Today I gave books entitiled The Power of the Double Circle to a number of friends hoping to get a response that will get the ball rolling

Talking to several folks after the meeting this morning I realized that I have not made clear how this double circle group could help people. But this was in the context of a group meeting.  I have been purposely vague because I am trying to discover bottom-up processing in my midst and trying at the same time not to monkey with it.  If I have an exacting plan I fear that it will interfere with what will naturally evolve from the bottom-up processing.

However I could do more than I have so far to clarify something about my hopes:

1.  I hope the double circle will help people find a way to become more resilient in their interactions with people who are down in the mouth and willfully or woefully uninformed.  Those who have many years of sobriety can be very judgmental at times.

2.  My belief is that there is a treasure amongst longtime AA folks of positive input for those struggling with addiction.  I am trying to find out if there is a way to tap it. 

3.  So this process of the double circle could help both sponsors and sponsees.

4.  Correctional officers can benefit a great deal from contact with people with long-term sobriety within the program of AA.  We are often so caught up in her anonymity that we do not reach out where it is possible and hopeful to do so. 

So in general the double circle group is an instrument which can be used in the four arenas listed above.  Also if I get some help with the issues above I can come up with a second edition of this book which would be far more helpful than what we see in the one right now.  It is quite skeletal and badly written but it is the best I can do with the time.  I would love to have 20 or 30 co-authors. There is more but it will hold

I realize that I really just a little frightened about the prospects of the double circle group coming to fruition.  I realize I have to develop groups in more than one place in several different disciplines in order to reach the tipping point that Malcolm Gladwell describes in his book by that name.  Our first important meeting will be on the 30th of this month when we go to a celebration honoring officers in the Department of Corrections.  I hope to talk with  Warden Andrews and the Florida legislator Van Zandt as well as others about beginning groups sessions in order to help correctional officers gained more confidence in their work.

We are still waiting for the copy of our book coming from a local printer Alta systems but it should be here within a few days.

Marketing the Power of the Double Circle

 I attended a very interesting talk by Peggy McDonnell about marketing books.  The gist of it is  marketing must be done by  oneself if it is to be done at all.  This means frequent presentations and whatever book fairs can be attended as well as setting up interviews that can be published in papers and other journals.  It is an exhausting process.  But I think it is well worth it.  I look at my book and the double circle group as one who is made finally a  bat that can hit the ball.  I do not have to be a good hitter but I do have to provide a bat that other people can  hit with.  So on I will be hoping to hire Sharon Julian to help me get started with the website and to improve my Facebook page so that it is available to the public.   

Medical update

 My cystoscope exam  on Friday revealed no cancer.  So that is a good thing and the treatment was successful for the  time being.    I will get another cystoscope exam and about six months.    Meanwhile it looks as though Stephen Langer's probiotic will have to be administered by  enema. I am attacking this diabetes problem from the standpoint that my diabetes is due to bad bacteria in my colon.  another medical issue is about the worry of developing dementia.  I have been taking a Singular  for the past two months and my Peak score has not dropped any. I take a series of six brief examinations of my cognitive function on Peak each morning.  If you are interested in this you can look it up under Peak.com.  I recommend that everyone in the family take omega oil and attempt to get the brand that gives you the most EPA DHA. The Oceans Blue appear to have the highest  EPA/DHA. 

    Reading

 I am trying to read 15 Dogs because it is a selection of my bookclub: I find it totally ridiculous but I will try and finish it.   I found the Light Between Oceans to be contrived by an author who needed to write a story.  Then I read a book by a neurosurgeon called Proof of Heaven  which is equally contrived and almost total bullshit.   It is supposed to be a journey into the afterlife  but it fails miserably because I have talked to four people in detail about their experience of cessation of vitals

and Dr. Eben Alexander's story did not ring true  for me.  The only book that I have read in February that  truly made sense  is  the End of Average by Todd Rose which is subtitled how we succeed in a world that values sameness.   

Blog Outline

 Scope of my blog: This blog is intended to inform my family in the event of my demise or in the process of my dementia.  It is also hopefully useful to others who may experience life in the 80s and hopefully in the 90s.  It is divided into sections which are as follows:

  A.   Current projects:  There several current projects. 

           1. Book: The Power of the Double Circle  is now in the hands of the publisher and printer. I intend to purchase 500 copies to distribute to people who may be involved in the double circle group process in the future.  I will need to secure some kind of funding for this.  The amount necessary is to be determined.

