Dec 23,2019
Dear Hossein,
Pardon my delay in responding to your last email. My daughter and her husband were visiting this past week which left little time to review your below communication.
It is always a pleasure for me to be asked to play a role in your redemption anniversary and the birth of Congress 60.
Science is unraveling much of the neurophysiology of Psyche and its effects on so much of who and what we are, including our vulnerability for addiction and our potential for recovery. This is of great interest to me and I read as much as I can on these new discoveries, but an even greater interest is what you refer to as Jaan. Unraveling the intricate operations of the human body, particularly the brain, may leave us feeling that who we are is simply a matter of chemical quirks. But the Jaan offers us an understanding of an individual essence that is influenced by but transcends our body. I think you have articulated very well these twin dimensions of health interact with each other and are in fact dependent upon each other. I believe vulnerability to addiction can lie in both arenas but in the end becomes dominated by the physiology of addiction with all the damage to our mind, character and relationships flowing from the domination of this physical need. It is then that we need a solution capable of healing both body and mind. Any effort to recover that tends to only one of these twin dimensions, as you suggest, is an incomplete recovery. One of my great attractions to Congress 60 was the way in which both body and worldview are given balanced attention. That is a remarkable achievement worthy of wide emulation.
The new year is soon upon us and I wish you, your family and all members of Congress 60 the very best for these days ahead. I continue to experience gratitude for our continued friendship and our partnership in expanding pathways to recovery around the world. Much of this past year has been consumed by work on my website and I am pleased that this work is near completion and that I can consider taking on some new writing efforts in the months ahead. It is also a time of life for rest and reflection. I note that as I peel away activities many of those who I have nurtured over the years now have room to step forward to assert their leadership abilities. Seeing this is deeply satisfying and offers me great optimism about the future of addiction recovery.
Friends and Brothers Forever,
Bill