Angels Whisper In My Ear: A Book Review

This book is also quite a bit different from my last book review that dealt with the hard science of quantum physics, archeology, human evolution and cyclical global weather patterns. The subject matter of this, my latest book review, was definitely something I had not come across or sought out since my days in college. Kyle Gray’s book, Angels Whisper In My Ear, deals with the extraordinary world of parapsychology and mediums.

In essence, Angels Whisper In My Ear, is a book about a gifted young man with an ability to communicate with the other side. This includes being able to speak with and see departed spirits who have passed over and communication with angels. At the tender age of four, Kyle discovered that he could see and speak with the spirit of someone who had passed away. His first encounter with his ability, his gift occurred with his own beloved ,“Nana”, or grandmother.

As you read through this book, Kyle introduces us to a wide variety of clients that he has done readings for including people from all walks of life. The personalities, lifestyles and professions vary widely among them all. Many of the folks that Kyle conducted his readings with were often very skeptical of either his abilities or their ability to believe in and accept what they would be presented with. One very self-absorbed, antagonistic fellow was so shaken by the message Kyle received and shared with him that he simply got up from the reading and fled out the door.

What each of Kyle’s reading clients share in common is a deep interest in making contact with a loved one to help heal a wounded heart, to ease a deep grieving or to make right something that was left undone between them and a loved one who died before some kind of closure could be initiated. In virtually all the cases of those that he either read for once or over a series of times, Kyle was able to help bring healing, understanding and substantial positive closure into the lives of those still living via his link and message sharing from the other side.

His Relationship with the Spiritual Realm
As he grew into his teens, Kyle honed his psychic skills that intensified his ability to visualize the auras that each of us possess immediately around ourselves. Kyle describes an aura as being a single or multicolored energy field that emanates out of and around each of us. It represents the  spiritual energy that each of us own.

He  discovered that he could see and sense the presence of the spirits of the departed as well as both guardian angels and the more highly evolved Archangels such as those mentioned in the Bible known as Michael and Raphael.

He shares with his readers that not only do each and every one of us possess our own guardian angel, but that some folks are blessed with more than one.

Kyle shares something in his book that was new to me. That is, the existence of what the angels refer to as “Crystal Children.” These are children born into our world carrying special gifts or talents but dwelling in bodies that are crippled up with disease or with a mind struggling with autism, retardation, etc. They are most often born into the homes of very loving and caring parents who’s challenge is to figure out how to connect with their child’s gifts as they are being raised.

What I Got Out of This Book
1. I had just received my copy of this book to read and then review when I lost my own mother, Beatrice Dodson, in mid October of this year. She passed at the age of 87 due to a combination of diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. I found comfort in learning more about the world that Kyle Gray can see and communicate with and knowing that my mother now resides in that realm.

2. Each and every one of us, has the ability to reach out and access that spiritual plane that we originated from and which our departed family members and loved ones pass over into. In other words, we all have access to the other side, with or without the assistance of someone such as Kyle.

3. Personal validation that all of the paranormal experiences I have had throughout my own life involving deceased family members were authentic and very real in spite of what some less open minded people might think.

Caregivers in particular, take note. This book and it’s subject matter will bring comfort and a sense of pride to you in what is otherwise very difficult and challenging work. My wife Penny and I have been caregivers for both sets of aging parents for nearly nine years now. Caregiving, in a way, prepares people with terminal illnesses to face their own mortality and eventual passing over. Kyle Grays book, Angels Whisper In My Ear, reveals the wondrous world that awaits those who do pass and that we the living have the ability to reach out and keep open a channel to the other side and the extraordinary beings, that we know as angels, who stand ready to help us there.

Open your mind to what if... possibilities, and give this book a read.


Jeff Dodson
December 15th 2012


FTC Disclosure I received this book free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are unbiased and reflect my honest judgment of the product.

Our Belief In Angels

I will be posting a book review upon my blog site in the very near future that deals with the topics of  parapsychology, clairvoyance, spirits and angels. The book in question, from Hay House Publishing is entitled, Angels Whisper In My Ear, by Kyle Gray.

Way back in the early 1970’s while attending college, I became fascinated with the field of parapsychology, mediums, telekinesis, telepathy, etc. For a couple of years, I read up all that I could about subjects supernatural. Nothing about angels though. Then, my interests migrated elsewhere; to girls.

It is now some forty plus years later and here I have chosen Kyle Gray’s book to read and prepare a review on. What made me chose his book? Curiosity I suppose. That, plus I had never dealt with the topic of angels before. Since angels figure prominently in Mr. Gray’s line of work and his book, I thought I would look into the belief in angels further.

What it is about them that seem to be so attractive? How many people percentage wise in the United States believe in them? I was surprised by what I learned.

Angel is a word derived from the Greek word Angelos which means messenger. Among a substantial number of people as well as a diverse number of faiths of the world, angels are believed to act as emissaries or envoys who connect our material world with the spiritual realm. Some angels are said to be earthbound while the greater majority of them inhabit the spiritual plane as beings of light.

In 2006, an Associated Press-AOL poll was conducted that found that 81% of Americans believed in the existence of angels.

Time Magazine conducted their own poll of 1700 people in September 2008 on the topic of angels. One poll finding in particular was interesting. When faced with the statement, “I was protected from harm by a guardian angel,” 55% of the respondents answered affirmatively. That percentage held up regardless of denomination, region of the country or educational background.

Guardian angels, acting to protect folks from perils, harm and disaster, seems to be a popularly held  belief among many people in our society.

Last year, on December 23rd 2011, CBS News announced the results of of an Associated Press-GfK poll conducted between December 8th - 12th of 2011. The poll results revealed that 77% believed that such beings as angels are real. In this poll women were found more likely to believe they are real, and, those over the age of 30 are more apt than younger adults to think they exist.

So what can we glean from all of these polls?

It would appear that when it comes to the subject of angels, there is widespread acceptance in the belief in them. It also appears that a number of people have taken that belief even further by holding to the notion that they each may have their own guardian angel maintaining a lookout to protect them.  People want to believe in something greater than themselves in addition to their Creator, their Source.

Do I believe in angels? Yes. Call it an act of my own personal faith. And, I am one of those folks who definitely feels that he has been looked after, many times in his life, by what could only be described as his own guardian angel or two.

No, I cannot lay claim to ever having seen one either literally or in my minds eye....yet.

Who knows what the future might hold though?


Jeff Dodson
December 3rd 2012

Three Things I Learned From Mom

Beatrice L. Dodson

On Wednesday October 17th 2012, my mother, Beatrice Dodson, passed away at the age of 87 years, 8 months and 5 days. For my part, I shared 61 plus years of her life in the roll of her first born son. During this time, I learned a number of things from mom. Three things in particular have stood the test of time in my mind and are worth sharing here. Each of them a positive attribute worthy of adapting as one’s own. 

