In the spirit of being true to my readers, I’ve included some possibly fascinating (but probably not) things about me that made me who I am:
- My given name is Louis, after my father, but I suffered from a lisp early on in my childhood. I changed my name to Luke when I moved to California. I wanted to introduce myself without lisping. The lisp is gone, but Luke remains. I think it suits me.
- My first job was at a fast-food restaurant, Wendy’s. It lasted about three days. I stopped eating beef shortly after that experience.
- I knew I was gay by age 12 and thought a move to California would make me straight. Ha—was I wrong about that!
- I suffered with weight issues most of my childhood until I moved to California. I peaked at 260 pounds in my high-school years. I lost 70 pounds the first year in California. Poverty does amazing things for your waistline.
- My astrological sign is Virgo, I am a bit of a perfectionist and can be very critical of people, but I am much harder on myself than I am on others. I can be judgmental, and I am working on changing that.
- Since my first trip to England in my early 20’s, I always knew I would live in Europe at some point. I was accepted to the University of Westminster in London for a combined bachelor and master’s degree, but I longed to be with my future husband, and decided not to make the move. It was the right decision.
- I try to meditate every morning and walk 3-4 miles a day. Walking for me is an extension of meditation, and if I fail to do it, my entire day feels out of balance.
- I was unabashedly a “mama’s boy.” My mother was fearless. She transitioned from this life on August 7, 2006. I owe much of my determination and wanderlust to her. I hope she is living vicariously through me now.
- I believe all religions are fascinating, but I don’t particularly subscribe to any one of them. If I had to identify with a religion, Buddhism or Hinduism would be my two likely candidates.
- One of the most memorable books I read as a child was Watership Down by Richard Adams. I see Netflix just did a remake. I have to watch it. I also enjoyed reading my mother’s Sydney Sheldon and Jackie Collins books when she was finished with them. I think my choice in reading material was a clear indication of my sexual orientation early on in my youth. If you don’t believe me, read a Jackie Collins book.
- I converted to spiritualism in my early 20s, when a relative stranger introduced me to the writings of Edgar Cayce. That changed me.
- I believe the the universe is far too big for us to be out here all by ourselves. If you have ever seen the Milky Way, or fly over the Atlantic or Pacific at night and see all of those stars, you cannot help but wonder.
- I believe death is simply birth into a different reality, and that birth is simply death from another reality. Think about that.
- I believe our physical life on earth is a learning lab, and we should never take this too seriously. Love and joy are the goals here, everything else is just noise.
- I have been blessed to travel a lot. My favorite quote right now is from Liz Gilbert, author of “Eat, Pray, Love.” She states, “I am not afraid of the world, but I am afraid of people that are afraid of the world.”
- My three goals for the next phase of my life are:
- I want to know the world and its people like the back of my hand
- I want to live in constant awareness of the Divine
- I want all of my relationships to be 100% authentic
- I detest the phrases:
- “You can’t.”
- “Why would you want to do that?”
- “It’s impossible.”
- “I’m afraid.”