Ed’s Second Chances
To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day ― Lao Tzu I’m proud of many things I’ve accomplished in life since getting clean off meth Achieving a dream of publishing a book, certainly, and my renewed dedication to getting it into the hands of as many readers as possible […]
Fair & Second Chances
Thanks to Defy Ventures, I recently had an opportunity for several sessions with a mental health professional…she diagnosed me with Anxiety Disorder(!) Not surprising, as the better part of twenty years of my life involved shouldering the burden of being the target of a vast law enforcement conspiracy* against me *Of course, the “conspiracy” might’ve […]
Ashburnham (MA) Police Department
Many thanks to the APD for hosting my talk, “From Addict to Awardee: How Persons in Law Enforcement Helped Me Transform From Criminal Activity to Community Service” Shown with Chief Loring Barrett (center) and Lt. Chris Conrad: I could write about the talk: but local journalist Doneen Durling does a better job. Read her article […]
Donations
We’ve donated 165 copies of my book to men incarcerated in Pelican Bay State Prison! Made possible thanks to the generosity of Peter Hazlehurst, as well as the amazing support of John Jackson, Dennis Meek, the incredible Linda Field, Catherine Hoke, and my publisher, Jesse Krieger of Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press Thanks most of all to […]
Stairways/10K
Thank you, readers of Meditations on Meth! And thank you GUS (God/Universe/Spirit…the name I learned from Michael Disend, my first meditation teacher Michael, along with Pat Maguire, saved my life…by convincing me that my own suicide would affect me negatively in the afterlife…from there, I went on to understand my remaining alive could benefit others, too) […]
A Thank You to Persons I’ve Known In Law Enforcement, and Persons Who Are/Were Incarcerated
(In the picture above, with an incarcerated man “Abe” whom I wrote about here, and with San Francisco Police Department Captain Renee Pagano, whom I wrote about in The Washington Post here) Many amazing individuals helped me turn my life around: from one of addiction, criminal activity, and methamphetamine psychosis, to one of community service […]
Distancing
Greetings from Massachusetts! Where I’m using this (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to, in the words of my good friend Brian Skull, take advantage of this situation, before it takes advantage of me (Brian, in addition to being a solid Krav Maga practitioner, is a tattoo artist…he inked the three skulls on my shoulder, which remind me […]
Fear/Overcoming
“I do not fear death. I fear not to live fully”—Wim Hof What’s it like to face down your fear…and overcome it? (especially important in today’s world) On a sunny Saturday about a week ago, I rode shotgun, my good friend Mike behind the wheel…Mike and I got our drivers licenses around the same time, […]
Fifty
Fifty guitars (at least) hang on racks at the Guitar Center…where I sat on a stool and plucked a few strings on a robin’s-egg blue Fender Stratocaster, watching young people pass by Rockers with ripped-sleeves jean jackets and flannels tied around waists…black-wearing techno-types…speed-metal sorts, sports jerseys and long hair in loose pony tails I was […]
Solitary
What if you gazed through an impenetrable steel grille, into a cell in the solitary confinement unit at Pelican Bay State Prison… And saw yourself? Pelican Bay is where I spent an amazing three days with the incredible “Mavericks” (program participants) and volunteers of Hustle 2.0 Coaching Mavericks in entrepreneurism, employment, and self-advocacy Through the […]