1. Family oriented

Mother was born into a family of all girls. She was the second child among four. Having experienced the crushing tragedy of loosing both her mother and youngest sister to ill health by the age of seven, appreciation for her remaining two sisters rose substantially. More so since her father, a migrant farm laborer, was often absent for long periods of time, either out seeking work out of town or employed far from where they called their home. Having immediate family loved ones around her along with consistent contact with cousins became highly coveted.

Within the Hispanic culture which she was born into, family gatherings and annual reunions were a big deal. Attending them was something she always became excited about and looked forward to. After she and dad became married and started having and raising the three of us boys, the opportunity to start hosting family reunions arose. Mom volunteered with gusto.  

The first home that my parents purchased in South Sacramento in 1954 was perfectly suited for hosting large family events of this kind. The back yard was very deep and pie-shaped with the widest part of the lot running across our back fence. Room enough that I recall several family reunions in that back yard with upwards of 125 or more cousins, aunts and uncles all enjoying the festivities. In the fourteen years that we lived at 2670 Phyllis Avenue, mom hosted at least six reunions.

Mom loved planning, getting ready for, and hosting these reunions. She would slave for days in advance, cooking, baking, and preparing all of the food, the back yard table settings, decorations, etc. She would wind up absolutely exhausted for three or four days afterwards. Then there would be comments like, “Well that’s the last reunion I’m doing. It was too much work. I’m not gonna do any more, period.”  Three or four months of silence would then go by. Then dad or us boys would start to hear remarks like, “Well at the next reunion, I’m going to do things this way.”  We would smile to ourselves, as dad would, and get ready for the next big inevitable gathering. 

2. Having courage

I offer two examples here of what I believe were demonstrated acts of courage.

The first occurred before I was born and is part of the reputation that my mother earned while she was still single and living with her family in North Sacramento. 

The incident in question occurred sometime just  prior to the end of World War II. Mom had been tasked for some time to keep a strict chaperoning eye upon her younger stepsister Suzie. Suzie was an under aged teen who loved all the attention she could get from boys. Failing in her mission to keep Suzie out of harm’s way would earn mom a physical beating from her strict father. An opportunity arose for the two of them to take in a movie at one of the movie theaters along Del Paso Boulevard. As they were walking, approaching the movie theater, mom spied a couple of sailors headed in their direction. 

Suzie had already spotted them and was flashing an inviting smile. Both of the sailors had also caught sight of both girls but they were focused in on young, flirtatious blond Suzie walking along with mom. Mom, sensing trouble coming, quickened their pace, pulling on the arm of Suzie to step it up.

As they approached within a few paces, one or both of the sailors made some suggestive remarks and blocked the path of the two women. Mom stepped forward and warned the sailor closest to Suzie to back off and to let them be. Supposedly, as the story goes, both of the sailors had been drinking and were not feeling any pain. The one closest to Suzie reached out to either shake her hand or stroke her hair. It was the last move he made while standing upright. 

Anticipating the threat beforehand, mom had been covertly clutching a roll of dimes tightly in her  balled up fist held at her side. A swift and vigorous uppercut punch below the chin sent the groping sailor over backwards right into the gutter. Without missing a beat, mom tugged fiercely at Suzie with her free hand dragging her flirty step sister away from the scene and on towards the movie theater. As they did, the second sailor, who was still standing, was busy pointing and laughing at his knocked down comrade who, “let that little woman belt him one.”

Example number one of courage under fire.

The second example of courage arose during the course of my mom serving as a volunteer upon  the PTA of our local elementary school. The school was a great neighborhood grammar school, taught by a great bunch of teachers. The principal of the school, however, was a bullying and intimidating despot whom I’ll call Howard Smith. Principal Smith had spent many years intimidating both his teachers, the school administrative staff and parents. He ruled and ran the school as his own private kingdom. Part of this behavior included being stingy as hell when it came to control of the budget for school lunches, books & playground equipment.

It took only a year of mom serving her first stint on the PTA to start seeing things that needed changing. When mom began to question why things were not being done, overlooked or simply ignored, she was repeatedly told that it was all Principal Smiths’ doing and to back off the subject. Mom did not back off the subject. She badgered, rallied and organized the parents along with a handful of influential teachers, then demanded a meeting with Principal Smith. He agreed to meet with them, listened to their grievances then dismissed all of them.  Big Mistake. 

Mom’s next move was a detailed hand written letter to the school board. Next came a face to face meeting along with a few of the other courageous parents with the school board. Within the next six months, Principal Smith was removed, demoted and shipped off to another school district. 

Example number two of courage with an ample amount of conviction thrown in.

3.  Being kind hearted

One of the best examples I ever saw of mom demonstrating being kind hearted and compassionate to someone else occurred with one of our neighbors that we rarely ever saw. This was back in the late 1950’s when I was in the third grade.

Jeannie Underwood was a shy, sweet-natured young woman who lived with her aunt and uncle across the street from us. She was fair-skinned, with lustrous red hair and expressive brown eyes. She was born with a extremely painful and debilitating rheumatoid arthritis condition. She was only in her mid twenties yet her poor hands were bent and curled up into what looked like bird claws. She could not walk, relying instead upon a wheelchair. She lived in constant pain. 

As kids, we would sometimes observe Jeannie sitting in her high-backed wheelchair in a corner of their living room if the front drapes were left open.  Her aunt and uncle opened their home to her but tended to go about their lives ignoring her for the most part.

In visiting with Jeannie’s Aunt one day, mom noticed some interesting mosaic tile wall decorations hanging on the walls. When mom inquired as to where they had acquired them, she was informed that they were Jeannie's’ handiwork. Mom loved the look of them. Within a few days, mom went over on a regular basis each afternoon to have Jeannie teach her how to craft and create the mosaic tile decorations. Then mom was floored when Jeannie showed her a large heavy mosaic tile bowl that had been created out of an old worn out farm plow disc. A light went off in mom’s head: “we have access to these at our old Dodson Family  Ranch up in Latrobe!”

I can remember several dinner table conversations with dad where mom was talking about getting lots of old used plow discs for Jeannie to do her tile work on them then sell them to make a part-time income from.

Mom stunned Jeannie when she pitched the idea of keeping Jeannie supplied with donated plow discs so Jeannie could then decorate and sell them! Never mind her inability to get up and travel around to do the selling herself: my mom and family members would do the selling for her. Jeannie was overwhelmed with emotion at the thought that anyone had taken an interest in her artwork let alone offering to help sell them on her behalf. 

Mom next showed them to my grandfather and enlisted his enthusiastic support. Grandpa Dodson along with my dad became the finders and suppliers of plow discs while my mom pitched in at shopping for Jeannie’s mosaic tile supplies to keep her fledgling assembly line running. Jeannie was so appreciative with Grandpa Dodson’s first delivery of close to 20 plow discs for work to begin with. Over the next three or four years, Jeannie Underwood’s mosaic tile disc bowls and wall art was sold or introduced all over the Sacramento area. Mom, dad and grandpa never accepted a penny for what sold on Jeannie’s behalf. 

