decades it has been the rhythm of ‘fatigue and refreshment’ that has allowed me to satisfy my seemingly boundless curiosity.  Why should this life-long process exist for a brief cosmic moment?  It seems like a lot of creative programming on someone’s part for a meaningless flash of existence.

2. Conscience:  A follow to the preceding item. I was taught right from wrong as a child, but the internal value judgment to accept or reject those teachings were mine alone to make.  Conscience cannot be measured by moral nor religious teachings.  It may be augmented, but not legislated by them.  Some of the most moral, principled and conscience driven people known to me, have had little to no religious teachings or experiences.  Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird tells Scout, his daughter, conscience is the one thing that is not accountable to public opinion.  Conscience is as intimate and personal a thing as there is, and to me its ‘ringing alarm’ is more than some complex brain chemistry.  Its existence and ability to adapt to specific situations suggests to me interaction with a greater intelligence.

3. Freedom: Where does the desire for freedom come from?  There is no law giving one freedom.  Yet, the desire for it is inside all of us.  This suggests it is hardwired regardless of culture, gender, education or language.  Not everyone is free, but everyone desires to be so.  The larger freedom we desire is to escape death.  This suggests to me, we inherently understand there is more to ‘life’ than our day-to-day “…if by reason of strength they be fourscore years…” of existence.

4. Timelessness:  This is a state of consciousness – spiritual transcendence – that, for me has come either through the experience of love or disciplined practice.  It is a ‘place’ where I am so pre-occupied with the task at hand that time passes as though it simply did not exist. It is not that I necessarily pursue it, but rather I am drawn to it like a moth to the flame.  It is as powerful and unrelenting as gravity, and when I am in that place – nothing else exists.  In fact, I would rather be in ‘no time’ than anything else I can think of.  Hunger for ‘no time’ suggests the desire for living eternally where time, as we know it – I am certain – does not exist.

5. Nature experiences:  A sunset…sunrise…star filled night sky…the vastness of the ocean or deserts or mountains.  Sometimes when seeing these astonishing phenomenon, I feel at once totally insignificant and completely connected to a larger living universe of which I am a part.  In those moments, I feel a sense of overwhelming immortality. 

The point?

I suppose in life we “…see what we look for, and find what we know…” So it is quite plausible I am looking for reasons beyond simple faith to believe that there is “…life without end, Amen.”  On the other hand, isn’t simply believing enough?  For me the answer is no.   As my journey has unfolded, the great, unanswered question remains what’s next? 

The answer, of course, is I don’t exactly know.  I mean, I do not know the exact character of what comes next. 

What I do know is this.  There is a next, and I am in the process of preparing for heading home…for now that is more than enough for me.

- ted