            2.   Development of my blog:   I intend to develop my blog so that it can be used by family and friends toward improved life in later years as well as discussion of the ideal family in the age of the Internet.  The blog will be connected with Facebook as long as Facebook continues to be a helpful adjunct to letting others know of what is going on in my life.

             3. Spiritual Direction:  I am starting my day with rosary and mass on Tuesdays and Thursdays.    On Monday Wednesday and Friday I attend the eye-opener group of AA  as well as the Saturday and Sunday morning meetings of  AA.   I attend Alachua Presbyterian church on Sunday morning at 1030.  In a parallel way I consider my book club which meets monthly and my writing pond which meets monthly, as well, as part of the spiritual direction.  At this late stage of life I consider my spiritual direction and mental health to be virtually synonymous

             4.  Relocation of Home:   Although unwelcome I consider the relocation  of domicile as a project.    Presently  we intend to move into rental quarters  with at least three bedrooms for Stewart David and myself. 

             5.State of physical health and medical responses:  This section will hopefully inform especially family  of medical problems that may arise later on  because of our genetic linkage and other issues such as contagion.   It could also be useful from an anthropological standpoint.   I am attempting to avoid privacy where unnecessary.   

              6. Intimate Relations:  suffice it to say intimate relations are not going too well.



B. Philosophical Discourse:

               1.  Reading: No not intended as a useful review of  things  that I am reading it may be useful in the long run to know what is influencing me as time passes during the 80s and hopefully 90s.

                2. Writing:   I have not started the second book.  I hope the blog is useful to some.  What I am trying to write about in my writing pod  is metaphorically called a breath of thin air.  it may not get off the ground because I am having difficulty in finding words  that explain my feelings.

                3. Dialogues:   In the course of each day  I engage in many conversations and I wonder what they really mean in the long run and how useful they are to others as well as myself.  These dialogues happen after AA meetings and after church sessions and within the family discourse.

C. Longevity:

                1. Attempts to extend length of life:  so far I have been able to lose some weight.  In the past year and down from  210 to 175.  I am also attempting to modify my diabetes by changing the flora of my colon.  Through diet modification I hope to and the use of Lasix.  Also through diet modification and the use of probiotics I hope to modify my diabetes. My current probiotic is Dr. Langer''s  and is composed of many different bacteria.  It can be purchased  on Amazon. I have not taken any Lasix and a week now and I wonder if this may be the result of the probiotic.  Time will tell.

                 2. Improving Lifestyle:   Improving lifestyle is rather a polite way of talking about avoiding dementia by lifestyle changes.  The last decade my mother's life was one of extreme senility and finally dementia while residing in a very plush nursing home.  The funding was provided through an inheritance from  family which is not available to me.   Even if I could afford a place there is no I doubt that I would want to live a demented life.  In contrast  when father died he was quite alert and able to understand his surroundings and continue to study in his field.

 personal medical

 The first issue in the  personal medical arena is the question will type II diabetes.  My mother and my three brothers all had or have type II diabetes.  At first blush it would seem to be hereditary but that would not follow the  mendelian  protocol.  In studying the issue of our gut bacteria it is now    apparent the all of us boys received bacteria from our mother  which  over a period of time  caused diabetes.  It is too late to tell anything to Chris or my brother John when I told Mike the other day and hope  that he can follow up on it.  me while my plan is to try to alter my gut bacteria through probiotics and if  that fails I will use probiotic enemas.  

Now that I am 82  and feeling as though I am accelerating and it is time to write about it.  It has been three years since my spouse's departure from this life and I may have been given permission to go the rest of the way on my  own. Several times a day I want to tell my wife what has just happened but she is not here as far as I know.

 Perhaps it is too soon to write about the acceleration.  Perhaps I should first  put on goggles or strap myself in.  What the hell; there is nothing really to hide and I want to live all a very full life from here on out.  It all began on February 1, 2016.    I am going to divide this blog into sections.    There will be a personal life section and a public life section.   But I intend to be open and honest as I possibly can without injuring anyone's feelings I hope .  Much of this is about how to traverse the 80s.    But it is with us was a very say that because the there are many ways to traverse the 80s and has given you the one that I know about.    intend to explore intimacy without regard to  sexuality per se but rather simply personal intimacy  in which those involved including  myself  allow the semipermeable membrane to fully open.