To top it all off, mom decided to do something else for Jeannie Underwood. 

Jeannie rarely left the confines of her home and did not have a social life at all. Mom began by inviting Jeannie to some of the neighborhood mom parties. Whether it was a birthday, a Tupperware party or just some of the mom’s having a gathering over a few drinks, Jeannie was invited and introduced to the fun and the opportunity to feel like she was accepted among the neighborhood women. I can still see the sparkle and mist in Jeannie’s eyes to this day in gratitude for the world that my mom opened up for her. God Bless You Jeannie Underwood.

Jeannie Underwood eventually succumbed to her disease while in her mid-thirties, but before she died, she was able to experience the love, the attention and a strong measure of  validation from others that all began with my mom.

The importance of your family, possessing courage in standing up to a bully or a threat, and being kindhearted towards others or those who cannot stand up for themselves. Three things that I learned from and about my mom. All value lessons observed and held onto before I was the age of twelve. That was forty nine years ago. 

Thanks Mom Dodson.

Jeff Dodson

November 23rd 2012

  

What Is It Like?

I awoke with a startle...from a way in deep sleep.  From the sound of my cell phone chirping furiously, while lodged somewhere under my head. Oh that’s right...I had it in my hand thrust under the pillow when I fell off to sleep. How long ago was that? First, just flip it open and answer it Mr. Jeff. The phone refuses to flip open. It just flops out of my hand, tumbling silently to the carpeted floor. Reach down, try again, it’s probably your wife.

Sure enough, on the second try, I grab for the phone, pop it open this time, and croak out a hoarse, “Hello.”

I was right, it’s my Penny, alerting me that she’ll be detained. A detour to her dad’s is in order. Take him some groceries, check up on him and maybe some tidy-up housekeeping.

So I arise from where I was, sitting up now upon my now and do a quick survey of my surrounds. Yes, I am home, having been awakened by a phone call. 'Twas a nap I had indulged in, having arrived home earlier at 6:45 a.m. I think it was.

A quick breakfast, lovingly set out, was quickly wolfed down. Followed by a steaming hot bath to soak in and float away the grime and perspiration of another all nighter at work. After that, it was a an immediate adjournment to my ‘battle station napping perch’ to grab a desperate nap while on standby for whatever comes next.

Now, however, it’s time to get up for a spell to chip away at what calls for attention. The  first stop though is the microwave for a reheated cup of hot joe. Nothing brings me out of  a deep sleep like a cup of good carburetor cleaner. Starbuck’s is one of my favored fuels, however, home brewed will do just fine at the moment.

So what day is it? Let me see, oh yes, it’s Saturday morning. I have one more overnighter to knock out tonight at work. Getting ready for important visitors, and for that purpose we need to shine and be in the proper presentable order.

Besides that, a mountain of paperwork awaits on a side desk in my office. Most of it is  the usual and every day result of handling the finances for two other households besides our own. My stack is what I need to cull through for my own folks. Penny has a stack of her own that represents what she must chew through each week for her parents as well.  At some point in this process we manage to get to our own finances and obligations.

Yesterday before work was relatively productive. Both of us, on the phone, mostly all day. Alternately alerting creditors and contacting relatives and loved ones of the death of one of our parents. Calls given and calls received from loved ones offering condolences, sharing their concern and inquiring how things have been. Already, you have told and retold a seemingly scripted out speech of what happened and what lead up to that family members death. You are weary, worn out and the emotional drain has started to take it’s toll. Still, you press on, another handful of calls to more creditors and accounts.

Planning for and handling all of the arrangements for the upcoming funeral is actually going well. A different kind of paperwork. The loss of a parent is not easy, but in our case, we had plenty of time as caregivers to see this one unfolding and headed our way. The hurt and the loss is there but it is not a bottomless chasm to fall into. We had already constructed a rope and plank bridge across it.

Mostly it is fatigue that is the hostile dancer we are compelled to tango with. Every day. Part of this is due to the sheer pace that we maintain each day to stay on top of our accepted obligations as caregivers. We don’t wish what we do on anyone else. Neither do we run away from or abandon what we started.

So what is it like? Caregiving times four?

You damn well learn to manage your time better than most folks.
You learn to eat the healthiest foods you can  find and not starve yourself..
You learn to find the humor in things and situations that once before you missed.
You learn to grab naps and rest breaks at any hour of the night or day where opportunity allows: just like soldiers do.
You learn to take time out for the simplest of little pleasures wherever you come upon them.
You count up your blessings every day.

How has it all changed us?

I am now more gray. Penny, a natural redhead, appears like the little red polar fox: transitioning into an eventual all white coat.   Each of us are sporting a few more wrinkles. At the end of each day, as often as not, we reach for that bottle of Ibuprofen to alleviate the aches and pains.

Oh yes, and we are wiser.


Jeff Dodson
November 10th 2012

Ticket Holders Departure

A Compact Fearless Fighter

She stood just 4’-11’’tall when she was in good health and weighed in at 93lbs. She more than made up for her diminutive size with the will and determination of a boxing champion.

On October 17th 2012, my mother, Beatrice L. Dodson passed away. She was 87 years of age. She surrendered her ticket stub for the journey back home to her Source as well as ours.

Bea, as she preferred to be called, passed away while she was a resident of the Sherwood Healthcare Center in East Sacramento. We were compelled to place her there last year due to the combined difficulties of her health and cognitive issues arising from diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Adapting to the environment of a nursing home was very difficult at first for mom. Filled with anger, fury and the inability to comprehend that she needed 24 hour around the clock care, and that she could no longer care for herself nor could dad alone provide for her needs. The folks at Sherwood worked with us from the get-go to make mom feel less threatened and more at ease  while under their care.  It was a thirteen month uphill battle but gradually the wonderful staff of Sherwood succeeded in making mom feel at home. 

Part of what mom struggled with was accepting and allowing for the fact that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She already knew that she had been living with diabetes for the past 15 or so years. In her mind, it was only the diabetes that was eating at her health and nothing else. She clung to this notion even though all of us around her had been witness to her profound cognitive decline, changes in her behaviors and changes in what came out of her mouth.

And so we watched mom transition through the stages. First denial, then anger and frustration, followed by depression and then, little by little, acceptance of what was.

Mom was a fighter and though of Mexican-American ancestry, appeared to have carried all of the lucky charm and good fortune of one who claims as much by virtue of their being Irish. On three different occasions, mother appeared to be declining in her weight, interest in food, struggling under her medications, and so was placed under Hospice Care. In each of the 3 occasions, mom eventually rallied, started to eat more, put on weight and increased her social interaction with those around her as well as her immediate cna’s and nurses. 

Farewell Beforehand

Two days before she passed away, I received a call from the supervising senior nurse that mom was again shutting down, refusing all food, water and no longer responding to her care givers. I was strongly urged to get down to the nursing home which I did.  

