“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
William Shakespeare
Lately some good friends have encouraged me to consider a whole person approach to not only ALS, but life in general. Ever since I found out I was living with this condition, I became obsessed with science as it relates to the chemistry of the body. I still believe this is very important (see previous posts about Nurown) but I don’t want to neglect the other parts of the whole person. That is why I am lucky enough to have friends who are willing to help me focus on the mind, body and soul.
When I was a sophomore in college I read an incredible book called “Man’s Search for Meaning” by the famous Neurologist, Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl. In the book he discussed spiritual and psychological factors that contributed to the survival of people in impossible circumstances. I think at some level we all know that mental and spiritual factors have a lot to do with how we respond to external circumstances. This book put this into context for me and made the concept a practical reality.
A few years later I was taking a class on human intelligence gathering and I came across Carl Jung’s work on archetypes and the collective unconscious. I am not qualified to give a very good summary, but as I understand it, our minds are not separate entirely from others. It is as if all of humanity is standing in a shallow pool of consciousness from which we both draw from and contribute to shared ideas and inspirations. I recently came across this article as an explanation on the crossover between consciousness and quantum theory. I am not going to even try to explain how this works, but if you are interested, here is the article Is human consciousness creating reality? – Big Think.
All of this taken together has led me to the conclusion that God has given us some creative responsibility in our lives and in how our reality unfolds. It is what I believe, so I am taking steps to strengthen my whole person with the intention of creating more positive outcomes. Some people will intuitively understand what I am doing immediately and may even want to participate. That is wonderful. Some people might think this is all a bunch of mystical nonsense. That’s okay too. I will keep you all posted
Tweed Thoughts 
Matt, thank you for sharing that you are not just a regular jet jockey.
You’ve Looked deeply in your pilgrimage. Nate tried to get in the Air Force but was too old when he finally applied.
He searched too and his focus narrowed. His mentors quickly became CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien.
If you have not already read, I suggest reading Nate’s FB post in late March of 2020. He wrote the three pages on his Tobbi with his eyes. As you probably know he was mostly trapped for a year with being able to speak or write except through his computer. He spent days writing it but it was years in being formulated. After Nate’s graduation from his time with us I found a few of his writings. One was something he called Mulligan. I believe I posted on his page earlier this year. Good stuff. Thank you for allowing my contribution … on vacation from Hawaii … first in four or more years😎
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