I was raised in Kimball, Nebraska - a small town of about 2600 people. I was born the oldest of 11. My father was an alcoholic, and yet he was a good man. My mother was a good mother and strong catholic and did her best to raise us with strong values. The schools in Kimball were very good and I was blessed with a good education, but my nature has always been that of a rebel and did not fit well in a small town environment. Two weeks after my graduation, I joined the navy and served 4-yrs as a dental technician. I am a Vietnam-era veteran, but the war was over before I joined. I was a typical hippy of the 60's and 70's. It was all Peace, love, dove, and I tried every drug I could get my hands on. In 1985, I went into rehab for alcohol abuse. Of all the drugs I tried, none was more destructive than alcohol. Reality House in Las Vegas helped me to stop drinking, and for that I will always be grateful, but my problem at the time was deeper than alcohol. My problem was a mental problem. I did not like who I was! I was self destructive. One night I was flipping thru channels and a program on PBS caught my eye. It was called the "Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell. He changed my life. When I was a little kid, I used to dream of being a priest, but at the age of 30, I had rejected Catholicism and Christianity, and this left me with an emptiness that, at that time, I was trying to fill with alcohol and drugs. One of the first things I learned from Joe was how to like myself and embrace both my good and bad qualities. He would say that if your flaw is your pride or ego; use them towards your illuminations and not towards your degradation. My flaw was my compulsiveness, which I now channeled into reading everything I could find that he wrote. I read author that he read. Joe taught me to love life, to not put limits on what I can achieve, and to follow my bliss. I am a spiritual person, yet I do not belong to any religious organization. I have no theology - no doctrine to speak of. I think that as a county we have lost our way. We not only need a leader, we need a spiritual guide to help us to see more than "what's in it for me".