Once I entered the room, it was apparent by her labored breathing, the rice-crispy sound in her lungs and the vacant dolls-eyes look from under her eyelids that mom was laboring hard to hang on. I had the opportunity to spend two hours with her alone, stroking her hair, wiping down the perspiration from her brow and talking softly to her. Though she never moved nor responded outwardly in any way, I believe she could hear all of what I was saying to her.

I told her that we were all so proud of her in what she provided to us as a mother to her sons and as a wife and partner to dad. 

I shared with her that she had fought a long and valiant fight with one disease that could not be won and the other disease that had already robbed her of so much of her health and energy.

I tenderly conveyed to her that it was OKAY to let go of the fight and the holding on. We all understood and urged her to LET GO and return home to her three sisters who had preceeded her in passing, to her mom and dad and beloved grandparents.

According to the experts, I guess what I was doing, what seemed to me as a natural flowing thing to do was to extend permission to mom to let go and to go home. The words just seemed to flow out of my mouth. I don’t recall thinking about what I was saying to her beforehand. 

Her Last Rally

At the end of my time with her, I called my wife Penny, informing her of mom’s status. Penny listened and agreed to pick up dad and come quickly. I then called dad, gave him a quick rundown on how mom appeared and alerted him that Penny was going to pick him up.

While waiting for my wife and dad to arrive, a couple of the nurses popped in to check on how mom was doing. Quick glances to verify that she appeared unresponsive and shutting down.

Penny and dad arrived in about an hour. Dad was speaking to one of the nurses as he and Penny entered the room. Mom heard dad’s voice and slowly opened her eyes and turned her head his way as he lowered himself into a chair at her bedside. She managed a slight smile and a “Hello Honey,” to dad. This was dad’s invitation to lean over and give her a kiss. She kept her eyes open and kept her gaze upon dad as he talked to her for a short while. Mom exchanged a few words with dad in conversation.

Voices within a room carry very well at Sherwood, and since mom’s room was perhaps 20 feet away from the nurses’ station, the duty nurse could hear mom engaged with dad in conversation. The duty nurse made a beeline for the room followed by another one moments later. Each, glancing back and forth between Penny and I with quizical looks while taking in the chat between dad and mom who less than a half an hour before was unresponsive and appeared unconscious. What they were watching should not have been happening.  Bea’s Irish luck again for a fourth time?

Gradually, mom fell off to sleep once more while dad talked to her. In a while she became slack-jawed. After a few minutes of observation, my dad couldn’t resist an attempt at humor. Dad glanced at me with a grin as he said, “Honey, that fly on the wall is going to make himself at home if you don’t close your mouth.” Mom didn’t react or move, but she closed her mouth in a snap. Dad grinned again, self-satisfied  and content that she was still with us.

Next, brother Ken arrived and sat next to dad. Ken spoke to her for a few minutes. She didn’t respond to him until he offered her some water from her glass with a straw. That merited a positive nod of her head. With Ken’s help, mom managed to sip down perhaps one third of her small  water-filled glass. 

Ken next asked her if she’d like a Pepsi? An affirmative nod to that one. Dad glanced at me with a grin again, enchanted by the moment and the possibility that maybe...just one more time....mom was going to show off her amazing run of  getting back up after a knockdown.

Ken disappeared down the hallway and returned moments later with a ice-cold bottle of Pepsi.

Through a straw, mom responded enthusiastically and sipped away. Ken and dad were exchanging big wide grins. What magic had they conjured up here?

Ken decided to go for broke. He asked mom if she’d like to have one of her high-energy milk shake drinks? The one that she seemed to prefer over any kind of solid food throughout her stay at Sherwood. The milk shake drink got the affirmative nod.

I broke away, went and retrieved one from the nurses station, and brought it back to Ken. The duty nurse followed me back to the room, further intrigued at what was going on with Beatrice. She, along with the rest of us watched as Ken succeeded in getting mom to sip away at maybe half of the kind of milk shake drink she could never get enough of. 

While this was all going on...it hit me. Mom was staging this rally for dad and Ken. She and I had already had our private shared time earlier. Mom seemed to know that Ken and dad needed something more dramatic.  We were witnessing her final performance: giving back a small measure of validation to two of her men-folk that needed attention in a different way than her eldest son. It was all ok by me. 

Two days later, Penny received a call from Sherwood. Mom Dodson had passed away at 4:40 pm. on Wednesday October 17th 2012. 

Mom had finally turned in her ticket to be punched for her journey home. God Bless You Mom.

We Love You and Admire Who You Were.

Jeff Dodson

October 30th 2012

Deep Truth: A Book Review

What if the civilized world as we know it turned out to be at least twice as old as we have been led to believe?  What if our world operates and behaves according to geological and climatic cycles that renew themselves every 5,125 years, some every 41,000 years and some that occur every 100,000 years apart? What if there was scientific research and data that proved beyond any reasonable doubt that humankind reflects a design put into place all at once instead of a life form evolving randomly through a drawn out evolutionary process?

These are the kinds of questions that tweaked my curiosity about this book along with disclosing some of the latest research involved in archeology and history: fields that I love to read about.

Gregg Braden’s book, Deep Truth,  digs into the very latest research of the hard sciences associated with archeology, our biology and DNA, and our geological climate history. Having done so, Gregg then lays out six areas of discovery which are then discussed in detail. Each area offer up evidence of a world that has grown and evolved cyclically in ways that we either never took the time to take notice of or missed altogether.

Deep Truth will take time to read through it, understand, then grasp the significance of the arguments it offers up. Some of the research disclosed may surprise you. All of it however is designed to put a spotlight upon collective assumptions and beliefs we, as a global society, have held dear for a long time that, in light of modern research,  simply are wrong or don’t add up correctly anymore.

The book dives into detail about each of the following topics Gregg categorizes as a Deep Truth.

1. Deep Truth #1

Our willingness to accept what science is revealing about our origins and history. 

2. Deep Truth #2

Our mainstream educational systems lag far behind when it comes to incorporating new discoveries and theories. Our usage of the principles of the scientific method have been ignored or misapplied. 

3. Deep Truth #3

Our survival depends upon building partnerships based upon mutual aid and cooperation in order to adapt to changes. We are currently contending with multiple worldwide crises involving our environment and the long term cyclical patterns of global climate change. 100,000 year cycles, to name one.

4. Deep Truth #4

New archeological discoveries of advanced civilizations and cultures that were flourishing near the end of the last ice age (10 - 11,000 years ago) as well as their decline and disappearance.

5 Deep Truth #5

Based upon a wealth of multidiscipline scientific data, our species reflects a design that was put into place all at once rather than a life-form emerging randomly through a long term evolutionary 

process such as what Charles Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species, advocated.

6. Deep Truth #6

A conclusion of more than 400 peer-reviewed studies has revealed that our deepest instincts are cooperation and nurturing rather than violence (war) and competition.

