I grew up in Rolfe, Iowa, a small farming community. Great place to enjoy lots of freedom as a child. One sister. Our family owned a drug store started by my grandfather in 1889, passed on to my father and then to me--all pharmacists. Typical drug store of the era, complete with a great soda fountain ("All the root beer you could drink fir a nickel" until sugar shortage in WWII.) After graduating from U of Wisconsin, I served as an officer in the Navy during the Korean War. Was Boat Group Commander on an attack transport designed to carry 1800 Marines in an invasion. Fortunately the war was in negotiations, so I never had to die! When out, I went back to Rolfe and the drug store. After my father died I stayed on for several years, then sold the store in 1961 and went to law school at U. of Iowa, together with my then wife and 3 small children.
Started practicing law in Minneapolis, MN in 1964-- retired in 2014 after 50 years of practice. Specialized in divorce work. Awful stressful stuff. Ready to quit law practice in 1990, but instead developed a new way to practice law--Collaborative Law. Started with me and we now have 35,000 practitioners in 128 countries. In collaborative work, the practitioners work with the clients out of court and if settlement cannot be reached, all the professionals involved withdraw and the parties go to court or find another way to resolve their issues. We avoid all court wars and we settle about 90% of our cases. Practitioners now include financial folks, mental health practitioners and child specialists. We work in such teams when the clients so choose.
In the 60's I became an alcoholic, treatment and AA in the '70 and Barb and I were divorced. Married Martha Roberts in 1982. We have 3 kids and 5 grandkids from the first marriage. The 1970's were grim. I was involuntarily committed to mental health facilities 11 times over the decade for manic stuff--a manic-depressive syndrome with the depressions as bad for me as the manics were for those close to me. Somehow kept my solo practice going through all that. Sober since 1975!
I was a member and associate director of a small Tibetan Buddhist center for 20 years until we lost our Lama in 2011. Meditated for 25 years.
Retirement: We're living at Parkshore, a Senior Apartment campus, with wonderful folks and great feeling. Finding that old folks are kids inside. Love reading, jazz and higher consciousness. Reading 60+ books at a time, have 7000 jazz tunes on my iPhone. Practice my saxophone., swim. Wrote a booklet, "The Serenity Space" in the '80-'s and co-authored the book “Collaborative Way to Divorce.” After searching, searching and searching for years, my wonderful teacher, Rupert Spira, helped me to achieve nonduality.
The drug, Lithium, which kept me sane for a long time, was making me an old man at 83. After resulting health crises, they took me off Lithium--and all my negative symptoms miraculously disappeared all at once. It was like being reborn! I feel and have the energy of a 26 year old!!
Grateful for life and so happy to be taking wonderful on-line Courses, including ones from MIT: "Transforming Business, Society and Self" with 40,000 participants from 158 countries and currently “Leading from the Emerging Future with 70,000 participants from around the world, participating in Science and Nonduality gatherings and enjoy meeting regularly with friends.
LOVE and BLESSINGS,
STU (SIM)
P.S. Oh, read and “grok” “The Essential Path” by Neale Donald Walsch. A game-changers!!
IACP Member:
