February 27, 2025
Dear Hossein,
Thank you for your latest communication. Each is filled with knowledge and raises new questions for me to ponder and share with others.
One of the things we share is an intense curiosity about the source and solutions to the problem of addiction. That curiosity is based not just on our own addiction and recovery experiences, but an insatiable desire—a calling—to help others achieve the lives we have been blessed with. It is only fitting after our years to service that we both feel the need to do research to answer some of our most important questions. I hope what we have learned can be shared with future generations, but also that burning curiosity and passion for learning. We are both considered teachers, but in our hearts we will always remain students.
I agree with you that there remains so many gaps in the science of addiction and its treatment, in spite of thousands of books and articles written on these subjects. But as you suggest, the direction of many of these has been misdirected and what we need is a science that provides actionable steps to fully understand and resolve these problems at personal, family, and community levels. That is what I hope our research will contribute.
As you so you have described so eloquently, there are may diverse motivations for the initiation of drug use, but the core of addiction lies with unraveling its neurophysiology. Over time, biology takes over so the foundation of treatment must be in altering that physiological core, as is done with the DST method. But hat alone is not enough due to the fact that the physiological transformation of addiction is accompanies by dysregulation of almost every other sphere of one’s life—thus the comprehensive approach to addiction treatment provided by Congress 60 that also includes restoration of broader physical health as well as attention to the psyche and worldview. I know of no other program that attends to this core of the physiology of addiction while at the same time supporting the psychosocial, family, and spiritual (worldview) processes of recovery. Research on how that process is achieved will be a boon to humanity. We have made a good start on this through our joint writings, but adding rigorous research studies to this will be an important advancement.
In that regard, I have been getting many more requests about smoking cessation within Congress 60 and considerable interest in your approach. These inquiries are coming from several countries. I wanted you to know that this increased interest is happening and that we may want to continue to report on your progress on this issue since our last publication. This will have to await completion of our latest study which continues to go well with Ehsan helping coordinate our questions to you and to those responsible for statistics in Congress 60. Again, please thank them on my behalf for all their assistance.
I appreciate your sharing the latest article on breast cancer. This is a subject close to my heart as you will recall my daughter Alisha went through breast cancer treatment and is doing well today and will continue to be closely monitored in the years ahead.
May I ask the kinds of locations in which you will be planting the seedlings and seeds this year? Is this land owned by Congress 60 or public lands that are presently barren? How many people will participate in this planting this year? I thoroughly enjoyed the tree-planting video.
With the advent of Ramadan and Nowruz, I recall that our communications slow down during these celebrations, so write when you can. If there are any delays in hearing from you, I will understand.
It is a busy time here in Southwest Florida. During these months, we have many people from colder climates escaping their weather to live here for a few months. The weather this time of year is quite beautiful, but the result is crowded highways and stores. IT is like a different place when all the visitors leave before the heat and humidity of summer arrive.
Please extend my warmest regards to your family and to all members of Congress 60.
Friends and Brothers Forever