Gregg discusses the pain and discomfort we are experiencing globally as a species and refers to the four simultaneous threats as the Tipping Points of Change. These tipping points are: world climate change, an unsustainable world population (already nearly 7 billion), extreme poverty, and acute shortages of food and water.

Woven through this book along with the scientific data is a parallel narrative about the positive spiritual side to our species and our amazing propensity for cooperation and fair treatment to others that will be a crucial ingredient in bringing all of us together to counter and resolve these Tipping Points of Change.

Gregg along with a number of our most respected scientists, offer hope and reassurance that we can successfully steers ourselves away from each and every one of the tipping points that now threaten us if we are willing to embrace looking at who we are and where we came from in the light of what modern science is now revealing to us. 

A quote in the book from Albert Einstein had this to say about the change that is necessary: 

“A new type of thinking is essential in mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.”

There is a substantial presentation of scientific facts, figures, tables and data disclosed in this book that may take some readers time to get through and digest. Still, for me, I enjoyed reading Deep Truth and found it both informative and enlightening.

Jeff Dodson

October 28th 2012

Dying To Be Me: A Book Review

For starters, this book, Dying To Be Me, was an amazing read.

It is a book about the agony and torture of the relentless spread of cancer. It is also about an opportunity for redemption that arises out of Anita Moorjani’s  NDE as she feels herself leave her body and, for a brief period, being allowed a glorious preview of what eternal and joyous life is like after our body physically dies.

Anita’s account of her NDE experience reminded me of what author, Betty Eadie, shared in her book, Embraced By The Light, published back in 1994 by Gold Leaf Press.

Anita's experiences that I found  wondrous were:

1. Stepping outside of linear time

The sensation of stepping outside of the physical boundaries of what we know 

of as linear time. In her NDE, every sensation, every visual image, every thought was available to Anita to absorb or experience in an instant, irrespective of whether the event occurred 20 years ago, 10 days ago or was actually in the present moment. In other words, in the ‘real time’ realm of where she had traveled to, any experience could be viewed or manifested on the spot without the barrier of time acting as a barrier or shield.

2. The analogy of the darkened warehouse

I loved her analogy of wandering through a gigantic darkened warehouse filled with wonder and visual treasures with only something akin to a small penlight. Then, flip the switch that turns on hundreds of bright floodlights and the scope and depth of the warehouse and it’s contents are now revealed.

3. Remote sensing ability

Her ability to tune in on remote events, conversations, and even the personal feelings of her family, medical personal and others, many of whom were far from her hospital room or separated by a considerable distance. Remote sensing is the parapsychology term that applies to this phenomenon.

The following excerpt of Anita's describes her feelings and observation of herself while outside of her own body:

“Ohh...I’m dying. Is this what it feels like? It’s nothing like I ever imagined. I feel so beautifully peaceful and calm...and I feel healed at last!”

“I was still acutely aware of every detail unfolding before me as I observed the medical team wheeling my near-lifeless body to the intensive care unit. They were surrounding me in an emotional frenzy, hooking me up to machines while poking and prodding me with needles and tubes.

I felt no attachment to my limp body as it lay there on the hospital bed. It didn’t feel as though it were mine. It looked far too small and insignificant to house what I was experiencing. I felt free, liberated, and magnificent! Every pain, ache, sadness, and sorrow was gone. I was completely unencumbered, and I couldn’t recall feeling this way before ---not ever.”

Whew! Pretty remarkable disclosures of what her experience was like. Imagine being allowed a dress rehearsal exposure to the extraordinary, then being graced with the ability to return to our physical world to report about it to others.

As caregivers in our personal lives of four aging parents suffering from the effects of both stroke and Alzheimer’s induced dementia, Anita’s story renews the hope and faith of my wife and I that something wonderful awaits each of our parents when their time to go home arrives.

Anita Moorjani made a courageous decision to share her very personal and private though astonishing story with us that encompasses a miraculous healing and a mesmerizing tour of the hereafter. 

This book is a must read. If you enjoyed reading the story of 4 year old Colton Burpo and his NDE as told in, Heaven Is For Real, you will find Anita Moorjani’s book heartwarming and reinforcing of your own faith in a spiritual Creator and Source.

Jeff Dodson

September 14th 2012

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are unbiased and reflect my honest judgment of the product.

Alzheimer’s: A Natural Part Of The Aging Process?

image courtesy of pintrest.com

Earlier this week, I received an e-mail inquiry from WEGO Health inviting my participation in educating folks about AD and also challenging and dispelling one of the many myths that involve dementia and AD.  I choose to write about  was this one and submit a copy of my response to them.

Is Alzheimer’s a natural part of the aging process?

Patently false. In a nutshell.
This is just one of the many misguided and untruthful myths that has been swirling around for decades.

The World Health Organization 2012 Report entitled, Dementia: A Public Health Priority, had this to say about dementia (of which Alzheimer’s is but one type):

“The world’s population is aging. Improvements in health care in the past century have contributed to people living longer and healthier lives. However, this has also resulted in an increase in the number of people with non communicable diseases, including dementia. Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not a normal part of aging (Italics added).  Dementia is a syndrome, usually of a chronic or progressive nature, caused by a variety of brain illnesses that affect memory, thinking, behavior and ability to perform everyday activities.”

The presence of this false belief worldwide serves as a roadblock to obtaining a timely diagnosis, appropriate medical treatment and helpful medications for the affected individual and educational guidance for families and caregivers.

Chapter One of the same WHO 2012 Report disclosed the following:

“There is a lack of awareness and understanding of dementia, at some level, in most countries. It is often considered to be a normal part of aging or a condition for which nothing can be done. This affects people with dementia, their caregivers and families, and their support structure in a number of ways. Low awareness levels contribute to stigmatization and isolation. Poor understanding creates barriers to timely diagnosis and to accessing ongoing medical and social care, leading to a large gap in treatment.”

The propensity for developing AD does increase with age, particularly so from age 85 onward, but it is by no means a certainty. In March of  this year, the Alzheimer’s Association released a report entitled, 2012 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts And Figures.

The following statistics were cited:
One in eight people age 65 and older (13 percent) has Alzheimer’s Disease.
Nearly half of people age 85 and older (45 percent) have Alzheimer’s Disease.

These numbers are sobering but do not support the myth that Dementia /Alzheimer’s is a normal part of aging.

What is needed is further education about the facts underlying dementia and its nearly 70 variations including  Alzheimer's. Education leads to empowerment and better choices about diagnosis, treatment and obtaining the best medications.

Two recent bright spot articles appeared in the online resource, Science Daily. Both featured studies  focusing on  older citizens who seemed to somehow be protected from the degradation of dementia.

The first article entitled, Resistance to Dementia May Run in the Family, was published on August 15th 2012. A small study of 277 male veterans that had been conducted by Dr. Jeremy M. Silverman of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. The finding revealed that people who are free of dementia and  who have higher levels of what is called C-reactive protein have relatives who are more likely to avoid the disease as well. A protective genetic element appears to be the underlying finding here.

The second article entitled, Secrets of ‘Super-Ager’ Brains: Elderly Super-Agers Have Brains That Look and Act Decades Younger Than Their Age, was published on August 16th 2012. A study conducted by Emily Rogalski, Assistant Research Professor at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, identified a unique and perhaps, elite group of people age 80 and older who possess memories as sharp as people 20 to 30 years younger than them. In addition, brain scans disclosed that the outer layer of the brain, known as the Cortex, of these study participants closely resembled the cortex size of people between the ages of 50 to 65.

Something, as yet undiscovered and understood, seems to have conferred some kind of aging immunity to these select few seniors.

Finally, and again, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are collectively not part of the normal  aging process.

For more information, visit the following web sites:
Alzheimer’s Association  www.alz.org
Alzheimer’s Reading Room  www.alzheimersreasdingroom.com
Dementia Weekly  www.alzheimersweekly.com


Jeff Dodson
August 30th 2012

No Storm Lasts Forever: A Book Review

I have just completed reading my latest book by Dr. Terry A. Gordon entitled, No Storm Lasts Forever. 

Actually, I must confess that I don’t just read a book. I devour it. By the time I was finished with this book, it too resembled most all of the other books I have read and own: amply marked up with yellow highlighter underlining and lots of Post-It Notes crammed within, flagging pertinent passages.

Prior to choosing this book to read, I was unfamiliar with Dr. Gordon. I learned that he is a retired Invasive Cardiologist who practiced at Akron General Medical Center in Ohio for 20+ years. Dr. Gordon is also involved in “Steward’s Caring Place, a wellness facility for those touched by cancer and serves as a co-host of United Way’s “Doc’s Who Rock.” He is also the father of four children, including son Tyler whom the book is written about.

The book is written in a journal format encompassing 47 entries divided among three parts or sections. Journal writing is similar to diary writing though less structured and does not adhere to a methodical timeline of dated daily entries. Think of journaling as putting down words in black and white that help us reexamine what we have been through and what we have learned from it.

In my opinion, this work is a consummate effort by a father to share his feelings of pain and joy in coping with and supporting his seriously injured son along with his wife, family and friends. 

Dr. Gordon’s journal-book represents a testament to one’s faith in hope. Hope is and remains a choice for all of us no matter how dire our circumstances. It is a choice over the alternative which is deep despair, depletion of all of your energy and an overall disengagement from active living. Hope allows you the option to climb out of the wreckage after colliding with a stone wall. Despair, or rage will forever keep you pinned there, stuck in the pile of rubble--forever feeling your unhealed wounds. Hope is the promise that a positive outcome is within our grasp.

In the book, Dr. Gordon invokes a quote by Lau-Tzu which is: “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” This is certainly so when it comes to the choice of hope over despair, anger and rage. 

What I liked most about Dr. Gordon’s book was how he was drawn to nature and drew strength from what he observed both while in Colorado where his son was being treated and also back home where he resides in Richfield, Ohio.

Dr. Gordon and especially his wife believe in the existence of Angels and their daily involvement in their lives. Dr. Gordon shares the experience of one of these angelic visitations to his Tyler’s bedside while he was recuperating from his paralyzing injuries. My wife and I share the same belief in their existence and assistance to us as caregivers of four aging parents.

Dr. Gordon loves music and one of his favorite musicians is Kenny Loggins. I too became a fan of Kenny Loggins in the 1970’s when he sang, played and toured with Jim Messina.

This book will teach you that the unforeseen tragedies that can strike you or a loved one down carry within them seeds of opportunity as well.  Opportunity to transform and refine your life for the better as you heal and rebound from the disease, the accident or the misfortune. We can become better people, better spirits as a result of having lived through and endured the experience.

Jeff Dodson

August 16th 2012

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are unbiased and reflect my honest judgment of the product.

Seven Web Sites To Know About For Alzheimer’s

A long time friend of ours was visiting with my wife on the phone a couple of nights ago. During the conversation, she disclosed that a neighbor of hers had a loved one that was just diagnosed with AD. She asked my wife Penny where she might go to on the internet for more educational information about AD to share with her friend?

It has been a long time since I had compiled and updated a list of such web sites so the question caught me flat-footed.  Here I am blogging about the disease and have so for nearly four years, yet I have not created or maintained any kind of comprehensive list of AD web sites to refer folks to.

So after the call, I got inspired and thought it was an appropriate time to gather up all of the web sites that I visit regularly, have visited or have recently discovered that offer helpful and empowering information on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

1.  Alzheimer’s Association  www.alz.org/
This is a nationwide AD web site. Top down information from Congress, the National Institute of Health, international AD research and trial news and clinical trial updates are all featured at this site. They also offer a 24 hour help line at: 1-800-272-3900.

The Alzheimer’s Association is in constant lobbying contact with our policy makers and influential congressmen and women. Information pertaining to national and worldwide Alzheimer’s research initiatives can be found here.

2.  Alzheimer’s Reading Room  www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/
Bob DeMarco out of DelRay, Florida founded this site in 2003. He is to be commended for being one of the first caregivers and AD activists to offer a comprehensive set of links pertaining to all related dementia and AD topics all available through his site. According to The Alzheimer’s Reading Room’s own statistics, they  average approximately 60,000 readers per month.

This site features up to the minute articles along with his blog about everything in the news about AD along with cutting edge medical research and the latest clinical trials. There are also a wide variety of inspiring personal stories from both caregivers and those who have AD that wish to express their feelings and passions.

I recommend that you bookmark this web site for frequent visits to keep yourself educated on what is going on with AD.

3.  Dementia Weekly  www.alzheimersweekly.com/
This is another excellent educational web site. Whether you are new to the frightening world of dementia/AD care or a veteran caregiver, you’ll want to include a bookmark of this site as one of your go-to places to keep informed. A section called Caregiver News features a substantial variety of helpful topics each month. Current featured articles include: 10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Caregiver, Walking Styles Detect and Fight Alzheimer's, and, The Alzheimer’s - Diabetes Connection: Much More Than Coincidence.

This web site also features an active Blog section, a Library Learning Center for on-line educational articles and a section entitled, Ask Nurse Dina. Here, visitor questions can be submitted to a nurse with over 20 years of experience with dementia/AD patients. Dina Adelman is a licensed and registered nurse in New York and New Jersey.

4.  Alzheimer’s Disease. Com  www.alzheimersdisease.com/
This  is an informational site sponsored by the pharmaceutical firm, Novartis.
Novartis markets the dementia/AD medication, Exelon, along with other popular medications such as Lamisil, Lescol, and Reclast. Novartis is based in Basel, Switzerland and was formed in 1996 in a merger between Sandoz Labs and Ciba-Geigy.

This site offers “Conversations in Caregiving,” which currently features author as well as television and radio personality, Leeza Gibbons. Leeza wrote the book, “Take Your Oxygen First,” which is her own poignant personal story of caregiving for her AD diagnosed mother.


5.  Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation  www.alzinfo.org/
The Fisher Center Foundation was established in 1995 at Rockefeller University in New York City.  The web site is a winner of the 2011 Web Health Awards.  This is an in-depth, comprehensive informational site to learn more about AD, risk factors, and current medical research.

It features an Ask The Experts section, a Blog Section and a vast Resource Locator. The Resource Locator offers 32 different links to such topics as ADD Chapters, Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), MediCare information and Nursing Homes.

6.  The Mayo Clinic  www.mayoclinic.com/
This web site is the home of the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota founded in 1889.
The Mayo Clinic is known across the United States for specializing in treating difficult cases. In 2011, the Mayo Clinic was ranked #3 in the United States overall out of 4,825 hospitals by US News & World Report.

Under the heading of Disease Conditions, Alzheimer’s Disease lists 124 written articles on a wide variety of educational topics including how to help your caregiver, helping children understand the disease, considering options for long term care, and, diabetes and alzheimer’s and how they are linked.

Under the Health Information header at the top of their page, a pull down menu directs you to a series of health and medical blogs including one specifically for AD. It is written and authored by Mayo Clinic Educational Outreach Coordinator, Angela Lunde. There are plenty of educational articles and reports at this web site.

The National Institute on Aging has established several Alzheimer’s Disease Centers around the United States. One of them is right in our Sacramento, California back yard. The address is as follows:

7.   Alzheimer’s Disease Center University of California Davis
www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/alzheimers/
This web site is designed to serve primary care doctors, caregivers, students and medical researchers. It also features links for Spanish speaking readers and African-American’s who suffer from a much higher risk of vascular disease. An underlying condition of vascular disease substantially increases the possibility of developing dementia/AD as a person ages.

The UC Davis Medical Center is located in Sacramento at 4860 Y Street, Suite 3700, Sacramento, California. An information line is set up at: 916-734-5496. Fax: 916-703-5290

If you suspect a dementia/AD problem with yourself or a family loved one, it is important to see your family doctor or primary care physician. They in turn can refer you to a neurological specialist who can arrange for further diagnostic testing to make a more accurate diagnosis.

Although Alzheimer’s Disease is the most predominant type of dementia diagnosed, there are approximately 30 different kinds of dementia, some of which, mimic or present themselves with AD like symptoms but are not AD.

Start with your doctor and medical professionals. Then start the process of educating yourself and your family more about this disease.


Jeff Dodson
July 31st 2012

Applying The Brake Pedal To Alzheimer’s?

Vancouver, Canada was the scene this past week of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2012 (AAIC 2012). It was attended by some 4300 research scientists and neurologists from around the globe. The program included presentation of cutting edge drug trial findings, the latest refined diagnostic scans, and all research related to diagnosing and eventually halting AD.

Baxter International’s medication, IVIG/Gammagard, was one of the featured medications that  had its study findings presented after its successful passage through a Phase II Clinical Trial identified as NCT # 002999988. That trial enrolled a  group of volunteers numbering less than 30.

Gammagard is now about to undergo a much larger study of just over 400 enrollees who are currently being recruited at 37 study site locations in a Phase III Clinical Trial identified as NCT # 01524887.  Passing a Phase III Clinical Trial is essential prior to the next step of seeking FDA approval for Gammagard.

Gammagard is a human blood product administered intravenously.  Within each dose are the antibodies from the plasma of more than 1000 blood donors.

Gammagard works by applying the brakes to the deterioration process caused by the buildup of protein clumps called amyloid plaques. It also puts the brakes on the damage that is caused by inflammation.  It offers hope, for the first time, of long-term stabilization of AD symptoms.

What it does not do is heal or restore any of the damage already done to the brain. Neither does it bring back the memories, cognitive abilities or the executive function of the brain that have been taken away.

Two other medications that had their study results presented were Pfizer Pharma’s  Bapineuzumab, and  Ely Lilly’s drug, LY2062430, otherwise known as Solanezumab.

Sadly, in an announcement on Monday July 23rd, and just days after the AAIC Conference,  Pfizer disclosed that their drug, Bapineuzumab, had failed to meet all of the threshold requirements of passing its Phase III Trial.

I posted my first blog article about Alzheimer’s medications in February 2010. Listed among the promising new medications at the time were Baxter’s IVIg 10%, now being called Gammagard.

I went back through my AD Clinical Trial research notes from late 2007 into early 2008. At that time, I noted that some 90 new drugs were in the trials pipeline. Bapineuzumab was one of them. This drug, at the time, was listed as a humanized monoclonal anti AB antibody.

The washout rate of new drugs from the time of introduction to receiving FDA approval for the marketplace is brutal and a very long odds endeavor. In 2007 the odds were 1 out of every 1000 new medications making it all the way to market.  The timeline from laboratory to marketplace back then ranged between 12 to 15 years. The present need, in terms of the demand for dementia and Alzheimer’s medications, is for this timeline to be compressed down to something like 3 to 5 years.

Medical researchers today now have access to some of the world’s fastest supercomputers in an effort to speed up the basic research involving an astonishing number of protein molecules, neuron cells, intracellular components and cell structures, all of which must be examined in an effort at cracking the code, the armor and the camouflage of Alzheimer’s Disease.

We cross our fingers that the effectiveness of both Gammagard and Solanezumab will survive the trials and testing ahead of them in order to reach the marketplace.

The race is on for first stopping AD altogether, then, a cure. 2020 to 2025 is the present future deadline being spoken of  for such breakthroughs. That is just eight to thirteen years away.  Just 4 years ago, as previously noted above, there were only 90 new medications in the clinical trial pipeline for dementia and AD.


As of July 2012, there are now 930 new drugs in that pipeline, 200 of which are in Phase III trials.

A new medication that successfully makes it to a Phase III trial has approximately a 60% chance of reaching the public marketplace.

Our sense of urgency has started to take hold.

Now hear this: “Research scientists, Keep the gas pedal floored!”


Jeff Dodson
July 27th 2012

The Pressure Cooker

It seems like 2012 just began a couple of months ago, yet the month of July is nearly half passed.

One of our mom’s has been in a nursing facility now for just over 9 months. The other mom has been a resident at a different nursing facility for 5 years. Both were diagnosed with AD. Neither will survive the disease. At present, no one does or will. When they will finally be called home is anybody’s guess. Our Creator does not tip his hand very often.

Both dad’s still reside alone: each within their own family homes. Except that all the children are middle-aged adults, having moved out decades ago and both dad’s suffer the loneliness and the heartbreak of living apart from their wives.

Penny and I juggle the finances for both households besides our own. We handle all of the medical bills, doctor visits, minor surgeries, driving and chauffeuring the dad’s around, and, when able, assist in cleaning and helping them maintain their homes. Did I mention we also handle grocery shopping, visiting with lawyers and paying their bills as well? Oh, and I hold down a full time job in the retail home improvement industry with a work schedule that fluctuates every week.

We are involved with all of those things as we try our best to educate both aging fathers on how to attempt to take better care of their health and improve their eating habits. This can be tough for older folks who have enjoyed  decades of consuming certain favorite dishes or foods irrespective of how unhealthy it turns out that they are. Change is always possible but never easy for some.

Caregiving for 4 aging seniors is like cramming 48 hours into every 24 hour day. Frequently, it is intense, demanding, exhausting and, at times, makes you run way the hell out of patience before the sun has set for the day. Enough at times that you could easily grind a mouthful of rocks with your teeth, turning them into fine sand.

Help in terms of siblings fled the scene long ago. Not just for us. This is the reality of how it is with the vast majority of family caregivers. A health crisis strikes a loved one on the playing field of life. The next play is crucial, requiring somebody to man-up or woman-up to the challenge. Instead, most all of the players run off the field, through the stadium exits, jump in their cars and barrel out of the parking lot.  A variation of that popular quote might then read, “When the going gets tough, the whom ever, get gone.”                                              

My wife and I are IT save for a couple of very considerate longtime friends and former neighbors who chauffeur my dad up to see mom on occasion. God Bless them.

Even as we are well into our eighth successive year of doing this, we find positive meaning in what we have grown accustomed to doing.

We are not alone in our transformational journey as dementia caregivers. We have met and encountered others  in our travels. Within the USA alone, there are several million of them out there.

We have become well aware of the changes that the demands of caregiving have made with us. We worry about the stresses and strains upon our own physical and mental health while we strive to eat healthy, avoid junk food, and foods high in fat, salt, etc. Our latest interest along this line has been the works of Dr. Daniel Amen, including The Amen Solution, and, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.

Carrying out the work of a caregiver eventually compels one to face the eventual death of a family member, or the death of a patient. If you were not a spiritually grounded person prior, you will learn to become one during the course of your mission. Facing the mortality of another also compels you to confront that eventuality for yourself.

So  what my wife and I have learned and taken to heart are the following:

1. We no longer fear death or our own eventual demise.
This will be the time that we are called home to our Source; to the place from which we originally came.

2. Though we never envisioned it when we were younger, nor even a decade ago, living while providing a service to another, putting them ahead of yourself becomes a mission you grow into.

3.  We have gained a wealth of experience and knowledge about dementia and Alzheimer’s both through our caregiving work and staying abreast of medical science and research in the field. In my opinion, a means of halting AD in it’s tracks at several points along its progression will be possible within the next 5 to 7 years.  A definitive cure will not be too much farther behind and a strong possibility by the year 2020.

Final thought
Years ago, Oprah Winfrey, became recognized on her afternoon talk show, for asking one insightful question of some of her most favorite guests. The question was: “what do you know for sure?”

What do Penny and I know for sure these days?

Our work as caregivers, though often feeling like living within a steaming hot pressure cooker pot, has, over the long run, made us better human beings. More grounded, more appreciative of small things, less materialistic and a whole lot less judgmental. We find ourselves living much more in the present instead of dwelling in the past or fretting over the future.

We like and respect who we have come to be.

For more information on Neurologist and Brain Imaging Specialist, Dr. Daniel Amen, visit his website at: www.amenclinic.com


Jeff Dodson
July 15th 2012

Grace, Guidance & Gifts: A Book Review

My review of this book is also my first introduction to the talented author, Sonia Choquette. Up to now, I had not heard of Sonia nor was I familiar with her inspiring writing and teachings. I am delighted to report that has now changed.

To begin with, Grace, Guidance and Gifts is a beautiful prayer book. After reading it from cover to cover, and, listening to the included CD, I congratulated myself for having  chosen this book as my introduction to the teachings and mission of Sonia Choquette.  Her writing and philosophy carries some of the same teachings of Spirit and Source that my other favorite authors, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Gary Zukav have offered.

Sonia has divided her book into three sections which are revealed in the book title: namely, Grace, Guidance, and Gifts. She speaks of these as the three major blessings.

This book was  crafted  to serve both as a daily prayer and spiritual healing lesson book. While it’s format was something I had not encountered before, I found that I kept coming back to the book time and again with highlighter and sticky notes, embracing what resonated for me. I also loved the beautiful background sounds and music that accompanied the meditations on the CD.

Whether you are deeply involved as  family caregivers such as my wife and I, feeling overwhelmed with a personal tragedy of some kind, or simply wish to connect with your inner Spirit and find your life’s purpose, I highly recommend reading Sonia Choquette’s, Grace, Guidance and Gifts.

The following is a link to the work of Sonia Choquette.
www.soniachoquette.com


Jeff Dodson
July 14th 2012

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are unbiased and reflect my honest judgment of the product.

An Update On the Connectomics Project

In January of 2011, I posted a blog essay on the world of Connectomics.

Cellular nerve circuit mapping, or connectomics, began as a new field of brain science in 2007.

In the 2011 blog, a Dr. Jeff Lichtman of Harvard was noted as having just received the backing of the National Institute of Health (NIH) along with a $40 million dollar grant to fund The Human Connectome Project.

An update on progress with the HCP appears in the July issue of Neurosurgery, the official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Neurosurgery is published by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins which is part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

The David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles is now involved with connectomics work.

The Human Connectome Project entails the complete mapping of all of the neural cell circuitry pathways within the human brain. Think of it as “Map Quest for your Brain.”

Imagine, in just a few short years, your neurologist, being able to call up a detailed three-dimensional map of of all of the major, secondary and minor back road neural circuit routes within your Hippocampus and Entorhinal cortex. Why those areas do you ask?

Because these two areas of your brain are crucial to the development, encoding and handling of new memories and the dispersal of that information out to other distant regions of the brain for storage along with later access and retrieval. They also represent the ground zero area of your brain where Alzheimer’s Disease first initiates its’ bombing campaign of destruction. It starts there for everyone who is eventually diagnosed with AD.

Imagine having, in advance, one or two early life baseline scans of your Hippocampus and Entorhinal cortex. One done, say when you were in elementary school, and a second one completed when you were, perhaps age eighteen. Developmental landmark ages.

Armed with this data, your neurologist could visualize with precision the exact neural pathways either at future risk or presently under attack to then protect or defend with medications now being developed or on the drawing boards.

Or taking it a step further, how might this mapping technology offer, for the first time, the possibility of a blueprint and the glimmer of hope for reconstructing or reconstituting a mid or late stage Alzheimer’s patient’s brain: to the point of perhaps restoring that patients’ ability to form and encode new memories again and reconnect with areas of the brain the disease had cut off?

For me, this work with Connectomics represents exciting prospects for not only folks suffering from AD, but all other forms of dementia type diseases as well as people who have also suffered traumatic brain injuries from gun fire, accidental falls and automobile collisions.

This is definitely an area of scientific research that I will continue to monitor and blog on.

Connectomics links are found at:
ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120702152652.htm
Brain modeling techniques gallery. http://www.humanconnectomeproject.org/gallery/.


Jeff Dodson
July 8th 2012