A Life Changing Year!

This is usually a purely medical and scientific blog, but I could not let 2015 end without sharing some stories that have helped me this year. Really it has been a life changing year in part due to a study of these incredible stories.

The below stories are hard to prove to an average patient, friend, or family member, but all I can say is that the below has helped me so tremendously, I feel compelled to share these provocative videos.

It seems there are three main possible thoughts in a spectrum of thoughts that would run through someone’s head when one first listens to these stories or at least these were the key ideas that ran through mine: 1st, its all a lie and made up: all of it or at least some of it (ie, a bunch of crap). 2nd, the authors were hallucinating, on drugs, sick, crazy, exaggerating, having a loss of oxygen to the brain or well intentioned but have some type of major temporal lobe and occipital lobe stimulation, such as a small tumor or stroke, that is causing them to hear things & hallucinate. 3rd option and one that does require a leap of faith for most: its all true.

Knowing the first author, personally for years even before I saw his video I noted below, made me go with #3 and I believe all Roy has said to be true; though I did entertain the various options for a split second in the medical tradition of scepticism.

For the second author, I have chosen to believe what he is saying and learn from the pearls he speaks about. It will sound super crazy to anyone who is not Christian, this is true. Even for most Christians it will be hard to believe.

However, my own research has made it clear to me that to dismiss the stories below and refuse to research the truth behind their statements and learn from them is even more crazy and a silly decision.

Thus these stories below have been little lessons in humility in a way. They have given me a joy & happiness that are priceless. And while there are the inevitable reversals and spiritual and mental trials or scourgings a mom and wife will take day to day, going back and studying these videos continues to prevent falls into the abyss of self-love and despair (though still have a long way to go 🙂

Thus here is how it all happened.
Years ago, when my wonderful employer who is originally from Columbia, South America (he has his own amazing story: baptized Jesus as a Catholic, became atheist as a peasant in Columbia; taught to hate the US as the evil empire in charge of all poverty in Columbia; decided to see this evil empire himself at at 17; came illegally thru Mexico as a wetback; worked horrid jobs in NJ & NYC; enlisted in the Navy; became a US citizen; went to medical school, ophthalmology residency & Georgetown Cornea Fellowship in DC & is the most patriotic man you will meet & has a beautiful office 10 min from my home & has been very generous to patient but is now a pantheist [ie, God is in your coffee cup]) offered me a very generous position working for him, I called a dear friend Roy Schoeman about my employer hoping to get some ideas of how to help him see the truth in a particular matters. I knew Roy would have some ideas.

Roy has his own incredible story which is a must see here below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqid1afy5mM

Roy is a New York Jew who was initially trained to be a rabbi but became agnostic at MIT. He went to Harvard Business School & then stayed on to teach for many years. I think you could say he was a very tough, cynical person.

Once when my husband and I were debating what kind of predator he was: was he a shark or a lion. We asked Roy if one would describe his old self as a shark. Roy, said, without a pause, “no I would say a barracuda. A shark is much to tame.”

He wrote Salvation is From the Jews which is a wonderful book. He also wrote a second book, Like Honey from the Rock, which I look forward to reading soon.

Roy suggested I look up Marino Restrepo who is from Columbia, like my wonderful employer. He said learning from Marino might help find the words to help my employer.

I forgot about this for years until a friend from the wonderful Love Crucified community emailed me the below video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-NMlLDZPQE

After listening to the video, I was in shock: could this possibly be true? Could he be exaggerating?

So I called Roy, who I trust as a non-exaggerating, straight shooter, and asked if this was the guy he mentioned to me years ago and if Marino was for real. Was Marino telling the truth or was he just going a little overboard?

Roy said “Marino is the real deal! Marino puts me to shame. He travels the world 300+ days a year to tell everyone what happened to him. I only travel 160+ days a year. He does not even really care much about money. I don’t know how he does it.”

Thus I started studying and really researching the videos below. There is more to tell but for now I’ll end there. I’ll just say that these below videos have really helped me a great deal. It did require taking a big pill of humility: which has only helped me in the end.

There are many more videos but here are the few that I have found interesting.

The Concupiscense of the Eye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc9TRY4kDhM

2.

The Economy of the Tongue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-qs2ydgM-Y

Incidentally, I did actually follow Marino’s advice and asked our Lord to go ahead and make me mute if I cannot speak with love (actually used the exact words Marino suggest). A few days later, on Christmas day, I lost my voice completely. I had not remembered saying this prayer as I started to loose my voice until right before Christmas Day mass at 10:30am. All I could do is laugh at God’s humor. Thus I have not really talked not in 3 days: a first for me. Yes, it could be a coincidence…or it could be a blessed answer to prayers.

3. Healing the Family Tree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6RmpoeDmpg

More versions of his conversion story.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWJlh8cHauo
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwus4bTf0Y