Seeking Behind Bars

"Don't fall prey to sacrificing who you are"

Friends, As some of you know, I maintain correspondence with inmates. I am reproducing—with the correspondent’s permission—a letter of July 26, 2025, from Mike who is incarcerated in Washington State. For those who do not read his full letter, note this passage: “I was thinking the other day about the Hermetic principle ‘as above, so below.’ Can we take that and say, if one individual experiences something, isn’t that experience imprinted on the Nous, a tiny piece of the evolution of consciousness? Is it more effective based on the number of individuals experiencing it? Maybe, but wouldn’t it be more important to have one true message than a million false ones?”

* * *

7/26/25

Dear Mitch,

Thank you so much for your openness in your letter. It is quite refreshing. In my experience, it is rare for people to be vulnerable with each other, especially when holding positions of power or prestige which draw many eyes. So I deeply appreciate your being willing to show that side of yourself with me. It is no burden at all, and I’ve learned to see everyone’s struggles as very real and defining to them. Plus, I’ll never work as a therapist again, but I can still listen to a friend and try to be there for them in whatever way I can, right?

I can only imagine how busy you’ve been and the pressure that comes with that, though you certainly seem to manage it well based on the work you put out. I can certainly resonate with the identity-crisis struggle, and how scary that can be. Like any other apocalypse, I supposed it’s also a time of great change, letting go of what no longer works, accepting the new and often unexpected; sure feels like shit in the middle of it, though.

I hear the dilemma around outer goals and inner work. I’ve spent a lot of time debating in my head what the best balance is there. I’ve mostly been around people who tout “inner work creates outer change,” and I certainly want to believe that, and can see much truth in it, yet it’s not that simple, of course, is it? At the end of the day, we do still live in a material realm. And if I have some amazing idea that no one else likes or ends up benefiting from, is it truly valuable, or am I just deluding myself?

I’m unsure if this is helpful at all, but I suppose the best I can do is reflect to you how I see your work. I appreciate your writing because you bring a well-researched, scientific, yet open-minded approach to spiritual topics, which many professionals shy away from due to the potential reputation hazards you’ve pointed out in some of your books. Now, I’m not much for mainstream anything, and I’ve spent most of my adult life venting uselessly about how unethical our healthcare system has become. (I was a CT scan tech for about 15 years before I became a therapist) in that it’s run by businessmen and insurance tycoons. That being said, I still want to get paid for my work in hospitals and be able to afford a mortgage.

The entertainment world may be different, but not entirely. The mind-numbing repetitious reality shows, the focus on numbers of eyes translating to advertising value, most of which is for medications people don’t really need (looping back to the healthcare system), all adding up to an effort to simply pump out whatever the marketing pros with their rudimentary knowledge of psychology say is most likely to get the average Joe addicted to watching, regardless of ethical value. Blah, shoot me. We have fifty-some channels of basic cable to watch in here, and I can only stand one of them: PBS. That may be the most geriatric comment I’ve ever made.

What I’m trying to say is, your content is not fast food, and that’s what I love about it. If the majority of the public audience is too busy watching Jerry Springer and the countless spinoffs of that trash to spend time viewing or reading about breakthroughs in quantum mechanics and ESP, screw ‘em! I hate the numbers game, yet I understand it and am in no place to judge others for doing what it takes to pay the bills. I suppose it’s a terribly rote anecdote in your line of work but it’s still true that many of the most famous authors and artists weren’t famous until after their deaths, isn’t it? I will say this: if you were to compromise your ethics and motive behind your work to achieve improved numbers, I would move away from your work, grateful for what you have done up to that point, and hope someone else half as good as you comes along.

So maybe that’s part of the question here? I know you’ve shared your aim as “fame,” but is fame necessarily dependent on numbers? What if you’re famous with a fringe crowd but never achieve widespread notoriety? Some of my favorite bands put out amazing first albums, then got signed onto big labels and started sounding like everyone else. Also, ironically my favorite songs on the album are never the ones they’re famous for.

I was thinking the other day about the Hermetic principle “as above, so below.” Can we take that and say, if one individual experiences something, isn’t that experience imprinted on the Nous, a tiny piece of the evolution of consciousness? Is it more effective based on the number of individuals experiencing it? Maybe, but wouldn’t it be more important to have one true message than a million false ones?

I admire your work ethic, and I empathize with having to make sacrifices at times, I just hope you don’t fall prey to sacrificing who you are for any perceived external result. At least, that’s my humble two cents. Oh, and if my perception of the entertainment industry is way, just chalk it up to a guy who has spent too long in a jail cell!

I can absolutely agree that the focus on inner work cannot be a consolation prize, though. I have seen quite a bit of that as well and have to watch that in myself with my change in circumstances. It stuck out to me that speaking in public brings you the most joy. Sounds like the heart talking. I deeply hope I can attend one of your presentations one day.

Thank you again for sharing part of yourself with me. As a fan and friend, I just want to close by saying, “keep doing what you’re doing!” I have faith in your mission and so do many others.

Good luck with the projects and take care my friend!

Mike

_____________

I send any of my books free to any incarcerate in the United States. You can make a request with the institutional address via email. Your contribution helps support this effort.