Category: A Spiritual Look At All Forms Of Entertainment…

I didn’t know much about Edward Snowden when I went to the movies recently and saw director Oliver Stone’s film titled “Snowden”. About the most I knew was how he formerly worked for both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA), the latter of which he copied and leaked classified information without prior authorization that revealed numerous global surveillance programs.

When all of this became big news back in 2013, I remember how everyone suddenly became polarized over the issue. Some said he was a hero for doing what he did, claiming he was a savior of sorts, while others said he was a traitor and should be tried as one. Personally, I never held an opinion on him back then and honestly I still don’t, but what this movie did help me to think a lot more about was the privacy we all think we have in this world.

I would venture to say that most of us probably use a cell phone, e-mail, a computer with a camera, and a number of social media outlets every single day. Frankly, I never put much thought to any of them being looked at by anyone in the CIA or NSA or anyone else for that matter, probably because I have nothing to hide, but there’s the strong reality that at some point in time or another something of mine was looked at by someone in the security administration of our government. At least that’s the impression I got from the film when Snowden, played quite wonderfully by Joseph Gordon Levitt, began to see all the spy software that was in place to invade the lives of even the most common of US citizens.

Reading e-mails, Facebook postings, and text messages, looking into cell phone call logs, and spying through cameras on computers without their lights being turned on were just some of the many things Snowden uncovered and leaked to the world. I can’t say I was shocked when I learned exactly what his leak was really about, as I made an assumption long ago that the government was probably always doing this.

So while many have been in uproar ever since Snowden’s leakage, it ultimately hasn’t phased me. Between my writing on my blog that I make public for the world to see and what I share at countless recovery meetings on a weekly basis, I have already fully exposed myself on every level. Simply put, I have no dark secrets. But there are many out there in the world who still do. Not that long ago though I was still one of them.

I used to have plenty of secrets that I wouldn’t have wanted anyone, especially the government looking into, such as the acts of indiscretion I was having with married individuals, all of which could have been seen through my emails and text messages, or even by spying on my phone or through my computer’s camera. But thankfully, I’m not doing any of that behavior anymore or anything else for that matter that might put me at risk with the government or anyone else.

Yet I know there are countless people out there who want to keep their privacy and their secrets protected. Do they deserve that? Of course, but in a day and age where terrorism is a serious threat, especially within the digital realm, the line between what’s acceptable government behavior and what’s not is becoming overly blurred. That’s precisely what Snowden showed back in 2013 and what this film portrayed.

So while I understand how some think of Snowden as a hero and others, a traitor, what I think is that it ultimately doesn’t matter. Snowden simply bared something many of us had already wondered deep down every time we used our own digital media, especially if we had something to hide. And I’m sure somewhere in our government today what Snowden exposed is still being done in some fashion, thus I feel the only solution that works for me to deal with this possibility is to just not have any secrets.

Originally I started on that path by revealing all of them to God, then it was with the sponsors I had in recovery from addiction, and finally it’s been with everyone else through my writing and my speaking these past few years. It’s been totally freeing ever since and I plan to keep it that way.

Nevertheless, “Snowden” is a great film that will make you think about your privacy and whether you really have any of that in this country anymore these days. For me that doesn’t matter though, because I’m a firm believer in not hiding anything these days, not with God, and not with any of you. Because in doing so, I truly found a spiritual freedom that never came when I used to keep all those secrets.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Sometimes I really think that God has some pretty unique ways of reminding us He truly is there and not some figment of our imagination. I say this because of something that happened recently that fell into my lap and ended up being an incredible blessing for not only my partner, but for me as well.

It all began a few weeks ago when I was spending time with one of my sponsees at a local coffee shop when she mentioned she was going to the Adele concert the following week. I told her how lucky she was given that Adele’s entire North American tour sold out in minutes and any tickets that were out for resale were going for incredible sums of money now.

When she asked if I liked Adele, I told her it really was my partner who was the fan. In fact, my partner Chris is such the fan that he flipped out when his favorite cd from her got stuck in his car player. Thankfully he did manage to get it out, but the cd player stopped working after that, of which I joked with him and said it’s probably because he played her cd too much!

Nevertheless, while I think Adele’s voice is amazing, I told my sponsee that it ultimately was my partner’s music idol and not mine. His dream has been to see her in concert ever since buying her “21” cd many years ago. So when my sponsee told me she had two extra tickets for one of her upcoming shows in Auburn Hills, Michigan, I was shocked. I asked if she was willing to part with them and half expected her to say they were already spoken for, given the concert was less than a week away and if they weren’t spoken for, that she probably was going to ask for an incredible sum of money, of which I know I couldn’t afford.

Ironically I was wrong on both accounts. She hadn’t sold either of them yet and actually offered them to me at face value ($98 a piece). What was even more surprising then that was how both Chris and I had the night free to attend her concert given how busy our schedules have been lately. I of course immediately accepted her offer and told Chris to block off next Wednesday evening.

Up until the night of the concert, Chris had no idea what or where I was taking him to. Because of this, I took a rare opportunity to toy with him a lot over it, telling him we had a big road trip ahead of us. I suggested the event might be taking place in Columbus, Cleveland, and a bunch of other locations. At one point I even had him convinced we were just having dinner and seeing a show at a casino in Detroit. I must admit it was rather funny to see him squirm, as Chris isn’t one to usually handle waiting for surprises to manifest that well.

So when the night finally arrived and we could see the Palace Stadium sign up in the distance on our approach, I reached into my console and handed him a large black envelope, which was labeled across its front in bold with one word “ADELE”. As he took a moment to take it in, he suddenly burst into tears and abruptly grabbed my hand with no words to say.

But I didn’t need any words because I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Joy. Joy from a place that is hard to have when your body is riddled with chronic pain every single day. But that joy wasn’t for myself, it was joy for someone who truly deserves the best, especially with what he has to go through every day when it comes to handling my health issues. And in all truthfulness, Chris and I have had some serious struggles feeling close to each other lately, mainly due to the roller coaster of things I do go through with my health day in and day out.

Yet all of that seemed to dissolve away immediately as he grasped that envelope and continued to cry profusely. And his tears continued through most of the concert, as he savored every one of the songs Adele performed and every word she spoke with great passion to the audience. Watching Chris’s soul move for those several hours was one of the best blessings I’ve had in a very long time and I know God somehow had to be behind making it all happen.

While it may not have been the answer to the many prayers I’ve been asking for with my health and healing, it definitely was the answer to something we obviously both needed. That’s why I sometimes really believe we often fail to see God is always sending us blessings because they often come in ways our brains and egos don’t normally conceive of.

But I’m grateful I realized it in this case and so I thank you God for making Chris’s dream come true and for helping me to feel a ray of Your light come from something as simple as an Adele concert in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

While I haven’t been to any amusement park in over six years, I have noticed something has definitely changed at many of them. Most have introduced a flash pass type of system for an extra cost that allows people to bypass all that line waiting that can occur on busy days, which for the most part seems to happen a lot nowadays.

At first glance it may seem pretty cool to have these types of systems available for purchase. After all, who wants to wait in line for several hours for a ride that will most likely last for less than two minutes. But I’ve spent some time pondering this as of late and really feel that the addition of things like this are just another growing sign of the belief that money can fix anything, including things such as people’s impatience that can come from waiting in lines.

What’s sad about the addition of these flash pass systems is that not everyone can afford to purchase them. In fact, many can barely even afford the price of admission to most amusement parks these days and when they can, they end up waiting in line for several hours at each ride, only getting to enjoy four or five of them in an entire day, while others who have more money, can purchase these flash passes and bypass them time and time again.

What I find even more sad about this is the different levels of flash passes one can purchase. Take Six Flags for example, where the admission price normally ranges between $50 and $70 depending on the park. Yet for another $35 to $50, you can get a regular flash pass that allows you to go enjoy other things until it’s your time to ride. But then there are even greater levels of access if one has more money to spend. There’s the gold level that costs between $60 and $80 that cuts wait times down in half. And there’s the platinum level that virtually eliminates waiting on every level and even grants riders a second ride once they return to the station, all for the “low” price of $100 to $150. Thus if one has $150 to $200 to easily spend, they can go to an amusement park these days and never care whether it’s crowded or not.

I must admit I probably would have been one of those who would have spent the big bucks to get a platinum pass if they had existed back in the day when I used to go to amusement parks regularly. As back then, I had a high income and constantly felt I was better than everyone else because of it. Even worse, I most likely would have smirked at those I was allowed to cut in front of, who had been waiting in line for hours, feeling some sense of satisfaction over the huge money I had spent to do so. Thank God I feel quite differently these days. Now I look at things like these flash passes as representing nothing but ego and isn’t it ego that constantly keeps us all feeling separate from each other?

When I was growing up there wasn’t as much separatism in amusement parks. As back then, we all did our best to patiently wait in line and while we did, we excitedly talked to each other around us, sometimes even making new friendships in the process. But now, as the gap between those with money and those without continues to grow wider, that separatism increases by introducing things like these flash passes. People then grow up believing that all they need is to have more money to enjoy life, to enjoy things like these flash passes. Funny enough, I think if I had a huge amount of money to spend these days, I’d go to an amusement park early enough to buy every possible flash pass available and then throw them all away, causing everyone to resort to having nothing but a regular ticket and patience.

Nevertheless, money doesn’t really fix anything in the long run. It only causes one to want more, the more they have. Like with those flash passes, the ego drives the people who buy them to believe they deserve greater, such as better treatment in things that aren’t even part of what they purchased, such as with the food lines.  It’s a vicious cycle that in the end only keeps one separate from not only others, but especially from God.

So the next time you’re considering buying one of those flash passes at an amusement park, remember all those who can’t afford them, who never will be able to afford them, and maybe save your money and spend time in line with them instead. And who knows, maybe God will be one of them in disguise…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson