Let’s Begin
Every journey must start somewhere, so let’s start here.
This is an INTRO. It’s a good place to begin. We will be building from here, so if anyone stumbles into later writings, they can return to this location to see where it all began.
This will be your tour guide, it’s me, except a younger and more rugged AI version of myself. After submitting my picture and asking for a style similar to Indiana Jones, this is what I got, and my vanity wants to keep it. So think of this as my slightly too serious, almost cringeworthy, yet dashingly handsome avatar that will help guide us along the path. Where are we going? Glad you asked.
A little backstory might help. When I was in college I really struggled finding my way. I didn’t know who I was, and outside forces seemed to pull me in every direction. I didn’t feel grounded, and that led to frustration, apathy, and avoidance. I didn’t like my business major, and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I escaped responsibility by skipping classes, day drinking, and failing in all areas of life. I finally hit rock bottom with a deep sense of unworthiness and a 1.3 GPA.
I was drowning in self sabotage, and knew that real changes had to be made. After a series of life altering events, I finally began taking agency over my decision making, and not allowing others to pull me into paths that weren’t mine.
I moved out of my apartment, exited my social groups, and changed my major to a subject I was actually interested in— Exercise Science. I was able to pull myself out of the abyss I found myself in, which helped cultivate discipline and a sense of achievement. I finished my major coursework with a 4.0 GPA, two-time student of the year, and was eventually accepted into grad school for Physical Therapy. I married the love of my life, had two babies, and began building the life we had dreamt of.
The accomplishments didn’t take away the struggle, but the momentum allowed us to keep putting one foot in front of the other. We had to navigate parenting, final exams, bills, and what seemed like insurmountable debt. Looking back, I can see the terrain more clearly now, and have realized the mistakes and choices I made that led to so much struggle. I’m hoping my kids are able to avoid making the same decisions, and that is part of the motivation behind this project. But I also see the same frustration, apathy, anxiety, and anger I once had in the generations younger than mine. So rather than keep all these ideas locked in my head, I’d rather share it in the hope that it helps someone navigate their own path more clearly.
“The struggle makes you stronger.” - A brilliant quote I say that my physical therapy patients hate.
If we can think of life as a game, it will make everything going forward fall into place. But more importantly, it will give us agency in how we play.
Throughout my childhood and adult life, I have always questioned things. Why do certain patterns repeat across people, cultures, myths, religions, psychology, and personal experience? Why do so many human beings describe the same landscapes of suffering, transformation, meaning, fear, awakening, identity, and purpose using different languages but strangely similar maps? Why does life sometimes feel less like random chaos and more like a terrain we are moving through without realizing it?
My birth sign is Sagittarius, the philosopher sign, and Wolf Rehab is my attempt to explore these types of questions honestly. I want my family, and us all, to have a functional map of reality, and a method to move through it.
This project is not about pretending to have all the answers. I am not forming a religion. It is not a self-help movement, or an ideology demanding belief. It is a field guide. We can think of it as a map-making project. An exploration into what it means to be human while standing at the intersection of body, mind, story, suffering, awareness, symbolism, neuroscience, spirituality, mythology, and transformation.
Throughout this series we will explore ideas that many people feel intuitively but struggle to articulate. We will look at how perception shapes reality. How identity is constructed. Why symbolic stories resonate so deeply. Why ancient myths continue to mirror modern psychology. Why certain experiences crack open old paradigms. Why attention changes experience itself. Why human beings throughout history repeatedly describe the natural terrain as if they are more than just physical places.
Some of these chapters will move through neuroscience, and others through mythology. We may take detours through philosophy or spiritual traditions. Other chapters will explore deeply practical experiences of pain, recovery, fear, purpose, and resilience. But all of them are attempting to point toward the same thing.
There appears to be something happening beneath the surface of ordinary life that most people never fully stop to examine. Most people are moving through life unconsciously, like I was throughout most of my college experience. Wolf Rehab is about becoming aware of the terrain.
We will first explore the FUNDAMENTALS: “Origins, “Landscape,” “Bridge,” “Interface,” “Player,” “Game Board,” “Levels,” and “Purpose.” Each writing builds on the previous one like planks tied onto a rope bridge crossing unknown terrain. However, each can also be read on their own. Some ideas may challenge old assumptions. Some may resonate immediately. Some may feel uncomfortable. That is part of the process.
Wolf Rehab aims to be an outfitter on this journey, a field guide, and a bridge that helps one cross old identities that no longer serve them. Field maps will be provided at the end of each writing so that the player has a tool to navigate the game of life. And maybe, somewhere along the way, we might realize that the world is stranger, deeper, more symbolic, and more interconnected than we were originally taught to see. If you’ve ever had the feeling that there is something more happening beneath ordinary life… then you are probably already standing at the edge of the path. Consider this your invitation.
Welcome to Wolf Rehab.
Wolf Rehab, LLC is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.
I hope this will be an interactive endeavor. So join the chat, and share stories of your own journey, the paths you’ve walked, and the lessons you’ve learned related to each topic. We can all learn from each other.