It's hard to believe that 10 years this month has passed since I wrote and published my first book, The Game Rules for Life. Since that time, I have grown considerably as a person and published several more books and courses. And I have several more in the works. 

I wrote Game Rules at a time when I was just coming out of an alcoholic marriage as well as leaving Jehovah's Witnesses, the religion in which I was born and raised. It is also the religion in which I served as an elder for seven years and was excommunicated from in August 1999 for leaving my now late alcoholic wife and remarrying. It was a tumultuous time in my life and led to several years of existential crises. However, I feel that I emerged much better than before and in a world that was no longer limited to religious superstition, i.e., demons, "sex is bad," and that God is going to destroy the world (except for JW's) very soon. I am now considered an apostate (heretic) by all those that I once knew and loved--including my family. I have honored their wishes and had no contact with them since 1999. These years were by far the most difficult of my life, but at the same time, they were also the years in which I grew the most (and the fastest).

When I wrote the book, I still believed in a biblically based God (which is evident in the writing). As with so many before me, I tried to make some sense out of why I felt God had abandoned me in my hour of need after 40 years as a "faithful servant." Of course, there is no rational sense to be made of this and as the following couple of years passed, I progressed through Deism and finally to Agnosticism, where I remain today. And I have no good reason to budge.

So why am I writing about this in my paranormal blog? For several reasons. First off, it is important to remember that we are people first and researchers second. We all have our sad stories to tell, and by saying this I do not mean to take anything away from those painful times. These sad and painful times are part of our unique human experience. They carry deep meaning for us personally. The fact that we consider them to be sad and painful separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Secondly, the dark times that we experience can fuel our drive to find and understand the answer to the "why" questions; for example, why must we go through such difficulties at times? This, in turn, can take us down the path of wonderment and fascination with the Grand Scheme of Things including all things mysterious and unexplained. It is our passion borne from the enlightenment that comes from growing though difficulties that can allow us to achieve greatness in our research and better equip us to find meaningful answers. How so? Because as we grow, we learn to stand strong and tall; difficulties that at one time floored us no longer affect us adversely. This leads to a more rational and reasonable disposition that is not easily affected by dramatic claims of paranormal activity or irrational fears of the same. Knowledge cancels fear. In short, our life experiences can make us much better researchers--if we choose to apply all that we've learned from life to our research.

As you conduct your research and investigations, never forget that we do so ultimately to better understand the human condition. Use your unique life experiences and talents to bring greatness to the field of anomalous research!