Operation Soul Recovery

Book excerpt: An alarming problem is raging out of control in our country and world. Statistics say that proportionately everyone knows at least one or more persons, if not themselves, who is stricken with an addiction or another form of mental illness. On one hand we appear to be making an attempt to deal with the problems. On the other hand, the weakness of the methods along with the lack of conviction, have left barely a scratch on the surface of what is fast becoming an epidemic. And producing in its wake is a multidimensional negative effect upon all of society. The inherited shame and denial that have accompanied these disorders for centuries, still prevent us from dealing with them forthrightly. However in the past, the number of victims did not present a significant threat to the safety and welfare of civilization. Nor then were the defining lines of right and wrong so clouded with controversy. Now we have neither situation to our benefit. Perhaps compromising values has tended to cause a blending effect, making it much more difficult to lead them out of their disconnected conditions. If we cannot provide the afflicted with a substantial lifeline of recovery, then the existing situation is like "the blind leading the blind". We consider every illness of the body with the greatest of care, yet what good is a healthy body if it must live with a tormented soul? Somehow we fail to see the connection between the escalating violence that goes on in the world and the rising turmoil of mind and spirit disorders that exist largely unattended, not to mention the millions who suffer unmercifully in silence. It is an issue of urgency that needs to be clearly acknowledged on all fronts and raised from the bottom, to the top of our priorities. It is probable that a real turnabout must stem from those who have been struck by these devastating circumstances within their own circle of loved ones. There is no greater passion against evil than that which is born from such intense personal pain, and remains the most important element in revolutionizing this wanton dilemma. Possibly the final cure will not be found in books and theories, but in the depths of wounded hearts. If we have the will to survive and find purpose in the tragedies, they can change us, rearrange our perspectives, give us wisdom, in ways otherwise unimaginable. The place to start is a real awakening to the consequences of evil that have been brought upon society by these forgotten diseases. Only then we are ready to fathom what must be done. After nearly two decades of watching my youngest daughter evolve from a lovely young girl to a stranger battling multiple addictions, moreover witnessing the ineffectiveness of the entire range of recovery systems (within our reach), the results were utterly heartbreaking. However, out of these adversities would come an amazing vision-extraordinary in nature, yet altogether possible. It was a phenomenon which could indeed change the course of all that falls under the umbrella of mental illness. Ultimately this vision was the inspiration for writing Operation Soul Recovery.