• Health - Religion

    A Strong Mind

    5/26/2025 - By 

    In October 2023, I suffered a stroke. I am 100% recovered. In fact, I have never been stronger mentally and physically than now at 65 years of age. Thank you God. A strong mind means finding God. In today’s world, it has never been harder to find God. If you are awake, life is fed to you through screens. These screens are your livelihood, your social life, your communication, your entertainment and much more. None of that is God. God is independence. God is free will.

    When you have a stroke, you enter into the great American health care system. I was in the hospital, and after release, I saw cardiologists, neurologists, and physical therapists. It was a spooky time. While in my triweekly physical therapy sessions, I watched and analyzed the other stroke victims. Some were at death’s door. I came to realize that I did not want to trust this for-profit, Wall Street-funded system for my health. My stroke recovery should be dependent on me, not on a seriously flawed system. I needed to trust God.

    I swam in the ocean daily while in Rio de Janeiro. My wife taught me yoga, and then she suggested I join her gym. I was late to this party, because my wife, and two sons were already members. One year later, I am a gym rat. The fitness center is my church. I regularly hit personal records on the exercise machines, and that is God is working. God wants me to be strong.

    I spend hours in the gym. In between sets and repetitions, my mind is soaring, free to roam. Incredible and peaceful thoughts about my future appear and resonate. This is how I find God. Throughout the stroke experience, my mind has never been stronger.

    It is not easy to be mentally strong, and more importantly to believe in God nowadays. Sure you can go to church, read the bible, and even tithe, but those are rituals. The question is whether God is making your body and mind strong. Or are you dependent on for-profit systems for your well being? or as my pastor friend Willie asks. Is your belief in God unshakable?

    Leave a Reply


  • Music - Religion - Videos

    Can You Hear Him Knocking?

    3/22/2020 - By 


    I wrote this song in the 80s, and I play it most Sundays for over 30 years now. Thanks to Teddy for the camera work and editing.

    2 Comments on “Can You Hear Him Knocking?”

    2. Rob, I have a Billion dollar tech idea, but am concerned of sharing with any of the Fortune 500 companies. I believe your platform would be a good marriage for this idea, and we could make a lot of money together. If interested contact me. Hope you have a great day, your brand is great. If interested shoot me an email and I will give you my cell #

      Reply

    Leave a Reply


  • Politics - Religion - Stoned Thoughts

    Are Humans on the Road to Extinction?

    6/4/2017 - By 

    My first cousin is a world renowned sociologist. A few years ago in a chic NY City restaurant, over a nice bottle of wine, he shared a concerning conclusion, “In the decade of 2010, the human population for the first time in our history is declining.” In the first book of the Bible, God plainly commands, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Well, we’re not multiplying any more. At least not at the same rate. Sorry God.

    I was born in 1959, which is considered to be the end of the Baby Boomer generation. Baby Boomers, some theorize, is the greatest generation. I believe the reason is because of our parents instincts to multiply. That is have lots of kids.

    Our societal governmental structures, such as Social Security and Medicare, assume a new generation of young people to pay for these programs. With the American reproduction rate in decline, these programs are now in decline. Worse yet, baby boomers, are living longer than ever, which is good for replacement rates, but worse for these social programs.

    How did we get here? China is certainly to blame by their draconian mandate of one child per family. This is not too bad because the mandate can be undone, and it has. They are now up to two children per family. There is something else in play. It is not abortion. It is birth control. In the late 60s, birth control went into mass production, and it is the only feasible explanation on why family sizes have fallen dramatically in less than two generations.

    Birth control is a choice, and we believe in choice. But we must take care or humans might be choosing extinction.

    2 Comments on “Are Humans on the Road to Extinction?”

    2. Aloha, I hope this finds you well.

      You are clearly doing some good things in life.

      Population
      Years passed- Year – Billion
      – 1800 1B
      127 1927 2B
      33 1960 3B
      14 1974 4B
      13 1987 5B
      12 1999 6B
      12 2011 7B
      12 2023* 8B
      14 2037* 9B
      18 2055* 10B
      33 2088* 11B
      *World Population Prospects 2017
      (United Nations Population Division)

      Continued success 🙂

      Reply

    Leave a Reply


  • Religion - Stoned Thoughts

    Why Do We Stop?

    10/25/2011 - By 

    I have a dear friend that is dying of cancer. He is still with us but I don’t believe that he has much time left on this earth. We have been talking on the phone frequently and one time he shared with me two things. ONE – He stopped having sex 6 months ago and TWO – He was still chain smoking. I found the topic fascinating and it really made me wonder, when do we stop doing the things we enjoy?

