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The sponsorship deadline for this event has passed
A message from Ryan:
Welcome to my personal web page for NAMIWalks for the Mind of America. I have created this fundraising page because NAMI, and the work they do, is very important to me. NAMI works very hard to fight the stigma concerning mental "illness" that exists within our culture, and this is a need that I embrace whole-heartedly, as everyone else should too if we are to survive as a species.
People who are "wired differently" are made that way by our Creator for a very important reason: evolution. During this lifetime, watch with me as we witness more and more of the "mentally ill" cross over into something much more beautiful and necessary for the preservation and continuation of humankind. In this lifetime, we will watch as individuals with ADHD realize that they have the ability to "train" their brain to hyperfocus(a very real and already existing trait that scientists and the medical community have identified in many individuals diagnosed with ADHD), which is quite the opposite of being inattentive due to sensory overstimulation.
It is then that we will discover that ADHD is merely the human brain's temporarily failed attempts to expand our consciousness to include a far greater ability to pay attention to and process multiple things at a time. This is a skill that we must embrace and develop as a species if we are ever going to be able to pay attention to enough of what is going on in our world to be able to adapt and survive.
We must develop the ability to appropriately respond to the fact that our world is much more complicated than that of the caveman(cavehuman, to do right by the other half of our species), because our current response is to become overwhelmed by all that surrounds us and to do nothing to change it, opting instead to lull ourselves into ignorance and complacency. (Think I'm wrong? Then please explain to me why MANY more people in this country bother to vote for the American Idol than for the President of our country. I'm pretty certain that the latter person makes far more important decisions that affect the quality of our lives than the American Idol ever will - no matter how awesome David Cook may be...)
Watch with me as we discover that individuals with extreme mood disorders have the capacity to empathize(not just sympathize like most individuals - don't get me started on the people that can't even do that...) and understand how to best help or deal with the people that are around them. (In fact, this is all that most "psychics" are doing, tapping into a vast resource of emotional understanding that allows them to "read" or "know" things about others that mystify all the "normal" people.) Their brains possess the emotional capacity for this RIGHT NOW, and to use it, all they must do is learn to control their own emotions enough so that they may begin to allow themselves to feel the emotions of others. I have worked in the field of Mental Health in one form or another for about 7 years, and I promise you that some of the most gifted therapists and healers that I have ever encountered were once deeply disturbed individuals. However, these individuals learned to identify and address their most deep-seated issues, freeing themselves from the bondage of their own emotional landscape and enabling them to help the clients/consumers who according to others, just couldn't be helped.
If we do not learn to identify, understand, and appreciate the suffering of others, we are doomed as a species, and rightfully so. If we are unable to correct humanity's current path on this planet, soon this will be a world that I don't ever want my great-great grandchildren to be around to see. Nature is a force far more intelligent than we are, and even if many of us don't recognize it yet, Nature has known for quite some time that we are doomed if we don't improve our abilities to PAY ATTENTION and to FEEL what we are doing to our planet and to one another. Ironically, Nature's process of evolution has slowly been causing this to happen by altering the brains of an increasingly larger portion of our population, and altering them so that they may begin to develop the capacity to function MORE effectively. This sample of our population is comprised in part by individuals who seem far less capable to pay attention and/or to feel "correctly". Remember, the webbed foot wasn't very pretty, nor was it as useful as a regular fin or as a foot. However, without the webbed foot, we never would have emerged from the water, would we?
Donating to me through this page is easy, fast and secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me. Any amount will make a difference for NAMI, but please try to give generously.
Both NAMI and I appreciate your donation. Thank you for your support.
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