EDITOR'S NOTE

Needless to say, in light of the inaugural session of our upcoming Transformational Third Thursdays workshop and book study group this Thursday at Bank of Books, I've been spending much time with transformational guru, Eckhart Tolle. When I first crossed the above-stated quote in my readings, the first person I thought of was Susan Markowitz, the beautiful mother of Nicholas Markowitz, the slain fifteen-year-old boy at the center of the film Alpha Dog and my book Stolen Boy. Eight years ago, during the early morning hours of August 9^th, 2000, the woman lost her only child to a very senseless crime, one which seemed to launch her into an out-of-control spiral into near self-annihilation.

And when I read the three options Tolle expresses in his book, The Power of Now, about dealing with deep pain or negativity, I felt Susan may have found the tools necessary to move on in her life. Tolle says we should either remove ourselves from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. In Susan's situation, she literally did try to remove herself from her deep pain by attempting to take her own life. Her husband has said that she attempted suicide at least three times since the Alpha Dog premier last January, and it is confirmed that Susan had tried it several times before the film premiered as well.

As a mother, she obviously recognized difficulty in applying meaningful change to her condition, because there's simply no way to replace a mother's only child. But what Susan does seem to have learned is how to accept what has happened to her, and also what her part in all the bizarre events might have been. And it appears that her entire family has benefited from this acceptance.

"Once a mind pattern, an emotion, or a reaction, good or bad, is there, accept it," Tolle suggests. "We were not conscious enough to have a choice in the matter... If we had a choice, or realized that we do have a choice, would we choose suffering or joy, ease or unease, peace or conflict? Would we choose a thought or feeling that cuts us off from our natural state of well-being, the joy of life within?"

 

Tolle says that by accepting our resentments, moodiness, anger, and the like, we are no longer forced to act them out blindly, and we are less likely to project them onto others. Once we learn the practice of acceptance, we can then move to the next stage of consciousness: not creating negative emotions at all. "If we don't, our 'acceptance' just becomes a mental label that allows our ego to continue to indulge in unhappiness and to strengthen its sense of separation from other people, our surroundings, our here and now. Separation is the basis for the ego's sense of identity. True acceptance would transmute those feelings at once."

If we truly believe that everything is all right, we won't have any negative feelings. Without judgment and resistance to our natural, peaceful state of Being, negative feelings cannot arise.

In the beginning, Susan's pain had kept her from deepening her relationship with both her surviving stepchildren and their children. Susan was a grandmother and mother of two children who weren't her own, who both desperately wanted to be a part of her life, to share her pain, and to be a greater part of their own father's life. Yet, her pain initially forbade any of it. But things are different now that Susan has learned to accept her fate and move forward with the joy that life has to offer under all circumstances. Something that could probably provide a valuable lesson to all of us.

JESSE JAMES HOLLYWOOD TRIAL UPDATE

We're getting' closer. Jesse James Hollywood, whose murder case was dramatized in the controversial 2007 film Alpha Dog and my 2008 award-winner Stolen Boy, goes to trial next February.

Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Brian Hill set a February 19^th, 2009 trial date for Hollywood, who could face the death penalty if convicted of killing 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz, on August 9^th of 2000.

This will provide Hollywood with the opportunity for the first time in court to tell his version of events, which promises to differ from the demonization he faced through law enforcement officials and the mass media upon his disappearance. This gap in factuality, which was depicted in Stolen Boy, could be the difference between life and death for the youngest man ever on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

But the best part of this whole affair is we've heard nothing about the prosecutor's subpoena with my name on it. Maybe he forgot about me. Or maybe they figured I just wouldn't be worth the trouble. Whatever the case, I feel as though I've been granted a reprieve, and, hopefully, will continue to fly under the radar.

THE AWARDS

Stolen Boy continues to garner much national attention. Since last we spoke, the book has won two more awards, being named Honorable Mention for best fiction on both coasts, first by the New York Book Festival, and just this past weekend with the Hollywood Book Festival.

Stolen Boy has now holstered six fiction awards, which include an IPPY Gold Medal, Best book of the Year in Fiction from Books-And-Authors.net, National Finalist for fiction by the Indie Excellence Awards, and First Place for Best Novel by the Public Safety Writers Association. And we wouldn't be surprised if there were still more to come.

TRANSFORMATIONAL THIRD THURSDAYS

July 17, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Third Thursdays is done and gone, but we're about to open up a new chapter for events of a universal nature, called Transformational Third Thursdays, a combination transformational workshop/book study group, led by yours truly. It will take place on the Third Thursday of every month, beginning this Thursday, July 17^th. We will begin by studying the powerful works by consciousness transformation specialist, Eckhart Tolle. We will start by working through his first big seller, The Power of Now, and when we're finished, we will transition into his latest bestseller, A New Earth.

 

The goal of the workshops will be for each participant to learn and/or strengthen the building blocks of positive transformation in his or her own life. We will also be learning about and working toward healing our collective consciousness, which is responsible for bringing on much of the pain and suffering we witness in the world around us.

And it is all for free.

 

In celebration of our exploration into consciousness and transformation, Clarey Rudd, owner of Bank of Books, has agreed to give a special 20% discount on both of Tolle's books as well as Stolen Boy. Hurry to get your copies while supplies last. Call Bank of Books at 805.643-3154 for more information. Tell them Michael sent you.