    My grandmother died when she was 107 years old. Some time before she turned 100, she stopped playing bridge. She said that it made her think too hard for someone her age. She loved playing bridge and it puzzles me to this day.

    I have another dear friend (still in the living) that was an avid golfer. Around the time that he turned 60, he stopped. That was 5 years ago, and he has not played since.

    This got me thinking about my life and also “Why do we stop doing the things we love?”. Is stopping a sign that your life is running out of energy for certain pursuits? Or is it the opposite? Are you saving energy as you grow older by giving up these pursuits? I have no idea.

    I love to run. It is a passion for me, almost an addiction. The reason is because it makes me feel good. About 15 minutes into the run, the endorphins kick in and the rest of the run is like a beautiful dream. I am relaxed. I am in harmony with my body and nature. I am mostly just lost in my thoughts. Those thoughts quite often will drive my direction for the day or more. I know that running is also a physically demanding pursuit and I wonder, will there be a time when I must stop. How will I know when I should stop? Either way, I know that my life will not be the same if I don’t run.

    I also love to read. It is like tickling my brain or scratching an itch. It is a different feeling than running but it is relaxing and helps me sleep at night. I imagine that I will continue to read until the very end. It is not physically demanding, only mentally. But who knows? Not I.

    I also play guitar. It is a peaceful pursuit and personally rewarding. I have been playing for over 30 years and honestly, I am only so-so. There are probably millions of guitar players better than me. It is rewarding when you feel like you have improved a little iota. It is rewarding to figure out a song that you never could touch before. Just to get a little better each time you play. I guess one day I will stop when I feel that I can no longer improve any more. There is so much room for improvement but I have reached a point where my lack of talent will not allow me to improve any more. I hope it doesn’t happen any time soon. Sometimes, it just makes me happy.

    So I am just wondering out loud. What makes us stop? I used to drink beer every day and at one time in my left I was addicted to nicotine and cigarettes. These are two things that I have stopped because I knew they were unsustainable activities. They were doing more harm than good. But then, why do we stop doing the things that are good for us? The things that keep us challenged or motivated? What do we stop? I really don’t know. Leave a comment below.

    3 Comments on “Why Do We Stop?”

    1. IMO our mutual friend stopped doing the wrong thing…

      I think people “stop” for as many varied reasons as they start: it is personal to the emotional and psychiatric makeup of the individual, their vulnerability to the people/events that impact their lives.

      Let’s hope our buddy finds peace in his final days

      Reply

    2. Hi Rob, I have been thinking about your post all day, and pondering how my Mom gave up reading when she couldn’t see or concentrate well enough (I brought her books on tape, but she preferred when I read to her), and how she would give up and start again and give up doing crosswords as she failed. I also thought about how I get so tired on startups that I stop reading or exercising because I get so mentally and physically tired that I just can’t make myself do it. I think that’s the key: we give it up when it’s just more effort than the pleasure we expect to derive from it, even if it’s something that gives us energy or pleasure back. This week is my first week home from a very demanding startup, and I am even having trouble finding the energy for my passion, sailing. I am recovering though, just in time to sail all next weekend!

      Reply

    3. Interesting post, Rob. I think you’re referring to my husband about the golf. I wondered why he quit, too. When I asked him, he says his body was beginning to suffer (arthritis in his shoulder/neck) and that it took up so much time he didn’t have time to do some other things that make him happy. I asked him why he didn’t just cut back on the golf (he used to play a couple times a week and hit the practice range 5X/week. He said he can’t do it casually – it’s no fun when he isn’t going after it at full tilt. He loathes the idea of mediocrity in this game that he played for 40 years. But, he has taken up other things with a similar passion, and now at almost 66, he’s actively pursuing his new interests (photography, videography and motorcycling). As for me personally, I can’t imagine ever not reading, unless I were blind. And I don’t want to retire – I’m enjoying my work. I admire your commitment to running – it’s such a healthy pursuit and it obviously brings you great pleasure.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply


  • Brazil - Religion - Rio de Janeiro - Slide Show - Teddy

    Teddy’s Christening

    6/1/2008 - By 

    As I already documented earlier, Teddy’s christening had a cloud over it because the Father at our church would not allow Augusto to be the Godfather. He did allow Augusto to attend the Christening, and we took some photos of the big event. Solange was really excited for the event and bought Teddy a special outfit just for the occasion.

    Leave a Reply